Friday, January 8, 2010

Vegan Thursdays!

 

Yesterday I was sssoo unnaturally tired. Usually when this happens my body is fighting something so I decided to rest up! I spent the night relaxing and hanging out with the couch and now Im feeling much better! But late to post… I did however rock out to Vegan Thursdays thanks to the lovely and talented Miss Katie! Awesome idea!! Vegan or not I think incorporating more fruits and veggies into our diets is a great thing!  So for last nights meal I decided to make one ginormous amazing salad. There's no real measurements here. I just eyeballed everything. Would have been killer with some lentils too but I was out=)

salad

Roasted Veggie Salad with Tahini dressing and Romaine

Handful of Romaine

cilantro

basil

eggplant

broccoli

butternut squash

garlic

ginger

cinnamon

Tahini

1/2 lemon

pepper

water

Chop your broccoli, eggplant and butternut squash and sauté up in a small pan. Season with garlic, ginger and cinnamon. Meanwhile chop some romaine and toss with cilantro and basil. Place onto plate. Pour roasted veggie onto Romaine mixture.

Dressing:

I took  about 1 Tbsp. of tahini and watered it down a bit with some water and lemon juice.

Pour dressing all over salad and top with lots of cracked black pepper and enjoy!

I gotta say I loved the warm veggies over the crispness of the romaine and fresh herbs. The dressing just seemed to marry everything together a bit more. Delish and super fast! This whole salad made a HUGE plate, filled me up and was less than 200 calories to boot! (Dont worry there was plenty of squash and almond butter action happenin later on)

squash

Today, since Im feeling mucho better I decided to make this tasty amazing vegan breakfast cake. This recipe takes 5 minutes to prepare and is awesome. I grew up eating this and always look forward to it. Its still a favorite even after many years. The recipe has been passed down in our family for generations. My mom took the original recipe and veganized it. It can be found here:

book

But in case you dont have the book Im going to post the recipe anyways!

cakebeauty

Vegan Crumb Cake:

1 1/2 c. granulated sugar

2 c. flour

1/2 c. vegetable shortening (preferably non-hydrogenated like Spectrum)

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp. Ener-G egg replacer

1/4 c. water

3/4 c. vanilla soy milk

-Preheat oven to 350 coat an 8x8-inch square baking pan with non stick cooking spray

-In bowl, combine sugar, flour and baking powder. Cut shortening into flour mixture with 2 knives until shortening is smaller than pea sized. Remove 1 c. of dry ingredients and set aside.

-In measuring cup mix egg replacer with 1/4 c. water and stir. Add vanilla. Fill the cup the rest of the way with the soymilk. (Should be about 3/4 c) Add liquid to dry ingredients and stir to combine.

-Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with reserved dry ingredients. Bake for 45 minutes or until tooth pick insertered into center comes out clean.

-Allow to cool before serving

Variations: This is amazing with all kinds of fresh fruit topped or added into to the batter.

cake02

Enjoy!!! This is my quick go to cake too when people are over. Turns out great everytime and is always a winner! The crust is nice and crunchy and the cake is super moist.

Not only did this huge salad and cake make my day but Morgan also passed on this awesome award to me! Thank you ssoo much!!

hppy

And now 10 things that make my day!

1) my family, friends and bloggie friends. You all make me smile so much!

2) Coffee…is there anything better than a big cup of fresh coffee?

3) Working out! I love my sweat seshs

4) Red Wine…I am in love with a glass of good quality red wine..ssoo good! (What are some of your favs?)

5) Being outdoors..I LOVE being outside even if its just laying out and reading. I love the feel of the sun on my face

6) Cooking!

7) My health..Its something I used to take for granted but no more! I really appreciate the ability to be able to do all the things Ive always wanted

8) Massages…There is nothing like a good massage!

9) My sense of humor. Its gotten me through some rough times=)

10) Entertainment…anything from movies to music and everything in between.

Thank you so much Morgan! You rock!!

 

And now Im off for the night. I hope you all have a wonderful start to your weekend!

xoxoox!!

29 comments:

  1. that crumb cake looks amazing! your sense of humor is so vital, not everyone has one but i can tell you do :)

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  2. I'm officially following you! All this food looks so delicious, I'll definitely be trying them out:)

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  3. aww i love that you love your sense of humor :) that is awesome! LOVE massages too.

    great vegan day girl1! that cake sounds GREAT

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  4. Fantastic recipes! Thanks for sharing. The salad just sounds so fresh and healthy, I love it.

    Sense of humor gets me through my days. And, Nick makes me laugh everyday, which is something I find SO important in a guy! Also, I agree with you about a fresh cup of coffee, I'm about to go get my first right now!!

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  5. You have such a beautiful spirit, Miss Chrysta. Reading your posts always makes me smile :) :)

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  6. I hope you fight off that impending infection! Some R+R is always helpful.

    That salad sounds fantastic! Tahini is one of my favorite things on this earth (yes I like my hummus incredibly strong lol) and it goes so well with all of these veggies. The crumb cake looks amazing as well! Perfect brunch treat.

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  7. Your food looks awesome! I am eating less meat lately too. I think I used to just be so afraid of carbs that I would steer away from beans and lots of veggies. (STUPID). But now I am so into it, and I really don't measure anymore. That crumb cake looks fab too! Love the 10 things list and every morning when I have my big cup of coffee I swear I think the same thing you said in #2!

    Have a great day lady!

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  8. I totally meant to jump on board Katie's Vegan Thursday challenges, but remembered while I was hammering down a container of greek yogurt. Meh! With this recipe though I am VERY excited for to make up for it next thursday :) looks great, girl!

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  9. That cake recipe sounds great. I love crumb cakes.

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  10. Oh that dish looks AMAZING! And that cake recipe sounds even better! I think I might need to get baking!

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  11. hey girl!! Yeah Im trying to do more protein smoothies, I am excited to try the xanthan gum to make it thicker and more filling!!! I will let you know how that salad booster is!!!! Have a great weekend love!!!!!!

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  12. YUM love all these vegan meals I need to get better at experimenting in the kitchen! the salad sounds so good! almost empty barney butter=oats i a jar maybe?? yummm

    I love good red wine too SHIRAZ!

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  13. That cake looks awesome!

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  14. i agree, massages are amazing!! and the veggie salad sounds really good too

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  15. I totally want to try a tahini dressing on my salad! I just bought a new container of it and was looking for different uses. Warm veggies on a cool salad is the best! Great crumb cake. I'd love some for bfast with coffee. Hope you're having a good weekend

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  16. Your salad looks so delish, and I love that you used tahini in the dressing. Sinfully Vegan sounds like a great recipe book. My parents are experimenting with reducing animal products in their diet, and I think this would be a nice gift for them.

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  17. Wow....
    The Roasted Veggie Salad with Tahini dressing and Romaine looks fabulous. So fresh, green and crunchy!

    And the veganizing of the crumb cake and that book. SO yummy looking!

    And love your factoids
    Coffee…is there anything better than a big cup of fresh coffee?--Nope :)
    Health. Agree.
    Massages. Totally agree!

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  18. I enjoy your blog. The facts are really nice. Creative creative you are!

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  19. Yes to entertainment . I'm an entertainment nut....yes, I profess to indulging in US Weekly, The Bachelor, and cheesy Rom-Com movies...;)

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  20. hmm what an interesting cake! i happen to like crumb cake! =D

    hahhaha thanks re: the pictures! hahah sometimes we can be too hard on ourselves! =D i just don't want to come across as LOOK AT ME I"M SO HAWT (when in reality, i don't believe so! lol!)
    okay, soul patch piercing. you know that little bit of skin right below your lower lip. like a little divot? on your chin? that's the soul patch. it's in between the lower lip and chin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_patch. he pierced that part. HAHHA. i was like, OUCH! somehow i always get zits there...
    and dude! i think it is HIGH time you gets some new kicks so you can KICK ass on your workouts! have a great sunday tomorrow!!!!!!

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  21. Ooh, that tahini looks so good! I made a version of the dressing as well last night.

    Glad you felt good enough to make that crumb cake, because it looks delicious!

    I feel you on the massage... I'm going to get one this month :-)

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  22. Hey girl! Love the blog. I feel like we could be twins with the ten facts you posted! I love love love red wine. Malbec, chianti, red zin and pinot noirs are some of my faves.

    The recipes look fantastic! I'm not vegan but it's definitely a great idea to try it out here and there for a day. I'm definitely going to use those recipes soon!

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  23. that vegan crumb cake looks awesome!:)

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  24. Vegan crumb cake? I love crumb cake, and that looks absolutely delicious!

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  25. I'm with you--LOVE salads with both raw and cooked veggies. Best of both worlds! Congrats on the award. :)

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  26. I hope you're not getting sickies :( Isn't eating more fruits and vegetables such a great feeling? I am even happier when I'm consuming lots of'em! That cake looks amazing!

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  27. Well, The salad doesn't looks attractive to me, but I know it's really healthy. I'd love to try the crumb. Me and my sweet tooth! =)

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  28. First time commenter, long-time reader here!
    That cake looks incredible! As does that salad. Mmmmm. You have me craving grilled veggies and it's only 9:40 in the morning. Ha ha.

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