Vegan haircare, bowling shoes, and car seats + Ideas for a more plant-based New Year and a Country Fried Seitan recipe

Today I thought I would share one of my more random, rambling posts – you know, what I’m eating, what I’m doing, etc.

We bought a new car last week.

subaru cross trek

After fourteen years of marriage, in which we lived in Chicago and metro NYC, we have only needed one car. Not so in Colorado! Public transit just isn’t the same. We are Subaru fans (we are still driving a 2001) so we bought the new Cross Trek with fabric seats – no more leather seats for me, yay! – and Subaru made a $250 donation to the ASPCA. Vegan win!

How about another vegan win? I have been  looking for a new hairstylist (traumatic!) and discovered a salon very close to home. I got a great haircut

Haircut courtesy The Beehive Salon

and  The Beehive Salon is a Paul Mitchell concept salon. Paul Mitchell won the PETA Courage in Commerce award for pulling out of China for requiring animal testing. According to the Paul Mitchell website, “Almost all of our styling and hair care products (with a few very humane exceptions) are 100% vegan” (I believe the non-vegan products contain beeswax). After a fun afternoon at the salon, I met Dave at our new local pub, Trinity Brewing Company, and enjoyed these seitan gyros.

Seitan Gyros at Trinity Brewing Company

With seitan on the brain I decided to spend Sunday afternoon in the kitchen making two batches of my own recipes: Cinnamon-Ginger Seitan

JL Fields Cinnamon-Ginger Seitan on JL goes Vegan

and Pepperoni Sausage. It was my first time making “wheat meat” since moving and I had so much fun. I froze most of each batch but did keep a little in the fridge, unsure of what I planned to do with it.

On New Year’s Day I made my Black-Eyed Pea and Collard Green Chili.

JL Fields Black-Eyed Pea and Collard Green Chili on JL goes Vegan

It was my first meal of the day so I’m sure my year will be prosperous and full of good fortune! After eating our bowls of chili Dave and I decided to go for a drive. West. Just to see what is west (and south). About 45 minutes from home, having followed Highways 24 and 67, we found ourselves in Cripple Creek, CO at 9494 elevation! I drove up, Dave drove down, and I captured this through the window.

Highway 67, leaving Cripple Creek, CO

It was a beautiful drive.

When we got home from our New Year’s Day drive I was inspired to try something different with my seitan. I made it Country Fried!

JL Fields Country Fried Seitan

(My January newsletter went out yesterday – Ideas for a more plant-based 2013 – and I included the Country Fried Seitan recipe!)

The meal came together so quickly because we made mashed potatoes in the pressure cooker and used a packaged gravy that we picked up at Nooch.

Yesterday I started my day off right – by eating a head of lettuce for breakfast.

Wilted lettuce and kombucha vegan breakfast

Actually I wilted a head of romaine lettuce in the skillet with apple cider vinegar and a pinch of sucanat, heated up leftover roasted cauliflower and enjoyed the savory breakfast with a tall glass of kombucha.

Mid-morning I got a text from friends inviting us to go bowling. I have a bowling ball. I used to have a bowling bag and shoes but I left both in New York – the bag because it was old and gross and the shoes because they were leather. A quick trip to a pro shop and I walked out with a polyester bowling ball bag and these awesome, vegan, Mary Jane bowling shoes.

Vegan Dexter Mary Jane bowling shoes

So there, you have it. A week of living my vegan life.

Now, it’s time to work. I am so excited to go over coaching welcome forms – the response to my Let’s go vegan! ($50 off one session or $100 off one month (3 sessions) of vegan lifestyle coaching) special has been tremendous! (You can still join in as my offer is good through January 9!)

Have an awesome, compassionate day!

9 thoughts on “Vegan haircare, bowling shoes, and car seats + Ideas for a more plant-based New Year and a Country Fried Seitan recipe”

  1. Do you know I’ve never liked leather car seats? The smell (new car smell, I guess) sticks around forever in them and it makes me nauseous. Plus they get hot. I’ve always been a fabric seat girl. 🙂

    1. Good point, @betterwithveg:disqus. What I did like about non-fabric seats, though, was the easy wipe off when hopping in the car after a sweaty run or bike ride. Note to self: keep a supply of towels in the car 🙂

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