Tag: vegetarian

Delicata squash and carrot soup

Recipes, Vegan Recipes

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I had these 2 delicata squash that I needed to use because they were getting old. I was home all day so I roasted them in the oven following the instructions on the sticker that was on it.

To roast the squash: cut lengthwise and put cut side down with a couple tablespoons of water in a baking dish. Cover and roast at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes.

Recipe for the soup follows:
2 delicata squash roasted and removed from skin with spoon
24 baby carrots boiled until very soft
2 cloves garlic peeled and boiled withe carrots
Half inch size of fresh ginger peeled and also boiled with the carrots
Everything went into the blender even the boiling water. Seasoned with salt and pepper to taste. Added some soy milk -about half a cup- to get things moving and voila!

Oh! I also put about a teaspoon of curry powder in the blender, too.

Gotta start somewhere

Adventures, Breakfast, Vegan Recipes

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I’ve been away for a while and I have missed my blog world. I have been busy buying a house, starting school again, and just dealing with life in general. No excuse, though. I kept telling myself that I would compose some fabulous post with lots of pictures and tips when I did return but never got around to it. So here I am eating breakfast when it occurred to me, “what better time than now?” This has for a lot of things lately – buying a house, getting a Masters degree, and interviewing for that promotion at work (which I didn’t get). There really is no better time than now to live our lives one day at a time. There is no better time than now to let go, love people, and eat good food.

Good morning!

Lovely spinach salad with cannellini beans

Adventures, Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Weight loss journey

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The thing about getting back to my normal diet of rabbit food and beans is that I am always hungry! It sucks! I put a half cup of rinse and drained cannellini beans on top of my salad so I’m hoping it hold me over at least until after the gym.

Either way, I am already feeling lighter and that’s what I really want.

The recipe is as follows:
Two three handfuls of baby spinach (romaine would have been good, too)
One tomato
One carrot
Handful of fresh flat leaf (Italian) parsley
Half cup of cannellini (aka white kidney) beans
For the dressing:
Juice of half a lemon
1 tsp Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Ground cumin

I tossed all except for the beans in a large bowl and tossed. Then I piled the beans on top. That’s it!

I did a calculation using myfitnesspal.com and this huge salad is only 210 calories! Not bad! With the calories that low, guess who’s having a homemade chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich later?

Vegucated

Adventures

getvegucated.com

I was going to my Amazon Instant Videos to watch Forks Over Knives again when I stumbled upon this gem of a documentary that I haven’t seen before.

The following is the synopsis (taken from the website above):

Part sociological experiment and part adventure comedy, Vegucated follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks. Lured by tales of weight lost and health regained, they begin to uncover the hidden sides of animal agriculture that make them wonder whether solutions offered in films like Food, Inc. go far enough. This entertaining documentary showcases the rapid and at times comedic evolution of three people who discover they can change the world one bite at a time.

So basically, if you have seen Forks Over Knives; Food, Inc.; Fast Food Nation; Supersize Me; or any other of the many movies/documentaries out there about what we put in our bodies every day, you might like this documentary, too. Check it out!

What other movies have I not seen? What other good ones are out there other than those I listed above?

Getting back into the routine

Favorites, Menu, Recipes, Vegan Recipes

538405_10200211875682033_121956455_nOk, it’s day 2 of the new year and I’m starting out on a good note. It was a vegan dinner tonight made with a no-recipe recipe because they were almost all leftovers! Yes! On the right side of my plate, I have leftover couscous from the lunch I made on Saturday (see previous post). After I stuffed those acorn squash, I had a bunch leftover and I couldn’t let it go to waste. In the middle are some lovely green beans that I bought at Sprouts yesterday. I steamed them in the microwave (about 5 minutes) then melted some Earth Balance over the top and added salt and pepper. Then, on the left, are leftover Brussels sprouts and potatoes from our New Years Eve dinner at Union Public House. It was hearty and satisfying and delicious and I am feeling good about myself right now! After eating these Brussels sprouts tonight, it reminded me how much I absolutely love them. I am going to have to get some to make more this week.

 

A vegan lunch for old college housemates

Adventures, Menu, Recipes

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I really lucked out when I shared a house with two girls while going to college at the University of Arizona. I found the house on the dreaded Craigslist, met the owner of the house, but did not meet the girl who would be living across the hall and sharing a bathroom with me until after I moved in! Here we are today, graduated, doing big things, and still friends. What could have turned out to be a miserable year turned out to be the beginning of a great friendship and a bond created over both of our love for FOOD. Devynn Hawley, your the best!

On December 29th, 2012, we made plans to get together for lunch, coffee, whatever… we just knew we wanted to see each other. Sure, we keep in touch through facebook, etc, but there is nothing like an in-person hangout.

I decided I would cook lunch for my amiga – just like old times! We both wanted something light and healthy after overindulging over Christmas. So, what better than a nice, nutrient-filled, vegan lunch? I decided to make acorn squash filled with a whole wheat couscous mixture of cranberries, walnuts, parsley, and green onion. I paired this with my favorite spinach salad that I used to make for Devynn all the time at the old house. It consists of grilled or sauteed onions, spinach, apple, walnuts, cranberries, and a simple dressing of apple cider vinegar and olive oil (oh, and salt and pepper of course).

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To wash it down, I made a mocktail of Trader Joe’s Cherry Cider, Hansens Diet Soda in Tangerine-Lime, and apple slices. For dessert, we had a couple of those no-egg chocolate chip cookies I made the night before.

A vegan lunch for old college housemates

It was awesome catching up and gossiping about boys and such. I made a friend for life while living in that house and at the core is, once again, food.

Let me know if you want any of these recipes and I will gladly post them!

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Chocolate chips cookies and a tip if you don’t have eggs

Adventures, Recipes

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“Good food makes everything better”
A quote from my brilliant son. It is so true! Tonight the bf is sick so I made a delicious dinner and finished it up with these bad boys here shown in the picture. Chocolate makes everything better in my world plus it’s national chocolate day so I figured, sure why not? Plus I still had a bag of chocolate chips in the cabinet.

I had just creamed the butter and sugars to perfection in the stand mixture when it occurred to me… I have no eggs! The recipe called for 2 eggs! What’s a girl to do? So, being the skilled problem solver that I am, I took from my experience with vegan baking and poured some apple cider vinegar into about a half a cup of milk. I let it sit for about 5 minutes and then beat it into the butter and cream mixture. I followed the recipe as usual after that.

To my relief the cookies came out amazing! I much prefer them without the eggs now.They are not as cakey and still slightly chewy in the middle. They also are a little thinner and I like them like that. This recipe could have easily been made vegan if I had Earth Balance available instead of regular butter.

So there you have it. Don’t be afraid to be daring and take risks in the kitchen. You might discover a new trick or shortcut for something you have made million times before.

If you want the exact recipe for these chocolate chip cookies, just let me know!

Vegan Holiday Kitchen

Adventures, Recipes

Vegan Holiday Kitchen.

This is a must have for your cookbook collection – vegan or non-vegan.

The Shepherds Pie is sooooo good! I make it all year and it freezes really well if you wanted to put it in individual ramekins (?sp).

Post-run snack

Adventures, Recipes

Post-run snack

After a late run last night, I was craving something a little salty but light. I made a quick miso soup with mushrooms and green onions and it was perfect!

Weeknight stir-fry veggies

Adventures

Weeknight stir-fry veggies

Brocollini, carrots, edamame, onions… all the veggies I had in my refrigerator that were screaming at me to become a delicious and QUICK weeknight dinner. Warmed up some brown rice that I had already cooked and dinner was done in like 15 minutes!