Fat Tuesday Recap

Hiiii! I hope you had a fabulous Fat Tuesday! I definitely did! My mother has always been fascinated by New Orleans and Mardi Gras. She loves the music, the food and the culture of the Big Easy, and Mardi Gras is linked to our Catholic faith, so she loves to celebrate in her own way each year. A few years ago, she started a tradition of making New Orleans style dishes on Fat Tuesday and hosting a small family celebration with New Orleans jazz music, drinks and good conversation.

Last night's menu included gumbo, beans and rice and beignets. Since I am new to this vegan lifestyle, I considered indulging in Fat Tuesday and eating my mom's gumbo, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead, I made creole seasoned veggies and a vegan sweet potato pie to contribute to the festivities.

My creole seasoned veggies were pretty awesome! I chopped up Brussels sprouts, a red and orange pepper and butternut squash and tossed them in a bit of EVOO, creole seasoning, lemon pepper and sea salt. Then I  baked them for about 20 minutes at 400. The colors were so beautiful that I had to take a few pics:

My sweet mom wanted me to enjoy her cooking too, so she set aside some of the New Orleans style beans and rice that she made, before she added the meat. It was all sooooo yummy!

For dessert, she made beignets and I made a vegan sweet potato pie with a coconut milk whipped topping. Unfortunately, I read the recipe wrong and added more tofu, than the recipe called for and it messed up the texture of the pie. I tried to save it so as not to waste the food that I bought, but I was still kind of bummed. I'm going to give this recipe another try this weekend. Here's the finished product:

The coconut whipped topping came out pretty good though! It just took a bit longer than regular cream to whip up. I made it with coconut milk! 

This was my Fat Tuesday indulgence: Guava and Grapefruit Sorbet with coconut flakes from Yogurtland:

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mardi Gras!! 

Fooooodddd

Happy Monday! I wanted to do a quick recap of food that I played with this weekend.

Honesty time:
On Saturday morning my mother and I went to breakfast, and there were no vegan options. Everything had egg in it. However, I stayed as vegan as possible. I ordered granola pancakes with fruit on the side.

After breakfast, I made my way to Pasadena for a 5 mile hike. My friend set a pace that felt more like a light jog up the mountain, which was exhausting. Then after taking in the sights at the top, we ran back down it, which was SCARY but awesome. I am still very sore after that adventure. Here are a few pics:

This was just a test run so I could learn the route, because next weekend I'm going to take a group of people up here. I'll have better picks next weekend. The view is amazing!

Lunch was a Vega One Nutritional Shake made with almond milk and a LARABAR.

Dinner was a delicious Roasted Veggie Taco Bowl. This recipe was semi-homemade thanks to Fresh & Easy, and I used some of the veggies I had leftover from the pizza I made the night before.

Ingredients:
- Tri Color Quinoa
- Mango salsa
- Guacamole
- Zucchini sliced into long strips
- Red Peppers sliced into strips
- Sea salt
- Black pepper
- Lemon Pepper
- Black Beans
- Chipotle in adobo
- Jalapeno Hummus

While my oven pre-heated to 450, I cooked the quinoa and mixed it with the mango salsa and let it sit while I cooked everything else. In my opinion, quinoa can be a bit earthy, but I find that when I mix citrus in it like lemon or salsa, it takes on a really nice flavor.

Once you've mixed your quinoa, slice the veggies into long strips and coat with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon pepper. Then spread them on a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes.

Next up is the black beans. Just open up a can and cook them on the stove top. I love the smokiness that chipotle in adobo gives food, so I chopped up one chipotle pepper and added it to the beans.

The bowl is all about layers. I started with quinoa at the base, black beans, roasted veggies, guac and topped it off with the jalapeno hummus. It was an explosion of flavors! Soooo good!

Sunday:

Breakfast: Key Lime Pie LARABAR

Lunch: Taco Bowl Leftovers

Dinner:  Vodka Penne Pasta with roasted Brussels Sprouts. The sauce was amazing!

This recipe was tweeted by Kris Carr, founder of Crazy Sexy Wellness earlier this week, and I thought it was the perfect meal to make for Sunday dinner with my parents.

She used a Brown Rice Pasta, but because my Dad is so hesitant about me being vegan, I used regular penne pasta. Everyone loved the recipe!

For the Brussells sprouts, simply cut off the bottoms of each sprout and chop in half. Mix them with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Heat oven to 400 and cook for 13-15 minutes or until they brown a bit. Once the Brussells sprouts are finished cooking, hit them with a bit more lemon juice.

Sorry for a poor quality of pics. I will start using my camera instead of my iPhone.

Roasted Veggie and Hummus Pizza

It's Friday night, and I decided to splurge a bit carb-wise. I made a roasted veggie pizza, which was inspired by a picture I saw on Pinterest. (Pinterest is actually a very good resource for vegan recipes.)

I decided to use Fresh & Easy's ready-made pizza crust, their sun-dried tomatoes, their roasted red pepper hummus and seasoned assorted veggies to make this super delicious meal.

Crust:
-Fresh & Easy pizza crust rolled out to desired shape
-Sun-dried tomatoes
-Chopped basil

Toppings:
Roasted veggies:
-Olive oil
-Italian herbs
-Sea salt
-Ground pepper
-Broccoli chopped
-Zucchini sliced
-Tomatoes sliced
-Red peppers sliced

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Roast the veggies at 400 for 10-15 minutes

Stretch the crust to desired size.

Cook the pizza crust with sun-dried tomatoes and chopped basil in a separate baking sheet at 450 for 10 minutes.

Spread hummus on top of crust as it cools and finish off with the roasted veggies. This recipe is delicious and approved by my husband who is a supportive omnivore.

Being vegan doesn't have to be scary, but I am still learning the ropes. If something seems a bit off, I hope you will let me know! Have a good night!

Henna Hair Experiment

I'm one of those people who gets bored with my hair very quickly. I'm always trying new cuts and new products, and I don't mind taking risks. Late last year I decided to see what life as a redhead was like. Naturally my hair is very dark, so my stylist did a bleach-wash to prepare my hair for the red dye, which was THE biggest mistake ever. My healthy and strong hair became frail, frizzy and it was FRIED! I've never been so remorseful about about a hair decision in my life.

So for the past few months I have worked to restore it back to it's natural  health. I refused to keep up the red, and have been gradually transitioning back to my dark brown color.

Since I recently made the decision to lead a vegan lifestyle, I decided to try a natural hair dye. One of my friends has been raving about the benefits of henna dye for as long as I've known her, and yesterday when I was at Sprouts I decided to buy it and give it a try.

This is the package that I bought: 

I was sold when the box stated that the natural dye colors the hair while conditioning, moisturizing and revitalizing it. I also went online and found their Vision statement:

Vision

Surya Brasil respects the interconnectedness of all life and strives to create for consumers a healthier lifestyle and thus a healthier world through the use of its products. The company brings together Nature, the Science of Ayurveda, and Technology thus harmonizing the human with his environment while respecting the animal and plant kingdoms for the purpose of preserving a better world -- one that is ecologically sustainable and socially just.

The instructions were very easy to follow, but I had to recruit my husband's help to inspect my hair and make sure that I didn't miss any spots. It does take longer to set than a traditional dye, and although the box said it's a black dye, my hair went from red to dark brown. 

Before: 

After:

My hair feels AMAZING!! It's soft and it doesn't feel heavy from chemicals like a traditional dye sometimes makes hair feel. It didn't need an intense conditioner either, because the henna dye itself is a conditioning treatment. I definitely recommend trying the process at least once. I will keep you updated on how long it takes the color to fade. 

Here are a few photos from the original red: 

Fresh from the school/salon:

Three weeks later (the upkeep for red is kind of intense): 

This past weekend: 

Hope this post is helpful! If you have any questions or comments, I've love to see them.  

Vega One Nutritional Shakes

Sprouts find! Plant based nutritional shake! Woot woot! Can't wait to try these.

Date Night!

Each week, my husband and I enjoy a date night. Tonight's date is going to involve dinner at Chipotle and a movie.

Here's reason 1,999,999 why I love Chipotle. They make it very easy to stay healthy when eating out! Even if you are not vegan, that's the one place where you can be as good or as bad as you would like with your meal. Feel like having a "fat" meal? Get yourself a burrito and load up on all the cheese and sour cream that you want! Want to make it light? Get a bowl and choose brown rice instead of white and black beans instead of pinto. (Just go light on the cheese and sour cream.) Or you can nix the rice altogether for a delicious no-to-low carb meal.

Anywho, I went online to see if they had any information for individuals on a vegan diet and OF COURSE they have a whole website page dedicated to "special diets"! Here is what they had to say:

No matter what your unique dietary needs are, Chipotle has options for you. Unless you have an allergy to delicious food, in which case, we might have an issue.

Food Allergies

We use no peanuts, tree nuts or any other kind of nuts in our food. Only our cheese and sour cream
contain any dairy.

Gluten Intolerance/Celiac Disease

Most people wanting to avoid gluten can eat anything we serve except for our large and small flour
 tortillas.

Everything else is fine to eat for most people wanting to avoid gluten, including our crispy corn tacos and our
corn chips.

However, you should know that it's possible our corn may have a small amount of gluten from potentially
co-mingling with gluten-containing grains in the field.

If you are highly sensitive and would like us to change our gloves, we would be happy to do that at your request.
Additionally, because our folks work with wheat tortillas all day long, there may be the possibility of cross-contact
in our restaurants. We encourage you to carefully consider your dining choices.

Vegan Options

You should avoid our pinto beans (they are cooked with a small amount of bacon), meats (obviously),
cheese, sour cream, and chipotle-honey vinaigrette.

Vegetarian Options

You should avoid our pinto beans (they are cooked with a small amount of bacon) and our meats.
If you do eat dairy, our cheese is made with a vegetable-based rennet, and our sour cream is 100%
cultured cream.

My First Vegan Shopping List and Meal Planning

Here's an idea of what my first vegan shopping trip will look like. If there are any vegans out there who stumble across this and see something off the wagon, please feel free to let me know. This will be about a week's worth of food for myself and my husband.

My three stores are Sprouts, Fresh & Easy and Trader Joe's, and I like to hit all three stores over the weekend to get everything I need for the week. Most of the meals I make usually have a Mexican flare, but I do like to branch out and experiment with different recipes.

The List: 

Trader Joe's:
Green Goddess Dressing
Soyrizo
Grapefruit
Oranges
LARABARS

Fresh & Easy:
Black Beans
Quinoa
Lentils
Corn
Peas
Jalapeno Hummus
Trail Mix
Wheat Tortillas
Pasta Sauce
Brown Rice Pasta
Capers

Sprouts:
Sweet Potatoes
Hemp seeds
Cucumbers
Lemons
Peppers (All colors)
Fire Roasted Tomatoes
Anaheim Chiles
Kale
Avocados
Cashews

The Menu: 

The Breakfast Menu:
Grapefruit (I could eat one every day!)

Snacks:
Trail Mix
LARA BARS
Oranges

The Lunch Menu:
Salad with green goddess dressing or hummus dressing and hemp seeds

The Dinner Menu:
Black beans, lentils, Soyrizo and corn bowl on a bed of quinoa (tacos for the hubs)
Penne Pasta with a Vodka sauce
Stuffed Chiles
Grilled peppers, and lentil tacos with avocado salsa
Stuffed Sweet potatoes with the lentil mixture from the night before

Sunday Dinnaaaahhh!

Ran across this recipe on Twitter today, and I wanted to put it in my recipe bank for Sunday dinner with the fam bam.

Every Sunday, I enjoy dinner with my family, and since my mom has been asking a ton of questions about my decision to go vegan, I have decided to make this Vegan Penne a la Vodka from Kris Carr, founder of the Crazy Sexy Revolution for Sunday Dinner. I'm currently reading her Crazy Sexy Diet Book.

Anywho... Check this recipe out! She did a cooking vlog for it on her website.  I'll be posting pictures on Sunday. :)

Vegan Penne A La Vodka

Ingredients:

• Brown rice pasta (I like Tinkyada brand)
• 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce (I love Dave’s Gourmet & Crazy Sexy Kitchen’s Nana’s Marinara)
• 2-3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 cup frozen organic peas
• 2 heaping tablespoons capers
• ¼ – ½ cup raw, unsalted cashews
• ½-1 cup water (to blend cashews)
• Drizzle of olive oil (optional)
• Splash of vodka (2-4 cap fulls or an ⅛ of a cup)
• Salt & pepper to taste

Why Vegan?

I've flirted with the idea of becoming a vegetarian for many years. In fact, I've gone as long as 50 days without meat, but I never really had a reason to stay meat-free. I'm a Latina, and my basic food staples include meat and cheese in just about every dish. Think about it... 

Enchiladas: Tortilla, cheese, chicken and sauce

Tacos: Tortilla, meat, cotija cheese, cilantro and salsa

Chilaquiles:  Tortilla, cheese, meat and sauce

Don't even get me started on menudo or pozole!  

It's hard to imagine a life without meat (let alone cheese), and whenever I would tell my parents I was going vegetarian, they would ask me what the heck I was going to eat. 

I never imagined I would be sitting here writing a blog about becoming VEGAN! I went to college in one of the most liberal cities in the United States: Boulder, Colorado, and it was there that I first encountered veganism. I just brushed it off as a crazy lifestyle that some people choose. Even when I was considering becoming a vegetarian, I never once thought about becoming vegan. 

So what caused the switch? This movie: 

Last week I caught one of the ugliest flu bugs I've ever experienced. I was bedridden for nearly five full days as my body tried to recover. When I was not sleeping off my fever, I was watching Netflix documentaries. I started with Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, then I watched Hungry For Change, and because Netflix recommends documentaries based on your recently watched items, I clicked on a recommendation called Vegucated.

I'll be honest, when the introductory commentary by Marisa Miller Wolfson stated that this was a documentary chronicling three people's challenge to lead a vegan lifestyle, my first instinct was to switch to another film. However, the film was so entertaining and informative that I could not stop watching it. What I learned about animal agriculture was enough to make my stomach turn. I just can't unsee what I saw, and I refuse to continue to turn a blind eye to it. This documentary gave me the emotional and moral connection I was looking for all these years. It showed me how selfish I have been to allow these animals to endure cruel practices just so that I could enjoy a piece of bacon or a good burger. Not to mention the waste and environmental degradation these mass-producing farming practices create. 

I may only be one person... 

I know that my decision to become a vegan will not make a significant impact on animal agriculture, but I am a wife, a daughter, a sister, a granddaughter, a niece, a friend, and a future mother. My friends and family members will eventually inquire as to why I have chosen this lifestyle, and I will share my reasoning with them. I will also continue to educate myself about leading a vegan lifestyle and the power of plant-based diet. 

I will not judge...

One thing that I really liked about this documentary was that there was not an elitist or "holier than thou" feel to it. When the participants of Vegucated struggled with the transition to a vegan lifestyle, Marisa was very open and non-judgmental about it. I have been a meat-eater for 29 years. My decision to become vegan is based on my own personal sense of responsibility to nature and the environment. I will not judge others for continuing to eat meat, and I will not try to force my ideas on them. I can only hope to inspire through example.