tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34009356206470257442026-04-09T06:34:37.637-04:00One of the hardest parts of being a new vegan (or even a seasoned vegan) is trying to keep up with all the new products out there. I must have spent over $50 looking for the right vegan cheese my first year being a vegan and own over 150 vegan/vegetarian cookbooks but not all the recipes are the greatest. Myself (The Vegan Guinea Pig) and my toddler daughter (Lil' Guinea Pig) will happily taste, try on, and try out nearly anything vegan and bring our reviews to you.Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.comBlogger270125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-15917453429286740032013-12-20T09:25:00.000-05:002013-12-20T09:25:50.913-05:00

Well, bacon seitan that is. It must be a Christmas miracle because I have not liked one brand of faux bacon that has passed my lips in my life and I've been experimenting with faux bacon's since the late 80s/early 90s. Oh yeah, I'm that old. And yep, faux meats did exist way back in the stone ages when I was a little kid. Ok really, I'm only 33 but something about not eating pork since the

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-55637139556516185782013-10-24T13:00:00.000-04:002013-10-24T13:00:06.053-04:00

I'm generally not a fan of the vegan police. Nonetheless they pop up everywhere, testing your "veganess" and appointing themselves the judge and jury to decide whether or not you are vegan enough. They irk me in every way. I personally don't believe this form of zealous behavior does anything to help animals. By demanding companies remove the Hydroxpropyltrimonium Hydrolyzed Keratin does this

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-2385429258255426112013-10-17T14:16:00.000-04:002013-10-17T14:16:00.268-04:00

As a vegan mom I get asked constantly if my daughter is vegan or if I'm raising her vegan. I always answer proudly yes! I know many vegan mom's get bombarded with the "so, is that healthy" question but thankfully, being a pediatric dietitian has it perks in that not too many people ask me silly questions when it comes to my child's health. Although I do get the occasional "where do she get her

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-54671635313711813602013-10-10T14:08:00.000-04:002013-10-10T14:08:00.122-04:00

So...I thought with my post about the Shea Moisture line of products that I was coming out as a full blown hippie. But as it turns out, there is a lot more where that came from! So I'm an "extended" breastfeeding, cloth-diapering, cloth wipes, oil instead of lotion, gardening, pesticide free, natural hair kinda girl. I admit to all of that. But somehow I thought all these things made me

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-77027281158099857572013-10-03T13:43:00.000-04:002013-10-03T13:43:00.224-04:00

Social media has helped me learn one important thing about myself, I'm an emotional eater and my food of choice is sweets. I realized that at one point nearly everyone of my tweets and Facebook post had something to do with a cupcake, cookie or confection of some sort. In all fairness I have been pregnant and/or nursing for the better part of 3 years now and burning calories like a

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-79958701961401896222013-09-26T13:19:00.000-04:002013-09-26T13:19:21.031-04:00

The Whole Foods in my neighborhood is like Costco on Sunday's. If you've never been to a Costco on a Sunday afternoon it is aisle after aisle after aisle of free samples. My Whole Foods is like this at least 3 days out of any given week. Heck, they even used to have a DJ on Saturday's to really get the food party going. I don't allow my daughter to have many sweets. A cookie a quarter and

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-85453617419505075102013-09-11T17:45:00.002-04:002013-09-11T17:45:48.962-04:00

When I started this blog I was a single gal with a coupe dogs, a couple goats and a new cookbook on the horizon. Since then my life has changed immensely! I have three cookbooks under my belt, got my Master's in Nutrition, am now a registered dietitian and lactation consultant but most importantly I'm now a mother to a happy, energetic, opinionated little vegan girl. As I sat and discussed

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-3772550336912819292013-08-19T12:00:00.000-04:002013-08-19T12:00:00.718-04:00

I've been undertaking the very risky task of experimenting with new recipes while feeding a toddler. As any parent knows this is a risky proposition. Come to think of it, testing out new recipes is a risky proposition for anyone! If the recipe is a total disaster then you're left trying to figure out what's for dinner with very little time to spare. In my pre-mommy days I would just go grab some

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-53081899397935144342013-08-13T21:58:00.001-04:002013-08-13T21:58:56.014-04:00

When author Brian Patton aka The Sexy Vegan began dating his soon-to-be wife, he offered to entertain her with Friday night Happy Hours at her apartment or his. After a long workweek, she was ready to kick back and enjoy a cocktail or glass of wine, and it was the perfect way to enjoy summer evenings. After a couple weeks, these evenings weren’t just for two because her friends

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-57239271485868771382013-07-29T18:13:00.002-04:002013-07-29T18:13:37.090-04:00

So here we are, week 5 of the $50 a week grocery experiment. The past 4 weeks have been an incredible learning experience for me. They have taught me discipline, helped me become a better and more creative cook and made me organize myself in a way that I had not really done before. Although this was intended to only be an experiment for the month of July I have decided that I will continue

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-72122362347408157762013-07-23T21:51:00.000-04:002013-07-23T21:51:48.717-04:00

Week 4 is here!!!! I have to admit, the level of planning and preparation it takes to go to the grocery store these days is starting to wear on me. I always thought I planned out my meals ahead of time and stuck to my list but in reality I made a very rough plan of the meals I wanted to eat, never based on what was actually already in my pantry and I never stuck to my list. Now I find myself

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-85825150276966657792013-07-15T21:45:00.001-04:002013-07-15T21:45:49.506-04:00

Week 3 - the week that almost broke me! As I looked my shopping list up and down this week I could tell this was going to be a tough one. Before I even started shopping for the stuff we needed to make this week's meals I had to replenish my stock of some big ticket items like Vegan Worcestershire sauce, soy flour, earth balance margarine and extra virgin olive oil . Even though I hadn't

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-54577001181838573662013-07-08T11:30:00.000-04:002013-07-08T11:30:01.104-04:00

So here we are at week 2! Week 1 was a success, I spent less than $26 on groceries and every meal was a slam dunk with the family. In order to keep the budget in check my goal was to make as much "from scratch" and homemade as possible so preparing meals definitely took more time than usual but the evidence of my hard work was in the flavors. I was originally stumped on what I would be

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-43311281024025003772013-06-30T21:58:00.000-04:002013-07-07T22:25:43.782-04:00

Sunday is grocery shopping day. Every Sunday morning I wake up and the first thing on my mind is "what are we going to eat this week?" When it comes to buying food I have very little restraint. I come from a long line of food hoarders. Well, maybe hoarding is a strong word. Let's just say if the zombie apocalypse comes I'll be just fine living off the food in my house for a couple months. Sure,

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-74452349449886011742013-06-15T22:59:00.000-04:002013-06-15T22:59:18.292-04:00

A little over 4 years ago I saw a flyer for the 1st annual Atlanta Vegan Bake Sale. The flyer was fun, creative and above all unique. Coincidentally, I was looking for someone to design my first website for my first cookbook Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food. And so I sought out the graphic designer behind the flyer I'd seen. As it turns out that designer was Steph Timms and the icing on the cake

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-16853485478461223472013-05-28T12:00:00.000-04:002013-07-07T22:25:55.229-04:00

I'm going to be frank with you, this post contains frankincense and myrrh and lots of hippie references. I like to keep it as natural a possible. I mean, not too natural, I do wear deodorant and shave my legs - but my deodorant is that aluminum free hippie stuff with tree liken and I use alba natural skin cream instead of shaving cream - it's all about compromise right?

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-2077380779113731912013-05-08T09:00:00.000-04:002013-05-08T09:00:06.618-04:00

I might be stretching the truth a little by claiming that the mother of all green juices is world famous. I can not confirm if they are hip to the green juice craze Zimbabwe or the Amazon but I'm pretty sure, no matter where in the world you live if you tasted this you would agree that if it isn't world famous it sure as heck should be. The first time I had green lemonade was at

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-79002976034184278442013-05-01T09:00:00.000-04:002013-05-01T09:00:12.867-04:00

So you've read the review of Superfood Smoothies but you just aren't sure you're going to love it? Try these  two sweet yet healthy treats and you'll be diving, mouth first, into this book! Mint Chip Tucked beneath a very convincing ice cream-like flavor, a wealth of beneficial spinach awaits you in this smoothie. It’s so good it almost makes a person wonder why spinach isn’t

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-1973729543171202202013-04-29T09:00:00.000-04:002013-04-29T10:26:38.451-04:00

I have a strong aversion to the word “Superfood”. As a dietitian, I think of all fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains as super food. They are all rich in vitamins, minerals, phytochemical/phytonutrients, fiber, and the right balance of all the essential components your body needs. But it seems the term “superfood” has become a part of the American vocabulary and although I

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-22872567504850439852013-04-22T12:00:00.000-04:002013-04-26T21:09:38.607-04:00

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Juice Fasting lives up to it's name. The book holds your hand through the juicing process, starting you out with sweet fruit juice combinations and then taking you to the major league of juicing with savory combinations that include everything from tomatoes to wheatgrass - it really doesn't get more major league than wheatgrass. Here are three recipes from the

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-83084310726798168532013-04-18T21:22:00.000-04:002013-04-26T21:09:38.611-04:00

Many many moons ago, back when I was a newbie vegan I was into green juice in a major way. In fact, I went vegan during my first 7-day juice fast. The leader of the class, Arden Zinn, is actually the reason I am vegan. For years I was all about the green juice and vegetable juices of all kinds. I did three subsequent juice fast one lasting 14-days the other two lasting 30-days a piece.

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-60476879175527508002013-04-04T13:06:00.000-04:002013-05-10T12:56:36.568-04:00

The first time I heard about Vegan Cuts was through an email I received from them about trying out Brooklyn Dark Chocolate. If you haven't read the review yet, let me just summarize it by saying if my house was on fire I would grab my daughter, my dog, and then this chocolate (in that order). Oh...and then I would probably call the fire department. Thankfully, my house is standing lovely in one

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-72986536519819805572013-03-26T12:11:00.000-04:002013-03-26T12:11:00.279-04:00

This Unfish Sandwich  from Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day! by Celine Steen and Tami Noyes is crisp yet moist and topped with a delightfully tangy tartar sauce made with a miso dressing base. You get 3 for one with this recipe. The miso dressing is great on salads and the Unfish are great little fish sticks if you don't want to make the whole sandwich. MISO DRESSING4 ounces (113 g)

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-7916212291791052442013-03-25T11:56:00.001-04:002013-03-25T11:56:25.551-04:00

 Making a sandwich isn't exactly rocket science. If you are reading this and you happen to be a rocket scientist then making a sandwich isn't exactly brain surgery. If you're reading this and you're a brain surgeon this get back to work! You have lives to save! But back to the matter at hand, sandwiches. I rarely hear anyone say "boy, I'm looking for a new way to liven up my sandwich. Most

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3400935620647025744.post-21882438002701930452013-02-12T11:00:00.000-05:002013-02-12T11:00:08.242-05:00

There are a few essentials that every new vegan needs to ensure a long, happy, vegan life: a few great, reliable cookbooks they can turn to when they just can't think of what to make next, a strong conviction in why they have made the choice to go vegan and the right tools to ensure they can answer the onslaught of questions you will receive for the rest of your life like "where do you

Alicia (Vegan Guinea Pig)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04214442455629366047noreply@blogger.com1