The Smoothie Vegetarians

With all of the greener lifestyles that are being adapted all around the world there are tons of questions about exactly what veganism is, and exactly how it pertains to animals. For the vast majority of people it is extremely important to realize that you simply cannot make a sudden change like shifting from eating burgers every day to living a successful vegan lifestyle overnight. However, it is also possible to make some substantial changes that are on the path to becoming vegan and showing animals the respect that you believe they deserve. Many people in the quest to treat animals better are appalled to learn that many countries use some rather unconventional animals as food; this for many people can be action that triggers their desire to change to a vegan lifestyle, however for others it is simply another reason in a long list of reasons. Many countries such as China make usage of animals such as dog for their meals and many times people are unhappy to learn this, how...

Even if you can't be on vacation every day, you will be able to feel like it with this indulgent dessert! Hi Everyone, I was fortunate enough to be able to get away for a few days to St. Maarten. Although I was thrilled to get away from the cold, I must admit that I had a bit of anxiety about this trip since I heard there were a lot of stray dogs on the island. Since some of you may know, I am a huge animal lover and advocate and it would have broke my heart to see this and not do anything about it. Before I even left on the plane I was plotting how I would be able to bring one or more animals back home with me. The good news is that the few dogs I saw seemed to well taken care of and just out on a stroll. They were not fearful, skinny or appear to be homeless which definitely eased my mind. The people there were wonderful, so friendly and helpful. Even though the island had suffered such devastation from Hurricane Irma, it did not dampen the enthusiasm o...

Hi All, Hope everyone had a good weekend! I want to talk about breakfast this week. Personally I am not a big breakfast person and I tend to eat more of the breakfast foods for brunch,  lunch, dinner or even a snack. That being said, one of my absolute favorites is porridge of any kind whether it be oatmeal, farina, cream of wheat or grits to name a few.  However, when I visited the Dominican Republic last year I had a fantastic porridge (I believe that is what the sign on the buffet said) which was made from oat flakes and called avena. I have never had such a creamy, smooth oatmeal in my life. When I came home, the search was on, I found it in the ethnic section of one of my local supermarkets. This is a wonderful, inexpensive way to feed a family. So this week, I am going to share my recipe with you! On the actual package it gives directions to make it as a cold drink or a hot dish. Many of the recipes I saw focused on using this to make beverages. In experimenting...

When I was in my twenties I wanted to lose weight. I became a Susan Powter fan – she was the low fat guru back in the nineties. Her whole premise was eating very low fat – no exceptions. It worked. I lost about forty pounds and felt great. I never “cheated”. It became somewhat of an obsession. No cake, no butter, no oil, no nuts – none of that. I missed it, but to me it was “bad”. I especially missed eating nuts. I love them. I continued this way for several years. I wasn't always eating healthy though. Lots of unhealthy things are low or no fat – sugar and alcohol being two big ones – and I consumed quite a bit of both pretty regularly. Ways of eating go in and out of fashion. Currently Keto is the big one. I tried this awhile back – I like to try different eating styles and see how they make me feel. For me, it's not sustainable, and it's particularly difficult as a vegan. I've also tried meal shakes, low glycemic index, plain old calorie counting and a fe...

One of my favorite things to make in the morning has been potatoes with veggies and chickpeas. I usually also like a sauce to go with that. I also like to have this on the side and it can also be served with some tofu scramble and fruit or yogurt as well if thats what you want to eat. First I roast some potatoes in the oven then when they are done, then after I take them out I top them with nutritional yeast, garlic, and chives. I also like to use Biena ranch chickpea, spinach, and avocado. I love putting a bean salsa on top of the food as well to make it spicy and bring out more flavor. I also like to make onion bagels and I like to use with the GoVeggie or Tofutti cream cheese. I like top to my bagels with nutritional yeast, chives, and pink Himalayan sea salt. I also like to make sandwiches with the bagels sometimes. You can make some vegan sausage patties and put them inside the bagel. Sometimes I also put tofu scramble in them as wel...

Did you ever just not know what to make for dinner? Sometimes one ingredient can spark an idea for a whole dish and this week that ingredient was a can of black beans. As some of you may know, I love simple, easy recipes and typically will use whatever I have home. This week, my Fiesta Black Bean recipe consists of the following (BTW I just made up the name) 1 can of black beans (reserve the liquid and chill it) 1 red pepper 1 onion 2 stalks of celery Handful of chopped cilantro (I always have a big bunch in the refrigerator) You can add a can of corn if you want to expand the dish garlic powder salt and pepper Saute the diced celery, peppers and onions in a bit of olive oil . Once veggies are fork tender, add the garlic powder, salt, pepper and black beans. Continue to cook until desired tenderness.  Remove from heat and toss with cilantro. You have a great side dish, main course, filling for tacos or wraps or even a sweet plantain. The p...

This week's post is for all the broke vegans, busy moms and dads and for anyone who is too tired to cook when they get home. All you need to do is get a good meal starter and the rest is easy. This week I used potatoes. They pair with just about anything. You can use them with peppers, onions, mushrooms or whatever vegetables you may have on hand. You can also use different spices to change the flavor profile. They are wonderful in soups, stews and are versatile enough to use in any ethnic dish! The main ingredients that I started with today were a bunch of red skinned potatoes (that honestly had seen better days) and a few heads of garlic. I scrubbed the potatoes and cut them in half, cut the tops off the garlic and lightly oiled a sheet pan. I then placed the potatoes face down along with the garlic and put the oven on 350 degrees. The house smelled amazing! I am going to show you three great inexpensive meals thrown together with stuff I had in the house. I encourag...