What Do Vegans Eat Anyway?

Since I don't usually talk about my vegan lifestyle (outside of the blog and YouTube), most people don't know how I eat unless we have a meal together.

The following is the conversation that usually happens:

Person: "You have a lot of rabbit food on your plate. You don't eat meat." 

Me:  *smiling* "No." 

Person: "So you're a vegetarian?" 

Me: "No, I'm a vegan." 

Person: "I think I've heard of that. You don't eat eggs, right?"

Me: "Right. Or any meat, eggs, dairy, and any other animal byproducts." 

Person: "No fish?" 

Me: "Nope." 

Person: "No chicken?"  

Me: "No." 

Person: "Wait...so what do you eat?" 

                                                                Pic Source

I came across this chart and wanted to share it. Basically, I eat a lot of fruit, tacos, vegetables (especially broccoli, spinach & kale), rice, beans (especially black and kidney beans), flour tortillas, and sugary vegan snacks. lol  

3 Simple & Affordable Vegan Dinners

I mentioned before that I'm working on showing more vegan meals with accessible ingredients.  I recorded a video featuring 3 vegan dinners using simple & affordable ingredients that can be found in any grocery store.

Here's the YouTube video :-) 

Dinner #1

*****Be sure to check the ingredient list on the bread to ensure it doesn't contain dairy and/or eggs.*****

Full recipe from Chloe Coscarelli (the ingredients and method are listed in the description box of Chloe's video) 

*Click here for the recipe video*

Dinner #2

Vegan Red Beans & Rice

by Brown Vegan

Prep Time: 8 hours

Cook Time: 1 1/2 hours

Ingredients (Serves 5)

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 lb dried red beans, soaked overnight
• 8 cups vegetable broth or water
• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke (typically found in the same aisle as the BBQ sauce)
• 1 bay leaf
• To garnish: green onion, chopped
• 4 cups of cooked rice

Instructions

In a large stockpot, sauté onion, garlic and celery for 5 minutes on medium-high heat with oil. Add in cayenne pepper, all-purpose seasoning and salt.

Add in beans, vegetable broth (or water), liquid smoke and bay leaf

Reduce heat to med-lo, cover and simmer for 1 ½ hours, or until the liquid is thick or beans split open. If the water absorbs too quickly, add more ½ cup more at a time.

Remove bay leaf.

Adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Serve with rice.

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Dinner #3

Vegan Stuffed Shells

by Brown Vegan

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 8 oz jumbo shells
• 3 garlic cloves
• 8 basil leaves
• 1 small onion, roughly chopped
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 14 oz firm tofu, drained
• Jar of spaghetti sauce

Instructions

Preheat oven at 400º

Boil jumbo shells in water until al dente.

In a food processor, blend together garlic, basil, onion, salt, pepper and oregano. Scrap down the sides of the food processor with a fork.

Crumble tofu with your hands and blend until smooth in the food processor.

Fill each shell with the tofu filling.

Line the bottom of a casserole dish with ½ cup of spaghetti sauce.

Cover with the shells and spoon on additional spaghetti sauce.

Cover with foil and bake for about 20 minutes.

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Come Grocery Shopping with Me! #1 (Video)

Hey! I hope you're having a great weekend. :-)

When I went grocery shopping the other day, I decided to take the camera along to talk about organic food, my love of Wegmans (and grits lol) , the numerous emails I get telling me to stop eating tofu, and also do a mini-haul of some of the items I picked up.

Check out the video below and be sure to subscribe to my channel for more vlogs and recipe videos.  Thanks for reading & watching!

Cornbread Recipe-Moist & Slightly Sweet

Update: I made a better cornbread here. Check out that recipe instead. ----> Recipe

While hanging out with my parents a few weeks ago, I asked my dad about the yummy cornbread he always made growing up.

His response, "I use Jiffy." I gasped. Boxed cornbread? He makes nearly everything from scratch and all these years I've been duped by boxed cornbread. lol

Anyway, he did give me a few tips to use in this recipe. :-)

This cornbread is moist, slightly sweet and delicious. 

Check out the full recipe and watch me make it in the video below.

If you try this recipe, please let me know what you think.

Song playing while I baked....

P.M. Dawn-Looking Through Patient Eyes

Cornbread-Moist & Slightly Sweet

by Brown Vegan

Cook Time: 20

Keywords: bake bread vegan

Ingredients (Serves 5)

• 1 cup all-purpose or spelt flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 4 tbsp water
• 1/3 cup canola oil or melted vegan margarine (I prefer the margarine)
• 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup (or agave nectar)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

Preheat oven at 400º

To make flax "eggs":

In a small bowl mix together flaxseed and water and allow to sit for about 10 minutes.

To make "buttermilk":

In another bowl, mix together almond milk and vinegar and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients of flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder & baking soda.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flax "eggs", "buttermilk", canola oil, and maple syrup.

Add the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients and mix together until evenly combined.

Pour into a baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.

Once ready, top with vegan margarine or coconut oil.

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Sweet Potato Pie Recipe

"Gotta get a piece of that sweet potato pie..." 

Pumpkin gets all the glory, so today I'm showing sweet potato some plant-based love. 

The recipe is delicious and the taste is just like traditional sweet potato pie. 

Here's what Simon (my 11 year old) said about the leftovers.... 

Simon: (after eating a bowl of cereal, an apple, and a bagel) "I don't understand why we can't eat pie for breakfast...it's made from sweet potatoes."

Nice try. #thesekids

Sweet Potato Pie

by Brown Vegan

Cook Time: 40

Keywords: bake dessert vegan

Ingredients (Serves 7)

• 2 large sweet potatoes, cooked with skin removed (about 2 cups)
• ½ cup vegan margarine
• 2 Ener-G "eggs" with warm water (check the box for measurements)
• ½ cup organic brown sugar
• 1 cup non-dairy milk (coconut, almond, hemp, or soy)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 9-inch pie crust

Pecan Cream Topping

• 1 (13 oz) can coconut milk
• 1 vanilla bean or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• ¼ cup pecans or walnuts, toasted and chopped

Instructions

Preheat the oven at 400º

Mash the sweet potatoes until creamy.

In a small bowl mix together the Ener-G "egg" and water until smooth.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the vegan margarine and brown sugar. Then blend in the "eggs" non-dairy milk, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt and sweet potatoes.

Pour the mixture into a premade pie crust and bake for 40 minutes until golden brown.

Allow the pie to cool for at least an hour before serving.

Topping Directions

Put the unopened can of coconut milk in the refrigerator for 24 hours to allow the coconut fat to rise to the top of the can. Open the can and scoop out the layer of coconut fat leaving the water at the bottom. You can use the water later in a smoothie.

Whip the coconut milk, maple syrup and vanilla together in a bowl. Fold in the pecans and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Makes about 1 cup of topping

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Update me when you try this recipe. :-)

Song playing while I baked two pies...

Elton John-Rocket Man