So before I became vegan I did not even know what food processor was. I had no idea that I had one at home. Luckily my mom has just about everything kitchen related. I am also not one to spend money on things I really do not need. I am still on a college budget you guys. But you can find some cheap ones at your local stores or online. It is necessary to use because a lot of the time you are trying to achieve a specific texture it can be very time consuming if you try to do it by hand. I will also try to recommend getting a larger size one because it makes more food so you can cook for your family and friends or have leftovers for yourself. I have a small food processor and it tends to take a longer time and you have to stop the process and move the food around with a spoon.
Vegan Pizza
Vegan Pizza!!! I love is Pizza. Since I am vegan I have tried different alternatives recipes for pizza. Finally I have found a recipe that I absolutely love. The great think about this recipe is that you can change it up and add the ingredients you like. I got this recipe from some of my favorite vegan food bloggers. I will post their recipe below and their link.
1/2 C raw cashews (soaked for at least 2 hours)
1 C unsweetened almond milk
2 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp tapioca flour/starch
1 tsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 C pizza sauce
1/2 C whole basil leaves
Drain and rinse the raw cashews from the soaking water. Add to a blender with almond milk, lemon juice, tapioca, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, sea salt, and white pepper and combine until very smooth.
Heat this cheese mixture over medium heat in a small sauce pan, whisking until thickened (approx. 8-10 mins).
Why is cheese so addicting?
I was vegetarian for six months. I thought to myself I would never let cheese go. I mean I am Mexican. We put cheese in our flautas, taco, quesadillas, sopes. I thought I am already being super healthy because I am not eating meat. Then I saw a documentary about cheese and I could not eat another piece of cheese. I started reading a bunch of articles on dairy and I could not go back. One of the things that bothered me the most was why cheese was so addicting. I learned that it is as addicting as a drug because it contains casein. Casein is “a substance, which is present in all dairy products, it can trigger the brain’s opioid receptors which are linked to addiction.” This article went to a specific study. I will link it below so you guys can check it out.
Happiness Café!
So it is extremely complicated to find vegan restaurants not because they are not very advertised. One place I recently found about out is Happiness Café in San Jose. It is located at 1688 Hostetter Rd San Jose, CA 95131. One thing that I have found is that the Internet does not do a good job at recognizing specific restaurants. In order to find out about these places they need to be extremely popular but usually it is through word of mouth. I had no idea about this place until my best friend ran into it. They have a variety of vegan sandwiches, pastas, and appetizers. Most vegan restaurants are Asian cuisine and this place doesn’t only have variety in their dishes but also in there desserts. They range from creamy and sweet ice cream to tangy flavors. This place is awesome and I suggest people try it.
My hunt down for Vegan Bread
It took a while for me to find the Vegan Bread. Every vegan blog that I saw kept mentioning Ezekiel Bread. I was so excited to try it but since a lot of the vegan blogs I follow do not live in California I waned to make sure I could find it at my local food store. So I went to the Internet and found a store locator for Ezekiel bread. I was surprised to see that it was actually in the Safeway and Sprouts were I usually buy my groceries anyway. So I was determined to find this bread when I went to Sprouts. I looked at the bread section and I saw no sign of it. Then I asked and employee if that was the only bread section they had. The employee confirmed that was only place I could find bread. Then I thought maybe they stopped selling it there. I went to Safeway and the same exact experience happened. Every time I would go to these stores I would ask someone new and no one knew about the brand.
Finally one day I was looking for Pizza dough and I went to the refrigerator section and all of sudden I see Ezekiel bread and I was amazed. I still thought maybe someone left the bread here by accident then I saw a bunch of the bread packaging and realized that is where thee breads are stored. The reason they store them there is because the ingredients they use are so pure so it is store there for it to last longer.
Needless to say I absolutely loved Ezekiel bread and when I went back to Sprouts I realized there was a variety of vegan brands to choose from. I discovered Squirrelly bread, which I also love.
Long Story for a short tip but don’t forget to check the refrigerator to find the vegan breads.
Let’s not be naive either !
OK OK, Lets get real about meat!! I joke around with some people that they should be vegetarian or vegan but for the most part I know that is not something that is easy for people. For me it was easy but that does not mean that I don’t struggle with other things so I know that we face different adversities. But to anyone that asks me about health I always say that no matter what they should really stop eating pork and they should limit the red meat they eat. I think we can all agree that pork and red meat are terrible for our diet. So I read an online article “10 Reasons to Stop Eating Red Meat” by Linda Melone. I paraphrased some of the most important things from the article. I will also link the article below so you guys can check it out.
http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/10-reasons-to-stop-eating-red-meat/slide/4
The first taunting piece of information I learned is that meat carries bacteria from different animals, which can give you E. Coli. Red meat hardens your blood vessels because it carries carnitine. It also has a lot of additives like ammonia that kills bacteria. This ammonia can allow the pathogens in food supply. Another downside of red meat is you run a higher risk of type 2 diabetes. Meat is also filled with hormones which can increase the risk of breast cancer for women.
Eating out is never healthy
Eating Vegan of Vegetarian Food does not mean you are healthy. Every time I take people out to eat vegan food they say WOW!! This stuff is amazing. They tell me “I can eat this stuff all the time.” Whether you are meat eater or not eating out is never the healthiest option. No matter how healthy it is, the food will be high in sugar, salt and, grease. It should never be something that you are living off of. It is important that you limit yourself when eating out. To be honest I like to eat out in a social setting but I love to cook my own meals. Do not be fooled by the marketing skills and the names they use to describe the food. It is not your best option.
Vegan Sweet Tooth
Don’t be afraid that you wont be able to eat treats or have chocolate. I remember when I first became vegan I began to develop a sweet tooth and often times I was frustrated because I wanted a specific candy and I could not obtain it. For example I love Reese’s Peanut Butter cup. I never thought that I would miss these little treats I would have but sure enough I would see my friends eat one and I wanted one. Of course I searched the Internet for comfort and I quickly found it. This recipe is super simple and you can have these snacks in your fridge. So the biggest lesson is not to panic because there is a substitution for just about everything. I found comfort in one of the best vegan blogs, which is Hot For Food. I will link the blog so you guys can check it out.
First get a cupcake tray and place paper up cake holders in the spaces
Then you want to melt Vegan chocolate which you can definitely microwave
you want to drop a layer of chocolate into the cupcake holders
Then you refrigerate the tray for ten minutes
Then put a small layer of peanut butter in the cupcake holders
Then refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Then add one last layer of melted chocolate
Lastly refrigerate for 20 minutes
Then Enjoy !
Vegan Cheese
I am not going to lie. I am an honest Vegan. One thing that has become extremely hard to find is a good cheese. So far no cheese can replace Mozzarella cheese. I didn’t lie about the Nacho cheese. I found an awesome replacement for Nacho cheese. I also found a good pepper jack cheese replacement for my sandwiches but MAN! Do I miss good old Mozzarella cheese!!! I have not found any vegan cheese that melts the same. Don’t get me wrong I do not want to eat cheese and I do not feel deprived. Real cheese actually grosses me out just thinking of how it was made. But I can’t understand why there is no good replacement. What is it about cheese that melts so perfectly? What bothers me more is that I think Vegans are extremely creative and they have come along the true cheese secret and just do not want to share it. So through my search for the best vegan Mozzarella I found what I think for NOW is the closest match. I am going to post the recipe below and please let me know if you have different alternatives. This recipe was taken from a great food blog known as The Happy Pear. They are an awesome vegan food blog. I will ling their blog so you guys can check it out. https://thehappypear.ie/recipe/vegan-mozarella/
Ingredients:
100g cashew nuts (soaked overnight)
100ml water
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp tapioca flour
Instructions
Blend your cashew nuts and water until it is smooth.
Then add your nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, salt, garlic powder and tapioca flour and blend again until it is smooth
Add this mixture to a non-stick saucepan on a high heat and stir for about 10min
The mixture will eventually come together into one ball, and then transfer to a bowl.
With wet fingers to prevent sticking, grab a small bit of the mixture, form into smaller mozzarella balls and, if not using immediately, transfer into a jar of brine (this can be made by mixing 400mls of water with a little salt).
So what is Vegan and what is not?
Labels can be very tough to read when becoming Vegan. I thought the only thing I was looking at for was just milk, eggs, and cheese. That is really only the beginning. I also learn that even when something is non-dairy it does not mean that it is Vegan. So let me give you a list of the crazy words you need to watch out for.
- albumin (also spelled albumen)
- meringue (meringue powder)
- ovalbumin
- surimi
- margarine
- nougat
- tagatose
- rennet casein
- lactoferrin
- diacetyl
Welcome to my Kitchen 