DAY 08.

So I am day behind with my blog. FINALS have made me a mess. But I will blod two days today (hopefully) to get back on track.

I've never actually had a falafel and it's actually a shame that the first time I tried it was the frozen kind lol. Either way I thought they were pretty good. So if you've been following my progress it's pretty clear that everything I buy is from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. I made falafels because I was just trying it out and they're actually really good. My dad liked them too!



For my ingredients I had grilled vegetables: zucchini, red bell pepper, red onion (I showed how I grilled them when I made my pasta salad, same concept.)

I also used whole wheat flatbread from Trader Joe's. These are great because you can use them as a replacement for bread, rice, crackers. You can eat them with soup or make a soft taco or gordita. They're a good buy =)



I watch a lot of Food Network too and I always see them using a yogurt sauce with Middle Eastern food so I used soy yogurt (plain/unsweetened) to top it



I heated the falafels in the microwave (these were the instructions on the bag)



Then I grilled the flatbread to heat it up and make it pliable



After all my ingredients were warm and I sliced my veggies I layered the flatbread with the falafels, veggies and yogurt



And then just fold it up and eat it like a taco! =) These were really yummy!! Will make again!

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DAY 07.

Been slacking on my blog (for a day, lol) because I was studying for a final exam and was up UBER late. But I'm back and I'm particularly excited about this post! =)

I went to a party last Saturday and my cousin was eating Thin Mint girlscout cookies. I was so jealous because I wanted to eat one SO bad. But of course, not vegan. So everyday before I decide what to eat I search recipes online to see if I have the ingredients needed. And then... I came across THIS:

VEGAN THIN MINTS.



This recipe came from Chef Chloe. If you guys don't watch much Food Network, she won "Cupcake Wars" which was a shock because all of her cupcakes were vegan! Anyway, I was so excited to make these and they turned out pretty well!!

I followed the recipe as is. I did however use a mixer instead of a food processor but I just made sure that the butter (vegan of course) was at room temperature so it was soft.

First I got all my ingredients together.



After I properly measured everything I used a mixer until everything was just combined. Then you knead it with your hands into a ball and refrigerate it for an hour.



Once the dough is cooled, line a baking sheet with parchment (so that the cookies don't stick and for easy clean-up) and start rolling your dough into balls using a heaping teaspoon as your measurement.



Then press the dough into flat discs about a quarter of an inch thick.




Then bake off your cookies, I think I did 10 minutes at first just in case they cooked faster than I thought. After they baked I cooled them completely. And then I got my chocolate ready in a bowl for melting. I'm not that baking-savvy so instead of a double boiler I melted it in the microwave in 10 second increments until it was completely melted.




Don't forget to add the peppermint to your chocolate coating!!

Then, using a fork coat each of your cookies and put them back onto a parchment lined baking sheet.



Once they're all coated put them in the fridge so that the coating gets hard and once the chocolate is solid you can eat them! =)



Aren't they cute??!
My version is just a simplified version of the actual recipe which you can find at www.ChefChloe.com. And they are TASTY!! Being vegan is a cinch! ;)

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DAY 06.

I LOVE the idea of making one meal that will last you ALL week long! Today I made my version of vegan spaghetti. Now, I'm fairly new at being vegan, so I still don't know how to make my favorite foods without that "meat" element. So for this sauce I used "meatless ground beef" from Trader Joe's. It looks and tastes pretty close to ground beef but it's 100% vegan. I thought I would add it to make the sauce a little more hearty. I also added TONS of veggies and it turned out pretty great!

First I chopped up all my vegetables. For the base of any sauce I also chopped up carrots, celery and onions also known as Mirepoix (pronounced meer-pwah) which is basically for flavor and aromatics. I also chopped up zucchini into bit size pieces because I really like zucchini and thought it would be good for texture.



Don't forget the garlic and mushrooms!! Garlic and onions together are usually the basic addition to cooking any type of ground meat, meatball, burger, etc. so I thought it would be good here as well. And mushrooms in spaghetti is just delish period! =)



After all my veggies were chopped I sauteed them in a big pot with olive oil stirring occasionally so that all the vegetables cook evenly and so that the garlic doesn't burn.



Meanwhile I was boiling some water to cook my pasta. For this I chose a brown rice pasta. Brown rice is a whole grain which makes it better than using pasta made with bleached, white flour. Many food labels list the ingredients from the highest quantity to the lowest. Also, the less number of ingredients the better because it means that it has less preservatives and more natural product. The label for this pasta was "Organic Brown Rice and Water."



After your veggies are all equally cooked through you can start adding your sauce. I sometimes make sauce from scratch but since I had a jar on hand I used a ready-made marinara sauce from Trader Joe's.



The awesome thing about Trader Joe's is that most of their products are labeled with "vegan, gluten-free, quick meal, etc." so this jar was labeled with a V for "vegan"



I added the sauce plus a can of tomato sauce and a little bit of water so it wasn't too thick. I also added some dry Italian herbs and a little salt and pepper.




And don't forget the "ground beef" (if you want it, you don't have to add it but I thought it would be heartier and that perhaps my family would find it more appetizing lol!)



The original package looks like this:



Once everything is in the pot stir it until it is mixed through and simmer for 5-10 minutes to get all the flavors to "mesh" =)



Then once your pasta is cooked and drained, top it with the sauce and ENJOY!



The one great thing about making a meal like spaghetti is that if you're the only one eating it (which usually I am because nobody else is vegan) then you can save the sauce and you have dinner for the rest of the week! Just cook a single serving of pasta to order! =)




All my ingredients for this recipe were from Trader Joe's but I'm sure you can find alternatives at any grocery store.

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DAY 05.

Today I had a potluck for my internship and it was awesome because there were lots of vegan options! (HOORAY for vegan friends and food allergies!!) Anyway I got to taste some fabulous things that I thought I'd share and also probably try to make on my own. =)

Here was my plate:



So, the sesame noodles were actually something that I've already tried to make myself and they were a success! You can see my post on that HERE.

The quesadillas sans queso were SO good. My friend made them and I'm pretty sure I could eat them forever. Will definitely be re-creating those!!

The "cowboy caviar" is pretty much a salsa. My sister makes a version that has avocado. It's SO good. I think I've also heard people call it "confetti salsa" or "Mexican caviar" but let's not be racist now. =)

I made the pasta salad and you can see the process that I've posted HERE.

But the SWEET TREAT today were these little vegan cups of goodness that my friend made. I mean, they're good... really good! =) And she was telling me that she is actually starting a candy-making business. They're called "Vegan Sweet Cups" and you can find them on facebook HERE. Check them out and like they're page... SO GOOD!


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POTLUCK.

I have been doing well so far on my quest to becoming vegan. I have found some great recipes and have also made up a few of my own. One thing that I love to make is pasta salad.

For potlucks, parties, luncheons, etc. It is a great, easy and affordable dish to make. I have a potluck to go to tomorrow and I thought I'd make one of my favorite pasta salads (courtesy of AllRecipes.com) called "Antipasto Pasta Salad" but I thought I'd change the recipe up to make it vegan.

My ingredients are:
-Zucchini
-Olives
-Red Bell Pepper
-Red Onion
-Artichoke Hearts
-1lb bag of a pasta of your choice (I prefer shells or bowtie)
-1 7oz pack of Italian Dressing mix (just the seasoning)
-Olive Oil
-Balsamic Vinegar
-Salt and Pepper to taste



I decided to omit all the salami, cheese and pepperoni and make it a grilled veggie pasta salad. Here are the steps I took while also some-what following the original recipe.

First you want to boil your water for your pasta since this takes a while then cut up all your vegetables.



Then I got them ready for grilling by drizzling them with olive oil and sprinkling them with salt and pepper.



I did this with the zucchini, red bell pepper and red onions. Then I grilled these veggies on a grill pan




While the veggies grilled I chopped the other ingredients that weren't going to be grilled; in this case olives, tomatoes and artichoke hearts (from a can, packed in water)





Then drain your pasta (this should have been cooking during the process)



After your done grilling your veggies, let them cool. Once they're cool chop them into bite size pieces. (These were the onions I grilled)



Once all the veggies are diced up mix them with the cooled pasta and mix in the dry Italian season packet. Cover with plastic and put it in the fridge to cool.


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The last thing you want to do is add olive oil and balsamic vinegar. This is usually right before you serve or right before you leave the house. I usually eyeball the amount and add salt and pepper to taste. Served cold; ENJOY!

I haven't finished this since I am serving it tomorrow but I can't wait to taste it!

NOTE: I will not be blogging today as DAY 05 of my vegan conquest because in LENT, Sundays do not count. So from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday it is technically 46 days; if you omit the Sundays it becomes 40. But, I will still be eating vegan on Sundays, I just wanted to clarify the days and account for not blogging on Sundays.