Another day, Another meal to make.....vegan...

I loved sloppy joes as a child and i still do. i was thinking about lunch last night, family made some  food that smelled AMAZING, unfortunately it was beef sloppy joes.. :(..... tear.
 i decided to see if i could make something just for me, i went searching for recipes and i found this one. it was not only delicious and i had mostly everything i needed already home, i did have to buy the  veggie stock (mom only buys chicken stock)  and started cooking.
After i put my sandwich together my brothers said it smelled good and wanted to have some, and they really liked it. my older brother said it was filling but not too heavy. Later at night i caught them making more for dinner! success. :)

here is the recipe i used it comes from The forks over knives website enjoy:

Sloppy Lentil Joes

Makes 4-6

Ingredients:

• 31⁄3 cups water or low-sodium vegetable stock
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 11⁄2 cups dried brown lentils
• 1 15-ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
• salt to taste

Instructions:

Place 1⁄3 cup of the water or stock in a large pot. Add the onions and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until onions soften slightly, about 5 minutes. Add the chili powder and mix in well. Add the remaining liquid, lentils, tomatoes, and the rest of the seasonings. Mix well, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook over low heat for one hour, stirring occasionally. Serve on whole-wheat buns, or fresh baked bread, with the trimmings of your choice.

WORK OUT
I Want to start working out again. i actually really enjoy it. And when i think about working out i think about cute clothes i can buy! i want all these:


love these!


Honestly how cool is this bottle!

My favorite food. and my new project
Something i go CRAZY for is Posole. Posole is a stew from mexico. it uses hominy and it is usually served with a protein such as beef, pork, or chicken. the posole comes in different colors depending the seasoning you use, green posole or  my ultimate favorite food red posole,  Christmas is not Navidad for us without some good delicious homemade posole on the stove.


 iti

As i mentioned earlier it is traditionally served with meat of some kinds, but posole usually is close to vegan util the meat and other small components are added.  i am  making  this my next project. i will make this for my family and see how it goes.
Here is the recipe i will follow, this recipe comes from
:http://www.veganmexicanfood.com/pozole.htm Recipe courtesy of Martha Aguila

INGREDIENTS:

Oil for sautéing 

Medium onion, diced (reserve 3/4 cup diced onion for later) 

3-4 medium dried California peppers 

3 garlic cloves, peeled 

1 tsp dried oregano 

4 cups veggie broth 

2 cups water 

29 oz can hominy, drained 

1 package faux chicken (chopped) or tofu (cubed) 

2 cups shredded cabbage 

1 cup sliced radishes 

1 lemon 

1 tin of beans (any kind) (optional) 

Salt to taste 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Rinse dried peppers, remove stems and seeds, and soak in hot water for about 20 minutes. 

2. When soft, blend peppers in 2-3 Tbs of soaking water with garlic and 1 tsp oregano until very smooth. Add more soaking water as needed, this step may take a while. 

3. In a medium pot, sauté onions for about 2 minutes. 

4. If you are using faux chicken or tofu, sauté these for about 3 minutes. 

5. Add broth and small portions of chile mixture a little at a time to your liking. 

6. Add hominy. 

7. Add salt to taste. 

8. If you’re using beans, add them now. 

9. Heat through for about 15-20 minutes on medium heat. 

10. Serve in a bowl and add small amounts of cabbage, diced onion, and radish. 

11. Add lemon (to taste) and dried oregano (to taste).

Why go vegan.
Honestly, before i really understood what being vegan or vegetarian really was, i thought it was....well, dumb and weird. why would anyone deprive themselves from amazing food, what is the point in that? i mean i wasn't  aware of vegan ism when i was a child, i didn't even know it existed i never even thought it was an option, as i got older and started to hear more about it, it was not usually positive things, of coarse the people who practiced it said it was amazing. But everyone else would say it was wrong, it was a bad way of eating, how were those people get protein and nutrients from grass? and i agreed, like most of us who sometimes don't know enough about a subject we join the majority, we follow the crowd when  the crown is rarely right.

as i became more aware of it and began to learn as much as i could about it. it actually made since to me, i mean if eating meat, is so much better then why do we have so much heart disease and obesity in the U.S?

as i kept researching, i came across a story about animal cruelty, how badly the animals what we feed on are treated and that made me really think about what i was consuming.

now i know im not a full vegan yet, and it has been a struggle living with a  carnivorous family, specially when they sometimes share the view of the  crowd.

but i really think that if i try and convert my foods from meat based to a healthier, more animal friendly option it may help me with the transition.

One of the first vegan foods i ever made was a chocolate cake, man was that stressful, i made it for my bff Emily's birthday. and as if it wasn't hard enough to have to swap out ingredients i was so used to using such as egg, milk butter....BUTTER .( i actually remember sitting in the kitchen holding a box of butter and thinking how the hell do i replace this? ) i also was making it for her family to enjoy, who are all vegan!  so if this cake tasted crappy they would know.
i had also heard a few times before that if you feed a vegan animal products they would become very  ill, well, i thought, hope i don't kill someone today, i suppose that would be a memorable birthday though. Fortunately i found a recipe that not  only  looked delicious  but with some baking experience it seemed  easy enough that i could make it.
everyone seemed to enjoy the cake a lot and some even had seconds! yay

this recipe comes from :http://vegetarian.about.com/od/vegancakerecipes/r/choccakevegan.htm if you are looking for a cake, i really liked this one.

This easy vegan chocolate cake recipe comes from Iona. Iona and her daughter loved this vegan chocolate cake so much that they wanted me to share it with everyone! It uses vinegar instead of egg replacer, so it's a great vegan chocolate cake recipe if you're all out or can't find any egg replacer.

See also: More vegan desserts to try

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup mixed chopped nuts (optional)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup cold water or soy milk
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp vinegar

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sift dry ingredients into 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking pan. Mix liquids (except vinegar) and whisk into dry.

When batter is smooth, add vinegar and stir quickly, until it is evenly distributed. Put cake in the oven, don't let it stand around (because of the vinegar). Bake for 25-30 minutes, or longer until done.

Hello everyone, im new to blogging but not to food. I LOVE FOOD all kinds of food. I have always loved baking and cooking, i  think it comes from my mother, growing up i remember sitting in the kitchen with my mother watching her prepare amazing meals with ease. I grew up in a big Mexican family food was always something we thought about. I am the youngest of 10 kids, i know my poor mother, and for those out there , yes my parents owned a TV. stop making that joke.!

Growing up meat was always part of our meals, if there was no meat it really was not considered a meal it was more of a snack.  

I loved meat, and i never thought i could be happy without it in my life, but as i try everyday to emerged myself in the vegetarian/vegan life style i hardly ever miss it, i took it upon my self to creat those meals i loved so much into something healthier that works for me. :) enjoy