Recipes, Uncategorized

Power Packed Quinoa

Power Packed Quinoa | Vegan Living by Danielle

Ingredients:

  • 1 bunch kale (sub spinach if desired)
  • 1 lg sweet potato
  • 1/2 cup dry quinoa
  • 1 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1/2 sm yellow onion
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1-2 cloves garlic (sub 1 tsp powdered garlic)
  • 1 sm zucchini
  • 1 can of garbanzo beans
  • 1 cup of pine nuts
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp of plain hummus per serving as topping (optional)

Directions:

  1. Cut all leafy greens of kale from stems into pieces roughly the size of a playing card. (The best way to cut kale is to slice directly along the stem, on both sides of the stem, removing the leafy green from the stem entirely. Then cut the greens into desired size. The stems are edible, so feel free to add them to the meal if desired. I like to put the greens into a colander after cutting to rinse.) Set greens aside for later.
  2. Cube the sweet potato and put in a pot with the dry quinoa.
  3. Add 1/4 tsp cumin and 1/4 tsp chili powder to the pot.
  4. Add water and put the pot on high heat.
  5. Cover pot and set a timer for 20 minutes, but reduce heat to medium-low once it reaches a boil. (No stirring is necessary while quinoa is cooking.)
  6. Chop onion and place in pan over medium heat with olive oil. **If using garlic cloves, mince garlic and add to the pan now as well. Add powdered garlic later with the other spices.**
  7. Slice zucchini, then cut slices into quarters. Add zucchini, kale, garbanzos, pine nuts, and remainder of the spices (add powdered garlic here).
  8. Cook until all veggies are tender, stirring occasionally.
  9. Serve veggies on a small bed of the quinoa and top with a tablespoon of hummus and a sprinkle of cumin or chili powder if desired.
  10. Enjoy!

Makes approximately 4 servings.

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Recipes, Uncategorized

The Best Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies | Vegan Living by Danielle

CAUTION: These cookies are highly addictive!! Even my dad, who refuses to eat anything vegan and identifies highly with Ron Swanson [see Parks and Rec], cannot get enough of them even though he knows they are vegan! My omnivore family and coworkers always request that I bring these cookies too.

After baking these cookies year-after-year for Christmas presents and parties, I have a few tips to add!

  • Using metal sheets helps make the cookies more cake-like which seems to be the most popular. Bake time will vary depending on sheet type
  • One 15 oz can of pumpkin puree makes about 5-6 dozen cookies. Using a full can requires the recipe to be quadrupled.
  • I use mini chips so there are more chocolate chips per cookie
  • Substitute King Arthur’s Gluten Free measure for measure flour for a gluten free version!

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 Tbsp applesauce
  • 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice, or 1/8 tsp each of ginger, cloves, all-spice
  • 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (Enjoy Life chips are allergen friendly. Also Stop and Shop’s organic semi-sweet chocolate chips are “accidentally” vegan)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Stir thoroughly pumpkin, sugar, oil, applesauce, and vanilla.
  3. In a separate bowl, stir thoroughly flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and other spices.
  4. Slowly pour flour mixture into pumpkin mixture and blend well.
  5. Once all the flour mixture is blended, stir in the chocolate chips.
  6. Scoop dough in 1-inch balls onto a lightly greased cookie sheet spaced 1 inch apart, they don’t expand too much.
  7. Bake for about 12 minutes. I recommend testing a few cookies before to make sure you’ve got the right time for your oven. They should come out a bit cake-like.

Makes approximately one dozen cookies.

Enjoy!!

Lifestyle Tips, Uncategorized

Fighting Animal Testing

Lush Cosmetics | Vegan Living by Danielle

If you’re looking to support a company that makes efforts to end animal testing, I highly recommend checking out Lush Cosmetics. Lush marks their vegan products to make shopping easy. You can put your mind at ease shopping with them because you know you’re supporting a company that is fighting to end animal testing and treating yourself.

I purchased these two items, the Kiss and Charity Pot, a few months ago and love both!

The Kiss smoothed my lips so nicely and left a little tint on my lips. You can just lick it off when you’re done scrubbing too and it surprisingly tastes good! I’ve found this product useful to keep lipsticks from flaking off my lips throughout the day. (My favorite lipstick comes from Kat Von D, Everlasting Liquid Lipstick. It’s also vegan and cruelty free!)

But my favorite is the Charity Pot lotion. I’ve always suffered from extremely dry, sensitive skin, especially in the winter. Over 20+ years I have tried numerous tricks and lotions and nothing stands up to this lotion. I only use a dime sized dollop on my hands right before bed and my skin has never been more soft! Plus all profit from the purchase goes to charity.

Recipes, Uncategorized

Easy Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

Easy Buffalo Cauliflower Bites | Vegan Living by Danielle

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 unsweetened, unflavored soy, hemp, rice, or flax milk
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp garlic
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 medium head of cauliflower
  • at least 1/4 cup of buffalo sauce (Sweet Baby Ray’s Buffalo)
  • celery sticks (optional)
  • vegan ranch dressing (optional)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
  3. Whisk vegan milk, flour, garlic, and pepper in a mixing bowl. Avoid clumping at the bottom of the bowl by adding the vegan milk first. If you need more batter to coat the cauliflower, add equal parts vegan milk and flour to keep batter consistent. 
  4. Dip the cauliflower in the batter, coating completely.
  5. Shake the cauliflower lightly to remove excess batter before placing on cookie sheet.
  6. Bake 15 minutes until batter is a light gold color.
  7. Remove cookie sheet from oven and use spatula to move cauliflower to a mixing bowl.
  8. Pour buffalo sauce over the cauliflower in the mixing bowl and shake or lightly stir until evenly covered.
  9. Move cauliflower to a serving platter.
  10. Optional: drizzle remaining buffalo sauce from bowl over cauliflower bites. 
  11. Suggested serving with celery sticks and vegan ranch dipping sauce.

Enjoy!

Lifestyle Tips, Uncategorized

Vegan Documentaries

Hey everyone! I wanted to learn more about meat and dairy industries and why going vegan is good for the environment, but most of these documentaries are too graphic and unbearably sad.

For anyone looking to educate themselves more about the vegan lifestyle without the sad parts, I highly recommend watching the documentary, Live and Let Live! It’s a great film that doesn’t show photos or footage of animals being killed or abused like a lot of vegan documentaries do. It is a compilation of stories from many people who you might not expect to go vegan and lots of reasons to go vegan! There are stories of witnessed abuse that is very sad, but not as bad as the footage normally included.

So if you’re considering a vegan lifestyle, looking to get more facts about your existing vegan lifestyle, or know someone who is thinking of going vegan, watch this documentary! It’s available on Netflix streaming.

UPDATE: Also check out Game Changers to learn more about health benefits of veganism!