Video: Top 5 Vegan Cookbooks for Beginners

Cookbooks Mentioned:

How It All Vegan, Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer

Isa Does It, Isa Chandra Moskowitz

The Kind Diet, Alicia Silverstone

Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, Terry Hope Romero & Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Thrive, Brendan Brazier

What I Ate: 8.19.14

I haven’t done one of these “Food Diary” posts in awhile, so I thought I’d share a day in the life of my mouth…wait, is that creepy? That sounds totally creepy, doesn’t it?

In other news, here’s what I ate:

Breakfast

For breakfast, I warmed up some quinoa with almond milk, chopped apples, 2 dates and cinnamon. Topped with hemp seeds,shredded coconut and sliced almonds.

Lunch

Lunch was leftovers from yesterday’s dinner – Lentil-a-roni from Isa Does It. I used a quinoa-based pasta and added kale. This is total comfort food with a healthier twist. Yum!

Snack

Pixie Retreat is a local company that specializes in making raw to-go food. This L’il Puddin’ Cup is in their Vanilla Kreem Salted Karmal version and it’s ridiculously good. Creamy, sweet, salty perfection.Pixie just opened up a storefront and I’m so excited to check it out asap!

Dinner

These nachos are kind of ruling my life right now. The ground beef is made from sauteed quinoa and a ton of spices – genius! Topped with green onions, olives, salsa, homemade nacho cheese and a side of sliced avocado. Recipe via VegNews.

Not Pictured: I also snacked on some blueberries and a small smoothie (raspberries, coconut water, Amazing Grass powder) mid-morning as well as some lightly salted, non-gmo popcorn in the afternoon. 

I think that about covers it. Do you enjoy these posts? I know I’ve always enjoyed similar food diaries by other bloggers. Let me know in the comments and/or share your own “What I Ate” photos and let me know where to find them!

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Protein Packed Parmesan

Craving something cheesy? Looking to sprinkle some goodness onto avocado toast, a lacking pasta dish or the best heirloom tomatoes you’ve ever had?

So. Good.

Fear not. I have a super easy and incredibly nutritious spin on an old favorite for you today.

Hemp seeds.
Nutritional yeast.
Pink Himalayan Salt.

That’s it. No joke.

So what makes this recipe so protein packed and nutritious? Here’s a quick rundown of all the benefits these 3 ingredients provide:

First up? Hemp seeds. I put hemp seeds on just about everything these days. The texture is great and they give any dish a nice and subtle nutty flavor. Hemp seeds also happen to be full of omega-3 fatty acids and protein. Full of essential amino acids, hemp seeds are considered a complete source of protein, adding roughly 10 grams of protein per serving to your meals. So sprinkle that stuff on all the food!

Oh, nutritional yeast – it’s kind of the holy grail for all of us former cheese-loving vegans out there. On top of being perfect as a cheese substitute, nutritional yeast also happens to be full of B vitamins and amino acids. Oh, and another complete protein! Nutritional yeast is winning at life, guys.

And lastly, pink himalayan salt. Not only is it super pretty, but pink salt contains all of those wonderful minerals that are stripped out of basic table salt. If you feel like totally nerding out, feel free to check out this in-depth chart listing all of the minerals packed into these tiny crystals. Flavor-wise, it adds just the right amount of bite without being too overpowering.

3-Ingredient Protein Packed Parmesan

1/4 cup hemp seeds

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon pink himalayan salt crystals or 1/4 teaspoon if it’s pre-ground

Combine all ingredients into a food processor. Blend until fully combined. 

Enjoy!