FoMu

I was pretty sad about leaving Nami behind in Phoenix, and was certain I wouldn't find a vegan ice cream shop quite as amazing in Boston.  Now I'm here to say (or write) that I'm obsessed with a little place called FoMu, which is within walking distance of my apartment.  FoMu (faux moo - get it?) serves coconut-based, agave-sweetened hard ice cream and smoothies, and has lots of unique flavors.  There's avocado, blueberry bread, and cake batter, to name a few of the flavors.  I went twice just this week, and there were different flavors on the board each time.  There's a variety of vegan toppings- gummy bears, sprinkles... the usual, and homemade hot fudge and whipped cream.  So good.  The mint carob chip with hot fudge is my favorite, and it's ohmygosh heavenly.  You can try out any of the flavors before you decide what you want, which is also a plus.  The employees are friendly and knowledgeable about what they're scooping.  Oh, and apparently Tobey Maguire visited last week.  I'm psyched to have this place in my neighborhood. 

Blogger's Soundtrack: 

Van Morrison - "Brown Eyed Girl"

 

Vegan in Boston

After lots of planning, packing, shipping, heavy lifting, and a five hour red-eye flight involving two cats, I'm here in Boston, moved into the new apartment, and ready to resume blogging.  I'm excited about the move for lots of reasons, but at the moment what I'm enjoying is working at my old desk from high school right beneath a window with a street view and lots of trees.  Oh, and the windows are open and there's a nice breeze.  I now appreciate the little things after spending the majority of several summers out in the desert. 

I've been doing a great deal of exploring around my new neighborhood over the past couple of weeks, and the vegan scene is definitely decent.  I've been doing my grocery shopping at a combination of Whole Foods and Stop & Shop.  Moving is annoying for many reasons, but one of my issues is that I now have to re-stock my entire pantry.  Food doesn't generally travel 2,718 miles well.  I mean, sometimes I get home from the store and items have somehow opened up on the five minute trip home.  Anyway, I've been using recipes that require few ingredients to start off with. 

The first vegan restaurant I tried was My Thai Vegan Cafe in Chinatown.  I'm not kidding when I say that the menu included a bazillion choices.  Ok, so it was actually 143, but close enough.  The menu was about eighteen pages long, and it took us a while to decide what we wanted.  The owners knew every item by number, which I thought was pretty impressive.  There are all sorts of fake meats at this place, including mock chicken, beef, and even duck.  I tried a yellow curry dish, which included rice, tofu, and lots of vegetables.  There were even sweet potatoes.  We wanted to try the Temple Soup, described as "a heavenly soup featuring add-ins of sweet potato, butter squash, coconut milk and ground peanuts," but it must be pretty popular, since they were all out.  Everyone agreed that the food was delicious-- even the non-vegan parties.  I somehow saved room for a piece of chocolate cake, was was also fantastic.  I wish the place had been air conditioned, so I would probably go again once the weather cools down. 

I have also visited Treats on Washington, located in Brighton, on Washington Street (clearly).  I needed access to Wi-Fi, and I was tired of going to Starbucks, so I decided to check this place out after driving by it a few times.  I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they serve lots of vegan baked goods in addition to the traditional stuff.  There were vegan cookies, muffins, cakes, and homemade granola bars.  They also served a few vegan sandwiches and soups.  I sampled a gigantic coconut chocolate chip cookie, and it was marvelous.  I plan to visit frequently. 

I already have a list of other places to check out.  I should also plan on doubling my workouts if I'm going to be eating out this much.

Blogger's Soundtrack:  

John Mayer- cover of "Free Falling"

 

Green and Broadening Horizons

Last night I had dinner at Green New American Vegetarian Restaurant.  It was the start of my Farewell to Phoenix Tour, whereupon I will hit up some of my favorite spots before I move to Boston.  However, as embarrassing as this is to admit for a vegan living in Phoenix, I had never actually eaten at Green before.  It's especially strange since I frequently go to Nami, which is right next door, and operated by the same people!  Therefore, this was an "I have to go there before I leave" type thing.   

Green is a a vegan restaurant with locations in Tempe and Central Phoenix.  The Central Phoenix locale is a pretty recent development.  While I had never eaten at Green before, I had been to one in Tempe five years ago, when I first moved to Phoenix.  At that time, I was an extremely picky eater, to put things mildly, and I could not find anything on the menu that I would eat.  I guess this shows how much I have changed, because this time it took me a while to decide what to pick from the extensive list of options on the menu.  I'm not a fan of mock meats, and frankly, vegan cheese frightens me, so there were some dishes I immediately crossed off the list.  My friend and I shared the samosas appetizer to start, and I went with the Coconut Curry Bowl with brown rice and crispy tofu as my entree.  Both were really delicious. I don't usually eat tofu, and the Coconut Curry dish would have been fine without tofu or any of the mock meat choices.  I would also add that the dishes were very well priced- $4.50 for the appetizer and $7.50 for the bowl.     

I don't have much time left in Phoenix, but I would definitely like to hit Green (and Nami) again before I leave.  I've been vegan for two years now, and it is one of the best life choices I have made.  I've tried so many new things and I feel healthier and happier in general.  Taking on this lifestyle has allowed me to broaden my horizons.  It has made me think more about where my food comes from and the impact of what I put into my body.  It has turned me on to the "Green" scene, both with regard to this lovely restaurant and also my outlook on how I impact the planet as an individual.  

Blogger's Soundtrack: Jason Mraz - "You and I Both"

I have recently become obsessed with Jason Mraz, who, by the way, happens to be vegan.

 

Banana Berry Waffles

I haven't blogged in awhile.  It's been over a month, in fact.  School ended, which is a crazy time in general, but I accepted a new job in Boston, so it has been a very busy/stressful/emotional few weeks.  While I should trying to use up what's in my cabinets before I make the big move, I haven't been in the mood to cook or write.  This morning, however, I decided whip up one of my weekend favorites-- banana waffles.  These can also be turned into pancakes if you don't have a waffle iron available.  Whichever you make, I must warn you, this recipe is very filling.

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups vanilla nondairy milk (I use soymilk or almond milk)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups whole wheat flour (regular flour will also work)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2  bananas

Directions

1.  Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2.  Combine the milk and olive oil in a small bowl, then mix that into the dry ingredients.
3.  Mash the bananas thoroughly with a fork, or throw them into a food processor.  Then add the bananas to the other ingredients.
4.  Use the batter to make your waffles or pancakes!

Today I had a bunch of fruit in the fridge, so I tried chopping up some strawberries and adding them to the batter.  I wasn't a fan of the results.  I prefer berries over the top of the waffles instead... delicious!

Chef's Soundtrack: Nelly Furtado: "Big Hoops (Bigger the Better)"

<3 VH1 on Saturday mornings

Vegan Beauty

Last week I was at the salon getting my hair cut, and I noticed that my stylist was really into "green" hair products.  I certainly was not going to complain about this, but it made me wonder if the products were also vegan.  My main thing has been the vegan diet.  I also strive not to buy any non-vegan clothing or accessories.  However, I have to say that I have been remiss in the beauty product department.  I use vegan products some of the time.  Sometimes the products just don't work that well, which has left me frustrated.  However, when I think about animal testing and animal ingredients in beauty products, I realize that it's no better to use non-vegan shampoo than to eat meat.  I am going to try and improve in this area.  Here are my suggestions if you would like to do the same:

Lush
Handmade and kind of expensive cosmetics, hair, and bath products.  I have tried their Rehab shampoo, and I loved it.  After perusing the website, I found out that Lush has many vegan options, including "bath bombs" and soap.  I am interested in trying the Cynthia Sylvia Stout shampoo, which is made from "organic vegan stout beer from a local brewery" and also Double Choc lip balm (yummy!).  This company really does have a serious commitment to ending animal testing, which you can read more about here (and take five seconds to sign a petition).

Alba Botanica
I noticed Alba Botanica shampoo at the grocery store awhile ago, and I was really pleased with it.  I wash my hair a lot because I frequently work out, and I am always looking for products that will keep my hair from looking greasy.  I purchased the Body Builder Mango shampoo for $7, which I thought was reasonable.  The products are 100% natural and vegetarian, and are never tested on animals.  I'm a fan.

Abba
Not to be confused with Alba, I noticed this line at Ulta the other day.  It was a bit out of my price range, at $15 per bottle of shampoo, but there's a wide range of products, all of which are "100% Vegan, Free of Synthetic Dyes, Sulfate Free and DEA Free." 

Strawberry Hedgehog
If you live in Phoenix, here's a local plug,  If not, you can still order online.  100% vegan soap, facial, and body products. 


There are many companies, like Aveda and Bath and Body Works, which do not test on animals, but which contain animal ingredients in some or all products.  Aveda Volumizing Tonic is vegan, but other products are not.  If you go to the PETA website, you can access a complete list of which companies do and do not participate in animal testing.  You can also check out Vegan Beauty Review for the real deal on all of these products.  I plan on checking out a company called Beauty Without Cruelty to find vegan concealer.  Going vegan is obviously a process.   

Blogger's Soundtrack: Christina Perri - "Arms"

 

   

Vegan Easter

Yesterday I cooked a feast for Easter.  I'm not sure what a traditional Easter meal entails besides perhaps a gigantic roast of some sort.  I just looked through my cookbooks and selected some dishes that looked delicious and were fancier and more time-consuming that something I would normally make.  The menu included garlic basamati rice and chickpeas romesco from Veganomicon, along with roasted broccoli and asparagus.  For dessert there was carrot cake with vanilla frosting from Babycakes.

Everything turned out fantastic.  The sauce on the chickpea romesco dish was amazing, and was everybody's favorite.  It involved roasting red bell peppers, pureeing these along with diced tomatoes, and then simmering with garlic, shallots, and a number of other different ingredients.  I was in the kitchen for a long time, but it was definitely worth it.  There were no Easter baskets or colored eggs, but there was good food and good conversation, which I prefer any day.

Chef's Soundtrack: Brandi Carlile - "The Story"

Best Vegan Apps

I'm not the best with technology. Here are some examples: when cat-sitting for friends of mine, I could not figure out how to turn on the television.  They have a fancy big screen TV and all sorts of gadgets, and no matter which button I tried, I couldn't watch regular TV.  I guess I'm just used to my old-school set which only has one Power button.  Another time, our school was implementing a new technology program, and each teacher had to take a pre-test to measure his or her technology proficiency.  I was the only person who could not figure out how to take the survey.  My technology proficiency was apparently zero.  When computer problems arise in the classroom, a student usually fixes things, or I refer them to a colleague (the same person who has the fancy TV).  I obviously have some degree of proficiency with the computer, but I am no guru.  Other people seem to catch on far more quickly when it comes to these things, leaving me in the dust.

What does this have to do with my vegan blog, you ask?  I'm getting to that.  About a year ago, my phone went haywire, by which I mean that it was randomly texting and calling people without my permission.  How rude.  I went out and splurged on an iPhone, and was super excited to be so fancy.  The sole fact that I could get online with my phone was a huge upgrade.  Soon enough, though, friends began teasing me because I had never installed any apps.  Apparently I was way behind again.  Most recently I have embarked on a quest to install more apps on my phone and actually use them, improving my hypothetical technology proficiency score.  I had never even considered the fact that there might be vegan apps until I searched for them and was pleasantly surprised.  While I think that some of these apps are useful for any vegan, what I have found is that many of them are best suited for people just starting out.  They make it especially easy to do your vegan grocery shopping.  Here are my recommendations:

1.  Animal-Free
Have you ever read a food label and noticed a bunch of foreign ingredients?  For vegans, that's definitely an issue.  This app includes an alphabetical list of animal ingredients and what they are made from.  There is also a scanner for use at the grocery store to help you identify vegan products.  Of course, I couldn't figure out how to use the scanner, so it had to be demonstrated to me.  After that, I found out that it works pretty well. 

2.  Vegan Cakes
This is the app version of the book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.  The free version offers a lot of simple advice on how to bake cupcakes, including "Seven Rules for Righteous Cupcakes," which is hilarious.  If you pay for the full app, you can get access to the recipes, as well.

3.  VeganSteven
VeganSteven is a great app because it lets you know where you can buy vegan products in your area.  It's pretty reliable, as it listed all of my favorite places in Phoenix.  I noticed that it did list some questionable establishments, such as Red Robin Burgers and FastMed Urgent Care, but for the most part, it gets the job done. 

4.  Veg Kickstart
This is a good one if you're just starting out, because it offers recipes and meal plans for 21 days and gives you interesting facts about the foods you're eating.  I liked the recipes, but for me, I would need more than the amount of food the app recommends for a daily plan. 

5.  YumYum
Yummy vegan recipes.  I like it.


Those are my favorites - so far.  Check them out... if you're not already two steps ahead of me. 

Blogger's Soundtrack: Jason Mraz - "Sleeping to Dream"

love love love this song.