Vegan Treats: The discovery of an amazing bakery!

My apologies for being away so long! I had a bout of Spring Break fever and was away mentally.

Now that I'm back, I wanted to blog about an amazing, possibly the MOST amazing, bakery in the world. Note, this is a vegan bakery, however, I don't specify that because their desserts are amazing, vegan or not!

Vegan Treats is this hidden gem located in Bethlehem, PA. I discovered them when I ordered a slice of cake from Java Green, which is a mostly vegan (some vegetarian) restaurant in DC. The cake was a super moist, rich, lovely, chocolaty....**drooooolll...** Ok, you get the point. I asked them where they got this lovely creature from and they mentioned Vegan Treats. Me being hungry, for more cake as well as the knowledge of the source of it, immediately went back and googled it. I read all about this small bakery. The owner/master baker, Danielle Konya, now one of my idols, is this talented, compassionate woman who started this bakery up to share her amazing treats with the world. She is even popular with certain celebrities (Gwenyth Paltrow, AFI, Alicia Silverstone, etc).

Now even though I'm in love with this bakery, I was weary of making a 3 hour plus trek to get there. Fortunately, I found out that they make deliveries to restaurants in the DC metro area every Friday so I simply place an order the day before and they will either drop it off at one of the restaurants or meet me at my work to deliver it. Since I'm only a mile or so away from one of the places they deliver to, they are OK with this. I also try to order enough to make it worth their while to deliver to me. They have mentioned that they are looking into opening up a store in the DC area. I would LOVE that although I'd be very afraid for my waistline!!!

They also make deliveries to restaurants in New York and other surrounding areas.

Many people have asked me if this is healthier than traditional dairy and egg based desserts. I say probably not because it still contains sugar, fat, etc., however because it negates any animal based product, it's cholesterol-free AND most importantly, it's cruelty-free and that's good enough for me!

It just really makes you realize that animal derived sources are totally unnecessary. The baker uses tofu. Yes, TOFU. You can blech all you want but that food source is so versatile and just plain awesome.

If you don't believe me, I challenge you to try these desserts and not be in love and/or realize there is no dairy or eggs.

You can find Vegan Treat's desserts at Busboys and Poets, Toscana Grill, and Java Green. If you don't live in or around PA, NY, or VA, contact Vegan Treats to see if they deliver to any restaurants near you!

Some of my past orders....***DROOL***

Green Smoothie

I've made smoothies before and even bought an expensive food processor as a way to drink my fruits and vegetables. This processor was sophisticated in that it could juice a whole apple and even separate the pulp and seeds out, however I returned the processor when I realized that I wanted the pulp and seeds and also that a really good blender could do the same thing! So I exchanged the food processor for a high quality blender.

I recently spoke to a friend (Thanks, Adam!) who makes his smoothies and adds really good stuff to it, not just a variety of fruit, which is what I used to do and so I got a renewed feeling of inspiration to do the same. Also, I needed an energy boost as well as something that would give even more of a nutritional benefit than just a mix of fruits. I wanted the ULTIMATE superfood smoothie that tasted decent and so after talking to this friend and reading up on the site he suggested, I came up a smoothie using the ingredient ideas I found.

Keep the following ingredients on hand and please note that the these ingredients can be put in any combination that you like, although there are certain ingredients* I would always add to it.

Smoothie Ingredients (found at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and any healthfood stores):

-Spinach/Kale*
-Flaxseed*
-Spirulina* (powder form)
-Bananas/Blueberries/Strawberries/Raspberries
-Carrots
-Wheatgrass
-Dandelion Greens

Instructions:

Put the following into a blender:


1. Handful of spinach and/or kale

2. 1/3 cup of water

3. Two tablespoons of flaxseed

4. One tablespoon of spirulina

5. Five or 6 large strawberries

6. Handful of blueberries

7. One banana

Blend together and...

Voila!

This tastes MUCH better than it looks, I promise! The berries and banana dominates the taste of the smoothie. This amazing drink takes only about 5 minutes to put together and make!!

I only started drinking this on Monday so I will let you all know how I feel and look (i.e. energy levels have increased, skin starts looking translucent, hair become more goddess-like, etc) after about a week of drinking this :)

Makeup, shampoos, and other personal care products

Ok, so this post is a little more gender specific, but I do live in a liberal-ish area so really, this post can apply to whomever! I never used to wear much makeup but decided to try some concealer, powder, blush, etc about a year ago. I am getting older and thanks to my heritage and genes, am cursed with dark circles. Thanks mom and dad! :-P

Of course if I'm not going to eat animals or anything that comes from them, I'm certainly not going to wear them either. And so began my research for high quality vegan makeup and other personal care products. You will find that a lot of companies brag about not animal testing. Sorry but that just doesn't cut it for me. So you won't do animal testing but you will use their parts as ingredients in your cosmetics? Thanks but NO thanks!

You'd be (or should be) grossed out by the ingredients they use. Like food ingredient listings, they won't state the lamens term such as whale blubber or sheep fat but instead will hide behind the technical terms. I came across a great comprehensive list on a site by PETA, which defines the ingredients to be aware of.

My favorite vegan makeup is made by Urban Decay. A bit pricey but very good quality! They don't do animal testing and most of their products are vegan. I say most because some do contain beeswax, etc. You can know for sure though because the vegan makeups have a small paw print right next to the name of the makeup on their display case, called a Marley's Purple Paw. I buy my Urban Decay makeup from Ulta. The staff there is pretty knowledgeable and will help out the makeup challenged as I was when I first went there.

A very good shampoo/conditioner is Pureology. Also pricey but worth it! They state on their homepage that it is 100% vegan. It also states that they are about serious color care but you can use this even if you don't color your hair. They also make excellent hair styling products (wax, mousse, etc).

Most companies will boast about there not being any animal products in their line of products so sometimes all you have to do is read the back of the box or bottle or visit their site and they will state somewhere that it's animal-free. Again, don't be fooled by them simply stating that they don't do animal testing because they could very well still use animal ingredients.

Another very good comprehensive list of vegan cosmetics and personal care (and cleaning) products can be found here.

Oh, almost forgot...be aware of the makeup brushes as most are made from animal hair. All of Urban Decay's brushes are man-made.

Hope this was useful!

Vegan French Toast

This recipe is from a friend of mine, Jackie Granzow Florence (thanks, Jackie!). I attempted these for the first time today and it turned out delicious! I'm quoting her recipe, almost verbatim.

The ingredients are shown below:


Ingredients:

• Unsliced, 1 day old, bakery bread (Jackie suggests Wegman's "W" bread)
• 3 tbsp amaretto liquor
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/4 cup soy milk
• 4 tbsp brown sugar
• Earth balance butter
  

Directions:

1. Slice the bread into thick slices, if not already sliced.

2. Whisk together the soy milk, amaretto, vanilla, cinnamon, and brown sugar.


3. Pour a small amount of the mixture (in a large plate that is sort of like a bowl) and put one piece of bread in it to absorb the liquid. (add more slowly if needed, make sure it is not soaking to the point where it is dripping, but that it has enough to be moist.) Flip the piece and do the same for the other side. Set the piece aside and continue to do this until all the pieces have used up the mixture.


4. Preheat a non stick pan on medium to medium high. Put a few pats of the Earth balance on each piece, sprinkle with some more brown sugar and cinnamon and place it into the heated pan. Let it heat up for about 2 minutes, check to make sure it does not burn but it should get dark brown and a little crusty (while it is heating on the first side, add a few pats of Earth balance, brown sugar, and cinnamon to the side that is up). Once the underside looks right flip it and cook on the other side for another two minutes.

TIP: Before you flip the toast, you can add a small amount of soy milk to the hot pan after you have placed it in the pan, this just gives it a little more resemblance to real French toast and helps give it more coating.


8. OPTIONAL: Use fresh strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, mango, etc. as topping

Also by Jackie: This might sound sort of complicated and it is hard to get it perfect the first few times, but you will develop a technique and it is SO good! Good luck when you try to make it, I think you are going to love it!

Jackie was right, this was DELICIOUS!!

Enjoy!

Everything Potatoes: Skins and Mashed

Who doesn't like potatoes? Not a body!

So you're a vegan and you think you must give up those delicious potato skin appetizers. Heck no!

As a bonus, making potato skins allows you to make mashed potatoes at the same time.

The ingredients are shown below (all can be bought at Whole Foods)

Ingredients:

• Russett potatoes (4 - 6 or however many you can shove into your mouth)
• Vegan sour cream by Tofutti
• Daiya vegan cheese, which only comes in shredded form. This is THE BEST vegan cheese on the market! (now available at Whole Foods in Vienna, thanks to me for my constant badgering to them to carry it. Can also be found at Sticky Fingers bakery). You can use the cheddar or mozzarella.
  
• Earth Balance butter
• Green onions
• Garlic powder
• Olive oil
  

Directions:

1. Wash/scrub the potatoes well. Then rub or brush olive on each potato and put in 400 degree oven for one hour.


2. Let potatoes cool down enough to handle and then cut in half.


3. Scoop out potatoes in another container leaving 1/2 in or less of potato in it.


4. Rub or brush olive oil all over the cut potatoes and put back in the oven for 5 minutes. Then flip the potatoes and bake for another 5 minutes.


5. While the potatoes are baking, mash the potatoes that were scooped out and sprinkle garlic powder, however much butter, salt, and pepper you want. You can add a little bit of rice milk for added creaminess. Vegan mashed potatoes are done!


6. Once potatoes are out of the oven, fill it with the Daiya vegan cheese.


7. Put back in oven for about 5 - 10 minutes. Take out of the oven and add the chopped green onions and vegan sour cream. Oh and if you like the flavor of bacon, you can add those fake bacon bits on top. I don't particularly care for it.


YUMMY!!

Tofu Panang

This is the best vegan dish on the planet...really! No, REALLY! Everyone that has tried it has absolutely loved it. It's addicting and oh so satisfying!

Here are the ingredients (can be found at H-Mart or any Asian grocery store):

• Two cans of 13.5 ounce can of coconut milk (best brand is Chaohok)
  
• One can of Red curry paste
• Basil (freeze what you don't use)
• Cherry tomatoes and any other vegetables you love
• Organic brown sugar, which I got from Whole Foods (white sugar has usually been sifted through animal bone charr, gross! brown sugar is must tastier anyway)
  
• White jasmine rice (or brown rice or a mix of each)
  
• Fried tofu (also freeze what you don't use). I get the fried tofu from Thanh Son Tofu located at Eden Center in Falls Church. $3 worth is all you need.
  

TIP: Regarding the rice, white jasmine is best, however a healthier alternative is to mix brown rice with the jasmine rice. In this case, I simply used all brown rice.

Directions:

1. Start cooking the rice in the rice cooker.

2. Cut the tofu into many pieces and cook on medium to high heat.



3. Pour in coconut milk. After pouring the coconut milk out, I add water in the can to get all the remnant of the coconut milk out. Also adds extra sauciness to the dish. Can add up to half a can of water.



4. Add the red curry paste. Now if you LOVE spicy and I mean runny nose spicy, then add the whole can, otherwise only put half the can.



5. Now add the cherry tomatoes (I cut in half) and basil (chopped) and any other veggies you would like.



6. Add the organic brown sugar. The amount is up to you. I add a lot because the brown sugar really makes this dish amazing. You can keep adding and tasting until you find it perfect for your taste.



Serve over a bed of rice and ENJOY!!!

CandyCandyCandyCandy....

I decided to make my first real vegan food alternative post to be VERY exciting, so what more exciting than CANDY?

If you didn't already know, certain candies are naturally vegan such as airheads, sour patch kids, now and laters, blow pop, dots, etc. The full list can be found here. Some of you might be wondering what they could possibly put in candy to make them non-vegan. Those ingredients are usually egg albumen or gelatin. Gelatin is what gives that soft, squishy texture to gummi bears/worms, starbursts, skittles, etc. They use pectin in sour patch kids and other squishy, non-gelatinous candies. Pectin comes from vegetable or fruit sources. Gelatin, however, comes from pig and horse bones. Yes, that fun colorful jiggly stuff called jello you used to eat as a child contains boiled pig bones. Scrumptious! FYI, there are vegan jello mixes.

Back to candy...

How about when you're craving a chocolate candy bar though? Before veganism I took the drugstore and grocery store candy shelves for granted. I miss the days I would drool over kit kats, snickers, 3 musketeers and know I could buy one whenever I wanted. So accessible, sigh. Of course those days are gone since all of these chocolate candy bars contain some form of milk (milk, whey, casein).

I attended a holiday fundraiser for Compassion Over Killing and participated in a silent auction where I won 3 vegan chocolate candy bars among a few other things. I tried it with an open mind and MUCH to my pleasure, they were DELICIOUS! The candy bars are made by Go Max Go and it uses rice milk instead of regular milk. They make 4 candy bars of which you'll notice have synonymous titles as the candy bars they are copying (jokerz = snickers, twilight = milky way, I'll let you guess the other 2, although mahalo?). The mahalo is actually DIVINE but the fat content is not, which is of course due to there being coconut in it. The joker could do with a little more peanuts but is otherwise delicious. Bucaneer is perfection and twilight is a teensy bit grainy-ish but otherwise still very delicious. The rice milk chocolate can be slightly more crumbly than the real milk chocolate so take ease when eating them (i.e. avoid eating in the car while driving unless you're prepared to have smushed caked on chocolate bits on your clothes).

You can buy these candy bars at most Whole Foods, some Wegmans although I didn't find it there a few months ago, and at Ellwood Thompsons in Richmond. Speaking of Ellwood Thompsons, that grocery store is a vegan treasure that I will be discussing in a future post.

These candy bars are NOT cheap. Each one costs about $2.50 per bar. A small price to pay though in my opinion. Besides, too much sugar isn't good for you ;)