More adventures with Vegan Drunk Puppy!

So it's been a ROUGH past few weeks. I've been working literally every day, and I have been in a vicious cycle of getting myself sick and tired. I'm very close to needing to make a decision on grad school, and very few have gotten answers back to me on financial aid. Columbia, for one, was not very helpful in the $$ department.

Oh well, I digress and I think I'll have some lovely choices coming to me soon! I just gotta have faith...and coffee.

In veggie news, Vegan Drunk Puppy has tried the DAIYA vegan cheese...and loves it! Certainly no replacement, but helpful on those rough nights when I can't get to a cheap grocery store to buy anything else (read: Amy's Vegan Burritos...such a college girl!)

I'm done in a few weeks, so I'll have more time to blog. In other news, I've been looking up more sustainable practices for being girly! My graduation dress contestants are flying in the mail from providers on ebay.com

I'm also in the market for vegan candles, and may have met my match on etsy. This Kenny CoOp looks just wonderful, pretty cheap, and has great reviews...YES

CHEAP EATS:
Vegan Drunk Puppy tried to steal my Trader Joe's edamame! It's less than $2.00 for a bag, and you just pop in in a pot of boiling water and presto! Not-super-processed soy for your day....delicious!




CHEAP DRINKS:


$8.00 for almost 2 pounds of Organic Coffee..um yes please!

CHEAP CANDLES:
I bought this candle from the Heartland Cafe in Chicago. I've always loved their food, but their adjacent store is always packed with fair trade and organic goodies! This candle isn't my favorite soy candle I've tried, but it did the job...and smelled wonderful!



OTHER GOODIES:
My new favorite blog is Savvy Abby via VegNews! VegNews is absolutely one of my favorite mags, and this blog is a leading example of why. Recognizing their key demographics, this college girl likes seeing cruelty-free stuff for CHEAP! Excellent job :) Her most recent article talks about cheap makeup, and also features Pacifica, absolutely one of my favorite body-product companies. WOOT! $5.00 @ Sephora for cheap hand cream that smells like sorbet...yum!

"Me gusta"

Thank God for Jonathan and Travis. They keep me so motivated to be veggie! (noun into an adjective....YES)

So Jonathan always keeps me in check about my protein (i.e. with cheese [which I'm shying away from] and with Odwalla shakes. In particular, I had their pumpkin protein shake recently, and decided to make it at home!

3/4 cup pumpkin
1 cup almond milk
1/2 cup ice

1 dash of cinnamon

blend well...delicious!

Little known fact is that coffee mugs also make good containers for smoothies on the go! (Especially the stainless steel kind) MY Gevalia mug (with way too much use, the top is broken past the point of convenient use) came from a free deal from the Gevalia coffee company. I'm not so big on their coffee, but a free coffee maker was particularly a plus when I moved into my first apartment.
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Now I've already posted about my vegan chili, but I had to go again!

I always add a ton of carrots, as I feel that they take away from having "too much spice." Almost like a break. My dad used to always tell me to eat yogurt/ drink milk, but I find that anything OTHER than water works, too. I was with my friend Joty, celebrating Duwali, the festival of lights, with the Hindu Club at school, and I couldn't get enough of the curry! I used to think that I hated curry, but turns out, it was just thai curry...something about the tart doesn't jive with my tastebuds....

Anyway, so I needed to include some Trader Joe's products, because they're amazing. Basically, tomatoes, beans, chili spice, carrots....it was all organic and under 7 dollars. Travis and I had about 2 servings each, and I still had some leftover. DELISH! (as an aside, I hope my Dad's proud that I used my auto-settings on my digital camera to get that steam coming off of the chili....awesome!)




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Trader Joe's also makes college vegan shopping CHEAP.

Tofutti non-dairy cream cheese is about $2.50, and veggie burgers are always under $3.00.
(Not to mention that they have Tofutti cuties and Soy "Ice Cream" in a chocolate flavor where you can actually TASTE the chocolate....amazing!)

I've been using the term "nosh" quite a bit, because I feel as though I graze like a cow most days....KIND Bars in particular are amazing (and give to the Peaceworks foundation) and raw nuts help me get through my work shifts/ class without having an audible stomach! A pound of almonds for less than $5? Sign me the fuck up.


Time for delish veggie burgers. I went a week or so without a few in my freezer, and it was so sad. It just seems like a nice base to have, especially since I am a meat-eater at heart. The meat that I miss is made up by the "patty-ness" and good spices in the veggie burgers (in this case, Morningstar, but I like just about any kind). In this photo I feature avocado (as my phrase goes, "avocados make any day a good one") , Tofutti cream cheese, and sourdough bread. The burger in the picture is NOT vegan, but there are many other varieties that are. Needless to say, it was amazing.

Next up:
Amanda, soapstress of the stars (like Travis and myself!) has begun another blog entitled "Broke Ass Beauty," and details her experiences with cheap cosmetics and bath and beauty products. I trust her opinion on just about everything, so I think you should, too. Check it out!

http://brokeassbeautyblog.blogspot.com/


I think that about sums it up.

For Lady Gaga critics, all I gotta say is that she references Alfred Hitchcock in her new song "Bad Romance"....awesome.

Until later, let me know if you guys have any veggie faves. Wish me luck on grad apps! OY! :)