CTTVCC: Micro-Ritos

Hello Everyone! This recipe is on page 155 of PETA's Vegan College Cookbook. This is a particularly easy recipe. As is often the case, it makes a LOT of food. I'd recommend cutting the recipe in half unless you're making enough for you and a few friends, or unless you just REALLY love burritos. I know it's been a while since I did a Vegan College Cookbook post, so here we go!

The recipe calls for:

• 1 (8-ounce) bag vegan chicken or steak strips
• 1 (16-ounce) jar salsa
• 1 (15-ounce) can black or pinto beans
• 1 (10-ounce) package Mexican-style vegan cheese, grated
• 1 package (10-inch) tortillas
• 1 bag boil-in-bag brown or white rice (optional)

I chose to use Beyond Meat Grilled vegan chicken strips. They're gluten-free too.

I used Target-brand salsa, and Earth Fare brand black beans.

I didn't have any Mexican-style vegan cheese, so I used half a bag of Daiya Cheddar shreds, and half a bag of Daiya Mozzarella Shreds. 

I made my first burrito on a 10-inch tortilla, but the tortillas kept falling apart, and that much burrito was a little bit too much for me to eat. So, I switched to little 6-inch corn tortillas of some obscure brand. I also decided that since the rice was optional anyway, I'd substitute quinoa to make the burritos have a bit more protein. Besides, I had precooked quinoa sitting in my fridge taking up precious space.

Here is what mine looked like:

As the picture makes very obvious, this is horribly ugly. But then again, you wrap it in a tortilla so you don't have to look at it. The physical attractiveness of this food is inversely proportional to the yumminess. (That means it tastes great!) 

So, if you chose to make the recipe differently, or even the same as I did, I'd love to hear how it turned out. Please, leave a comment and tell me what you thought of the recipe!

Food Finds Friday: Faux at Trader Joe's

I love Trader Joe's. It's a cute grocery store, it has lots of gluten free and vegan products, and it's inexpensive. We got one in my city a few years ago, and since then, I've fallen in love. While I could go on for ages about the wonderful things I've found there, this post is going to focus on only faux dairy products.

 

First, they have some amazing soy coffee creamer. (Not to mention amazing coffee.) I love this stuff. It's delicious, and it helps me survive mornings.

Next, I've found the most wonderful vegan cream cheese there. You may recall a post I wrote a while back that compared different vegan cream cheeses. Oh my. If I'd found this stuff then, I would have included it. This is the most delicious vegan cream cheese I've ever tried. The texture isn't 100% like the real stuff, it doesn't taste 100% like the real stuff, but guess what it is 100% of? BETTER!  Oh my goodness. I make whatever excuse I can to eat it. It's amazing. Love at first bite.

My last favorite to mention now is maybe not really faux dairy, because most sorbet doesn't have dairy anyway, but if you think of it as fake ice cream, I think it counts. Trader Joe's mango sorbet is divine. I adore this stuff. In moderation of course. My sister on the other hand, would eat the whole carton while I'm not looking if I'm not careful.

I hope this has been helpful! There are so many other wonderful things at Trader Joe's, like vegan yogurt, tofu, vegan hot dogs (they're also gluten free by the way,) etc. And I plan to write about more amazing finds from there soon. Have you find anything wonderful at Trader Joe's? Let me know about it! Leave a comment, and share with your friends!

Original Recipe: Vegan Chicken and Broccoli over Spaghetti

Alright. So first things first, the name isn't 100% accurate. Honestly, you can use whatever pasta you want. Of course, whatever noodles I use are going to be gluten-free as well, and I prefer using more string-like noodles like fettuccine, angel hair, or even pad thai noodles (obviously not with pad thai sauce for this.) But like I said, really any pasta will work. This is a variation of a favorite recipe in my family, and my family has traditionally used spaghetti.

So what you will need:

• a regularly-sized package your choice of pasta, cooked (gluten-free if needed)
• 2 cups unsweetened alternative milk (I prefer flax milk)
• 2 tbs. corn starch
• 2 tbs. vegan butter
• garlic powder, salt, pepper to taste
• 1 small package of frozen broccoli, thawed (you can use broccoli with other veggies mixed in)
• 1 package of vegan chicken, chopped to bite-size (Beyond Meat is good for gluten-free people)
• vegan cheese, parmesan or mozzarella 
• microwave-safe pan that will hold all the pasta and also fit in the microwave, greased
• large microwave-safe bowl

How to make it:

• In microwave-safe bowl, melt vegan butter into alternative milk.
• Add cornstarch to the butter and milk, and whisk until evenly mixed.
• Add garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste.
• Mix thawed broccoli and chopped vegan chicken with the cream sauce.
• Spread cooked pasta evenly over the bottom of the pan. 
• Pour chicken, broccoli, and sauce over the pasta.
• Sprinkle on desired amount of vegan cheese.
• Microwave for 10 minutes on high or until veggies are hot. 
• Allow to cool to an edible temperature, and enjoy!

WOAH! That's so simple! Really. It's not very hard. It's also very satisfying because it has carbs, veggies, and protein all in one dish. If you want to look fancy, you can serve it with salad and / or vegan garlic bread, or you can eat it by itself.

Let me know if you tried it! Let me know if you made any alterations or substitutions, and how they turned out! If you have any pictures or reviews on this, I'd love to see them. I want to know what you thought. 

Runway Wednesday: Vaute Couture

Before I start, I'd just like to apologize for posting this so late in the day. But, OMG. I am so excited to know the results of PETA's 2014 Vegan Fashion Awards! Looking at the winners, I'm really inspired. If you haven't already read the results, check them out here. I really think I might have found some new favorite brands. I think I'm already addicted to Vaute.

 I need it in my life. Here are some of my favorites (women's wear) currently on their website:

The Lisa In Waxed Canvas-Multiple Colors (This was the Women's Outerwear Winner)

Kristina Dress In Organic Velvet-Black

I Can't Even Look At You In That Fur Boyfriend Sweatshirt-Grey

Love Is Mighty Pumps

As a side note, the children's wear is adorable, and the men's wear is very striking. I wish I'd been able to purchase a certain extra-long, black peacoat for my boyfriend. Unfortunately, it's sold out, and I'm a poor college student. I never could have afforded it. 

Quite honesty, I probably would have included links and pictures to practically every item on the site, but that would take the fun out of it for you! If I didn't post your favorites, leave the link in a comment! I'd love to see what you love! May all of your hearts be full of love, and my all your endeavors be fabulous!

Original Recipe: Nearly-Instant Taco Wrap

So, this is a really basic, simple recipe. I'm pretty sure a 5-year-old could make it without even making that much of a mess. I don't know why, but I've been craving tacos a lot recently. And so I make them. And I keep on wanting them. Does that mean they're my favorite food? I don't even know. Maybe it's because these are actually pretty good for you, and they're so ridiculously filling. I make them gluten-free and vegan, (obviously,) and they're super-easy to make free of whatever else you need it to be free of. They could be a snack, or a meal. That all depends on how hungry you are, and how much you make.

What you will need:

soft tortillas
vegan taco filling (as in fake meat)
vegan sour cream
vegan cheese
fresh spinach

What I use:

Food for Life (Ezekiel Bread) Brown Rice Tortillas

Tofurkey Chorizo Grounds

Tofutti sour cream

Daiya Cheddar Shreds

And spinach. 

What to do:

Place a tortilla on a microwave-safe plate. Spread desired amount of vegan cheese out over one side of the tortilla. Add desired amount of taco filling in a column on the center of the tortilla, leaving about 1.5 inches of space from the end on one side. Microwave for 30 seconds to a minute. Add desired amount of spinach on top of the column of taco filling. Add desired amount of sour cream to the column as well. Fold the end with space up and the sides in so that you can eat it with your hands. Enjoy!

Here's what mine looked like:

Words. Cannot. Describe. (And I will proceed at an attempt at verbal description anyway.) This is really super-amazing. I still don't know if it counts as a recipe. . . Because You aren't really COOKING anything. . . Whatever. This counts. So good. I said it was pretty good for you at the beginning of my post. It is. veggie crumbles / taco filling has a TON of protein. Fake cheese also has lots of protein. I'm pretty sure even vegan sour cream has a decent amount of protein. And let's face it, as delicious as iceberg lettuce is, spinach has way more goodness in it, like iron, calcium, antioxidants, etc. 

I'd love to see pictures of your own taco wraps! If you made these, let me know how it went! What did you think? Did you like it? Is it your new favorite thing? Did you make any awesome changes? Hit me up! Leave a comment. Can't wait to hear how things went!