Massage Your Kale

By now we've all heard how healthy kale is and how we should all be getting more dark leafy greens into our diet. I confess, I haven't been very good at this until now. Unless I was making my cannellini & kale ragout, I wasn't eating much kale. I've tried kale chips, and um, FAIL. I don't prefer my greens baked and crispy.

Luckily, my dear friend and fellow foodie blogger City Girl pointed me towards Choosing Raw and this fabulous Massaged Kale Salad. At first, admittedly I was skeptical. How can raw kale taste that good? But oh... it can.

Now I've modified Gena's version a bit, to make it more palatable to my tongue (and my need for fat). I've been eating this salad nonstop! Soon I'll be one of those crazy health nuts who eats 1 lb of greens per day. ;)

Massaged Kale Salad

- 1 bunch of organic kale

- 1 small avocado

- half lemon

- kosher or sea

- good olive oil

Cut kale into strips and place in large bowl. While "massaging" kale, add olive oil. Massage. Then take avocado and crumble into salad and continue massaging kale. (The avocado will start to coat the kale and make it extra yummy.) Massage some more. Squeeze lemon over salad and sprinkle salt. Massage even more. The kale will noticeably "wilt" as you massage. This is good! It becomes softer and tastier the more you massage. You can either let it sit for awhile or eat immediately. Will keep in fridge for a day or two.

Now, until I can figure out more ways to get in my greens, I'll be eating this salad nonstop.

How do you get in your greens?

Day 21: Le Cupcake

To celebrate the fact that today is DAY 21 of the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart, I decided to make cupcakes! I, like most of the female population, adore cupcakes. I used to make them all the time in law school during finals to cheer up my uber-stressed friends. I rarely made them from scratch, though, that must be said. So I was more than a bit nervous to attempt vegan cupcakes that would, of course, be made from scratch.

Luckily, I received Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World as a gift ages ago, and after a little searching, I found this darling petit livre on my bookshelves and dusted it off. I wanted to start with a basic cupcake so I decided on vanilla with lemon cream cheese frosting. I am not a huge frosting fan (unlike most of the female population), but cream cheese frosting I love. It's not so sugary sweet as it has the delightfully thick and tangy quality of, well, cream cheese!

The process was fairly simple, and there were only a couple of ingredients I was missing (mostly because I rarely back from scratch). Voila the finished product!


Now, for my very honest review of the finished product...

The Frosting: Delicious! I used Tofutti's Better Than Cream Cheese and, to be honest, I was not optimistic. I tasted a tiny bit before whipping up the frosting, and I doubt I'd ever spread it on a bagel. But the frosting? Divine! Blended with powdered sugar, a splash of vanilla extract, and lots of grated lemon zest, this frosting definitely tastes as decadent as regular cream cheese frosting.

The Cake: Admittedly, I didn't love the cake. Don't get me wrong, it's good. It's just not my ideal. I liked that it's moist and light and fluffy. What I didn't like was the flavor. The recipe suggested I use almond extract in addition to vanilla, so I did. And I can tell. And I don't really like it. It just... doesn't work for moi, especially not in a basic vanilla cupcake. So next time, I'm just going to stick to the vanilla extract.

Overall: Yummy! I'm going to bring my friend Jenny one later tonight and the rest to work tomorrow. I've already had 2 today, and well, I think that's quite enough. :P

Gotta dash, but I'm planning to record a vlog just for vegan tomato, discussing my experience with vegan eating and cooking, and letting y'all know where I'm going from here. Stay tuned!!

Garlic & Greens Soup

I'm not a huge St. Patrick's Day person... I don't really care about green beer or pub crawls or whatever else you crazy kids are doing these days. As I got dressed this morning, I realized I don't even have many green clothes! Nope, I celebrated St. Patty's Day my own way - by making Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's Garlic & Greens Soup. This soup is from The Vegan Table and is quite possibly one of the healthiest meals I've ever made (well... minus the croutons hehe). The ingredients? Garlic (an entire HEAD), onion, greens (I used collard greens), water (or veggie stock), rice vinegar, and a few potatoes. I sauteed my garlic and onion in olive oil b/c well, that's just how I roll, but Colleen says you can saute them in water as well (but seriously... who does that??).

I have to admit that I was nervous about this soup. Scarily simple ingredients and lack of color variety kept me skeptical, but the soup was fantastic! Comforting and surprisingly full of flavor. In fact, next time I think I'm going to use 2 bunches of greens instead of 1. As it is, the soup is very broth-y, and I prefer more "stuff" in my soups. Plus adding more greens is always a good thing, n'est ce pas? Per my usual, I fried up a side of homemade croutons (aka just a sliced baguette sauteed in olive oil and sprinkled with salt & pepper). They are extra tasty when dipped in the broth!



Colleen says she believes that soup can be eaten year round, but I have to disagree. Maybe soup's okay in Northern California, but in the middle of a 100+ degree Texas summer? Absolutely not. So I'm going to make this soup as much as possible before it gets too hot!

Now, before I dash, I know it's cruel to talk up a meal and not post the recipe. But I don't think it's legal for me to do so... or maybe it is? I'm a lawyer, I should know this stuff! Ha! Lucky for you, I don't need to find out (legal research was never my forte) because Colleen has a video of herself making the soup ON HER WEBSITE! Click here, dolls (it's the 3rd video down) and enjoy your greens. *muah*

Day 2 (of 21 Day Vegan Kickstart)

Yesterday was the first day of the 21 Day Vegan Kickstart, and although I've been eating mostly vegan for the past week and a half, I feel like I'm really in this now. It helps that many of you are joining me. :)

Day 1 went splendidly until dinner. Dinner was fine and vegan and all that, but I got un peu peeved at an Austin restaurant for telling me that risotto can't be made without cream. (You can read all about it here.) I was really, really craving risotto, and so that was a total bummer. Luckily I came home, took a hot bath and enjoyed a homemade pb cup and felt a lot better.

Tonight I'm planning to make Tah Dig, aka Persian potatoes and rice with mushroom confit and cilantro, a la Voracious Vegan. As soon as I saw this dish, I knew I had to make it. Crispy potatoes?? Yes, please! Doesn't it look yummy??


Ooh also - I got Vegan Brunch yesterday and should be receiving Becoming Vegan in the mail tomorrow. I promise I'm not trying to go vegan book crazy, but I think that some of these are essential to my well-being (and sanity) for the next 21 days. I want to make sure I'm getting all the vitamins and nutrients I need! I've been known to survive on french fries alone, after all...

Weekend Eats: Corn & Black Bean Quinoa Tacos, Chocolate PB Cups, Pad Thai & More!

These were super delicious. I was truly surprised that I didn't miss the cheese at all. The filling was yummy quinoa with black beans, corn, jalapeno, and lots of spices, topped with easy guac, chopped cilantro, and spicy salsa. My only complaint? I can't ever get my tortillas tasting as delicious as they do in the restaurants! Any tips? I heated mine in the oven this time and then tried them on a pan, but neither produced the warm, pliable, almost crispy but not slimy/rubbery texture that restaurants provide.

Alicia's chocolate peanut butter cups!! These are as amazing as everyone says! My only complaint is that the chocolate did not easily spread over the peanut butter because the peanut butter mixture was too hot so the chocolate just sank in. Next time I'll wait until the pb mix cools a bit. Either way, they were insanely delicious. 100x better than Reese's!

I made another green smoothie! Spinach, ground flax, peanut butter, soy milk, frozen strawberries & blueberries, and banana.

Vegan-style fast food! I made veggie burgers (used Amy's veggie burger, and I REALLY liked them) topped with organic ketchup, organic mustard, delicious bread & butter pickles, and crisp romaine and oven "fried" tater tots (from Whole Foods). SO GOOD. I'm going be making a lot of my veggie burgers at home now that I've learned that my favorite take-out veggie burger (from P Terry's) is made with cheese. I think I'm going to email the owner about that! It's an Austin chain. :)

Finally, I made pad thai with all kinds of yummy goodness: bok choy, tofu, lots of chopped peanuts, scallions, and cilantro. Unfortunately, it came out AWFUL. It looks good, right? But it was super dry, and the noodles were terrible! I don't think I soaked them long enough or correctly... I don't know. This recipe was loosely based on one my sister gave me ages ago. I managed to eat my plate, but removed all the noodles from the leftovers and plan to eat it with jasmine rice. Rice noodles, why do you hate me?

That's all, folks! I think this is the first weekend in a LONG time that I cooked every single meal. Wow! Also? I lost another pound. I feel awesome!!! Veganism ROCKS!

Weekend Cookin'

Bonjour, friends! Happy Friday! I'm in a fantastic mood today, not only because it's Friday, but because I have lots of fun plans for this weekend, almost all of which involve FOOD!

Tonight I'm having myself a tex-mex kind of night and plan to make a yummy burrito with spicy black beans/quinoa/corn and a gorgeously ripe hass avocado wrapped up in a spinach tortilla and washed down with a delicious mexican coke (I know it has sugar and highly suspicious "natural flavors," but yeah... baby steps). Then I'm going to take advantage of what is likely to be a quiet Friday night at IKEA. Yeah, baby!! I haven't been to IKEA in ages (mostly b/c I always end up buying way too much stuff I don't need when I go), but I DO need some kitchen stuff. A dutch oven, oven-safe frying pan, and a rubber whisk are some of the items on my list. I heart IKEA and totally relish the thought of spending my Friday night there. Is that odd?

Saturday morning I hope to wake up early, drop Lola at daycare and head to the Boggy Creek Farm market and get some gorgeous, seasonal, local and organic produce. I've never been, but many Austin restaurants use their stuff, and I've heard it's got a fantastic selection. I'm pretty unimpressed with the Austin farmer's markets so I have high hopes for Boggy Creek! (I kinda wanna play with their hens, too!)

I plan to cook a LOT this weekend, but I'm not sure of everything I plan to make yet. I am definitely making pad thai b/c I have been craving Asian noodles all week, and there are tons of vegan-friendly recipes. Also a must-cook for the weekend are Alicia Silverstone's peanut butter cups. YUMMY! I've been craving dessert, and I think these will definitely hit the spot. I've heard nothing but rave reviews! I mean, seriously, is there anything better than chocolate + peanut butter + nuts? I think not.


In other food-related news, both the Vegan Brunch (you can get it for around $6 off amazon - merci to City Girl for letting me know!) and Veganomicon are headed my way!! I should be getting Veganomicon today, and I cannot. wait. I've heard it truly is the ultimate vegan cookbook, and I plan to a chunk of this weekend curled up on the couch with it.

So tell me, what're you up to this weekend? Are you cookin' up any yumminess I should know about??

How It's Going & Fave New Blog

Howdy, friends! The last post was, uh, a bit serious (and depressing) so I thought I'd lighten things up in today's post and let you know how this whole vegan thang is going. I've technically been eating a vegan diet for a week now (albeit with a couple of hiccups, like the bread pudding a la mode I had last weekend). How am I feeling one week in?

Well, overall, I'm feeling fantastic. Spiritually and emotionally, I am confident in my decision and so thrilled about it, in fact, that it has kept me cheery even in not-so-cheery circumstances. Physically, I'm a bit mixed. On the one hand, I am most definitely lighter. I've lost 2 lbs already, which is remarkable not just because it's 2 lbs, but because I lost them the week of my period, which as you women know, is nearly impossible. The weight loss, I have to say, is a fun bonus, but honestly did not motivate me in any way to do this. Health, however, did motivate me. I have not noticed any difference in my allergies or congestion nor have I noticed any increase in energy. I'm still tired and requiring buckets of sleep, but I've also heard that it's not unusual to sleep a lot when first transitioning. I realize one week is not going to change my life, but I am wondering how long it'll take to see results health-wise. I'm curious, how long did it take you?

The most significant effect this diet has had on my life is the way it has changed my relationship with food. It didn't surprise me one bit that I lost weight because I know I am eating substantially less calories and saturated fat than before. Also? I find that it's really hard to emotionally eat when eating a plant-based diet. Has anyone found that to be true for them as well?? It's the oddest thing, and I can't really describe it, but all the "comfort foods" of my past are no longer options for me, and so I just kind of... ignore it. If I need comfort, I find it somewhere else besides the kitchen. Right before I started this diet, I was on a cereal kick, and almost every night I'd have a bowl of cereal (my faves include: honey nut cheerios {semi-healthy), berry berry kix (not healthy), and cocoa krispies (super unhealthy)) with 1% milk. And not one serving, mind you, but one of those Anthropologie latte bowls filled to the brim. Do I kind of miss that stuff? Yes, admittedly I do, but I do not miss how I felt afterwards. (And yes, I realize there are plenty of healthy vegan cereals that I can eat with soy/rice/amond/hemp milk, but it's not the same for me.)

And then there's dessert. While my cravings for sweets have definitely subsided, they have not disappeared. Luckily, I discovered that those Rice Dream mint pie thingies are actually quite delish (oatmeal cookies? yes, please!!!). I'm also discovering a TON of yummmmmy-looking vegan dessert recipes online that I cannot WAIT to try.

Which brings me to the Voracious Vegan... What a fabulous blog! I've spent the last two days reading through her archives, and she's absolutely right, eating vegan is DELICIOUS. I've bookmarked a number of recipes (including this peanut butter cake and these quesadillas) and will be sure to let you know what I try and how it turns out. She's got me all kinds of excited about cooking new things! I highly highly recommend this blog for any of you looking for delicious, satisfying, and healthy meal ideas. (Seriously - how good do those look???)



And with that, I'm off... I plan to do some cookin' and dessert makin' this weekend, and I'll be sure to keep you posted. Merci again for all your rockin' support!!