u/aknomnoms

I tried making vegan spring rolls, but my finger dexterity and patience were at a -12 today. After a bunch of fails (these 3 rolls were, sadly, my best attempts), I decided to just chuck everything together in a bowl and call it a “spring roll salad bowl”. I had initially planned for a peanut butter-chili dressing, but it was too hot for an additional step and the marinated noodles and tofu already had good flavor.

- rice noodles (tossed with sesame oil and seasoned vinegar)
- tofu (marinated with sesame oil and soy sauce)
- rice paper
- carrots
- mini sweet peppers
- mint, lemon basil, cilantro
- avocado
- red grapes (because I could)
- lime (squeezed over all)

I’m lucky and live near a great international market, so in addition to this for today’s lunch I was able to meal prep for 2 other meals. Total cost was about $1.50 USD/meal.

I’ll keep trying with the rice paper, but this as a noodle salad bowl “slaps”, “no cap”. With a few minor tweaks, it might be my potluck contribution at thanksgiving.

Pic 1: ate out of the container. Scooped out 2 holes in some silken tofu. Added soy sauce, sesame oil, and furikake.

Pic 2: tonight’s dinner. Plated extra firm tofu slices sprinkled with seasoned salt.

Great examples of the exciting cuisine you too can eat as a vegan! 🤣

Saving me and my family’s time, energy, money, and blood sugar compared to driving over to a fast food chain or convenience store for $2 frozen drinks in the afternoons when we’re dying from this tropical heat wave. Also great for helping plain water-averse family members stay hydrated.

2 cups of water
2 cups of ice cubes
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons sweetener (I use 2 packets of Splenda)

Blend on high just for a minute or two. You want a liquidy slush.

When you go to pour it out, learn from my mistakes and use a spoon to scoop out the slushy ice into a glass first, and then pour the liquid over. If you try pouring directly from the blender, the slush will clump and “plop” out, making a mess.

The ice gets nice and fluffy, like a slushy snow consistency. I put it into a double walled metal cup and sip it with a straw. It stays icy quite a long time.

Riffs:
- There always needs to be a little acid for balance, so lemon slices or adding a lime is non-negotiable IMO. Peeled fresh lemons and limes (deseeded), fresh juice, bottled juice, powdered juice, or even a bit of citric acid would all work. Whatever is convenient.

- I’ve ad libbed slushies using fresh/frozen fruits, watery vegetables like cucumber or celery, fruit juices, and sodas, and they’ve all come out pretty good. I’m sure powdered drink mixes (lemonade, ice tea, koolaid, tang) would be good too, although I’d blend them first with the water and then add ice to ensure they dissolve. Play around with ratios to get the right sweetness and concentration of flavor you like.

- I train for half marathons, so I’ll sometimes add a pinch of salt and use sugar/honey/maple sugar for electrolytes too.

- I’ve also upped the ratio of ice:water for a denser “frozen lemonade” situation that I pour into a bowl and eat with a spoon. I’ve made a carrot apple ginger and a watermelon lime that were pretty good.

- I don’t drink alcohol, but I’m sure it pairs well with a fruity slushy.

Just wanted to share in case it can help inspire other folks to use their vitamix more. Stay cool, y’all!

Had an old passport-sized notebook I used for work a decade ago and kept for various reasons. Figured it was finally time to toss it, so started culling through to see if there were pages I could use for background decorations in my junky/scrappy journals. Found a good number of pages that had writing on only one side or some blank on both sides for a majority of the page so figured I’d try making another notebook from the harvest. Tore out all the pages and organized into different piles.

- blank both sides —> used as-is
- mostly blank one or both sides —> covered up writing with scraps from other sheets, paperwork, and post-its found in my notebook
- written both sides —> to be used as background for other projects
- kept a few sketches to tickle my past work trauma

I had a good stack of “revitalized” patched pages after, so added in a few more sheets from other scraps, and glue bound back into the notebook.

Now I have another great little notebook back on hand!

Don’t know if this is “upcycled” so much as patched and reassembled, but felt it fit the vibe. 😊

I’ve been doing 1-3 for my stress-induced insomnia the past few weeks. 4 & 5 this evening. Used a cracker box for my cover base.

It’s not super pretty, but I’m happy with it and learned a lot in the process. Gonna use it to journal, sketch/draw, and stick ephemera from the day.

1. ⁠Cutting out a magazine catalog and grouping colors (front cover, inside back cover)
2. ⁠Cutting up old notes and lists (outside spine and back cover)
3. ⁠Cutting out scrap dictionary pages and decoupaging with them as a base (interior and exterior cover)
4. ⁠Cutting up brown paper packaging from online orders (I got 24 11.5” x 7” folio sheets = 48 5.75” x 7” leaves = 96 pages from ONE super big piece of paper.)
5. ⁠Basic book binding (cording I had on hand)

“In progress” because it still needs a cover plate, I might add a beaded bookmark/tassel, plus I won’t consider it finished until all the pages are used up!

Late at night, when I can’t sleep, I’ve been getting crafty as a way to chill and avoid screens. I like a very journal-y junk journal, where the “junk” is more for background decoration but there’s still space to write. Made this one with blank pages so I have the option of writing/drawing or sticking stuff in. Felt really good to make an “assemblage” of junk considering my ever-growing pile. Plus, “free”, low-waste, and gives me a useable product. Wins all around!

I’ve been doing 1-3 for the past few weeks. 4 & 5 this evening. Used a cracker box for my cover.

It’s not super pretty, but I’m happy with it and learned a lot in the process.

1. Cutting out a magazine catalog and grouping colors (front cover, inside back cover)

2. Cutting up old notes and lists (outside spine and back cover)

3. Cutting out scrap dictionary pages and decoupaging (interior and exterior cover)

4. Cutting up brown paper packaging from online orders (I got 24 11.5” x 7” folio sheets = 48 5.75” x 7” leaves = 96 pages from ONE super big piece of paper.)

5. Basic book binding (cording I had on hand)

It’s nothing new or crazy, but I tried using some diluted fountain pen ink in an old, dried out highlighter I had…

And I am IN LOVE with the result! The ink is a deep blue-black, but because I use a fine point pen, the blue doesn’t really get expressed. With a bit of dilution and put into a highlighter though, it is now a gorgeous cloudy sky blue. I only have one ink color but could see making an ombré of options as I run through the rest of my highlighters and markers.

- It works beautifully as a marker/highlighter for my journal and notes.

- Took only 30 seconds to do. (I literally put a few drops of ink in the cap, added a little water, and loosely set the highlighter inside so it would “suck up” the ink. Left propped up in a glass overnight.)

- Saves me from buying a new highlighter.

- Keeps this plastic out of the waste cycle for just a little longer.

Maybe this is old news for people in the art/fountain pen community, but for me it was a discovery of small wins! 😊

I’m in my late 30’s but have been a big girl since childhood. This book had me crying in parts because it truly felt so relatable and made me recall all those hurtful moments that I’ve suppressed and tried to ignore but still carry with me into adulthood.

If I had read a book like this when I was younger, I think it would’ve helped me a lot in speaking up about wanting therapy, coping with feeling alone in my pain, about loving and accepting myself, and dealing with bullying at home and in school.

It’s a shorter read and a good audiobook. I’m a bit disappointed that it read like fantasy though with the one-dimensionality of side characters and eloquent articulation of a 12 year old, but I think it’s somewhat fitting for a young adult audience. I still found the story healing and think the message is a great one for kids and adults of all sizes, shapes, colors, and backgrounds. If we aren’t Ellie ourselves, it can at least help us understand and support the Ellie’s in our lives.

(Also a plug to use your local library! I found this book on Libby.)

My pharmacy always staples 2-3 pages of paper onto prescription pick-ups. It is usually a trifold with the prescription, info about the drug, and a sticker sheet so the pharmacist can add the label to the bottle.

I normally just throw the paperwork into a basket for “just in case” and then shred and recycle the non-label papers once the basket is full. Seemed like such a waste, so this time I culled through to glean enough paper to make 2 tear-away scratch pads (just added school glue on the ends, clamped with binder clips, let dry over night) and am saving all the waxy backings from the sticker sheets to DIY stickers (wrote on leftover labels and cut images out from magazines, “laminated” over the sticker backing paper with clear packing tape). I still have about 30 more sticker strips set aside for future projects. I still shredded anything with sensitive information but am considering using it to make paper pulp next time.

I consider this a big win:
- reduced amount of clutter
- reduced amount of waste
- gave me products I actually use (so saved money too)
- gave me happiness during the creative process

I’m just a newbie and not very artistic in general, so I know this will look unimpressive, underwhelming, and amateur hour compared to some of the amazing works of art I see on here, but I’m quite pleased and it serves my needs nicely! 😊 Hope y’all have projects like that in your life too!

Used old dictionary pages to create sheets I originally wanted to use in my journal, but then decided to make a “ransom note-esque” letter to my friends. Figured I might as well prettify the envelope too.

Also included some DIY “ransom note” style stickers with their names as well as their pets’ names (the long-standing joke is that I want to pet-nap their dogs and cat but have settled for just being their favorite auntie).

Still new to junk journaling, but it’s been fun to get creative with the materials already on hand. (In this case, a Costco magazine and section of the local newspaper).