Introducing Start Marketing Right!

I’m excited to announce the launch of a really cool web site developed by my bright, creative and talented husband 🙂 – StartMarketingRight.com. He’s spent the better part of the last six months developing this tool and we are looking forward to see it take off. Check out the site to learn more and share it with others!

8 of My Favorite Vegan Sauces and More

I have a little confession….I’m kind of into sauces. Well, to be completely honest, I’m really into sauces. They are such a great way to add a little extra flavor to any dish. I’ve always been a condiment fan and back in the day I used to smother my eggs and pretty much anything else with ketchup. I moved away from ketchup several years ago after realizing how much sugar is in it but I still love sauces – everything from guacamole to hummus, hot sauce, salsa, pesto and more! The unfortunate part of many store bought sauces is that they often contain lots of preservatives or other unrecognizable ingredients. Fortunately it’s very easy to whip up a healthy and delicious sauce with a few ingredients and a blender or food processor. And also it’s easy to adjust most sauces to fit your specific dietary or flavor preferences. For example, I’ve found medjool dates to be the perfect substitute for sweeteners in sauces. You just need to blend the sauce a little more thoroughly.

And speaking of sauces….I have several sauce recipes I’d like to share with you.

I made this delicious Low-Fat Nut-Free Creamy Garlic Parsley Sauce to go with pasta and veggies. We loved the creamy, flavorful texture and I was surprised how much it tasted like a dairy based sauce. It would be delicious as a soup with the addition of veggies and a little broth or stock to thin it out. I will definitely be pulling this one out at Thanksgiving as it had a thick gravy like texture and would be great as a gravy or sauce for meat or roasted vegetables. I highly recommend trying this and experimenting with different kinds of potatoes. I love sweet potatoes so I’m going to try it with sweet potatoes next time. I made a few modifications to the recipe and used toasted almond coconut milk, veggie broth, a mixture of baking and red potatoes, and dried parsley instead of fresh.

I made this Yummy Sauce by Chef AJ earlier in the week. Chef AJ is a chef (surprise, surprise), author of Unprocessed, and has an amazing life story including how she has turned her life around by transitioning to a whole food, plant based diet. If you’re not familiar with Chef AJ or her story, check out Rich Roll’s podcast with her. You can also find his podcasts on the Sound Cloud app. Chef AJ is an inspiration and has so much energy you can feel it through the podcast. And onto the sauce…I love it! The flavor is unique and reminds me a bit of honey mustard with the sweetness from the dates combined with the savory mustard. I’ve used it as a dipping sauce for veggies and on romaine lettuce tacos and I imagine it’d be good with veggie burgers, crackers or pretzels if you eat that sort of thing.

I’ve made this Creamy Coconut Peanut Sauce (just the sauce part of the recipe) a few times now and really enjoy it drizzled over salad, veggies, zucchini noodles, and rice. It has nice flavor that you can spice up using a little extra hot sauce or diced jalapenos. I used about 1/4 cup coconut milk, coconut aminos in place of soy sauce, a mixture of lemon juice and rice vinegar, and homemade sriracha sauce. Mine turned out a little thick both times so I added a little water and veggie broth to thin it out.

This Buddha Bowl Sauce is great and the only change I made was to use some veggie broth in place of some of the oil. I also really like these two sauces from the “bowl” category – the sauce from this Roasted Buddha Bowl and the sauce from this Quinoa Cauliflower Bowl with Almond Sriracha Sauce (I use unsweetened hot sauce and leave out the syrup).

We enjoy eating Mexican and if you’ve never looked at the ingredients on most store bought enchilada sauces, you should. There’s a lot of junk in there! I’ve tried several enchilada sauce recipes and these are two of my latest favorites – Homemade Enchilada Sauce (I use veggie broth in place of some of the oil and leave out the brown sugar) and the sauce from this TexMex Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Pasta (I saute onions and garlic and blend it with the immersion blender. It is delicious for tacos or enchiladas).

We are Greek food fans in this house and have always loved tzatziki but now that I’m not eating any dairy I’m on the lookout for a good dairy-free alternative. I’ve pinned a few to try but haven’t gotten around to it yet.

And I’m always up for a yummy peanut/nut butter sauce. I’ve tried so many peanut sauce recipes and usually like them all so I don’t have any one specific recipe to recommend. I normally alter the recipe to take out the sugar / sweetener (and have replaced it with medjool dates several times) and often change up the nut butter I use.

That’s all on the topic of sauces. Here are a few pics and highlights of other things going on around here lately.

Scott and the kids were gone last weekend so I spent a pretty quiet weekend at home. I had an outing with friends scheduled for Saturday night but the snow hampered those plans. I spent most of the weekend doing things around the house, cooking, doing yoga and listening to podcasts. My friend recently recommended a podcast by Rich Roll. After listening to that and another one of his, I was hooked! As I mentioned above, I listen to them using the Sound Cloud app on the iPad and iPhone but you can also find them on his web site. Many of them are on the topic of plant based nutrition but there are lots of others with individuals who just have amazing stories to share and I was fascinated by every one! I was thinking earlier this morning how much technology has changed the way we communicate and podcasts are a great example. Before You Tube or podcasts someone would have to go on a speaking tour or write a book to share their story. Now it’s so easy to record and share anything. I’ve also listened to a handful from Howard Jacobson on his Wholevana Podcast and a few other random ones by Christian pastors. I’m thinking this might be a new addiction 🙂

When I took the kids up to Wooster on Friday we stopped to see our brand new beautiful niece Vienna. She’s a doll and seems to be a very good baby so far. The kids had a great time visiting with their cousins too. The pic below is of C, her cousin Mav and baby Vienna.

On the way home I stopped at Earth Fare to look around and pick up some Nori sheets. I’d been wanting to try them for making wraps and happened to find a package on clearance. I’ve tried a few random creations and have been pinning lots of interesting recipes to try! They are easy to use and definitely taste like seaweed (of course they do!) but I kind of like them. I’m pretty sure I will be the only one eating these in our house unless I make sushi rolls with lots of rice on the outside.

Scott got home late Sunday night and then we drove to Walnut Creek to visit my Grandpa and meet my mom to get the kids. I love going to visit him as he is such a neat man and the kids adore him. My grandma passed away just over a year ago so he’s on his own now. I took cabbage rolls, veggies, and rice up for him and for my brother and his family who just had Vienna. He was thrilled with that! We visited with him at his condo and then went to lunch at the Amish restaurant up the street. The second pic below is of Great Papa, the kids and their giant ice cream sundaes. They thoroughly enjoyed those. I was surprised that I wasn’t at all tempted to have any. I was much more interested in having my blended frozen banana and dates when I got home. The last pic is of C hand in hand with Great Papa. She kept going over to him to grab his hand. It was adorable to see her look up at him with her big brown eyes. It was a great visit and was so nice to see him and have the kids back.

The next day C and I went on a double date with our friends to Portia’s Cafe. It was great to go out to lunch and have some girl time. I realized that was the first time C and I have gone out to a girls lunch. It’s a vegan restaurant so we ordered the girls vegan cheese quesadillas. C was not overly pleased with her food so she chowed down on my spicy Pad Thai made with raw kelp noodles. She ate almost half of my meal and loved every bite. We got them chocolate mousse to share. It was made with avocado, cocoa, maple syrup and vanilla. At first they turned their noses up at it but then ended up devouring it. It was very rich but had great flavor and texture.

Lastly, I’m loving this song right now. I heard it on the radio and then we sang it at church last week. The lyrics and so powerful and it just seems to be speaking to me at this time in my life. You can find it on Spotify or You Tube.

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)
by Hillsong United

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You’ve never failed and You won’t start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

Oh, Jesus, you’re my God!

I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

Have a great weekend!

Waiting on God

This is the third and final post following my participation in the taping of our church’s upcoming summer women’s Bible study Divine Redeemer – A Journey Through The Book of Ruth by Janet Firebaugh. The study is actually a 4 week series but I had to miss the fourth week’s lesson / taping for another commitment. Boo!

For week 3’s lesson, Janet led us through the end of Ruth 1 and all of Ruth 2. Below are some of my notes from the lesson that I wanted to share with you.

1. Our Divine Redeemer is in Control!

• What we often see as coincidences are many times in fact the hand of God orchestrating circumstances for HIS glory. Sometimes when we’ve strayed from Him, He allows things to happen that will draw us back to Him. In Ruth, He used physical hunger to draw Naomi and Ruth back to the Promised Land and to Him. He can also use a variety of other circumstances like sicknesses, heartache, relationship struggles, and loss (pretty much any situation in which we realize we really do need God!). No matter what, we can know and trust that God is in control even when life seems to be spiraling out of control before our very eyes.

2. Our Divine Redeemer Gives Grace

• The Lord gives us grace, favor, and refuge in Him. Grace is defined as an “unmerited favor.” His ultimate gift of grace was Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins and His resurrection so that we may have new life in Him. But, He continues to shower grace upon us every single day. In Ruth, Ruth trusts in God’s grace and favor (that she will be taken care of and protected) as she enters into unknown territory (Boaz’s field). We can have confidence that God will freely (undeservedly on our part) extend grace to us! And he will continue to do so. His grace never runs out.
• Sometimes God chooses not to stop the storm but he does provide an umbrella! He doesn’t always stop the storm but His grace flows freely.
• I was reminded of lyrics in Todd Agnew’s song “Grace Like Rain”.

Hallelujah, grace like rain falls down on me
Hallelujah, and all my stains are washed away
They’re washed away

3. Our Divine Redeemer Uses our Past

• God uses our past to allow us a unique ministry to reach people around us who are going through similar situations to ours. We are able to reach out and connect with others because they realize we “get it.” We have been there and made it through. Satan tries to tell us lies and convince us through these lies that our past somehow disqualifies us from being used by God. But the opposite is true! Hurt people who receive God’s grace can use God’s grace to serve others (hurt people can HELP hurt people instead of the commonly used phrase “hurt people, hurt people”). Hurt people who receive God’s grace extend it to others!

4. Our Divine Redeemer Works Through Community

• We can experience hopelessness and depression when we lose all else that we’ve hoped in (especially when our hope is something other than God). These feelings often lead us to isolate ourselves from friends, family, and other meaningful relationships.
• Again, hurt people who receive God’s grace can HELP others around them – thus building community. Ruth experienced God’s grace firsthand and therefore was willing to give grace to others around her who needed it. Ruth helped Naomi see God’s grace in her own life and that helped Naomi become more sympathetic to others and their needs. One key is that we need to first let others in….into our joys and into our pains.

Questions to ponder:

Have you submitted to God as your only redeemer or are you trusting in “substitutes”? Do you put your hope in God alone or do you go to a substitute for relief from pain or for pleasure? (What is a substitute? Anything we go to other than God to deaden the pain. Substitutes keep us from God and keep us from experiencing a deeper relationship and connection to Him. A substitute could be anything from food to gossip to pornography. It can be something seemingly simple and harmless or something more complex. Whatever it is, it gets in between us and God).

God alone can satisfy the deepest parts of our souls. Substitutes only lead us to want more. No substitute will every fully satisfy our deepest need – our need for the Lord. We will always want more. Therefore, let us take refuge in God, our Divine Redeemer alone. Wait on Him. We might not feel relief (or a way out) from our pain or struggles immediately or even feel His presence, but He is there. Resist the urge to run elsewhere for relief. Sometimes we have to wait out the storm.

Lamentations 3:21 – 26 (NIV): “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’ The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

Psalm 62:5-8 (ESV): “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah

God has used this study to speak to me in several different areas and it seems the opportunity to participate in the taping and study came at just the right time for me! I’m looking forward to going through the study again this summer and hope some of you can join me!

Is God Listening?

If we pray, we have probably experienced a situation or stage in our lives in which we found ourselves saying, “Is God hearing my prayers? Is He really listening? It seems He’s hearing (and answering) everyone else, but not me. I doubt He even cares about my situation.” I know I have been to this place many, many times in my life including with a few recent situations. Janet Firebaugh discussed these thoughts and many others as she led us deeper into the book of Ruth during the second week of taping for our church’s summer women’s study last week (the study is a 4 week series Janet created called Divine Redeemer – A Journey Through the Book of Ruth).

Below are a few encouragements from week 2 of the study for us to consider when we find ourselves in a place where we aren’t feeling heard:

• God ALWAYS hears our prayers. He invites us to communicate with Him and He listens. He also always answers. However, His answers are not always what we were hoping for or expecting.
• God promises us many things in the Bible (most importantly eternal life with Him if we believe in Jesus), but he never promises to fix all our problems. However, He DOES promise to give us strength and hope to carry us through. Isaiah 40:27-31, “Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God?’ Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired and weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
• When we don’t get the answer we were hoping for, we can be assured that God has something better for us. Sometimes we’ll know what that “better” is quickly and other times we won’t know for a long, long time. Janet said, “sometimes He is stripping away what is good for something far better.” In her book Believing God, Beth Moore says (referring to Matthew 17) – “If you pray that God will move a mountain and He doesn’t, or you have the faith to tell a mountain to move and it won’t, assume Christ wants you to climb it instead and see Him transfigured. Either way the mountain is under your feet.”
• God often uses our pain and struggles (often the things we pray about that don’t turn out the way we wanted) to mold us into the people He created us to be. If we consider some of the most beautiful pieces of art like blown glass and metal artwork, we can see that some of the most beautiful creations are made under fire!! The same goes for us. We have a decision to make, however, when in the “fire.” We can choose to allow the fires of life to overwhelm us, give up, and succumb to bitterness, OR we can turn it over to a HOLY, REDEEMING God who gives us hope and can make it BETTER!
• Let’s not treat God like a little child who wants a “nice” parent who answers “yes” to their every demand and always gives them what they want. Just like a parent needs to say “no” sometimes to do what is best for their child, sometimes God needs to say “no” or “not now” to us!

These words encouraged me this week and I hope they bring encouragement to you. I wish I could share everything she said during week 2, but if you want to hear more, you’ll just have to join us this summer as we go through the entire study!

A Refreshing Reminder of God’s Dependability

I am blessed to have the opportunity to be part of the taping of our church’s summer women’s study. The study is a 4 week series called Divine Redeemer – A Journey Through the Book of Ruth and is being led by an amazing, wise, Godly woman – Janet Firebaugh. Sadly I almost turned down the opportunity to be part of this as I’ve been feeling overwhelmed lately with everything else in life, but I knew pretty much from the start on Sunday that this is exactly what I need right now. I hope to share a few highlights after hearing each week’s message. Here are a few parts of the message that spoke to me this week:

God’s love is dependable even when circumstances seem otherwise! –  He will NEVER fail us even when everything (or everyone) around us makes it seem that way

God is the one who meets ALL my needs! God LOVES me. God VALUES me. God PURSUES me. He is constantly wooing me into a deeper relationship with Him and He will pursue me no matter how far away from Him I get or how deep of a pit it seems I’m in.

These words truly encouraged me this week and I am excited to get deeper into the book of Ruth and hear what God has to share through Janet in the weeks to come.