Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!

  It's that time of year again and we all know what that means--food, food, family, and more food!  I love that it's starting to get colder and the holidays are coming up.  Thanksgiving and Christmas are my two favorites.  For Thanksgiving this year, I'm thankful for quite a few things:

1) My wonderful companion animal, Crockett

Crockett relaxing on the couch with
me as soon as I took a break from
cooking

2) My absolutely wonderful boyfriend

3) My fabulous family and friends

4) Having the opportunity to attend Texas A&M University

5) The loft that my boyfriend and I share

6) Health and security

   Both last year and this year, I was able to prepare an all vegan Thanksgiving dinner for my family.  This year's dinner included Gardein's Holiday Roast, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, corn, kale and navy beans, as well as 2 types of pie for dessert--chocolate and pumpkin.  I absolutely love being able to cook vegan food for my family and that they're so supportive of having an all-vegan Thanksgiving, especially since I'm the only one in my family who doesn't eat meat.

  I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Enjoy your day and keep track of all of the wonderful things you have going for you.

Happy World Vegan Day!

  Let's celebrate with some vegan mac 'n' "cheese"!

  Now, who doesn't love mac 'n' cheese?  I mean, really.  People of all ages love it and it's a great go-to food.  Since it's starting to get a bit colder here, it's also a nice homey meal to make and eat together with your friends and family.

  I've used several recipes, some with different flavoring options (such as a roasted red pepper mac from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's newest cookbook, Isa Does It: Amazingly Easy, Wildly Delicious Recipes for Every Day of the Week) but you can never go wrong with some straight-up, plain and simple mac 'n' cheese.  The recipe I based my own off of can be found on Detoxinista's website here.  I make a few adjustments which are:

• add about 1 tsp. of margarine (Earth Balance is a great brand)

• replace 2/4th's of the water with vegetable broth

• add a few dashes of black pepper

• use 4-6 oz. more pasta, depending on how "saucy" you like your mac

  Both my boyfriend and I love this recipe and is definitely our go-to for when we both just really feel like having a quick but delicious meal for dinner.  The texture is great; just make sure to blend it for a long enough duration in your food processor.  I feel like the margarine helps add a bit more of the "creaminess" I remember in my mom's mac 'n' cheese, the vegetable broth and pepper give it a bit more flavor, and the additional pasta helps to make it not seem "soup-like."  Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Happy Halloween, Everyone!

  Halloween is finally here and I am definitely excited for this evening to arrive!  I remember when I was little, my favorite Halloween costume was either Barney or Woody (from Toy Story).  I even liked wearing my costumes before and after Halloween--my mom took "Barney" grocery shopping with her many times!  My favorite part, aside from getting to dress up, was the candy (duh!).

  Now, I haven't been vegan my whole life, but if you guys are wondering about what candy is vegan-friendly on this holiday, VegNews has a guide out for you!  From A to Z, they list out all of the candy you or your vegan friends can enjoy this evening!  You can never go wrong with Sour Patch Kids, Skittles, Smarties, or Chick-O-Sticks, in my opinion!

Image from yummyplants.com

  If some of you feel like you're missing out on chocolate candy bars, do not worry!  Go Max Go is a brand that makes vegan candy bars!  Twilight is probably my favorite; it takes like a Milky Way.  Another chocolate-based candy to enjoy are the dark chocolate peanut butter cups from Justin's.  I think I like them better than I liked Reese's Cups as a kid!

Have fun this Halloween, readers!  Enjoy getting dressed up, going out, and eating candy!