My Vegan Adventure is coming to an end.

I just thought I would end one of my last posts with giving you guys a list of what you can not eat as a vegan. I know it looks really overwhelming, but you get used to the process of replacing and finding other foods.

When veganism mentions  animal products, what do they exactly mean? What are those products that they consider not worth consuming as food? Here are some of those animal products:

• Meat
• Seafood
• Poultry and its eggs
• Dairy products like milk
• Honey
• Fur, leather, silk, wool
• Beeswax – wax produced by bees in their bee hives
• bone china – a translucent body part of porcelains derived from animal bone
• bone char – a material that came from charred animal bones
• casein – proteins found in cow’s milk and human milk
• carmine, cochineal – a pigment of red color produced from some scale insects
• gelatin – a tasteless and colorless substance produced by the collagen inside the skin and bone of animals
• isinglass – from bladders of fish
• lard – pig fat
• lanolin – a yellow wax secreted by glands and wool-bearing animals such as sheep
• rennet – usually used in making cheeses, which came from mammalian stomach that digests the milk
• shellac – a resin secreted on trees by a female lac bug
• whey – is milk plasma, which is the remains after the milk has been strained
• tallow -  came from mutton or beef fats
• yellow grease – a lower grade of tallow that came from sheep or cow fats

Please let me know if this helpful or not :)

I thought this was new and interesting :) TRY IT!

Vegan Tofu Jerky

Ingredients

1 lb tofu; extra firm or herbed firm

½ cup soy sauce

¼ cup ginger sauce; oil-free OR

1 T fresh ginger; grated

2 T water

1 T brown sugar or agave nectar

Cayenne pepper to taste

Procedure

• Drain tofu by wrapping in a clean washcloth or paper towels and pressing it gently to release excess water, do this for about an hour. ( you can put the tofu in between two chopping board and put canned goods on top)

• When excess water has been released, chop the tofu in rectangular with .20 inch size. Spread it out in a baking sheet.

• In a separate bowl, mix thoroughly soy sauce, water, ginger sauce, agave nectar, water and cayenne pepper.

• Pour over the spread out tofu

• Marinate for an hour or so with occasional flipping of tofu to cover the other side. You can marinate overnight by putting it in the refrigerator but make sure to bring to room temperature first before proceeding.

• Dehydrate
  • Oven:  Replace tofu in a metal rack on a cookie tray. Use the lowest temperature setting of your oven. Checking occasionally until tofu becomes dry but not brittle
  • Dehydrator process: Spread tofu in a dehydrator trays and proceed with 155oF for six hours or until the tofu becomes dry but not too brittle

Tips:

• Mix ingredients according to your taste, add more cayenne if prefer it spicy
• Freeze the tofu with the marinade to make it more jerky chewier
• Excellent as snacks while on-the-go and on picnics
• Tofu jerky can be stir-fried after dehydrating to add more flavors to your picnic foods.

I thought this was different & new! You should try it!

PLEASE LOOK AT THESE LAST 3 POSTS!

These recipes are some of my favorites esp. the mushroom one. Just trust me when I say that if you make any of these three you will be heaven :)

here is a little vegan humor...

Last but not least!

This recipe is really good and you could actually make if for like a snack :)

Here goes nothingg..... It is called Tomato-Basil Lasagna Spirals

2 tbs. olive oil
4 shallots, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Box tofu, drained & crumbled
2 tbs. sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup pesto
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne
3 tbs. tomato paste
1/4 cup red wine
One 28-oz. can plum tomatoes, chopped
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, minced
12 whole wheat lasagna noodles
Whole fresh basil leaves for garnish

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add half of the shallots and all of the garlic, cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and add the tofu, sun-dried tomatoes, pesto, bread crumbs, salt and cayenne. Process until smooth then refridgerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add the remaining shallots and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the tomato paste. Remove from heat and add the wine. Return to heat and add tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes then stir in the minced basil. Reduce the heat to low and keep warm.

Cook the lasagna noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water, until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain the noodles and spread out on a work surface to prevent them from sticking together. Pat dry.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide the filling among the noodles, spreading evenly over the surface of each noodle. Roll each one up tightly into a spiral-shaped roll. Place seam side down in a lightly oiled baking dish. Cover the rolls with 1 cup of tomato sauce. Cover with foil and bake for about 20 minutes.

To serve, spread a small amount of warm sauce on each plate and stand 2-3 rolls upright on the sauce. Spoon the remaining sauce over the rolls and garnish with the whole basil leaves. Serve with warm focaccia bread and roasted asparagus.

#2 Recipe!!

So I have obviously been re-using some of these recipes and using different vegan ideas throughout the week to stay vegan. I just like to share some of the recipes I know of and use as well though. I hope you enjoy!

I know this sounds weird, but Pistachio-Dusted Saffron Potatoes

This actually is really good even though it sounds like a lot of carbs, pair it with veggies and it is to die for!

 Tbsp olive oil 
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced 
1 medium yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped 
1 ½ lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced 
Salt and freshly ground black pepper 
1 cup Vegetable stock 
Pinch of Saffron threads 
1 cup cooked or canned cannellini or other white beans, drained and rinsed 
½ cup chopped pistachios 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onoin and bell pepper, saute until softened. . .about 5 minutes. 

In a large bowl, combine the onion mixture, potatoes, and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a lightly oiled 2 ½ quart baking dish and set aside. 

Heat the stock in a small saucepan and add the saffron. Set aside. 

In a food processor or blender, puree the beans. Add the stock mixture and process until smooth. Add salt and pepper to bean puree. Pour over the potato mixture, cover, and bake until the potatoes are tender, about 1 hour. 

Remove the cover, sprinkle with the pistachios, and bake for 10 minutes to lightly toast the pistachios. 

Catching up!

Hey! Sorry guys I have been super busy these past weeks with other projects and tests. I did manage to post some of the posts I wanted to post this weekend in a word document and I would love to share them with you! That was a mouth full haha :) Anyways here are a few recipes that are really good !

#1 Grilled Portobellos with Rosemary Roasted Vegetables!

MUSHROOMS ARE THE BESR WHEN GOING VEGAN :) They are versatile as well!

NGREDIENTS:

1 large red onion, chopped
1 large yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped (a little more would have been good)
1/3 C olive oil (I used a 1/4 cup + 1-2 Tbs)
2 Tbs coarsely chopped fresh rosemary or other herb leaves (I would increased this to at least 3 Tbs)
Salt and pepper, ground
1 large tomato, chopped
4 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed
1/4C balsamic vinegar (optional)
1/8-1/4C Burgundy wine (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425 and heat your grill (if using).  In a large bowl, combine the onion, bell pepper, zucchini, 1/4 C of olive oil, the rosemary and salt and pepper to taste. (I added the balsamic vinegar here).Toss to coat the veggies with oil, then spread them in a single layer in a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tender and lightly browned, about 25 mins. (18-20 mins was perfect). Reduce oven temperature to 275. Add the tomatoes to the roasted vegetables, stirring to combine and return to the oven to keep warm. (I just turned the oven off and it stayed plenty warm in the oven for the tomatoes). Brush the mushrooms with the remaining olive oil and grill until tender and lightly charred on the outside, about 5 mins per side. (At this point, seeing as it’s in the single digits here in Colorado, I decided not to brave the snow-piled deck to do some bakyard grilling. I opted to lightly saute the ‘shrooms in the Burgundy wine). To serve, arrange the portobello caps gill side down and top with the roasted veggies. (I served them gill side up and filled them with the veggies). They were delicious! I’m sure grilling would add a whole new flavor, so that it why I chose the wine to give it a bit more jazz.I served these with the Tarragon Pasta Salad and together, they make a great meal, especially for the coming spring and summer. But beware, if you’re not used to eating that amount of veggies in one sitting (namely, my husband) don’t go to a 2 1/2 hour movie afterwards…poor guy. Luckily, veggie gas tends to be less offensive. Otherwise, eat up and enjoy!

LET ME KNOW WHAT YA THINK?!?

Recipe # 2: This lovely weekend!

Hey! I have one more recipe that I love and actually use all the time because I love fruits. This is vegetarian and vegan! It is called the Mango Tango Smoothie!

Ingredients!

• 1 cup of pineapple juice
• 1 cup of orange juice
• 1/2 frozen banana (chunks)
• 1 cup of pineapple sherbet
• 1 1/2 cups frozen mango slices

Pour all liquid ingredients into the blender. Add all frozen ingredients. Blend at MIX setting for 30
seconds then blend at SMOOTH setting until smooth. While the blender is running, move the stir stick around counter-clockwise to aid mixing. Serve immediately. Each recipe serves 3-5 people.

This is so delicious, promise that!