Kelp Noodles

I found a package of kelp noodles at my local Asian market and was drawn to them because the package stated it was a "raw" food and "fun to eat". I wasn't sure how I was going to cook them but was excited to try something new.

The package stayed in the fridge for a few days but today I decided to make it for lunch. I sauteed fresh spinach and mushrooms in olive oil and a few splashes of low sodium soy sauce. Once the veggies were cooked I threw in the kelp noodles. The kelp noodles do not require long cooking time as they are ready to eat straight out of the package. I just threw them in to warm them up. The noodles really were fun to eat and tasted delicious with the spinach and mushroom flavors. I added salt and pepper to taste as well. Below is the finished dish.

Happy Kelping!

-V

Asian Chopped Salad

Yesterday I attended my first party, a baby shower and was immediately nervous in regards to temptation. Would I be able to resist all the yummy goodness?!?!? Especially the cake! Short answer is NO!  I wasn't able to resist so I broke my vegan diet for seafood ceviche. I know..I know what you're thinking but I chose it as the lesser of all evils. What I really wanted to grab was a juicy, delicious smelling chicken leg cooked in juicy goodness but I went for the ceviche instead. A lot of ceviche. :)

So today I was trying to make up for my cheating and just ate fresh vegetables, fruit and salad all day. Which brings me to a new favorite find from Sam's club. My friend introduced me to the Asian Chopped salad that they sell at Sam's club on Father's day and I absolutely fell in love with the taste. It tasted like Asian Chicken salad without the chicken. We bought a few bags last week and I ate a full bag today.

All the ingredients are individually wrapped, so to make this a vegan Asian Chopped Salad you can't mix in the crispy won ton strips since they do contain egg. But it tasted just as delicious without them. :)

 The picture below included the won ton strips but it wasn't for me, it was for my vegetarian friend that does consume egg. :) No cheating today!

Happy veggies!

-V

Vegan Ceviche

It was extremely hot today so I didn't feel like firing up the stove and decided to try one more of Chef Roberto Martin's recipe from "Vegan Cooking for Carnivores". Ceviche is always consumed on hot summer days when you want to eat something cool and refreshing so I was really excited to find the recipe in Chef Martin's book.

I did make a few changes to it by adding more ingredients. The original recipe just asked for tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, avocado and hearts of palm. But I'm used to eating ceviche with fresh cucumbers so I added them to the recipe. I also just used garlic powder, salt and ground cumin and did not add ground coriander as suggested by the original recipe.

I also added more lime juice since I like my ceviche really tart. Here is my recipe:

Two 14 ounce hearts of palm jars. I found them at Trader Joe's for about $3. Cut the hearts of palm lengthwise, then cut again until you have thin strips. Cut the strips cross wise into approximately 1/4 inch strips.
Juice of 4 limes (about 4 ounces)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 medium red onion, diced small
2 steak tomatoes, diced small
1 large cucumber, diced small
1 bunch cilantro, minced
1 firm avocado, halved, pitted removed from skin and diced small
Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste

You can make your own tostadas using corn tortillas and spraying them with olive oil cooking spray and baked at 450 degrees for about 12 minutes, but store bought tostadas are just as good and easier.

Making the ceviche:

In a medium bowl, toss together the hearts of palm, 2 ounces of the lime juice (keep the other 2 ounces for when you mix in the other ingredients), cumin, and garlic powder. The hearts of palm will start to fall apart as you toss with the spices but you only need to toss enough to coat the hearts of palm with all the spices. Allow the mixture to marinate for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.

After marinating, gently mix in the onion, tomato, cucumber, cilantro, avocado and 2 more ounces of the lime juice.

You can serve right away or refrigerate for 30 more minutes. My brother, who is a die hard carnivore really loved the taste! I took it as compliment. :) This recipe will yield about 10-12 tostadas.

Hope you enjoy!

-V

Soy Yogurt

After a week of doing Vegan (healthy plant based diet) I realized that it wasn't beef, chicken or pork that I was craving or having a hard time giving up. The one thing I was struggling with was yogurt. Frozen yogurt to be more specific. I went on the hunt and called about 20 Fro-Yo places to see if they offered any kind of non-dairy yogurt and the answer was no. Then during my first solo grocery shopping trip after my surgery to Trader Joe's I found this!!!

I was beyond excited to find it. Trader Joe's only had two flavors, peach and strawberry but as soon as I got home I put it in the freezer and after a few hours I had my first taste of soy frozen yogurt. It was enough to make me smile and satisfy my craving. Since then I have tried the vanilla flavor and I did not like it. It tasted too chalky and a bit like medicine. I'm sticking to the peach flavor for now.

Two of my friends did have good alternative, non soy suggestions for replacing frozen yogurt that I still have to attempt to make but I'll share anyway:

1. Shaved ice with coconut milk
2. Peel and freeze bananas or any fruit, then put it through the champion juicer and voila, natural yogurt! (loved her enthusiasm in sharing).

Happy, Healthy Eating!

-V

Vegan Mexican Pizza

First attempt at cooking a vegan meal was vegan mexican pizza inspired by "Vegan Cooking for Carnivores" by Chef Roberto Martin. Pre-Baked it looked like this:

The pizza dough was pre-made and bought at Trader Joe's grocery store. The toppings included:

1 can of organic pinto refried beans

Shredded soy mozarrella

Sliced sweet baby bell peppers (yellow and orange)

1 can of sliced black olives

Sliced jalapeños

Building the pizza:

Stretched pizza dough to a round shape (believe me it wasn't perfect)!

Spread the organic pinto refried beans on to the pizza dough like you would tomato sauce

Sprinkle with the shredded soy mozarrella cheese

Add the remaining toppings

Top off with more soy mozarrella cheese

Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, I did not use a pizza stone just an oven safe baking pan sprayed with olive oil. The pizza was a big hit amongst my non-vegan friends. The taste is similar to a mexican gordita if you've ever had one.

Happy Pizza Making!

-V

First Attempt

2 days ago on July 12th,  I officially became a Vegan. I am hispanic and meal times in our household always included some kind of animal product (beef, chicken, pork) and dairy (cheese, crema, milk, butter) and now I have to find a way to incorporate those flavors and textures into my food as a vegan. I have always loved vegetables and fruits but they were never a main course choice, always a side dish and usually sauteed in bacon grease or smothered in butter or some kind of fatty, heavy, flavorful sauce.

My decision to become vegan didn't happen overnight. I've done years of research and fought myself on the idea of becoming vegan. I have followed Kris Carr of Crazy, Sexy, Life (http://crazysexylife.com/about/)  for years and did have a brief 2 week attempt at a raw diet because of her. But at the time it all seemed so overwhelming and difficult so I went back to my normal diet of meat, meat, meat and more meat.

Then I found a cancerous tumor in my salivary gland, the 3rd cancerous tumor I've had in my life and I knew that I had to do something drastic in my life to become healthier. My doctor's recommended it, I knew I had to do it and then I saw the documentary Forks Over Knifes (http://www.forksoverknives.com/) and I knew that what it showed were the very things affecting me. So after my surgery on July 11th to remove the 3rd cancerous tumor I became a vegan.
I have found sooo many websites and books that support a healthy plant based diet, so here's to a life changing experience and hopefully my love of food and cooking will make my choice worthwhile. On this blog I will share my learnings, struggles and vegan recipes...hope you come back.

-V