Valentine's Feast - #WhatVegansEat

Hello my lovely readers! Long time no post huh?

I mentioned in an earlier post that Mike an I would be celebrating at an all vegan restaurant for Valentne's. I know most of you are meat inclined and might have been thinking, "ALL vegan restaurant? Like a salad bar??"  Nope. We're talking delicious, hearty food here people.

I've actually never been a salad person. With the exception of Cafe Metro (omg magical salads), I've never really gotten excited about a salad. As a result my vegan journey has involved a lot more beans and grains than leafy greens.

When I ask Mike about going vegan, he usually says that number one thing that's stopping him is having to think so much about what you eat before you eat it. He actually loves all the vegan dishes I make at home and has no problem finding something he likes on a vegan menu. This is why I love taking meat eaters to vegetarian and vegan restaurants. I'll push you right into the deep end, but guess what? The water's warm :)

Here's a look at our Valentine's meal at Soul Vegetarian:

Appetizer: Kalebone, the menu describes this as "Sould Vegetarian's super protein recipe made from wheat-gluten" which means it's basically their house-made seitan. They are like breaded crunchy chicken fingers.

Salt and Paprika on the table :)

I've also had the BBQ kalebone, and it was just like eating ribs, minus the bone. It actually freaked me out a little, and I ended up swapping half my dish with Mike.

Mike's Dinner: Lentil burger, your standard veggie burger with a side of "Hebrew bakes" (potatoes).

I should mention that the owners of Soul Vegetarian are vegan for spiritual/religious reasons. In fact, Genesis 1:29 is painted on the wall.

And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.

My Dinner: BBQ Cauliflower with a side of vegan mac n' cheese

Oh man, that mac n' cheese...nom nom nom

I've made similar battered cauliflower dishes at home. Most of the time I make it General Tso's style. I've also seen people make them buffalo style. If you haven't tried breaded cauliflower, it's worth looking up a recipe.

If you are interested in trying out some vegan food in your area, a great resource is happycow.net. You can search for restaurants near you that offer vegan options. Let me know if you find any winners!

Happy Wednesday! HUMP DAY!!!

Changes Ahead?

Hi Hello! Happy Monday.

Sorry for the radio silence last week. I have a post in the works, but got pulled away from my computer every time I tried to make some progress on it. 

On Saturday, Mike made his way to IL for a couple of on-site interviews and the annual Academy meeting. After a crazy week of late nights at work, I was beyond excited for Friday night. We decided to try out a new place for dinner: Uncle Maddio's. 

I love that they made the bald dude with the mustache vegan. 

It's this really awesome fast-casual pizza joint where you build your own personal pizza Chipotle style. They bake it up and deliver it to your table hot and fresh. I was especially excited because they had vegan options!

After dinner we did a little shopping. We went into Best Buy just to browse and came home with this new toy:

Meet my new baby :)

Funny Sidenote: On Friday night I texted the pic on the left of my new camera box to Bethany. She responded with the pic on the right of HER new camera. Great minds think alike!

Sometimes I think it's actually Bethany and I who are soulmates.

All this brings me to a bit of an announcement type deal...

Changes Ahead??

While the above mentioned camera does take nice pictures that I hope to use on here. The main reason I bought it was for vlogging. I started this blog as a sort of digital scrapbook for Mike and I to look back through and for you peeps to check in on what we are up to. After seeing other people's vlogs, I really felt like it would be a better medium to capture the memories. 

I still plan to put posts up on here, but I think I might move more of the life updates to vlog format. Why tell you when I can show you right?? I'm toying around with the idea of daily vlogging. Obviously it's something Mike and I need to think through. 

The upcoming months and even years will probably hold some bigtime life events for us. I want to capture all these starting out moments. Us as newlyweds. Moving to who knows where. Maybe even babies further down the road. 

So what does this mean for you, my readers? There are times I might link a video on here, but more often than not, they'll stay in the YouTube universe, especially if we decide to daily vlog. The best way to make sure you don't miss a video would be to subscribe to my YouTube channel (click here to be linked to it). Then just hit the subscribe button! New videos will show up in your My Subscriptions box.

Without further ado: Daily Vlogging Day 1 & 2

Happy Monday! Let me know what you think in the comments!

FRIDAY FAVORITE! Whole Foods Bar

Willkommen! I thought that for a special Friday treat I'd share one of my favorites. Maybe this could be a thing. I'll tell you about cool stuff. You can tell me about cool stuff. Together we can unlock the secrets of the universe!

For my first ever Friday Favorite I want to tell you about my favorite bar for dinner and drinks...Whole Foods! If you don't have a nearby WF, don't distress. Check out your local natural foods store for prepared food options or even the salad bar at your regular grocery store. If you aren't finding the options you'd like to see submit a comment to the store manager. You never know until you ask :)

Our Neighborhood WF

Without further ado, why I love WF dinners in list form. Enjoy...

The 5 Awesome Things about Whole Foods Bar Dinners (and one bad one):

1.) LOTS of Vegan Options: When it comes to having a wide variety of vegan options, Whole Foods can't be beat. Beyond the salad bar, there's always a wide variety of cool grain and pasta salads, roasted veggies, and hot tofu and tempeh based dishes. Sometimes they even have vegan mac n' cheeze, WIN!

2.) Quick & Easy AND Healthy: I think everyone has those days where by the time you're hungry for dinner, you're energy stores are completely drained. It's always tempting to order in a pizza or Chinese or hit up a drive-thru, but that often means trading health for convenience. Whole Foods bar to the rescue! Now that's not to say that everything in the bar is healthy, but you can balance out your plate with a salad or veggies of your choice. Plus you have complete control over portion size!

3.) Multitasking: Have you ever heard the advice to not shop on an empty stomach? Well, what better time to pick up a few things from the store than after a hearty, healthy meal? We usually take some time during the meal to game plan our shopping list. Sometimes we even find inspiration for meals from our dinner choices.

WHOLE-y Hipster Alert

4.) Fun for the Whole Family: The first time we ate at Whole Foods was right after I went vegan. I was looking for a place with lots of food options for me AND Mike. If his always heavier plate is any indication I think we found a winner. As an extra bonus, they do an amazing job with their food labels. In addition to the name of the item, all of the ingredients and allergen info is also listed. So whether you have dietary restrictions, allergies, an intolerance, or just want to know what's in the food you're eating, you can make an informed decision.

5.) Kombucha! Have you had Kombucha yet?? Go try it. I la-la-love it. But it is on the expensive side and can have a lot of sugar in it so I try to keep it as a once in a while treat. That means that Whole Foods bar dinner is a perfect excuse to enjoy a bottle.

One Bad - Cost: It's not called Whole Paycheck for nothing. On average our plates cost around $10 each. Toss in a $4 kombucha and it's starting to get pricey. However it's still less than our average delivery tab and it get's us out of the house!

Do you have any quick and easy dinner tricks? Share in the comments!

Wishing you a Happy, Healthy Friday. And may your kale salads not taste like grass :)

And We're back!

Back home safe and sound in the ATL.

I was a bit worried that the trip to KC would eat up the weekend and leave me feeling uber drained this morning, but it was quite the opposite. Hip hip hooray! I think something about flying to and from a place in such a small time frame messed with our heads or something. Mix that with an active Friday night and an early Sunday flight and it was like we snuck in a long weekend. Score!

Friday after work I meet up with Mike and his classmates for some drinks at Ormsby's. 

Mike destroyed me in shuffleboard. What a jerk.

This bar is seriously awesome. They have darts and shuffleboard and BOCCE...in a BAR! How cool is that?? Well, not as cool as the hook and ring game we ended up playing obsessively.

I think Dave is trying to coach me in the bottom pic. No luck.

If you aren't familiar with this one, let me break it down for you. There's a hook on the wall and ring attached to a string hanging from the ceiling. Your goal is to swing the ring forward and hook it on the hook. Now there's a very subtle art to this game, but the addictive part comes from the built-in rebouding every time you miss. It's like,"Oh you missed? No worries. Here, try again....and again...and again..."

Saturday we got into KC right in time for lunch and went with my parents to Fud in KC, MO. 

Check out the gold walls. Pretty snazzy.

An entirely vegan menu,Yay! The unanimous favorite dish was our appetizer, the nachos with jack chckn.

Om, nom, nom

And for dessert a Tiger shake: caramel ice cream with a chocolate swirl :)

After lunch and a quick stroll around the hood, we made our way back to the hotel. Our room was epic!

I've never had a corner hotel room before. That means two views, guys.

Campus and Kansas.

We were right on the Kansas campus (Rock Chalk Jayhawk). So much so that our room came with a sound machine and earplugs. Though neither were needed, check out the cute note on the plugs.

It was an awesome day for a wedding. Sunny and 60, a perfect fall day. Everything was beautiful  Mike and I were able to kick back, enjoy some drinks, and cut loose on the dance floor.

Oh and I still let out an "eeeeeeeee!" whenever I see my new name anywhere official.

Hope you had a happy weekend and made back to the week safe and sound as well!

Half the Guilt Caramel: Raw and Vegan!

What do you do with a half peck of apples?

Last weekend Mike and I stopped at an orchard and came home with a big ol' mix bag of apples.

Also sweet potatoes.

Now don't get me wrong, nothing in the world is a better afternoon snack than apples and peanut butter. But let's say you've lost count of how many days you are into the apple and p.b. snack binge of 2013. You might be looking for a new dipping option.

Source

You may also be finding yourself inundated with mouth watering images like the one above. Nutrious work break vs. seasonal sweet break?? What's a girl to do...

Never fear my friends. It's Date Caramel to the rescue! 

Half the calories..half the fat...all the deliciousness.

I've heard of date caramel before and have experimented with a couple other raw desserts using dates as the sweetener. With a pile of apples sitting on the counter begging to be used, I figured now was the time to try it out.  For the complete recipe I used, including the list of ingredients, please check out this blog.

Overall, it was a pretty easy process using pretty normal ingredients (normal for our house anyway). Any dates will do. I found mine near the bulk section of Whole Foods, but I've found them near the raisins and other dried fruits in a standard grocery store as well. 

For me it was as easy as assembling the ingredients...

I skipped the lemon juice..didn't have any in the house. nbd

Dumping them in my blender...

and blending them up...

Blend, blend, and blend some more.

...til it turns into a smooth and creamy consistency

yummy

If you don't have a high speed blender, see the note in the original recipe about soaking the dates.

This is both a raw and vegan recipe, but that doesn't mean you should be eating it by the spoonful. For me it works as a nice change from peanut butter. That being said, this recipe does kick-butt compared to the store bought stuff.

Store bought example source.

I plugged in the ingredients in to an online nutrition calculator and was not disappointed. Compared to the pre-made stuff in the tub, this recipe has about half the calories and half the fat. Win! It's also not processed or filled with preservatives. And really guys, any excuse to fire up the VitaMix is more than welcome in our house.

Plus did I mention it's delicious?!?! 

Happy munching.

Go make yourself a snack! We're half-way to the weekend!

Tempeh Stuffed 'Shrooms

HUMP DAAAAAAAY! At some point in the near future I'll get sick of that, I promise, but that day is not today.

Welcome to another delicious blog post. Lately my love for TJ's has blossomed into something beautiful. While there on Saturday I noticed a nice little six pack of "Stuffing Mushrooms" Special thanks to TJ's for making the food epiphanies easy this week. Without further ado....

Tempeh Stuffed Shrooms with Red Wine Reduction

What You'll Need:

6 medium sized mushrooms

For the reduction:

2 cups red wine

1/8 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

2 Tbs Earth Balance buttery spread

For the tempeh:

4 oz tempeh, diced

Chopped mushroom stems

1 Tbs vegan Worcestershire

2 Tbs soy sauce

1 tsp liquid smoke (optional)

1 tsp fennel seeds (optional)

1/2 cup water

For the stuffing:

Cooked tempeh (above)

3 Tbs red wine

1-2 Tbs Veganaise

1/4 cup breadcrumbs (plus est for topping)

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Once again we have a lovely recipe coming to you from an index card. This time I had to do some veganizing to make it work. Bonus: I shaved off some serious fat from this recipe.

Thanks Mom!

First things first, prep your shrooms by cleaning the caps and removing the steams. Chop the stems into small pieces. Dice the tempeh into small pieces as well.

Add all of the tempeh ingredients in a skillet over medium heat. My mom's original recipe called for sausage filling. To mimic the taste of the sausage I added some liquid smoke and fennel seeds. Your shrooms will taste great without these, but it will definitely kick it up a notch to add them. 

Stir occasionally, allowing the liquids to cook off. Once done, set the mixture aside to cool.

While the tempeh is cooling, get your red wine reduction going. In a small sauce pan, combine all of the reduction ingredients EXCEPT the butter. Heat to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let the sauce reduce to a syrupy consistency, stirring occasionally

Balsamic not pictured :( But I remembered it for the sauce.

In a small bowl, combine the cooked tempeh with the remaining stuffing ingredients. Mix well, breaking apart the tempeh further. The stuffing should be able to hold its shape. If it's too crumbly, try adding more breadcrumbs to help it hold together.

Now would be a great time to pour yourself a glass of wine :)

Cheers!

Don't forget your reduction! Go give it a stir and check on the consistency. Remember we are going for syrupy.

Next step: stuff those shrooms. Go ahead and mound the stuffing above the cap. I used all the stuffing for 6 mushroom caps, so go crazy and be generous. 

Now lets give our shrooms some hair. In a small plate sprinkle a layer of breadcrumbs. One by one turn the mushrooms, stuffing side down, in the crumbs to coat.

Time to fry 'em up. Drizzle a bit of oil in a medium skillet and heat to medium high. Place in your shrooms cap side down and cook for a few minutes until browned.

Now comes the scary part. Flip the shrooms to stuffing side down and cook for a few more minutes until the breadcrumbs are toasted.

Girl, look at thoes shroom butts.

Flip 'em back over, turn off the burner, and let them chill while you finish up the reduction.

Continue to stir (and sip), while the reduction continues to simmer. When the reduction is just about the right consistency, add the butter and stir. 

Remove from heat. Plate up your shrooms and drizzle with the reduction.

Munch!

Happy Hump Day! 

Let the Pumpkin-ing Begin!

Source

I don't care if the highs are still in 90's. September means fall. Bring on the pumpkin!

Luckily the hubster had no issues with this so Saturday night became night one of Pumpkin Fest 2013.

Pumpkin Mac n Cheeze

 sauce recipe adapted from The Veganomicon

What You'll Need:
1 c. penne noodles
5 strips of Lightlife Smart Bacon, crumbled
1 Tbs. olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 c. pumpkin puree
1 c. almond pulp
1 c. water
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. turmeric
3/4 c. nutritional yeast
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. yellow mustard
1/4 c. fried onion pieces
Vegan Parmezano sprinkles (optional)
Sprinkle of nutmeg.

Ready to become delicious.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Begin boiling your noodles to al dente. While noodles are cooking, crisp up your bacon. Crumble the bacon into bite size pieces once cooked. Drain the pasta and layer with the bacon crumbles in an oven ready casserole dish.

Now it's time to make the sauce. In a small sauce pan heat the oil over medium heat then add the garlic and cook for a few minutes. Instead of spending the time mincing my garlic with a knife, I've found that grating it with our zester works great. Just make sure you clean it really well after :)

Grate, grate, grate...grate, grate, grate...grate your garlic! (in the tune of shake your booty)

Add the pumpkin, water, and 1/2 c. of almond pulp to your saucepan and mix to combine. I tossed the pulp in a frying pan to help dry it out a bit, but you could skip that step. The almond pulp I'm using comes from my Homemade Almond Milk recipe.  If you don't have almond pulp on hand, you can substitute 2 Tbs. of cornstarch in the sauce and 1/2 c. of bread crumbs in the topping. Or you could just omit it all together. The pumpkin alone should make your sauce pretty thick, and the fried onion will make a great topping on its own.

After 2-3 minutes add the salt, turmeric, and nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast (nooch) is a vegan go-to for a cheese substitute. You can find it in the bulk section of your local health food store. It's kind of mustard yellow color with the texture of fish food flakes. Nooch is high in B vitamins among other things and is a great pantry additions for non-vegans too! Try it sprinkled over popcorn :)

Over the next 2-3 minutes your sauce should cook down and thicken a bit. Next you add the lemon juice and mustard and stir to combine. And you're done. Your sauce is complete!

Pour and spread

Pour the sauce over the noodles and bacon. Spread it with a spoon to distribute evenly. Top with the remaining almond pulp, fried onions, and a sprinkle of parmezano and nutmeg.

Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Scoop into bowls. I topped my *cough* second bowl *cough cough* with some sriracha for an extra kick. Enjoy!

And don't forget dessert! Homemade pumpkin bread. Delish!

Happy Wednesday and welcome to Fall!