{miss chicago 2012}

there are girls who are so pretty you could puke,

and then girls who, if you do puke because they are so pretty, would totally hold your hair back because they are that nice. marisa is the latter {duh, no mean pretty girls allowed}. i met marisa years ago on a visit to the cleveland institute of music where she was a voice major and we have since bonded over being from chicago and her vast knowledge of the vegan lifestyle. here, we talk food, mostly as it pertains to her recent crowning as miss chicago 2012:

what snackees were in the green room during miss chicago?

chips and sandwich making goods (deli meat, fluffy white bread, lettuce, condiments, you know...). since i am a longtime vegan and also knew that i'd be having to rock a bikini and heels on stage in a matter of hours, i avoided these food items like the plague. instead, i munched on snackees from home including an apple, homemade granola, and one of my all time faves: trader joe's dried banana slices. yum!

what did you eat for your celebratory feast?

mixed veggies with fried tofu, extra hot! sriracha on the side, please. oh, and chocolate to follow up the meal.

did you eat differently in preparation for the pageant?

i ate... less. i generally eat pretty well, lots of fruit, green things, whole grains, beans, and nuts, etc. i tried to do away with the devil i call my sweet tooth in preparation for the pageant. i also did the master cleanse detox for seven days about a month before miss chicago. i didn't do this as a weight loss tool or to conform for the fad "beyonce diet," but more as a test to see what my mind and body were capable of doing without consuming normal amounts of food. it was a great exercise in self control, and i highly recommend it!

describe the worst fake meat you've ever had using only onamonapia.

chewwwwwwwbacca baconator arggghhh tofoooouuu ICKK :-(

translation: nasty fake tofu bacon. vegans beware.

if you could make one non-vegan thing magically become vegan, what would it be?

...nutella crepes. can somebody PLEASE get on vegan versions of making these? i would give you lots of money and perhaps my miss chicago diamond encrusted scepter. (note: we don't actually receive these when we win. bummer.)

are you gonna run for president?

yes.

spare a recipe?

elvis cupcakes for vegans: what i like to call... droolworthy banana peanut butter chocolate heaven.

this link contains a cake recipe, which i'm sure is equally wonderful. i find it more exhilarating to go the cupcake route, and it happens to work splendidly with the cake recipe on this site... they're semi-healthy, too. fruit, protein, AND whole grains :-)
-yeh!!! marisa!!!

{photo: jen heim}