Vegan--and Gluten-Free--Halloween Party Ideas

We are having a homeschool Halloween party this Wednesday. It is a potluck, so people are bringing food and I have not specified that it should be vegan. That's not my goal nor desire with a party where we're supposed to be hanging out together and having fun!

BUT I did decide that I want to serve some vegan fare. My daughter picked non-vegan fare in terms of Tombstone Sandwiches http://www.familycorner.com/family/kids/recipes/tombstone-sandwiches.shtml. You could absolutely veganise them, but we're not at that point yet with sentimental sandwiches. ;)

Some other things that we will be making:

*Gluten-free vegan mini cakes--the recipe comes from "Eat Your Cake and Vegan Too" and the pans are Wilton Singles (only available through ebay and such now as Wilton no longer sells them).

*Pumpkin-Shaped Veggie Platter that I saw on Dreena Burton's Facebook Page

For the dips, I'll be making Holy Moly Hummus from "How It All Vegan" and then using one or two of the Epicure veggie dip mixes. I'll be buying some vegan sour cream or yoghurt and some Veganaise. Although if they don't have any Veganaise (they are sometimes out), I will unvegan it and use real mayo. The remaining hummus will go in a dish with some round corn tortilla chips (they're delicious with the multigrain, but I want to try to have options available for our gluten-free guest!)

*Blood Punch with a Frozen Hand--it's just juice mixed with some club soda (or other clear, fizzy beverage). You buy some rubber gloves, fill them with water, tie them up well with rubber bands and freeze them overnight. When you need one, cut away the glove and voilà!

So, there you go, some vegan--and gluten-free--ideas for a fun Halloween party!

Day 2 of the 31 Days

It is now the morning of Day 2 of my 31 days on Tommy Europe's 10-Pound Shred book. I have so far done the exercise portion (and thinking I need more stretching than he prescribes, but that's me!) and am trying to be super conscious about what I'm fuelling my body with today. I know I tend to overdo the grains, so I'm really tracking them and focusing on getting fresh fruits and veggies as much as possible. I also bought stuff last night to make a minestrone soup (from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan by Dreena Burton) and I think I just might make that for lunch. A dreary, rainy day here so soup sounds good.

My muscles are a bit sore from Day 1's fitness test. I'm kind of scared how they'll be later on now that I've done even more strength work. Yikes. I guess I'll live. lol. My knees are doing okay, which was my biggest concern, but I did many days of yoga in a row at the end of 2011 and know it helped with my IT band issues a lot.

Lessons learned today:

1) I need to give myself more time to do the full workout. I skimped on rest breaks and did not complete the cool down as indicated (but my heart rate wasn't high at that point, so "whatever" is kind of my attitude) because I was running out of time. I'm going to have to set my alarm even earlier. *sigh*

2) My core strength is abominable. You know what they say: If you don't use it, you lose it. Tommy's making me use it!

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It's not too late to join in some sort of challenge with me! It doesn't have to be Tommy's 10-Pound Shred: it can be any exercise goal. I'd love to have some company!