Cheap & Simple Vegan Recipes

Let us eat pancakes.

Protein pancakes, that is.

Haven’t heard of them? I hadn’t either, until I was perusing Pinterest during commercial breaks (my favorite way to pass commercial time, BTW) and came across a recipe that involved mixing up protein powder, egg whites, and a banana. And it makes a pancake.

Whaaaaa???

I know. That’s what I was thinking. So I tested them out, vegan style, titillated by the prospect of eating pancakes with no flour.

They were terrible.

In fact, I tried about 5 different variations of them, trying to pinpoint where I was going wrong, determined to make pancake magic. No dice.

The whole point of the protein pancake is to avoid flour, but I caved (out of hunger), and created a version using a little rice flour (only 1/2 cup).  (more…)

It’s been an interesting month.

I wrote a blog post at the beginning of the year about my 30-day gluten-free experiment. It’s over.

But in so many ways, it’s just the beginning.

Some of you have asked how it’s been going, so here’s the story…

Around day 20 I decided to “test the waters” by reintroducing gluten into my diet. Specifically, I had two flour tortillas. Without sharing the dirty details, suffice to say that my body revolted–in a big way. I was actually surprised by how bad it was. I figured a few weeks sans gluten couldn’t really make much a difference. I’d been eating it my whole life, right? Apparently I was wrong, because reintroducing it felt like hell. And I didn’t feel normal again for about three days.

But, researcher that I am, I decided I needed to try gluten just one more time. Maybe it was a fluke, I thought.

I waited another 10 days or so, staying completely gluten free. And then last night we had drinks at a little wine bar in town, where the appetizer platter included–you guessed it–fresh, beautiful bread. My first love.

I tore off a small piece, inhaled it, and waited. Within about 20 minutes I was hurting. Bloated, painful cramping, knots in my stomach, and “more.” Again, I’ll spare you the details.

Not only was I shocked to find out just how ill I felt after eating gluten, but I was equally surprised by how much better I’ve felt since cutting it out. My whole life I’ve had really intense sugar cravings and mood-related problems due to food and blood sugar. I was a constant “snacker,” and never seemed to feel full enough even after a big meal. Magically, this seemed to have vanished with cutting out gluten. I’m eating three meals a day, rarely snacking, and haven’t had a ravenous craving once.I could go on and on, but the bottom line is that mentally and physically I feel much different. Much better.

I’m cured, I tell you!

So, you guys, I’ve come to a crossroads with this blog. I can’t say with any confidence that I’m willing to test out non-gluten free recipes anymore.

Unlike things I’ve given up in the past, like cheese or meat, this doesn’t feel like a choice. It feels like my body very clearly telling me that I shouldn’t be eating gluten. I don’t like to be definitive about things like this, because who knows what will happen in a year, 5 years, or 10 years from now, but right now? I’m nixing gluten. No mas.

Which delivers all sorts of fun challenges, like learning how to bake, cook pizza, and find myself a gluten free birthday cake that doesn’t taste like crap. And it also, inevitably, means that I’ll be disappointing some of you by changing my MO on the blog. From here on out, I’ll only be posting gluten-free recipes, but I still intend to make them cheap, simple, and vegan. (God help me, because so far that’s been freakin’ hard.)

One caveat to substitutions for my recipes: Gluten-free cooking is like, exponentially different than regular cooking (at least for baking). So as much as I’d like to say “just substitute regular flour for rice flour” (which I did in a previous post), I won’t do that without a clear warning first. I’ve learned the hard way that ingredients don’t often swap well.

I hope you’ll stick around and continue to enjoy my old recipes, while also joining me on this new journey. Thanks for all your support!

I’d love to hear your comments or questions, so share them below!

I’ve been missing out.

Specifically, on lettuce wraps. Veggie lover that I am, I’m not sure why I never got on board with throwing some stuff in a big, green leaf, rolling it up and devouring it. 

Maybe it’s because I was never into any sort of carb-cutting diet. (Give up bread? Please.)

But now that I’m experimenting with gluten-free foods, I’m having to get a lot more creative.

I browsed around the Internet, trying to find some sort of easy tofu wrap I could veganize, but everything seemed like way too much work. All I knew is that I wanted it to be yummy. And easy. And maybe include peanut butter. And garlic. And, of course, a little spice.

So I came up with these simple protein-packed wraps. (more…)

Not too long ago I had lemons coming out of my ears.

Before a family member of mine moved last year, she had a Meyer lemon tree in her backyard, which meant my kitchen was always overflowing with them.

Meyer lemons are no ordinary lemons. No, no–they’re the crème de la crème of lemons: large, plump, incredibly juicy, and with a slightly sweeter, orange taste than your regular lemon.

Now that my lemon hookup is no more, I’m resigned to ugly, tiny supermarket lemons. And life has less meaning.

Just kidding.

But I do miss those lemons. And, miraculously, I was able to make these gluten free and vegan lemon bars with aforementioned supermarket lemons. (more…)

I have two important things to share with you today.

The first has to do with me getting a new vacuum.

Yep. You read that right.

I bring this up because it has changed my entire perspective on life.

Allow me to elaborate: I spent the last year and a half of my life using a vacuum my mom had given me. It wasn’t a piece of junk, but suffice to say it didn’t really do the job. My carpet always looked dirty, even after a good run with that beast.

Fast forward to New Year’s eve. Andy buys me a killer vacuum (he wrapped up the box and put a bow on it and everything). I use it. It looks like we have new carpet. I’m floored–no pun intended.

My OCD heart leaps with joy and I literally can’t believe what I’ve been missing all this time. I had no idea there were people in this world that lived with carpets this clean.

Point of the story? When you invest in something quality–and throw out the old with blind faith that the new will work–you will be amazed at the results.

On the cusp of a new year, I encourage you to toss out what’s not working for you in your life. Invest in yourself. Invest in what is going to work–what’s going to make your life easier, richer, more joyful, less hard. (And in my case, cleaner.)

Which brings me to my second piece of news:

I’m going gluten-free.

Without boring you with all the details, after lots of research and personal struggle, I’ve come to the conclusion that gluten may indeed be the culprit of many health symptoms I’ve had during a large part of my adult life.

Ask 10 different people about the gluten-free “trend” and you’ll get 10 different answers. Some believe it’s a fad, some believe gluten is literally the root of all health evil, and some are simply terrified of bread. And, of course, for people with celiac disease, it’s a medical necessity to avoid gluten.

For me, it’s an experiment–at least at this point.

I’ve dabbled in so many different “elimination” diets, but I’ve never cut out gluten. Which is weird, considering I’ve made a career out of being a writer/editor/researcher in the health and wellness industry. To be perfectly honest, I feel kind of silly for not making the connection sooner.

So, I’ve been eliminating it from my diet, and, as of Jan 1, I’m going 100-percent GF for at least 30 days.

Wait. Wasn’t this post about soup?

Yes, I’m getting to that.. (more…)