Replace White Sugar with These 4 Alternatives

All sugar isn't created equally...

                                     "Peanut! Fix us a couple glasses of Kool-Aid."
                                               "Grape or red?" 

Did you know that a lot of conventional white sugar isn't even vegan?

Majority of it is refined with bone char (from cattle bones) so it isn't considered vegan. 

Read more about that here 

If you want to avoid white sugar overall in your homemade recipes, check out these four alternatives....

Organic Raw Sugar - I use this in baked goods like these cupcakes & pineapple coffee cake  

Maple syrup (all natural) I use it in recipes like these easy chocolate pops

Dates - Medjool are my fave dates! They're big, super sweet,  juicy and work perfectly in raw vegan desserts (no bake), smoothies and as a great snack with peanut butter.

I also used it in this donut hole recipe

Coconut sugar - I haven't used this one yet but I've been thinking about it ever since Crafty Earth Mama mentioned it as a more natural and healthy replacement in our podcast episode.

Pic credit

Click to get a list of vegan replacements for other ingredients

Read more about alternatives for sugar and see the list of white sugar companies that don't use bone char in their production here.

How do you sweeten your desserts?

Why Do You Eat Meat & Cheese Substitutes If You're A Vegan? | Q&A

Question I received on Facebook: "I've just always wondered why eat the meat and cheese substitutes if you're vegan to take those foods out of your diet..."

Answer: I guess it depends on why you decide to go vegan. I became vegan for ethical reasons.

I don't dislike the taste of conventional meat and cheese, but I think the killing of animals for food is terrible and unnecessary (Diet for a New America is a good book to read for more on that).
I honestly don’t think our family would’ve gotten to this point (5 years in) without them.

These meat alternatives saved me during those times when my family refused to eat stir-fry with “just vegetables” and when Elijah (my reformed picky eater lol) wanted regular chicken nuggets with his fries.

Yeah, most mock meat is processed, but hell everything that isn’t from the produce department usually is.

You shouldn’t eat these products every day, but I do think they come in handy
for:

• food cravings
• to add variety
• for simple convenient meals when you get busy (and cooking is the last thing you want to do)

It’s better than hitting a Burger King drive-thru on the way home from work. 
I am picky about my meat and cheese alternatives though...

Off the top of my head, I love:

• Field Roast 
• Beyond Meat beef crumbles,
• Heido Ho cheese,
• Miyoko's cheese
• Some of the Gardein products

 
Meat alternatives really can help you start a vegan journey that is simple, delicious and most importantly long-term. 

Do what works best for YOU and don't feel like you have to completely dismiss processed vegan food just because someone said you should. Aim for balance, not perfection!

I just watched an awesome video from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau that captured exactly how I feel about processed foods and vegan alternatives overall.

Check it out here....

 

Mock Meat or nah? Leave me a comment below

10-Minute Vegan Chili Dogs

On the way home from the airport yesterday, Eric suggested that we eat chili dogs while watching the game.

After traveling for the last 2 weeks, the last thing I wanted to do is cook a meal.

In comes 10 minute chili dogs!

I picked up 2 packs of Field Roast frankfurters, a can of Annie's vegan chili (I have a recipe for homemade chili here) and diced up an onion.

This is a quick and easy recipe for those "I can't be bothered" days and a perfect way to make your non-vegan family feel like they're eating meat.

Veganize it, baby!

I've tried several brands of vegan hotdogs and Field Roast is the only one worth buying. It has the perfect flavor and texture - ain't nobody got time for soft hotdogs!

Enjoy! 

Raising Vegan Kids | A Quick Chat with Simple Daily Recipes

I had such an amazing time at Vida Vegan Con! I connected with so many folks in the vegan community and had an amazing opportunity to speak on a parenting panel and give a solo talk about being present and authentic online.

I also had the pleasure of chatting with Jill of Simple Daily Recipes about raising vegan kids.

In the video we share these tips on how to stay on a vegan journey with a family:

• Make a decision to go vegan and keep moving forward
• Be okay with being a gradual process- sometimes you're not eating all whole foods. I know about that vegan ice cream and chili Doritos life.
• Be gentle with yourself and your family
• Don't be afraid to make just one meal and have those picky eaters catch up on the next meal. I'll write a blog post soon to elaborate on that.

Jill is sooo much fun! Subscribe to her channel <--- for vegan recipes, tips and lots of laughs.

A Few Tips to Make Vegan Travel Easier

Confession time: Nothing makes me question this vegan lifestyle more than when I travel. NOTHING. I love visiting new places and one of my favorite things is indulging in local food. Unfortunately most of that food contains meat, dairy and eggs. Boo! Sure, I can have them make changes but I'll be the first to admit that it just isn't the same.

I won't pretend that I've never had non-vegan food on vacation. 

I'm not perfect.

I will say that having a plan makes a world of difference as a vegan traveler.

Vegan Travel Tips:

*Bring snacks/meals on the flight

Pack wraps, a sandwich and/or salad for your flight meal with fresh fruit

Snacks: Pretzels, carrot sticks, celery and cucumber to eat with hummus

Whole fruit -grapes, orange slices, apples, and mango

Nut butter (almond or peanut butter) to serve with crackers, fruit or a vegetable

Larabars

Trail mix with nuts, seeds, raisins, etc.

I love how Virgin America has vegan options on their flights.

You should also check with with your airline ahead of time and ask them to prepare a vegan meal for longer flights.

 

*Happycow.net is an awesome resource

All you have to do in type in the zip code and it will populate vegan options near you.  I use this site to find vegan-friendly restaurants and health food stores when I travel.

 Bun Less Bowl from Sage Vegan Bistro, L.A.

 

*Consider staying in a house/condo or hotel that has a kitchenette to prepare your own food

When we took the kids to Disney World a few years ago, having a kitchen saved us tons of money. I wrote a grocery list and shopped at Publix when we landed in Orlando. Then we had a vegan breakfast at the condo (cold cereal, toast, smoothies, fresh fruit).  I packed a vegan lunch (sandwiches, wraps, salads, fresh fruit, etc.) daily and we used Happycow.net to eat dinner at vegan-friendly restaurants near us. There was even vegan-friendly options right in the Disney parks.

*Use your hotel appliances to cook your food 

If staying in a hotel is your only option and you want to eat more meals there, here are some tips from a video I saw a while ago:

• Bring a small blender and blend fresh produce for smoothies
• The coffee filter basket is an easy way to steam fresh vegetables
• Use the coffee carafe to warm soups and beans (I really like this one!)
• The ice bucket is handy for tossing salads
• Bring along food grade peroxide to sanitize all the items

Watch the full video from Healthy Voyager here 

Denver, 2012

Happy travels!