~Day 29 Mac and cheese

Well I cannot seem to put my Happy Herbivore cookbook down. I just keeping making more and more delicious low fat things in there. Today I made baked mac n cheese:

Happy Herbivore Baked Mac n Cheese

This recipe was really quick to make and the tofu makes it very thick and rich. This is my first experience making "cheese" sauce using nutritional yeast and it turned out exceptionally well. I was pleasantly surprised how cheesy it was I cannot wait to make some Queso for Superbowl Sunday!

 We just recently purchased some nutritional yeast so that I could make some of these cheesy recipes, it is so delicious. Franc really loved it on his popcorn , a double bonus is that its very nutritious. Hes even started adding it to some of his home made bread recipes!
                                                                     xoxo,
                                                                    Betty

~Day 28 Bettys Birthday soiree :-)

Hello everyone its day 28 and it just happens to be my Birthday! In honor of this special day I celebrated with friends and family and went to one of my favorite restaurants Ichiban!! This is a Japanese Hibachi /Sushi restaurant that has a large menu and I was able to order a ton! I did mention to the waitress my dietary restrictions and she was a super helpful. I started with some Miso soup and then had a seaweed salad


Seaweed Salad

 For my main course I choose a sweet potato roll (it was Amazing) with no eel sauce, an asparagus roll, and a green roll (avocado and asparagus) Being a lover of sushi I really enjoyed these veggie versions equally as well as I enjoy conventional sushi.


Veggie Sushi

 I also ordered a side dish of teriyaki veggies because I just couldn't resist! Needless to say my eyes were much larger than my stomach and I ended up taking home a Huge doggie bag.


Teriyaki Veggies

I had a wonderful Birthday Dinner and a fabulous time with everyone but I missed my sweetie Franc who was out of town on business :-(  Not to worry though hes taking me to a new all Vegan restaurant to celebrate when he gets back so the celebration continues!
                                                                             Blowing out my candles,
                                                                                    Betty

27th Day Betty and Franc

We found some quick easy, ready to eat Indian food we wanted to share with everyone. We tried Kitchens of India -  Red Beans with Curry for a quick ready made dinner option tonight. These meals are all fully prepared and all you need to do is heat and eat. Best of all they are Vegan and seem to be all natural without a bunch of preservatives! The curry sauce is just perfect, not too spicy. At first the package doesn't seem like a lot of food, but the beans are really filling and the package is perfect for two people. We paired it with some fresh made jasmine rice, steamed cauliflower and a little flat bread. It was an awesome meal and it only took about 4 minutes to cook! We highly recommend the Kitchen's of India products for quick, easy and tasty meals.

- Franc and Betty

Betty and Franc - Day 26 Red Robin YUM :-)

We have a quick review of our lunch we had at at Red Robin. We've been to Red Robin in the past and enjoyed their gourmet burgers and fries, but this was our first trip there as Vegans. We knew they had Bocca and Veggie burgers, but we're not sure about some of the sauces. We asked the server for help and she returned with the kitchen manager who had a whole list of the menu items which contained egg and or milk products.We found this super helpful and made our decision much easier. I (Franc) had the Bocca burger with onion, Whiskey River BBQ sauce, lettuce and tomato. Betty had the Veggie burger combo with yellow mustard instead of the honey mustard. Both burgers came with unlimited steak fries and were very large and filling. I was most impressed that the staff at Red Robin took the extra time to find us the information that ensured we were eating a Vegan meal. Most places wouldn't make the extra effort, so we really appreciated their efforts.

Our Tasty Bocca Burgers at Red Robin

After returning home, I checked out the Red Robin website and found a couple of cool tools that were really helpful. First, they had the list of foods which contained milk and egg in their allergen list on their site. They also have an awesome tool which allows you to custom build your burger! The tool will even calculate the fat and calories with your custom selections, plus you can print out your creation and take it to the store for them to make for you. Enjoy!

Burger munchin' Betty

~Day 25 Betty and Franc Mexican Cabbage



 We made two more recipes from the Happy Herbivore cookbook! The first was the one pot Mexican Cabbage it was cabbage onions, garlic, corn, black beans, in a tomato sauce and it was delicious! I'm not really a cabbage person but in this dish its perfect. Franc came up with the idea of putting it in a corn tortilla and it made the perfect burrito!

Happy Herbivore Mexican Cabbage on a corm tortilla

This is one of those recipe that's a go to. I will definitely be making it again and another bonus is it takes about 15 minutes from start to finish. The second recipe we made was the cheater Pad Thai

Happy Herbivore Pad Thai

This recipe was super quick and easy and Franc LOVED it but it was a little spicy for me next time I'm going to reduce the hot sauce and let Franc add as much as he wants to his.  I am anxious to make this again and add a bunch of veggies. Again another great go to recipe!

                                                                         Eating some wonderful dishes,
                                                                              Betty & Franc

~ Betty Chili Sans Carne and Cornbread

~Day 24 Betty

Several months before I made the vegetarian to Vegan shift I began doing research about cooking and recipes and general information that I thought I would need before actually making the switch, I wanted to be over prepared. I found many great vegan websites and blogs.  One great resource that I’ve found has been Happyherbivore.com this is a website/blog that has lots of information and recipes that are really easy and delicious. They are low fat vegan cooking with mostly ingredients you already have. I recently received the new Happy Herbivore cookbook and I love it! I love a cookbook that you can open up and start cooking things that night without even having to make a trip to the grocery store! I quickly went through mine and then immediately headed for the kitchen and whipped up some Chili sans Carne! It’s a quick and super easy chili recipe that was so good even my small fries liked it J To go with our chili I also made homemade cornbread and it turned out amazing! Not only are these recipes tasty but and they are low fat!  Thank you  Happy Herbivore I can’t wait to taste some more!

Chili sans Carne and Cornbread

                                                             GO STEELERS,
                                                                 Betty

Franc - Day 24 Chocolate covered Newman O's

Heres' a couple of quick and easy recipes I hope you will enjoy. The first is a tofu salad sandwich that tastes a lot like egg salad. The second is a tasty, chocolaty treat that everyone will love.

I've been quite sick the past few days and with Betty's help I'm finally feeling up to getting back to cooking!

Here's the quick Egg (actually tofu) Salad Sandwich
Take 1 container of tofu, pressed and crumbled . To press basically put the tofu on a plate, put some paper towels over it and then put another plate on top with some extra weight. We used a full tea pot on top for about 20 minutes. This will press the water out of the tofu. You want it fairly dry.
Add 2 table spoons of Veganaise, salt and pepper, one teaspoon Italian seasoning, about a quarter cup of finely chopped onion and a quarter of a cup of finely chopped celery. Mix all this together and put on lightly toasted bread. That's it! I think you'll be surprised at how much this tastes like egg salad. Betty was a bit freaked out by it since it was so close to eggs ; -)

Here's my chocolate covered Newman O's.

Chocolate covered newman O's

In a sauce pan, take about a half cup of semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips and melt over low heat. Stir constantly so the chocolate does not burn. Once your chocolate is melted add some soy or almond milk until you get the chocolate to the right taste for you. If you like your chocolate dark and rich, use less milk, if you want it more like milk chocolate use a little more. Once you have the chocolate all melted and combined with your non dairy milk simply dunk your Newman O's cookies into the chocolate (get it all covered really well) and lay flat on some wax paper to set up. Once these cool the chocolate will get hard and you'll have yourself a really delectable snack. Enjoy!
                                                                Franc

~Day 23 Feel Better Franc Soup!

Poor Franc cannot seem to shake his cold :-( To help him feel better I made a big pot of Feel better Franc soup :-)

In large pot saute
onions,
 garlic,
ginger,
celery I use stalks and the leaves
carrots
I also added daikon today for extra healing powers
I used about one and a half  32 oz vegetable broth and some water
add a tablespoon of Italian seasoning and salt and pepper taste
I broke fettuccine into bite sized pieces and cooked them in the broth

My fingers are crossed that this is going to do the trick on his nasty cold.

                                                                     Get Well soon Franc,
                                                                           Betty

~Day 22 Betty Stir fry

Hi Everyone!
 Tonight I was going to a surprise Birthday party and was asked to bring a Vegan dish! I was excited and well aware there would be some cynical carnivores in attendance so I wanted to bring something everyone would like. I choose to make a basic stir fry thinking it would compliment the menu as a nice side dish and would work well as my main dish. Franc and I always make stir-fry when we have lots of good veggies sitting around so here's our basic stir fry recipe:

I use any and all veggies I have in the fridge tonight it was
Half a purple onion
some cauliflower
Broccoli
green pepper
A handful of mushrooms
carrots
zucchini
purple cabbage
bean sprouts

I sauteed garlic and fresh ginger then added all the veggies except the sprouts I added them last I then mixed about 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, some sugar in the raw and about a tablespoon of vegan Worcestershire and poured this over the veggies I sauteed for a bit longer and that's it, not only is this dish simple but its gorgeous! I also made a very simple garlic and herb couscous out if a box and took that as well. Everyone enjoyed the stir-fry and the couscous and I had plenty to eat and snack on. I also took a plate of my brownies and most people couldn't tell the difference. All in all it was a success and I do think I'm adjusting to tweaking my diet in social situations, I really didn't care that I couldn't have any cake.

                                                              Happy Birthday Mikey!!
                                                                  Betty

~Day 20 Betty OMG Brownies!!

~Day 20 Betty

Its day twenty and I’ve been dreaming of the chocolate bunt cake we had at the Zenith, so I decided to do a little research on Vegan baking and vegan chocolate. It’s really quite simple and much better to make your bake goods from scratch anyway.  I choose to make brownies as my first baking experiment J I found out that Ghirardelli’s makes some baking chips that are dairy free so I went to my local supermarket in search of them. I found a variety of Ghirardelli’s chips but only the semi-sweet baking chips contained no milk ingredients. I made two different batches of brownies and I found both recipes online. The first was OK but the second FABULOUS!!!

Ingredients

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1.                     Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.                     In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Pour in water, vegetable oil and vanilla; mix until well blended. Spread evenly in a 9x13 inch baking pan.

3.                     Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top is no longer shiny. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into squares.

I followed this recipe but once all of the ingredients were mixed I added about a half of a bag of the Ghirardelli chocolate chips to the brownie batter this really makes them extra chocolaty and that’s how we LOVE them!

                                  In Chocolate Heaven,

                                          Betty

~Day 19 Betty Feeling Saucy

Today I couldn't figure out what to make. I was going to make soup (poor Franc still  has a cold) but upon further inspection of my refrigerator, I changed my mind.  I had a bunch of spinach that looked like it was nearing the end of its life and some mushrooms and so i whipped up this pasta dish that turned out really well. Here's how I made it:

Saute one half large onion one (or more) Tablespoons of chopped garlic
about a cup of sliced mushrooms
one Tofurky Italian style veggie sausage chopped into small pieces (for the carnivore in Franc)
About two cups (or more) of fresh spinach until it gets nice and wilted
Add about a can and a half of red pack tomato sauce
one can of diced tomatoes with the juice
one half can tomato paste
Table spoon of italian seasoning and a splash of red wine if available (if not a pinch of sugar)
Cook 1lb of penne pasta and add the pasta directly to the sauce. MMMMMMMM !
This is a very hearty dish. I added a little of the pasta water to thin the sauce a bit maybe about 1/4 of a cup
Its extremely filling and even non-vegetarians will enjoy this. Serve with Crusty bread and a salad.

Bettys Spinach & Mushroom sauce

                                                    It's Italian night at Betty and Francs House,
                                                                     Betty

~ Day 18 Betty

 Something I wanted to share. Today I had a business luncheon, Ive had this same meeting every month and they typically serve the same buffet. I was concerned because besides salad I was thinking Iwould be unable to eat much. I ask the waitress prior to the luncheon if the cloudy looking Italian contained dairy? She came back with a raspberry vinaigrette in her hand and told me that the Italian did have dairy but the raspberry dressing did not. She also said she was having the kitchen steam me some veggies with no butter.... I ended up having a wonderful lunch of fruit, salad, and steamed veggies and it was simple. I was so pleased it worked out so simple and easy and all I had to do was ask one question. I shouldn't worry this isn't that hard :-)

                                                                  Easy Peasy,
                                                                   Betty

Franc - Day 18

Well, I've been tinkering with my vegan meatless meatball recipe and I think I'm pretty happy with the results. We made the meatballs for dinner and finished the dish off with my mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes. I've got a bunch of left over meatballs so I think I will save them and toss them in with some spaghetti marinara this week. I imagine these could also be shaped into patty shapes if you want homemade vegan burgers. Here's the simple recipe:

Vegan Meatballs
1 cup finely chopped portabella mushrooms
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 of a package of Gimme Lean vegan sausage about 8oz
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 can black beans
1.5 cups unflavored bread crumbs (I made my own)
5 tablespoons corn meal
1 tablespoon Italian seasonings
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon back pepper
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

First take the chopped mushrooms, onion and garlic and saute in extra virgin olive oil until soft. In a bowl take the black beans and smash into a paste. I found that using a small flat bottomed glass smashes them pretty well. Add the sauteed items, sausage, quinoa, bread crumbs, cornmeal, Italian seasonings, garlic salt and pepper in the bowl and mix well. Form small meatball shapes, about a tablespoon worth is about perfect. Add the vegetable oil to a deep fry pan and fry the meatballs until golden brown. I found that when they get a little crispy edge they taste great are are done. Enjoy!

                                              ~Franc

Day 17 Betty and Franc - Headed home from our travels

We are getting ready to leave the ski resort today and first we wanted to grab some breakfast....


Oatmeal, fruit cup, hash browns, bagel

 Since we starved ourselves yesterday we ordered every ala carte item we could find!

Traveling home we stopped at one of our favorite places to eat. North Country Brewing in Slippery Rock, PA. This is a brew pub with fantastic craft beers and awesome food. Yes, their beer is Vegan ;-)   We ordered their hummus plate (which changes weekly) and it was a spicy jalapeno dill hummus which was really interesting. The plate also had apple slices, pita bread and olives to round it off. We then ordered a falafel pita which came with their killer sweet potato chips. Next we had an order of deep fried pub pretzels with a tangy mustard and horseradish sauce. The pretzels and sweet potato chips are so good I don't think we've ever had a meal without ordering them! If your into craft beers, this place has some great ones. I had a nut brown ale and Betty had a beer with a honey flavor (I think it was called Rock Dew) - both were fabulous. Get a growler to go so you can enjoy the brew at home. Please go check out this place if you are anywhere near Slippery Rock, Pa it's really awesome and worth the drive.

Hummus of the day Jalapeno and dill :-)

 We ordered so much that we ended up bringing the falafel and a bunch of the hummus home. Yummo.

Falafel and homemade sweet potato chips

                                                       
                                                           Can't wait to go back and refill our growler,
                                                                          Betty & Franc

~Betty and Franc Day 16 and still on the road

We are on the road and headed to upstate New York for a romantic night away at Peek n Peak Ski resort. Franc checked ahead and found that their restaurant, Royal Court, had one vegan choice plus a few salads and side dishes that would be appropriate for us. We did struggle a little on the drive up, it took a little longer than we expected and therefore we were forced to eat at Burger King. We carefully inspected a food allergy chart in the place and the only non-dairy choices we found  were fries and onion rings. Not the healthiest choices but the only options we had at the time. we were famished by dinner and feeling quite terrible.Thankfully, the meal was really nice and worth the wait.

Cappellini with mushrooms, spinach, sun dried tomato, and Pine nuts

At Royal Court dining room we had a lovely meal. We started off with a beautiful mixed greens salad with raspberry vinaigrette. Our main course was Cappellini pasta with mushrooms, pine nuts, spinach and sun dried tomatoes. The pasta was light and not to oily. The sun dried tomatos may have been made at the restaurant because they seemed too fresh to be out of a jar. We also had a nice bottle of Mark West Pinot Noir from California. If you like Pinots, you'll really like this selection for the money. We also ordered a nice side of steamed asparagus with a squeeze of lemon, that was a nice complement to our meal. We were also seated next to a large wood burning fireplace which added to the romantic feel.

While traveling is something that we enjoy very much, we've found that being vegan on the road is a bit challenging. I think that bringing many of our own snacks will certainly help in the future and we will definitely have to plan out where we will be eating dinner before we arrive. This takes a little of the spontaneity out of traveling, but I guess that's the trade off for a healthier lifestyle.We are still learning and this is our first experience traveling with our new diet.

                                                         Snowed in,
                                                          Betty & Franc

~Betty and Franc Day 15 - Traveling

Today is Saturday and we are traveling for the weekend. We planned to visit my sister and attend a Steelers party she was hosting. We knew that the majority of the food she would be preparing we would not be able to eat, and we did not want to force her to become vegan chef just for us. Therefore, we planned ahead and brought some of our own dishes. We didn't have a lot of time so we also bought some items just so we had enough to eat. Here's the party fare we brought to the party:

Taco Dip
 Many thanks to Francs sister who gave us this awesome recipe !
We've made this many times and it was easy to convert to a non-dairy version
These amounts make a 9x9 size dip you will layer:
1/2 can refried beans (make sure you choose vegetarian beans)
1/2 cup non dairy sour cream
1/2 cup non dairy cream cheese
I mix the cream cheese ans sour cream together well and layer it on top of the refried beans
A layer of guacamole (we really liked Trader Joes brand guac)
A layer of Salsa
To top it off we put pineapple tidbits (sounds weird but its FABULOUS!)

This dip is so good we couldnt help dive in before we took a picture!

5 Bean Salad - from Giant Eagle Salad bar (vinegar dressing)

Veggie subs from subway with Italian dressing (yes their Italian dressing is dairy free - I checked!)

Vegan Beer ;-)

                                              GO STEELERS!!!
                                               Betty & Franc

Franc - Day 14 Bread Video

Ok, I have another quick and easy bread recipe for you. This is the no kneed ciabata bread recipe I found on line and it is fast and tasty. Basically all you need to do for this homemade bread recipe is stir the contents, let sit over night and then bake. I've never done bread this easily before and it turn out so good. If you have 5min a day you can bake fresh bread with no problem. I've embedded the youtube video that I got the recipe from. Watch it and be amazed how easy it is! At the bottom is a picture of the loaf I made from this recipe.

My no kneed bead. It's sooo easy!

One more thing I'd like to talk about today is that I'm finding that being vegan is difficult when it comes to social events. I belong to several clubs and fraternities around town, and of course there are always special events and they always have food at these functions. What I'm finding is that it kinda sucks to go to a party and not participate with your fiends in the meal. It's not that I really feel that I need to eat the food that being prepared, but it's more about not joining in and having fun with my friends. I'm sure that other vegans must experience this all the time, but being new to the lifestyle, I'm feeling like the odd man out in these circumstances. At times I almost don't want to attend some of the functions because I don't want to be the only guy at the dinner with an empty plate in front of him while everyone else is eating and having a good time. I'm not really sure what I can do in these situations, but so far it's not too fun. Just something I didn't think much about before going all veg.

Franc

~Betty Day 14 @ the Zenith

~Day 14 Betty

Two weeks today and going strong! We had an amazing lunch at an interesting vegetarian cafe in Pittsburgh’s South Side. Franc and I had lunch at the Zenith (at the corner of 26Th and Sara St) and saying we enjoyed ourselves is an understatement. This place is super fabulous!!! For starters it’s an art gallery slash antique store with a cafe that has a vegan/vegetarian menu. HELLO! The atmosphere is an eclectic mix of art, antiques and oodles of trinkets. The dining room is in the back but it blends right into the surroundings it’s really nice – in a shabby chic sort of way. They have an extensive tea menu and we chose a peach ginger mango green tea which we really liked. The menu is small but I was told they change it often; I think weekly. My lunch began with a beautiful side salad almost too pretty to eat.

Lovely salad from the Zenith

 I ordered roasted garlic Linguine, it was light fluffy linguine with artichokes, mushrooms and roasted garlic. The pasta was not at all oily it actually barely tasted as if it had a sauce on it but it was very flavorful from the roasted garlic. I LOVED it!

Roasted garlic linguine

 Franc started off with a black bean, tomato, and garlic soup which he said was very filling and hearty. He then had the Ethiopian gingered vegetable wrap and it was HUGE, and filled with chickpeas, potatoes, carrots, green beans and ginger. He really liked it and couldn’t even finish this giant sandwich! To finish off our lunch we shared a piece of vegan chocolate chip Bundt cake. I had been eyeing this cake up since we sat at our table just hoping it was vegan friendly. This cake was to die for. It was thick, rich, moist and had chocolate chips inside and out. We ate every last crumb of its chocolaty goodness J It was so good I even took home a piece for my mom (Hope you liked it mom) so she could taste how good vegan chocolate cake can be. I aspire to make one this good – if only the waiter would have given me the recipe! Believe me, I asked.

Scrumptious vegan chocolate chip cake

We’re off to visit family and do a little traveling this weekend and we’re curious how we’re going to get by eating vegan out of town and around non-vegans. We’ve got a plan to take a few things and wing the rest. Should be interesting!

    TGIF,
     Betty

Day 13 - Franc makes homemade bread

Hi All -

I made some quick homemade bread yesterday that really went great with Betty's veggie soup. I'm a dunker so taking a hot slice of bread with some soy butter and dunking it into the soup broth put me in heaven. If you've never made bread before it's actually pretty simple and a lot less time consuming that you would think. Here's a basic bread recipe. I encourage you to try it. Your family will really love smelling it baking and enjoying it hot out of the oven.

Basic homemade bread (makes two small loafs)

4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups warm water

Start by taking one cup of warm water and dissolving 1 table spoon of active bread yeast into the water along with the sugar. Just sprinkle the yeast into the water and let it hang out for about 4-5 min. I think what keeps people away from baking bread is that they get freaked out by using yeast and not knowing what to do. Basically all you need to look for is that the yeast water starts to get milky in color and a little bubbly. Be sure to use warm tap water. If the water is cool to the touch it will be hard to get the yeast going. As long as your yeast gets milky and frothy, it's alive and your bread will rise and be great. If your yeast looks exactly the same as when you dumped it into the water, then your yeast is dead and you need to get some new yeast. Chances are your yeast will be fine. Next add the cup of water with your yeast to your bowl with all the flour and salt in it. The slowly start adding the second cup of warm water to the bowl and begin stirring the whole ting with a  wooden spoon. You may need to add a little more water or possibly use a little less. Your looking for a nice ball of dough not too dry but not pancake batter either. Once your dough has come together you want to cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rise for about 2-3 hours. The dough will at least double in size. After the dough has risen you want to put the dough on a floured surface and kneed it. Here's where you can add additional flour if the dough is really sticky and wet. You want to kneed the dough for a few minutes until you fell that it's silky to the touch and no longer sticks to the surface your working on. At this point cut the dough in half and shape into two round balls. Place the two loaves on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with a little cooking spray. You can slice a couple of notches in the top of the bread if you like at this point. Cover both loves with a kitchen towel and let hang out and rise a little more for at least another hour. Preheat your over to 350 and bake the bread for 35-45 minutes. That's it! Other than waiting for the bread to rise your actual working time on this is really small and the results will be worth it.

I'm also trying out a no-kneed bread recipe I found online and will let you know how that goes. I'm hoping that this bread will take even less prep time so that it will be even easier to have bread more often - even with a busy schedule. I'll keep you posted on that one.

Take care - Franc

Here's a link to the best type of bread yeast to use and a really good value compared with the small containers at the store.

~Betty Day 13 Zucchini Stew

~Betty Day 13

Its sooooo Cold here today so I decided to make some homemade vegetable soup. I’ve made my soup recipe for years and I always called it Zucchini stew because I started making it in the summer time when I would have so many zucchini and this I one of the recipes that I’d use them in, but really its just veggie soup J

In a large pot use olive oil and sauté:

 Half of a large onion,

2 carrots,

 2 stalks of celery,

 About three cloves of garlic (more or less),

 Two small or one large zucchini chopped into bite sized pieces (little half circles),

Two potatoes (in bite size pieces),

 Allow these to soften a bit in the olive oil and then

Add two cans of red pack tomato sauce and one can of water,

Add a big handful of fresh green beans trimmed and cut in half,

2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

And I like to add ½ tablespoon of crushed red pepper flakes for kick (optional)

Also at some point add a dash of sugar to cut down the acidity

I also like to throw in some fresh basil if I have it

Zucchini Stew and Homemade bread

Let this simmer until the vegetables soften and enjoy, now this is a no fail recipe you can add any vegetables that you have left around your house and make it different every time.

 This recipe makes A LOT of soup but it freezes beautifully so make it once and eat it all month. Serve with some homemade crusty bread J

                                                                     

                                                                 Trying to stay warm,

                                                                        Betty

Franc - Day 12 Vegan Sausage

Yes, I've been out searching for more sausage again. Picked up a pack of the TraderJoes brand chorizo sausage and it was really tasty. An important note... you definitely need to remove the casing before cooking! I made this silly mistake and wondered why the casing was so plastic like and inedible - the reality was it is plastic and inedible, and the package plainly states that you should remove the casing before cooking. Opps ;-)

I also had another realization last night. I like to have a few pints with my buddys now and again. I'm a pretty big guy so I could put a few down easily without getting too tipsy. It seems that since I've gone vegan I don't seem to have much of a tolerance for alcohol any more. I wonder why that is? Perhaps I'm just imagining things. Weird. If anyone else has experienced this sort of thing I'd love to hear your feedback.

-Franc

~Betty Day 12 Trader Joes

 Well we stopped by Traders Joes today. Did you know there is only one Trader Joes in Pittsburgh? I guess I hadn’t realized that, I am grateful for our one location. We dropped in and bought a couple things and their prices are great. Franc got, yet another, veg sausage to sample as well as some awesome guac and flat bread J Yummo! Also some cheapy cheapy produce. <3 Trader Joes!!!

 I stopped in Subway today and I have been eating their veggie and Cheese subs forever and I actually thought that I wasn’t going to like them minus the cheese.

Once again I was wrong, the Italian and the 9 grain wheat are dairy free (wheat has honey) but it honestly tasted the same, I get tons of veggies and mustard and there was no difference. I’m starting to think that slapping all of those cheese calories on to everything that I thought added so many flavors to was really just pointless. J

                                                 Snowy day in da burgh,

                                                         Betty

~Day 11 Betty Johnny Rockets

~Betty Day 11



Hello All!! Franc has told you what we made for dinner tonight (pizza!) so I wanted to tell you where we had lunch. A friend of mine had told me that, believe it or not, Johnny Rockets which is a national chain has 100% soy Boca burgers. Today was an especially hectic day and we wanted to grab a bite so we decided to try it. We had a yummy veggie burger with lettuce, pickles, onions, mushrooms, and mustard. It was great going out to lunch we really like to eat out A LOT and with a little planning (and believe me this is not rocket science) we we’re able to eat something we liked and not feel like our lives had been drastically changed from our norm.

Franc at Johnny Rockets with his Vegan burger

We are really finding way to keep our routine quite normal and just tweek our options to fit our needs. We had a burger for lunch and pizza for dinner but they we're all plant based ingredients.



xoxo,

Betty

11th Day Franc Vegan Pizza

It was our first attempt trying Vegan Pizza today. And I can thoroughly say, it was great. I wouldn't think that having a pizza without cheese would be very appetizing, but it was totally fine. I would say that if you blindfolded the average person and gave them a pizza with lots of good veggie toppings, but no cheese, they would barely notice that the cheese was missing. I realized that the taste of the pizza comes mainly from the sauce and the toppings. Yes cheese does add some creamy, melty texture, but I don't think it adds a huge amount of extra flavor. Just try it and see for yourself. *I think I ate like five pieces it was so good!

Here's our simple Vegan Pizza we whipped up in just a few minutes...

We stared off with some 12" pre-baked pizza shells we picked up at the store.
We added about a half of a can of pizza sauce. I think when not using cheese you should always have extra sauce, so be generous here.
Earlier we sauteed about a cup of red onion and a cup of portabella mushrooms in EVOO to soften them up a bit. I think this is important since we were working with pre-baked crusts and the pizza will not have to cook as long as a raw dough crust would. I also crumbled up and sauteed in EVOO one Italian Tofurkey sausage, and cooked till a little crisp.
We then took all the sauteed ingredients and added to our sauced up crust.
The last couple things we added were some minced garlic (about 1 teaspoon or to your taste), some mild pepper rings, about a teaspoon of Italian seasonings and about a teaspoon of garlic salt.

We popped the whole thing in the over for about 8 minutes (follow the cooking instructions on the pizza shell package) and it was done. Super Easy!

One extra note. I'm sure the hard core veteran Vegans will see some of our recipes and note that we are using some packaged or prepared items and not doing everything from scratch or organically. While we strive to do the best we can with all the ingredients we use, please understand that this is a big change for us and that with our busy schedules and a family we are doing our best to make this work. We hope that over time we can perfect our technique, but I also hope that newbies to this lifestyle will also see that there are some easy recipes that taste good and are simple to make, and you don't have to feel like your just eating beans and rice every day. I think that the reason that most people are afraid to go vegan is they feel that they will have to give up all of their comfort foods like pizza and burgers and just eat a bunch of spinach and tofu, or that the food will be so difficult and time consuming to prepare that they couldn't possibly make the change. We're here to show that you can have alternative items that give you that same comfort, simply by approaching the ingredients in a new way. Also by keeping things simple you may not be a "perfect" Vegan (if there even is such a thing), but you will gain a huge benefit of eating healthier with really a very small effort and sacrifice.

- Franc

Day 10 - Franc Food Docs

Hi Everyone -

Day 10 and things are going well for us. We're on the tail end of our little cold we both had and starting to fell much better. We had a busy day today so we simply made some pasta marinara with garlic toast for dinner. We've been saving this dish for a day we didn't have much time to cook. It's quick, easy and even our kids will eat it! I tried whipping up some meatless meatballs but wasn't 100% happy with the results. I've got an idea how I can make them better and will share that with you when I'm satisfied with the results.

I did want to comment on some of the food documentaries we've been watching lately. We've found a couple of good ones, which we feel are good eye openers to our current system of food. I personally don't like being preached to, but these films do not seem to do that. They simply educate and let you form your own opinion as to what you should be doing for your health. What amazes me most about these films is how much good information is in each one that never gets out there to the majority of people. A lot of this stuff is pretty simple to get, but must people don't take the time to seek out the information and educate themselves. If you are new to healthier eating you owe it to yourself to watch a few of these so you can make the best choices for you and your family. Thanks.


Food Inc.
This movie looks at how our country has moved into mass produced, factory farming. Lots of insight into the quality of this type of food and an eye opener as to how it's produced.

King Corn
I liked this film because it shows the delema we face as Americans - Do we want good food or cheap food? The film follows two college buddies who decide to plant an acre of corn in Iowa and then follow that corn though the food system. You'll be amazed at how many things we consume that are made with corn! I also liked that this film shows the famers who are basically stuck producing what the government subsidizes.

Check these two out. I've got a few more suggestions I will be adding in future blog posts.

Franc

~Betty Day 9

Today Franc and I were sick :-(  We both came down with a virus we caught from the youngest munchkin in our house and basically were couch bound the entire day, So we ate Chinese and PB&J which is plant based as long as the Jelly is made with Pectin and not Gelatin. That being said I found a link I would like to share:

http://www.vegetarianusa.com/city/Pittsburgh.html

We live in the suburbs of Pittsburgh and this website lists many Vegetarian/Vegan restaurants to try, another feature I really like is the option to change locations. Franc and I are planning a short trip and this link is going to be quite beneficial finding fabulous eateries in locations were not familiar with.

                                                                       Trying to shake this bug,
                                                                                  Betty

~Betty day 8 Tofu Scramble

~Betty Day 8

Hello all! It’s the weekend so with some extra time on our hands we decided to cook up a nice breakfast (bagels and cereal are getting old).

I made us a delicious tofu scramble. It was a really simple dish and an easy way to use up all of the extra veggies sitting around the fridge. I used zucchini, sliced shrooms, tomato, scallions, garlic sautéed and then I added half a block of tofu crumbled ( the almost egg ) and through in some of our faux cheese. This turned out great! I also sliced up some of Francs chorizo sausage and added some whole wheat toast.



Tofu Scramble

We had a great day today experimenting in our kitchen with all of the new Veggie recipes we have. I have always really liked taking recipes and fooling around with them to make them my own. I tried to make a vinegar potato salad today but it turned out way to mustardy for my taste, but for some reason Franc liked it :-)  I really think with a little bit of thought and planning we are doing quite well and neither one of us is really missing or craving anything.
                                                 xoxo,
                                               Betty

8 Days vegan strong - Franc

I'll let Betty review the items we ate today. I wanted to focus a little more on some of the things I'm reading about being vegan. As a newcomer to this lifestyle, I really didn't know much about the health benefits of eating only plant based foods. Of course it's a nice not to harm animals for our food, but I just didn't realize that being vegan has a host of many other benefits. I found a helpful blog which touched on some of these items. Check it out. I think you'll be really surprised to learn how being vegan can lower your cholesterol, lessens your fat intake and help fend off certain types of cancers and other diseases.

http://evolvingwellness.com/posts/743/the-benefits-of-being-vegan-over-vegetarian/

I'm starting to realize that there may be a little more to eating a plant based diet.

Franc

~Betty day 7 Sweet Potato Fries

~Betty day 7

Wooohoooo! Day 7 J

 Well as Franc mentioned we made sloppy Joes today. I also made homemade sweet potato fries. I’ve made different versions of these before so Ill give you and brief idea of how I did it:

I used three large sweet potatoes sliced into fry shapes (you’ll be surprised how many fries you get from only 3 potatoes)

Spray the baking pan with a non-stick spray

Lightly drizzled olive oil on the fries and then sprinkle with Chili powder, cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste, the spicier you like them the more chili powder you can add

I use tongs and just toss them around in all of this and pop them in the oven on 425 until crispy

Very simple, I also make a dip that goes along with these fries its easy too

1 cup non-dairy sour cream

¼ cup veganaise

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/4 cup chili sauce
1/2 tsp cumin

This dip compliments the spices on the sweet potato fries beautifully.

Day 7 - One week Vegan! - Franc

We'll we've made it to the one week mark and all is going well. So far being vegan hasn't been too difficult. Yes, it does require a little more planning ahead and we're eating out less; which has actually been good on the pocket book. I feel good, have plenty of energy and I'm feeling a little skinnier from eating less fatty foods.

Today we did simple Sloppy Joes that were, in my opinion, exactly the same as the meaty version. Here's how we did it:


We really enjoy Fantastic World Foods Vegan Mixes, and the Sloppy Joe mix is no exception. (They also have a killer taco filling mix we will review a little later in the month)

We followed the Mama's Sloppy Joes recipe on the back of the box but made one important change. The recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of chili powder, which we feel really over powers the rest of the flavors. Using one tablespoon of chili powder is more than enough and will ensure that the mix is not too spicy. We also feel its important to find some really nice Italian buns and not to use cheap burger buns - just makes it taste a little better. I would challenge you to try this recipe out with non vegetarians and see if they even notice that it's not beef. Enjoy!

~Day 6 Betty & Franc Ode to Joy Soup

~Betty & Franc Day 6

 Today was leftover day at Betty and Francs house J HOOORAY! Nice and easy and even Abby dog got some leftover hippie loaf in her dish tonight, Abby has been a vegetarian her whole life and is enjoying our new diet since she is able to sample all of our dishes :-)

Abby Dog

 Lunch was soup we had in the freezer. This recipe that we've been enjoying for some time was given to me by my girlfriend and I LOVE it the broth is delicious and feels good to your soul when you drink it, perfect for a cold, snowy day like today. Here is the recipe you can add and subtract things to it and mix it up however you like:

ODE TO JOY SOUP:

Saute' Olive oil, carrots, Celery, onions, and garlic

Add gourmet mixed mushrooms (i use slice baby portabellos but anything will work)

Add 2 cartons of organic veggie broth and some water

add salt, fresh ground black pepper, and organic cayenne all to taste (i prefer mine with a little heat)

Add a block of cubed tofu and a bag of fresh spinach I also like to throw in some bean sprouts and let simmer

 *Sometimes i leave out the tofu and add some udon noodles which is also awesome, or add the tofu and the noodles whatever you have just throw it in there and this soup turns out amazing!

I also found this cool link with everyday items that you wouldn’t realize are actually vegan:  I Can’t Believe It’s Vegan!. VegNews Magazine

Some of these things were surprising.

                                                           Have a fabulous day!

                                                           Betty & Franc