Green Smoothie

I know some are you aren't going to like the sound of this one, but you never know until you try it! When I first heard about green smoothies, my reaction was probably eww gross! But once I tried it, I was sold. And if you add enough fruit, you can't even taste the "green" in it. Here's a tasty recipe I made for breakfast this morning.

Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 banana
2 cups fresh spinach (or 2 handfuls)
3/4 cup soy milk (I use light vanilla for extra sweetness)
2 Tbs ground flax seeds
6 frozen strawberries


Directions:

Place banana and spinach in a blender. Pour the soy milk over it.

Blend on a medium setting so the spinach mixes in.

Next add the flax seed and the strawberries.

 Blend on high to make sure your smoothie is liquid.

 Pour and enjoy!!

You can use frozen or fresh ingredients. I like using frozen fruit because I prefer my smoothies a little cold, no ice needed! You may want to use different fruit like peaches or berries. I recommed keeping the banana, for the creamy smooth texture, but I've also heard of people using avocado instead. Also, you can be more adventurous and add different types of greens to change things up.

I hope you like it!!


This smoothie contains 270 calories, 11g of protein and 14g of fiber to keep you full. Plus it's loaded with tons of vitamin C and other vitamins and minerals to keep your body healthy!

Mac & "Cheese"

So yesterday, I made some pretty incredible vegan macaroni and cheese. I might even say it was better than real macaroni and cheese. My boyfriend showed me this recipe back in December and I fell in love.

Mama Koala's Vegan Mac and "Cheese"

Ingredients:

    1 cup dry whole wheat macaroni noodles
    1 Tbsp vegan margarine or vegan butter (Earth Balance)
    1 Tbsp flour (I used whole wheat flour)
    1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk

    1/4 package (or 2oz.) vegan cream cheese (Tofutti Cream Cheese)
    1/2 cup vegan shredded cheddar cheese (Daiya: cheddar style shreds)

You may want to add more of these ingredients as you go along.

Directions:

1. In a sauce pan, boil elbow macaroni according to package directions.

2. While the macaroni is boiling, in another sauce pan melt margarine and stir in flour.

3. Next, add the milk and stir until thick and smooth.

4. Add the cream cheese and stir until completely melted over medium-high heat.

5. Add shredded cheese and stir until completely melted.

6. Drain the cooked macaroni noodles and stir into the sauce pan with the "cheese".

Makes ~2 servings, depending on how hungry you are!

 Look at this texture!! Mmmm so creamy.

 Finished product!

 I ate it in the leftover Tofutti Cream Cheese container! Haha

Eat your Brussel Sprouts! [EASY Recipe]

I can remember a common phrase "Eat your brussel sprouts!" But I don't think I have ever even tried them before today. I had no idea how to cook them, but I decided I would try roasting them.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Ingredients:

• Brussel sprouts
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T balsamic vinegar
• Sea salt and pepper (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F

Start by cutting raw brussel sprouts in half.

Place the halves into a bowl and mix with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Toss until evenly coated.

Lightly spray pan, and cook brussel sprouts cut side down for 15 minutes.

Flip, and cook cut side up for 10 more minutes.

Now sprinkle with sea salt and pepper, if you desire.

 Dig in and enjoy!!

I love how simple this recipe is--especially for my first time even trying this vegetable. Maybe I'll be more adventurous next time I cook them. But they turned out delicous!

Brussel sprouts have several health benefits as well. They're high in fiber, vitamin C, and may protect against cancer! They're also packed with vitamin A, calcium, potassium, and folate. So eat up!

Who doesn't love hummus?

Hummus is definitely one of my favorite foods. I always keep some in my fridge as one of my staples.

Today I attempted making my own hummus and I must say it was a success! So easy too! I don't have a food processor, so I just used a food chopper (It's pretty much a manual food processor, you turn the crank and the blades go around in a circle). You can use a food processor, food chopper, or a blender works too. And you can nearly put whatever you want into your own hummus. Today I made black bean hummus.

These are very rough measurements, I didn't measure anything except the olive oil (to control added calories). So add more of anything, for your own tastes!

Black Bean Hummus
Ingredients:

• 2 cups black beans (rinsed)
• 1/2 cup chick peas (rinsed)
• 2 T olive oil
• 2+ T lemon or lime juice
• 2 T minced garlic (or however many cloves you want)
• Spices: red pepper, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, curry, sea salt

Directions:
Put all ingredients into food processor (or blender or food chopper) and blend until smooth consistency. Use as much spices as you like to taste, and just a sprinkling of sea salt to control sodium. Add more of the ingredients as you wish to get the right flavor or texture. Dig in!

Easy as that!

Hummus is great as a dip with pita chips, fresh vegetables like carrots, cucumbers, and it is wonderful to spread on sandwiches. Such a great food!

Lunch Time!!

So this was my lunch today! Good thing I ate it alone, because I made such a mess with this giant tasty thing! To assemble this sandwich, I used a black bean burger and I added horseradish mustard, vegenaise, ketchup, pickles, slices of onion and tomato, spinach, and avocado slices. All on whole grain bread.

Last week I decided to make black bean burgers from scratch using a variation of this recipe I found from DailyGarnish.com. I had three left over, so I froze them. Once they were heated back up, they were a little crumbly, but still delicious!!

Here's the recipe if you want to make your own! Sooo good!


Vegan Bean Burgers
Ingredients: (makes 6 burgers)

• 2 cans black beans (rinsed and drained)
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1/2 cup dry rolled oats
• 1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

To Prepare: 
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Next, add the oats and pepitas to your food processor and grind until coarsely chopped (they will still be a little chunky).  Let it run for roughly 10 seconds.  Grate the carrots, and then add to your mixture in the food processor.  Add 3/4 of the beans, all spices, and the olive oil.  Once all of this is in the food processor, give it a whir and mix it all together.

Spoon mixture into a mixing bowl and then fold in the rest of the whole, reserved beans.  Wet your hands and then form into 6 medium sized patties.  Place patties on a non-stick baking sheet or into a baking pan, and bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes, turning once in the middle.  If you want to grill these, pre-bake them for 30 minutes at 300, and then throw them on the grill to reheat and get a little extra browning.

Why Vegan?

Ok let's see here. This could be a long drawn out story, but I'll try to keep it short.

 

Back in 2008, I read the book Skinny Bitch and I decided to become vegetarian. It's something I had thought about doing since high school. I told myself I would do it for one year. And I loved sea food so much, that I made exceptions when my family went on summer vacation to the beach. But at the time, I didn't really know how to be healthy about being vegetarian and I thought I wasn't getting enough protein. After that year, I slowly started eating meat again.

 

My second roommate in college was the first vegan I had ever met. I just thought, "how do you do it??" But I continued eating meat, not much--the thought of cooking meat just grossed me out!

 

Back in the summer of last year, I started dating my long distance boyfriend, Scott, who has been vegan for about 6 years. Whenever I was with him, I ate vegan too (or mostly) and I enjoyed it. 

 

It wasn't until January when I stumbled upon the website Eat Right America. I filled out a food survey and got a free diet analysis which was really a wake up call to how unhealthy I had been eating. (I should have known this, right? I have a degree in nutrition!! Haha) This plan encouraged a plant based diet and gave me several recipes.

 

That's the point where I really started eating right. I started cooking a lot more and ate way more vegetables than before (yay nutrients!). I began searching the internet to find vegan recipes and fell in love with several vegan blogs. And like I mentioned in my first post, I've been obsessed with all things vegan!!

 

I love it and I think it's fun. It makes me feel healthier, plus I'm learning a lot! I feel like I have so much more control over my health and I'm doing a great thing for my body. Eat more fruits and vegetables and feel better, easy as that. Of course, I'm not perfect. I'll still eat junk food every now and then if I want. I'm learning to "veganize" so many different foods and the options are endless!

 

Oh, and I guess I kinda like animals too. Haha

 

First post!

Hayyy! This is my first blog post since back in the xanga days (oh dear). So I'm sorta new to this. Starting a blog is something I've wanted to do for a while now, but I'm just now getting around to it. And here it is!! 

 

Here's just a little bit about me. I am a recent college graduate, I'm out on the search for a job, I'm considering a move soon, and this is the first time I'm actually calling myself vegan. I've been eating vegan (or mostly vegan) for a little bit, but I just have commitment issues with the label. Haha I dunno, I'm weird. But lately I've been obsessed with all things vegan. I've been cooking a lot and experimenting with new (to me) foods like quinoa, kale, lentils, and trying to learn different ways to cook tofu. I can't wait til I live in a city that is more bike friendly, has vegan restaurants, and has grocery stores with more healthy options.

 

Most people who know me know that I love food and I eat a LOT!! I've always called myself a fat kid. But nowadays I TRY to have some self control. Key word being try, it doesn't always happen. So you'll be hearing a lot about food from me! Plus I have a passion for nutrition and I my degree just happens to be in Food & Nutrition.

 

I also have a really amazing boyfriend who is the most supportive and loving person. I don't know what I would do without him! Too bad he lives all the way in New Jersey. But not for too much longer! We want to start our lives together asap.

 

I'm excited to make more posts. You can expect to hear about food, experiences, recipes, changes, and maybe some life stories. Something along those lines!