We KNOW it's wrong....

We call them by another name because in our hearts, we know it's wrong to eat them and because we are grossed out by what they actually are. Bon Appetit!

beef = cows
pork = pigs
gelatin = bones, tendons, ligaments, and tissues of mammals
haggis = heart, liver and lung pudding
sweetbreads = pancrease or thymus gland
poultry = chickens and other birds
veal = baby cows
venison = deer
milk = mammary secretions of a mammal
seafood = fish & crustaceans
balut = duck fetus
offal = internal organs and entrails
chevon = goat
squab = pigeon
caviar = fish eggs
carabeef = buffalo
mutton = sheep
escargot = snails
calamari = squid
basashi = horse
foie gras = intentionally fattened livers of duck/geese

Recipe - Silken Yogurt

One thing I often hear people complain about is how pricey some of the vegan convenience foods can be.

Of course, you shouldn't eat them on a regular basis anyway but I am surprised when people don't even consider making certain items from scratch.

One item is soy yogurt. Sure, you can drop $50 to $100 on a yogurt maker that uses soy milk and culture and actually cooks up a batch of honest to goodness yogurt or you can try this cheater method instead which is faster, less expensive, easier and tastes great!

All you need is a food processor or blender.

Ingredients

1 pkg Silken tofu (firm or extra firm)
lemon juice
Jam of your choice

I can't give you a specific recipe because this is all about personal taste! When I made mine I used about 1/3 to 1/2 of the package of tofu mixed with about a tsp of lemon juice and 1/3 to 1/2 cup strawberry freezer jam that I had made previously. You can use fresh fruit but jam already has the sugar in it so it's easier. If you use fresh fruit, you may need to add in some maple syrup for sweetness. I've also made this with just tofu, fresh squeezed lemon juice and maple syrup and it was yummy.

Just combine everything in your processor and blend until smooth. Test it and adjust it for taste. I used mine to make a granola parfait with granola I made from scratch but feel free to pick up a package of granola at the store. Garnish with fresh fruit or stir in chopped fresh fruit if you like a chunky yogurt!

Change is NOT Hard.

So, we all know the saying 'change is hard' but I'd like you to consider that change is only hard if you don't want the change to happen. We all know that we can do whatever we want to do if we have the necessary skills, the situation is in our control and we put our mind to it. 


Also... I don't use the word 'hard' lightly. Learning to walk and talk again after a stroke is hard. Choosing not to eat animals products? Not hard. Being a single parent is hard. Choosing not to eat cheese? Not hard.


My husband says I don't handle change well and he's right.. IF the change is a change I don't want. For example, technology. Every time we get a new remote or new electronic thing.. I get irritated because I have to learn how to use it. My hesitation and resistance usually comes from the fact that it isn't a change I initiated. Perhaps something wore out and broke or I am forced to upgrade.


A few years ago there was an update of a software program I was using. I was reasonably good at it, or at least good at the parts of the program I used. The company upgraded the program and completely changed the layout and how the program looked. I was lost and I'm still lost. I literally cannot find anything I'm looking for within the program. I absolutely hate using the program now because every time I try and use it, I have to go onto the internet to find out where to find what I'm looking for within the program. I liked the old program. It was fine. It didn't need to be changed. 


My husband suggested I take an online class to learn the new software and that is a great idea except I don't want to and we all know that if we don't want to do something then it makes it that much harder to do it. We are all stubborn to some extent ... sometimes, we just don't want to do something.


This is especially true when it comes to changing something like our nutrition. There are certain things that most of us grew up believing. We were told and taught that we needed to eat dead animals for protein. We were told and taught that milk and dairy food is how we get calcium. We were told and taught that our plates should hold the four basic food groups at every meal. It's difficult to come to the realization that everything you thought you knew isn't actually the truth. It's difficult to abandon what your parents told you is fact or necessity but part of growing up is learning to question authority and never to assume anything as fact until you research it on your own. Most people never question anything and they pass along the wrong information generation after generation simply because they either never thought to find out the truth or they didn't want to. You must adapt and grow and change.


We all make time to do the things we want to do. It is absolutely as simple as that. It's much easier if you make the decision to change rather than have the decision made for you but ultimately it all comes down to wanting to make the change even if it's forced upon you. 


Of course, we all want to win the lottery but that isn't in our control. Buying a lottery ticket is as much control as we have in that situation.


Think about two changes you've made in your life ... it's probably easy to come up with a change that was difficult for you .. now think about why it was difficult. Was it difficult because you didn't want to stop? Was it difficult because you enjoyed it? Was it difficult because it wasn't your idea?


Think about a change you made that was easy. Same thing ... Was it easy because you  didn't have sort of attachment to it?  was it easy because you didn't care whether it was in your life or not? Was it easy because you decided it was time to make the change?


Of course, you can say you want to change but you have to really, really want to change in order to make it happen and your resistance may not even be something you are aware of, which makes it tricky. You can actually self sabotage yourself without even fully realizing it. You can even talk yourself into believing you can't do something.


"I work 10 hours a day"
"I have children"
"I can't afford it"
"I don't have time"
"I can't live without cheese"
"My spouse isn't supportive"
"I'm too tired"
"I don't like vegetables"


Now, I can give you advice on all of these things. I can tell you how to move past all of these excuses BUT you will probably only find more excuses for my solutions and advice .... I'll say it again - change is easy if it's a change you want to make. Change is hard if it's a change you don't want to make. You will always, always, always struggle with something if you don't want to do it. Always.


Excuses are not the same as limitations. Let's be clear about that. Excuses are reasons you give yourself to make you feel not guilty about not doing something. Limitations are real reasons why something cannot be done or makes something more difficult to do.


Excuse - "I can't follow a plant based diet because I don't like tofu"


Limitation - "I can't follow a plant based diet because I'm allergic to soy"


Being allergic is a limitation, not an excuse.... but you have to be careful to not turn your limitation into an excuse. Just because you are allergic to soy doesn't mean you can't follow a plant based diet. You just make the choice to not eat soy foods. There are plenty of fruits, veggies, beans, nuts, seeds and other foods that you CAN eat which is why the excuse part doesn't work either. If you don't like tofu, don't eat it. 


When you decide to follow a plant based diet you can absolutely do it overnight. YOU make the choice. You are an adult and you make your own personal choices. It isn't difficult to make the choice to stop putting animal flesh in your mouth. You are in control. There is no outside force trying to put animal products in your mouth. You choose what goes in your grocery cart. You choose what you buy. You choose what you bring into your home and you choose what goes into your mouth. 


Yes, there are challenges .... perhaps you have a roommate or spouse that refuses to go plant based or you have children that resist the idea. Maybe you live in a city that isn't vegan friendly and it's difficult to eat out or find certain vegan ingredients. 


The challenges don't matter because it's only as hard as you make it.  So... when you have challenges and you make excuses to fail ... just stop and instead make decisions and find ways to make it happen.


Let me give you an example of how to overcome challenges and obstacles. Let's say you want to end your addiction to those fattening, sugary Starbucks drinks you've been consuming everyday for a year. My first advice is 'stop going to Starbucks' but let's assume you have a challenge - you are responsible for picking up the sugary coffee drink your boss wants every morning from Starbucks. So, you can't just stop going to Starbucks. 


You could do a few things .. 


- You could ask your boss to purchase a Starbucks card that you will use for his/her purchases and leave your wallet in the car to prevent any purchases for yourself. 
- You could leave your wallet in the car and only take in the amount of cash you need for the boss's coffee so you remove any temptation of getting one for yourself. 
- You could delegate the coffee buying duty to someone else.


In almost every case, you have choices that can be made to shoot down an excuse, limitation, or challenge.


Now, I want to say this because there are always people who have to step up and say that there are some situations where it doesn't matter how much you want something.. there are things standing in your way and I know that is true BUT I feel like those situations are not that common. People love to make excuses even when they have other options and honestly, there are instances where people have absolutely overcome huge obstacles to succeed and survive ... if you need examples, I'd be happy to give them to you.


One comes to mind - Touching the Void



"Joe Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, had just reached the top of a 21,000-foot peak in the Andes when disaster struck. Simpson plunged off the vertical face of an ice ledge, breaking his leg. In the hours that followed, darkness fell and a blizzard raged as Yates tried to lower his friend to safety. Finally, Yates was forced to cut the rope, moments before he would have been pulled to his own death.

The next three days were an impossibly grueling ordeal for both men.

Yates, certain that Simpson was dead, returned to base camp consumed with grief and guilt over abandoning him. Miraculously, Simpson had survived the fall, but crippled, starving, and severely frostbitten was trapped in a deep crevasse. Summoning vast reserves of physical and spiritual strength, Simpson crawled over the cliffs and canyons of the Andes, reaching base camp hours before Yates had planned to leave."



If Joe Simpson can get himself out of a deep crevasse, spend three days crawling 5 miles through the cliffs and canyons of the Andes with no food, hardly any water and with a broken leg, exhaustion, delirium and frostbite, then you can stop eating cheese.

Original Recipe - TBLT Salad

I love temeph bacon and tomato sandwiches but I don't always like to eat a lot of bread so sometimes I like to make this salad to get all the yummy flavor of a TBLT, plus this travels well if you want to take your sandwich on the go!

If you want to make this with no processed oils, just use one half of an avocado. Chop half of the half and add it to your salad and take the other half of the half and mash it with a little lemon juice to make an avocado mayo and use that in place of the Vegenaise.

Feel free to share my recipe but please link back to this blog to do so.

Shelly's TBLT Salad

This makes one side salad.

1.5 oz (about 4 slices) of tempeh bacon (click for my recipe)
1 campari tomato (or one small to medium tomato), wedged
1 cup greens (your choice), finely chopped
1/4 cup croutons (homemade is best!)
1 tbsp Vegenaise (or whatever vegan mayo you like)
Spices of your choice (optional)

Warm up the tempeh bacon. I like to crisp mine up a little. Rough chop it and toss it in a bowl. You want the pieces to be a medium chop. Wedge your tomato and add that to the bowl. Add in the greens. Toss.

In a side bowl, combine the Vegenaise with whatever spices you want to make a flavored mayo. I like to use the Trader Joe's  South African Smoke Seasoning but you can do anything you like or nothing at all.

Toss the seasoned Vegenaise with the tempeh, tomato and greens mixture. Right before you eat the salad, toss in the croutons. if you are taking this to eat at a later time, just package the croutons separately and add those right before eating. Try and make an effort to get a little of everything on your fork for each bite then it really is like a TBLT on your fork!

My Favorite Recipes - My Vegan Cookbook

I've working on putting my favorite recipes on my blog to share with everyone. It's a big job so.. I've broken it down into categories.

Next up - My Vegan Cookbook


Keep in mind that you can halve a recipe, leave things out, add things, sub things .. whatever.

Don't be afraid! Make it your own!

Side note - I always use almond milk and whole wheat flours in recipes. Always. So feel free to make that sub.


Josh at My Vegan Cookbook


Again, not sure how I ended up on Josh's site but he has some of the best recipes! I can't list every single recipe of his that I love and I haven't tried all of them so please jump in and check his site out.

I'll share my must-haves.

Chick Spread - I've given this recipe out to so many people and almost everyone loves this. It's simple, versatile and it's a great thing to have in your fridge each week for a quick meal! I don't add the tofu to mine and it's perfectly fine to skip it but the tofu will add a ton of protein. I like to add shredded carrot, nutritional yeast and no chicken bouillon to mine. Feel free to experiment. You can also make it whatever texture you want.. from flaky like tuna to creamy and pureed like a thick hummus. You can use it like a chicken salad in sandwiches and wraps, as a salad topper or side dish. I even like it as a veggie dip! I have a friend who has a 2 year old that loves this!

Loose Mushroom Sandwich with Cheeze - This was so delicious that right now I think I want it for breakfast after seeing the photo. It's like an otherwordly sloppy joe or something. It reminded me of those Arby's Beef & Cheddar sandwiches. Make sure you get a big onion bun for these. You can sub cornstarch for the arrowroot.

Black Bean Burgers - I love this recipe so much that I don't even try other black bean burger recipes. I double this and freeze them with wax paper in between. Then, I saute them in a pan with a little oil. I like to have mine with vegenaise mixed with chipotle sauce. So good. You can also chop them and stick them in a wrap or a taco shell. Just don't make them too big.. I did once and not even my husband could finish one.

Grain & Garden Burgers -  These are similar to the old fashioned Gardenburger patties. Carrots and brown rice.

Drop Dumplings with Mixed Vegetables - My grandmother makes chicken and dumplings that are to die for! This recipe is so close to it that now I don't have to miss that amazing comfort food. I'm not a big fan of coriander but Josh seems to be so I leave that out. I also add in some of the no chicken bouillon. The dumpling technique is genius and really simple. Hubby loved this.

Lentil Loaf -  Yummy! Plus, it freezes really well. I just slice it and wrap it first in the wax type paper and then in foil. Serve with mashed taters!

Cream Cheeze Frosting - My husbands fave cake is spice cake with cream cheese frosting so I had to find a way to make that for him and this frosting does it! I don't want to use the faux cream cheese on the market (it's just oil) so I was happy to find that Josh had an alternative! It's tangy and sweet. It passed the husband test. I make the cake recipe I linked to and use Josh's frosting instead!

Vegan Meatballs/Meat Sauce - I love spaghetti and meatballs but I discovered that when I had it, I would smash the meatballs into my spaghetti so I thought maybe I should just use them to make a meaty sauce instead. So... I mix this up and instead of making the meatballs, I use the mixture like hamburger in a meat sauce. I saute an onion with some garlic and a few handfuls of thin sliced mushrooms and then toss in the meatball mixture and brown it slightly. I add in a 29 oz jar of marinara (or make your own) and then I have a delicious meaty sauce!

My Favorite Recipes - Little House of Veggies

If I only had a nickle for every time someone asked me for a favorite recipe! I figured it was time to put them all in one place so I could send people here rather than send out multiple emails!

My first suggestion regarding ANY recipe is to Google for a vegan version rather than try and take a recipe that isn't vegan and change it. I can guarantee that the internet holds multiple vegan recipes for anything you can imagine.

Once I started putting this together it became clear that I couldn't do all my faves in one post.. it would be crazy long so I'm going to break them down into categories.

First up - Little House of Veggies!

Keep in mind that you can halve a recipe, leave things out, add things, sub things .. whatever.

Don't be afraid! Make it your own!

Side note - I always use almond milk and whole wheat flours in recipes. Always. So feel free to make that sub.


Morgan at Little House of Veggies


I'm not even sure how I ended up on Morgan's blog but I am certainly glad I found her! Not only has she given me some of my most favorite soup recipes, she introduced me to tempeh (well, she explained what the hell to do with it!) and she has also become a friend of mine and has been a great support to me.

Her blog is fantastic because she makes original recipes and shares important knowledge. She's also gorgeous, a fantastic mom, a very happy wife and a real vegan role model.

It was really hard for me to narrow down the recipes to post here... she really has lots of great ones.

Soups:

In my opinion, Morgan really shines in the soup department. I'm pretty sure all of my favorites soups come from Morgan's blog! I try to make soup every week because it's wholesome, nutritious and so easy to warm up for a quick meal. I haven't tried every single soup she makes and I won't list every single one I have tried, but I am confident you'll love any soup type recipe you find on Morgan's blog.

Black Bean Tortilla Soup - this is so easy to make and so delicious. I like to add some lime juice and ume plum vinegar when it's done.

Cheesy Chipotle Corn Chowder - This is my most fave soup recipe on the planet, not just on Morgan's blog. This is not a 'diet' soup, by any means. It's full of cashew cheese and potatoes! This soup is probably the most involved soup that Morgan has. There are a few steps and some forethought to make this but it's absolutely worth it. I can't imagine someone not loving this.

Split Pea Soup -  Yes, I know.. you think of The Exorcist when someone says split pea soup. I know I do. However, split pea is one of the most nutritious soups you can make! Split peas are really more like a lentil than anything. I didn't even know what a split pea was until I made this soup! Once I get the veggies sauteed, I finish this off in my crockpot. It takes about 1.5 hours. I've made this with and without rice milk and it's perfectly delicious without it so if you don't already have the rice milk, don't buy it just for this recipe.

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup - Super easy with a big payoff! It's creamy and hearty but it's also very fresh and light! Weird, right? You can skip the mochi croutons if you want or use regular bread croutons.

Veggie Chili & Whole Grain Cornbread - great comfort food! I usually don't add the vegan hamburger or the peppers so I'll sub in some canned mushrooms and maybe corn and carrots. Whatever you like. The cornbread is yummy too!


Everything Else:


First, I recommend checking out her tempeh posting.. it tells you how to prepare tempeh and links to her tempeh recipes. The tempeh salad is just delicious. I make that all the time and have a wrap. I like to add campari tomatoes, shredded carrots and green onions

Amazing Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies - yummy and whole grain! One of the first vegan cookie recipes I tried and still a fave. You can sub cornstarch for the arrowroot.

Muhammara - Delicious and a little bit fancy! I like to take this to gatherings. I don't have the pomegranate molasses so I use regular.

Chocolate Fudge Muffins - I'm pretty sure this is one of Morgan's top recipes.

Stuffed Shells -  I've made this as lasagna roll-ups with 2 cups soaked cashews in for the tofu. I've had friends that have made the tofu version and loved it so give this a try for a fancier dish!

Buffalo Tempeh Salad - This is delicious but I gotta say... it's messy to make (but so worth it.) Her vegan ranch is simple and perfect too. I skip the jicama but at least try it if you haven't already.

Raw Sweet Almond Milk - I have Morgan to thank for homemade almond milk! I use wide mouth Ball jars with plastic lids. You'll need to shake the milk before using it. I took her recipe and adapted it to fit my taste. I use 1 cup almonds to 6 cups water and I leave the rest the same except I don't add the hemp protein. I make a half batch of plain, unsweetened for cooking and the other half sweetened with dates and vanilla for drinking, cereal or to use in smoothies. This gets me about 6 cups. If you want to do half and half, just mix the almonds and water as instructed with the sea salt. Strain and rinse your blender cup. Then, pour the strained milk back into the blender and add the melted coconut oil and blend again and pour half into your jar. Then make the sweetened milk by adding the dates (I use 2 in a half batch) and vanilla and blend again, strain and pour into your second jar. I always date anything I put in the refrigerator. It helps to know when it was made because you will forget. Usually almond milk will last a week or so.. it will go bad. It will smell bad!

Mini Cookbook Reviews - Part 1

Note: I've done a couple book related blog postings so you may want to go back and read those before jumping into this one.


This one was recommended books from last summer. These books are the combo nutrition/lifestyle and recipe books about moving toward a plant based diet.. not strictly the cooking ones except for Veganomicon and The Skinny Bitch Everyday Cookbook.


This one is about investigating cookbooks. This one really is a must read.


Ok.. now onto this post!


I am a cookbook whore. There. I said it. I have over 40 vegan cookbooks right now.. that doesn't include the vegetarian ones or the ones where animal products are mentioned in recipes. Add those and I have a kitchen library. Truly.


Now... people ask me if I like to cook. Some days I love it and spend half the day in my kitchen and those are the days when I make lots of stuff to put in my freezer or fridge for the 'not so excited to be cooking days'! 


Some days I do it because I have to in order to put a good meal on the table and some days I have only the motivation to pour myself a bowl of cereal. 


That is why it's important to have a variety of cookbooks with different levels of recipes.


For example, one day this week I went out for lunch and did some running around so when it came time to make dinner I was kinda tired and a little uninspired so I wanted something quick, easy and not overly involved so I grabbed Chloe's Kitchen cookbook and whipped up a yummy Thai inspired dish that took about 15 minutes and time was mostly spent waiting for the noodles to cook. My husband and I both loved it as much as a recipe I had spent an hour on.


Hopefully you read my blog about investigating cookbooks.. there are so many variables that it's hard to know what each person will love or hate about each cookbook. It's all based on skill, taste and tools! I won't even bother telling you how the recipes taste because it's all relative. It even matters if you want to cook with convenience foods... some cookbooks use a lot of the pre-made vegan meats so if you don't have access tho hose then you probably won't like some cookbooks.


You may want to flip thru these books at your local bookstore to see if they are recipes you are interested in. I buy all my books from Amazon.com because I can get the lowest price there and I need that since I buy a lot of books!


I'll do these types of posts frequently as I spend more time with the cookbooks I have. I have many that I haven't really gotten into yet!


I'll also be doing a post about some of the books I have that are all cookies and desserts!


I'll give you a list of some of the recent cookbooks I've been using along with mini reviews.


In order to classify them, I'll mark them as follows:


Beginner - these recipes are good for beginner cooks that have limited cooking skills, are short on time or don't like to spend time in the kitchen. The recipes are usually easy to understand with a limited amount of steps and contain just a few ingredients. These are not necessarily 'peanut butter and jelly sandwich easy' recipes... but with a little effort they are what I call simple.


Intermediate - these recipes are little more advanced. they may require more ingredients (some that you may not have on hand), more steps and more time but are still not as an involved as some recipes can be.


Expert - recipes with involved steps, longer lists of ingredients and experience in the kitchen with specific techniques.


Vegan Cooking for Carnivores by Roberto Martin

Review - I just got this book so I've only tried a couple things. This author is the personal chef of Ellen DeGeneres. The recipes are a little more adventurous than some books with unique and interesting dishes. Many use vegan convenience foods like Gardein brand products or pre-packaged vegan cheese (but you could always sub homemade versions of seitan and sauces)  and many use tofu. This non-vegan chef has taken some well-loved non-vegan food ideas and made them vegan. He also has fun with ideas like vegan fried chicken (using spring roll wrappers as the 'skin') and vegan caviar! There are a fair amount of photos but not every recipe is shown. 


Level - Intermediate

Chloe's Kitchen by Chloe Coscarelli

Review - Love this cookbook! I've made quite a few recipes and they've all been a hit! Chloe has easy to follow recipes that are a step above some. They are still easy to prepare but have a little more style and excitement than some of the more basic cookbooks I've run across. Lots of great photos!

Chloe has a website so you may want to get a few of her free recipes to see if her style works for you. I love her mac & cheese recipe. It's the best one I've found.

Level - Beginner 

The Sexy Vegan by Brian L Patton

Review - I've really been enjoying this cookbook. The recipes are different and unique but not so weird that you are scared to try them. Some are so interesting that you want to make them just to see what it will taste like. He has some great basics. Its a very funny book.. lots of crazy and hilarious names for recipes (My Balls is his vegan meatball recipe) and each recipe has a funny intro that keeps me laughing. His tempeh bacon recipe is where I found my inspiration to create my own recipe for my own taste. It's great!

Brian has a website and a You Tube channel with hilarious videos of his cooking. That is how he got his cookbook deal. 

Level - Intermediate

The Happy Herbivore and Everyday Happy Herbivore

Review - I'm grouping her two books together because they are the same book layout with different recipes. Lindsay has quick, easy and basic recipes that give you no excuses.. so get into the kitchen and cook! Most of her recipes are ready in a short amount of time. I find that I sometimes have to punch up the excitement factor for me personally by adding in more seasonings or ingredients but that is just me! Great photos for almost every recipe. She likes to use tofu and she is a no-oil cook so desserts are made with applesauce and bananas instead of oil and sauteed dishes are sauteed in water or broth.

Lindsay has a nice website so you can try some of her recipes before buying the book.

Level - Beginner