Two Gone Vegan

John and Michelle Go Vegan

[twogonevegan]

There were some Lucy Ricardo moments in the kitchen tonight but this vegan pavlova is made with aquafaba and coconut whipped cream and it tastes great! I'll work harder on the presentation next time. #vegan #vegandessert #aquafaba #coconutmilk

[twogonevegan]

The Mighty Chickpea, for dessert?!

[twogonevegan]

Mediterranean lunch had become one of our vegan staples! So good.

[twogonevegan]

[twogonevegan]

Meatless protein-packed products show no signs of slowing

Opportunities abound as vegetarians and flexitarians drive the growing trend for alternatives to meat.

[twogonevegan]

This huge, ugly fruit is a surprisingly good meat substitute

Don’t know jack about replacing meat with fruit? Here’s a helpful guide.

Jackfruit... I’ll have to try it!

[twogonevegan]

Mexican food... I love you.

Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo which made me dream of Mexican food. So much cheese! I’m sure there are ways to get around all that cheese. Beans and rice are vegan... guacamole is vegan! Salsa is vegan! Could just have those. But enchiladas, I miss you already... Not sure vegan cheese will melt or taste the same, but I’ll have to try it to be sure! Stay tuned.

[twogonevegan]

[twogonevegan]

Amy's Drive Thru

We spent the day in Sonoma yesterday and en route home, realized it was either going to be a really late dinner or we needed to find something nearby. We have been meaning to try Amy's drive-through restaurant since it opened so we took the circular route home and checked it out. All vegetarian fast food, and everything can be made vegan (which we did) - 2 cheeseburgers and fries, all vegan! Really good quality too. Recommended!!!

[twogonevegan]

Adventures In Egg Substitution

[twogonevegan]

You're just a substitute for another egg...

After the Whole Foods “cake” fiasco (it tasted like nothing except maybe paste) I needed to make us a dessert that tasted like something. Trader Joe’s makes a Blondie mix and I used Earth Balance olive oil butter substitute and Neat Egg egg substitute for it This stuff is made up of ground dried chia and garbanzo beans that you mix with water. The blondies were a little flat, but that was probably my bad because I wanted to use my cobalt Fiesta baking pan and it was a bit large. Ok, the important part, they were FABULOUS! I’m going to take a cue from other vegan bakers and skip most of the vegan baking recipes and just use subs for my old favorites and go from there.

[twogonevegan]

We’re both experiencing some detox/hangover symptoms, Vegan Day #7, as our bodies purge whatever cheese/milk/yogurt/eggs have left in them. One thing I didn’t expect was sugar cravings! My usual breakfast was granola & yogurt, sometimes fruit & yogurt; seeing now how much sugar was in those choices. Having smoothies every other day or so now, there is some natural sugar from the fruit going in but not enough to make up for the processed sugar intake from before! Trader Joe’s Almond Clusters granola nutritional info.

[twogonevegan]

Grocery shopping as a new vegan is like Pee-Wee Herman & the bicycle/clown nightmare in Big Adventure w/ soundtrack! http://youtu.be/fPh64MGfcBM #veganproblems #pee-weeherman

[twogonevegan]

I like coffee... I like tea...

but I really don’t like any of the vegan cream options. Tried almond milk, rice milk, coconut milk, coconut “creamer”, oat milk... They all have too much flavor or break down and get gritty. I may have to just drink it black or stir in some sugar instead. Oat milk is the least objectionable but even that isn’t the same. Must make the transition!

Next week I’m going to try to the pea milk. 

[twogonevegan]

Detox Surprise

The fourth and fifth days so far have been tough, I did a little research because we both started feeling poorly, headaches, tiredness, achiness, etc. There is a detox period for going off dairy, I'm hoping that the worst is over, but in any case if this doesn't confirm that your body doesn't want dairy, I don't know what does!

[twogonevegan]

Vegan cake, are you a unicorn?

Well we learned a valuable vegan lesson last night. We wanted to continue our weekly treat of having a slice of cake on Sunday nights, so we bought one slice each from the meager vegan cake selection at Whole Foods. Seriously, the non-vegan slices were 2 or 3 times as big. But hey, we’re vegan now so who’s complaining?

The vegan German chocolate cake was basically edible, and the dark chocolate frosting was surprisingly good (if you like dark chocolate, which I do but not everyone does). But the vanilla cake frosting tasted like paste and felt like paste in the mouth. And both slices, once consumed, re-congealed and sat in our bellies like soft rocks. Bleah.

Next time... we’re making our own! Gone vegan and will be doing less takeout, that’s for sure!

[twogonevegan]

This mozzarella doesn’t #tasteslikeafoot unlike the cheddar we tried... Decent texture and flavor although it seems to be sticking to my teeth a bit. Weird. But in a sandwich with Tofurkey slices and avocado, not bad at all!