Vegan Chili in the Slowcooker

First of all, I wish I had a photo of the chili but I don't. Sorry!😔

I took the inspiration from Cookie and Kate's vegetarian chili but changed it a bit. Her recipe is for it to be cooked on the stovetop but I made mine in the slow cooker.

One of my favorite places to get canned pinto beans and black beans is from Aldi. They have a brand called Simply Nature which is organic. For some reason, a lot of brands have some weird ingredients along with the pinto beans when buying canned pinto beans. I think one of the ingredients is corn syrup. What? Why?

Anyway, I've found the Aldi brand and Trader Joe's brand just have the simplest of ingredients with the pinto beans. 

Enough about my discussion of canned pinto beans.

Recipe:

Vegan Chili in the Slowcooker

Stars of the Recipe:

• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 celery ribs, peeled and diced
• 1 small onion or 1/2 large onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (15 oz) can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz) can of diced tomatoes
• 2 c. vegetable broth
• 1.5 tsp. cumin
• 1.5 tsp. chili powder
• 1.5 tsp. oregano
• 1.5 tsp. paprika
• 1 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped (add at the end)

Steps:

1. Place the vegetables in the bottom of the slow cooker. Then place the beans and tomatoes. Pour the broth over the ingredients in the slow cooker. Sprinkle the spices over the ingredients. Stir.
2. Cook on low for 6 hours.
3. Use an immersion blender to blend up some of the chili to make it thicker.
4. Top with cilantro.

Ways to eat the chili: 

1. In a bowl with your favorite toppings.

2. Over a baked potato

3. Over spaghetti to make it sort of like a Cincinnati chili

4. As nachos

Happy eating, 

Traci

Will's 14 year old trip - Our visit to Sarnia

After Our visit to Port Huron, we crossed the bridge to Ontario, Canada.

Border patrol was easy. The only thing they asked Will was "Does your dad know you are going across international borders?"

His answer was "Of course!"

Across the bridge from Port Huron was a town called Sarnia. Yes, it rhymed with Narnia.

I had found out there was a children's petting zoo there. So, we immediately went to the park where it was located. However, once we got there we discovered the zoo was not open which was a disappointment. Will would have loved petting the animals.

Instead, we played at the playground/ park. Will, in his usual manner, found a frog to play with for a while.

Before we left Sarnia, I stopped and saw Lake Huron on the Canadian side. Will didn't want to get out of the car. He was reaching his breaking point of traveling. He wanted to get to London, so he could go swimming in the hotel swimming pool.

Enjoy the photos from the park at Sarnia.

Here are the photos from Lake Huron in Sarnia.

Driving to Londo - Yes, I was traveling 100 km per hour. Okay, that is about 62 miles per hour. I just had Will take a photo of my speedometer.

At the hotel

Join me next time for our visit to Springback Park and Storybook Gardens.

Have a magical day,
Traci

Mom, What's For Dinner? - Week of January 27th

Can I be honest? I haven't been eating as well as I should be eating. So I decided to change up my diet.

Last year, I quit eating vegetarian because my blood sugar was unstable. The dietician suggested I go back to eating an omnivore diet. So I quit eating a vegetarian diet. Guess what, I've gained back the weight I had lost. After losing both my mom and sister to heart disease, I need to refocus and change up my diet once more.

So I'm going back to the mainly vegetarian diet but am allowing for seafood to be eaten when I need an extra boost of protein. My blood sugar levels are the result of having reactive hypoglycemia. Anxiety, diet, heat, overexertion, and illness can cause me to have a low blood sugar "attack." Also not eating at regular intervals can cause me to have an attack.

What does that "attack" look like? Basically, I'm tired, easily angered, and shaky. I also develop a headache or migraine. Sometimes food helps me. Other times I need to rest and make sure I have eaten the proper foods. Does it hinder me? Not really, I just need to make sure I'm eating on a regular schedule. I'm not to allow myself to go more than 6 hours between eating. 

Yesterday, I had a mini attack. I had eaten some egg bake but it wasn't enough to hold me to lunch. I should have eaten something more during the morning but was so busy that it didn't happen. Plus I was grossed out because one of my students came in complaining about her stomach hurting. (Don't worry I Lyesoled my room after she left.) I know better than to allow that to happen.

Now that I'm done discussing my diet, I'm going to share my menu for the week:

Saturday - Happy Chinese New Year! - Orange chicken/ "chicken" with garlic ginger stir-fried veggies and rice

Sunday - Up in the air 

Monday - Spaghetti for the family and Mushroom and Spinach Pasta with Ricotta, Garlic bread

Tuesday - Chili for the family and Vegetarian chili for me  (YUM!)

Wednesday - Leftovers 

Thursday - Grilled cheese with tomato soup, swamp soup for myself

Friday - Day off of cooking - Leftovers or You are on Your Own!

Have a magical day,
Traci

Gratitude Journal

I have heard that it is good to have a gratitude journal. You write down what you are thankful for on any given day. I've toyed with the idea for a long time but have never got around to doing it.

Then I remembered this journal I bought on what would have been my sister's 42nd birthday. Both she and my mom loved cats. They used to feed the feral cats at their apartment.

After her death, she would manifest herself as a Monarch butterfly. I saw Monarchs up to the first Thanksgiving after her death.

In January of 2017, I decided I needed either jewelry or a tattoo of a Monarch so I could keep her memory alive. On what would have been my father's birthday, I got my first, and for right now, only tattoo. The tattoo is of a Monarch butterfly.

I've carried this journal around since September. I didn't know what I wanted to use it for. Now I know.

So what is a gratitude journal? Simply put, it's a journal that lists what you are thankful for each day. I think I'm going to also write down if I did some self-care either spiritually, emotionally, mentally, or physically. Doing this will let me know if I'm really taking care of myself.

After losing my sister and mom to heart disease, I need to make sure I'm taking care of myself. 

Wish me luck,
Traci

Will's 14-year-old trip - Our visit to Port Huron

When you get to Michigan, there are several ways to enter Canada. Two are in the Detroit area and the other is about an hour/ hour half north of Detroit in a town called Port Huron. (There are others further north but I'm not going to discuss those.)

While making my plans for the trip, I decided I wanted to go further north. It would have been cool to go through the tunnel and I had already gone over the bridge in Detroit.

Port Huron has a beach that is on Lake Huron. Since neither Will and I had seen Lake Huron, I thought it would be perfect for us to stop at the beach for a short rest stop.

Before we got there though, we went to a Biggby coffee in a suburb of Detroit. While trying to find it, we went past the exit for 8 Mile which reminded me of Eminem's song Lose Yourself from the movie "8 Mile."

That was an adventure in of itself trying to find the Biggby. I wish I had found a different one to go to because my patience was about shot once we got there. Traffic and the ways the roads are set up in the area made it difficult for me to get there. Honestly, it was just off the exit.)

Once we got my coffee and Will's smoothie, we were back on the road to the beach. After we got there, I pulled into the parking lot of the beach and noticed the prices for parking. It would cost me $20. We were only going to be there for about 30 minutes. 

I pulled in and went to pay. I explained my dilemma to the person who was minding the pay booth. She allowed us to go in without paying. I promised her I would be in and out within 30 minutes which is what we did.

Here are some photos from the visit to the beach.

Right after we got done at the beach, we got some gas because it was going to be the last time I would get gas until we were back in the United States.

Then we crossed into Ontario. The border patrol asked us what we were doing in Canada, if we had anything to declare, and if his dad was aware I was taking him across the border. Once we answered all of those questions, we were sent on the way.

Join me next time for our quick visit to Sarnia, Ontario.

Have a magical day,
Traci