The Healthy Vegans

Super Simple Oil Free Brownies

2012-04-23T14:47:00.001-07:00

My mom and I have been trying to perfect a simple quick and easy low fat brownie recipe for some time. Unfortunately, with every attempt using gluten free mixes our oil free brownies would turn out gross and chewy with a very rancid odd taste. Finally, my mother and I came to the conclusion that gluten was the missing ingredient to achieve our ideal brownie texture and taste. That's when Dr. Oetker Organics Organic Brownie Mix came to the rescue! It's a absolutely fabulous organic mix that can be purchased at most Whole Foods or local markets, if you can't find it in your area there's always Amazon!

Dr. Oetker Organics Organic Brownie Mix 1 6 oz. ~ Vanilla soy yogurt
1 tsp. ~Baking powder
1 Tb. ~ Water

*the package calls for ~~1/4 c. butter~~ & ~~two large eggs~~.. GROSS!!!

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heated 350 oven, 325 for a dark shiny metal pan

Mix all ingredients till moistened

Spread into a parchment lined 8x8 pan

Bake for 30-35 mins

Cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar

The Perfect PICNIC PASTA Salad

2012-04-15T11:56:00.002-07:00
If the warm weather has your Facebook invites pop'n with picnic potlucks or you need something to instagram down the throats of your carcass grilling cousin give this perfect picnic pasta salad a closeup.

Assemble the ingredients.

1/2 box of bow tie pasta cooked and drained

3/4 C. uncooked broccoli heads chopped

1 red pepper chopped

1/2 C. hearts of palm chopped

1/2 C. red seedless grapes cut in half or 4ths

1/4 C. chopped red onion

Dressing

1 cup of Fat free Nayonaise

1/3 C. rice vinegar,

2 T sugar ( or to taste )

Salt and pepper to taste.

Almost there, now time to mix!

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate.

No fats to spoil your picnic, best if cold! While the clogged artery carn"ee"vores are struggling to round the bases at your office softball game load up with this carb power and slide into home plate on a bunt.

Finding Healthy Food On the fly! FreeBirds & Tutifrutti

2012-04-09T16:59:00.000-07:00
Kristin and I are often on the go, and finding healthy food or nonpoisonous food has become a lifesaving & life enriching skill set. Eating out is expensive and potentially dangerous. We refer to all food not prepared in our kitchen as "street food". Street Food is unreliable, where its from, what water it was cooked with, cross contamination, undisclosed or misrepresented ingredients are common problems. That being said, one has to eat, especially while traveling or living a busy lifestyle. The more you eat out the more skillful you become at avoiding animal products and oils.

FreeBirds is a nation wide burrito chain. A new one just opened up withing biking distance from us so we decided to give it a try last weekend. They are famous for their super monster burrito... Its intended to be split, but we saw people eating 10lbs of food on their own!!!

The good news is that their corn tortillas, black, pinto, roasted green pepper mix, salsas, do not have any oil, but the rice and wheat tortillas do. We went with two tacos and a hybrid burrito, but the tacos are the way to go. The fillings are the same and you save the fat from the tortilla, which isn't as good as the corn. Additional toppings like lettuce, tomato & jalapenos are available, too.

Overall, I give FreeBirds about two stars. I wouldn't rush out to eat there, but if there is one nearby a healthy meal can definitely be had for $5 (two veggie tacos). I wrote corporate to beg them to remove the oil from their Spanish and white rice blends. If the rice was edible I'd be really excited.

Next to FreeBirds I noticed a TutiFrutti with a large "Soy Bean Ice Cream" sign. Always curious I went inside and asked for the ingredients and they handed me the bag of the mix and it was water, soymilk, sugar, guargum and maltodextrin (something to that effect). It is also no fat according to the label, as well. Not a bad treat for a long bike ride! TutiFrutti's are worldwide so check and see if there is one in your area (over 580 stores as of their blog post). They have other dairy free items, too, but read the ingredients.

Sticking to a healthy diet is difficult in a world full of temptations. Having access to less deadly alternatives in you reach is a wonderful way to stay on course and really enjoy life. Being adventurous isn't easy and w/o setbacks, but keep at it and you'll discover and perhaps create an entire healthy world at your fingertips.

Mary's Healthy Easter Basket Cookies

2012-04-05T00:40:00.001-07:00

With Easter around the corner I wanted to come up with some treats to send my favorite Healthy Vegans. They were passing out this recipe at Whole Foods for Thumbprint Cookies. The original contained a 1/2 cup of oil! Can you imagine pouring a half a cup of oil down your children or grandchildern's mouths??? I can only imagine what the average Easter Basket contains...

Ingredients:
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons of jam
1 cup of pecans (this is an Easter treat! nuts are not every day foods or even every month)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Put pecans and oats into a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground.

Transfer to a large bowl and add flour, apple sauce, syrup and salt. Stir to combine well.

Roll walnut-sized balls of the dough in the palm of your hand to forum each cookie, then arrange on 2 large baking sheets, spacing cookies 2 inches apart.

Press your thumb gently down into the center of each cookie to make an indentation. Spoon a scant teaspoon of jam into each indentation.

Bake cookies until golden brown and just firm around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to let cool completely, then serve immediately or store between layers of waxed paper in an airtight container.

The Green Temple, Redondo Beach

2012-04-02T21:30:00.001-07:00

The Green Temple
1700 South Catalina Avenue # 103
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
310-944-4525

Another episode of healthy eating out with The Healthy Vegans! Funny story, back when I was a fat vegan I walked into Green Temple, looked at the menu (beans, rice, lettuce, etc) and decided it was too healthy for me :) many years later I finally sought to remedy that misguided day and now The Green Temple is my new favorite restaurant!
The Green Temple has that 1970s good karma vibe type of vegetarian restaurant. It has indoor and outdoor seating (I believe you can call ahead and reserve a table, which on a cold windy day might be a good idea). They have heat lamps for their outdoor seating, too.
I started with the vegan soup of the day (no oil!), which was an Italian minestrone. (note the bread contains honey, check the menu and ask)
Savory Wrapped 10-inch organic sprouted wheat tortilla filled with organic rice, organic beans (black turtle or pinto), garden mix vegetables and salsa. Topped with organic tofu sauce. $11.00 $8.50 (Jr. portion) The tofu sauce contains safflower oil, so order with the enchilada sauce instead (its amazing!) I ordered the junior size, which was perfectly filling with the soup.

I'm so sorry Green Temple for missing out on you all these years! It was definitely my loss. The staff is so helpful and kind! You won't find a better vegetarian restaurant.

http://www.greentemple.net/

Menu Hacking : M Street Kitchen

2012-03-25T12:03:00.004-07:00

M Street Kitchen
2000 Main Street | Santa Monica, CA

M Street Kitchen is a newer restaurant in Santa Monica that features organic and farmer's market veggies. "Organic" & "farmers market" veggies are always good key words for a seasoned menu hacker to hone in upon. There is a chance they won't murder you or your veggies. We opted for the veggie tacos and had our server ask the chef if the beans and rice where oil free and if there was a veggie they could steam for us. We ended up with the above feast. Salsa, steamed broccolini, beans, rice, lettuce, tomato and HOT fresh made corn tortillas to wrap them all up in! This all went really well with beer & K tried their house made sangria. Eating out healthy is always possible, chefs don't always have to be instruments of fork and knife assisted suicide.

M Street Kitchen is wildly popular and reservations are wise any night of the week. The atmosphere and service are top notch. If you go w/o a reservation you can always try to sit and order at the bar!

Potato Tacos, because potatoes are way better than meat!

2012-03-21T17:41:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that I'd never had a potato taco until moving to Southern California. Its one thing to minus the meat and cheese from the taco, but thinking of other items to add back in that didn't involve fake meat or fake cheese was leaving our friendly corn tortilla a little lonely.

Down in Laguna Beach The Stand solidified my infatuation with potato tacos. They are easy and almost impossible to mess up! Start out with the simple ingredient list of Red Potatoes, Corn Tortillas, Salsa, Black Beans, Lettuce or Cabbage & Tomatoes.

Boil the red potatoes till tender, place to the side in a large mixing bowl.

Drain & Rinse a can of black beans and place them along with a jar of salsa, into a food processor, mix until smooth.

Pour mixture into the bowl with the potatoes, use a potato masher, mash until desired consistency is achieved.

Garnish with diced tomatoes, lettuce and hot sauce. You can do the shells crispy or soft. For Crispy, carefully fold and put in a toaster (adult supervision required) for soft, layer in moist paper towels and microwave for 20 seconds. Squeeze some lime on top for some added zing.

Design and Roll Sushi U Sushi

2012-03-11T11:23:00.003-07:00
You Design, they roll!! I can't tell you how many Sushi parlors have SCOFFED at my request for custom Veggie rolls. In Japan I had trouble getting even a single cucumber roll. Some sushi chefs treat it as an insult since they've gone to such trouble to get daily uneco rare fresh fish parts via fedex from all parts of the world. U Sushi uses machines, we're not talking quality or art, its the Subway Sandwich of Sushi. Everyone reading this blog knows to skip the fish. The $6 Veggie rolls are huge, more like burritos and you get to choose four veggie fillings, white or brown rice, seaweed or soy paper. With fillings like jalapenos, blanched spinach, cilantro, sprouts, carrot, cucumber, asparagus, pickled radish & mango you can make endless creations.

No, these sushi machines don't replace real sushi artists, but U Sushi is on par with grocery store sushi and you get to pick what's in it! No poking out fatty bits of avocado with your chopsticks any more.

U Sushi
168 S Beverly Dr
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
Neighborhood: Beverly Hills

(310) 777-7655

u-sushi.com

Brown Rice for Breakfast? Nana Rice!!!

2012-03-04T19:42:00.001-08:00

With a simple dash of agave, cinnamon and a few slices of bananas you can transform brown rice into a delicious and filling breakfasty meal. You'll never look at brown rice the same way again!

Directions:
You can find microwave brown rice at most grocery stores, there are usually three bags in a box. Use one bag and microwave for three minutes (per instructions). Divide into two bowls.
-Sweeten with Agave (or Maple Syrup) to taste (cover the top, add more if needed)
-Sprinkle with cinnamon
-Slice a half a banana into each bowl
(serves 2)

Brooks Men's Cascadia 7 Trail Running Shoe

Going Back to the Basics @ Real Food Daily

2012-02-22T20:58:00.000-08:00

Real Food Daily

514 Santa Monica Blvd.

Santa Monica, CA 90401

(310) 451-7544

Hours: 11:30- 10pm Daily

Real Food Daily is one of LA's oldest Vegan establishments and the 1st all VEGAN restaurant Lex & I ever indulged in together. It was still my top place to go up until recently when I found out all my favorite dishes where drowning in OIL :-C Which leaves me to THE BASICS ~~Basic Two 7.95 • Basic Three 9.95 • Basic Four 11.95 • Basic Five 13.95

At first I rebelled against the basics, trying desperately to get something reminiscent of the amazing menu items, such as the beet burger with the works, but an obscene amount of oil in each one (1TBSP+fat from cheese and fried tempeh bacon) led me to rekindle my relationship with the Basics. For under $10 I enjoy greens of the day, beans of the day and grains of the day with bottomless hot sauce :) To liven it up I ask for a side of corn tortillas and make a little healthy taco. You can't beat the quality for the price.

That's steamed Greens, Quinoa and Millet & Black Beans with corn tortillas and a good beer not deliberately hiding behind the hot sauce!

There is also a West Hollywood location (filled with celebs!) and another soon to be open at LAX.

Sometimes simple is perfect!

Romantic Vegan Destination: Hawaii

2012-02-14T12:46:00.000-08:00
Aloha! When we think of tropical paradise Hawaii tops the list in more ways that one. Hawaii is top notch, and a clever traveler can have a vegan beach adventure they will never forget!

We choose Maui and Ohau because they are the most populated islands and have distinct different personalities. Maui, though plagued with traffic, is very clean, relaxed and an island getaway at its best. Oahu, on the other hand is a vibrant city with the tourist trap Waikiki and historical sites such as Pearl Harbor and Iolani Palace. With only one week to get away we split our time between these two stops, but clearly could have used an entire week on each island and never run out of excitement.

Maui - Perfect stay = Kapalua. Kapalua is a small resort city flag shipped by the Ritz Carlton and while rooms run $500/night a smart traveler can stay at Kapalua Villas (and score an ocean front GOLD luxury Villa) for half that ($250) and still enjoy all the amenities of the Ritz PLUS the Kapalua Spa, while sporting a FULL modern kitchen and washer and dryer!

The beaches around Kapalua are among the best on Maui, you can rent equipment to snorkel, surf, kayak, sail etc. The vegan options are literally within walking distance, but you'll need a car (Jeep!) to get around Maui. There really isn't a restaurant in Hawaii where a vegan can't dine. Fresh produce, fruit, rice and tofu are abundant and all cater to the Japanese, who are nearly 20% of the tourist population.

Maui TODO & EATS

Beach & Pool

Get healthy bites to eat
Kapalua Spa - Custom healthy wrap (lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, & olives ..side of lemon juice) with a Chocolate Rice Milk and Banana shake.

Banyon Tree or Kai Sushi Bistro at the Ritz - Veggie Rolls & Edamame

Road to Hana
Take this wonderful drive along an iconic path filled with treasures, such as black and red sand beaches, bamboo forests, waterfalls, fresh water pools and vegan ice cream stands and food trucks. Make sure to hike along the Ohe`o Gulch on the Pipiwai trail to pass through a HUGE bamboo forest and waterfall.
Coconut Glen's Vegan Ice Cream - Maui Must! This guys is CRAZY FUN :D :D

Cafe Romantica - Food Truck- only open 4pm-6pm ..weird! The food truck owner was kinda rude too about it.. like tourist are supposed to know your restaurant is only open for 2hrs per day!!!! I don't think he was down with making us anything oil free anyway :D

Before you begin you stop in Paia where you can grab snack items from Mana Foods the local organic market and deli, or have a sit down vegan lunch at Flatbread or Fresh Mint. Don't forget to grab some vegan Ono gelato, too!
Flatbread - Oil Free sauce cheeseless veggie Flatbread pizza (mushrooms, spinach, fresh tomatoes)

Ono gelato- Dark Chocolate Italian Vegan gelato (filtered water, maui cane sugar, dark chocolate (probably fatty), and coco)

Driving up the Halekala Volcano!
Stop at Down to Earth and grab vegan sandwiches and snacks for your hike at the top. Many people brave the FREEZING temperatures to see the sun rise... or ride down it on bicycles... Enjoy a hike at the top and a nice packed lunch in comfort, instead. Best time to go is in the very early morning (6am) because the clouds usually flow through the crater around late morning (10am). It's about a 2hr drive to the top of the volcano so when you make it to Haleakala National Park Visitors Center make a quick stop for a bathroom break and free brochure.

Down to Earth- Custom Veggie Sandwich and Wrap (lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, carrots, cucumbers, spike and lemon juice)

Alive and Well- Nori Wraps

Lahaina
A good sized port city near Kapalua with the nightlife. On your way you can grab lunch at Choice Health Bar. Lahaina is a bit of a tourist trap with Cheese burger in Paradise and parrot pictures, but its worth a stop for Ono Gelato (entire section is dairy free). Also, at night you can get a custom vegan plate at Pacific O, a nice restaurant right on the sand.

Farmers Deli Cafe- Small store with of okay selection dry goods and produce. The only thing oil free in the deli was the salsa, there was a low-fat chocolate cake but it had oil in it:(

Choice Health Bar- Maui Must!! The restaurant doesn't use oil but they use lots of natural fats.. booo! Since we were on Vacay we indulgence anyway:)

Pacific O - Very romantic restaurant right on the sand!! They custom made us a oil free salad and fabulous steamed veggie plate with tofu, potatoes, beets, carrots, quinoa, & lentil... AMAZING!

Ono Gelato - Mint Pineapple and Apple banana Sorbet

Snorkeling Trips, Helicopter Rides, Catamarans
are all nearby, too. We indulged in these on our first trip to Maui and if you have the time they are definitely exciting.

Transferring to Oahu!

On Hawaiian Air is relatively inexpensive to island hop, with deals under $100. I recommend taking the earliest flight (7:40am) so you arrive on the next island with a full day to play! Waikiki is the place to stay, its a scary jam packed tourist mecca that caters to the insane luxury good spending habits of the Japanese, who have claimed Hawaii as their play ground. There is only one hotel worth the stay and that's The Royal Hawaiian, the pink palace. Its optimal location, chained off beach and lack of riff raff make it the perfect retreat amongst the horror show of Waikiki. We almost bolted when we arrived, but when we changed hotels to the the Royal the pink paint gave our sunglasses the rose colored hues of a perfect vacation. You can rent surf boards, take a canoe surfing ride, learn to stand up paddle, or just drink Mai Tais at the beach bar.

Oahu TODOs & EATs

Pearl Harbor
is the most important site in Oahu, and its FREE, even the parking is FREE and you get a FREE boat ride out to the Arizona memorial. Because its free you have no idea if you'll get tickets for the time slot you arrive at, we lucked out and didn't get there until the last boat at 3:00 and got the last set of tickets. You watch a movie about the bombing and then board the ship. In the area of Pearl Harbor you can visit DownBeat Diner for lunch and vegan shakes in the China Town area (try to get a meter, parking is limited and $5)

DownBeat Diner- We order a rootbeer float w/ soy ice cream (because we were at a diner, of course) Then a custom BLT Sandwich - Dry bread minus fried tempeh bacon and vegenaise + plus mustard & cucumbers.

Iolani Palace
is the only royal palace on US soil. Buy tickets for the tour and enjoy the movie in the room past the ticket office while you wait for your tour to begin to learn the history of Hawaii's royal family and how USA businessmen swindled it away from them and locked the queen in her room for eight months. Its a great audio tour and wonderful insight into Hawaiian history and should not be missed!

Hawaii's Capital Building
is directly behind Iolani Palace and is an amazing work of mid-century modern architecture. There are self guided tours available, read the sign posted near the elevators. You can also sit in on a session of the senate or the house! The entire building reflects many aspects of Hawaii, from the concrete palm trees to volcanic cones that host the representatives, its really amazing!
Peace Cafe, Loving Hut, Down to Earth are all on your way back to Waikiki for amazing vegan meals!

Peace Cafe- Oil- Free Moroccan dish was so fantastic we went back two days in a row to have it! On top are an assortment of pickles.

Down to Earth- Oil- FreeVery Berry Bran Muffins w/ Sugar Cane Juice (sugar cane juice actually has less sugar than bananas, grapes, and apples..haha who knew!)

Drive to the North Shore
to see sea turtles, expert surfers and giant waves and fields of pineapple plants (don't give a $ to Dole Plantation, that place is a trap, just past the Dole you'll see real fields, only take a bathroom break there!) Just as you enter town stop at the Beet Box Cafe for an amazing meal with the local surfers.

Beet Box Cafe- Baby Azul Smoothie (Blueberry, Banana, -minus Flaxseed, agave, and almond milk) with a custom burrito (steamed rice, oil free beans, and mango salsa).

Waikiki

is CROWDED, the beach is CROWDED, the water is CROWDED, you have to fight for a wave, but from your base at the Royal Hawaii in a newly renovated tower room that you got a deal on with your Starwood Points you're feeling transported back decades to before the insane crowds. The sunsets are beautiful, the water is warm all year, its great people watching and the small waves are perfect for surf lessons. Despite the chaos and shopping mecca you'll discover the peacefulness and relaxation.
You can grab wonderful spinach wraps at Mary's Organic across the street for lunch and at night dine on 5 star celebrity chef menus at Nobu and Roy's just next door!

Marie's Health Foods Organic Cafe- Spinach wrap (spinach tortilla w/ homemade organic hummus, organic soft tofu, lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, carrots, spouts) -minus side of peanut sauce +plus lemon juice & fresh salsa. Fresh smoothies w/ soy milk.. those weren't great but the wrap we ate everyday on the beach:)

Nobu Waikiki - you can never go wrong with a little FUN veggie sushi and sake!!! With a creative vegan Oil-Free chocolate tofu surprise.

Roy's Hawaiian - Special Oil Free 3-course Vegan Prix Fix Menu w/ wine pairing..pure perfection!

Diamond Head
is a short hike up a steep concrete path to snap your iconic photo of Waikiki from the rim of an extinct crater! Make sure you have water and comfortable shoes on (no flip flops). Its only .8 mile, but due to the crowds it can take a while. Driving past Diamond head there are look outs (Here to Eternity Beach) where you can see whales breaching and spouting during the winter months. Pop in Whole Foods for lunch, or skip it realizing its the same as on the mainland and go back to Peace Cafe!

Where ever you go in Hawaii you'll have an amazing time!

Roy's Hawaiian Restaurant

2012-02-10T00:11:00.000-08:00

Rad watermelon sushi like salad MARINATED in citrus!

Many people lament that being vegan bars you from enjoying the tastes of other cultures. Let me assure you that aside from Eskimo's all cultures ate mostly vegan until the Western World ruined them with processed foods and animal bits.

I had never heard of Roy's until my trip to Hawaii. I was surprised to find out they have many locations around the USA. I'm pretty sure most of them have vegan options. Although I am not sure if all of them have the Vegan Prix Fix Menu, but its worth asking and just showing them our blog post if not!

We dined at Roy's Waikiki, (state vegan & oil-free restriction with reservation). Let me tell you, Roy's knows how to treat their guests. They fold the napkin when you get up to use the bathroom, bombard your table with an army of servers, refilling your glass, whisking away plates, etc.    I've only encountered the same level of service at a Michelin Five Star restaurant in St. Louis. We went for Kristin's Bday diner with our friends who happened to be a few hotels down from us??? what are the chances!? They also chose the Vegan Prix Fix menu with wine pairing (though not vegans) and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is $57 a person for the Vegan Prix Fix Menu, which included three wines and four dishes ($36 w/o wine) or you can order the dishes separately. Since it was a celebration we went all out.

I could dish about how wonderful the service is at Roys, the waitress was wonderful at communicating with the kitchen and timing all the dishes to perfection. They also brought out a special Happy Bday plate for Kristin! Not even getting into the supreme quality of food, I could gush about how much I enjoyed Roys endlessly! Now to the eats!

Check out this extremely rad watermelon salad! WHAT? Yep, those cubes are watermelon that has been MARINATED in citrus... I could have lined up 100 of them and eaten them all they were so tasty.

For round two we had HOT hearts of palm. Thinly shaved hearts of palm in a searing hot sauce made the speedy water refills all the more appreciated.

The main course were even HOTTER mushrooms w/ a side of Jasmine rice.

Dessert was a soy ice cream in ginger beer float!!! AMAZING!

Roy's you won me over and knocked me out! Everyone there deserves a pat on the back!

Mahalo!

Peace Cafe: Honolulu, Hawaii always has one Oil-Free Option!

2012-02-04T11:24:00.000-08:00
Usually we hack together an oil-free dish at vegan restaurants, on this day we scored big! Other Oil-Free people have paved a nice way for us! We really didn't expect the answer to our question to be met with such a relaxed affirmative, like it was nothing out of the ordinary.

Lex: "Can you recommend anything that would be easy for you to do without any oil?" Peace Cafe: "The Morrocan Lentil is our Oil-Free dish today" Lex: "Do you have a lot of people request oil-free" Peace Cafe: "Yes we have a lot of Oil-Free customers that's why we always have at least one menu item that is prepared with no oil"

This Moroccan dish was so fantastic we went back two days in a row to have it! On top are an assortment of pickles.

Exterior shot, its easy to drive right past it, you need to have ESP and turn just before it so you can park for free in back!
Another photo of the Moroccan dish, brown rice, salad and pickles.
House made ice cream with berry sauce!

Zen interior, reclaimed lumber furnishings.

Peace Cafe
2239 S King St, Honolulu, HI 96826-2346
(808) 951-7555
www.peacecafehawaii.com

Fat Free Pasta Con Broccoli

2012-01-20T14:16:00.000-08:00

This dish takes me back to my childhood in St. Louis and heading out for a family dinner on "The Hill," a famous Italian-American neighborhood with some of the best food on the planet! My sister Jnet and I would always get the same thing every time ..PASTA CON BROCCOLI, of course! Unfortunately, all those years of pounding fatty artery clogging oily pasta did takes it's toll in my early 20's when I was overweight and sick...not to mention dateless, too. WAIT!! I do remember one date to "The Hill", my girlfriend tagged along that evening as a third wheel and my date ended up leaving with her!! Which left me soaking up my tears in oily pasta wondering why boys could just like me for my sparkling personality ;(

Luckily those days long gone as a Healthy Vegan, but my craving for yummy carb loaded pasta is soooo NOT! I've been trying for years to create a Fat Free Pasta Con Broccoli, then finally it hit me... ADD BEANS!!   Either white or black will do the trick in achieving that cheesy like texture I oh so miss.

Pasta Con Broccoli Ingredients

16oz (1lb) - Cavatelli noddles

2 1/2 C. - Fat Free Pasta Sauce

1 Can - Black or White Beans

1 TSP - Brown Sugar

1 TSP - Dried Basil

1/4 TSP- Crush Red Chili Peppers

1/2 C. - Frozen Spinach

2 C. - Frozen Broccoli

Bean Marinara

Preparation: Put beans, red sauce, basil, brown sugar, and chili peppers in a blender or food processor and combined.

Pour bean marinara into a sauce pot over Med-Low heat. Add spinach and broccoli. Heat for about 10 mins. until warm.

Cavatelli Pasta Noddles

Preparation: Bring 5 qts. of water to a boil. Add a pinch of sea salt and stir pasta. Boil 10-12 minutes or to desited tenderness. Drain pasta in colander, and mix in a large bowl with bean marinara.

Velvety Carrot Soup...Jazzy Vegetarian style :)

2012-01-18T18:28:00.000-08:00

My good friend Becky gifted me this pretty amazing signed cookbook by The Jazzy Vegetarian.
The recipes are very simple with few ingredients and fortunately most of them are low fat / oil free!! I promised Becky the first thing in the cookbook I would make was the Rigatoni with Lettuce Sauce but Lex wouldn't have anything to do with it..haha!! I know the thought of "Lettuce Sauce" sounds gross but I was actually excited to try it, minus the oil of course:)

VELVETY CARROT SOUP INGREDIENTS

5 large carrots, peeled & coarsely chopped

3 med white potatoes, peeled & coarsely chopped

1 1/2 C unsweetened nondairy milk

1 1/2 C Veggie broth (don't use low sodium, made my too bland)

1 TSP Brown Sugar

1 TSP Italian Seasonings

1/2 TSP reduced sodium tamari

Sea Salt & Pepper to taste

2 TBP chopped fresh parley, garnish

Steam the carrots and potatoes until soft but not mushy, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the nondairy milk, broth, brown sugar, Italian seasoning, and tamari and stir to combine.

Put half the mixture in a blender and process until smooth. Pour into a soup pot. Repeat with remaining mixture, then stir the two batches together. Put the pot over medium-low heat and simmer, stirring often until heated through, about 10 minutes, adding more broth and nondariy milk if needed.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

How to eat Healthy Vegan at a Chinese Restaurant

2012-01-11T20:04:00.000-08:00
If you can't find a Chinese restaurant you are likely in outer space, but don't expect that to be a valid excuse for long because the Chinese are planning a space station and moon & mars colonization.

Eating at a Chinese restaurant couldn't be easier aside from 99% of the menu is crap. To adapt to the American/Western customer they took up FRYING EVERYTHING, they'll even deep fry and then stir fry... Not to worry, a steamed bowl of rice, rice noodles, steamed veggies, soy sauce, orange sauce, and sweet and sour sauce can always be procured with no oil! Occasionally you'll even find a steam bun, which are delectable!

Chinese are especially accommodating and are happy to eliminate anything from a dish because it costs $. If I don't eat my mushroom, they'll say "next time say no mushrooms" It all adds up and with billions of mouths to feed waste not want not!

Here are some pics from our recent outing to Vegetable Delight in Grenada Hills, CA.

Steamed Buns! These are one of my favorite foods in the entire world. They are oil free, low fat, just a mixed veggie slaw (or sometimes beans) wrapped in a light flour bun and steamed to perfection! (make sure the stuff on the inside is oil-free, too!)

This is our goto Chinese Restaurant dish. We eat rice all the time so rice and veggies isn't anything worth going out for, but when you get a rice noodle and veggies combined with an Orange Sauce (also oil-free) then you're talking! You can get this made for you at ANY Chinese restaurant in the world (that is not a chain). Its easy to do at home, as well.

WHAT IS THAT??? It looks like a cake? Yep! This was a TOTAL SCORE! Its an OIL-FREE Green TEA ADUKI Bean cake! The fat is Tofu, which we normally don't eat too much of, but this was pure heaven!

Check out the awesome ingredients for yourself! These are made by a Japanese chef who frequents this Chinese restaurant - go figure?!

Typical Chinese Restaurant interior... don't be afraid, but sit as far away from the kitchen as possible or you'll smell like grease.

Pita Jungle, a healthy vegan oasis

2012-01-03T22:22:00.000-08:00

We first discovered Pita Jungle on a road trip in Flagstaff Arizona where we stopped to fix a flat tire! Now we have one in California, albeit on the other side of town in Pasadena. We are members of Huntington Garden and took our family to see the surreal succulent garden over the holidays and stopped in old town Pasadena to fuel back up at the new Pita Jungle.

I tried a new dish, the Macro Plate, which was smashingly healthy!   Beans, steamed veg & rice, HUGE plate, enough for two! Add hot sauce, soy sauce, sirracha to bang it up!

The garden wrap! Next time I'll ask for it w/o foil! (haha in addition to no oil!) Its probably easier on them to request steamed veggies, rice and beans in a wrap to avoid them getting sauteed by ordering this one.

Healthy Vegan Jeanette enjoyed the 1000 beans (which is a bean pita pizza, my personal fav)

Another pic of the Marco! It was totally awesome. Ask for it w/o Tofu, though!

Let me add to how awesome Pita Jungle is in the way they handled the mix up in the Garden Wrap and made it with oil, we kindly requested a new one, not only did they make a new one, they didn't charge us for it and comped my meal, too! That is INSANELY nice. I tried to explain that was beyond what we needed and we love Pita Jungle and are just happy they are willing to make oil free items for us and we're sorry food was wasted. They strive for perfection and customer satisfaction! Rare GEM of a place! For everyone who is stressed about asking for "no oil" go here!

Don't poison yourself with a New Year Cleanse!

2012-01-02T20:26:00.000-08:00

I'm sure everyone has heard about cleansing and many people want to start the New Year with a cleanse thinking foolishly that they'll shed unwanted pounds from holiday overeating or remove toxins from too much partying.   Cleanses are poisonous unhelpful injuries to our bodies. Our bodies work perfectly to cleanse themselves all of the time, they do not need any help. In order to restore health and balance to our lives we need to discontinue poisoning ourselves with a toxic high fat, high protein diet that humans in recorded history have never lived on.

Let your body do the cleansing it has evolved to do by eating the foods we have adapted to over millions of years. Follow a whole food, plant based diet centered on the starchy fuels of civilization = rice, potatoes, maize, millet, yams, grains of all kinds. Fruits and vegetables are simply condiments of flavor to a starch centered diet.

There are no short cuts to health, only hucksters bent on getting your money by offering you snake oils in the forms of supplements and cleanses at your financial and physical expense. Starving yourself will only result in a toxic body hungry to add on more famine reserves (weight).

Eat until you are full on the Healthy Vegan diet and be amazed as you shed the weight nature never intended you to have and enjoy restored health and well being from simply eating the food nature intended. Its a miracle...

Happy Vegan New Year!

2012-01-02T12:45:00.000-08:00

Its tough enough to figure out what to do on New Years Eve, much less what to eat? We had Jeanette in town for NYE (a fellow healthy vegan & Pinterest healthy vegan promoter) and pulled up trusty old Nobu Restaurant out of a hat to appease her unhealthy date for the evening and us at the same time.

Nobu is a Japanese restaurant with many locations around the world. Its pricey, but a once a year splurge (especially when the guilt stricken meat eater grabbed the tab!) on a night when everyone wants to do something fancy it hits the spot. The waiters are extremely attentive and you don't even have to order, just tell them your restrictions and they'll come up with a course of dishes.

We, of course, started with Edamame! The first item to come was a fabulous thinly sliced Persian cucumber salad w/ a tangy oil free dressing.

The second item to come up was white asparagus in a yuzu sauce (citrus) with chili pepper that made it a bit too spicy for some at the table.

The next round was divine, roasted eggplant in lettuce leafs. They were so juicy & savory I could have eaten the entire plate myself.

A marinated and roasted heirloom tomato sliced like an apple made for a very interesting and different dish. I never thought of a tomato as the centerpiece of a dish! It was enjoyable. (Healthy Vegans will notice there are a few oil droplets in the surrounding sauce, but non got on the tomato!)

Our final dish, which we were all too stuffed to even finish was a hotplate roasted mushroom medley.

Happy New Year everyone and as this post should attest, you can be a Healthy Vegan anywhere and everywhere! Join us in 2012 to look your best, the way nature intended you to be!

Vegan Christmas Dinner from Stuff I Eat

2011-12-26T09:48:00.001-08:00
With family in town, construction still underway, we hardly have time to inflate a blow up bed much less find holiday recipes, shop, test them out, cook it all up while preparing for and then entertaining out-of-towners! We have been turning to Stuff I Eat's holiday meals for the last year. Two ThanksLivings and one Christmas. If you aren't lucky enough to live within driving distance of this Inglewood, CA vegan restaurant then definitely check HappyCow.net for vegan restaurants in your area that might offer special holiday take out meals!

Stuff I Eat is incredibly special and the best vegan restaurant in Los Angeles. For Christmas they had a healthy vegan selection of black eyed peas, quinoa stuffing, collard greens, BBQ Tofu, sweet potatoes, mushroom gravy and a corn salad along with an amazing selection of salad dressings. The dessert was a banana coconut mouse that was simply divine! All prepared with no oil! These delectable dishes were extremely satisfying and you can serve them to any non vegan to rave reviews!

GIVE the GIFT of HEALTH!

2011-12-19T13:44:00.001-08:00

The Healthy Vegans Gift Baskets

What to get your boss, grandparents, or inlaws?? ..well a Healthy Vegan Gift Basket, OF COURSE =)

IN THE BASKET:

Shadey Farms Maple Butter ..A MUST

Ginger People Ginger Spread

King Leo Soft Peppermint Sticks

Cranberry Mimosa Showers Gel

Poinsettia Soap

Trader Joe's Old Fashion Sweet Sticks

Trader Joe's Green Mangoes

Trader Joe's Fat Free Carmel Popcorn

Trader Joe's Chili Spiced Mangoes

Trader Joe's Old Fashion Holiday Candies

Whole Food's Holiday Lip Trio

* Also, Check out Whole Foods Market Mighty Bowls of Goodness Gift Box
this Year, the looks fantastic!! ...got this for my DAD :)

Santa's Fat-Free Sugar Chistmas Cookies

2011-12-09T09:48:00.000-08:00
I know another sugary treat post! This one is special I promise! After many many tries at perfecting the fat-free cookie we have finally NAILED IT! These are so good you'd swear there was a half a cup of butter in them. Kristin ate the soy yogurt I bought to test as a fat replacement so I scrounged around the kitchen for anything else and found some pumpkin maple butter (just pumpkin puree and sugar) and Ginger Spread. Best sugar cookies you'll ever have!

Here's the ingredient round up.
Pure Pantry Sugar Cookie Mix(Gluten/dairy/soy/nut free)
Stonewall Kitchen Maple Pumpkin Butter
Ginger People Ginger Spread
India Tree Natural Food Coloring
India Tree colored sugar sprinkles
Shadey Farms Maple Butter
Festive Cookie Cutters
Fancy Baking mat

Maple Butter works insanely well for icing. A few drops of food coloring and you're in business.

I put the new pistachio KitchenAid Mixer to work. (not supposed to have opened this until Xmas! Good thing my mom never reads our blog :(

Reserve about a 1/2 cup of the mix to flour your rolling surface.
All you need to do is add about half of the pumpkin butter and tablespoon of the ginger jelly (optional) and mix until a dough. You might need to add a few tablespoons of rice milk or water so the dough picks up all the sugar. Just eyeball the pumpkin butter, adding more as needed. The mix calls for 1/2 cup of butter so that amount of pumpkin butter is what we're aiming for.

Roll it out using the 1/2 cup of mix you reserved! Its STICKY so flour your surface well.

Cut out your shapes and transfer to your parchment paper lined baking tray.

Bake at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes or until they start to brown on top.

Stir up your icing and spread it on and add sprinkles.

Amaze everyone! They are VEGAN - FAT FREE - SOY FREE - GLUTEN FREE - NUT FREE - and simply the best Xmas cookies I've ever had or made!

OIL FREE Sugar Cookies!

2011-12-05T09:47:00.000-08:00
These Christmas Sugar Cookies are a fantastic alternative to the traditional fatty artery clogging butter / eggs filled ones...NO THANKS! I'm keeping my Heart Healthy this xmas while having a fun time indulging in these vegan oil free treats.... heck I might be the only person who loses weight this holiday!! lol. My daughter Jeanette did not care for the added orange flavor but I thought they added a little kick to the traditional sugar cookie. I would of liked to rolled them out into Christmas shapes but unfortunately they were too sticky to do so, I'm going to work on that for next time:)

1 box of Cherrybrook Kitchen Sugar Cookie Mix

4 oz. of applesauce

1/4 cup of soy, rice or almond milk

OPTIONAL: You may add a tablespoon of fresh orange juice and 1 teas. of orange rind. Decrease the milk by 1 tablespoon .

Stir all ingredients together, batter will be thick.
Roll cookies into 1 inch balls and place them onto an ungreased baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 8-10 minutes or until a light golden brown.

Let cool 1 minute and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Icing: 1 cup of powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of rice, almond or soy milk, and 1/4 teas. of vanilla.

Stir till smooth and add food coloring if desired.

Drizzle on warm cookies. Enjoy!

Fat Free & Gluten Free Vegan Carrot Cake ...yum a lum lum!!!

2011-12-02T11:46:00.000-08:00

Simply Organic Carrot Cake is SIMPLY DIVINE!!! I ran across Simply Organic's cake mixes in whole food yesterday and noticed almost each mix comes with a "Alternate Vegan Recipe" on the box that just happens to be Oil Free!! Therefore, last night Lex and I couldn't help but guiltlessly indulge in a couple slices while trimming our xmas tree.

You Will Need:

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 350 F. Use a non stick or parchment paper (NO GREASE ewww) in a round cake pan. Empty Carrot Cake Mix into mixing bowl. Add apple sauce, water, and carrots. Stir just until mixture is evenly moist.
Pour into cake pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until center tests done with a toothpic. Let cool on rack for 10 minutes.
Place on a severing plate. Spread Maple Butter and shredded carrots for decoration.

Shady Maple Farm's Maple Butter is PURE HEAVEN!! It's a MUST buy this holiday season for the absolute perfect stocking stuffer or hostess gift. It's so fantastic that I just ordered a 8- pack from Amazon to wrap up for everyone on my list this year!! Sshhh… it's a supprise:D

Fat Free Christmas Cookies

2011-12-01T19:31:00.000-08:00

The Trader Joes fat free, gluten free, vegan brownie mix has been a favorite of The Healthy Vegans recently. If you don't have a TJ's in your area you can get the premium label from Namaste Foods Brownie Mix on Amazon or Whole Foods.

The holidays are a difficult time to be a healthy vegan with colleagues and family members bringing Xmas cookie cheer all too near! I played around with the brownie mix and some old family recipes to create these fat-free vegan (minus the C&H sugar / there are powdered sugars which are not bone char processed, Mary won't be buying this brand any more) holiday cookies. By dividing the brownie mix in half I was able to create two holiday cookies. A pretzel candy cane & cherry powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Peppermint Pretzel Chocolate Crunch Holiday Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

Trader Joe's gluten free brownie baking mix (or Namaste Mix)
4 oz. applesauce
1 teasp. baking powder
1/4 cup of water
3/4 cup of broken fat free pretzel sticks
3/4 cup of crushed peppermint

Mix till batter is moist. It will be thick, divide batter in half in two separate bowls for each type of cookie.

Add 3/4 cup fat free pretzel sticks ( I broke them into 5 pieces by hand). Mix into batter.

Place by heaping teas. 2 inches apart onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes or until firm.

To crush peppermint, place in a zip lock bag

... hammer away:)

Remove from oven and while warm put the crushed peppermint on top, press down slightly. Let cookies cool for 10 minutes on cookie sheet and the transfer to cooling rack.

Chewy Chocolate Cherry Fat Free Vegan Christmas Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

Trader Joe's gluten free brownie baking mix
4 oz. applesauce
1 teasp. baking powder
1/4 cup of water
1/4 cup of chopped Trader Joe's dark Morello cherries

mix till batter is moist. will be thick, divide batter in half in two separate bowls.

You will need 3/4 cup of broken fat free pretzel sticks and crushed peppermint for the crunch recipe and 1/4 cup of chopped Trader Joe's dark Morello cherries for the cherry recipe.

In the other 1/2 of dough add 1/4 cup of chopped Trader Joe's dark Morello cherries

stir in gently and place by tablespoon on cookie sheet, covered with parchment paper, 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes. Sprinke with powdered sugar while still warm. Transfer to cooling rack.