If you think Nutella is totally awesome, but are bummed that it contains skim milk and whey, you’ll be happy to know there is an item on the market that tastes like Nutella and is dairy free! Archer Farms makes an all natural Creamy Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Spread. It can be found at Target. It’s great with bread (or with a spoon). Archer Farms, which makes some other delicious products like fruit strips and fruit bars.

The ingredients are: roasted peanuts, sugar (though I do not know how it was processed), cocoa liquor, molasses, and pure vanilla.

For people who like to keep a pretty healthy household, but fall victim to chocolate cravings, like myself, this is a great item to keep on hand.

I finally got around to watching this HBO series everyone’s taking about. And I LOVE it!! True Blood is a fantastic show. It’s well written, has amazing actors, and keeps you on your toes. I cannot wait for the 3rd season to start up this summer. I’m fascinated by how quickly and intensely this show consumed my brain. My husband is delighted and says I’m embracing my inner nerd. And he bought me the Sookie Stackhouse books to keep my occupied until the show starts back up. What a doll.

One aspect of the show I thought my fellow vegans would appreciate is Vampire Bill Compton’s preference for drinking synthetic bottled blood to draining humans. He’s like a vampire gone veg. You could say synthetic blood is comparable to a meat substitute. Way to go, Bill! And Bill is viewed as an abnormal vampire because he doesn’t like to harm humans for sustenance, just as vegans are seen as abnormal for not wanting to harm animals for sustenance. Can you see the parallels here?

And if you haven’t heard, there’s actually a Tru Blood drink on the market. Unfortunately, it’s not vegan. As much as I wanted it to be, I even missed some of the non-vegan ingredients the first time I checked it, like carmine coloring. So, yeah, not vegan

Ingredients:
Carbonated Water, Cane Sugar, Citric Acid, Natural Flavors, Potassium Citrate, Carmine Coloring, Potassium Sorbate, Sucralose, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Benzoate, Caffeine, Niacin (Vitamin B3), Caramel Coloring, Red 40, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B6, Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12), Folic Acid, Gum Accacia, Ester Gum
Here’s a list of non-vegan ingredients I posted a while back.

But actually, I heard the “Tru Blood” liquid they drink on the show is more of a fruit puree, which Stephen Moyer (Bill) said is quite delicious. So, if you want to mimic the drink on the show, make yourself a fruit puree with cherries and strawberries and other fun red fruits. Or drink some pomegranate juice. Yum! Sounds way better than blood orange soda, anyway.

And check out the show! Season 1 is available on DVD now. And season 2 will be out on DVD on May 25th.

photo by dysonish on Recipezaar

My husband and I made these for dinner (our schedules are a little off kilter these days). And we didn’t have syrup But they were still so good! We just topped them with a little Earth Balance. They’re fluffy and yummy and so simple to make!

5 Minute Vegan Pancakes

Kris Carr; cancer survivor, author, filmmaker, motivational speaker, and former model/actress, received VegNews‘ 2009 Veggie Award for “Website Launch of the Year.” CrazySexyLife.com is based on her mantra of “heath, spiritual wealth, and happiness.” She lives a plant-based lifestyle and has a veg blog posse that includes rockstars, raw-foodists, stylists, and more. Kris Carr has catapulted into the spotlight, including press coverage in Vanity Fair, Shape, Glamour, Natural Health, Yoga Journal, and has been mentioned by Oprah, Donna Karen, Dr. Oz, Sheryl Crow, Katie Couric, and Lance Armstrong.

The site includes book recommendations, CD and DVD recommendations, a directory and resources for healthy living, links to wellness centers, a Veggie Vixen starter kit, tips for going green, and a shop to pick up healthy living essentials, including Kris’ favorite products. If you register to become a member (for free), you can join my.crazysexylife.com, and create your own Crazy Sexy Life page, join a forum in The Life Lounge, and join other groups.

Kris Carr’s fame and inspiration stem from her documentary, Crazy Sexy Cancer. Watch the inspirational trailer here:

buy the documentary:

I definitely eat less salads when it’s super cold out. But today felt like a good salad day. Something light, simple, refreshing, and, yes, healthy!

Ingredients:

• Romaine lettuce, chopped
• cherry tomatoes, sliced
• Vegan cheddar cheese, shredded
• chik’n nuggets, grilled and sliced
• Walden Farms Ranch Dressing (calorie, carb, fat, gluten, cholesterol, and preservative free!)

• McCormick Salad Toppins

I love winter break! I actually have time to make yummy food. This evening’s dish is vegan lasagna. I looked up a few different recipes and kinda did my own thing. Lasagna is fun like that. And is ideal for someone like myself who often strays from standard recipes for one reason or another.

We used a 10.5×7″ stoneware dish, but you could probably go a bit bigger. We reached maximum capacity with ours. And glass works fine, too.

Ingredients:

• handful of fresh basil
• 1 box lasagne noodles
• 12 oz. bag of soy crumbles
• 18 oz jar of marinara sauce (at least)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 C chopped onion (or onion powder)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced (or garlic powder)
• 1.5 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 block vegan cheddar
• 1/2 block vegan mozzarella
• 1/2 tub firm tofu
• tub of vegan cream cheese
• few squeezes of lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Boil lasagne noodles with a pinch of salt to al dente. Drain and cool.
In skillet, simmer soy crumbles with olive oil, onion, and garlic. Once cooked, add marinara sauce, fresh basil (chopped or whole), and oregano.

In food processor, make “ricotta.” Put tofu, cream cheese, olive oil, and lemon juice. Pulse until mixed. Try to maintain coarser texture.

In dish, layer bottom with noodles, then soy crumbles, then “ricotta”, then grate mozzarella and cheddar on top. Repeat layering process 2-3 more times. Top with oregano. Bake for about 40 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes or so before serving.

Note: to avoid burning the edges of the noodles, which is easy to do, cover the noodles completely with sauce. Lesson learned.

After some resistance, I finally gave in and saw The Princess and the Frog with my husband. And I ended up really enjoying it. It’s a good story, funny, visually appealing, and has some enjoyable music. So, this, in addition to Sleeping Beauty, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wall-E, A Christmas Story, and Where the Wild Things Are, goes on my list of approved movies for my future children that won’t annoy the hell out of me.

As we wandered back home in the unbearable cold, we were both salivating over all the gumbo in the movie. Though I didn’t have all the ingredients required, I decided to give it a go. I learned the hard way that okra is a key thickening agent in gumbo. Without it my gumbo was pretty soupy. I also didn’t have file powder, which is powdered sassafras leaves that add authentic Cajun flavor and also serve as a thickening agent. Some recipes call for flour instead.

So, here are some vegan gumbo recipes to keep you warm this winter. There’s quite a variety out there, so you’re bound to find one that suits your palate:

Vegan Chef Glorious Green Gumbo
http://www.veganchef.com/gloriousgreen.htm (calls for nutritional yeast)

Gumbo With Vegan Andouille Sausage

http://vegandad.blogspot.com/2008/05/gumbo-with-vegan-andouille-sausage.html

About.com Louisiana Vegetarian Gumbo:

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/maindishentreerecipes/r/veggumbo.htm

ehow Vegan Gumbo
http://www.ehow.com/how_2079619_make-vegan-gumbo.html

Fat Free Vegan Black-Eyed-Pea Gumbo

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/08/black-eyed-pea-gumbo.html

Fat Free Vegan Crockpot Gumbo

http://www.fatfreevegan.com/crockpot/gumbo.shtml

Recipe Zaar 10 Vegan Gumbo Recipes

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?categ=168%2C54&ls=d

Veg Web Vegan Gumbo

http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=27730.0

Recipe Land Pure Vegan Gumbo

http://recipeland.com/recipe/v/Pure-Vegan-Gumbo-31741

Recipe Source Vegan Gumbo

http://www.recipesource.com/soups/soups/04/rec0436.html

Big Oven Pure Vegan Gumbo
http://www.bigoven.com/9930-Pure-Vegan-Gumbo-recipe.html

Vegetable Stew Gumbo

http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/112/Gumbo/

photos by: Chapendra, margolove, meetminneapolis, and irene.

Well, it’s been quite a year! A lot of big changes have happened in my life (getting married, going back to school full time, quitting my coffee shop gig, moving downtown, visiting Boston and Denmark…) I think it’s fun to look back on the year and see what you’ve accomplished and what you were up to a year ago. Every year of my adult life has been drastically different from the others. I’m consistently inconsistent. I can always look back and say, “If you had asked me a year ago where I would be today, I never would have imagined this.” I think the biggest surprise was not being able to find a job in my field. I was certainly one of the victims of a failing economy. But, I was also partially to blame. I had a good job in Salt Lake, but quit so my husband and I could move back to the Midwest. My husband found a really good job very quickly and I was sure I’d be able to find something. As the months passed, my confidence collapsed, my anxiety shot up, and I started to feel totally worthless. And it didn’t help that others were constantly asking me if I had found a job yet. It’s amazing how much we rely on jobs to define us.

One of the few things that was consistent in my basket case situation was this blog. It was something that was completely unique to me and made me feel somewhat important. I had dedicated readers who looked forward to reading what I wrote! So, I have you to thank for keeping me hopeful. For a while, I was determined to make my blog my job. Unfortunately, my business skills are pretty nonexistent and I was never able to make much money. And for some reason, Google AdSense rejected me. Twice! Perhaps vegan blogs are not part of their acceptable repertoire.

But, maybe all the mishaps are blessings in some way. I am fortunate enough to be able to go back to school and pursue yet another degree that I am passionate about: psychology. I have no idea what the future holds for me in this area, but I am optimistic.

I guess what I’ve learned from all of this (assuming there is a moral to this story) is that nothing about life is concrete. Sometimes you gotta just roll with the punches and turn the hardships into strengths. I have a lot to be thankful for: a great family, a great husband, a cool apartment in a great location, a great education, an adorable cat, good friends, and my health. And I’ve rediscovered my interest in the French language. C’est vrai!

It’s also important to remember that even though there may be things about your life that others consider unconventional, they may be just right for you. Like being vegan in a non-vegan world. Besides, living a “conventional” and stagnant life is boring.

So take some time to reflect on your amazingly unique existence and to look forward to a new year with many new adventures!

So, I’ve attended 2 of the Big Ten schools (UMN and UW), and I thought it would be a fun idea to post resources for vegan & vegetarian options around the Big Ten campuses. Big universities are pretty good about catering to wide varieties of dietary needs. It’s something I really appreciate, being back in school. If you have any other links you’d like me to add, please let me know!

University of Illinois- Champaign-Urbana
http://campusvegetariansociety.blogspot.com/
http://www.meetup.com/The-Champaign-Urbana-Vegan-Meetup-Group/
http://www.vegguide.org/region/282

Indiana University
http://www.urbanspoon.com/t/94/2/Bloomington/Vegan-Friendly-restaurants

http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.net/Indiana-Vegetarian-Restaurants/Bloomington-Vegetarian-Restaurants.htm

http://newsinfo.iu.edu/web/page/normal/7483.html

University of Iowa

http://vegan.fm/isitvegan/doku.php?id=iowa

http://www.uiowa.edu/obermann/visitors/food.html
http://www.vegetarianusa.com/city/Iowa.html

University of Michigan
http://www.vegguide.org/region/240
http://www.happycow.net/north_america/usa/michigan/ann_arbor/
http://www.uhs.umich.edu/vegetarian
http://www.michigandaily.com/content/a2-deemed-paradise-vegetarians

Michigan State University
http://www.vegguide.org/region/427
http://www.happycow.net/north_america/usa/michigan/east_lansing/
http://www.vegetarianusa.com/city/Michigan.html

University of Minnesota
http://www.exploreveg.org/resources/campus.html
http://twincities.metromix.com/facets/restaurants/topic.restaurants.food_type.vegan
http://www.goveg.com/f-vegcities-minneapolis.asp
http://twincitiesvegans.blogspot.com/
note: Pizza Luce’s vegan pizza is heavenly!

Northwestern University
http://www.goveg.com/f-vegcities-chicago.asp
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2007/oct/30/food/chi-nuveggiesoct30
http://www.northwestern.edu/nucuisine/nutrition/

Ohio State University
http://diningservices.osu.edu/dining/dininglocation.asp?franchise=7
http://www.vegohio.com/search_results.asp?category=Restaurant&Region=Columbus
http://vegancolumbus.com/

Pennsylvania State University
http://www.boutell.com/philly/vegan/
http://www.vegpa.net/search_results.asp?category=Restaurant&Region=All+of+Pennsylvania
http://www.happyvalley.com/posts.php?cat=Vegetarian
http://www.foodservices.psu.edu/vegetarianism/

Purdue University
http://www.housing.purdue.edu/HTML/Dining/Vegetarian.htm
http://www.vegindiana.com/search_results.asp?category=Grocery&Region=West+Lafayette
http://www.happycow.net/north_america/usa/indiana/west_lafayette/

University of Wisconsin- Madison
http://www.goveg.com/f-vegcities-madison.asp

http://www.vegmadison.com/restaurants.html

http://www.veganmadison.com/drupal/
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/48291/top_vegan_restaurants_in_madison_wisconsin.html?cat=22
note: the Jerk Tofu at Jamerica is AMAZING!!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Vegan Coat Contest! You guys had some really good suggestions.

The winner is May! Thanks again, everyone! I hope you’re all staying cozy! And Happy almost New Year!

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