20 Great Vegan Boots for Under $100

With the snow going absolutely NO WHERE here in Boston, there is a constant need for boots, and there will be until about May or so.
I put together a set of some really cute vegan boots, all of which are under $100(!), that I personally would love to get my hands on.
Click the picture to see the details of each pair!

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Vegan Caramel Apple Pie

After my boyfriend and I went apple picking a few weeks ago, we had a surplus of apples that we really had no idea what to do with...so we did what anyone in this situation would do and made pie. This caramel apple pie was so incredible that we had to make it twice!
This original recipe is via the Earth Balance-sponsored blog here. We kept the recipe the same, but made a few tweaks to the write-up to make it easier to understand. Let me know if you make this pie and what you think!




Ingredients:

• two pie crusts, for bottom and top (I bought mine, but homemade would be that much better)
• 3-4 apples, cored, peeled, and thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup, plus 1/2 cup brown sugar
• dash of cinnamon
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance, or preferred butter substitute
• 3 Tbs whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup cane sugar
• 1/3 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Prepare apples. Mix with 1/4 cup brown sugar and a dash of cinnamon. Fill pie crust.
3. Lattice (or if you lack that skill, as I do, crumble) the second pie crust over the apples.
4. Combine the Earth Balance, flour, cane sugar, water, and 1/2 cup brown sugar in a saucepan, and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, until the liquid starts to thicken.
6. Pour caramel sauce over the pie, letting it seep through into the apples under the top crust.
7. Bake for 15 minutes at 425F.
8. Decrease oven temperature to 350F, cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 40 minutes.

Clean Green Vegan

After spending the past two weeks very sick in bed, I decided that I would start to look into my diet to see what I can change in order to eat healthier and stay healthier. I'm already a vegan and have been for over two years now, but I feel that diet and nutrition is an area that can always use improvement. I don't have any concerns about my weight - my goal is to maintain my current weight, but I just think that by incorporating even more fresh fruits and vegetables into my diet, I can become even healthier.
In order to serve as a source for healthy food ideas and motivation (and some exercise, especially ballet and yoga), I decided to start yet another Tumblr (yes, I'm addicted). I would love if you checked it out and let me know what you thought!: cleangreenvegan.tumblr.com

Easy Vegan French Toast

One of my absolute favorite treats when going out to a vegan restaurant is vegan french toast. Unfortunately, I do not go out to eat often, so I don't have it as much as I would like. The other evening, my parents decided that they would make french toast for themselves and my brother, so I decided to look online to see if I could find a vegan french toast recipe. I found this recipe from PETA (I have adapted it slightly), and I couldn't be happier with how great it came out!

 

Vegan French Toast 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup soy milk
• 2 tbsp whole-wheat flour
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pinch nutmeg
• pinch cinnamon 
• 6 slices of your choice of bread

Directions:

1.  Mix all ingredients together (except for the bread) in a shallow bowl.
2. Dip the bread in the mixture and cook on a griddle or pan (spray first) until golden brown on both sides (flipping in between).
3. Enjoy with your favorite toppings!

YUM!

Easy Kale Chips!

Kale chips are one of my favorite snacks, and they are so easy to make. I don't personally make them in the most healthy way (I use Earth Balance and a lot of salt), but there are plenty of ways to personalize and make them as healthy as you want. Here is the standard recipe I always use.

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch kale
• 1-2 tablespoons heat safe oil or Earth Balance spread
• seasoning of your choice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Rip or cut kale into bite size pieces.
3. Toss in a large bowl with oil and seasoning (I used 3 cracks of sea salt and 3 cracks of pepper).
4. Spread thin on non-greased cooking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil.
5. Bake for 10-15 minutes, flipping after 5 minutes.
6. Enjoy!

Avocado & Banana Hair Mask

As a vegan, it is difficult to find hair or face mask diys that do not contain animal products, such as honey, yogurt, or eggs. I was so excited when I found this avocado & banana hair mask on Aarean's blog, The Color Issue (I've also featured this on one of my Crafty Saturday posts). Her recipe called for 1 whole avocado and 1 whole banana, but I split the recipe in half because I ate the other half on the avocado when I made vegan tacos the other night. (Half was plenty for my hair and I have fairly think, medium/, curly hair). Here's my version of the hair mask recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 - 1 avocado
• 1/2 - 1 banana
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Mash up the banana, avocado, and olive oil together in a bowl.
2. Apply to dry hair.
3. Let sit for 10-15 minutes.
4. Rinse off in the shower!

Ta-da! Now your hair will be extra silky and soft! (Let me know if you try it out!)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Flaxseed Cookies

Sure, the name of these cookies is a mouthful, but these cookies are so delicious! Not only that, but they're pretty good for you (and vegan, of course!). I made these the other day and have been snacking on them constantly. Yum! Here's the recipe for these amazing cookies.

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Flaxseed Cookies (recipe via)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 medium banana, mashed
• 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 cup unsalted natural peanut butter
• 2 tsp pure vanilla
• 1/4 cup mini dark chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, flaxseed, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mash banana with a fork. Stir in maple syrup, peanut butter and vanilla until well combined.
4. Add flour mixture to banana mixture, stirring just to combine; do not over-mix. Fold in chocolate chips, if desired. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer sheet to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 2 minutes. Remove cookies from sheet and let cool directly on rack. Enjoy!

My Favorite Vegan Banana Bread

I've made this vegan banana bread recipe several times now, and it always comes out so good. It is definitely a favorite recipe of mine, so of course I had to share it! I love eating it warm with a little bit of Earth Balance (a vegan margarine) spread on top.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup plain soy milk
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups mashed banana, from about 4 large very ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• optional: vegan chocolate chips or walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly oil a 9"x5" loaf pan and set aside.
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugars, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the soy milk and cider vinegar and let stand for 2 minutes. 
4. Add the mashed banana, canola oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract, whisking until well combined. 
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing until just combined (do not overmix). 
6. Fold in the chocolate chips/walnuts if using and pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. 
7. Bake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean. 
8. Allow the bread to cool on a wire cooling rack for 20 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American friends! Although I do not agree with the biased history of "The First Thanksgiving", I do enjoy Thanksgiving as a time to relax and enjoy good food with great company. It's also never bad to remember what you are grateful for and to celebrate that!

I made this vegan pumpkin pie just for the occasion. It was so delicious! I haven't had a pumpkin pie in about two years, even though it is one of my favorite holiday treats. The recipe is from Vegan Spoonful.

Ingredients:

• 1 unbaked pie crust (I used Marie Callender's)
• 1 15-oz can of plain pumpkin puree
• 1 cup plain nondairy milk (I used soy)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Combine pumpkin, non-dairy milk, sugar, cornstarch, salt, and spices in a large bowl, and mix very well with an electric mixer.
3. Pour into unbaked pastry shell, and bake for about 60 minutes. The pie will still be jiggly when you take it out of the oven, but it will firm up as it cools. Cool completely on a cooling rack, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving. Serve chilled and top with vegan whipped topping if desired. Enjoy!

clearly, cutting pie isn't something I'm very good at....

This Is What a Vegan Eats #2

Just a few things I picked up at the grocery store recently. I also bought some soy "yogurt" that I managed to eat all of before photographing (typical Melissa).

1. Ener-G Egg Replacer (aka the staple of any vegan baking when using a non-vegan recipe)
2. sunflower seeds
3. Nature's Path organic pumpkin flax granola (the only problem I have with this granola is that the flax is not ground so you do not get all the health benefits from it)
4. Craisins
5. burrito size flour tortillas
6. tortilla chips (a staple in my diet - I love making nachos with lots of beans and toppings)
7. chocolate creme Newman-O's (guilty pleasure)
8. salted peanuts
9. cinnamon Teddy Grahams (another guilty pleasure)

The Best Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies...Ever!

Seriously, these cookies were amazing. Here's the recipe I promised -

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup Earth Balance, melted/softened
1/4 cup soy milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp molasses

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips.

3.  In another bowl, combine the Earth Balance, soy milk, vanilla, and molasses.

4. Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix well. (The result will be crumbly - see pics below.) 

 5. Spoon dough with a tablespoon and roll into balls with hands. Place on a cookie sheet and press flat.

6. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Let cookies cool a bit before transferring them. Makes about 2 dozen cookies (plus some extra batter to eat!)

 Ta-da! This recipe is based off of Erica's recipe, here. I hope you enjoy! This were the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made, vegan or not.

This is what a vegan eats [1]

So in order to maintain some sense of responsibility when grocery shopping, I figured that I would start posting what I buy after each trip to the store. I am on a mandatory meal plan at my college, so I do not "need" to buy much food from the grocery store. With this being said, I am a vegan and the vegan options at my school are very limited. Note: If you're wondering why I rarely buy fruits or veggies, it's because I buy them with my meal plan at the salad bar most often.

1: organic yellow corn tortilla chips (I have guacamole in the fridge already!!)
2: organic plain soy milk (for my morning granola/cereal)
3: Soyummi(R) dark chocolate pudding (vegan/gluten free)
4: Vans(TM) wheat/gluten free blueberry waffles (also vegan)
5: rolls (to make hummus/guac/veggie sandwiches)
6: Muir Glen(R) organic mild salsa
7: Dark Chocolate Dreams(R) dark chocolate peanut butter
8: organic peanut butter
9: sunflower seeds & pumpkin seeds (for some trail mix I'll be making)

I also have an outfit post from today that should be up sometime tomorrow. Hope you've all had a sunny Monday!

Yesterday in Boston

Just enjoying a book and carrot-apple-celery juice while waiting for my passport appointment in Boston.

Zucchini Chocolate Spice Cake with Chocolate Ganache

This past weekend I went to a farmer's market to pick up some fresh, local zucchini and then decided to make this AMAZING cake! It's extremely rich, but absolutely delectable (and so moist!!)! And, of course, vegan.

Here is the recipe, via Ripe From Around Here: A Vegan Guide to Local and Sustainable Eating (No Matter Where You Live) by jae steele, which I altered slightly from the original published recipe. (find the book here, on Amazon.)

Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Sorry for the poor-quality photos; I was using my iPod.) Since I'm at my parent's house this weekend, I figured I would take up the opportunity of using their fully-stocked kitchen to do some vegan baking! I think the cookies taste wonderful, although the texture is really odd (as is usually the case when using applesauce as a binding agent). My dad didn't like them, but hey, more for me!
Here's is the recipe I used to make these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies:

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup instant oatmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325 F.
• In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, white sugar, apple sauce, and vanilla extract. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt, and oatmeal. Slowly add water to reach a thick, sticky consistency. Add in chocolate chips.
• Roll into balls using a tablespoon and bake for around 15 minutes on a cookie sheet.

Makes 15-25 cookies.

Recipe via Strawbirdies