Tag: health-conscious

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.

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Question of the Day

What’s your favorite Indian dish?

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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!

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Vegan and Cruelty Free Beauty, Vegan Cruelty Free, Vegan Food

August 2018 Favorites

Samantha

Well, Fall is upon us, which means there are a LOT of Fall favorites ahead. I figured I would kick of September with a recap of Summer…an ode to the glory days before the cold hits.

Ember Mug

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If you’re like me, you take forever to finish your hot beverage. I sometimes heat up a cup of tea, and leave it and forget about it, only to greet it hours later with an, “…oh yeah.” This mug uses smart technology (and it has an app–what!) to control your temperature and keep it at that temperature. Too hot? You can use the app to cool it down and set it at the exact temperature you prefer. It is the absolute first world answer to a first world problem, which should only be reserved really for the top 1%. Well now, we can live like the Beyonce’s and the Gates’ 😉

Born a Crime – Trevor Noah

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This was my local book club’s book of the month, and I highly recommend it! It’s a really insightful look into Trevor Noah’s life as a child growing up in apartheid South Africa. It reads more like little anecdotes, as if you met Trevor at a bar and he’s just telling you some stories from his life. Very well done. 10/10 recommend.

Favorite Vegan Food

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Sesame Seeds

I put sesame seeds on pretttty much EVERYTHING. It’s zero calories and offers a TON of flavors. Next time you eat something bland, toss some sesame seeds on it (and maybe some sriracha) and you’re golden.

Veggie Wavy Chips

…are way better than the veggie straws (like serious pass). I make my dinner into a dip of sorts and eat it with a bag of these chips (which are labeled vegan and are only 130 calories per bag). Otherwise, we have them on the side with our vegan burgers!

Vegan Chickpea Patties

…speaking of burgers, these patties are amazing! They carry them at Costco, and I’m SO proud that they are carrying a lot more vegan options. Even in their cafeteria! They have a vegan salad and acai bowls too. What? #mindblown

Foreo Luna Mini 2 Face Cleanser

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This face cleaning tool seriously leaves my face feeling SO soft. I talked about it in this full review here, and I still love it.

Barefoot Dreams CozyChic “In the Wild” Throw

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I wasn’t able to find is Barefoot Dreams blankets are cruelty-free, but what I have learned is that it is 100% worth it. It’s the SOFTEST blanket I’ve ever wrapped myself in, and am low-key looking forward to Winter just so I can walk around the house in it…even more than I do now.

Question of the Day

What are you loving this month?

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Vegan and Cruelty Free Beauty, Vegan Cruelty Free

Tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation Review

Samantha

TarteF1

My search for the perfect foundation continues. But first, let me set the stage in case you’re a new reader:

  1. I have oily skin.
  2. I have a brown complexion with red undertones in some areas.
  3. I could have smaller pores.

So what does perfect mean to me? A foundation that doesn’t move around even after a long day on the job, keeps me looking matte and doesn’t oxidize. Well it turns out that these three things are a TALL order for your every day foundation. Not to mention I’m totally entitled and need a foundation with SPF to protect me from all the sun’s realness. Not much right? Wrong.

My search brought me to the Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage 12-Hour Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF 15 Sunscreen. Now that name sounds like it covers alllll of my three bases, so I put it to the test. Here are my results:

1. CONSISTENCY: What “Clay” Foundation Feels Like.

The foundation is middle in consistency between watery and thick, however probably leans more on the #thick side (hi!).

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2. LONGEVITY: Does Tarte Foundation Really Last 12 Hours?

This is where I was gravely disappointed. For the first day, it seemed to work fine. I tested it both with a primer underneath and without, however the primer didn’t seem to make that much of a difference. Note: This may have worked awesome for you and let me say that I am totally jelly of you for that, but I do have oily skin, so keep that in mind.

It lasted for about 2 hours before it started to move all around the place. I touch my face when I’m thinking or just taking a pause between projects. Why? No clue. But then I go to the restroom and I what look like little nicks on my face where my foundation moved. It literally sat on top of my skin and didn’t stick to anything. That said, it didn’t necessarily feel like I had a lot of makeup on so that’s a plus.

3. Tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation QUALITY

I think the quality is definitely there! It really make my skin look great (I always set my foundation with the same powder), even if it lasted all of two hours. As far as ingredients goes, this one is fantastic when it comes to sunscreen. Both titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are mineral sunscreens, which are much better than the other ingredients on the market that are complete with fillers such as: oxybenzone, avobenzone, octisalate, octocrylene, homosalate and octinoxate.

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4. Full-Coverage Foundation COLOR SELECTION

There are 40 color options to choose from, which is a lot more than I can say for your run-of-the-mill drugstore options! I color matched as 44S Tan Sand, and I think it was actually a little bit dark for me, so I replaced it with 40H Tan Honey, which worked out much better. It also didn’t oxidize orange, but I did find that it settles in a bit darker than what you see out of the tube. That may have just been me. Otherwise, I would say err on the side of a lighter shade to find the perfect match.

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5. Is Tarte Foundation VEGAN & CRUELTY-FREE?

Kind of!

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Cruelty-Free? When asked if Tarte is cruelty-free, they say: tarte cosmetics is a cruelty-free cosmetics line. tarte makeup and skincare is never tested on animals.

Vegan? When asked if Tarte is vegan, their answer is: many of our products are vegan! At the bottom of every tarte product page in the tarte shop there is an ingredient listing where you can find the ingredients to the products you’re interested in. tarte cannot guarantee that any ingredients or products were produced in an allergen free environment.

With that said, this Amazonian Clay 12-hour foundation is vegan-friendly, and it is one of  many makeup options that are in their “Vegan Friendly” collection: #notsponsored

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Source: Tarte.com

OVERALL

I would recommend this foundation not at all for it’s longevity, but for the quality if you’re looking to smooth out your complexion for a couple hours. A dinner? A photo shoot? A short outing? Perfect. Anything longer than that just didn’t gel with me.

RATING: 6.5/10 because of it’s longevity, otherwise I think it would be a solid 8.5!

Would I recommend you buy it? I think it’s worth a shot to see if it works with your skin.

PRICE: $39 for 1.7 oz. I bought mine at Ulta.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Do you use this foundation? How do you use it? What do you love about it? If it works for you–you’re so lucky!

Also, if you’re interested in reviewing certain products, let me know which and what you would like to see about them! These other reviews might give you some ideas.

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Vegan Cruelty Free

Vegan Memorial Day: Vegan BBQ

Samantha

Memorial Day is one of the few days out of the year you can rock an American flag on just about anything: your headband, your booty shorts, your pool floaties and your grill, even the one in your mouth. But also synonymous with Memorial Day is meat, and lots of it. People LOVE to grill on this holiday and it’s no wonder…suns out, (burger) buns out, right? BUT we can do without all that meat, murder and cruelty (sorry omnivores) and pay homage to our veterans with some delicious eats that are so nutritious that you’ll keep the backyard “bbq” party goin’ all night long. SO with that said, here is the first edition of my Vegan Memorial Day eats (appetizer and dessert, entree to come tomorrow!).

Easy Memorial Day Appetizer:

Vegan Pigs in a Blanket, without the Oink

These “pigs” in a blanket make the easiest and quickest appetizer (or meal because you won’t be able to stop poppin’ these “piggies” in your mouth). All you need to do to pre-heat your oven and prep your ingredients. Once you assemble, bake and take. The best part is, you can personal these to your flavor profile. Read below to find out exactly where the personal touch fits in:

Image result for vegan pigs in a blanketPC: livekindly

INGREDIENTS

1 pack of vegan hot dogs
2 packs of Pillsbury crescent rolls (accidentally vegan)
Dijon mustard or other sauce (to taste)
Everything but the bagel seasoning (from Trader Joe’s) or sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat your over to 400 degrees.
  2. Prepare your dogs: cut each dog into quarters. Cut them in half width-wide, then those two pieces in half length-wise.
  3. Prepare your cresent rolls: Pull apart each of the crescent roll pieces and lay them out so they look like triangles on your flat surface.
  4. Take the sauce of your choice and spread them across each of the triangle pieces–it doesn’t hurt to be generous here because once you bake these the flavors tend to steam (bake?) away.
  5. Now place each of those quarter hot dog pieces on the fat end of the triangle, then roll them up toward the pointy end.
  6. You should now have little pigs in a blanket! Repeat with each piece.
  7. Lay them out about 1-inch apart on a baking sheet (I line mine with a silpat)
  8. Take your seasoning or sesame seeds (optional) and sprinkle them on top of each of the little “Pigs” in a blanket.
  9. Place them in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
  10. You’ll know they’re done when they’re golden brown. Let them cool for about 5 minutes, and then they’re ready to serve, with an extra side of mustard for those rebels in your party. 

vegan dessert

Pina Colada in a Bowl (my vegan pina colada in edible (not drink) form) 

This is my take on a pina colada in food form. All you need for this is three ingredients, one of which is purely store bought…unless you want to be really extra and over-the-top, then I got you covered too.

Grilled-Pineapple-Coconut-Cream-2PC: floatingkitchen

INGREDIENTS

Fresh pineapple slices or canned pineapple slices
Full fat coconut milk
Dairy free ice cream OR frozen bananas and almond extract
Unsweetened coconut flakes

DIRECTIONS

  1. If using canned pineapple slices, try to get them as dry as possible before placing them on a grill. If using fresh, place them on a grill with a little bit of coconut oil on either side. Grill for about 5 minutes on each side.
  2. While grilling the pineapple slices, separate the thick part of coconut milk from the liquid into two separate bowls. Whisk the thick portion until it turns light and fluffy and voila, you have vegan whipped cream. For an added taste, add a few drops of vanilla extract.
  3. Place a scoop or two of ice cream in a bowl OR 3A. Blend frozen bananas with some water or a little bit of almond milk with some almond extract until it turns into an ice cream consistency.
  4. Place your grilled pineapple on top of your “ice cream.”
  5. Top with your coconut whipped cream and top that with some unsweetened coconut flakes.

Pina colada in a bowl. You’re welcome.

Question of the Day

What are your go-to vegan recipes? Share–we want to know!

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