Seitan-Worshipper Eggplant Stirfry

Well, it’s nearing the end of the week when the pantry is a little thin and the veggies are holding on to their last bits of life. Last night when I went to cook dinner, I noticed we had some vegetables that more than likely were not going to make it until today, and we do everything possible not to throw food out, so I did one of my favorite things…stir-fry! To me, this is the absolute easiest way to use up those veggies before having to send them to the compost graveyard. I looked at the veggies that needed to be used, and although I didn’t really know how they’d do in a stir-fry together, I gave it a shot anyway, and the man and I were more than impressed at the flavor combination we created! Here is what was in my end-of-the-road stir-fry:


*Eggplant
*Summer Squash
*Green Beans
*Edamame
*Peas
*Leftover Seitan


Throw these in a wok with a little bit of olive oil, shoyu, a splash of white wine, minced garlic and crushed red pepper, toss it over some brown rice, and you have a delicious meal…AND you didn’t waste those precious veggies! I had never actually put eggplant in a stir-fry before, but it was actually really good and gave a nice texture to the mix. What are YOUR favorite veggie-stir-fry combinations??


Happy Vegan MoFo!!

Plastic Demons

In our house, we try to be as kind to our planet and to ourselves as possible. Now, we don’t have a ten-thousand page book of rules that we follow or anything, but we do always try to make conscious decisions about the things we do. I’m not going to give up baking just because I know that sugar is bad for me, but I do choose to create recipes using less sugar, and I always buy “kind” sugars. See? Just little things like that. We try to keep our trash down to one bag a week and compost everything we possibly can. When possible, we try to re-use our trash bag if it hasn’t torn or anything, but we don’t guilt and torture ourselves if it isn’t possible. I’m not going to live a life of restriction and rules to fit into some standard, and I want people to know that being vegan doesn’t mean you have to do so! Those small steps you take can make huge impacts!


Plastic waste that has gathered in our oceans...so sad.

One of the easiest things that we have done to lighten our footprint is to try and rid the household of plastic. Now, you’re probably wondering what on earth is so bad about plastic. Well, there’s a LOT bad about plastic, and reducing the amount that you use is something that is so simple that you can do that will not only benefit you, but benefit generations and generations to come.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American creates half a pound of plastic waste a DAY. That’s 182.5 pounds of plastic waste each year from one single person, which equals about 5 BILLION pounds a year in the US alone! Now, most plastics cannot be recycled, so the majority of this is filling up landfills, filling our oceans, wreaking havoc on our ecosystem and killing thousands of plants and animals each DAY. Not to mention, storing and microwaving foods using plastic releases dangerous chemicals and carcinogens directly into our food…now really…why on earth would we want that?!

But HOW do you get rid of all the plastic?! You really don’t realize how much you use until you try and cut it out of each part of your life. I suggest starting small and working your way up to the bigger things. As far as our house, these are some of the steps we have taken to remove plastics:

Shopping: This is the easiest and cheapest thing you can do…buy re-useable bags!! We got a bunch of them for fifty cents apiece at our local grocery store. They also hold a lot more than a plastic shopping bag, and you can fold one up and keep it in your purse just in case you have to run somewhere and pick up a few things.

Trash: If you don’t compost, or don’t have room to do so, don’t worry. There are brands of trashbags out there that are not made of plastic, and even more that are made out of recycled plastic. The brand we use are made of biodegradable bio-resin by Nature Friendly. You can find them at any grocery store, and they are only about a dollar more than regular trash bags. We buy the large box of 50 and it lasts us about a year!


Food Storage: Most people have a cupboard dedicated to “tupperware” or like products. Storing your food in plastic totally defeats the purpose of trying to eat right in the first place, because you are allowing your good foods to soak up toxic chemicals into them. The best things that I have found, and they are super cheap, too, are Ball canning jars! Not only do they look cool, but you can see exactly what is in them, how much you have, and you can get them in all sorts of sizes! We keep our dry storage (grains, beans, etc.) in the largest size, homemade condiments (vegan ranch and other salad dressings, etc.) in smaller ones in the fridge, and they are a great way to transport leftovers if you take them to work and such! Not to mention, they are easy to replace, and really inexpensive (I bought a new box of 16 of the large ones a few months ago for $6). Plus, when I go grocery shopping, I can look in the pantry and easily see what I need to stock up on.


Now, there is a LOT of other things you can do to reduce your plastic waste, but these three are small ones that have a truly ENORMOUS impact on our world and our health. If anything, start with these three, and educate yourselves on how to further eradicate plastic from your life when you’re comfortable with these. Best of luck!!!


Vegan MoFo!!!

Ninja Turtle Super Juice!!

I have a new obsession…



…Juicing!!!

I’ve always been a smoothie-kind of girl, but I had been seeing on a couple of other blogs, bloggers talking about all these yummy juices they make with all kinds of stuff I had never thought about putting in liquid form! I must confess, as much as I hate admitting to it, that I tend to “overstock” my vegetables, and it does happen more often than not, that we buy more than two people can realistically get through before it goes bad. I hate composting things that are not “used” so it was getting quite frustrating, but I always felt that if we bought less, than we wouldn’t have enough! Well, we went out and bought this lovely Waring Juicer on sale at Target a couple weekends ago, and the poor thing hasn’t gotten much rest since then! And, we haven’t had any produce go to waste, either! When something looks like it’s getting “close” to not being edible, in the juicer it goes! I’m having so much fun with it, I’m getting way more veggies in my diet, and so far, I haven’t made anything that hasn’t tasted good!


My beautiful new toy!


Another thing that I like about juicing is that you get this really great fiber/pulp leftover stuff in the juicer. It’s super great to pop in the compost…and I’m super excited to use my compost for a nice balcony garden next year…by then I should have lots of good stuff to use!


So, for one of my favorite recipes that I have come up with in the juicer. It’s really quite simple, and super tasty. Also, it’s GREEN!! You can’t go wrong with Ninja Turtle-green juice! Okay, so the Ninja Turtles were soaked in green “ooze”, but it made them big and strong and I think that this juice can do the same!

2 Handfuls of Spinach
1 Handful of Purple Kale (I’m sure green would be fine, too, but I buy the purple because it’s pretty!)
2 Green apples
1 Carrot (you get more juice out of the carrot if it’s at room temperature, fyi)
4 Pineapple cubes
Pop it all in the juicer and enjoy!!

Flower Composting!!

Happy Administrative Professionals Day!! Yeah, quite honestly, I had no idea this pseudo-holiday existed until today, but I’m glad it does, because I got beautiful flowers from my bosses today!! I love flowers, and have recently discovered how great they can be once they are past their ‘viewing’ prime. I like rinsing off the leaves and petals really well and giving my Bearded Dragon Shredder a lovely treat! The parts that he doesn’t eat are great for composting! You can make the most amazing soil for your gardens, but make sure not to add the water the flowers were sitting in to your compost pile! Most florists add chemicals that you don’t want in your compost pile! I have started a small compost pile on my balcony. When it rained a few weeks ago, there seemed to be an earthworm infestation in our driveway, so I gathered up as many of the little guys as I could, and started my own compost pile! Not only is it amazing how quickly they multiply, but it’s incredible to see how quickly they break things down! Nearly all of our food scraps, peels, etc. go to our compost pile (it’s actually a bucket, but I digress) and within days these amazing guys break it down into a soil! Not only am I getting the best possible soil for my herbs to grow in, but it cuts down on our trash significantly!! I highly recommend getting a compost bucket to anyone who wants the most amazing soil for their gardens!
On another note, I tried a vegan frozen dinner last night, and I have to admit, it was pretty amazing!! It was a Non-Dairy, Gluten-Free Rice Macaroni and Cheeze by Amy’s Organics, and no lie, I liked it better than any REAL mac ‘n cheese that I’ve ever had!! It was delicious!! Definitely check out t his review for some super tasty pictures too! But honestly, if you’re in a rush and don’t have time to cook, these are simply amazing, and I’m pretty sure you can find them in any grocery store too, and not just health food stores! Give it a shot if you’re in a rush. They are not only gluten-free, but soy-free as well, so literally anyone can eat this tasty tasty meal!