TVP Taco Meat

This is so simple and so delicious you have to try this. TVP is textured vegetable protein and it is a soy based product. The one that I have found to be the best is Bob's Red Mill. So here it is.

1 cup of water
1 cup of TVP
1 teaspoon of vegetable soup base
2 teaspoons of your favorite hot sauce
3 cloves of garlic chopped fine
1/2 jalapeño

You want to put the water on high in a pot and add the garlic and hot sauce and throw in the TVP and cover. Make sure that you check every 2 minutes. Before you pull it off the stove mix in 1 tablespoon of chili powder and that will give you the color of ground beef. Wah la...... Enjoy!!!!!!!!!

Almond milk

Ok, first of all, I know that I haven't posted anything in awhile. However this one should save you a ton of money. So, here is what you need:

2 handfuls of plain almonds
2 quarts of water
1.5 tablespoons of agave nectar
1 cheesecloth to strain
1 rubber band

Soak your almonds for a minimum of four hours or a maximum of 8. Strain out the water of the almonds and pour into a blender with 2 cups of water. Blend this mixture for a couple of minutes. Pour in the rest of the water and blend for another minute. Put the cheesecloth over a container that will be holding the milk and hold into place with the rubber band and strain the almond pulp from the milk. When finished, squeeze the cheesecloth to drain out the remaining almond bits. Stir in the agave nectar, pour and enjoy or store in the refrigerator. You can also try adding some vanilla if you wish.

So simple, so easy, damn oh so good

So far everyone is asking me, "Are you still vegan." Yes, yes I am. I think its hilarous when one woman asks me how is my diet, every single day. By far, the most delicious and easiest thing that i am making lately is pizza which is super super easy. Find a good pizza dough! The one that I like the most is a frozen dough that I bought from Fresh Farms grocery store. Spread pizza sauce evenly all over the pizza. Slice a tomato nice and thin and spread all over the za. Finally, add some onion, green pepper, soy chorizo, mushrooms, and soy cheese. Cook at 400 for 15 min, slice and enjoy your pizza!!!!!!!!

Spaghetti squash stuffed with spicy bean mash up

First, split the spaghetti squash in half and place face down on a cooking sheet till you can pierce the outside of the Rhine is easily pierced with a knife or fork. While the squash is cooking combine the following in a skillet:
1 can of corn
1 can of black beans
1 whole jalapeños
1/2 red onion
1/2 red pepper
1/2 tablespoon of chile powder
Add cumin,salt, pepper, and cilantro to taste.
After squash is done, scrape out with a fork and add to the rest of the mix..... Take the mixture combine and a scoop into the hollowed squash and enjoy.

Vegan Kick Ass Tacos

This was pretty easy to make. The one thing I screwed up on at the beginning was that refried beans from the store are not vegan. They are full of lard and animal byproducts that will make your butt fall out. So this is what we did:

1 can black beans
1 can red kidney beans
heat and mash with a spoon and add olive oil and salt until smooth and delicious
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

for the meat just use Morning Star Crumbles and add 1/2 cup salsa to give it some flavor.

when finished just put together:

1 whole wheat tortilla
a spread of refried beans
a spread of cooked morning star crumbles
sprinkle on veggie shred cheddar cheese
sliced jalapenos
a few spinach leafs
finally top with vegan sour cream

Trust me, you will love this little Mexican feast.

Broccoli Slaw ( thanks Eric)

Okay, contrary to popular opinion, that is not worms. If it was, it wouldn't be vegan....duh. This was such a welcome change of pace and I have to thank my boss Eric for hooking me up with this idea. I was able to find all vegan ingredients and it turned out awesome. You have to try this for sure. Alright yo, this is what ya need to do:

Slaw
1 lb broccoli slaw
1 cup sunflower seeds

1 package of shin ramyun noodle mix ( see picture below)

3oz sliced almonds

1/2 cup of wasabi  peas

Dressing
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup veggie oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 packet seasoning and 1 packet herbs

Crush ramen noodles in bag (dime sized pieces) Mix slaw ingredients in bowl, mix dressing ingredients in another, pour dressing over slaw and mix.  Tastes even better on day 2.  Mix before serving (dressing pools at bottom)

* this is what the ramen looks like that I used

 If you make a variation of this, let me know, I would love to try it!

The Ninja is the best way to prepare your vegan delights

We just bought the Ninja master food prep and this machine is awesome. We do green smoothies for breakfast. Up until this weekend we have prepared our green smoothies in the Magic Bullet. Now to be honest, I don't make the smoothies usually. Typically Christi handles the breakfast side of things and I take care of the dinner portion of things. Anyway, I digress, I was talking about the Ninja. This beast can take care of just about anything! I was able to do the ultimate test and I made snow out of ice cubes. Christi tells me that I am just a big kid, but for serious, this thing will change your life. This makes food prep so much easier.

Krazy Kream Cheese ( works well as a dip too)

Take 12.3 ounces of extra firm tofu and squeeze all the liquid out using cheese cloth, this will take a little under five minutes to accomplish. In a food processor, throw in 1 cup of cashew nuts and pulse till it is very fine. Add raw horseradish, salt, pepper, 3 cloves of garlic, a few sprigs of fresh dill and chives, 1/2 cup vegan butter.Using a food processor, pulse until all ingredients have blended together. This is awesome as a dip or on your bagels in the morning. The one thing that I miss going vegan is cheese and this certainly hits the spot.

Portobello and roasted red pepper sandwich

Ok, so the first thing that you need to do is use a spoon and scoop out all the gills from the mushrooms. After the caps are nice and clean, pour in a gallon size zip lock bag your favorite italian dressing and marinate the caps for at least an hour. Take the caps out of the bag and put in a skillet under medium heat with olive oil. While these are cooking up, take some fire roasted red peppers and slice a whole pepper in half and set aside. While you have the knife out, cut up some onion and throw in with the caps and allow to steam for about fifteen minutes, or till liquid starts to pool in the center of the cap. If you can, buy fresh ciabatta rolls at your local grocery store and cut in half. Take some olive muffelata, or make your own, and spread on both sides of the ciabatta rolls. One thing that I have found is that fresh basil is the key to this sandwich. Try with or with or without and let me know what you think  Place one cap on half of the roll, top with red peppers and onions then place on a George Foreman grill until it looks like the picture above...............ENJOY THE HELL OUT OF THIS CREATION!!!!!!!!!!!

Why did my wife and I decide to give up meat and jump feet first to become vegans?

My wife and I are both office professionals. Christi is a Customer Service Rep and I am a Sales Manager for an audio/visual company at a hotel. After awhile, we got to the point where we were grilling meat every night and we noticed that we began to just swell in our office chairs. We are going into our 4th week of going Vegan and so far we both have more energy, we spend more time together making meals, and we have seen very real evidence that our health is getting stronger. If you are not sure what I am talking about, email me and I can describe this in vivid detail (LOL). In addition to us being fat and unhealthy, I have a raging case of ADHD. There is a belief out there that ADHD is aggravated  by processed foods so this is my attempt to prove, or disprove that theory.