The Smoothie Vegetarians

There are many products that I have been incorporating into my meals lately that have been delicious. There are some foods that I put into my recipes, or I go out and purchase something that is quick to make on the side along with what I am already having. Asian meals are one of my favourite things to eat because there are so many different types of sweet and sour chilli, chilli sauces, and other delicious things that can be put into your recipes. I prefer really spicy foods so chilli sauce is my top condiment to be putting on the dishes I make that have an Asian spin on them. I have found some products that have helped me transition to a better diet as well as provide some alternatives for when you want to try new foods. Specifically, I love products from Sweet Earth because of the diverse option in flavours. Over the past few years, my love for this brand has grown considering how their companies have expanded and they have put out so many new products. (photos by Dan

    Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope everybody had a fantastic weekend! I am excited to be writing yet another recipe for you guys, and it is something I do hope a lot of you enjoy!     This week I would like to use a recipe we learned in school. VEGAN PECAN PIE! Courtesy of the Culinary Institute of Virginia having a nutrition program, we had a course in that program called "Alternative Baking". Which was really fun because we got to learn the different types of dietary needs, and the many alternatives to those diets (i.e. Vegan, Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Raw/Paleo, etc.) for all those yummy desserts everybody wants to have! Anyways, the two areas I enjoyed the most was vegan, and gluten free. Learning how to make pecan pie was a lot of fun as well. A few of the groups in our class got to make the vegan pecan pie (Pictured above). And it was quite an easy recipe to put together.     There is not a whole lot to be done with this recipe either. We are just om

If you became vegan, it’s likely that you did for a majority of reasons. Sometimes it’s for the environment, sometimes for health reasons, and most often for the animals. These are all valid reasons to start eating a diet free from animal products and the violence that comes from a meat-eating lifestyle. I have had to ask myself a question lately though, after seeing some posts on a vegan group on social media about a man being killed by a bull in a bullfight. Some individuals on that group were glad that a man was killed (very horribly I will add), saying he (and others that harm animals )will get what they deserve if they come to an end like this. There was no compassion in their responses, and I began to ask myself; is this really the way that those of us with open minds to the harm done to others should really react? When we start the journey to care for other sentient beings, and find that we cannot justify consuming them just to satiate our appetite it seems to

What is the equation for veganism? Is there one? Absolutely! So, not a Math problem? Well, it may be more of one than you think! I refer to the solution to many things as that of Veganism, the destruction of the environment, human health, animal life, the high incidents of PTSD found amongst factory farm employees to name a few. So, how do we become part of this Veganism solution? Let us have a look. . . 1.       Start slowly : Some people transition well with the ‘ cold turkey ‘ way of doing things, but statistics show that for long-term/sustainable lifestyle changes, the majority fare far better with gradual changes, that said, I highly recommend the ‘go at your pace’ approach, or simply ‘take it slowly’. What is most comfortable for you will work best for you. 2.       Fraternize with like eaters who have succeeded - Real life support : Food is often part of social events, and many new vegans feel isolated. A few sure ways to avoid this are: a) Joi

Having a crazy schedule does not always have to hinder your healthy eating. I try to stay away from overly processed foods, but when you are constantly on the go it can be challenging. On the days where you have to be away from home for hours, it can be difficult to pack snacks that will not perish after a few hours. Transitioning to a cleaner diet, I usually try to have some fruits and vegetables as snacks first so they do not go bad in my bag, and then if I am still hungry, I move on to the packaged snacks, which I use as a last resort. I usually go to Target or Trader Joe's to get some of my snacks. Lately, I have also realized that Home Goods is a great place to buy snacks as well. These places all have delicious snacks and compared to many other products on the market, many of the foods I find at these places have what I prefer in a snack. When I am snack shopping, I prefer to purchase products with a short ingredient list that is easy to pronounce and ingredients that ar

I am lucky enough to have a family that tries to accommodate my Vegan lifestyle as much as possible. The other night we were having soup beans and cornbread for dinner, and my family planned in advance to make sure everything was vegan. For the Soup Beans, they replaced the ham broth with veggie broth. For the Cornbread, we veganized one of our favorite cornbread recipes . I had never really made cornbread of any kind on my own, so my Step Mother (Amanda) was nice enough to help me with this. She makes some of the best baked goods I have EVER had. If we were being completely honest, she took the lead on this. I helped cut up Jalapenos and forgot to wash my hands before I touched my face. If you have ever done that, I do not need to tell you how uncomfortable it is! Needless to say, I was not much help during this process. To make the perfect Cornbread, a cast iron skillet is a necessity! If you do not already have one, I recommend this one! Using a Cast Iron skil

    Happy Tuesday everybody!! As always, I hope everybody had a great weekend! This week, I decided to go down the similar vegan route, but I also want to talk about another lifestyle: Gluten-free. FThe gluten-free diet consists of omitting gluten, which is a protein found in wheat, grains, barley, and rye. Usually, people who follow this diet, are people with Celiac Disease. Celiac Disease is when your body cannot break down and absorb the proper nutrients in gluten, and as a result, does damage to the small intestines.      A list of products that people cannot have while on the gluten-free diet are as follows: Wheat, Barley, Rye, Bulgur, Couscous, Farina, Semolina, Spelt, and All Purpose Flour. Most foods that have gluten are soups, bouillon cubes, French fries, processed cheeses, mayo, ketchup, and processed packaged foods (TV Dinners), etc.       Now that we have grasped what a gluten-free diet is, and what is 'allowed' or what the body doesn't tol

It was requested on our Youtube channel  to talk about my opinions on Fast Fashion and I did just that in our latest video (it can be found at the bottom of this article). When I was pulling together my ideas for the video, I thought it would be really cool to also talk about tips for buying items that last. When I was a teenager I had no idea how to buy items that would last. I would just find something I really liked at the store and I would wing it. Sometimes it would last, and sometimes it would not. As I got older and more concerned with how my actions affected the internet and the world around me, I started to care more about purchasing items that would last. These are my tips and tricks for buying items that will last - Avoid red and orange items. Red and orange items always fade first. This rule only applies when buying clothing and anything that is made out of fabric. If red is your absolute favorite color, then you might want to make sure that you will b

We’ve had an exciting week, my sister, Sam turned 25 years old today! She has been my best friend since I can remember, and she's always been the most supportive of my vegan lifestyle. When I want to try a new vegan restaurant, she joins me. When I try to make a traditional comfort food vegan, she's my taste-tester. I take her opinions to heart and she always gives it to me straight. Sam is unique in every way. Even when she celebrates her birthday, she doesn't want a traditional birthday cake, she asks for pie. Apple pie. For about 3 or 4 years now I've baked her an apple pie, and my mom also brings a store bought one to the party. Sam isn't shy about her opinions (BRUTALLY honest is putting it lightly), and in past years my pies have been not sweet enough, too crusty, and had ugly lattice work.   Last year's pie... the bottom crust was too thick! Every year I try to perfect the recipe, so when she told me today that my apple pie recipe was