Eating Consciously

Well, let me start out by mentioning that Vegan Drinks Philly was an immense success! At best estimate, it seems there were somewhere between 75 - 100 people that showed up for the event. It was a little cramped at Horizons, but I'm planning the next one as we speak and next time there will be more room. Stay tuned for more on that, I should have the final details for the next event by early this week. I am hoping that since so many people are interested, we might be able to raise some money for a local animal advocacy organization with the next event. ;) Moving forward, I promised I would get you part two of the seitan "ribs" recipe: Seitan "Ribs" 1 batch seitan "dough" (see below) 2 tbs tamari 1 batch BBQ sauce Make the seitan "dough" as I did in the prior post for Lemon Pepper "Chicken" Breasts : For the seitan dough: 1 cup vital wheat gluten water I like a really tender seitan, which is why I do not measure the water. I pu...

I am sitting here, anxiously awaiting the first EVER Vegan Drinks Philly event I have been coordinating for the past month. The response has been so inspiring! I have over 100 confirmations via Facebook and email. It will be interesting to see the amount of people that actually show up. I think that this event will not only introduce people to veganism, but also get those who are already vegan involved in different types of activism. I feel that when people know they're part of a group and not just an individual person, they are more compelled to DO something! ;) Anyway, I decided that it's about time I got that BBQ seitan ribs recipe up that I've been talking about. I'm actually going to give it to you in two installments. Today, I'm going to tell you how to make the sauce. I never used to even know how they made BBQ sauce, but once I realized how easy it is to make, I never buy it now. BBQ sauce is a tricky things because peoples' tastes vary wildl...

make a fabulous vegan dessert! That's right, I had a baking mishap this morning. As I'm sure you can relate, when you experiment with recipes, sometimes you don't get the outcome you desire. Fortunately, we can sometimes fix it and make it even better! That's what happened to me this morning. I decided I would bake some beet cupcakes that would resemble red velvet cake. Well, I have never made any beet cupcakes, let alone ones from scratch, so I just threw a bunch of stuff in a bowl. Unfortunately, I don't think I added enough flour, because the cupcakes sank down like they were deflating. Here's what I ended up with: So, although they tasted delicious, they had a weird texture and obviously weren't very pretty except for their color. ;) The worst part was I already made a great "cream cheese" frosting. Okay, so I wanted something with a little Valentine's Day flare, which is why I made them red in the first place. I knew I could make...

You may remember me mentioning somewhere online recently that I was going to be a guest on Meat Free Radio . Well, the show is out today and they have a new segment where everyone says what they had for dinner. Since I had mentioned this new recipe on the show, I figured it was only fair to put it up immediately. These little seitan "breasts", or "titties" ;), are tender and moist. I can't believe how great they came out and how strikingly similar they were to actual chickens' breasts. It was almost scary eating it ;) Lemon-Pepper Chicken For the seitan: 1 cup vital wheat gluten water I like a really tender seitan, which is why I do not measure the water. I put the wheat gluten into a bowl and just cover it with water. You really can't add too much water, because it will all just drain out anyway. The trick is to massage the gluten gently with your finger tips until it has soaked up as much water as possible. I actually outlined the basic proced...

So, there's this thing going around on Facebook where everyone posts 25 random things about themselves. I don't usually take part in these kind of chain things, but I thought it would be an interesting way for you to get to know me a little better. Especially since readership has doubled in the past month or so :) Here it goes: 1. I live with two feisty chihuahuas named Chico and Luna ;) 2. I grew up in the rural, farm country known as South Jersey. 3. I now live in Center City, Philadelphia with my boyfriend of 4 years. 4. I have been vegan for a little over a year now and was vegetarian for a while before that. 5. I study clinical nutrition full-time at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ. 6. I got a shotgun license and went hunting when I was ten, but never killed anything :) 7. I had lots of pets as a kid- snakes, lizards, hedgehogs, rats, crows, squirrels, frogs, fish... 8. I intern with Vegetarian Resource Group writing for their journal among other things....

Make these brownies if you're really looking for something chocolately. I set out to make a brownie that wasn't sickeningly sweet, rather provided a rich dark chocolate flavor. I have utilized a trick I have long known to bring out the richness of chocolate and that is to pair it with blackstrap molasses. If you remember, I have done this in the past with my Double Chocolate Chip Mint Cookies . I also wanted to make a brownie that was dense and fudgey instead of those cakey type, which I can't stand. Agave nectar works quite well to achieve this texture. Surprisingly, I found perfection on the first try. I will admit they are best served with a couple of scoops of Purely Decadent Mint Chip made with coconut milk !! Dark Chocolate Brownies 1/2 C canola oil 1/2 C soy milk 1/2 C agave nectar 1 tbs ground flax seeds 1/4 C blackstrap molasses 1/2 C vegan chocolate chips 3/4 C whole wheat pastry flour 1/2 C cocoa powder 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 tsp salt eart...

The rich, velvety texture of avocados must have some applicable use in creating fabulous sauces right? That's what I thought when creating this healthy version of vegan mac and cheese. I must say it not only looks the part, but is quite delicious. This is a great way for parents to get their kids to eat more fruit, or to utilize those avocados when they go on sale! Avocado Mac and "Cheese" 1 ripe avocado 1 C white beans 1 C soy milk 1/2 C nutritional yeast 1 TBS miso paste 1 tsp turmeric 1/2 lb whole wheat macaroni 1 C frozen peas salt and pepper to taste Cook pasta and peas then set aside. Put the rest of the ingredients into a food processor. Blend until creamy and smooth. Pour into a saucepan over medium heat to warm slightly. Once warm, toss with cooked peas and macaroni. I cannot believe I have let it get to more than a week since my last post. Now that classes are back in FULL swing, it has been difficult to find time to get everything done in a timely mann...