Need to eat more beans and less pasta??

One of the traps that vegans can fall into is eating too much pasta. Especially vegans like me that are tired at the end of the day and don't really like to cook that much. I have found that an easy way around this is to prepare things that can be used as quick and easy side dishes. I tried this recipe this week and it was great.

Three Bean and Corn salad

Use one can of three of your favorite beans. I used black beans, kidney beans and pinto beans. Rinse them and place them in a large bowl
Add:
3 green onions chopped
3-4 tbs chopped fresh cilantro

In a blender combine:
3 chopped plum tomatoes
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 tsp cumin
Black pepper and salt to taste
1/4 c olive oil
2 tbs apple cider vinegar

After the above ingredients are combined in the blender, pour over the bean mixture. Let stand for at least 30 min at room temp to let the flavors combine. Salad can be served warm or cold

Enjoy!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

It is hot!! What's for dinner??

This time of year is great for vegans because there are wonderful farmers markets or just great produce from your own garden but, who wants to cook when it feels like 100 degrees in the kitchen!
This is a great time to break out some of those cold soup recipes. One of my favorites is a gazpacho. It is quick and easy and a great way to use those fresh tomatoes.
Here is the recipe:
2 large tomatoes cut into quarters
1/4 c onion chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic
1/4 cucumber
1/2 green pepper
Juice of a half of a lime
Handful of chopped cilantro
Salt

Add all the ingredients to the food processor and blend until just slightly chunky.
I serve this with an appetizer of hummus and some toasted pita chips.

Yum! Dinner is served and you never turned the oven on!

Enjoy!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Is going vegan easy? Plan ahead

I am home all day with two small children and I have decided that the key to sticking to our lifestyle choice is to stock the house with vegan choices that I want to snack on or fix for dinner. The kids always want snacks and it is easy to just grab what they have and snack on it as well but it isn't always the best choice for me. Our oldest loves cheese. She always loves cookies too as well as goldfish! Yum! I try to keep vegan snacks like veggies or oatmeal raisin cookies that I make to satisfy my snack habit.
The first thing on my list when it comes to sticking to the vegan diet is plan ahead. Plan ahead when you are leaving the house so you aren't tempted by fast food or forbidden snacks. Also plan ahead if you are going out to eat. Look up the menu on line and read through it for vegan options before you get to the restaurant. That will give you a better idea of the options they have. Some parts of the country are easier than others to find good vegan options!
Just keep in mind that you made this decision for ethical reasons or for health reasons and you can stick to it and be satisfied with a little planning!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Quick and easy vegan cookies

I have a little play date to go to tomorrow and I need some quick and easy cookies that kids will like. Before we adopted the vegan lifestyle I made Pillsbury funfetti cakes and cookies all the time. Everyone loved them. What is not to love?? So I still had a box in the pantry so I read the box and the ingredients are processed and full of sugar but there aren't any milk or eggs in the mix so I used Ener-g egg replacement and canola oil and voila! You have vegan cookies to take to a friends or just for a quick dessert when you have company!
Enjoy!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Vegan appetizers with hummus

One of the big challenges when you choose the vegan lifestyle is to eat at other people's houses or at restaurants.
We were invited to a BBQ Saturday night so I volunteered bring some snacks. I made a very quick batch of hummus and doctored it up to look impressive. I added a teaspoon of minced garlic to the center after putting it in a cute bowl and then I chopped some Roma tomato and placed it in the center as well. I serves with sea salt organic pita chips and everyone loved it plus it gave us something for us to snack on that we were sure was vegan :)
Enjoy!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Vegan Veggie Paella

I love Seinfeld!! Love it! So on one older episode George mentions that his mother made 'all this paella' and what is she going to do with it! Jerrys parents had just cancelled on Estelle so she had a ton of paella and no one to eat it. So...this sparked my my curiosity and I decided to find out what paella was and to make it.
So I found this Quick Vegetarian (Vegan) Paella and it is yummy!! This make a huge batch and is good for left overs and may even be better warmed up the next day

Ingred:
2 T olive oil
2 c chopped onion
2 c chopped green pepper
1 c mushroom
2 garlic cloves minced
3 c uncooked quick cook brown rice
2 c vegetable broth
1 c water
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 c chopped tomato
1 c frozen green peas
1/2 c pimento stuffed olives chopped
2 T chopped flat leaf parsley
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts drained and coarsely chopped

Heat olive oil over med-high heat and add onion, pepper, mushroom and garlic and sauté 5 min
Stir in rice and next 4 ingredient (through the thyme) and bring ton a boil
Cover, reduce heat and simmer 10 min
Stir in tomato, peas, olives, parsley, pepper and artichokes.
Cook 3 min or until rice Is tender and mixture is throughly heated
Garnish with parsley

I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Vegan spaghetti with meat sauce

Tonight was a good spaghetti and meat sauce kind of night
This is something we had often before we went vegan so I quickly found a way to adapt the old recipe to our new eating habits
The first thing i do is use Ronzoni Garden pasta made from veggies and then I chose a vegan sauce like Meijers organic sauces and I add my own touches. I get Meatless Crumbles and fry them in olive oil and garlic and add them to the sauce with some fresh mushroom and basil. Then I let it simmer for an hour or so. This give a jar sauce a good home made taste. I serve over pasta and add some soy cheese.
One of the main things I did when I decided to convert the whole family was try to find ways to make the same meals we were accustom to but with vegan substitutes. That way it was not so hard for my family to get used to. Luckily we like trying new dishes and i have purchases a few vegan cookbooks and I try about two to three new recipes every week. It has really made a huge shift in how we few food. It seems like an adventure!

Enjoy!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad