My Friday Night and Saturday revolved around Rebel Bingo and Raw Vegan Food – the two things could not have been any more opposite.
My friend recently told me about “Rebel Bingo” and I was immediately intrigued. The website doesn’t really do a good job of explaining what it is, but I think that’s a part of it’s appeal.
Rebel Bingo, not too sober for this…maybe…
Rebel Bingo is marketed as bingo for badasses. Started by a Brit, it’s now become an “international sensation” and is a traveling bingo show. Personally, I love bingo! Granny Bingo. Rebel Bingo. Friday Night Bingo. Doesn’t matter what kind of bingo, I’m there!
The tickets were super cheap too ($10?!), so really, this was a no brainer. I managed to drag a group of friends to check it out with me and on any typical non-cleanse day, I would have participated in their pre-partying activities. Who goes to Rebel Bingo sober?
Well, as it turns out, this girl. When I got to Irving Plaza, a few people asked if I wanted a drink and I had to explain, no, I’m on a Cleanse… “A Cleanse!? Ohhh, Shelly….!” A few cleanse ago, I would have cared a lot more about being the party pooper. But through the years, I’ve actually learned how to be a lot less FOMO about this. Instead of seeing it as missing out, I’m looking at the whole thing as a perspective of learning to just say no and not feel bad about it. Peer pressure is hard, but if you believe in what you’re doing, then you can definitely raise above.
The bingo portion of it didn’t start until 9:30pm (doors opened at 8pm), but there was a ton of drinking and dancing going on. Guess they wanted to give people time to get liquored up at their expensive bar. $15 for a Jack & Coke? Cleanse also help you save money apparently.
We ended up playing 2 games of extremely vulgur bingo: “Do you like poo? 62!”. That’s probably a more PG version of what they were actually saying. For $10, I give it an A+ for an entertainment factor, but not sure if I would have paid much more to do partake. We finished up at 11pm and the whole thing turned into a huge dance party.
At that point, I danced for a bit until I started noticing that I was wayyyyy too sober for this mess. People drawing on each other with red markers, drinks being spilled, slipping and falling on tailbones, etc. That was a sign it was time for me to go home so I did. Not to mention I was just getting tired. Yes, I’m getting old.
Raw Vegan Cashew Creme, Cheeses & Milk
After a great night’s rest, I woke up wanting to tackle my 3 cups of soaked cashews. Through the past year, I’ve been making different batches of vegan cashew products such as mayo and cream cheese. There’s been a lot of learnings that I’ve had from this experience. The first time I made it, I realized that my vitamix would never blend up 1 cup of cashews without a ton of liquid, which is why I made mayo. To have cream cheese, I needed much less water, so the next time I tried to make creme cheese, I had to soak 2 cups of cashews for it to blend. But after I made it, I realized I had WAYY too much creme cheese to eat within the week and felt like it was a waste.
This time around, I am going to be smarter about it. I decided to just blend up 3 cups of soaked cashews with some water without any additional seasonings. I’m going to keep this cashew creme so I can choose what to do with it as I please.
Test different proportions of acids, salt and seasoning. And if I get sick of eating cashew cheese, I can just dilute the creme with water and just make cashew milk! I’ll keep you posted in a different blog post about how this goes.
Update:Here’s my blog post on… How to Make Vegan Cashew Cream Cheese, Mayo and Ricotta.
Kickboxing – snuck in a workout!!
Surprised I had the energy to go to a kickboxing class at 1:30pm after going to a 1-hr spin class the night before, only eating Chia Seed Pudding for dinner and then cashew milk for breakfast. AND I still felt energized after class, it is a miracle. If this isn’t living proof that I am obviously not as “hungry” as I think I am, I don’t know what is. (Not condoning this as regular behavior, I just wanted to work out before having lunch).
Quintessence: BEST Raw Vegan Food in NYC
If you’ve followed my cleanse diaries in the past, then you might remember my OBSESSION with Quintessence and this particular Scallion Cream Cheese Roll. I was starting to feel hungry after the workout and I had this on my mind so J and I went to try their brunch menu!
“Our legendary cashew cream cheese wrapped in raw nori with cucumber, bell pepper, avocado, tomato, sprouts, and romaine lettuce…a perfect balance of rich creamy cheese and crunchy fresh veggies.” – Quintessence
According to their website, their cashew cheese uses the following ingredients: Cashews, Irish Moss, Lemon Juice, Sea Salt, and Scallions
This roll is the only reason why I even started attempting to make cashew creme cheese. I haven’t tried to replicate this yet but maybe it’s finally time for me to give it a shot. I know this has tomatoes and bell peppers in it, which is a part of the nightshades family, and against the cleanse, but honestly I don’t care. If I’m cheating on tomatoes and red bell pepper, no one is really looking.
So we ordered 2 of their brunch specials made with fofu (fake tofu made with cashews). J is the best because he’s always such a good sport about this. He’s prob the only bf out there who would eat this weird raw vegan food with me with no complaints ๐
Fofu Rancheros: Two soft corn tortillas topped with fofu, โrefried beansโ, mole sauce, guacamole, and a dollop of sour cream. (I know, looks kinda gross, tastes much better than it looks! And that Mole Sauce has a kick!)
Ingredients:
Tortilla: Corn, Flax Seed, Avocado, Sea Salt, Coconut, and Yam
“Refried Beans”: Bell Pepper, Onion, Olive Oil, Cumin, Chili Powder, Garlic, Sea Salt, Sunflower Seeds, Brazil Nuts, and Sprouted Garbanzo Beans
Mole Sauce: Cilantro, Olive Oil, Raisins, Guajillo Pepper, Chipotle, Cacao, Soy Sauce, Ginger, Sea Salt, Cumin, Chili Powder, Tomato, Onion, and Lime Juice
Fofu: Irish Moss, Cashews, and Sea Salt
Guacamole: Avocado, Lime Juice, Garlic, Onion, Tomato, and Sea Salt
Fofu Benedict: Two slices of sprouted kamut bread topped with walnut herb sausage, avocado, fofu, mock hollandaise sauce, and caramelized onions, dusted with black pepper.
Ingredients:
Sprouted Kamut Bread: Sprouted Kamut, Olive Oil, Sea Salt, and Birch Xylitol
Hollandaise Sauce: Water, Coconut Meat, Pine Nuts, Lemon Juice, Indian Black Salt, Saffron, Cayenne, and Irish Moss
Caramelized Onions: Onions, Dates, and Gluten-Free Tamari
Fofu: Irish Moss, Cashews, and Sea Salt
Nut Sausage: Coconut Meat, Onion, Garlic, Sprouted Sunflower Seeds, Walnuts, Gluten-Free Tamari, and Herbs and Spices
