Archive for My Blog
25
May 2011
CLOSED Review & Giveaway: Nasoya Super Hummus
I love when new vegan products hit the market, especially when they are available at a regular grocery store like Kroger! About 4 years ago the Kroger down the street starting carrying organic produce and made a little section for organic products and frozen vegan foods. Dreading coming home for the holidays every year I was so thrilled to discover this because the closest natural food store was 25 minutes away. Now when I came home I could get my almond milk and cereal and make all my own food. Now there's a Whole Foods about 15 minutes away so I go there for their amazing bulk section.
Anyways, my dad loves hummus. I prefer to make it from scratch but I've been SO busy with cooking classes, planning the Texas State Veggie Fair, and cooking for dad on top of that. I spotted the Nasoya Super Hummus and thought I must give it a try and see what dad thought!
First off, I usually don't like packaged hummus. More often than not it has too much garlic and salt and not enough lemon for me. I gave the Super Hummus a try and was pleasantly surprised that it didn't have a ton of garlic, just the right amount for me. It's made with non-GMO soybeans along with some chickpeas. It's smooth, not too salty, a lovely touch of spices and a nice blend of both beans. I'm not a fan that it has sugar in it though!
The best thing about this product is it uses very little oil (it's the last ingredient on the one I bought) and has less fat that traditional hummus. It also has twice the protein. I actually compared the nutritional facts of a few popular hummus brands and it's true! I didn't try the Super Hummus Spinach flavor but a few Facebook friends have sung it's praises.
This new product gets a thumbs up from me and is the perfect grab and go snack when I don't feel like making my own hummus! Nasoya's website also has some great recipes to try with their delicious products.
3 lucky readers are going to win a free Nasoya product of their choice! Enter before Monday May 30th and the winners will be chosen at random and announced on Monday!
GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED!! Winners are Nicole, Mia, and Heather!! Congrats!
Here's what you gotta do to enter. You get an extra entry for each thing you do!
1. Tell us have you tried the Super Hummus before and what did you think? Or do you prefer to make your own?
2. Like Nasoya and The Blissful Chef on Facebook
3. Follow Nasoya and The Blissful Chef on Twitter
4. Retweet my giveaway on Twitter and/or Share it on Facebook
Don't forget to leave your email addy so I can contact you if you win! Please leave ONE COMMENT telling me how many entries you have. #1 is mandatory, the others optional. So if you do all you will have 4 entries total.
Good luck!
15 comments23
May 2011
Meatless Monday: Spicy Mock Tuna Sushi Rolls w/ Video
You didn't think I'd leave you hanging for Meatless Monday did you? I'm behind on today's post because I accompanied my father to his routine check-up with his regular doctor. He hasn't seen him or had any blood work done since December. The doctor didn't even want to do the PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) or his blood work so I demanded it. Dad has been vegan 2 months now and we want to see the results!! Hopefully I will be sharing some good news with you by end of the week 
I made this delish Spicy Mock Tuna for my I Think I'm Turning Japanese cooking class this past weekend. It was a BIG hit and now I want to share it with you!! (Sorry for the crappy phone photo. Sometimes it's just easier!)
Mock Spicy Tuna
Serves 4-5
1 8 oz package tempeh
3 tablespoon Vegenaise
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
2 tablespoons tamari
2 teaspoons or more hot sauce
2 tablespoons dill relish
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Dash black pepper
3 tablespoons dulse flakes
Preparation
Break tempeh into large chunks and steam for 15 minutes. Place in bowl and crumble until no chunks remain. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and stir well. Adjust spice and seasing to your preference.
Now serve it up in some sushi! Here's an old video that will help you make your very own veggie sushi rolls at home. Feel em with whatever you like!
no comments20
May 2011
Are Horse-drawn Carriages OK?
I've become to epitome of blog slacker. Part of it I think is that I don't have much to say, or I say it all on Facebook and Twitter and then I don't feel like expanding upon the 140 characters. Do you ever feel like our digital interweb world makes us less connected, more introverted, and just plain stupid? LOL!! I really feel like that sometimes.
One thing that I faced this week that I wanted to talk about was an interaction I had with someone on Facebook. It really left me feeling icky but also made me realize that we (the "we" that fight for peace, love, and happiness for all living creatures) have a lot more work to do and gotta keep chugging along. I woke to find that Groupon Dallas was offering a deal on a horse-drawn carriage ride. This kind of thing really upsets me, so I posted on my FB fan page to not support this business or buy these deal on Groupon. One woman said "Don't know if I agree with this, horses like to work". Another woman actually flipped out on me saying something like "How dare you say not to support this business…horse, mules and donkeys have been working for us since the beginning of time and baby Jesus road on it's back…I will not be supporting you anymore!". I was totally taken aback by this outburst. I found it mildly humorous, but when I clicked on the woman's profile and saw she was in Texas, it then made me pretty sad.
Just because we have been doing something for years doesn't make it right and unchangeable. I believe that animals used for all forms of entertainment is just plain wrong, from circuses to horse races to Sea World. It bums me out when I get comments like the one above, because that means this person thinks animals are just ours to be used, abused, worn and eaten. I'm very vocal about where I stand on diet, but I'm not as vocal about other animal abuse that takes place. This kind of confrontation fuels me to be more vocal because all abuse is unnecessary and totally changeable. We don't have to continue these outdated practices just because our fathers and our grandfathers and baby Jesus took part. Be the change you want to see in the world, don't follow the masses.
There are many organizations that are trying to put a stop to this abuse. Horses do not live or work in good conditions, sometimes having to work 12 or more hours a day in heavy costumes, walking on concrete, if the blistering sun. I read on the Equine Advocates site that "the average working life of an urban carriage horse is less than four years, as compared with that of mounted police horses who are able to serve an average of fifteen years before being retired." As the comments in this post on One Green Planet points out, yes there are probably a few horse lovers/owners that treat their horses like kings and queens. But you are still using another living creature for your own benefit and profit. They are your property and must follow your directions. It's the same as slavery, whether you treat them well or not. And I know it will suck when you are out of work if this bill passes but there are plenty of ways to make money not using animals as commodities.
You can head on over to Care2 to sign this petition to stop the abuse of NY horse-drawn carriages and hopefully every city that uses this practice will follow suit. They are close to their goal of 60,000, so head on over to sign! It takes 5 seconds!!
How to you feel about horse-drawn carriages and other things like circuses, dog races, and Sea World?
8 comments16
May 2011
Meatless Monday Guest Post: Buddha’s Feast
By Meg Claire
Vegetarians will be familiar with the Chinese menu classic “Buddha’s Feast”. It’s usually whatever tired green vegetables the chef has around: broccoli, snow peas, and canned water chestnuts are common. Often the dish comes soaked in a thick, syrupy brown sauce, which suffocates the vegetables and reduces the healthful benefits of eating a supper of entirely green veggies.
My Buddha’s Feast recipe is simple enough to pull together on a weeknight. In fact, it’s my go-to post-yoga supper when I’m looking for something light, but still substantial enough to refuel after practice. It’s a be-kind-to-your-body sort of meal. This recipe is also a good opportunity to clean out your fridge, since you can toss in any old thing. Red peppers, mushrooms, green beans, squash, even spinach. Then there’s the endless toppings – hot chili oil, nice tamari, Sriracha, pale miso, chutneys, etc. Scour your refrigerator door for those half-full bottles from the Asian market you forgot about. Throw in some
brown rice and you’ve got a super healthy, fat-free, vitamin- and fiber-filled supper. Buddha’s Feast would also be a good choice for those coming to the end of a cleanse.
Buddha’s Feast 
Serves 4
2 cups broccoli florets
2 cup asparagus, cut into 3-inch pieces
1 cup of snow peas, trimmed
½ cup water or vegetable broth
2-3 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
2 teaspoons ginger, minced
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons soy sauce
Preparation:
Start a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, tip in the broccoli, asparagus and snow peas. Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the ½ cup water, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover for 4 minutes, or until most of the water is evaporated. Clear a spot on the pan and add the garlic, if using, and then the ginger and red pepper flakes. Stir-fry for 1 minute, until the garlic and ginger are fragrant. Add the soy sauce and toss just to coat. Serve immediately.
13
May 2011
Happy Birthday to me!
Yep, it's my birthday today! I'll be celebrating by getting a nice pedicure, having a yum lunch somewhere new, celebrating with 25 of my new (and old) friends at Spiral Diner, then sharing my most favorite documentary with them, Forks Over Knives. Eating cake will happen somewhere in there too.
Usually I'd be jumping for joy and screaming from the rooftops on my birthday, but I've realized that getting older is…well…getting older. Thankfully having lived a healthy lifestyle and adopted a plant-based diet over 8 years ago i have slowed the aging process considerably. But sometimes I just feel old LOL!!
Enough with the pity party haha. I've been so busy and I have so much great news to share. One thing I'm really excited about is I'm helping with the 2nd annual Texas State Veggie Fair. I'm helping the founder grow this years event to include speakers, sponsors, more vendors, more awesome things for kids, more delicious food, and other exciting things we haven't quite settled on, like free yoga! It's October 23rd, so mark your calendar!! If you know anyone who would like to speak, be a vendor, volunteer or attend the fair please spread the word and have them contact me.
Another awesome thing going on in my life is I'm dating someone that I'm just crazy about! More on that soon
Another cool event happening this weekend in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area is that Will Tuttle is in town! If you've been reading this blog very long you know that he is one of my favorite people in the whole world and his book, The World Peace Diet, is one of the most important books of our time. Seriously if you haven't read it, grab a copy, and give to all your friends and family that are on the fence about the vegan diet. Visit his website to see if he's speaking near you and seize the opportunity to listen to his amazing concert and lectures!
Hope you all have a great weekend!!
6 comments9
May 2011
Meatless Monday: Savory Zucchini Chive Muffins
Hey everyone! How was your weekend? We've had so many vegan events going on the last 5 weeks I've been here that J and I decided to take a break and just spend some quality time together (and we missed a vegan boat party that was supposedly off the hook but oh well!). Saturday we had a proper date and went for dinner and a movie. Dinner was at a Moroccan restaurant called Medina Oven & Bar, that has some easily veganized items on their menu. I was thrilled about this because I haven't been to a Moroccan restaurant that I can remember. The food here was really fresh, clean, not overly spiced and well thought out. We had the 4 spread platter with pita bread to start, then a beautiful arugula salad with beets, raisins, roasted pine nuts and pomegranate vinaigrette, then a pizza for our final course sans cheese. If you are looking for something a bit nicer try Medina.
After a delish dinner we went to Magnolia to see Limitless. Bradley Cooper did a stellar job in this movie and wow is he so fine!! 
This is the theater that is showing Forks Over Knives and they showed the preview! I cheered after it really loudly.
After many requests, here are the other muffins I made for the vegan bakesale for Japan. They were quite a big hit at the bakesale! This muffins were the only savory thing that I remember at the bakesale. I got the idea from Namely Marly and her savory zucchini loaf. My recipe has totally different things in it and the base is made with cornmeal, barley and brown rice flour. But you could use whatever flour you have on hand.
Savory Zucchini Chive Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
1 cup barley flour
1/2 cup corn meal
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/4 cup unsweetened soymilk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons safflower oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon flax meal
1 cup zucchini, grated
5 tablespoons chives, chopped fine
2 tablespoons shallot, minced
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
Preperation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with liners or spray lightly with cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the first seven dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl, whisk together soymilk and vinegar until bubbling. Whisk in the rest of the wet ingredients and flax meal. Mix wet into dry until just combined, then gently fold in zucchini, chives and shallots. Spoon batter into muffin liners until 3/4ths full. Place one half tomato in the center of each muffin and press down slightly into the batter. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out dry when inserted into the muffin.
How was your weekend? Eat at any new restaurants?
2 comments
Blissful Bites: Vegan Meals That Nourish Mind, Body, and Planet is available on 
