Marmalade French Toast...yuuummmm

Simple & easy dishes CAN taste SO good. I just downloaded Lindsey Nixon's "Everyday Happy Herbivore" (175 recipes in 30 minutes or less) and the Marmalade French Toast was the first recipe i tried out of it. Lay out your baguette slices, mix the few ingredients together (almond milk, flour, citrus marmalde) and pour over your slices. I added the almonds on top and I really liked the extra crunch. Put it all together the night before and just pop it in the oven in the morning for approx 30 mins. If the others come out as well as this I will be eating well in a lot less time. Definite WIN!!! :)

AWESOME Vegan Mac & Cheese

while trying to get back on track and try a few new things i stumbled upon this mac and cheese recipe at one of my favourite vegan blogs, www.ourveggiekitchen.com. i dunno if any of you are like me but i love comfort food so i was so excited when i put the first spoonful of this creamy goodness in my mouth. it brought back childhood memories and i couldn't get enough of it. and it's vegan i swear!!! no milk or cheese to be found.
AND to top it off, it's so easy! it's a mix that you can keep and make as needed. and it's microwavable (which i usually don't care for microwaved food but for this it's fine).

try it and i know you will like it.
http://www.ourveggiekitchen.com/search?q=mac+and+cheese

in the Bahamas, we make Baked Mac and Cheese and it has eggs and milk it in. now to only figure out a way to bake the vegan one :)

ALWAYS use the guard!!!

ok....so, what had happened wuuzzzz (LOL), i was slicing some onion on my mandolin slicer this afternoon. not really rushing but not really paying too much attention either....the inevitable happened. I cut not one but two of my fingers on my right hand, my thumb and my middle finger.
If you can imagine...I am holding the onion in my right hand with the slicer in my left. No, i did not use the guard (despite repeated urgings otherwise). I found that if i did, i ended up throwing a chunk of whatever i was slicing away. So despite being down to the end of my onion i kept on with the back and forth motion, removing quite a chunk off the meaty part of my thumb and skimming the end of my middle finger.
Honestly, I have had (and successfully used) this lovely device for awhile now. It's such a time saver! But as i found out, it only takes once to severely injure yourself and it can happen SO fast.
So...from now on i will ALWAYS use the guard, no matter how much of my onion i have to throw away. At least I will get to keep my fingers.

Still Struggling

Hey there,

Unfortunately I am still struggling with keeping on track with my vegan diet while still doing my exercise routine. I'm just not finding that the vegan food is as satisfying as it was was before. :( Sorry I can't lie to you guys. Despite having a wealth of great vegan recipes, the cravings for meat are VERY strong right now. I have been indulging in meat and then beating myself up a bit for not being strong enough to resist.

A couple other issues that may be adding to this dilemma are that I have tried a couple new recipes and they haven't turned out so well. In addition, i have needed a few ingredients for some new recipes and haven't been able to find them locally. It's quite frustrating. Also, work has been a bit busy, lunch time rolls around fast and i am not prepared. therefore takeout wins again. (just to remind some of you, i live on a small island in the Bahamas so there aren't any vegan/vegetarian restaurants and specialty items are not readily available. or if you're lucky enough to find an ingredient this week, it's likely not to be there the next.)

I am willing to take any advice or new recipe suggestions from you guys. Despite my setbacks I will not give up!

Hi guys,
sorry I haven't posted for awhile.
Life got a bit hectic for a minute there....one of the new things that was happening is that I began a new exercise routine (which was long overdue). It was a bit intense at the beginning as I am not used to cardio at 6am 6 days a week but I'm slowly getting used to the new routine.
One thing I am NOT getting used to (at least not quite yet) is my souped up appetite!!! I mean I have been absolutely RAVENOUS!!! AND all the cravings for meat have come back with a vengeance. And I might as well be honest with you, I have not been a very good vegan.
The first week I indulged quite a  few times I'm ashamed to say. The 2nd week I was able to get back on track....mostly. BUT I am determined to stick with my convictions to be vegan and also to be completely honest on this blog along my journey.
One thing I have learned in life is that you are not alone. There is always someone who has been there (done that) before.
:)

What's in a name???

I've noticed a lot of vegan recipes are inspired and titled by non-vegan dishes that most of us know and love. Examples;

• "Chicken" Wings: A delicious dish for sure but not chicken of course (not even wings!) but they are made up of a cornucopia of ingredients that include tofu, chickpeas, ground almonds, brown rice and more, then sculpted into a chicken wing shape and coated in a tasty BBQ sauce. 
• Pasta & "Alfredo": Another great dish but not a shred (LOL) of cheese to be seen (thank goodness)!! Also made up of blended chickpeas & cashews. A yummy white sauce over pasta and veggies to be sure but not alfredo.

Please don't get me wrong, I am in no way downing these recipes or any others you may come across. I'm sure they are all delicious, many that I have tried are. And I know that the creators of these recipes are simply trying to help us make the transition from eating meat to not eating meat. Their intentions are good but I find for some it may not be so helpful.

There is a saying in the Bahamas when you are craving or expecting to eat a certain thing you would say, "I had 'my mouth fixed' for chicken wings." (but really more like, "Chile, I had my mout' fix for some wings! What dis is you givin' ma?!") So then when you have your "mouth fixed" for (or expecting to eat) chicken wings and you get something other than chicken it's a little disappointing (even though you already knew you weren't getting chicken). A few others have commented similarly (my boyfriend and another spouse who will remain nameless). I'm sure there is scientific evidence somewhere that our taste buds have memory.

As I've said previously, the vegan dishes that have been suggested to me and the ones I have come across have been absolutely awesome and have introduced me to spices and flavours I've never had before. It's a whole new world of flavour!

If you are a creator of vegan recipes, I doubt this will make you rethink your titles, I'm just making an observation. But PLEASE keep on being inspired by and creating the foods we know and love (if not, I wouldn't have anything to eat!)
Your hard work is appreciated!!!
:)

Recipe Back Up #2

Another go-to recipe for me is my Roasted Veggie Pitas. I didn't find this recipe anywhere, i don't even know if you can call it a "recipe" as it's just some roasted veggies, with cooked brown rice (i like some arugala as well) stuffed into some pita bread halves.

The veggies i usually use are mushrooms, onions (of course), red bell peppers, brussel sprouts quartered (don't turn up your nose, just trust me), and cubes of sweet potato, but feel free to try anything you like. if you use mushrooms, don't chop them too small as they are gonna shrink quite a bit. The marinade is some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, chopped garlic, salt & cracked black pepper, fresh rosemary & thyme chopped, and a dash of Sriracha (the BEST hot sauce in the WORLD) but you can use whatever spices you like really. Just don't drench it in the marinade, add just enough to coat everything
Mix it all together and lay the veggies so they are flat on a baking sheet and bake (450 degrees) until everything is roasted to the taste you like (about 35- 45 mins depending on how small you cut everything up).

















The veggies are slightly sweet because of the balsamic vinegar (turns sweet when roasted) and the sweet potato and then a hint of spiciness with the sriracha hot sauce.
Toast up your pitas so they are warm and stuff ;)