Did you know that most Americans consume far more protein than is actually healthy for them? According to the USDA, men consume over 190% of their daily recommended intake and women 160%. Too much protein can lead to kidney failure, and leeching of calcium from bones, not to mention that America’s favorite sources of protein come from the fattiest foods, leading to obesity and all the complications that come with it! Check out this article in the Huffington Post that discusses this debacle and suggestions for how to solve it!
Filed under: Recipes
I love the food network. I mean, who doesn’t? It’s like porn when you’re hungry. But if you go to foodnetwork.com, and search the word vegan, nothing good will come up. There are a few things I’d be willing to try, but obviously there is not the hoards of amazing meals anyone eating anything else can find. Also, none of the recipes come from their big stars like Paula (Ms. 6 sticks o’butta), Giada (extra parmsean please), or Bobby Flay (who is most known for his barbecuing skills).
But, there are PLENTY of vegan recipes on foodnetwork.com, if you know how to find them. Here are a few of my favorite “can be made vegan” recipes from The Food Network:
Neeley’s Roasted Broccoli with Cherry Tomatoes
Bobby Flay’s Grilled Japanese Eggplant
Neeley’s Grilled Pineapple and Onion Salad
Mario Batali’s Risotto with Asparagus and Fennel
Not to say that there aren’t more. Searching vegetarian yields more results than vegan, and most of those can be made vegan. These are just recipes that I have tried and enjoyed. The Food Network is actually quite Veggie friendly, whether it likes it or not!
Filed under: Recipes
Boloco has a smoothie called “The Jimmy Carter,” that tastes just like a butterfinger. It’s peanut butter, bananas, and chocolate. I’m sure there’s a way to make it vegan at Boloco, but I prefer to make it at home so I know exactly what’s in it.
1 or 2 bananas, sliced
A handful of vegan chocolate chips
2 tablespoons organic peanut butter
Enough milk alternative to cover all ingredients (I used vanilla soy)
And some flax seeds for good measure
Combine in blender and puree!
Great for kids and adults alike!
Filed under: Recipes
For Thanksgiving, I made mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, peas and onions, a green bean casserole, and pumpkin/pecan pie. And this time a whole TWO people tried my stuff… TWO 
. Last year, no one even went near my Thanksgiving dishes, so I was pleasantly surprised that even one person let alone TWO people wanted to try things I made.And of course, they loved it.
You can find the mashed potato recipe here, the gravy recipe here, the green bean casserole recipe here, and the pumpkin pie recipe here.
Green Bean Casserole
Pumpkin Pecan pie
I would recommend all of these recipes, they were all SO good. Happy Thanksgiving!
While oneweekraw.com has been a great resource for my week-long raw “fast,” many of the recipes require too much prep time. So this morning for breakfast I just had a fruit salad with apples, bananas, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and grapes. Fruit is the best way to start your morning whether you’re raw, vegan, or a full blown carnivore because all fruit is PACKED with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants in the easiest form possible for your body to digest.
For your stomach, eating fruit is like taking a first grade spelling test, whereas eating something like pot roast is like taking a Chemistry exam in Med school. Eat your fruits and veggies and make your stomach happy!
Filed under: Recipes
Going along with my raw food stint, I made “Collard Wraps” for lunch using a recipe from oneweekraw.com.
3 large collard leaves
1 avocado
carrots
chopped red pepper
sprouts
Put the avocado, carrots, red pepper and sprouts into the collard leaves and roll them into “wraps.” This wrap was okay, it wasn’t the best thing I ever ate, but I know it is full of so many good things so for that reason I loved it. And the colors are just beautiful.
As I prepare to embark upon the holiday season, I know that even as a vegan, I will be endulging myself in all the treats that come with this time of year. So with Thanksgiving quickly approaching, I want to take a week and try to eat the healthiest I can eat, before I eat the least healthiest I eat. I am going to TRY to be 90% RAW for five days using guidelines laid out by oneweekraw.com. I found this website and was so impressed. I had always wanted to try the raw lifestyle (just for a little), but was unsure how to do it. Well, oneweekraw.com gives you seven days of recipes and lists all the things you need to buy to make them. Unfortunately it also lists all of the “equipment” you’d need to be full blown raw: a dehydrator, a spiraller, juicer, and more. So the recipes I’m choosing to do are the ones I’m already equipped for because I’m certainly not trying to go out and buy a dehyadrator.
For those of you unaware, the raw food movement advocates against cooking food above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Raw foodists vary in their creed. Most are raw vegan, though even within that sect there are those who think eating mostly fruits is better and those that think eating mostly vegetables is better. And then there are raw foodists who eat raw meat and raw vegetables and raw milk. I can’t really wrap my mind around that one, but raw veganism makes sense to me.
The theory behind raw veganism is that there are enzymes in food that get broken down when we cook, and that the cooking process also destroys essential nutrients in food. The reason I’m not raw is because while that may be somewhat true, I don’t believe that the cooking process destroys all nutrients and sometimes it just changes them. For example, if you steam carrots, you almost completely depleat its Vitamin C content. However, you triple the Vitamin A content. So you win some you lose some. Also, I still try to eat plenty of raw food in my diet: fruit for breakfast, salads, etc.
And besides, people already freaked out when I told them I was vegan let alone RAW. It would be nearly impossible to carry on a social life as a raw vegan, unless you live in Manhattan where raw restaurants are a plenty. Then again, how would you get omnivores to go with you? There is A raw restaurant in Boston called Grezzo which I have reviewed before. It was okay, but very expensive. Even on this five day stint, I’m probably not going to go to Grezzo.
Regardless of how incredibly good it is for you, I just canont see myself being 100% raw all the time. Even on this “fast,” I know I am going to eat hummus, which is not raw (the garbonzo beans are cooked before being turned into hummus). But most raw foodists do consider themselves 70-80% raw.
This morning, I made oneweekraw’s “Green Smoothie,” which is ironic because my smoothie came out bloody-mary-red. But here’s what’s in it:
1 banana
2 cups frozen fruit
1/3 bunch spinach
1/2 cup goji berries soaked in warm water for 10 min. (optional)
water for consistency
This smoothie was pretty good. It wasn’t AMAZZZZINGG but it was fine. Goji berries are the strangest things though. They are like raisins mixed with sliced almonds but taste like ginger/cranberries. And that is the world I will be living in this next week. The world of goji berries and raw kombucha and smoothies, OH MY!
Filed under: Recipes
Frustrated with the lack of vegan breakfat options in most restaurants, two of my friends and I decided we would make our own vegan brunch. We had multigrain banana pancakes with Earth Balance butter and organic maple syrup, tater tots with organic keptchup and hot sauces, pineapples, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries. I would post a recipe, but I just made the pancakes out of a box, and the tater tots from a bag. I did add milled flax seeds to the pancake mix though. Just look at how beautiful that table is. Yum 
Filed under: Recipes
This is one of my childhood all time favorite meals. It is classic Italian minestrone soup, with a twist. Instead of chunks of vegetables, we use a stick mixer to puree all the vegetables into a smooth and creamy soup. My mom made this all the time growing up, and a simple switch from chicken stock to vegetable stock makes it a vegan delight! If you have a stick mixer, I’d definitely give this a shot.
This is what a stick mixer looks like, if you are unfamiliar:
This recipe will serve about 4 people, but if you want to make it for 8, just double everything but the stock.
What you’ll need:
1 tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tbs tomato paste dissolved in 1 cup of water
3 celery stalks, diced
2 carrots, sliced
2 white potatoes, peeled and cubed (or 5 red potatoes, which you don’t need to peel)
2 zucchini’s, sliced
1 15 oz can of kidney beans
6 cups of vegetable or “No-Chicken” stock (If you want to double the recipe for 8 people, do not double the stock. To double the recipe, use 9 cups of stock, not 12)
I used to always use vegetable stock, until I discovered No Chicken stock! It tastes just like chicken stock, but with none of the hormones, pesticides, steroids, cruelty, or greenhouse gas emissions! I love a good vegetable stock, but sometimes chicken flavor just works best.
Instructions:
1. In large soup pot, heat olive oil and add garlic and onions. Saute five minutes.
2. Add dissolved tomato paste, celery, carrots, potatoes, zucchini, and kidney beans. Simmer five minutes.
3. Add stock, bring to a boil.
4. Turn down heat, allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Using stick mixer, puree vegetables until all the chunks are gone.
6. Enjoy!
Seriously you guys, when I start making this soup, you know fall/winter is here. Give it a try, it is soo easy and sooo good for you! This meal contains: Vitamin A, B1, B2, B3, B6, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Dietary Fiber, Potassium, Manganese, Molybdenum, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Folate, Calcium, Tryptophan, Iron, Protein, Copper, Omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, and Selenium.
Filed under: Recipes
Photo by SusanV of blog.fatfreevegan.com
A friend and I tried a recipe from one of my favorite vegan blogs Fatfree Vegan Kitchen last week. These beet burgers were so good and so good for you too. I didn’t bring my camera along with me, so alas there are no images from me, but they did look similar to the ones she made. Yes, I am plagiarizing this recipe, but trust me you’ll be glad I did. Definitely give them a try!
What you’ll need:
2 medium beets
1 medium onion
6-10 garlic cloves (or as many as you like)
14 ounces extra-firm tofu (not silken)
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 – 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1/4-1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder or smoked paprika (optional, to taste)
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Wash and trim the beets, and wrap each one in foil. Trim the onion and wrap it in foil. Wrap the unpeeled garlic in foil (or trim the top of an entire head of garlic and wrap it).
2. Place all on a baking sheet and roast for 50-60 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool until vegetables are easy to handle. (You can do this step ahead of time, if you wish; just keep the roasted vegetables in the refrigerator until you’re ready to make the burgers.)
3. While the vegetables are cooling, mash the tofu and stir in the remaining ingredients.
4. When the onions and garlic are cool enough, peel the onion and chop finely (I used a food processor). Squeeze the garlic from the cloves. Add both to the tofu and mix well.
5. Peel the skins from the beets under running water, and shred. Add the shredded beets to the tofu, stirring until the mixture is a uniform, bright color.
6. Shape into patties about 3 inches wide and 1 inch thick. Place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or silicon baking mat. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to stand for a few minutes before removing with a spatula and serving.
7. Enjoy!
We served these with whole wheat English muffins, but any old bread or if you’re lucky to find some whole wheat hamburger buns would also work.
