I was watching Ayesha Curry’s cooking show on Hulu (how cute is she btw) and she created this S’mores Dip literally 10 minutes before serving it. I don’t know if it was TV magic but she left the dinner table and minutes later, came back with a S’mores dip fresh out of the oven. Well dang, I decided to test if it was TV magic or not and decided it to try the S’mores Dip magic on my in-laws during a late Father’s Day celebration. Spoiler alert: It wasn’t TV magic. It really is that simple!
For you readers in the United States, 4th of July is right around the corner and S’Mores is about as American as one can get. You need this on your picnic table (be sure to use a coaster for pans!) Try it out and let me know if it was just as easy for ya’ll!
Vegan S’Mores Dip – What You Need
1 cast iron skillet (I used small skillet)
1 bag of vegan chocolate chips
1 bag of vegan marshmallows (I used Dandies Marshmallows. I think the minis work better than the larger ones)
Vegan graham crackers
1 tbsp Vegan butter
Directions
Place your skillet in the oven and preheat your oven to 450 F.
While the oven preheats, bring out all your ingredients and prep the graham crackers by breaking them in half and prepping your presentation plate.
Once the oven is preheated, carefully pull the cast iron skillet out of the oven and place on a heat pad. Add the tbsp of vegan butter and spread it around the pan.
Add enough chocolate chips to cover the bottom of the pan.
Optional: Mix in a bit of nut butter.
Add enough marshmallows to create an even layer atop the chocolate – no chocolate should peek through!
Optional: Sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon atop the marshmallow.
Place the skillet back into the oven for 12-15 minutes depending on your oven (keep an eye on the marshmallow to see that it gets golden)
Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Serve immediately after with your graham crackers.
Enjoy!
Question of the Day
What’s your go to backyard BBQ vegan dish to make or eat?
Do you ever walk into a Starbucks coffee shop and just ogle the baked goods case, because girl you know I do, and 0/10 something entices me…mostly because there’s absolutely 0 things vegan and partly because ya girl is trying to lost some L Bs.
I was working out of our Chicago office one day and a scone was calling my name when I went to get my latte. And so, the vegan orange cranberry scones below were born and let me tell you, ya’ll will take one taste and thank me. Not to toot my own horn (toot toot) but I verbally said I’m proud of myself after I tasted this scone so if you need a nice little self-esteem boost, make these vegan scones stat. It also works as a quick and easy vegan breakfast recipe or vegan dessert recipe.
Vegan Orange Cranberry Scones – What You Need
1 medium sized orange (for zest and 2 tbsp of juice)
2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Unbleached All-purpose Flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup vegan sugar (I used Truvia and don’t care for the after taste, so I would recommend another vegan sugar of your choice)
3 twists of salt
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup canned coconut milk – be sure to not use the low-fat one
1 cup dried cranberries (or cherries would work well in this too)
1 9-inch circular baking tray
DIRECTIONS
Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, sugar)
Add in the orange zest and add in 2 tbsp of orange juice
Melt the coconut oil and stir it into your dough
Stir in coconut milk
Fold in the dried cranberries and mix until combined.
Move the dough into your baking tray, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes
Preheat the oven to 400F
Pull the tray out of the fridge and draw a knife through the dough to make even triangles
Bake for 30 minutes, then cool for 10 minutes
The scones came out nice and soft and somewhat crumbly, and one will certainly fill you up!
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
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
As the oven preheats, mix 1 tbsp of egg replacer with 2 tbsp of water and let sit for one minute
As that sits, empty your bag of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix into a large bowl
Add 4 ounces of vegan butter of your choice (I measured 4 oz. out on my food scale)
Mix the butter with the cookie mix and add in the “egg” then stir, stir, and stir until it forms kind of a dough
Take a spoonful into your hands and form into little balls
Place the balls on your silpat or pan and gently push down, you can also smash gently with a fork for those artisan feels
Pop in the oven and bake for 21-25 minutes depending on your oven–check how they look at about the 15-minute mark
When they’re golden brown around the edges, they’re done!
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!
I know that sounds like such a clickbait title, but it’s totally not. I started doing all of the below and my hair is noticeably thicker and longer. It’s true! If you somehow lived the bizarro version of my life, then you grew up with a mom who did everything she could to ensure I had long, black hair like every other good Indian girl. Her passion was so intense that I wasn’t allowed to get haircuts. Even when I explained how split ends work, and how it’s counter-intuitive but necessary to get hair cuts to grow my hair, it went in one ear and out the other.
SO, naturally, this obsession with growing healthy, long, thick hair to rival a horse’s tail passed down to me. After losing about 20-30 pounds (it waivers), I definitely also lost some hair. Making the transition to being vegan caused some hair loss too (but only initially). Once your body finds its groove, your hair will start growing healthier and shinier and thicker. Move over Herbal Essences models! Anyways, go and get or do the below 6 things and you’ll thank me later.
1. High Potency Biotin
I’m leading with the punchline here. High potency biotin is the secret to thicker, longer hair. I keep my bottles of vitamins at work so I can easily take them after lunch. The one I use from Whole Foods (and is often on sale) works like a charm. I ran my hands through my hair and could tell that it felt thicker and got noticeably longer than ever before.
2. Heat Protectant Spray
I have a bad habit of running my hands through my hair, only to accidentally pull out one to three strands at a time. Do this 30 times a day and that could easily equate to handfuls of hair. I started using heat protectant spray every time I wash my hair. I spray it on my slightly damp hair before I use the below and it helps prevent split ends as quickly.
3. Blow-dryer/brush
Instead of using all kinds of heat tools on your hair, find the one multi-tasking tool that works for you. When Ulta had this for 50% off, I jumped on the opportunity and can I tell you I have voluminous, shiny, silky hair because of it? I do. In fact, I’ve never received as many compliments on my hair as when I used this. Scout’s honor. I highly recommend it! It takes place of a hair dryer and a hair straightener. Just be sure to use an effective heat protectant spray. You can get the Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer & Volumizer Hot Air Brush here.
4. Hair bobbles, baseball caps, and dry shampoo
Embrace the dirty hair lifestyle. Your hair will get oily, and that’s OK. When it does, throw on your favorite baseball cap and live up that athleisure look. If you’re going to work, find some hairstyles that are work appropriate and easily conceal two or even three-day hair. My favorite are buns and half-up half-down hairstyles. A cute headband helps too! Be sure to use some good dry shampoo to help with the oil as well.
Invisibobble Hair Ties, Crystal Clear, are a must because unlike your traditional hair ties, they don’t snag or pull your hair out. They also don’t leave kinks in your hair.
5. A plant-rich diet
I mean are you surprised about this one? Health starts from the inside out, and giving your body all the natural minerals and vitamins will help not only heal your body, but give it the boost it needs to develop as it naturally does! I could go on and on about this, but I don’t want to start a fight. Point blank–don’t eat meat or dairy. Eat plants. Love life.
6. A shower scalp massager
This is 100% an Instagram influenced purchase that’s actually legit. I throw a good dollop of shampoo in my hair and get it wet before I take to my scalp with this massager. Not only does it feel good, but lathers up the shampoo ensuring that my entire scalp gets squeaky clean. It may be in my head but the excess build-up, dead skin and sweat can’t be good for a healthy head of hair. You can get the Hair Scalp Massager Shampoo Brush here.
7. 10-week Trims
Not going to lie. This one sucks. A lot. Not only because your hair gets shorter after the fact (I mean duh), but it also means you need to spend money on this. And when I saved up aggressively for the last down payment on our house (and designer shoes), my hair suffers. HOWEVER, it’s really important. Going every 10 weeks to shave off an inch, can help inches down the road. I suggest 10 weeks (because that’s what my hair stylist told me) because it depends on how quickly your hair grows. My hair grows super fast, so I should go monthly, but let’s be honest. I ain’t got time for that. I try to go quarterly if i can.
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!
here.
Vegan & Cruelty Free {VCF} 