My child is a cookieholic.

Let me set the scene for you. We're all sleeping in the same bed (yes just like a butcher knife) and Sierra begins to cry, aka be an alarm clock, at around 7AM. I rub my eyes and look at her and she says, in a whimper, "I need a cookie...". This is the very first thing she said to me that morning. Just like an alcoholic who wakes up and the first thing they think of is "I need a drink...".

How did this happen?! How did I let my child become a cookieholic! She's vegan, she eats and loves veggies and sees blueberries, strawberries and frozen bananas as dessert treats. Somehow, somewhere she had her first cookie (cough Grammas house cough) and that was it - she was hooked. I have no scientific evidence to back it up but i swear theres something in toddler DNA that says: "You must love cookies, jelly beans and anything else that may give you a cavity just by smelling it". Is anyone else's kid a cookieholic? Perhaps we can start a support group?

Disclaimer: My kid is actually extremely healthy, especially for her age. Cookies, candy, etc are all very limited and are treats not daily parts of her diet. The post was more of a joke than anything else don't want all you internet peeps thinking my kid is a walking cookie dumpster. Although the part about "i need a cookie..." being her first words one morning is 100% true.

Restaurant Review: Ayur-Shri (Way kid friendly!)

So I don't normally "review" restaurants but we had such an amazing experience tonight I felt compelled to let you know about it. If you live anywhere near the southcoast of Massachusetts you need to check out Ayur-Shri. It is a cute little Indian restaurant on Route 6 in Dartmouth Massachusetts near New Bedford. Whenever we visit my parents in New Bedford it's a constant issue of where we can eat as NB isn't the most vegan-friendly place in the world. We normally end up at No Problemo Taqueria which is AWESOME but it's nice to mix it up sometimes. Not only was Ayur-Shri really delicious and authentic Indian food that's on par with pricey places we've tried in Boston it's also WAY KID FRIENDLY!!!

We walked in on a Saturday night at 8 PM with our family and our BFFs Uncle Will & Aunty Jill and instead of being met with eye rolls we were asked if we'd like to sit in the "family room". We were not forced it was a choice which was nice! Of course we took them up and were directed through the dark restaurant to a small room with four or five tables in a well lit back room. We were far enough from the regular dining room that we didn't feel self conscious about Sierra's giggling or Tozzle playing. Not only was the family room an awesome accommodation but without asking they brought her a small plate, small spoon and a paper cup w/ lid and straw. The waitress was patient, nice and very attentive despite being in a back room with no other customers.

Some photos I stole from their website since like I said we went pretty late and it was dark.

Being kid friendly was totally the winner for me at Ayur-Shri but in addition they are also super vegan friendly. They had a clearly marked vegetarian section on the menu and also had little icons indicating which things had dairy in them and also another icon stating "Can be made dairy free upon request".

My dinner + my beer :-) BOTH AWESOME!

Like I said this is not a restaurant review website but I felt the need to let anyone in that area who has kids (or perhaps vegetarian / vegan diet restrictions) know that they should totally check this place out for a great night out with your family full of great food, awesome service and 0% scowls at your loud toddler! -Craig


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RECIPE: Home Made Vegan Pizza!

If you read last week's "Feature Friday" interview you would know that my family is vegan. I had been vegetarian for 10 years before I made the switch to vegan about 4 years ago. When I met Lauren she was a meat eater but very sparingly and she slowly transformed into a pescetarian life style. We had planned to raise Sierra vegetarian anyway but she was born with an allergy to dairy so that was when we made the decision to be a vegan family. I love our decision and we aren't 'junk food vegetarians' who live off Morning Star and tofu. We do it right and health, although here and there we do indulge in the "vegan comfort foods" which is what today's recipe is, enjoy!

Everything you need to make this delicious vegan pizza can be purchased at your local Whole Foods. Almost all of it could be purchased at any grocery market but the "cheese" is a Whole Foods only kind of thing normally. 

So our pizza is a Pepper, Tomato, Onion, Mushroom and Buffalo "Chicken" pizza! If you're going to eat fake chicken and cheese it's nice to round out with some yummy veggies so you don't feel so badly about the "junk" (yummy yummy junk).

For convenience we got a pre made Organic Pizza Crust which is Whole Foods brand, but you can buy pizza dough and make it yourself if you're feeling like an over-achiever!

Again for convenience we used a Tomato, Basil and Mushroom pre-made pizza sauce by Classico. Again if you're feeling like an over-aciever you can make your own concoction but when you were at work for 9 hours and then with a toddler my guess is you want dinner quick and easy. So using a spoon, scoop and spread the sauce as evenly across the crust as you can.

The 'cheese' is the most important part of any vegan pizza. There are a lot of cheese substitutes on the market for vegan & lactose intolerant pizza lovers out there and BY FAR Daiya Vegan Cheese is your best bet. We've tried just about everything and Daiya comes out the winner without contest. It isn't overly expensive about $4.99 at your super market and it melts perfectly for pizza, quesadillas and sandwiches. Did I mention it's also delicious?

Spread the cheese and a decently thick layer as evenly as you can on top of your sauce.

The next step is optional but in the sake of all that is healthy and yummy it is highly suggested. For our pizza we have some baby-bella mushrooms, green peppers and onions. This will add a great taste, crunch and help your daily intake of veggies. The amount you add is really up to you, it depends how much you like veggies! Feel free to get creative here people.

Just like all the other ingredients we've added up to this point you will distribute as evenly across the pizza as possible. 

The next step is to cut up the faux-meat. Which doesn't taste like chicken it just taste like buffalo tofu bites basically. I hate meat subs that try so hard to taste like real meat. Health is Wealth Foods are usually a pretty safe bet for all natural meat subs that taste good.

Now before you stick this thing in the oven take a good look at all your hard work, this step is not optional. Looks great doesn't it?

Now I like to cook it right on the oven grates as I feel it gives me the crispiest crust which I'm a big fan of. I like my pizza ALMOST burnt. So if you want a softer crust go for a cookie sheet or pizza stone, but if you like your pizza to crunch with every bite go for right on the grate. Set your oven to 350º and set an alarm for 15-20 minutes. The time you leave it in again is up to you, if you like your pizza soft or crispy, etc. We left ours for about 20 minutes and it came out super crispy and perfect.

TA DA! 20 minutes later we have our delicious, crispy, melty perfect vegan pizza! This is a easy, inexpensive and tasty dinner for two that you can make with minimal cooking knowledge or effort. I highly suggest this meal to anyone vegan or not.

P.S. What about the parmesan cheese you say? We all know parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper are key to any successful Pizza. You have two options here one is to use Nutritional Yeast which is your all natural and healthy option as it is FULL of B12 vitamins and taste surprisingly like parmesan cheese believe it or not. Your slightly less healthy option is whats called "Vegan Topping"  and is made by Galaxy Nutritional Foods. I won't lie, it's definitely tastier than nutritional yeast and I prefer it when I can find it.

P.S.S. Please take 2 seconds to vote for us! The more votes, the more exposure, the more support for daddy bloggers! Thanks guys <3 -Craig