Vegan MoFo Day 21: Kale (and a Leibster Nomination)

I surprised people yesterday when I bad-mouthed my kale.  Don't get me wrong; I still love it & I'm not at all sick of it- even after eating it for lunch for almost this entire cleanse.  But that purple kale was super skunky.  After salad spinning and preparing two bunches for lunches (haha) the rest of the week, I had to chuck most of it- I just couldn't do it.  It was vile, VILE I tell you!

To prove that I hold no grudge against kale, behold "fun with kale" (inspired by MVG).

If you can't guess who it is, here's a hint: we're from the same patch!  Seriously guys, the lack of sugar is making me delirious.

Ok, back to the drill.

Breakfast was more cucumber.  It's the easiest thing I can think of to eat green in the morning because I can't bring myself to prepare any more than lunch and dinner, but boy am I sick of cucumbers.  I may never consume one again.  Okay, maybe I'll make an exception for kicky cucumber lemonade.

Lunch was a new salad (see, I really did dispatch with the kale fail): romaine, cauliflower, and carrots

dressed with sweet dijon vinaigrette (CSD p. 209).

Dinner was leftover deconstructed taco from yesterday; it was just as good and, thanks to the lime juice, the avo didn't oxidize.

You may recall that I was once nominated for a Most Versatile Blogger Award.  More recently, Kimberly from Robotic Whimsy Blog nominated me for a Leibster Award.  She tells me that the purpose of the award is to bring attention to blogs with less than 200 followers.  I'm very grateful for the shout-out, but have you noticed that I'm only ever nominated for awards with no actual winners or, more importantly, prizes?  A lifetime supply of something wouldn't hurt!  I kid.  (Daiya, if you're listening, I'm not really kidding).

Mucho gratitude to Robotic Whimsy.  Now, to pay it forward, here are 5 blogs you may not have heard of, but you should definitely check out.

1. Food Feud chronicles eats far healthier than are generally in my repertoire, but she makes them look so good!  Fret not, there are healthy splurges as well; I'm still fawning over her cinnamon walnut fig waffles.

2. bite me (I'm vegan) has gads of food porn and non-convoluted recipes.  Caramel coffee cake?  "Cheesy" Potatoes and Broccoli?  Yes and yes.

3. Veganthropology, for starters, has an awesome name.  Product and restaurant reviews, recipes, and more; check out her entry into the Daiya contest; she should have won!

4. Yum Veggie Burger is a vegan-friendly, vegetarian blog chronicling...veggie burgers!  Ali has yet to meet a burger she couldn't conquer and she reviews with extraordinary detail and panache.  Oh yeah, we also agree that Sunshine Burgers are the bomb.

5. Finally, Fork and Beans.  I found this blog through MoFo because the name caught my eye. Imagine my surprise to find that she was dedicating a good portion of her MoFo to making candy!!

Must buy chocolate making equipment...