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Whether you’ve been vegan for just one meal, just one day, a few months, or decades like me, I’m happy about it! Every cruelty~free bite is a step in the right direction and it helps save animals from needless pain and suffering. Violence begins with our fork. Thank you for your compassion!
Peace & Love,
My Vegan Journal xoxo
First of all, I am SUPER happy that the L.A. City Council just voted in favor of an ordinance that will make L.A. the largest city in America to ban pet stores from selling dogs, cats and rabbits obtained from commercial breeders!! That’s great news!! A homeless dog or cat is put to sleep in the U.S. every 8 seconds, so this ban will really help give a ray of new hope to those homeless animals! Hurray!
Hopefully more cities will follow in L.A.’s footsteps and enact similar ordinances!
New Vegan Items at TJ’s! Seems like every time I go there, there’s something new I can eat! Last night I made a super quick & easy dinner… organic broccoli & organic tofu, served on a bed of organic brown rice, and then I smothered it with Trader Joe’s Thai Vegetable Panang Curry Sauce ~ which is a coconut cream base with carrots, cauliflower & baby corn. If you don’t have a TJs & aren’t in a rush, you could make your own curry sauce!
Just a heads up though – the TJ’s sauce is imported from Thailand, which means it’s not local – and traveled a very long distance… so it’s ok for a treat now and then, but just something to keep in mind if you’re trying to leave a small ecological footprint.
And this afternoon I made vanilla pumpkin cake! I used the TJ’s vanilla cake mix and added a about 3 heaping tablespoons organic pumpkin puree and a couple heaping tablespoons of flour to even it out! Ener-G Egg Replacer in lieu of the eggs, SILK almond milk in lieu of the dairy milk, and organic coconut oil instead of dairy butter! I also made a super quick little vegan vanilla yogurt pumpkin maple syrup topping, but I really think this cake would be BEST with my vegan whipped cream! And just a heads UP – I confirmed that the “enzymes” listed in the ingredients are plant based and not animal based, so it’s indeed a vegan cake mix! And they have a new cinnamon coffee cake mix too! Hurray!
I also found a few new items at Whole Foods Market!
I found vegan WFM bean & rice burritos, WFM vegan “breakfast patties” and WFM vegan Frosted Flakes!
And today I found organic dinosaur kale for only $1.49 per BIG beautiful bunch at Ralph’s. It’s a SUPER food, packed with lots of vitamins, antioxidants and phytonutrients! It is NOT more expensive to eat healthy, so no excuses.
Just buy whatever healthy plant based foods are on sale in your local grocery store or farmers’ market!! you CAN do it! Gotta balance out that cake lol!
I’ll post a picture of my super scrumptious vegan dinosaur kale salad shortly! It’s really healthy and delicious!
And lastly, don’t forget – please vote YES on CA Prop 37! We should have a right to know if there are fish genes in our tomatoes, ya know! If GMOs aren’t bad for us, they should be proud to label them… remember, it’s not a ban – we’re just asking for a right to know what’s in our food!
Have a beautiful, healthy day everyone!
Three years ago today, at age 45, I ran off to the beach in my 50 dollar kids’ size 14 “wedding” dress and flip flops and married my TRUE love!
We said our wedding vows, exchanged our silver wedding bands and sealed our everlasting love with a big smooch in the ocean breeze.
Then we played around on the sea shore, fell in the ocean (well I did at least!) and mixed sand from the beach from his home town with the sand from the beach of my hometown into a little heart shaped glass jar ~ never to be separated again.
We slowed danced to Uncle Kracker’s “You Make Me Smile” in our bare feet in the wet sand…
and we even had a little vegan wedding cake! —>
So simple. So inexpensive. And so perfect!
I love LOVE!
Happy 3 Year Wedding Anniversary to Us!
I am so grateful for my respectful, witty & loving husband, today and forever!
And now, off to the mountains… have a beautiful day everyone! xoxo
Hello Everyone!
Here’s how you can get some free Silk Almond Milk! But first, a quick little background…
The DOWNSIDE?
Silk is owned by Dean Foods, and Dean Foods is not my favorite company. Far from it. They’re one of the leading processors and distributers of dairy milk, and we all know that means they are responsible for horrific cruelty to animals.
When dairy cows can no longer give milk, they face the same sharp blade as those raised and killed for burgers. And baby male calves that are born to dairy cows are torn away from their mothers within 48 hours of birth and sent to the “veal” industry where they are kept in tiny metal crates, in 23 out of 24 hours of darkness, unable to turn around, so that their flesh will stay anemic – because sadistic people don’t want them to build muscles – they want their “veal” pale and soft.
The UPSIDE?
Silk was founded by vegetarian Steve Demos in Boulder, Colorado in 1978. He started off by making tofu in his apartment kitchen with a $500 loan.
And here’s the scoop… Shelf space is VERY expensive in supermarkets. Usually the prime “eye level” spots are reserved for those who can pay BIG bucks. So in 2002, Whitewave (SILK) was sold to Dean Foods. Demos thought his plant based product would reach far more people if it was promoted by Dean Foods, and he was right. In early 2000, it was difficult to find non-dairy milk in mainstream U.S. supermarkets, but now SILK is in over 90% of them. Dean Foods can afford the pricey shelf space – and plant based milks are everywhere. The sale was an economic and strategic decision, and it worked. SILK is in everyones face these days, and that’s the way I like it. Yes, it’s owned by a dairy company, but for every carton someone buys of SILK, that’s one carton of dairy misery they’re not buying.
It’s also one more carton to replace on the shelf shouting “Almond Milk is BETTER than Dairy!!”
Have you checked out what the carton says? It’s VERY anti-dairy!
* Absolutely no cholesterol or saturated fat, unlike milk
* 50% daily value of antioxidant vitamin E, while milk has none.
* 50% more calcium than dairy milk
It also has just as much vitamin D as dairy milk and lots of B12 for us vegans. To top it off, SILK is GMO free – and verified by the NON GMO PROJECT.
I buy a variety of plant based milks – thankfully there are many delicious ones out there… but unlike some vegans, when I buy SILK I don’t feel like I’m supporting the dairy industry – instead I feel like I’m buying commercial advertising space to SLAM the horrific dairy industry.
I also feel like I’m encouraging Dean Foods to invest in the production of more plant based milks, and decrease their production of dairy milk. That’s just how I feel about it – but I respect those who decide they don’t want to buy SILK. As long as you’re not buying dairy milk, it’s A-OK with me!
Ok, that’s a LOT of (albeit important) chit-chat for a darn coupon, right? Well here ya go: Here’s a coupon for $2 off a quart or 1/2 gallon of SILK – you simply need to “register” and answer a few question on their page. I saw quarts on sale for $1.99 this week at Ralph’s – and I know the big half gallon sizes often go on sale for $2.99 or less. So that means you can get a quart for FREE or a 1/2 gallon for almost free. So if you have qualms about buying SILK almond or soy milk, here’s your chance to get some – without contributing a penny to the company.
Cheers!
So I posed the following question to the over 10,000 My Vegan Journal Facebook fans tonight (yep that’s right, over 10K now! whooohoo!!):
“ok, i only have time to post 1 blog entry tonight on My Vegan Journal, so you choose: 1) I can post pictures & a recipe from the vegan pie cooking class I went to (so yummy!) or 2) Details on the National Animal Cruelty Prosecution Conference that I attended yesterday (very inspirational!) or 3) My trip to Cafe Gratitude last weekend (a vegan restaurant extraordinaire!) You pick!”
xoxo My Vegan Journal
And it was really close!! But I think the “Pies” won! So if you didn’t vote for vegan pies, don’t worry… I’ll be sure to write about the other two choices soon too!
As I mentioned, I recently went to Newport Beach to enjoy a beautiful day outside at a vegan pie cooking class hosted by Native Foods, one of my all time favorite vegan restaurants! Their cooking classes are always free, and they’re very generous with allowing guests to sample all of the goodies! Last time we made red pepper and white bean bruschetta, blood red beets with pine nut “goat” cheese, red apple “sangria” and red rhubarb crumble! All vegan and all delicious!
This time we made “Early Bird Pie”, “Pot Pie” and “Chocolate Creme Pie”!! Mmmmm!
So let’s get this 3.14159 (heehee) party started! Here’s the recipe for “Early Bird Pie” – which is really just like a quiche!
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup barley flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup cold water
1 lb broccoli chopped
1/2 lb cauliflower chopped
3 diced red peppers
1 tbsp olive oil
1 finely chopped onion
4 minced cloves of garlic
1 lb firm tofu, drained
1/2 cup soy, rice or almond milk
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp vegan parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast
fresh cracked pepper to taste
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease the bottom of the tart/pie shell.
2. Combine both flours and salt in a large bowl and add the oil. Then slowly drizzle in the water.
3. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly brown. Let it cool.
4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onion and garlic until golden. Stir in the broccoli, cauliflower and red peppers. Sauté until cooked.
5. In a blender, combine tofu, soy/rice/almond milk, mustard, salt, nutmeg, ground red pepper, black pepper, parsley and vegan parm cheese or nutritional yeast. Blend until smooth. In a large bowl combine tofu mixture with broccoli mixture. Pour into pie crust.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until quiche is set. Allow to cool and set for 5 minutes before slicing.
Enjoy!!
If the above seems too overwhelming, here’s a really simple recipe for you, also from Native Foods:
Pass the Almond Cheese Please!
2 cups almonds, soaked overnight, drained, skins removed
1 cup water
2 tbsp olive or coconut oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp white miso paste
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp sea salt
Place all of the ingredients (except water) in a food processor or blender. Pulse for 30 seconds. Slowly add in water, pulsing until paste has formed. Place nut mixture in a cheesecloth-lined colander, roll into desired shape and twist off top. Plate and refrigerate overnight. And voila! Almond cheese!
Up next, vegan chocolate cream pie & vegan pot pies! Mmmm! As well as details on the conference and Cafe Gratitude! And in the meantime, if you’d like to attend any of Native Food’s FREE cooking demos, check in on their EVENTS page every now and then! Native Foods is expanding and there may be one near you. They have locations throughout California, and now in Oregon, Chicago and Colorado too! And they also give away super cool prizes at the demos too. Good people. Good food. I love Native Foods!
And if you’re not near a Native Foods, check out the Vegan Zombie!! He has a facebook page and a youtube page and always posts delicious (and VERY entertaining!) cooking videos! I adore him and I’m pretty sure you will too!
So much vegan stuff to talk about… and I LOVE it all! xoxo
Happy World Vegetarian Day!!
October 1st is the annual kick-off of Vegetarian Awareness Month. People from across the world are working extra hard this month to help inform others about the benefits of vegetarianism. Here are a few important veggie facts, and the scoop on Vegan Mofo (Month of Food!!) too!
Going veg is great for your health, the environment, and most importantly, it helps diminish the suffering of animals. Let’s educate & celebrate!!
FACTS:
Our Health: Vegan foods provide us with all the nutrients that we need, minus the saturated fat, cholesterol, antibiotics and hormones that are found in meat, eggs, and dairy products. Plant-based diets help protect us from heart disease, diabetes, obesity, strokes, and several types of cancer.
Vegans also tend to have stronger immune systems and, on average, live 10 years longer than meat-eaters do.
So many yummy food options to choose from too! There’s really no excuse!
Our Environment: If all Americans went meat-free just one day a week, it would result in the same carbon savings as taking 19.2 million cars off the road in the United States for an entire year, or save gas emissions equivalent to 46 million return flights from New York to Los Angeles. WOW!
It requires 500 times as much land to produce 2.2 pounds of beef as it does to produce 2.2 pounds of vegetables. Sheesh!
More than 260 million acres of U.S. forest have been cleared to create cropland to grow grain to feed farmed animals, and according to scientists at the Smithsonian Institution, the equivalent of seven football fields of land is bulldozed worldwide every minute to create more room for farmed animals. Don’t you love forests? I know I do!
Human Rights: Animals aren’t the only ones who are abused by the meat industry. Human Rights Watch has said that slaughterhouse workers have “the most dangerous factory job in America.”
The industry has refused to do what’s necessary to create safe working conditions for its employees, such as slowing down slaughter lines and supplying workers with appropriate safety gear, because these changes could cut into companies’ bottom lines. Many workers endure crippling injuries and many have even lost their limbs—or their lives—from working with dangerous meat-processing machines.
Refusing to buy or eat meat ensures that you aren’t contributing to this exploitative industry. Isn’t it great that by going vegetarian or vegan, we’re not only helping animals, but helping people too?
Compassion for Animals: No facts needed here. Going vegetarian and/or vegan helps end needless suffering. Period.
Why be cruel when it’s so easy to be kind?
I don’t want to be the cause of anyone being shackled or having their throat slit, do you?
BE the change!
The North American Vegetarian Society is having a contest for non-vegetarians who pledge to abstain from all meat, fish and fowl during Vegetarian Awareness Month! Folks who pledge are entered in a random drawing for a thousand bucks! Details are at: WorldVegetarianDay.Org Spread the word & maybe you can inspire your friends to Go Veg!
Vegan Mofo!
Do you like to read blogs? Did you know October is Vegan MoFo?! That means an entire MONTH of hundreds bloggers like me who are writing even MORE than usual to inform the masses about the benefits and yumminess of Vegan Food! Check out the LIST and follow some of your favorite vegan chefs & writers! It’s gonna be great!
Happy World Vegetarian Day! Educate, celebrate & BE the change!
I made a vegan birthday cake for my husband two years ago and it fell apart into too many pieces to count! I was trying to make several layers, and basically the cake said “Oh no, you’re not!” and flopped before my eyes. I was expecting a home full of guests within the hour and had to think quick, so I did what any good hostess would do, and scooped all the pieces into one giant mound and covered it with frosting. It was one ridiculously looking vegan cake mess, but the candles flickered just as bright and we all enjoyed our tasty scoops o’ cake nonetheless.
——————————>
This year, there would be NO such disaster. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not much of a recipe person and haven’t used one more than a dozen times. However, I DO love cookbooks and have a nice collection of them. So I gave a stack to my husband to thumb through and asked him to pick out one to give me some idea of what to bake! It was a tough decision, but he finally selected the Lemon Poppy Seed Poundcake in Alicia Silverstone’s “The Kind Diet” – so although I’ve adapted the recipe to what I had on hand, and what I thought would be tasty, I owe a BIG thank you to her for providing the “groundwork” and inspiration!
Ingredients:
1 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup organic all-purpose flour
1/3rd cup organic sugar
2 teaspoons Ener-G (egg replacer)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
1/4 cup fresh squeezed organic lemon juice
1/2 cup organic coconut oil
1/2 cup organic agave/maple syrup
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
(1/2 lemon for the end!)
Berry Topping
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen raspberries
1/4 cup agave/maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and oil the pan and/or pans. A bundt pan will work – or a few mini-loaf tins. I used an 8 x 8 casserole dish, but keep in mind, I eat a lot of batter while I’m cooking!
Take your frozen fruit out of the freezer so it can start to thaw.
Combine flours, sugar, egg replacer, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In separate bowl, combine the almond milk with the lemon juice and set aside for a few minutes – it will curdle. Stir in the oil and syrup (maple/agave). Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Gently mix in poppy seeds.
Pour batter into the pan/pans and bake for 15-25 minutes – the larger the pan, the longer it will take, i.e. if you’re using several small pans it will take less time to cook. Check with a toothpick to see when it’s done. The toothpick should come out clean. Ovens really vary, so please adjust according to how fast your oven cooks. I checked on my cake several times because my oven is so unpredictable.
Now, on to making the topping! Place 1 cup of strawberries and 1 cup of raspberries into a blender. They should still be slightly frozen, but loose enough so you can get them out of the bag. Add 1/4 cup of lemon juice, 1/4 cup of syrup and a little bit of vanilla extract to the blender & blend until it’s a nice purée. (Make sure the frozen fruit is soft enough so that it doesn’t break your blender – I broke mine once with frozen artichoke hearts, so I always feel a need to say that now lol!)
Once cooked, let it cool & place your cake on a platter. (I also went around the edge of the casserole dish with a butter knife first, just to make sure it would come out nicely)
Then, take the end of a chopstick, or something similar, and poke a dozen or so 1 inch deep holes into the cake.
Squeeze lemon juice into the holes – you can mix the lemon juice up with a little bit of sugar first if you prefer. My mother always did this with English lemon tea cakes and they were always SO moist! Then gently scoop the cool and refreshing topping onto the cake… SO perfect in this hot weather! It’s like a frozen fruit smoothie topping! I love it!
And voila! Feel free to adjust as needed! You can use whatever frozen fruits you like, and you can substitute a different nut milk too if you prefer. As for sweeteners, I found an organic agave/maple syrup blend at Trader Joe’s that I used, but you can use whatever liquid sweetener you’d like. There are lots of variations you can try!
Happy Birthday to my loving husband! Full fledged “meat” eater when I met him a few years ago… 99% vegan today! He’s wonderful and he LOVED his birthday cake! Whoohooo! Now if only I had remembered to buy more candles… ha!
Ok? OK!!
I feel like the last vegan in the world to catch on to this easy, but tasty, way to make vegan whipped cream, but better late than never!
I don’t know about you, but I haven’t had the best of luck with the pre-made vegan whipped cream that comes in a can. I tried the one made with soy milk but the canister seemed to stop working before the contents were empty. I bought the rice milk version of it a few months later, and again… the same thing happened. At about 6 bucks a pop, it’s too expensive of treat to have malfunctions… alas, no more. I’m making my own!
Here’s how you do it!
1) Place a can of coconut milk upside down in the fridge overnight. Get the regular one, not the “low fat” or “light” type.
2) About 15 minutes before you’re going to make your vegan whipped cream, put your bowl and your blender “beaters” in the freezer so they get nice and cold!
3) While they’re chilling down, prepare some nice sliced fruits (I used organic strawberries!), or get your pie out and ready to top!
4) Open the can and scoop out the thick part, leaving the really liquidy part behind. You’ll notice a really nice hard clump on the top of the can, and a decent amount on the bottom too!
5) Place in bowl and add vanilla and sugar to taste. I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 2 teaspoons of organic sugar, but we’re all different, so add what you think you’ll like!
6) Blend! I used a hand held blender & blended about 1 1/2 minutes or so… and you can see the nice consistency I got in the pictures.
7) Top a cake, pie, fruit, hot cocoa, vegan ice cream or whatever else suits your fancy & enjoy!
You can usually find canned coconut milk for less than $2 in stores, so this is a great alternative to pre-made vegan whipped cream and it’s DELICIOUS! The only thing I can think of that may be a problem for someone is that it does have a hint of coconut taste – which I love, but if you don’t like the taste of coconut, then you might want to pass on this, or add additional flavors to it. I bet cocoa powder might be nice!
Excited to try this out at thanksgiving on pumpkin pie!! oh YES, it’s gonna be great!! And you know what else is great? The slaughterhouse that was just shut down in Hanford, California for abuse was a place where they slaughtered DAIRY cows who could no longer give milk. So by substituting vegan alternatives like this whipped cream in lieu of stealing and whipping up a cow’s milk, you’re really showing that you care about animals… and they thank you for that.
Bon Vegan Appétit!!
(ooooh, all that french just reminded me of cream puffs!! oh YUM! Maybe I’ll make that next!! Au reviour!)
I’ve purchased pre-made wraps “to go” before, and although they usually hit the spot when I’m racing around, I wanted to make some of my own at home. I figured they’d be even tastier than store bought wraps and most certainly less expensive!
Luckily during one of my recent trips to Trader Joe’s, I noticed they were serving samples of vegan wraps made with Masala Burgers. Have you tried Masala Burgers before? Trader Joe’s has them in the frozen food section and they’re really tasty! I usually serve them with Biryani Curried Rice… it’s so good!
Back to the wraps… Here’s how you make em’!
1. Lay out a sheet of Lavash. I used the “Clay Oven Baked Whole Wheat Lavash Bread” from Trader Joe’s. It’s vegan – made only with stone ground whole wheat flour, water, yeast and salt.
2. Then spread a little hummus on it. I used eggplant hummus.
3. Then heat up a vegan burger of your choice. I used a masala burger from Trader Joe’s. As it cooks, break it up in the pan with your spatula and add some shredded veggies. I used Trader Joe’s shredded organic broccoli and carrots. Super easy!
4. Once everything is warm, but not over cooked, gently spread the mixture on top of your lavash bread.
5. Add spices to taste… I used a little sea salt, fresh garlic, ground pepper and Sriracha Sauce.
6. Roll up, slice in half & enjoy!
If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s near you, it’s easy to substitute other vegan ingredients that you enjoy. When I made this again the other night, I added avocado. Super yummy! Also, if you have trouble finding lavash bread, check out an “international” store. We have a few near us that always carry a nice selection of flat breads.
Well, that’s all for now, folks! I’m hungry, so I’m going to make another vegan wrap right now! Mmmm! Cheers!
Oh, that’s right…. there’s money to be made.
And there’s still a mental “disconnect” which makes the general public easy prey for nonsensical marketing.
