Happy Vegan Eats & More…

When you have extra spinach laying around or a bag of spring mix that’s about to go bad, use it for this recipe.

You will need:

A can of lentil soup and some spinach

Open a can of lentil soup, you can make it yourself if you feel like working. Put it on the stove, add your spinach and let simmer on low for about 20-30 minutes. 

This is really a great soup. Wuick and easy too! 

Wow, what a great thing! Oprah has decided to do a 21 day cleanse and eliminate animals products from her diet during this time. You can read all about it here:

http://www2.oprah.com/foodhome/food/cleanse/blog/blog_1.jhtml

Went out to find the baby robins gone. Sure hope the little guys made it!

One fo my favorite salads is made using Loma Linda Canned Tender Bits

You just cut up the tender bits, which come in a can, fry them for a few minutes with vegetable oil and some garlic salt. Then while hot, toss them into a bagged salad of your choice. I like a spring mix or veggie mix and top with italian dressing. So delicious, the blend of hot and cold!  

Used Teese Vegan Cheese for the first time to make pizza bread and it turned out great! I didn’t have a cheese grater handy so I just sliced it but I think the teese would have melted even better if it had been grated.

Tonight I grilled asparagus which until recently I had never tried. Now I’m hooked! I take fresh asparagus put it in a skillet with melted earth balance margarine and sprinkle with garlic salt, then cover and let it cook/steam for about 10 minutes. It’s so good and good for you. Asparagus provides many beneficial nutrients like folic acid and antioxidants and is low in calories. Studies have shown that asparagus may help prevent cancer in organs lined with epithelial tissues.

I had a few stocks of asparagus left over so I’m gonna run them through the juicer tomorrow. I’m not sure if this will taste good but if not a couple apples thrown in masks any strong flavor when juicing.

If you’ve never tried grilled asparagus don’t wait any longer. Go out and get some for dinner. Your body will thank you!

This mexican dip is so easy to make and great for parties.

You will need:

Taco seasoning packet

Tofutti Cream Cheese

Tofutti Sour Cream

A Can of Veggie Refried Beans

Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, peppers or a package of Pico De Gallo (has fresh peppers, tomatoes and onions)

Vegan Cheese (optional)

1) In a resealable container, put down a layer of refried beans

2) In a bowl, mix sour cream and cream cheese with taco seasoning mix

3) Put cream mixture on top of the refried beans

4) Now add tomatoes, peppers and onions

5) Top with vegan cheese if desired

6) Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and serve with tortilla chips!

I hadn’t used my juicer in awhile so I pulled it out the other day and went to the store to get some carrots, celery and apples. I like blending these three together with a little agave nectar. My boyfriend was watching with a horrified look on his face as I started running the carrots and celery through. He said “I don’t think I’ll be drinking any of that!” I said “Why not, it’s so good for you?” He shrugged and walked away. I’m not sure if the sight of the juicing bothered him or the thought of drinking carrots and celery did it.

After I finished, I handed him a little glass and he took the smallest sip possible. He said it wasn’t that bad and finished the teaspoon worth of juice left. But, he didn’t ask for seconds. I don’t think I will convert him into a juicing fan anytime soon.

For now, I’m inspired to juice more which will probaby be temporarily. It always is. As much as I would love to juice daily, I just lose my motivation somehow and the juicer ends up back in the cabinet collecting dust. My mission for next week is to look for some creative juice recipes that will inspire me.

I’ll share what I find….

The one thing that I don’t like about juicing is how many vegetables and pieces of fruit it takes to make a small glass of juice. I’m all for getting my veggies but can’t really afford to spend $10 on a 16 oz glass of juice. So, to get my daily veggie intake I resort to green supplements and powders. One of my favorites is Green Magma, barley grass juice. This juice contains a very balanced blend of nutrients: vitamins, antioxidants, amino acids, active enzymes, proteins an chlorophyll. It is individually packaged so you can add it to smoothies or juice. You can even drink it in water if you don’t mind the taste.

Another great green powder is wheatgrass. Wheatgrass contains antioxidants, vitamins including B12, many minerals and trace elements like selenium, and all 20 amino acids. Plus it contains other nutrients and beneficial enzymes. Some people choose to grow their own wheatgrass. You can buy a kit which seems fairly easy but you will also have to invest in a wheatgrass juicer. Apparently, you can’t juice wheatgrass in a regular juicer. I’ve always wanted to grow wheatgrass myself so I would love to hear from others who grow/juice  wheatgrass. Drop me an email.

Here’s a very easy vegan lasagana recipe

You will need: 

Vegan Cheese (Toffuti, Shreese, etc)

1 box lasagna noodles 

2 big cans pasta sauce of your choice

Veggies and stuff- mushrooms, red pepper, onion

Frozen spinach

1 package Gimme Lean Beef

DIRECTIONS: 

Preheat oven to 350.

First, be sure to let the spinach thaw out and drain it well, squeezing out any liquid. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. I only needed about half a box of noodles this time. While these are cooking, brown the Gimme Lean Beef in a skillet. 

You will need a nice size casserole pan (12 by 9 would be good).  Start with a layer of pasta sauce, then add noodles, then start layering your other ingredients with sauce and noodles. Do it however you want and be sure to top it off with a layer of sauce and dairy free cheese (I used a mixture of mozzarella and American). Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.