Thanks Jan of “eats nothing with eyeballs” for posting this! Free Greenies. My dogs go absolutely crazy for their greenie treats. They like them almost as much as they like carrots. almost.

Because orange is cool. As much as I’d like to claim the genius behind this “idea,” I can’t. I first saw this recipe but I thought the instructions were terribly unclear and I’m not a a fan of pre-made mixes anyway. I also didn’t want to fry my falafel balls so I had to come up with something… and since Scott says a falafel is not a falafel without a ‘yogurt’ dressing, I had to make that too.

(Sorry about the photo, Scott took it at work, it really doesn’t show off how cute the balls came out. This photo doesn’t do them justice either…)

Baked Yam Falafels - makes about 24 falafel balls
1/2 cup bulgar wheat
3/4 cup water
1 large yam (makes approx 1 cup “mashed yam”) or sweet potatoes
2 tbsp fat free soy milk or other non-dairy

“Falafel Mix”
1 garlic clove
3 tbsp fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
2 tbsp whole wheat or chickpea flour
3 tbsp whole wheat bread crumbs
pinch of salt

Directions:
1. combine water and bulgar in a pot (no heat) and set aside
2. cook yam until tender
3. blend with soy milk, it should be a thick “mashed potatoes” consistency
4. set yam mixture aside
5. return to bulgar, some of the water should have absorbed
6. bring bulgar to a boil and immediately reduce to low
7. allow to cook on low, uncovered, until water cooks off
8. towards the end, stir frequently to avoid burning
9. while bulger is cooking, make falafel mix (I threw all of it into my processor)
10. combine falafel mix with bulger
11. add yam mixture and combine
12. drop tbsp portions worth on a greased cookie sheet
13. lightly spray with oil
14. lightly cover with foil
15. bake 20 minutes, flip, re-spray and bake another 20-25 minutes until crispy
16. while falafels are cooking, make yogurt (recipe follows)

Cilantro ‘Yogurt’ Spread (Vegan) - makes approx. 1 cup
1 6oz plain soy yogurt
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dry parsley
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
pinch of salt (or as desired)

Directions: mix until well combined, chill until serving

- Stuff lettuce, falafels, and yogurt spread into warm whole wheat pitas!

Variation: For a traditional falafel, use 1 can 15oz drained chickpeas, mashed with the falafel mix (in place of the yam and bulgar).

Tags: Bulgar, Chickpea, Cilantro, Middle Eastern, Parsley, Pita, Sammie, Soy Yogurt, Sweet Potato, Yam

A few vegan friends emailed me today pointing out that some so-called, self-proclaimed “vegan bloggers” are eating cheese, eggs and meat, happy about it and proudly posting on their blogs. . Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not a “vegangelical” and I try my best to spread veganism in a happy, welcoming light… but if you willfully eat dairy or eggs, even sporatically, you’re not a vegan. You’re a vegetarian. and that’s FINE. There is nothing wrong with being a vegetarian. You can say you’re a vegetarian that tries to eat vegan or mostly eats vegan, but you are not a vegan. A vegan abstains from all animal products regardless of situation or cravings. I’m not saying its always easy to be vegan but don’t call yourself a vegan if you’re not 100%. It sends a bad message, prohibits progress and belittles the rest of us trying to lead by example.

Just to be clear: I am not being an “elitist.” Whatever anyone chooses to put in their body is their choice. “Veganism” isn’t a “club” it’s a way of life. It’s not about sacrifice it’s about consciousness.

Myself and the other vegans who inspired me to be the one to write this, are simply suggesting that people accurately identify who and what they are, especially on the web where so many people come here looking for information. We don’t think we’re “better” than someone who occassionally eats cheese or meat. We’re just saying you’re not a vegan, and that is fine, but being misleading or confusing doesn’t help anyone.

Tags: Editorial

Here is our latest review for the flavors we’ve recently taste tested.

Apple Cinnamon Crunch - this bar was quite delicious but apples and cinnamon go so well together, that really shouldn’t be a surprise.

Sesame Goji - this bar was edible but I on the scale of 1 to 10 its is a square 5. I didn’t hate it, I didn’t love it and I probably wouldn’t eat it again.

Koka Moka - This one was disgusting. I even tried it when I was starving, so you know it’s bad. Then again, I was never a coffee or dark chocolate lover so I could just be unfairly biased!

Kettle Corn - This was a huge let down! I love popcorn and esp. kettlecorn, so I was majorally bummed when I opened the wrapper and instead of finding “popcorn” I found unusually big kernals of corn in the bar. Boo! The bar was okay, it was really coconutty as all their bars are and even though I like coconut I don’t believe it belongs in everything…

(old reviews from June)

Maple Pecan - Scott loved this bar, not surprising since he loves pecans and pure maple syrup. I thought the bar was good but tasted very coconut-y which threw me off. I love coconut but not with maple. I checked the ingredients and raw coconut was #5 on the list. That explains that.

Cherry Pretzel - This is the one of two bars I’ve been dying to try. Cherries? Chocolate? Pretzels? yes please.! It was tasty. However, I was quite disappointed to read that a product proclaiming to be “healthy” and “made from 15 whole foods” had all-purpose flour in it. Unbleached wheat flour is not a whole food, PROBAR. I’m sure the “pretzels” are to blame but they do make whole wheat pretzels nowadays. Boo!

Cocoa Pistachio - We both liked this bar but it’s hard to find a chocolate-nut pairing that tastes bad Plus we’re both pistachio lovers so this bar had quite the advantage!!

Cran-Lemon Twister -I love lemons and cranberries. The thought of these flavors coming together made me drool a little. Unfortunatly, the wonderful cran-lemon flavor was muttled by the nuts and coconuts (why is the coconut in every bar!). Bummer. I ended up picking out all the dried cranberries and they was delightful.

Thoughts: The average PROBAR has about 400 calories, 20g fat, 200mg sodium, 20g of sugar & 8g of protein. I know they’re supposed to be a “meal replacement” but I don’t think any of our “meals” have that much fat, sugar and sodium. Calories and protein - maybe. We have both liked what we’ve had so far and agree we may load up on them when traveling and vegan food may be scarce… but so far we don’t think we’ll buy them regularly as the bars don’t seem to jive with our dietary preferences.

Another problem we both have is that brown rice syrup is the first or second ingredient. While we appreciate the sticy substance is necessary to hold all the goodness together, why do they also need to add more sweeteners such as evaporated cane juice? I have a mighty sweet tooth and the bars don’t come across as overly sweet, its just something I observed. Then again, its better than HFCS!

Tags: Reviews

Everything in this beautiful soup was purchased at my local farmers market - including the broth, which was made from last week’s leftover veggies! The soup is perfect for active summer days, you can enjoy a full bowl without feeling weighed down. This soup also uses parsley as a main flavor profile - a wonderful leafy green herb that often gets overlooked. This soup can be served hot, warm or room temperature.

Farmer’s Market Soup: Summer Edition - makes 5 cups
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup of water
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups vegetable broth
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, skins removed and chopped
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley
2 small zuchinni, chopped
1/2 cup yellow corn (1 cobb’s worth)
1 tsp mild curry powder
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tsp dry basil
1 cup brown mushrooms, sliced thin (optional)

* Add 1/2 cup frozen edamame for a boost of protein and 1/4 tsp of kelp granules if you have some on hand. The kelp adds a nice salty touch and it sends the nutritional profile through the ceiling with all the added benefits!
Directions:
1. saute onions in water for 1 minute
2. add garlic and cook (medium heat) until water has evaporated
3. add all remaining ingredients and stir
4. bring to a boil over high, reduce to low and simmer 10 to 15 minutes
5. (until all veggies are cooked and tender)

Tags: Carrots, Celery, Corn, Edamame, Fast Meals, Kelp, Mushroom, Parsley, Soup, Zucchini

Scott’s Southern childhood was filled with cobbler. He came home with a bag of blackberries and emailed his mom for her cobbler recipe. The recipe didn’t need much tweaking to be vegan, but it needed a little help in the “heath” department. Here it is! (Scott said it was to par with his childhood memories of cobbler!)

By the way, feel free to use any fruit in place of the blackberries — but it has to be FRESH. If you use frozen fruit, it will come out a little mooshy and watery. (At least, that has been my experience).

Blackberry Cobbler - makes a small 9″ pie
2 1/2 cups blackberries
2-4 tbsp raw sugar

Directions:
1. preheat 350 F
2. Mix fruit and sugar and set aside

Tags: Fruit

CONTEST:
Wow! It is still neck and neck between”Tacos del Verano” and “Raw-kin Zucchini Bean Summer Tacos“. I finally closed the poll at midnight on Saturday (7/12/08) and these were the final results:

Looks like it’s still a tie! So I’ve decided to merge the names into:

“Raw-kin” Tacos del Verano

That means Magpie, Erin and Maria R. are the winners! THANK YOU to everyone who participated!!

COOKBOOK:
Speaking of polls, after a week of votes being cast, here are the results:

I was hoping for a landslide victory, but it seems readers are quite divided! With the results being so close, it made my decision even harder to make! However, after a healthy amount pondering and with the suggestion of a reader, I was able to come up with a “compromise.”

I will be releasing a sneak preview mini-cookbook” of 15-20 recipes hand selected by my testers! I am still planning to publish a complete cookbook of over 100 healthy, fat free, whole foods vegan recipes but am happy to wet the whistles of my readers in the meantime. If this goes well, I may release another sneak preview in the fall. My goal is to have the actual cookbook on the shelves this winter.

My testers will be voting this week while I start chatting up local printing presses. A PDF version will also be for sale. I’ll have more updates in a week or two!

Thank you for the constant support!

While visiting a Mexican restaurant recently, I noticed “Potato Tacos” on the menu. Of course they couldn’t make them vegan (premade with cheddar, milk and ranch dressing) so I settled on the mixed veggie taco. I still wanted to try a potato taco, however, so I took a chance and made my own. They’re delicious & easy!

Potato Ranch Tacos - makes 6 burritos and 8-10 crunchy tacos

Ingredients:
2 large brown potatoes, diced small (about 3 cups)
1/2 cup fat free soy milk
1 bunch green onions (8-10 onions)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dry parsley
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
tortillas/sprouted wraps/taco shells

* you can use 2-4 tbsp of vegan ranch in place of the garlic, onion and parsley but reduce soy milk equally

Directions:
1. boil potatoes until tender, then drain
2. transfer to a large bowl, add all other ingredients
3. using a hand mixer, whip until smooth and creamy (a little chunky is okay)
4. serve with corn taco shells or sprouted wheat wraps/tortillas.
5. use chopped lettuce and tomatoes for tacos or steamed zucchini for burritos

For steamed zucchini:
- slice 4 small zucchini’s into 1/4″ rounds (about 4 cups worth)
- thinly slice 1 lemon
- place zucchini rounds in steamer
- place lemon slices on top
- steam 14 minutes
- sprinkle salt and pepper on top

Here is a picture of the ranch potatoes, they’re pretty awesome on their own!

Tags: Fast Meals, Mexican, Potato, Zucchini

I came home from Europe with an unnatural love for vinegar. I’m not really sure how it happened (I never much liked vinegar before I left and now I can’t get enough of it…) Anyway, balsamic vinegar is at the top of my condiments list and when Scott brought two beautiful portobellos home, I knew I’d be happy!

Apologies for the bad photo… but I know my readers prefer a crappy one to none! The photo does no justice! These mushrooms rock!!

Pan-Seared Portobello Mushrooms: serves 1 or 2 as a side

1 shallot, minced (the kind that looks like garlic)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup of water
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp sherry or dry red wine
1 tsp dry thyme
2 tsp dried chives
1/2 tsp dry basil (or handful fresh leaves, chopped)
2 portobello mushrooms, bottoms removed
salt

Directions:
1. saute shallot in water for 1 minute over low heat in a large skillet
2. add garlic and cook for another minute
3. meanwhile, cut mushrooms longwise, 1/2″ pieces and sprinkle with salt
4. add vinegar, sherry or wine, and spices to pan
5. once boiling, add mushrooms
6. try to place mushrooms in a single layer in the skillet
7. after 5 minutes, flip mushrooms over
8. cook another 5 minutes
9. cover and remove from heat, mushrooms will soak up juices and flavors
10. serve

These mushrooms also work great in a sammie!

Tags: Fast Meals, Mushroom

I’m sorry to tease you with a photo of food you can’t make yet, but the winner will get this recipe! It’s the latest dish created for my upcoming cookbook. You can see more photos of cookbook foods by clicking the cookbook tab at top or visiting my flickr page.

For the contest: all you have to do is leave a comment, naming this taco. It’s current name is “summer taco”, which is kinda lame. Have fun!

contest has wrapped! please go vote on a name to help me pick a winner!

Here’s a little info about the taco: its 90% raw, takes 5 minutes to prepare and can be served warm or cold. The main ingredients (as you can probably tell from the photo) are zucc, kidney beans and corn.