Three Day Weekend!

    Crisp air, peppermint goodies, pine scents, and Christmas decorating is what I had in mind for my three day weekend. However, it just doesn't seem right to decorate for Christmas when it's 60 degrees outside and raining...sigh...so I decided to simply do some cooking instead.
    Yesterday morning when I got up I had a really random craving for crepes. I say random because I've only ever had them once and that was years ago when I was still in elementary school and decided to do some cooking from my Kirsten cook book. I really don't know why I never made them after that because they were incredibly delicious!
    Anywho, needless to say, I was going to use my not-decorating time to make some fantastic crepes. However, I found after looking up a few recipes that they require a fair number eggs and as you have read in other posts I am experimenting with a vegan diet (which is going fantastically by the way-I'll write about it briefly at the end of this post) so eggs were out of the question. I actually just ended up using a vegan pancake recipe. You can see the recipe I used here.

 *Here are my modifications:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rye flour
1 tbs soy flour

1 tbs white sugar *1 tbs raw sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup soy milk *1 cup almond milk (the extra milk helps to make it a little more liquidy)
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Mix all the ingredients together and cook in a lightly greased pan (i just used a little coconut oil)
try to spread it out as much as possible so that you have a very thin pancake. Cook until golden brown and then flip
and cook till you get the same result. 

    After I found a "crepe" recipe, I needed to figure out what I was going to fill them with! This decision really wasn't too difficult-I thought about buying expensive berries, but in the end I decided I was more in the mood for some good fall flavors AND they don't hurt my pocket so much: Apple and pumpkin.

Apple Filling:

2 apples of your choice (I'm actually not even sure what kind I used-I got them at the farmers market last week)
1 tbs brown sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tbs water

Direction: 
Core and chop up the apples into tiny pieces, combine the apples pieces with the rest of the ingredients in a pan at medium heat, cook until the apples are soft (it smells so good!)

Pumpkin Filling:
1/2 cup pumpkin (real or canned-doesn't matter, but I used real)
1 tsp maple syrup (the real stuff is best)
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend till combined.


Now all you have to do is fill the crepes-put a little filling in the middle and role them up. I ended up having the odd number of 7 so I had two pumpkin and five apple. They were oh so yummy. Go make them!

    Now a quick update about my new eating style-like how I said that? It's a diet, but not the kind that most people think of-sure I might lose a couple pounds if I have a couple pounds to lose, but that's not the point. A diet is simply what you eat-everyone has a diet. Anyway, I also didn't say vegan or vegetarian because I wanted a chance to explain first.
     A vegetarian is someone who just doesn't eat meat, but consumes other animal products such as dairy and eggs. I am not this kind of person because I am also not eating dairy or eggs. A vegan is more of a religious kind of things because not only do they usually not eat animal products, but they also don't wear any clothes made from animals (animal rights and all that jazz). I'm not a vegan in this sense because I am all for killing animals to eat them-God has given them to us to eat.
    I am simply trying to eat in a way that is good for my body in order to increase energy levels, metabolism, and to make me a happier person? Haha, I don't know how else to say it. When I don't eat right, then I'm tired which causes me to not be so happy and a bit lethargic. So far I am feeling great! I have more energy-naps are no longer a necessity (though I still go to bed early), I haven't been sick, and  I just feel happier. *Note that this is also combined with good daily exercise and vitamins.
    Also, this isn't one of those things where I'm being super strict with myself and saying "I will never eat meat again!". If in the future I am offered meat or I'm really craving it or something, then I'll have some. It just isn't on my list of things to get from the grocery store anymore. I also don't know if this is something that is practical and will last forever-that is why I'm experimenting. This isn't something that is supposed to stress me out and keep me on a chain-it's supposed to be relieving! I just eat what my body craves and needs.