The Smoothie Vegetarians

The term "flexitarian" isn't all that common in the dietary world, but it does have a certain meaning and people who use the label are often looked down on by "real" vegans and vegetarians. I think it's a shame and that people should be more accepting of the choices others make, especially when they are headed in the right direction. Maybe we should be more accepting of people who label themselves as flexitarian A flexitarian is someone who moves between a standard omni diet and a vegan one, more or less. Basically, someone who considers their dietary commitment to be somewhat flexible. To many vegans, that just means they are omnivores who are trying to put a pretty face on it. That the new label is a way to make themselves feel better about eating animal products. Like they are being pretend vegans. I disagree (mostly). So I thought I would share my opinions on the flexitarian. I will admit that someone who eats meat, eggs or da...

Now, we all know that good little vegans only snack on healthy treats like carrot sticks and apple slices. Ha! I think not. We all get crazy munchies and junk food cravings just like everyone else, and it's actually not that hard to get your snack on with plant-based goodies. And while there are some awesome specialty products on the market, like kale chips or quinoa puffs, you can actually find a huge range of vegan snacks on your standard supermarket shelves if you know where to look. A few of the easy-to-find vegan snacks that I'm noshing on these days. Crispy and Salty This is my preferred snack category and I am a complete sucker for chips or popcorn. The biggest pitfall is the ever popular cheese flavor so if you stay away from that, you'll find that most brands are free of animal products. Oh, sour cream flavors are another no-no. Classic flavors like plain, salted, all dressed, onion, BBQ, dill pickle, and salt & vinegar, are all safe an...

As I have mentioned before, we live in a mixed-diet household with my husband being a pretty firm omnivore (for now). I've been adding more and more vegan ingredients and recipes to our lives and we basically manage to get by with only a bit of occasional conflict. Sort of. Sometimes. Oddly enough, our main point of contention isn't the rather obvious meat or dairy versus a plant-based alternative, it's more about whole food versus processed food. And I have to admit, I'm getting a little stuck at times trying to maintain my side of the argument. In our specific case, my hubbie is more interested in eating healthier than dealing with animal welfare so I work with that as best I can so that we make vegan choices that are agreeable to both of us. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work out well. Let's use butter for an example. Real butter has cream/milk and maybe salt in it. And besides the issue of whether it is natural for us to be consuming c...

I've been slowly but surely trying to replicate all my omni husband's favorite recipes to vegan versions, and I finally got around to getting a veggie replacement for his beloved jambalaya. I was surprised at how simple this dish actually is once you get past the vegetable chopping. Basically, toss it all in a pot and let it simmer. You should go from start to serving in about 45 minutes, depending on how fast you dice. I'm a slow chopper who tends to eat while I chop, so dinner takes forever when I'm cooking. Be forewarned, this may or may not be some historical or authentically Cajun recipe for jambalaya. I have no idea. I just love the flavor so that's good enough for me. If it's not "real", feel free to leave a comment but I'm not changing it. My lovely vegan jambalaya in a pretty blue bowl. Vegan Jambalaya Recipe Like my famous chili , this is another one of those recipes that you can be pretty flexible with. Feel f...

Veganism isn't just about food, which often confounds people first learning about this perspective on life. People who wish to avoid animal products aren't just talking about the stuff they eat, but everything. And though most people understand and get the problem with leather or fur, wool still usually gets weird looks. Why not wool? Since the sheep aren't hurt by shearing, and generally need to be sheared as their fleece gets bulky, some people automatically see this as being harmless. I'm not sure why since taking a chicken's eggs is just as harmless to the bird, yet its not hard to grasp that chickens are abused and mistreated in the egg industry. The same situation applies to sheep and wool. Maybe it's harder to see because it's not food. I don't know. Lambs are super-cute and deserve as much concern as any other animals. Blurry because taking barnyard photos is hard. Sorry. His name is Puddles. Sheep are not treated well in the...

Chili is one of those classic meat dishes, right alongside BBQ ribs that becomes a personal form of artwork instead of just a recipe. Everyone has their own way of making it and it never seems to be exactly the same dish twice. So I made a batch of vegan chili last night and thought I would share my recipe. Except that I didn't really follow a recipe and did a lot of random tossing as the batch simmered on the stove. So, you can follow along and hopefully put together some of your own wonderful meat-free chili. My free-form chili creation is simmering away happily in all its plant-based glory I started off with a little oil, and sauteed a clove of minced garlic and about a half cup of diced up white onion. I probably should have gone with a bit more garlic. Oh, and about 1 stalk of celery, diced small too. Once that got going, I added about 3/4 of a package of Gardein's meat-less crumbles (we love them because they are gluten-free!). I'm sure the whole ...

Things are changing in the world of vegan food, and I think we are finally seeing a shift that pushes plant-based food products out there into the world of mainstream consumers. We no longer have to skulk around in the back corners of health food stores to find a non-dairy cheese, or sit in a restaurant with a sad bowl of iceberg lettuce for lunch. Product choices are absolutely exploding, and can now be found on all kinds of supermarket shelves, not just gourmet shops anymore. Personally, I shop at our bargain grocery store chain called No Frills. Nothing fancy, and not too cutting edge. A couple of weeks ago, I found one entire cooler section now dedicated to So Delicious non-dairy ice cream products, and one whole section filled with Daiya pizzas, more Yves products and a range of vegan Amy's entrees. There was some crazy dancing in the aisles that day. Latest hits from our No Frills store. So many more choices, and these 2 are favs in our house now.  ...

Mushrooms are so wonderful because they have a great flavor on their own but still take on any seasonings and tastes you add to the recipe. Their chewy texture is almost meat-like and has been known to fool people. Our recipe for sticky mushrooms features crispy mushrooms and a really zesty sweet and sour sauce. Maybe zesty isn't the right word. It's not spicy but the flavors are really strong and a perfect blend of sweet brown sugar and sour red wine vinegar. And soy sauce is amazing in everything. 1/4 cup canola oil 2 1/2 cups mushrooms, chopped into chunks 1/4 cup cornstarch 1 tbs sesame oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 inch chunk fresh ginger, minced 2 tbs brown sugar 1 tbs red wine vinegar 1/4 cup soy sauce 1 tsp cornstarch 1 tsp water In a wok or large skillet, start heating up the oil. While that's going on, sprinkle a little water on your mushrooms to dampen them and mix in the 1/4 cup of cornstarch so that they are well coated. When the oil ...

Vegetarians often still eat eggs but vegans do not. Taking actual egg dishes out of the menu is easy enough, though you can still make a wicked scrambled "egg" dish with tofu. But what about all those recipes that need the egg as a binding ingredient? The unique qualities of an egg mean you can't just leave it out and you have to find a replacement that has brings the same chemistry to the recipe. Handy options to make vegan egg replacements There's an old vegan joke about someone who heard you can replace egg with applesauce, but isn't too happy about how his omelet turned out. I said it was an old joke, not a good one. But the point is pretty clear. Yes there are many ways to swap out the eggs in recipe, providing you know which is the best option for any specific recipe. Banana This is a tried and true option for a lot of baking recipes that require the moisture and binding qualities of an egg. A small ripe banana that has been mashed up c...

I'm not much of a baker and I don't have the patience or precision for complicated recipes. That's my husband's domain. But this is one vegan cookie recipe that is fool-proof. You don't need a stand mixer and you can really whip up the whole batch using just a single bowl if you want. Including baking, you're looking at just 30 minutes of your time too.  Yes, I know they look scrumptious. You should make a batch right now.  These cookies are fairly low on sugar and you can adjust the "extras" to suit your own taste. We like dark chocolate chips but you can go with chopped nuts or shredded coconut if you want. I'll bet some chopped dried fruit would be nice too. You don't have to use precisely a 1/2 cup but if you add much more, the cookies won't hold together well. 2 1/2 cups whole rolled oats 3/4 cups flour* 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 cup non-dairy m...

Valentine's Day is almost as bad as Easter for chocolate consumption, and you might be a little lost in trying to find the right vegan and ethical brands to satisfy your sweet tooth. Thankfully, it's not that hard to find good vegan chocolate because you just have to avoid milk chocolate. Yes, that means a lot of traditional goodies are not an option, but just look for anything with dark chocolate instead of milk and you're good to go. Well, you still have to avoid honey, egg and any of those weird bacon-containing hipster treats. Ok, so getting Valentine's treats with dark chocolate is a good solution for vegans. Except that your money is probably going to a company that still produces tons of non-vegan foods. One accidentally vegan product is a fine choice, but maybe you can do better? Why not choose a truly vegan brand for your Valentine? Endangered Species I love these because they have so many creative varieties, like chocolate with ...

If you're like me, after a hard day of trying to save the world, you like to settle down with a nice glass of wine. Or a cocktail or just some sort of alcoholic treat. Did you stop and think if your adult-only beverage is vegan? You might be surprised. Avoiding liquor with cream or honey is the first thing that comes to mind when trying to get vegan booze, and it's simple enough to do. Irish Cream is out, unless you can find a non-dairy version (more on that in a minute), and any traditional mead product that is fermented with honey. That still leaves you with a whole wide range of alcoholic delights to choose from. Just avoid the animal products in the ingredients, you're good to go. Or are you? Now you can enjoy creamy cocktails that are vegan and dairy-free! Sorry to say, that's not the whole story. Not by a long shot. Though the ingredient list may be free of animal products, the processing behind many beers and wines is not. The problem i...

It may not sound too interesting (or appetizing), but nutritional yeast should be part of any healthy vegan diet. If you’re new to a vegan lifestyle than you may not know much about it yet and this is your chance to hop on the noochy bandwagon. Or even if you’re not vegan, you can still add a little of this stuff into your cooking for a nutritional boost. First thing to know is that this is not the same thing as baking or brewing yeast, but it is a form of yeast fungus (making it completely vegan). It comes in a thick flake, kind of like quick oats. Vegan places online sometimes call it nooch, and some countries call it “savory yeast” rather than nutritional yeast. The point is, it’s not baking yeast . Oh, and I should mention that it’s completely gluten-free too. Unlike the active yeast that is used to make baked goods rise, nutritional yeast is inert. It won’t have any chemical effect on your foods except to give a savory cheesy or nutty flavor to your dishes. Many...

This is my personal favorite recipe: a vegan version of butter chicken. But since there is neither butter nor chicken in it, the name doesn't make much sense. So we just call it "curry chickpeas" around here. It's rich, creamy and full of flavor. Served over rice or with some flatbread, it's a perfect hot meal when you can't be bothered to do much in the kitchen. Not that I'm a lazy cook or anything. Here is my latest batch of curry chickpeas, cooking away. Do you like my lovely new teapot? The key to this dish is replacing the butter with coconut milk. And to be clear, this recipe is calling for the thick, creamy stuff you buy in the cans. I suppose you could sub in a non-dairy milk that comes in a carton, the kind for drinking, but it won't be as thick. If you try this, feel free to leave a comment on how it turns out. 4 cloves of garlic, minced 1 14-oz can coconut milk  1 14-oz can plain tomato sauce (not spaghetti sauce) 1 ...

Having just joined the Smoothie Vegetarian family, I think I should start off by introducing myself a little bit. My name is Terri, and I live on a little rural Ontario hobby farm with my husband and 13-year old daughter. I crochet for charity, love horror movies, and spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Oh, and we homeschool too. We grow the majority of our produce here and are having a great time exploring more choices for seasonal whole food and plant-based recipes. When you suddenly have 3 bushel baskets of red bell peppers sitting in the kitchen, you have to get creative. So that's what we do. What makes our food journey a little more difficult is that I have Celiac disease, which means we have to avoid gluten at all costs. That means no foods with wheat, rye, barley and anything with malt flavoring. So you'll probably notice that a lot of the recipes that I post will be gluten-free as well as vegan. Not always, but most of the time. And now we come to...