Category: Vegan Food

Vegan Cruelty Free, Vegan Desserts, Vegan Food

3 Ingredient Vegan Sugar Cookies – My First Attempt

Samantha

I’m about to leave on a work (kind of) trip and decided to leave my husband with my some treats. So I chose to make something easy [read: something I can knock out quickly and will still remind my husband what he’s missing while I’m away 😉 jk]. After going through my pantry, I decided to make some sugar cookies with my pre-packaged mixture, so if you have just 30 minutes to bust out dessert for any reason or have a strong craving for something sweet, try these out and let me know how they come out for you!

3-Ingredient Vegan Sugar Cookies – What You Need

  • 1 packet of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix
  • 1 tbsp egg replacer
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 4 ounces of vegan butter

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. As the oven preheats, mix 1 tbsp of egg replacer with 2 tbsp of water and let sit for one minute
  3. As that sits, empty your bag of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix into a large bowl
  4. Add 4 ounces of vegan butter of your choice (I measured 4 oz. out on my food scale)
  5. Mix the butter with the cookie mix and add in the “egg” then stir, stir, and stir until it forms kind of a dough
  6. Take a spoonful into your hands and form into little balls
  7. Place the balls on your silpat or pan and gently push down, you can also smash gently with a fork for those artisan feels
  8. Pop in the oven and bake for 21-25 minutes depending on your oven–check how they look at about the 15-minute mark
  9. When they’re golden brown around the edges, they’re done!
  10. Let the cookies cool off of the pan, preferably on an elevated wire base

I noticed the cookies will be hard-ish at first but the next day, they were nice and soft!

If you try this recipe, let me know what you think and how it turned out for you!

Question of the Day

What is your go-to dessert recipe?

Vegan Cruelty Free, Vegan Food, vegan lifestyle, weight loss

Wednesday Vegan Eats for Vegan Weight Loss

Samantha

It’s been a rough couple of months since the new year guys. Am I the only one or can anyone else relate? I was motivated, decided to fall off the wagon (totally consciously), and get back on the wagon at full speed again. If you struggle with yo-yo dieting, this Wednesday weight loss tip will resonate with you. As soon as I changed my point of view to this line of thinking, it was like a huge lift off my shoulders. The revelation?

If you keep telling yourself that you’re on a diet, you’ll keep perpetuating the idea that you have weight to lose. If you go about life as you enjoy it, you won’t keep restricting yourself.

I know. Try it and let me know how it goes!

Vegan Breakfast Option

I normally don’t eat breakfast as you all know. I’m just not hungry enough! This morning though, I worked out and figured I would nourish my body for the hard work it put in in the morning–and instead I went back to my old habits.

Workout: 30 min. Run+walk on the treadmill

Breakfast: I planned to have Apples and Cinnamon Oatmeal, but had my usual Nespresso latte with 8 ounces of unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

Vegan Lunch Option

Many days, lunch is spent at my desk while working. Lately, I’ve been trying to get better at taking a break and truly stepping away from all the screens.

Activity: Stood while working :/

Lunch: healthy life low calorie bread with daiya provolone cheese and light life bologna. Side of cherub tomatoes (ate the tomatoes before they had a chance at a photo)

Going Out as a Vegan

My colleagues and I went out for a quick drink after work. I usually get wine but switched it up and got what the restaurant called a Moscow Muddler. Was good! We also had some appetizers of hummus with pita and fries.

Vegan Dinner Option

I was kind of lost for what to do for dinner. I usually meal plan, but with how busy I’ve been since I started my job over a year ago, it’s been tough! So I made do with the Apples and Cinnamon oatmeal I planned for breakfast. Sorry, forgot the picture!

Question of the Day

What is your favorite go to vegan lunch option?

Vegan Cruelty Free, Vegan Food

Easy Instant Pot Vegan Chana Masala (Vegan Chickpea Curry-oil-free)

Samantha

I am a 1.5 generation child. A what? I was born in India and moved to California with my family when I was 6 years old, old enough to know how to use the toilet (but still run into walls) and young enough to be extremely impressionable. Growing up as a 1.5 generation child meant finding the right balance between being American without losing my culture. God bless my parents they wanted me to learn English quick [all I knew was yes, no, hi, and thank you–man was I polite ;)] so they forbade me from speaking Telugu at home. Before they knew it, Valley Girl Samantha was born, with am “um, like” this and a “no. way.” that.

As I grew up, I fought hard to retain my culture, but with little success, EXCEPT, and it’s a big EXCEPT (all caps worthy), when it came to the food. I lived Indian food. We ate it day in a day out with lots, and LOTS of rice. After I moved to college and then to Southern California for grad school, then all over the nation after that (long story), I ate less and less Indian food with every move and every passing year. I did however try every Indian restaurant which compelled me more to try cooking Indian food at home, minus the ghee, dairy and all other non-vegan stuff. Welcome to my journey I hope you enjoy these vegan chana masala–instant pot version.

INGREDIENTS for Oil-Free Vegan Chana Masala

Chickpea Curry-2

2 tbsp. vegetable broth

1 white or yellow onion (diced)

1-2 tbsp. garlic ginger paste (to your taste preference)

2 tbsp. curry powder

a handful of spinach

1 can of fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 can of lite coconut milk

1 can of garbanzo beans

Chickpea Curry-1

DIRECTIONS to make Delicious Vegan Chickpea Curry

  1. Set your instant pot to saute mode, and add the vegetable broth.
  2. Once the broth starts to sizzle a little, add your diced onions and sautee until they turn semi-clear.
  3. Add the garlic ginger paste and let it cook for up to 2 minutes, or until aromatic.
  4. Add the curry powder and toast it for about a minute.
  5. Add your can of drained garbanzo beans, diced tomatoes, and cocnut milk.
  6. If you prefer it spicy (add in a bit of red chilli pepper flakes–you can just as well add it directly to your dish at the end).
  7. Close the instant pot lid and cook it on high pressure for 6 minutes.
  8. Once time is up, release the pressure, open the lid and stir in the spinach.

If it’s more watery, you can easily enjoy it as a soup, but I personally think it’s best served with some rice or cauliflower rice.

Chickpea Curry-3

Question of the Day

What’s your favorite Indian dish?

blog-signature

Vegan Cruelty Free, Vegan Food

Vegan Taco Ring – Easy Vegan Dinner Recipe

Samantha

 

Photo Sep 09, 4 38 32 PM

I became vegan a few months after my husband and I moved to Illinois. January 1, 2016 marks my vegan birthday (cue balloons). As many vegans will tell you, the hardest part was finding fun recipes and thankfully, Instagram came to the rescue. I found a recipe similar to this ageees ago, but what I learned is that so many of these recipes can easily be tailored to your own. I especially love this one because it’s literally a garbage pile, in that you can throw all your leftovers into the mix, wrap it up, bake it and voila: taco ring.

A couple weekends ago, it was raining like crazy, and I wanted to bake and cook and just be around a warm oven. So I made the taco ring. What’s best about this is, you can easily make it for a potluck or a bring it to a party as your go-to meal because it’s literally SO easy to make and can be made really quickly too depending on the ingredients you use. The one I’m showing you guys below is a little more involved because it includes potatoes. Take out the potatoes and that literally cuts down about 20 mins of time. So, let’s get started!

Taco Ring Ingredients

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 roll of crescent rolls (Pillsbury is accidentally vegan, but Annie’s makes vegan options)
  • 1 packed of Soyrizo (soy chorizo)–I get mine at Trader Joe’s (it’s the cheapest there too)
  • 1/2 packet of taco seasoning (also from Trader Joe’s)

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS

  • 1 pouch of potatoes
  • Veggies of your choice

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut up all of your veggies and start sauteeing them.
3. Open your crescent rolls and lay them out to create a sun shape. The point side should be the outside of “the sun” and the wide side will overlap from piece to piece like below:

TR-3

4. Cook the soyrizo in a separate pan for about 5 minutes. Then toss the mixture with 1/2 packet of the taco seasoning.
5. Mix the soyrizo with the veggies and whatever else you want to fold into the mix.
6. Scoop the soyrizo mix onto the ring like below:

Photo Sep 09, 4 00 55 PM

7. It will get messy, but that’s ok. After you’ve scooped as much as that will fit, fold the point side into the wide side, like below:

Photo Sep 09, 4 01 55 PM

8. Optional: Add vegan cheese to each ring on the top:

Photo Sep 09, 4 03 56 PM

9. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, then let it cool.

If You’re Using Potatoes

  1. Cut the potatoes into bite size pieces.
  2. Throw them in boiling water for 15 minutes, then drain and let them cool for 5 minutes, before tossing them into your taco ring mix.

Photo Sep 09, 4 38 32 PM

Question of the Day

Have you tried this kind of recipe before? What’s your go-to potluck meal?

blog-signature

 

 

 

Vegan Cruelty Free, Vegan Food

Easy Vegan Banana Bread

Samantha

BB1

I went to college at UC Santa Barbara, and before every final, I would go to the Arbor (UCSB students–know what I’m talkin’ about?) and buy a thing of banana bread. That was my little ritual, so needless to say, banana bread has a special place in my heart (whether I passed those tests or not).

I decided to get a little nostalgic last night and make some banana bread. Ok, TBH, I had a pile of black bananas in the fridge that were grossing me out, so into a bowl of flour, sugar and other tid bits they went. It doesn’t take that much time or trouble, so try this for yourself and let me know if you love it!

Vegan Banana Bread Recipe

BB3

Ingredients

3-4 ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup brown or coconut sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup plant milk
1/3 cup (80 mL) coconut oil, melted
2 teaspoons (10 mL) pure vanilla extract (add about 2 tbsp. maple syrup for a little bit more sweetness or a handful of chocolate chips)

Ingredients

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.

3. Spray a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan lightly.

4. Pour all the ingredients into the pan and bake it for 55 minutes.

Good luck!

blog-signature

.