The Smoothie Vegetarians

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...

Asian inspired Spring Roll -recipe below This morning I woke up and it was raining. For some people this could either make or break their day. It all depends on how you choose to look at it. Just think about it, if it happened to rain on your wedding day, would that be the worst thing that could possibly happen? You might even think it was a sign signifying that the marriage was bad luck from the start. However, in some cultures, rain on your wedding day is considered good luck and even symbolizes fertility and cleansing. Anyone can find something wrong in the best situation if you try hard enough.  Did you ever meet someone that you know is struggling and their life is absolutely falling apart yet they always seem to be happy? This is someone is actively chooses to be happy. Then there is the person who lives in a beautiful home, has everything they could possibly want and is miserable all the time. Now granted, there are two extreme situations and many of us fall so...

Hope everyone had a great holiday! If any one saw this picture on my Instagram last week and wondered what it was, as promised here is the recipe. Mediterranean Pasta 1 box of your favorite pasta ( I used Ditalini ) 1 bunch of  broccoli rabe 1/2 lb of sun dried tomatoes Yellow and Red roasted peppers ( made them myself but you can used jarred roasted peppers if you have them on hand ) 1 can of black olives I washed and trimmed the broccoli rabe with scissors. I used to hate this vegetable because of its stringy nature and tough stems. For this recipe I cut it into small pieces and did not use the thicker tougher stems. As a side note, you can save the pieces you do not use and add to other leftover veggies to make a stock. I then steamed them in water until they were tendered and drained and put them to the side. I cut up the sun dried tomatoes into pieces, sliced the olives lengthwise and cut the roasted peppers while the pasta was cooking. Once the pa...

            Honestly, who doesn’t love a great brunch with friends? Having a brunch event at home can be a better way to save money and feel cozier than going out. I’ve thrown together some great brunch recipes and ideas so you can host your own brunch and invite your friends over to enjoy! These recipes are all delicious so you can show your friends how tasty vegan food is. As always, feel free to modify anything to make it specific to your taste buds and get creative. Jelly Rolls 1 package of crescent rolls (Most are vegan, I used Pillsbury) 16 Tablespoons of Jam (2 tbs for each roll, I used Crofters) Optional: vegan butter First, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Then unroll the dough and separate into 8 triangles or as instructed by your roll’s directions. Spread in approximately 2 tablespoons of jam into the center of each triangle. Roll up the dough into crescent rolls. Place them on ungreased cookie sheet a...

            When my friend Madison cooked me this mac and cheese for the first time, I was shocked at how delicious it tasted. It reminded me of that Velveeta mac and cheese because its so rich and creamy. She made it again for a pot luck we went to and EVERYONE (even the non-vegans) at the event was raving about it and saying it was the best mac and cheese they have had. I wanted to make it for my mom, aka the biggest cheese lover I know, and see if even she would like it. I asked Madison for the recipe, she sent it to me, and I was shocked! It was basically the easiest recipe I have ever seen. I would not even call it a “recipe”, just throwing some things in a pot. Long story short, I made it in like 15 minutes and even my mom loved it. So, I thought I should share it with everyone!             I know Daiya vegan cheese gets a bad reputation in the vegan community,...

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 ...

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 ...

(photos by Danielle) A lot of people think that you have to give certain foods up for this lifestyle. The good news is that you do not. I find this incredibly easy. The one thing I find interesting is people give the excuse "...but I could never give up x,y or z". However it is becoming so much easier. People continue to try out new recipes and the more they try out new recipes the more common it is for them to find new flavors that they like just from playing around with different spices and other ingredients in your house you can find a lot of flavors that you really like it can be important to play around and find new things that you enjoy based on all the recipes that you liked in the past you don't have to give anything up and you can find plenty of substitutes. (photos by Danielle) All of these recipes are so flavorful and I enjoy these so much. I will be making these again and every time you remake a recipe, you get better each time. You can ...