Easy Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Muffins
First off – shout out to Cherryvale Farms for making vegan baking so easy. Their mixes are plant-based and non-GMO. You just add fruit, oil and water then bake and enjoy. Now that that’s out of the way… I love baking. I mean, it helps that it usually results in something delicious, but I also find it fundamentally satisfying. When I first started thinking about veganism it was the desserts that I expected to suffer the most. How do you get creamy, fluffy, or moist out of plants?! In an effort to convince myself that dry, crumbly, naked baked goods were not my future I started experimenting with vegan baking…
A Word on Spices
Transitioning to veganism will DEFINITELY teach you the importance of herbs and spices. Getting the mix right can make the difference between a great meal and a culinary disaster. While you’re learning (there are literally billions of spice combinations out there), it can be nice to have a little help. Sometimes, I like to grab a spice blend like these two from @urbanaccentsspices. They have little spice kits – this one is called ‘Perfect Pair’ – that come packaged together with a recipe on each label. Each blend is non-gmo verified and crafted in small batches with all-natural ingredients. I’ve tasted a bit of both this week on their own and they’re…
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
A childhood fave made vegan-friendly
#Turnip vs #Turn Up
Once upon a time, Friday night was reserved for the #turnup. Generally, it began with the reluctant acceptance of a happy hour invite and ended hours later in a cracked Denny’s booth. At some point, the shenanigans lost their luster and my preference for doing my Friday night drinking (wine, natch) in the peace and quiet of my own home, swaddled in the comfort of a good pair of pajamas and the make-believe world of a binge-worthy Netflix series emerged. That is until I discovered the best thing ever… GROCERY SHOPPING ON FRIDAY NIGHTS Ok, ‘best thing ever’ might be a bit of a stretch but bear with me. Imagine…
Cashew Ricotta & Meatless Meatballs – Oh, My!
Lately, I’ve been having this craving for pasta. You know the kind – creamy, gooey, carb-loaded pasta smothered in marinara and cheese, plenty of basil and a little spice. Preferably, baked in an oven till it bubbles and the edges turn crispy. Prior to going vegan, I was suspended in low-carb purgatory with the occasional break for potatoes or bread but never, ever, EVER pasta. But this was a craving that had to be answered, so I hatched a plan (and a recipe) to put it to rest. Spinach and Chia Seed Fettuccine with Fire Roasted Tomatoes, Cashew Ricotta & Meatless Meatballs There are a few special items needed for this…
How To Make A Week’s Worth of Vegan Lunches for $15 at Trader Joe’s
One thing pretty much everyone can agree on when it comes to veganism is that it can REALLY suck for your wallet. I, myself, spent big money my first few trips to the grocery store buying new products to try and restocking staples. That start-up cost can be a major deterrent – especially for students and families – but it doesn’t have to be that way. Now that I’m more settled, I have a better understanding of which ingredients will stretch my moola without boring my tastebuds. This article from Spoon University is an excellent guide for those of you just getting started or still getting the hang of it. Eating…
Vegan French Toast is a Thing, Y’all
At this point, I know I shouldn’t be surprised at some of the vegan options available. More and more I realize there’s nothing a determined vegan with a full pantry and a strong blender/food processor can’t replicate or improve. However, I had no idea this extended to a classic breakfast favorite like french toast. I knew about the vegan pancakes. I’ve MADE them even. But, in my mind, french toast was an entirely different beast because eggs were the foundation of the recipe. This example from Scramble here in Scottsdale proved otherwise. Concocted using a vegan vanilla custard and sturdy, French baguette, it was equal parts sweet and satisfying with a great texture.…
Pic Dump: Things I Ate on Vacation
Full warning: lazy post ahead. I fully intended to blog while on the road but then, I fully intended to attempt to style my hair every day and wear more than the same 3 T-shirt dress in a continual rotation, too – things happen. A key component of my transition to veganism has been my love of cooking. Finding alternatives and seeing the possibility in ingredients was easy for me because I was already used to looking at them that way. But on the road, a B ain’t got a kitchen and stress of near-constant travel will make it want to drown your sorrows deep in a family size bag…
What’s in a Word (Veganism)
Ugh. Honestly, I think it was the bacon that finally did me in. An overabundance of the cloyingly fat-laden, skin searing meat candy known as bacon made my taste buds flip. One day, in the midst of my Atkins/low-carb/keto madness, I looked longingly at an apple as I shoved another forkful of bacon & some egg mixture into my face and I thought ‘enough is enough’. How does a diet that says apples are ‘bad’ for you but bacon is ‘good’ really healthy? How does that make any logical sense?! I happened by veganism innocently enough. There was no binge-watching of documentaries or huge epiphany. Just, one day, I looked at…
Watermelon Err’thang
Confession: I’ve been drinking. In fact, I’m drinking right now. WATERMELON juice that is! It’s like 7:30 in the morning and I’m not in Mexico so how dare you assume I might be consuming alcohol? We’re going to be hitting the beach hard for the next 3 weeks. Malibu. Coronado. Cabo. In anticipation of all the tummy exposure, I’ve committed to 2-a-days until we leave (better late than never, amirite??). So, wtf does watermelon have to do with this? It’s basically the perfect fitness food for anyone trying to push to the next level. Some things you might not know about watermelon: Watermelon is approximately 92% water. It’s filling AND…
