Category Archives: Baking & Cooking

Southern Glam

Hello loves! Thank you for stopping by my GORGEOUS new blog and website designed by the fabulous GoldenFox Design. Come sit a spell with me because we’ve got some catching up to do!

Remember that one time I changed the Facebook page name from Southern Glam Weddings & Events to Southern Glam Meagan …and Facebook told all of you way too soon? As I promised, Southern Glam Weddings & Events isn’t going anywhere but rather it expanded underneath the brand, Southern Glam Meagan.

Confused? Don’t worry because once you understand the concept – that confusion will fade away! So… let me break it down for you.

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Southern Glam Meagan is the brand and the big picture. Here my company, Southern Glam Weddings & Events, LLC and my blogging endeavors will be housed

What you’ll find on this blog:

Weddings

Events

Baking

Travels

Home design

Other photos and randoms of a southern and glamorous life

I started blogging when I became engaged to my prince charming in 2010. My web designer is still working on transferring those blog posts here, so in the meantime, visit Southern & Glamorous.  I took a small blogging break to enjoy newlywed life but I’m ecstatic about writing again.

It’s no secret I’m obsessed with weddings, but I also kind of like baking, blogging, crafting, etc. I bake for events. I design for weddings. I travel to honeymoon destinations (shout out to Sandals Resorts!) It just makes sense to expand underneath a bigger picture.

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Southern Glam Weddings & Events is my main focus and my original company which still includes everything weddings and soirees. YAY! I contract a limited amount of weddings each year to devote my time and heart 100% for each wedding.

To celebrate the relaunch of Southern Glam Weddings & Events, I’m taking 25% off Month of Coordination packages (Martinis & Masons) for newly booked weddings by August 1, 2015! Interested in a Southern Glam Wedding, let’s chat!

 

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When I’m not planning happily ever afters, I’m probably in the kitchen whipping up cupcakes for an event, scouring blogs for design ideas and inspiration, or traveling to a new destination (probably one of the gorgeous Sandals properties which allows me to research honeymoon locations!) See how everything ties together?

Over the last year I did countless research and spent much time soul searching over what it was I exactly supposed to do. With the support (and patience) of my amazing husband and wonderful family and friends, I set out on a mission to rebrand and redesign my business. I’m SO excited to finally unveil where my heart has been the whole time.

 

Thanks for being a Southern Glam (So Glam) follower!

XOXO,

Meagan

 

If you hashtag… #southernglammeagan #southernglamweddings 🙂

Hey Good Lookin’ What’s Cookin?

Pinterest has been a blessing to this newlywed who never cooked before marriage. Since going down the vegan path, my world has opened up to new tastes and smells. Some of my favorite newfound blogs that have great vegetarian/vegan recipes are Oh She Glows, Chocolate Covered Katie, and That Was Vegan?
Check out the recipes that I’ve recently tried and some are actually “Sean Approved.” A little background on this term, my husband used to be known as having the food palate of a child. Chicken fingers, pizza, and meat was all his diet consisted of. Don’t even think about asking him to eat vegetables! So, when I started my vegan adventure and no longer wanted to consume dairy, things started changing for the best around here. Sean was actually trying AND liking some of the recipes I tried. If this carnivore could eat and like vegan cooking, ANYONE could!
First up –
Belgium waffles
Sean will tell you he married me for my waffles. I’ll admit, they are pretty amazing! I simply followed a recipe that came with my first waffle maker and that was it. My first attempt to make them vegan failed miserably when I tried to substitute 2 eggs with applesauce. Epic fail! My second attempt worked like a charm and was Sean Approved!
Belgium Waffles
1 cup vegan butter/margarine
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs equivalent*
2-1/4 cups flour
Mix butter and sugar in a mixing bowl of stand mixer. Cream together on medium-low.
Add vanilla and salt. Increase speed to medium.
Add eggs equivalent. Mix well until smooth.
Decrease speed to low, add flour. Mix well.
Bake in waffle iron about 3-5 minutes or until steam no longer escapes. Yields 4 waffles.
*Baking powder egg replacer:
2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp of water
1 Tbsp oil
Mix well until combined and gelatinous. Makes one egg.
Next – 
15 Minutes Creamy Avocado Pasta
This recipe was NOT Sean Approved but definitely Meagan Approved. It was the avocados that sealed its fate against Sean! Find the recipe on Oh She Glow‘s blog. I added tomatoes to add a bit of texture.
Next –
Blueberry Coconut Oatmeal
Another, just Meagan Approved recipe that was originally vegan and is oh so yummy!
Photo from Fresh Family Cooking Blog
Huge difference in my photography skills and the creator of the recipe, huh? My breakfast looked no where close to her beautiful breakfast! Haha! Get the recipe on Fresh Family Cooking’s blog and start baking!
Lastly,
Non-Dairy Alfredo Sauce
This was definitely Sean Approved and he continued to eat it when I told him it was made with tofu! I found the recipe on Food.com. The side of broccoli was not SA though! I guess I can’t push my luck too much if he’s willingly eating tofu!
I know it looks like all I eat is pasta and blueberries but I promise I have more variety!
Reader question: Have you been “P”inspired to cook or bake something new?
Love,

The Battle of the (Vegetarian) Veganista

“Vegetarian veganista?” you might say. Why yes,
that is me! You see there has always been no secret of me being a vegetarian
and choosing to not eat meat. My diet/lifestyle has been in the works for years
and by now, my friends and family are used to me being complicated when we go out
to dinner.
It might sound a little like this between the
server and myself, “May I order the Calypso Shrimp Linguine but with the shrimp
of the side and add broccoli, asparagus, and mushrooms?” (The shrimp on the
side is for my husband, duh!) … almost always the server asks, “Are you a
vegetarian?”
Don’t worry, I worked in the restaurant industry
for years and know how both customer and server etiquette should work. I always ask nicely for my complicated requests and
the servers have always been awesome.
So where does this “veganista” come into play?
This one time at an animal rescue dinner event,
our entrée choices were: chicken parmesan, eggplant parmesan (vegetarian
option), and spaghetti without tomato sauce (vegan option.) You ordered your
meal way ahead of time when tickets were purchased and I selected eggplant
parmesan. I was served spaghetti. (Enter: reassuringly checking my ticket,
clearly seeing eggplant parm.) When I
politely pointed out the incorrect order to the server, he was confused as to
why a vegan would eat cheese. Who said I was vegan? Not me! After much
discussion in the kitchen (if you’ve ever been to Buca, you know that kitchen
is wide open!) I was finally served what I ordered.
Here comes dessert. I was served carrot cake
instead of cheesecake because I was “vegan.” Gimme that cheesecake because I AM
NOT VEGAN!
I got my cheesecake and my family and I joked
about my new diet for the rest of the night.
A few months after my vegan Buca run in, I
learned how naïve my vegetarian lifestyle was all because of parmesan cheese.
Ironic, right? I cringe at that word because it has been forever emblazoned in
my brain as something evil and now disgusting. In short, cheese is not
vegetarian. Which lead to learning milk is not vegetarian. And finally, eggs
are not vegetarian. Even dairy cows end up being served at McDonald’s with the
egg laying chickens. Need further clarification? Go do some research. It’ll be
life changing.
What?!
And let personal war wage inside me. I gave
up meat to not take part in horrific factory farming practices but all the while I
was still a contributing factor with my organic dairy purchases. I also learned
that the words “organic” “cage free” and “free roaming” don’t mean squat. I’m not okay with the idea that an innocent animal had to die a horrible death just so I can eat. No thanks. 
So, the questions that beg to be answered are “why
didn’t I put two and two together all these years” and “why didn’t anyone tell
me?”
Some days I think being a vegetarian is a joke
and you might as well eat meat. The way I see it, there should be two black and
white diets: meat eaters and vegans. Other days, I drive myself INSANE when I
check food labels. The one item that infuriates me is non-dairy coffee creamer.
Assuming I was safe, I bought it. No, “contains milk” was listed right on the
back of the bottle. It was then I became a label reader. And heads up, milk or
milk products (i.e. casein) are in a TON of food products.
Photo from: Daniel
Vitalis
So where do I draw the line between sane and
insane? It’s a struggle that I go through every day especially since my husband,
Sean, is a meat eater and will always be one. I just have to find out what
works for me especially when eating at restaurants. My biggest worry is I don’t
want people to be inconvenienced by me. Honestly. I
went to a wedding once where the groom panicked after dinner while talking to
me. “OMG, we completely forgot you were vegetarian. Did you get enough to eat?”
Ah, my heart wanted to break because the sweet bride and groom had much more
important things to think about on their wedding day than what I had to eat. Don’t you
worry! I’ll be fine.
When I cook and bake, the transition has been a
bit easier. Replacing actual milk has been relatively easy because there are
many alternatives out there. Sean and I really like Almond Breeze’s Vanilla Almond
Milk and I love Silk’s coffee creamers. Butter has
been super easy to replace because our butter was already actually vegan, Smart
Balance Light. I’m still working on the egg replacer and determining
when I should be binding or leavening!
 Sean has been amazing and so supportive of my
struggle. It is a HUGE step when he tries my vegan cooking/baking. I have even
received the “Sean-Approval” on many of my dinners and bakings which really
makes me feel great! I’ve even noticed that I’m feeling better with less stomach aches and my headaches are gone. I’m not sure I can ever fully commit to a vegan lifestyle
which leads me to really respect those that do. It’s a tough lifestyle in an
unforgiving world but I do feel like I can make conscious decisions to have a
better and kinder lifestyle as a vegetarian veganista!