Author Archives: Jennifer

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Hope everyone is having a good weeks so far! I hope everyone hugged a cat and ate a vegan donut! I know I sure did. Alexa is starting to draw again, or rather sharing what she is drawing. This is Alexa’s bae AJ Lee. I am not a huge wrestling fan like Alexa, but I have to say I like how women are being represented. I mean I remember some of the big wrestlers when I was young and they were all HUGE, male or female. I think the current wrestlers are much more realistic looking.

Yesterday I was able to watch Totoro with my nieces and play outside with them. My older niece, Morgan, might of been too old for Totoro, but Gwen, who is 4, thought it was a hilarious movie. I am thinking Morgan might like Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, or Ponyo better. The funny thing is that I remember watching Ponyo with Morgan when she was very young, and she was in tears when they went to the retirement home. Which was pretty funny in my opinion. I think the music made it seem like something bad would happen.

Farm Round Up:

What I got:
1 bunch Collard Greens
1 bunch of Red Russian Kale
1 quart + 1 pint strawberries
1 big kohlrabi with greens
1 bunch of radishes with greens
1/2 bag of spinach
1/2 bag of baby swiss chard

What I’m cooking
Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens
Cheesy Vegan Alfredo with Peas and Kale
Triple Berry Sundaes: cherry chocolate chip ice cream + wild maine blueberry syrup + strawberries
Chocolate Chia Pudding with strawberries
Kohlrabi Curry (greens used in a smoothie)
Salads with sliced radishes (radish greens used in smoothies)
Penne Pasta with Gingered Lentils and Spinach (hubby loves this stuff)
Thai Red Curry Soup with adzuki beans, corn, & swiss chard

Recipes:

Sadly my farm was running low on bok choy by the time we got there because these noodles looks sooo yummy.

I need to get me some fakon-bacon and try out this yummy looking radish dish.

This dish inspired me to take corn and red curry to a whole new level.

Nature:

I am usually not surprised by article that tell you have to make meals more “nutritious” but this one blew me out of the water. It is funny some of the recommendations I do, but mostly out of laziness. XD

Sadly there is a huge die-off of saiga. The article sad, but hopefully the population bounces back.

Things get creepy when sawtooth sharks start reproducing asexually.

Fun Stuff:

OMGOMGOMGOMG! Franklin Fountain is having fresh COTTON CANDY at their candy store. That is my favorite type of carnival food. They also have a temp location at the Spurce Street Harbor Park. They BEST have some vegan options available!

Guys I’ve been going nuts over these Sailor Moon workout tanks. I bought a the Sailor Squats, Fight Like a Girl: Jupiter, Crush Misogyny into Moon Dust, and Buns & Guns. I am also hoping sleeveless shirts helps with my friction burn on my upper arm.

Videos:

If you were wondering why there are so many crazy names for vitamins- here is your answer.

SciShow is on a roll this week (actually two articles I posted were things I found out from SciShow but didn’t want to post ANOTHER video). Anyways, this video is about the probable Megadrought that is coming to the west coast.


Day 150: Jon picks some strawberries for our first week at our CSA.

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Day 151: Took some photos while Jon got our air conditioner which we store at his parents house. Last year we have to do that!

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Day 152: Went for a long walk in Haddonfield and took a photo of the blooming dogwood trees.

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Day 153: If you didn’t know, rabbits population usually goes in cycles, essentially rabbit populations reach a peak, and the population either gets eaten by local predators or they die out from too much competition. Once the population hits a low, the population starts to grow again. Anyways, the rabbits have been rather low lately, so I was so excited when I saw this pretty guy.

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Day 154: Finally getting some rain, and I am not complaining!

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Day 155: Finally got these shoes! It is about time since two pairs of shoes are getting holes in them. Eek!

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Day 156: The plants at my work are finally blooming.

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asksnanswers

Alexa is working toward a vegetarian diet, and is loaded with questions. Jennifer’s got answers. We talk about anything as long as it is vegan. Are tattoos vegan? How do I politely not eat Thanksgiving dinner? How do I order without pissing off the waitress? We know you are dying to ask!

asksalexaBecause I apparently live under a rock, I recently realized that apples are a great source of fiber – do you know of some good/reasonably priced sources of fiber?

Once I found this out, I was shocked- vegetables and fruit have lots of fiber! It is a little shocking since we keep reading about whole wheat or whatever whole grain is great source of fiber. Commercials keep suggesting grain products are truly the best way to get fiber. But really fruits and vegetables trump all. Once I put two and two together I wondered why we were told more about fiber in our greens over grains. Well, one reason is that you can’t really put a brand on an apple. Sure there are groups that promote specific produce to represent many different farmers, but their marketing tactics tend to not be as obvious as bread or cereal commercials.

The other reason that the fiber in fruits and vegetables isn’t common knowledge is probably generational. I know I get lots of poop and fiber jokes from my older bosses whenever I eat a big salad. But truthfully, a large salad filled with 5 cups of lettuce might only be around 10% of the fiber you need for the day. Point is that the idea of “ruffage” has disappeared in our food pyramids in class.

So what does fiber do for your body? I think this is an important thing to know since most people view it as a way to “keep full” and push your digestion tract clean. Well, first thing to point out that there are two types of fiber, soluble and insoluble fibers. Insoluble fibers are the gross ones. They help “facilitates regular defecation” and “adds bulk to the stool” (thank Wikipedia for that very sterile wording). It also helps regulate blood sugar, which can be great for diabetics.

Soluble fiber is a little different. This fiber is known for lowering LDL cholesterol, the bad cholesterol. Which means it is good for the heart, remember those honey nut cheerio commercial guys! But they also form a viscous gel in the stomach which delays digestion, which means delayed digestion of carbohydrates, which means even blood sugar levels.

So which foods have which fibers? Well most insoluble fibers come from grains, nuts, beans, seeds, potato & fruit skins, avocados, green beans, zucchini, and cauliflower, just to name a few. Soluble fibers can come many of the same foods, nuts, seeds, beans, oats, rye, barley, various fruits and their skins, root vegetables, and psyllium husks (they have both fibers by the way). If you haven’t noticed I listed all vegan foods, and I wasn’t excluding any animal based products.

Both types of fiber can help serve as “prebiotics.” They are basically foods for the bacteria that live in your gut. By feeding them plenty of fiber they continue to grow and thrive. Of coarse this is a little trickier since probiotics are a little more of new discovery. Not all high fiber foods are equal in prebiotic world. Bananas, onions, garlic, asparagus, wheat bran, leek, dandelion greens, jerusalem artichoke, and chicory root are great prebiotic sources.

So do you need to worry about fiber on a vegan diet? Most likely not. In fact many vegans, especially weight lifting vegans, worry about too much fiber. Some have diet where they have days that are suppose to be low fiber, and it can be a struggle to find vegans foods that fit the bill. Even something that comes off as being full of fat like an avocado is full of fiber. A cup of avocado has 40% of the fiber you need in a day!

So should you be concerned about having too much fiber? Maybe. Some people have medical conditions that limit the amount of fiber they can have. But if you don’t have them you will find out if you have too much fiber in your diet by paying attention to your digestion. If you have lots of gas pains and bloating, you might need to focus on incorporating less fiber into your diet. You may want to add more nut butters, protein powders, tofu, white wheat, milks, and juices.

But keep in mind, too much fiber is pretty rare on the Standard American Diet, and most people need MORE fiber. When working at a juice bar I use to get asked by mother’s all the time how their sons get more fiber. I couldn’t say it, but I should of just said a salad. But I would give them a shake with some psyllium husks in it, which probably got all thick and nasty by the time the son would be able to drink it.


Every week I almost always make a batch of cookies. Why? They travel easily for my husband’s lunches. I mean, I eat them sometimes as well. Truthfully, sometimes making cookies at home isn’t necessarily cheaper than buying them in stores, but most of the time they are. So I decided to review some cookie recipes that were available online. I keep in mind when they should be eaten (aka how sweet and decadent they are) and how well they kept.

If any of you guys have tried these cookies with different results PLEASE SHARE! There are lots of variables to baking so hearing other people’s baking results help figure out how to get the correct results. Everyone- start baking!

cookies

Chai Spice Snickerdoodles

I had to alter this recipe a little. I forgot I never replaced my cardamon and therefore used a mixed garam masala instead for the snickerdoodle sugar mix. They still turned out delicious. I can’t image the cookies tasting that much different if I used the exact spice measurements given in the recipe.

These cookies are pretty darn sweet and fall under the dessert category. They were crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. They tasted great as a nice little snacks. But sadly I didn’t store them properly and some of them got stale. The best thing to do with them is to dunk the stale cookies in chai tea. Yeah, chai cookies in chai tea. It is amazing.

Bottom Line: Super sweet & Yummy

Quinoa Gingersnap Cookies

I always like when I find gluten-free recipes that don’t just use an all purpose mix. There is something nice to have control over every ingredient used. So I was a little happy to make these cookies, but was a little skeptical. Why? She only uses quinoa flour, which can have a specific aftertaste.

The cookies come together rather quickly, about 15 minutes, with a quick clean up. I skipped the rolled sugar outside, but it would definitely add a nice quality to the cookies. I also used only a small amount of brown sugar, using mostly just white. I think it worked out fine since I ended up using blackstrap molasses over normal molasses, which has much more of a bite.

The end result? Pretty awesome. They still had a little bit of a quinoa taste, and the blackstrap molasses definitely had a specific taste as well. But I felt pretty confident handing these cookies to my husband for his lunch. Five cookies have 12% calcium for the day and 10% iron. Not too bad honestly for unfortified cookies.

Bottom Line: Not bad, pretty nutritious

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am a little torn on these cookies. They are yummy, but cookie? I mean isn’t that a stretch? They are so fluffy and puffy they feel a little bit more like muffin tops than cookies. I am a little torn, they are delicious but I feel lied to that they are put into a cookie category.

They were great but there are two things I wish she suggested. One is be careful about overheating the butter, I didn’t put much thought into it and mixed in the chocolate chips, which melted into the batter. I got a cool marbling effect instead. No big deal. Second thing is that these cookies probably taste better the next day. Toss them in a bag or a well sealed container overnight, and they get even more moist. I’m not complaining.

Bottom Line: Puffy Cookies, which isn’t bad?

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

These cookies tasted amazing. The ingredients list is so short that I was a little afraid about how they would turn out. Answer: Fabulous, they turned out fabulous! They are soft, crumbly, delicate, and very lemony. Which makes them amazing, but didn’t fit the bill as “daily cookies for lunch.” I am planning on making these for my yearly Christmas cookies.

The only problem is the step where she makes you roll the cookie dough in powder sugar. I am conflicted since I didn’t get any “crinkle” effect on the cookie. I think the dough absorbed too much of the powdered sugar and the dough color wasn’t nearly dark enough to register. But it did give a little bit of a crusty outside, probably from the sugar melting? I would probably skip this step.

Bottom Line: Nice dessert cookie

Healthy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

I think this cookie goes into the “it’s too healthy for a dessert category.” The recipe uses banana, peanut butter, rolled oats, and apple sauce to make the bulk of these cookies. The end result isn’t a tasty cookie. The nuts in the cookie gets soft and taste out of place. The cookies also didn’t have a normal texture as other cookies. They weren’t soft, pillowy, or crunchy. Instead they had a kind-of rubber feel when bitting into them.

The cookies aren’t nearly sweet enough, which makes me feel like they should been playing up savory flavors. Instead of chocolate chips maybe have some sun-dried tomatoes. Maybe chopped herbs, etc. I think that is my biggest complaint about “healthy” snacks, people are trying to cut down on sugar. By all means, I think things are usually too sweet, but not these cookies. They might of been better if I used normally sweetened mainstream peanut butter, but I can’t image by that much.

Bottom Line: Texture stinks, not sweet enough.

Teff Almond Butter Cookies

Man talk about recipe flop. Well, I have two theories about what happened. The obvious one is that I used teff not teff flour. My local store special ordered the wrong thing and I felt bad and thought I could grind it down into a flour myself. I didn’t do that great of a job.

The second theory is that I made them on a hot day and the almond butter and oil just were too much. I am thinking that if I maybe put the dough in the refrigerator for a few minutes the oils would of melted slower and made a more solid cookie.

But the cookies TASTE pretty good, which might motivate me to try the recipe again. Might being the key word because these cookies are expensive. Each ingredient is a big dent in the bank, which is a bummer because as mentioned the cookies were flat but tasty.

Bottom Line: Tasted great, not ruling them out yet as a flop


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Is anyone else dying from the heat? Nope? No one? I find it a little funny that Jon and I are probably the opposite of the popular view on temperature. Everyone complains about winter, jacks up their heat, and bundle up. While Jon and I are excited that we can keep COLD this winter in our new house. Normal people talk about retiring in Florida where it is warm, we talk about moving more and more up north. Maybe the north pole. Point is that we are horrible people and are very cranky right now because of this lovely heat.

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I also think I know why I started to drink so much. The heat. Nothing is more satisfying than an cold light beer on a hot day. And it probably helped that I would be in a small kitchen sweating bullets, having a bottle of beer would be nice temporary relief. But beer is expensive, and probably not the best thing for me. So these ice pops will have to do.

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These pops aren’t the healthiest, but they are really cheap to make. So they are healthy for your mental health (less stress about money! okay I know I’m pushing it)!  They mostly just use regular sugar, which I find dissolves fine with blender, but I divided the load a little with agave, which also helps prevent ice crystals from forming.

The only thing you’ll need that you might not have is a popsicle mold. I’m not too picky and picked up some molds from a local grocery store. They are plastic jelly belly molds, they aren’t perfect. But I like the shape, they were cheap, and I already own them. There a lots of other options out there including metal molds. But for these molds, this recipe makes enough for 12 popsicles! So I think you save a lot of money by making your own pops instead of buying something else in stores.

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The secret to these pops are leftover coffee. My husband makes coffee every morning with his french press. After he is done there is a small amount of coffee leftover that is thick with coffee soot. I always take this small amount, probably about 1 ounce, and save it in a small container in the fridge. By the end of the week I usually have a cup of really strong coffee to make something with. Even though the coffee is really strong, I am surprised how little you actually taste in these pops!

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I used some silken tofu, but if you don’t want to use that, you can try using 1/2 cup soaked cashews instead. I personally don’t like using them since they have a distinctive odor when you freeze them. It is really odd, and I personally don’t find it as annoying as my husband does. But the fats from the nuts will give a nice creaminess.

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Lots have been happening this week! Alexa and I went to Flying Fish last Saturday (hopefully the post will be up this week), I got a new recipe to put up this week, Alexa worked out like a beast, my CSA started up, and I am buying a house! So I’ll make a quick little break down for the big news

Alexa and Keith and their Super Challenge

Alexa and her workout buddy Keith decided to do The Murph Challenge together. So what did she do? Well, she and Keith divided up the workout, but it is still pretty tough. Overall she and Keith had to run a mile, 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 squats, and then run another mile. The website says to do it in a 20lb vest, but that didn’t happen. But I am cringing at the 50 pull ups, 100 push ups, and 150 squats that Alexa had to do. The running, pft… easy. I’m super proud of you Alexa, sticking with working out and signing up for new challenges.

Jennifer and Hubs Buy a House

Yup, I am finally entering the work of home ownership and it is scary. So we are going to buy a townhouse in a development, which isn’t my cup of tea, but we get a lot more bang for our buck. Plus we don’t have to worry about any damage to the outside of the place, including siding, lawn, or roof. The kitchen is nicer than the one we have, we get two jacuzzi tubs, two showers, and three toilets. I am SO excited to pee at the same time as my husband- on different toilets that is. Beyond excited guys. Anyone living with other people with one bathroom understand where I’m coming from! Anyways, you may see boing house stuff on the blog, or just notice a drop in posts since I will be packing, moving, and unpacking.

Fernbrook Farms Starts Up!

If you’ve been reading the blog for awhile, you might of heard me talk about going to my CSA every Saturday to pick up my produce share. I’ve written some posts about it, but mostly just post photos of the area. Towards the end of the produce season I started to make a list of what I got from the farm, and I think I want to do that again. I figured I would try just writing up on my Sunday posts, though if people want to see something more defined, like photos of the produce and the meals I make, maybe they will make their own posts… but I am not sure yet. Anyways, look forward to the addition on Sunday Reads guys!

Farm Round Up:

What I got:
1 bunch Collard Greens
2 bunches Kale (1 Tuscan and 1 White Russian)
1 quart strawberries
2 heads of lettuce
1/2 bag of spinach

What I’m cooking
BBQ Collard Green and Black Eyed Pea Sandwiches
Queso Blanco Bowl with Crispy Kale
Penne Pasta with Gingered Lentils and Spinach
Chocolate Ice Cream Topped with Strawberries

Recipes:

This dish on Vegan Richa looks amazing.  I never know what to do with radishes other than to thinly slice them into salads. I definitely give this a try.

I love cutesy decorations for food, but most involve meats, eggs, cheese or fish. So I was happy to see these cute little cat falafels, which pretty much means you can do it with any sort of bean patties really.

Local:

The new issue of Grid Magazine is being distributed. Jon and I are featured in it, but if you don’t live in the area, you can read it online.

Do you live in New Jersey? Do you need a happy pick me up? Well, I have only sad news about our public transportation. Sorry. More awareness, the more complaints, the more pressure to solve the problem.

If you are near Philadelphia then you will be happy to see the BIG RUBBER DUCKIE! I can’t wait to see it, and hopefully Alexa can make a trip out to see it as well.

Health:

So avian flu is intensifying and major chains are looking for egg alternatives. The New York Times writes an article speculating if companies will take more vegan options, and possibly stick with them. I don’t think companies will go full vegan, but it would sure be nice.

So have anyone gotten friction burn before? Well, I’ve been getting it for the first time ever- in my arm pits! It is awful! It is just too humid and I run too damn fast in my Orangetheory classes. But surprisingly The Nest wrote an article that is useful! I will try it out and get back to you guys if it worked.

Choosing Raw has yet another great post about veganism. This time Gena writes about the shared food experience. I pretty much agree with the whole thing, and made me think of my family. Maybe I will write a post about food and my family.

Offbeat Home writes a great article about how sword fighting helped a woman have a better relationship with her body. I love hearing about people work out and don’t feel better because their tummy is smaller, but because they are amazed by what their body can do.

Fun:

I am loving these super cute outfits from this lolita meet up. I particularly like this outfit, as it looks like a cross between lolita and vintage.

Perfume released a new single. I am LOVING these outfits…. I need to make one for myself.


Day 143: Jon’s parents were on a trip so we went to their house to water their plants. So I took advantage and took some photos.

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Day 144: Jon and I walked around town before the day got too hot. We found this super creepy deer ornament that looks like it got decapitated by tree roots. Very odd.

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Day 145: Jon and I took yet another walk (we like walking guys) around Pennypacker Park and took some photos. We also saw large groups of Canadian geese and their baby chicks, but those photos didn’t turn out that nice.

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Day 146: Thinking about stealing some of these buds from work to grown on my own (in the new house of coarse!)

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Day 147: The evening sky was beautiful

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Day 148: Took the really long back-roads way home during rush hour and found this crazy church. It looked so out of place since it was surrounded by so many cookie cutter mondo houses.

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Day 149: Took photos of the new mocha pop recipe for the blog. Just in time for the hot hot summer.

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asksnanswers

Alexa is working toward a vegetarian diet, and is loaded with questions. Jennifer’s got answers. We talk about anything as long as it is vegan. Are tattoos vegan? How do I politely not eat Thanksgiving dinner? How do I order without pissing off the waitress? We know you are dying to ask!

asksalexaI’m currently on a diet that limits my soy intake – what are some good soy substitutions (tofu, tempeh, etc.)?

Although I have some beef against some of the anti-soy people out there, I am fully aware some people simply can’t have it. Most of the time it is allergies, but I’ve heard some people say it isn’t the greatest for people how have thyroid issues. But if anyone gives a reason that they don’t eat soy because of the “estrogen” in it, I call them out on it. There is actual estrogen in meat and dairy, and soy has a component that looks like estrogen and sometimes our body reads it.

That being said let’s talk about replacements! Well, there are some basic soy products that people are making substitutes for, so if you still want to partake in them, you can buy soy-free counter parts.

Miso: Many people are using other beans in miso to make them gluten-free and soy-free. They tend to be on the higher end of the price spectrum so keep that in mind. One is a chickpea barley miso from South River and another chickpea miso by Miso Master (this one you will most likely find in stores!)

Tofu: If you are feeling a little adventurous in the kitchen, you can make a soy-free tofu. There are two methods, one is chickpea tofu (or also called Burmese Tofu) and the other uses lentils. It is a little work, but it could fill in the desire for tofu. No major companies make this yet. Try out this recipe using besan or this video for Burmese Tofu and this other that shows you how to use lentils.

There is also a hemp tofu by Tempt. The company is pretty big, but I personally have yet to see their hemp tofu in stores. Take a look around next time you are in a grocery store though!

Tempeh: There are a few places that are now making a soy free tempeh. If you know how to make tempeh, it isn’t hard to omit soy all together. You can use other grains and beans in place of soy. BUT if you are lucky enough there are two companies that make black bean tempeh, Smiling Hara Tempeh (local to North and South Carolina) and Lalibela Farm (which is local to Maine). Take a look at your grocery aisle though, just in case there other companies I don’t know about!

Soy Sauce: Although soy sauce isn’t high in protein, you may still want to have some. A lot of people really like coconut aminos. It pretty much uses the same process as soy sauce only with coconuts.

Faux Products: A lot fake products use soy, but there is almost always a soy-free alternative. For example faux mayo, margarine, faux cheese, etc. Just flip to the back and quickly check, but most of the time they have “soy-free” on the front. They will probably not be as high in protein as their soy counterparts.

So what about other sources of protein? Where else can you get more protein? Well, getting your 10% of protein of your day isn’t hard, but it can be harder if you are trying to get more for weight training. I find myself using protein powders in my shake after a workout for an extra boost. So the need for protein can be a real concern. So where can you get it?

Protein Powders

I’ve mentioned protein powders in the Should I Use Protein Powders question. The three main protein powders out there that are vegan and aren’t soy are pea protein, brown rice protein, and hemp protein. Each has their own flavor and texture profiles. Because of this there are lots of blends out there. I like to shop around, going to vitamin shops, independent health food stores, and major chains so I keep prices in the back of my head. Also keep in mind not all powders are equal. Read ingredients and make sure you can read and understand most of them. I personally find Vega to the tastiest, but Sunwarrior is pretty tasty as well. Again, search around and figure out what you like. 

A cool thing that you can do is mix in protein powders in other foods. For example you can stir some powder in your chia pudding, pancakes (or any other baked good really), parfaits, oatmeals, mashed potatoes, burgers, ice creams, lattes, lentils, soups, pretty much anything. If you are interested in boosting your proteins with powders, I suggest sticking to “pure” one ingredient protein powders and getting unflavored. Seems boring but it will work with sweet and savory.

Nuts and Seeds

Nuts and seeds can be great for extra protein. What makes them particularly great is that you get some nice healthy dose of healthy fats as well, which will help you absorb vitamins from your veggies (yup, you still need fat!) What makes nuts and seeds so great is that there is a lot of variety. Some commons “nuts” are peanuts, cashews, pecans, walnuts, and almonds. But since a lot of people have allergies, you can usually use some sort of seed instead like sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds, or pumpkin seeds. 

Then take it a little further. Lots of seeds and nuts can be made into milks. You can make them at home with a blender and a nut bag, or you can buy them pre-made in a grocery store. They also make many other products like nut butters, yogurts, and nut cheeses (which you can also make at home). Flax, hemp, and chia seeds are particularly great because they are high in omega-3 fatty acids, and have a thickening quality. So if you add a tablespoon to your shake, you can get a nice texture to it.

Lentils & Beans

This is honestly where I get 80% most of my protein. Heck even most protein powders use beans (hello soy and pea protein!) They are cheap and well established in many different cuisines. How you buy them is up to you. You can buy them dried, canned, or frozen. I personally try to buy them dried and freeze any extra to save the most amount of money.

But what can you use beans and lentils in? Well some answers will be obvious, a side, chilis, soups, baked beans, tacos, burritos, rice and beans. You can make your own vegan bean burgers, which there are MANY different styles out there. In the same vain, there are many baked falafel recipes that are low in fat. There are lots of casseroles that use beans, which can vary from tex mex, to greek, so you have lots to play with. Some recipes use beans in pasta, tossed with the pasta, or sometimes blended up in a sauce. You can even make little bean balls to make spaghetti and bean balls. Once you start to look around, you will find the possibilities are endless.

There are also various bean flours that you can work into other recipes. For example if you are making a baked falafel, instead of using whole wheat flour you can use besan, a chickpea based flour. There is even a recipe for a vegan omelette using besan! There are tons of other bean flours that you can sneak into recipes where flour is used. I would stick to more savory recipes. If you sneak them into desserts you will probably have to add more sugar to mask the flavor, and you don’t want to have to do that.

And don’t overlook lentils! They are a little tricky to incorporate since they tend to be a little more “fluid” than beans. They are smaller and tend to be found in soups since they are so fast to cook in comparison. They are great to sub in a recipe that uses ground beef since of their small texture. But if you are a fan of Indian food, you will find lots of “dal” recipes, or recipes that use lentils.

And FINALLY you have your young beans. That would include green beans, edamame (soy), peas (pod peas, snow peas, snap peas), lima beans, fava beans, and cranberry beans. Some of these beans are not as common are hard to find fresh (for example you will most like find fava, pod peas, lima, and edamame frozen) while some are you see all the time (green beans and pea varieties). These fresh beans tend to have less proteins than their dried counterparts. But if view them as a sub for a veggie side, it’s just added protein.

Dark Leafy Greens

Pound for pound leafy greens have more protein in them than meats. Find that hard to believe? Well, it isn’t once you see how much a pound of greens is compared to a pound of meat. I get the issues with keeping greens, they take up lots of space, and sometimes it is hard to think of what to cook with them. I think I would get sick of kale if I steamed it everyday. Some quick ways to get your servings is tossing a handful in your shake every morning. You honestly don’t taste it.

There are lots of dark greens you can incorporate in your diet. The common ones are kale, chard, spinach, and collard greens. The shame is that there are lots more, you just might not find them. For example beet greens are PACKED with nutrition. Bok choy, gai lan (chinese broccoli), tatsoi, and yu choy are great in stir fries. Fans of Italian food might be familiar with broccoli rabe. Mizuna or mustard greens is yet another green that isn’t talked about much. Where do you find half of these rare greens? Farmer markets are great and so are CSAs (mine serves tatsoi and a mix of asian greens). But you can also check out an Asian supermarket, as they tend to have some.

You can use greens in almost any type of dish. Many people make a side dish from them, but you can put them in chilis, stir fries, soups, pastas, or burgers. If you are a snacker, you can make kale chips which usually have an added bonus of nuts in the coating for protein! If you have some greens that are going bad, just juice those motherfuckers! Don’t have a juicer? You can make a green juice from a blender and a strainer. This method is a great way to see if you want to buy a juicer in the end as well. A lot of people like to use collard greens as a wrap. Which is pretty handy for lunches. 

Quinoa

You would think quinoa is a miracle food by how some vegans describe it. Yes, it is a complete protein, and yes it is high is protein compared to rice. BUT, I don’t find it as handy as beans. It has all the issues of rice and grains but none of the good qualities culinary wise. It cooks in small pieces just like grains, but isn’t sticky like them so it is harder to include in recipes like burgers. You can also make it into a flour but has an aftertaste so you can’t add too much of it to a recipe. Yes, quinoa has it’s limits.

But I wouldn’t dismiss it. If you are trying to get a lot of protein in a diet, it is a great replacement for most grains. Technically quinoa isn’t a grain (it’s actually more closely related to beets, spinach, tumbleweeds and amaranth) but it often treated as so in cooking. There are lots of recipes out there for quinoa, ranging from quinoa “mac and cheese” to chilis. A common vegan option is kale and quinoa bowls. I personally like to cook both quinoa and rice and mix them together as a side in dishes or in a recipe.

Seitan

Oh wheat meat! You are so misunderstood. Most people going into a vegan diet accuse of seitan of being totally fake, and only trying to be similar to meat. Well, seitan has been discovered hundreds of years ago in China. You can make it easily by washing flour over and over again till the starches wash away, and you are left with 100% pure gluten protein. Some people find it problematic if they think gluten is bad for the body. There isn’t provable evidence yet that gluten is bad for everyone, but some people are allergic or have trouble digesting it. I don’t eat it often, but I think eating it once a week is perfectly fine. If you are concerned make sure you pay attention to how you feel after eating it.

Seitan is pretty easy to find. You can find it canned in Asian food markets as mock duck (or whatever the else you may possibly want). These are cheap, but I tend to be cautious about them. Read labels and use your own judgement. You can find seitan frozen or in the refrigerator section of most supermarkets. They can be pretty pricey though. So what do you do? Make your own.

Yes making your own seitan is really easy, especially since you can buy vital wheat gluten. There are lots of methods, baking it into logs, boiling it broth, pressure cooker, mixing in tofu, or beans. Possibilities are endless. Some of my favorite tutorials include Vegan Metal Chefs video, which reassures you that you can’t mess it up. Freeze what you don’t use in a recipe, and you are covered for awhile.

Beyond Meat & Fake Meats

I am going to suggest something that is unpopular- fake meats. Half of the vegan community love it and think they are great, and the other half think it is sacrilegious and poison to the body. I personally think they aren’t ideal but not as bad as what everyone makes them out to be.

Now most people think fake foods are made from soy, and that is not entirely true. My favorite company Beyond Meat uses pea protein to build up their “meats”. They try and be as open as they can be without revealing their secret techniques. They have chicken strips, beef crumbles, and now burgers. They are available at Target and Whole Foods (though I suggest Target since their prices are cheaper) and usually they have some sort of coupon on their site.

Field Roast is another brand of soy free fake meats. But basically you’ll just need to take a look around when you go shopping. There are lots of different brands out there and depending on where you live you will have different options available.

Another bonus is that many of these foods have added vitamins that you need in your diet. Examples? Sometimes companies add calcium, vitamin B12, iron, etc to help mimic the nutritional value of meats. This concept also extends to some milks, yogurts, etc. Keep in mind the two brands Field Roast and Beyond Meat might not actually do this.

Alternative Pastas

There are lots of gluten-free and soy-free pastas coming on the market. Well, correction, I don’t know many or any soy based pastas… yet. But there many different types out there. There are black bean noodles, which boasts 25 grams of protein per serving. That company makes even more noodle type such as adzuki and soy bean. I personally like to use quinoa pasta from time to time, though the protein isn’t as high as the black bean noodles, 4 grams of protein per serving.

That being said regular old pasta can be fairly high in protein. Normal run of the mill pasta can have 7 grams of protein per serving, which is pretty dang good. If you pair it off with lentil, beans, kale, or some other source of protein you can reach you protein goals fairly easily.

Everything Else

Okay so as we mentioned in the How much protein do I need post, pretty much everything has protein. And although I am not saying you should just eat whatever you want, just don’t forget to count all the protein in all your food. If you are having a chickpea salad sandwich, I would count up the protein in the veggies, the vegan mayo, and the bread! Yes, all of that. I think you might be surprised how much of that protein comes from other foods.

Anyone else have a vegan high protein food that I forgot to mention?


storefront

Charlie was a Sinner

131 South 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Located between Walnut Street and Samson
website | facebook | instagram | twitter

I am a very big fan of Chalie was a Sinner, but I am aware it isn’t a place that I go to often. It is fairly high end, and your bill can build up pretty fast. My recent trip added up to $90 for two people (not including tip). But on the flip side, if you are just going to drinks with friends, you can enjoy fine cocktails and drinks without it getting too crazy financially. It is also a great bar to go to with a friend who doesn’t drink alcohol, as there are virgin cocktails that put a Shirley Temple to shame.

Charlie was a Sinner is a seasonal tapas bar. So whatever I put into this review may not be on the menu when you go. I’ve been twice, and some drinks have changed, and all their desserts have changed (previously was flan, hot cocoa, and some baked fruit with ice cream if you are wondering). Having seasonal dishes assures that you will get the best tasting food.

outdoorseating

The setting really sells the place. The lighting is really low, so that made photography a little hard (hence why there is only photos of drinks and the outside). The room is colored with royal blues and turquoise, and the place is decked in fine wood and upholstered seating. There is seating in the front for more casual drinks, while there is some seating in the back for dining. In the back there are hanging chandeliers and an abstract video projection.

Waiting staff has always been helpful, and generous. The first time I went we were accidentally given the wrong dessert, and started to eat it. They apologized and gave it to us free of charge, along with the correct dessert. When we went the second time, we got lots of feedback about how much to order, which dishes were delicious, and the waiter was very knowledgeable about the liquors.

I don’t go out for drinks often, so I can easily justify the higher prices. And their cocktails are truly exceptional, once you try one, you will get quite fussy about cocktail quality. Even better is that they rotate their drinks for the seasons, so every time I go there’s always something new to try. Of course, it can be hard to pick since there are many mixers that I tend not to know before hand. Try not to let that scare you, and feel free to ask the servers. They will probably know.

That being said, the list below are the drinks and food that we had while there recently. As mentioned I’ve been twice but the first time I was there I wasn’t taking notes about the cocktails I drank or the desserts we ate. Nor were the desserts still available the second time I went. So the reviews below are to help people who will visit soon and give an idea about the quality and style of food and drinks that they offer.

051715-oMARINATED BEET SALAD
cauliflower panna cotta, apple horseradish vinaigrette
Our server suggested starting with a salad, so we ended up getting the beet salad since it seemed like something we would never do at home. The salad was interesting since there was some greens tossed in a vinaigrette and topped with the cauliflower panna cotta. The beets came in a jar off on the side. The two worked beautifully together, though I would of liked a little more flavor from the panna cotta.

AVOCADO TOAST
habanero aioli, radish, tarragon, red onion
My husband wanted to try this dish badly. I was skeptical of paying so much for such a simple dish, but we ordered. Let me say it went beyond my expectations. The dish seems simple enough, toast, avocado, onion and aioli. The toast was more like bruschetta by being served on toasted baguette slices. The avocado was perfectly ripe as well, which probably makes or breaks the dish. The aioloi adds a kick of heat without giving a Mexican influenced vibe.

CRISPY TOFU ROLL
dashi aioli, shiitake, chili relish
The best way to describe this dish is to call it a tofu sushi roll without rice. Although the dish was incredibly tasty, I am not sure if it fits with the other dishes that we picked out. The other ones are very western while this tofu roll had lots eastern flavors with the chili relish and dashi aioli.

GRILLED ASPARAGUS
garlic truffle aioli, parsley breadcrumb
Perfection is the best way to describe the asparagus. The size of the asparagus was a little thick, which usually results in a stringy dish. But they were cooked perfectly where they could be easily cut into but didn’t have a bitter overcooked taste. The aioli adds a perfect little burst of flavor, while the breadcrumbs add a nice texture.

HEIRLOOM BEANS
hazelnut-tomato vinaigrette
The name can be decieving. I was expecting a bean that was like a butter bean or a fava bean. But they were more like green beans. At first I wasn’t a big fan since the beans were very mature and a little woody, reminding me of green beans from my farm when a crop is on their last legs. But the hazelnut-tomato vinaigrette saved the dish. The tomato was in a thick paste, which gave a punch of flavor. Although I would preferred a more tender bean, I might try making a dish that’s similar on my own.

wheatgrass

WHEATGRASS SHOT
green chartreuse, wheatgrass
When working at Animo I use to try and take wheatgrass shots regularly, but when I got out of the habit I found the smell revolting. So when I saw this drink on the menu I thought it must be amazing, right? Or why would something so gross be on the menu? I asked the server and he seemed to genuinely enjoy the taste. He also raved about the liquor in the drink, 130 different herbs infused for 8 hours by monks. The drink definitely tastes like wheatgrass, but much sweeter. It honestly tastes like the smell of freshly cut grass, flower and all. The chartreuse cuts through the weird earthy flavors in wheatgrass, making a well rounded drink.

ESCAPE VELOCITY
tobacco infused johnnie walker black, carpano antica, cherry heering, orange bitters
DUMMY’S GUIDE: tobacco infused scotch whiskey, sweet vermouth, cherry liquor, and orange bitters
This drink is a strong one. If you like to taste you whiskey in your whiskey sour, you’ll enjoy this drink. It is served in an old fashion glass (the same in the photo above) with a large ice cube. The drink will get most of the sweetness from the carpano antica (sweet vermouth) and cherry heering (cherry liquor) which helps keep the drink strong.

cocktails

GOIN’ DOWN EASY
lemongrass infused beefeater, yellow chartreuse, lemon
DUMMY’S GUIDE: gin, yellow chartreuse (no seriously don’t know what to compare this to), and lemon
If I had to describe this to someone who only gets common cocktails, I would say this is a tom collins served like a whiskey sour. Okay so it isn’t served in an old fashioned like a whiskey sour. But it is strong and a little sour like a whiskey sour. There isn’t any added sugar like a tom collins would be, but instead the sweetness comes from the yellow chartreuse. The lemongrass blends perfectly with gin, making a drink the feels light, but packs a lot of booze.

EAST OF EDEN
bulleit, tea infused dolin blanc, lillet, fig
DUMMY’S GUIDE: bourbon, vermouth, aperitif wine, and fig
Pretty much this is a variation of a Manhattan. The difference is that there isn’t any bitters, and has a hint of fig flavor. I would probably say this was the most boring of all the cocktails that we had. Not to mention the fig doesn’t photograph well (it kind-of looks pathetic on that glass).

Some of the drinks listed seem to vary in descriptions on older blogs. I can only assume that the cocktails change as liquors are available. I like how they are willing to give rarer, small batch liquors a try and therefore your drink might not be exactly the same as a few months ago. I love the wide range of drinks and aperitifs to choose from (simply put a liquor or wine that is drank before or after a dinner).


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On May 18th, 2013 I tied the knot with Jon. I always felt that we were “married” earlier than that, we were committed to each other for some time. In my head we were married, but we thought we would hold off the legal stuff since we were young and poor. We’ve come a long way, having an awesome wedding that was featured on A Practical Wedding, and may be featured in a local eco-friendly magazine called Grid (I am SUPER excited about this!) And now, we are taking the next step and BUYING A HOUSE! Well, we are looking at a townhouse that is part of a development, so in some ways we will be owning a HUGE condo. But we are in the early stages so I am trying hard not to jinx it by looking for furniture on Ikea. (This will be for our deck, dining room table, and this will hold our drinking glasses and cookbooks) I blogged about my wedding last year, so this year on our two year anniversary I thought it would be appropriate to talk about our honeymoon in two parts.

We are starting on our first leg of the trip- Portland Maine. The plan was to drive a most of the trip to Portland Maine, and spend two nights there. Then we would drive a few more hours to Bar Harbor for majority of our trip. I recommend taking a similar plan of action if you want to drive up to Maine from New Jersey. There is so much to do in Portland, and we even went during the “off season” when a lot museums, stores, and sites were closed until Memorial Day. So this my humble “tour guide.”

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I made a post about my wedding last year, but I didn’t mention how it rained. The only thing I worried about with the wedding was rain during the ceremony. It was the only thing I dreaded. I really didn’t want the ceremony to be done in a tent, once the reception started, LET IT POUR! And I lucked out- sort of. We got through our ceremony and it started to drizzle as we started our reception line. The rain was light enough for photos which was nice. Then we rocked out the rest of the night in tent. It rained and rained the next day as we spent it with my Nanna and Pappy, and tying up loose ends. So on Monday when we started our honeymoon to Maine we were happy to see bright skies. I mean look at that photo above! SO BRIGHT!

Yeah, it was sunny for the drive. By the time we got to Portland, a light drizzle started. No big deal right? Yeah, it rained everyday during the trip. We still managed to have fun, and it gave us incentive to go back for more hiking. It is also worth noting that my vegan journey was a little bit of a waffling period. I was transitioning to a stricter vegan diet, but I occasionally still had fish, eggs, and didn’t cut out honey yet. So keep that in mind with some of the restaurants and links I share.

Left to right, top to bottom: Flowers in our B&B room; Picture of the B&B we stayed in; View from our room; Funny sign in the designated parking space

Left to right, top to bottom: Flowers in our B&B room; Picture of the B&B we stayed in; View from our room; Funny sign in the designated parking space

Portland was really awesome. I remember going a few times when I was younger, and I kept hearing from the locals about how much it has changed for the better the last few years. It really made me think of Philadelphia since it too has a bustling farm to table scene, lots of vegan grub, and has a recovering downtown. I joked that it was like Philadelphia only with wider roads and less cars (and cars that stop for you… what the heck?!) We stayed at the Inn at Park Spring Portland, and they were very nice and accommodated my dietary restrictions. It was in a great walking distance from everything, which was super nice. The first night I thought to not dress up since it was raining (not knowing it would rain everyday) and accidentally went to a really high end restaurant. They were nice and still served us, and treated us quite well! We went to Five Fifty-Five, which is totally not vegan, but the restaurant we wanted to go to was closed on Mondays. We walked around town, bought beer for the hotel room and called it a night.

The first day started with a house tour of the Victoria Mansion which was ah-may-zing! I loved going on the house tours in Newport, and this Mansion had an amazing history. The houses in Newport were huge but didn’t contain most of it’s original furniture. But the Victoria Mansion had some of the furniture looted when it was not being lived in, but once they made announcements that they were going to open it up as a museum, they found some of the original possessions returned in the middle of the night.

After that tour we went to Green Elephant which is a mostly vegan restaurant. The interior was beautiful but everyone was pretty laid back. The food was light and delicious, a great lunchtime meal. What I really love about the place is that they have lots of different types of Asian inspired foods. It wasn’t like Chinese take out, but you could still get eggrolls, stir-fries, and noodles. But there were big soup bowls or even curries.

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We then then walked over the Portland Museum of Art. It was a nice size. I am so use to big museums like The Metropolitan Museum of Art of Philadelphia Museum of Art, so visiting a smaller museum was kind-of nice. It was nice to see all the exhibits in one trip, but I know there will be new things to see on the next trip since they have rotating galleries. BONUS TIP: A member of AAA? Show your card and you get a discount… at least we did two years ago. It won’t hurt to try, we only knew about it since the lady at the desk was nice personally asked us.

We had some time to kill so we walked around the town. Even though it was raining, it wasn’t too bad. Sadly we came before Memorial Day so many places were closed, or closed by 5. If you are a thrifty person there were lots of eco-friendly and second hand shops. One place we really liked was Yes Books. It was a used bookshop with LOT and LOTS of books. I mean loads. We spent a good hour or two there, till we thought it would be a good time to grab dinner.

We had dinner at Gritty McDuff’s Brewing Company as a friend recommended it. Sadly the beer is not vegan, but they offer other beers by other local breweries. The staff was REALLY nice, and I am sure it might of helped we were not at the height of tourist season. At one point they brought out the wrong appetizer but were hungry so we didn’t mind and didn’t say anything. The waitress notice, and brought out the dish anyways on the house, even though we said we didn’t mind (since we ate majority of the whole dish already) Many people there seemed like locals, which was kind-of nice to see in a very touristy area. There are lots of vegetarian options, and some foods can easily made vegan. I ended up getting the Veggie Reuben with no cheese or ranch. Even without those two components, the sandwich was AMAZING.

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The next morning we planned on checking out of our Bed and Breakfast, and heading over to Bar Harbor. Our room had a tacky little cartoon map of Portland. It was one that probably sells ad space to business to be listed and shared around at hotels. On the map I saw Honeymaker– a meadery. I was starting to learn about it from my fermentation book, so I was curious to check it out.

Although honey isn’t vegan, I understand that not everyone who reads my blog isn’t vegan. The only reason why I am still mentioning them for my trip is because they use sustainable practices, use local honey, and had really unique mead. If anyone has tried mead in the past, they probably have tasted something that was thick and insanely sweet. Honeymaker ages their honey, trying to make it dry like a wine. We fell in love with them and bought a box of mead, which we still have one bottle left.

The cool thing about Honeymaker was that it was on the other side of town, making it fairly easy to drive to Whole Foods to pick up some lunch on the go. The location of Whole Foods is great because it is quick to jump on the highway towards Bar Harbor.

Overall, what my husband and I loved about Portland is how walkable it was. It was drizzling on and off the entire time we were there, but the area was so beautiful that it made it okay. Everything is within a mile, and therefore walkable. Some areas were a little rough, and it is obvious that Portland has lots of homeless people. It would be nice to visit again and to see if some the areas have changed.

Food:

Green Elephant : 608 Congress St, Portland, ME 04101 : vegetarian/vegan
Gritty McDuff’s Brewing Company : 396 Fore Street Portland, ME 04101 : vegetarian/vegan friendly
Honeymaker : 51 Washington Ave., Portland, ME 04101 : vegetarian drinks
Whole Foods : 2 Somerset St, Portland, ME 04101 : Veg-Vegan Options

Sites:

Inn at Park Spring Portland : 135 Spring St, Portland, ME 04101 : will accommodate dietary restrictions
Portland Museum of Art : 7 Congress Square Portland, Maine 04101
Victoria Mansion : 109 Danforth Street Portland, ME 04101
Yes Books : 589 Congress St Portland, ME 04101