Vegan Food Porn September 25, 2016

Its been a while guys! I have a youtube now so I have been doing a lot with that. Here is some food porn for you! Some is home made. Others are from Natural Cafe, Linnaeas Cafe in SLO and also Bliss Cafe in SLO. Enjoy!!

Pita and Hummus. Nom Nom Nom. 

Gluten free, coconut vegan donut and sand which from Bliss. 

Delicious pastry, almond latte and soup from Linnaea's Cafe in SLO. 

Delicious vegan wrap from 6 degrees in Orcutt :) 

Home made tofu/vegan ramen! 

Pesto pasta and vegan cookies from Linnaea's Cafe in San Luis Obispo. 

Adapted vegan "eggs" on toast with chickpeas in place of eggs and avocado and pico de gallo from 6 degrees cafe in Orcutt. Pricey but worth it! 

vegan tortilla soup, salad and vegan pizza from Natural Cafe! in Santa Maria, Ca.

Veggie Grill Veggie Grill Veggie Grill!!

Vegan chicken patty and fries yum!

Sweetheart fries with vegan chipotle ranch.

Vegan cheeseburger and yukon gold fries! 

New Starbucks pink drink review! and quick easy dinner

    When I saw all the hype about the new Starbucks pink drink I wasn't so convinced until I tried it for myself. I had just finished a tattoo session on my Nightmare Before Christmas tattoo sleeve so I was pretty parched. I wanted something that would quench my thirst but also raise my blood sugar a bit so I decided to try the pink drink. It was so incredibly delicious!! I went back for another one in a bigger size the next day. I have to admit I am not a fan of coconut milk in coffee unless it is a mocha or something a bit more bitter because in a latte the tastes clash quite a bit but I loooved the pink drink. The acai berries perfectly balanced out the coconut and made it not overly coconutty if you know what I mean. Plus it is just such a pretty drink. I looove the strawberries and all the flavor they bring. The coconut makes the drink so creamy. It is like drinking a pastel dream filled with my little ponies haha.  I loved it so much and I have definitely found my new go to summer drink and possibly even fall :)

        The next day I decided to make myself a quick meal. I am waiting for my tattoo to heal the next week or so and I like to make simple things when I'm healing that do not require too much preparation. I found this new Amy's vegan mac n cheese over at Safeway and decided to try it. I think it was good but next time I'd like to put some nutritional yeast flakes on. I thought it was very good and definitely creamy. I also paired it with some organic frozen peas which I cooked up quickly and some gardein, breaded nuggets. They were delicious! I definitely recommend. I am looking forward to making yummy vegan burgers for 4th of July and having some corn on the cob.

Vegan sliders and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies!

The other day I made delicious vegan sliders from Gardein. Yum Yum and I sliced some tomatoes and avocados on the side (not pictured) Later I made vegan chocolate chip peanut butter cookies from a great recipe I found online. Here is the recipe if you are interested :D Vegan Cookies

Vegan comfort food: Grilled cheese

Whenever I am feeling down I make myself vegan hot chocolate with some dandies marshmallows or a vegan grilled cheese. I love melty vegan cheeses like Daiya or Chao slices. Sometimes I will have a non dairy tomato soup which I make creamer with almond milk or soy and sometimes I just make a small spinach or mixed leaf salad on the side. 

Vegan Pizza!

We all love pizza? who doesn't like some vegan comfort/junk food. There are several awesome vegan pizza places but if you find yourself not able to find a vegan place don't despair. You can always call and check if the dough is vegan and if it is you can order a vegan pizza. I know Dominos and others have vegan options and if you have extra time and would rather stay home and make a pizza here is a great recipe by Minimalist baker Favorite Vegan Pizza I personally love getting together with friends and making a pizza but sometimes I order out. 

Here is a list of helpful article to find vegan pizza: 

Peta article : Pizza Places with vegan options

A rad place in the Bay Area if you ever travel there is Plant Based Pizza based in San Jose. It has such delicious pizza. My friend turned me onto this place. Here is the link: Plant Based Pizza  At places like Silicon Valley or Portland ,Oregon and Seattle and L.A there are always awesome vegan options but if you live somewhere where they don't have many options, like I said you can always order out. If you don't know what to ask for here is a helpful guide: How to order vegan pizza

Vegan Lunch ideas

Home made carrot soup. Open face hummus sandwich with veggies. 

One of the soups I make is an easy carrot/onion and veg broth soup. I boil, dry, puree and voila! 

Another really great idea is this chick pea/spinach and yam burrito. I saw this made on youtube on vegan geezer's vlog. It looked so good. The only thing I do different is I put a bit of lemon and a dash of garlic powder inside. You can pair with steamed carrots or broccoli. 

Vegan quesadillas with radish salad on the side. Take one flour tortilla and some of your favorite melty vegan cheese and place in pan, while that is heating up, warm a can of beans. Slice some avocado and a tomato to put on side. Place salsa on the side. Grab some leafy greens and one radish sliced thinly and sprinkle and toss with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 

Happy St. Pattys!! Vegan style

Today for St. Patty's we made traditional Irish colcannon but we made ours with earth balance and paired it with more veggies and vegan sausage. We made a vegan gravy with veggie broth. (make sure if you use veggie cubes you get the kind without any msg or additives) 

After my Irish feast I had some vegan vanilla ice cream topped with vegan cookies and organic blueberries. Yum Yum Yum

I always make a snack plate when I am extra hungry. I either the same salad every night with olive oil and vinegar or I make a simple veggie plate with baby carrots, cut up cucumbers and rice crackers. I always add a dollop of hummus for some protein or some vegan cheese slices. 

Veggie Grill meal and Yogurt bowl

For breakfast I topped some coconut yogurt with organic berries and some flax seed. 

For lunch I had the fresh little salad and vegan nachos from Veggie Grill. 

Vegan meatball sub recipe and dessert

For these: I used vegan meatballs I found at store. We pan fried with olive oil some mushrooms, 1 zucchini chopped, 1/2 a yellow onion chopped and some garlic. Sprinkled with garlic powder and olive oil. Heated a bit of marinara and poured it over toasted whole grain buns. You can use vegan cheese to sprinkle on the top if you like but it is not needed. 

I don't always have dessert unless it is berries but if I wan't some junk food I head to my local Whole Foods or Trader Joes for some vegan cookies and some soy or almond milk ice cream. I topped it with some flax seed and placed a chocolate chip cookie with walnuts inside. Sooo good! 

Compassionate Thanksgiving

I hope you all had a compassionate Thanksgiving free of cruelty :D I know I did! I found this delicious chick pea and green bean dish and some vegan mushroom turn overs on Monamifrost's youtube channel and made that my main dish and we made mushroom gravy plus stuffing and had some root vegetables. Delicious!

More vegan comfort food!

Mmmm nothing beats a warm, vegan grilled cheese and tomato soup! 

Stir fry for a snack! 

A healthy grape, walnut and spinach salad with balsamic and olive oil. 

Sliced and cooked sweet potatoes ! SOoo delish :D Just chop em and put em in the oven. 

Sometimes I rub a bit of olive oil and sea salt on top before I bake. 

I loooove vegan tacos! Black beans, refried from Whole Foods! (get the organic kind) 

organic, chopped spinach and sliced avocado. Taco shells, vegan sour cream and salsa. 

Gluten free toast with almond butter and bananas

I love having bananas and simple gluten free bread, toasted with almond butter for breakfast. It is a simple and easy thing to have in the morning when I don't have a lot of time.

Vegan Seattle eats

If you ever travel to Portland or Seattle you will find a lot of vegan, organic and gluten free food choices. You can order your coffee at most cafe's with organic almond, soy and sometimes rice or coconut milk. It is wonderful to have so many delicious choices. Here were some of my fav's.

Vegan, gluten free, raspberry brownie bite and soy, vanilla latte. from Caffe Ladro

Veggie sandwich from Honey Hole served with veganaise. You can request veganaise instead of mayo and a side of seasoned fries. Yummmm 

 Vegan treats and coffee from Cafe Argento. Request a veggie item they are bound to have some. 

Delicious tofu noodle soup, spring rolls and rice. I can't remember where my husband got this from but there are loads of places you can find veggie food. Just ask a local.