Vegan Thanksgiving

Guess who's bad at blogging lately?? Oh, that would be me. With two jobs it's a little difficult to make time for my blog sometimes. So sad. Anyway...

Thanksgiving is just around the corner!!

Less than a week away! Eek!

So when you think of Thanksgiving, you probably think of turkey, right? Eating turkey on Thanksgiving is considered "normal" and "traditional." Well that doesn't have to be true.

Save the turkeys!!

So I wanted to write a blog dedicated to vegan/vegetarian Thanksgiving food. I know it seems strange to some people, but it can be done!!



Let's start with Tofurky...

You can buy it as a "feast" that includes sides or just the Tofurky alone. It even comes with stuffing inside.

Another idea, if you're a little weirded out by the Tofurky, a vegan "meatloaf". I found this recipe on the Kiss Me I'm Vegan blog that sounds pretty simple. She said it was "father-in-law approved." Apparently this meat-eater got seconds! I think I'm going to try making this for Thanksgiving!

Father-In-Law Approved Vegan Meatloaf

1 14oz. package GimmeLean sausage 

 (make sure to get sausage, not beef)

3/4 cup finely chopped onions

1/2 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

1/3 cup ketchup

1 tbsp of dried parsley 

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

1/2 c. nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

2 servings of EnerG Egg Replacer 

 (mixed with water according to directions on the package)

3 tbsp applesauce

1 tbsp olive, safflower, or coconut oil

1 tbsp all-purpose white flour

Mix all ingredients together in a big bowl with your hands until they just come together.  Put in a lightly oiled loaf pan and sprinkle some extra nutritional yeast on top. Bake at 350 degrees  for 45 minutes, or until loaf is heated completely through and browned nicely on top.

Stuffing:

Stove Top Pork Stuffing Mix is actually vegan. I'm not sure about the other varieties of this brand, but I know that this one is pork-free!

Also, Whole Foods sells a vegan stuffing if you don't trust the Stove Top stuff.

Side ideas:

Mac & "Cheese"! Such a delicious side to go along with Thanksgiving dinner.

Mashed potatoes can be made just like traditional recipes if you use vegan butter and unsweetened soy or almond milk. Along with some mushroom gravy, mmm talk about tasty!

Vegetables are easy. My family always makes black eyed peas and green beans for sides. Just DON'T ADD BACON!!! 

Collard greens. I've made the best collard greens in the world using this recipe. Before trying this one I didn't even like collard greens.

Cranberry sauce, if you like that stuff... ew.

Desserts:

I've made this pumpkin pie a couple times. It's your basic pumpkin pie, but veganized and just as tasty!

And I reeeeaaally want to make this Sweet Potato Cake! It looks fabulous!

Alright, I hope you can see now that Thanksgiving doesn't have to be all about the turkey! I hope everyone has a lovely holiday and enjoy the time with your family!

Peanutty Noodles with Spinach and Cucumber

OMG, you guys. I just came across this recipe while browsing Hello Giggles, my recent obsession btw. As I read through it, I realized I had ALL of the ingredients in my kitchen! My tummy started growling and I knew just what to do!


(recipe copied from hello giggles-- click on over for much better pictures than mine!)
http://hellogiggles.com/peanutty-noodles-with-spinach-and-cucumber

Peanutty Noodles with Spinach and Cucumber

serves 2 as a dinner with leftovers

hands-on time: about 15 minutes

total time: 20 minutes

What you’ll need:

1 package of spaghetti 

1/2 of a cucumber, cut into 1 in long strips

few handfuls (2-4 cups) of torn fresh spinach

oil of your choice (I suggest canola or sesame but whatever you’ve got will be fine)

for the sauce:

3/4 cup of broth (chicken or vegetable)

2 tbsps soy sauce

2 tbsps rice vinegar

1/2 cup of low-fat peanut butter

1 tsp of fresh garlic

glob of honey

powdered ginger to taste

1. Put the pasta in the boiling water and then start chopping the cucumbers. You can do them julienne, but I just kind of hacked them into strips on this particular night and it worked fine; I like this recipe with the cucumber skin on, but peel them first if you want.

2. Place the cucumbers in the bottom of a large bowl and drizzle on a teensy bit of oil.

3. Tear the fresh spinach and put it on top of the cucumbers, covering them.

4. Assemble the ingredients for the sauce and place them all in a blender; blend on a low setting. If it seems a bit watery, add in another finger-scoop of peanut butter and blend again.

5. Once the pasta is finished cooking, drain it and then quickly dump all of it on top of the spinach and the cucumbers in the bowl. Make sure all of the vegetables are covered. The idea is that the heat of the noodles steams the spinach a little bit.

6. Leave the bowl for about 4 or 5 minutes. Pee, file your nails, teach your dog how to give paw, whatever.

7. Return to the bowl. The spinach should be just wilted. Stir so the vegetables and pasta are mixed, then pour on the sauce and stir again.

8. Garnish with whatever you’d like; I used cilantro, but green onions, sesame seeds, or actual peanuts would be good, too. No garnish is also fine. Oh, and you’ll most likely have leftovers!

This bowl is seriously so tasty and simple! Basically just boil the noodles, chop some cucumber, and mix the sauce. I just subbed a couple things: whole wheat spiral noodles instead of spaghetti noodles and agave instead of honey. Plus you will be very full afterwards...

And sorry for the terrible quality cell phone pictures!

Birthday Cupcakes

Well, it's that time again... That time where I'm all like "it's been a while." Haha I don't know what it is, but sometimes I just abandon my blog.

This time, it started when I couldn't find my camera battery charger. I must have lost it sometime during my move in June and I still can't find it! So my camera is dead... sad day! And I've been super lazy about finding a new charger for it. I suppose I could find something on amazon, a camera website, or somewhere on the internet. Oh, technology!

Also, my computer is currently being fixed right now. I've been taking some pictures from my phone, but nothing in detail. I'll probably post some new stuff soon with really crappy un-edited cell phone pictures. Get ready! Haha

My birthday was last weekend and Scott got me these cute little vegan cupcakes from a local cupcake shop called Whipped Cupcakes. They'll make you some vegan cupcakes if you call in and order them. So awesome! They even have vegan cupcakes available in the store on weekends. And let me tell ya, they're DELISH!

My guest blog for The Veggie Queen: Cashew Cheese

This is my most recent blog post on The Veggie Queen about cashew cheese.

*Also, I've been making some variations to my cashew cheese each time I make it. Try adding things like this to your cashew cheese to change the flavor/texture:

tahini, carrot, brown mustard, and MUCH more nutritional yeast!!

Link to post on Jill's blog, The Veggie Queen

Cashew Cheese Post by Maggie Sloan

This is another post by my "virtual" intern Maggie Sloan, a vegan nutrition school graduate working her way toward becoming a Registered Dietitian.

I have learned how to cook some really awesome food since becoming vegan earlier this year. I love it! It’s so much more creative than the traditional American diet. I’ve eaten/made so many dishes I never would have thought about if I were not vegan. One of my favorites that I’ve made so far is cashew cheese!

Some people miss cheese when they become vegan. There are a lot of great vegan cheese brands out there now to help with this loss, for instance Daiya and Follow Your Heart. If you like eating raw, cashew cheese is something healthy you can make with just a few ingredients. This is totally new to me, but from the moment I heard about “cashew cheese,” I was intrigued. I imagined the process would be long and complicated, but it was super simple! I wanted to make it immediately!

The whole concept of cashew cheese sounds sorta crazy, but the key is soaking the cashews. That way they blend easier. (Although I did see a recipe where you didn't need to soak them… Hmm.)

Cashew Cheese

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups raw cashews. (not roasted or salted)
1 cup water
2-3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
dash of cayenne pepper

Directions:

Place the raw cashews in a bowl and soak in water for at least 2 hours.
(I soaked mine for 3 hours, but you can soak them overnight or while you're at work.)

Place the cashews and half of the water in a food processor/blender along with all other ingredients. Blend until desired consistency. (You can add more water if needed.)

And this is the final product!

See how easy?! Just soak cashews and blend everything together. It turned out so tasty and has tons of flavor! Some recipes tell you to refrigerate for several hours so it will set and become firmer, but you can eat it just like this. You can do so much with this cashew cheese. Eat it with crackers, as a veggie dip, a spread on a sandwich or wrap, eat it mixed in a salad, or whatever you desire. It's so versatile and yummy.

Yay vegan cheese!

The Veggie Queen  footnote: After trying Dr. Cow nut cheese, I decided that I want to learn how to make great nut and seed cheeses. I have just started experimenting and made my first cashew and sunflower cheese, (the photo of it vanished or it would be posted. It was a bit firmer than Maggie's cheese). I must say, that I have a ways to go before this cheese is going to satisfy me but this was a good start. I will keep experimenting until I get it "right". 

I recently attended a cooking demonstration by Chad Sarno who really knows his way around a raw kitchen and he uses a probiotic capsule for the fermentation. I am going to experiment with making my own rejuvelac from a gluten-free source. Sarno recommended dehydrating the cheese to form a rind. Here's a link to his recipe. When I have something to report, you'll hear it here.

Overnight Oats

Ok, so it's reeeally hot out. How does a hot bowl of oatmeal sound for breakfast?? Totes unappealing, am I right? No one wants to eat a hot breakfast like that when it's 95 degrees outside. Oof! 

But I found a better way to eat your oatmeal. Eat it cold. Sounds sorta weird at first, but these overnight oats are sooo good! No stove or microwave involved = no sweating at breakfast! 

Overnight oats are super easy, so easy that you don't even need a bowl. My favorite way to make them is in a nut butter jar that is almost empty. You probably want to save at least a tablespoon in the bottom with a little bit on the sides. In this case I used an almond butter jar. I even added more peanut butter since I'm such a pb lover!

Overnight Oats

Ingredients:

1/3 cup oats

1/3 cup nondairy milk

1/3 cup nondairy yogurt

fruit of your choice (I used blueberries)

sliced almonds

more peanut butter (optional)

Directions:

At night before you go to bed, throw everything into your jar and mix together. Keep in the fridge overnight.

ingredients

almost empty almond butter jar

mmmm almonds and Dark Chocolate Dreams PB... AMAZING!

handful of bluebs

stir it all up!

Alright, so the next morning you open up your fridge and grab your breakfast! You can even take it to go.

I like to add ground flax seed in the morning

YUM!!

Delicious breakfast!!

If you aren't running low on peanut butter and don't have a jar to use, this works well in a tupperware container or a yogurt container. Basically anything that can be covered and put in the fridge. Even if you're not really an oatmeal fan I think you should give this a try! I have a hard time making hot oatmeal taste good, but I am always pleasantly pleased when I make overnight oats!

Ps- It's really filling, so you won't get hungry for a while!

Southwestern Couscous Salad

I found this delicious recipe on the Whole Foods website. It's such a simple and tasty dish that is perfect for summer. Almost like a different spin on my corn & black bean salsa. You can eat it on a bed of greens, as a side, and it's even great in a wrap with some spinach and hummus.

Southwestern Couscous Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup couscous (*use quinoa to make it gluten free!)

1 1/2 cup black beans (or 1 15-oz can), drained and rinsed 

1 cup fresh corn kernels (2 ears), I cheated & used a can of no salt added corn

1 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

1-2 tomatoes, finely chopped

1 zucchini, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1/4 cup lime juice (or more to taste)

3/4 tsp chili powder

(note: I thought the pumpkin seeds and raw zucchini would be strange at first, but it was so perfect and fresh! Def don't skip em!)

Directions:

Get to chopping! Chop the cilantro, tomatoes, zucchini, red pepper. 

Place your vegetables in a very large mixing bowl along with the pepitas, corn, and black beans.

Bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan.
Stir in couscous, cover and remove from heat.
Let stand 5 minutes.
It should look like this!

Fluff couscous with a fork and toss into the bowl with all the vegetables.
Add the lime juice and chili powder and mix together.

This makes a HUGE amount of food. I believe it serves 8. The bf and I ate this stuff for days! I'm actually surprised at how long it lasted, we rarely have leftovers because we usually we can't stop eating! What can I say, we are true vegan fat kids. But this recipe is very healthy, low fat, low sodium, and high in fiber! It would be perfect for any summer barbeque that vegans and non vegans will all enjoy.

Kale Chickpea Mash

Two things I always have in my kitchen: kale and chickpeas. So when I was searching vegweb.com for chickpea recipes one night, I knew I had to make this one. Even if you don't normally like eating greens, this is a good tasty way to do so. The spices and nutritional yeast give this dish so much savory flavor.

Kale Chickpea Mash

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 half medium onion
1 bunch of kale (I actually didn't have a whole bunch)
1 can garbanzo beans (or 1 1/2 cups soaked beans)
1 Tbsp Bragg's liquid aminos
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 cup nutritional yeast


Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large pan and sautee the garlic and onions on medium until garlic turns golden brown, just a few minutes.

Add the kale and coat it with the oil and garlic. You may want to add a few tablespoons of water. The kale will begin to wilt.

Add garbanzo beans and cook for about 4 minutes. 

Add remaining ingredients and stir.

Mash the chickpeas with a fork and continue mixing together.

Add more nutritional yeast and sesame seeds if desired.
Remove from heat and serve hot.

Delicious flavor and healthy too!

I've already made this recipe at least three times in the past couple weeks. It's so quick and tasty that I just want it all the time. Last time I added spinach and arugula in there as well. Loading up on greens! Haha so if you're looking for a quick healthy dish with loads of flavor you should definitely try this!

Corn & Black Bean Salsa

Ok, so this is one of my absolute favorite things to make! I made it for the first time two years ago and it was actually one of the first recipes I developed and continued to make. This dish is perfect to take to family gatherings, cookouts, parties, or any group setting. It's always a hit! Last summer I made two huge batches for my step-sister's wedding and I had so many guests coming up to me asking for the recipe. It's also great to make in the summer time because red bell peppers are a lot cheaper this time of year.


Corn & Black Bean Salsa

Ingredients:
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 red bell pepper
cilantro
diced jalapeno peppers
2-4 garlic cloves
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp lime juice


Directions:

Start chopping!

Dice the red bell pepper into pieces the size of the corn and black beans.

I used about half a bunch of cilantro. Maybe more, maybe less.

I use a ton of garlic. I love it! Haha and I have a handy dandy garlic press from Pampered Chef that saves me some time. It's wonderful, really.

Throw all of your chopped goodness into a large bowl. Here we have the red pepper, cilantro, garlic, and diced jalapeno. You can use fresh or jarred jalapeno. I used the jarred stuff, obvi. Plus I found a jar of diced jalapenos so that saved chop time too. Woo! Oh, and I never measure the jalapenos, but I used at least 5 to 6tablespoons, maybe more? You be the judge.

Next, open the corn and black bean cans, drain and rinse them.

Throw the drained and rinsed corn and beans into the bowl with the chopped stuff and stir together.

Add the oil and lime juice and continue mixing. You want everything to be evenly distributed. At this point you can taste it and see if you want to add more jalapeno or lime juice or something.

Once you've achieved your desired taste, it's ready to chow down with some tortilla chips. Maybe even some guacamole if you have some. Yum, guacamole. I gotta make some of that soon.

This stuff is so good!! Pretty healthy too. I hope you try it and LOVE it!

Long time, no post...

Well helloooo out there blog world. It's been a while. And lots of things have changed! Sorry I haven't been posting more fun recipes to share.

So me and the bf moved to Chattanooga, TN! We've been here almost a month and it's so awesome. Chattanooga is such a fun outdoorsy city with tons to do! Mountains, rivers, and creeks, oh my! We live right outside the downtown area on top of this giant hill (super fun to ride bikes up... not). And we've sorta been in vegan fat kid heaven. There are two vegan restaurants in town and tons more veg options at other restaurants than I'm used to. And did I mention AWESOME grocery stores?! We've got Greenlife and Earth Fare, plus convenient produce stands around town. They make me oh so happy.

So lately I've been eating a lot of kale, in case you were wondering. I recently bought a different type of kale called lacinato kale (aka dino kale) from Greenlife that came from a local farm (sweet!). I love finding new vegetables I enjoy. Also, stir fries have been some of my top go-to dishes for dinner. They're just so easy, plus the leftovers make great quesadillas. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

Soon I'll be back to posting delicious recipes and such. Gotta get ideas!! If you have anything you'd like to see, I'd love to hear suggestions!

riding bikes, being cute, you know

this is on Signal Mountain, beautiful right?

Cajun Black Beans & Sweet Potatoes

I found this one night when I was needing ideas for what to do with black beans. I had soaked half a pound of beans, so I knew I had to find delicious ways to eat 'em. I found this one on vegweb.com, which is a great website for recipe ideas.

This tasty dish is super easy, healthy, and cheap!

Cajun Black Beans & Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon oil (or water)
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large sweet potato, chopped into bite sized pieces, peel if desired
• 1/2 to 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning (or make your own mix. Ex: cumin, red pepper, chili powder, santa fe seasoning)
• 1 (28 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 lime

Directions:

1. Heat a saute pan over medium heat with oil or water. Saute onions and garlic for 2 minutes. Add sweet potatoes. Season this mix liberally with the Cajun seasoning or other seasonings.

2. Let this mix cook for 15 minutes or so until the potatoes are soft. You may want to add a 1/3-1/2 cup water and cover pan to speed this process along.

3. When potatoes are soft, add the black beans and the zest of 1 lime (optional). You may also want to add more Cajun seasoning to help further flavor the beans. Cook until the beans are heated through and you think the flavors have melded. Right before serving, squeeze some lime juice over the dish.

This is great over a bed of brown rice or even by itself. The next day I put some the leftovers into a quesedilla with Daiya pepperjack cheese. So delish! This dish is so simple and easy to change up. Add peppers and tomatoes and eat it like a fajita with some cilantro and avocado. Use different beans, different veggies, different seasonings. It can be anything!

Brownie in a Mug

Ok, so you really want dessert. Something chocolatey. Something good. But you don't want to spend a lot of time and you don't want something huge. I have the perfect solution for you! Brownie in a mug!! So quick and delicious and will definitely satisfy that craving. Just mix ingredients in a mug and microwave for one minute.

Brownie in a Mug

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp flour

4 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp cocoa powder

dash of salt

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 Tbsp water

1/3 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Add the dry ingredients to a mug.

Then add the oil, water, and vanilla and mix thoroughly.

Microwave for about 1 minute.

The brownie will be hot and gooey. Perfect right?! You gotta try this!!

The Veggie Queen's Hummus

My second guest blog for The Veggie Queen website.

Here's a link to my post:
http://www.theveggiequeen.com/articles/maggie-veggie-queen-hummus

Enjoy!

Maggie Makes The Veggie Queen’s Hummus

Hummus is one of my all-time favorite foods! When I saw this recipe for hummus in The Veggie Queen cookbook, I had to make it. Hummus is also simple to make. All you have to do is throw everything into a food processor or blender and it’s done. This recipe is fantastic! I have never seen a hummus recipe that uses Bragg liquid aminos. I think it really adds a lot of flavor. This hummus doesn’t have any added oils like most store bought hummus. Talk about saving calories!

Hummus

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 to  2 cups garbanzo beans
2 tablespoons sesame tahini
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 dash of cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon reduced sodium tamari or Bragg liquid amino acids
2 to 4 tablespoons water


Directions:
Put garlic in food processor to be sure that it gets well chopped.



Whir for about 15 seconds.



Add the remaining ingredients, blending until it’s the desired consistency.



If it seems too thick, add more water or lemon juice.






You can enjoy this simple dish as a dip for fresh veggies or pita bread, or add it to a sandwich. Either way, you’ll love it. If not, well, you might just be crazy!