Meal Ideas: Vegan Fajita Quesadilla

 

I love quesadilla. Not only does it taste like heaven, it got me through my poor busy college years. I probably have made about a hundred of quesadillas in my life, and it was time to make another hundred or more in vegan style.

First, grill your veggies (I used red and yellow bell peppers and onions) in a pan with olive oil until they're soft. Set them aside in a bowl. Add some vegan cheese (I used Daiya chedder cheese) to your bowl of hot veggies and mix well. 

Place your veggies/cheese mixture in a tortilla and fold them in half. Place the tortilla on a pan and grill until your cheese is melted well. 

To upgrade your quesadilla, top it off with some avocado, sauce of your choice (my sauce is a mixture of veganaise, sriracha and ketchup), and cilantro. 

Now you have a beautiful quesadilla that you can bring to parties and impress your non-vegan friends! Or if you're like me, you can just eat the whole thing by yourself.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Vegan Chocolate Baked Donuts

Sometimes, you just have to start your day with some delicious chocolate donuts. Mmmmm donuts~

Ingredients (makes 6 donuts):

For donuts:

• 1 cup of flour
• 1/4 cup of cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoonful of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoonful of salt
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of almond milk
• 1/4 cup of apple sauce (or mashed bananas)
• 4 tablespoonfuls of coconut oil (melted/clear)
• 1 teaspoonful of vanilla extract

Chocolate "glaze":

• 4 tablespoonfuls of cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoonful of salt
• dash of agave nectar
• almond milk- amount depending on consistency
• white sugar- amount depending on taste
• Toppings of your choice: almond chips, coconut shreds, sprinkles, chocolate chips, etc!

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 375F and coat a donut pan with any oil you have.
• Mix all the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt) into a bowl. Set it aside for now.
• Mix all the wet ingredients (coconut oil, almond milk, apple sauce, and vanilla extract). Pour this into the dry mixture, and give it a good mix without over-mixing. 
• Pipette them into the donut pan. You can use cut out zip lock bag, or if you're lazy like me just spoon them in there really carefully. Haha.
• Now they're ready to go in the oven. Bake for about 10-15 minutes depending on your oven. The donuts are done when they have crusty edges.
• Let's make the "glaze". Add all the ingredients together. Use almond milk to determine the consistency that you want. I put quotation mark around "glaze" because almond milk makes it runnier and the mixture is not as "glazy" as when I melt chocolate chips. Anyways, I added sugar little by little as I tasted the mixture so I don't make it overly sweet. 
• When the donuts are out of the oven and cooled, drizzle the chocolate topping or dip the whole donuts into the topping. Sprinkle them with whatever that you like. As you can see from the pictures, I used coconut shreds and almond chips.

Tada! And they're done! Delicious and healthier donut to kick start your day!

One thing I have to add is that they were a bit dry. I am not a baking expert, but maybe it's because I used coconut oil instead of vegan butter that I normally use? Maybe you can help me. How do you make moist and fluffy vegan bakes? Let me know!

Recipe: Crispy Sweet and Spicy Tofu

This delicious tofu recipe will change the way you view tofu forever! They are so simple to make but full of sweet and spicy flavor. You will love these especilly if you like spicy and/or Korean food!

You will need:

• 1 firm (or extra firm) tofu
• ¼ of a chopped onion
• 3 chopped small cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoonful of ketchup
• 1 tablespoonful of gochujang (Korean chili paste)
• 3 tablespoonfuls of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoonful of agave nectar (or brown sugar)
• 2 tablespoonfuls of potato starch (or flour)
• 1 tablespoonful of sesame oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Water

First things first, let’s prepare the tofu. Chop tofu into cubes, however big you would like. Then, mix the tofu, potato starch, and some salt in a clean plastic bag. Fry the tofu on an oiled pan in a low to medium heat. It should look something like this:

Cook them on all sides to make them crispy all around. When they’re cooked to your liking, go ahead and remove them from heat. I like to keep them on a paper towel to drain some oil. Let’s have a closer look, since these are fried to its perfection. ;)

Use the same pan and add the chopped onions and garlic. Feel free to other vegetables like carrots and green bell peppers to enhance the taste. When the onions are soft, it’s time to make the sauce. Add soy sauce, ketchup, gochujang, agave nectar, and 2 tablespoonfuls of water. You can decide how spicy you want this to be; you can always substitute gochujang with ketchup.

After they cook for awhile, add some more water (about 4-5 tablespoonfuls) and add the sesame oil. You can add some peppers to enhance the taste. Reduce the sauce until it looks something like this:

Now you’re ready to mix in the tofu! And then... yes you guessed it! Time to eat this delicious dish!

Meal Ideas: Very Berry Breakfast Smoothie

Here is another recipe for your breakfast bowl! This amazing smoothie bowl is a great way to start your day, I promise! 

I really started drinking smoothies for breakfast about 5 months ago. Before then, I used to either skip breakfast because I didn't have time or eat random things I could find from my house, school, or work. Making breakfast used to be a chore. But not anymore! You have no idea how much I look forward to making breakfast! Once you fall in love with the beautiful colors and taste, you will understand what I mean. 

To make things even better, smoothies are so easy to make! Just dump all the ingredients into your blender and turn on the switch! You can go fancy by adding fruits on top and make smoothie bowls if you have the time. Some days when I know I will have a busier morning the next day, I throw in the ingredients into the blender the night before (which takes about 2 minutes to do), so I can just blend, pour, and walk out the door the next morning.

Anyways, let's get on with the recipe, shall we?

For the smoothie, blend together strawberries, blueberries, 2 bananas, apple, and nondairy milk (I used soymilk). You will get this beautiful purple smoothie that's naturally sweetened by the fruits. No need to add additional sweetening agent! After pouring the smoothie into a bowl of your choice, top with as many fruits as you like. As you can see from the pictures, I topped with the ingredients that I used for the smoothie itself. 

Wasn't that so easy? Give this a try!

Want to add some veggies into your smoothie, how about my Green Breakfast Smoothie?

Product Review: Gardein Sweet and Tangy Barbecue Wings

Brand: Gardein

Product: Sweet and Tangy Barbecue Wings

Price: $4.19

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

This is another product that I had picked up during my last trip to Target (see my previous Product Review: Simply Balanced Korean BBQ Chicken). Gardein? Sounds like they know what they're doing! Let's try it.

First of all, they had 10 "wings" in there. 10!! That is equivalent to about 42 cents per wing, not including the tax. I don't know about you, but that seems a bit too expensive. I know all meatless products tend to be expensive though... Good thing I don't buy these often. 

In a bag, there are "wings" as well as a sauce packet. Depending on the cooking method (stovetop, conventional oven, or toaster oven) you put the sauce before or after cooking the "wings." It was very easy too prepare and takes less than 10 minutes. I used the stove top to make them, and I advise you not to put too much cooking oil for the product is pretty oily itself. 

I cooked the entire bag, and the result looks like the picture below. And no green onions are not included. 

Let's talk about the taste. It's a bit too salty for my taste, but it is as they described it: sweet and tangy barbecue.  You can't expect them to taste exactly like chicken wings (because they don't) but they have charm of their own. 

I am not the type to count calories, but in case you are, a serving (4 wings per serving) of this is 120 calories. Meaning, if you were to eat the entire bag in one sitting, you will be consuming 300 calories from this product. I'm not sure if that's going to help you decide whether or not to try this product, but there you go.

I also tried wrapping them in a taco shell just for fun. I liked it; I just wish I had more veggies inside the taco.

So overall, this is not a bad product. This delivers what the package promises. Too expensive and processed for everyday meal, but once in awhile seems okay. Will I purchase this product again? I'm not too sure. Maybe it will depend on the day's mood.

Meal Ideas: Vegan Chickpea "Tuna" Salad

I officially pronounce myself as the garbanzo bean fan! After you make this Vegan Chickpea "Tuna" Salad, you will be one too, if you're not one already. 

I had ONE can of garbanzo beans left, and I debated for awhile on what I should do with it. Did I want to make hummus? Toast them in the oven? Eat it with greens? So many choices. At the end, I decided I would make this delicious "Tuna" Salad that I can save in the fridge for couple days. Everything I make is pretty easy to make, so it's safe to assume that this will be very easy to make as well. 

You will need: a can of chickpeas/ garbanzo beans, half of bell pepper, 1/4 of a large cucumber, 2 large scoops of Veganaise, 1 large scoop of sweet pickled radish, 1/2 scoop of dijon mustard, paprika, salt, and pepper. 

I don't have exact measurement because I like to eyeball things.. (As you would notice that many of my meal ideas/ recipes don't have exact measurement.) It's probably because I am impatient. In Korea, we say use the "right amount (적당히)." If you're Korean, you know what I'm talking about. 

Anyways, first things first, mash those chickpeas! A $1 fork would do the job just fine.

 Chop your bell pepper and cucumber. Do you like my bell pepper slicing skills? I learned this skill from watching Food Network.

 And dump it into a large bowl like so. Then add the rest of your ingredient, and you are finished! So easy, isn't it?

You can eat this with crackers, bread, or even by itself. Also, you can use celery (more common ingredient in making Tuna Salad) instead of cucumber. I only used cucumber because I didn't have any celery left in the fridge and because my mom used to make me Tuna Salad with cucumbers.

Even if you are not vegan or vegetarian, I think you would really like this too! Try it some day!

Meal Ideas: Stuffed Avocado

Let's face it. Who doesn't like avocados? They're so rich and creamy; they're the gift from the Mother Nature. They just go with everything, and you can transform them into so many different things like savory pasta sauce to sour but creamy salad dressing to sweet chocolate pudding! 

Today, we are going to make something that will allow avocados to become the center of attention! What do you think about some stuffed avocados? It's very easy to make. Grab an avocado, slice them in half, and fill them with whatever stuffings you like!

I kept mine very simple and very leftover-food-friendly. In my avocado halves, I stuffed them with a mixture of black beans, corns, and tomatoes. Then I drizzled them with some sriracha. (PS: You will be amazed how magnificent the combination of sriracha and avocados is) Ta-da! That's it. So simple and so delicious!

Product Review: Simply Balanced Korean Barbecue Meatless Chicken

Brand: Simply Balanced

Product: Korean Barbecue Meatless Chicken

Price: $3.99

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5

 

Before I start, I must say how happy I was to see a fridge dedicated to vegetarian/ vegan "meat" options at Target in Brea! It's not a big section, but I really do appreciate it. As always, I love you, Target!

Okay. Moving on. I discovered this during my last trip to Target and thought, "Oooh Korean BBQ! I must try this!" I thought this would be a great product to share with my boyfriend, who is a total meat lover.

Inside you will see about 2 handful of "chicken strips" and 2 packets of "Korean BBQ sauce." To prepare, you cook the "chicken strips" in a microwave oven or stovetop then just mix in the sauce. Simple to make and doesn't take long to cook at all. 

The chicken strips are made of soy products. It's very chewy and reminds me of fish cakes. I didn't mind them too much. It wasn't anything special, and I don't have much to say about it. 

The sauce on the other hand, I was very disappointed. It's not a bad sauce, but it reminded me of more Chinese American (i.e. Panda Express) type of sweet spicy tangy sauce rather than a Korean BBQ sauce. I am not sure what I was expecting, but it did not remind me of Korean BBQ at all. Did they even use gochujang? I don't even know.

Lastly, let's just say they are not so generous with the quantity. I used about half of the bag to make my snack (see picture below; bottom left) and it really isn't much. Boo.

 

Perhaps I had way too much expectations about this product? Anyways, I personally don't recommend it mainly because of its sauce and quantity. Maybe if you weren't looking for a Korean BBQ flavor, this might work for you. If you try this, let me know! 

Meal Ideas: Green Breakfast Smoothie Bowl

Who wouldn't want to start their day with a bowl of gifts from the mother nature?! Today I made this beautiful breakfast smoothie bowl that everyone would love!

To make my smoothie, I used Nutribullet that I got almost a year ago. I use it and abuse it, and it still works like a charm! If you don't own a blender and are looking to invest in one, I definitely recommend Nutribullet! 

Let's get to the recipe, shall we? Blend together kale (as much as you want!), a banana, frozen mangoes (I used tropical mixes with peaches and pineapple), and almond milk. Top with your favorite fruits and seeds. I used some more banana, frozen blueberries, frozen mangoes, chiaseeds, and some ground flaxseeds. 

This is such a fun way to eat breakfast, not to mention so pretty to look at. Oh how do they taste? They taste fantastically delicious! You will fall in love for sure.

Meal Ideas: Baked Vegan Sriracha Cauliflower Wings

Superbowl is not complete without a set of "wings"!! That's why for this superbowl season, I decided to use cauliflower to make some spicy hot "wings" to go with some football! 

First things first, you make the batter. I used about 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of water along with paprika, garlic salt, and pepper. But this is completely up to you; you can adjust the flour to water ratio to get the thickness you want. Just a tip is, the thicker they are, more batter will stick to cauliflower. Also, feel free to use different types of flour to suit your taste. 

Nicely coated. Wouldn't you say? Then they went into the 400F oven for about 20 minutes.

When they're done, the next step is to toss them into some kind of hot sauce to go with. I didn't have any Buffalo sauce at home. So being an Asian that I am, I used a 1:1 mixture of sriracha and coconut oil. Coconut oil taste tend to be strong, so you can use other types of oil if you don't like that.

 Toss toss toss! And back in the oven they go for additional 8-10 minutes until they're nice and crispy. That's it! Serve with some celery sticks and vegan ranch, and they're good to go!

 Be careful! They're hot!

Meal Ideas: Vegan Stuffed Jalapenos

Who says you have to give up cheese because you're vegan? You can find all kinds of plant-based cheese at your grocery stores. Here is a picture of cheesey stuffed jalapenos that I made not too long ago.

Mix chopped up vegan sausages (sauteed), vegan cream cheese, vegan shredded cheese, and chopped up green onion. Stuff them into jalapenos after removing all the seeds. Bake in the oven in high heat until you see stuffing bubble or lightly brown. I baked in 350F for about 20 minutes then raised the heat to 375F and then 400F for the next 10 minutes. 

How do they taste? I'm not going to lie; vegan cheese taste a bit different than regular cheese. But let me tell you that my meat-eating family really liked these too! Even if you are not vegan, maybe it's something that you can try as a healthier option for you or your family!

Bon appetit!

Heart2Heart: How I Started My Journey As a Vegan

If you knew me before December of 2014, you would have never guessed that I would become a vegan. To start with, I am Korean, which by default makes me a meat-lover, and American, which also makes me a butter, bacon, fast-food loving fanatic. I had the Asian "skinny genes" which allowed me to eat pretty much anything without gaining significant weight, so my food choices always revolved around meat and fatty food. You know, they tasted heavenly and so right, like this was how it was supposed to be.

Sometime in the end of November, I randomly came upon some documentaries on Netflix. The very first documentary talked about the danger of the Western diet and the importance of juice cleanse. I am not much of a juice cleanse believer, so I said "yeah, yeah. I know I probably should eat less fatty food" and brushed it off. But one documentary led to another, and I found myself watching documentaries about how animals were treated in factory farming, the China Study, how animals were harming the environment, etc.

I always knew in the back of my mind that I should not be eating meat (as a self-claimed animal lover), and I always wished I was a vegetarian of some sort. But of course, I could NEVER be a vegetarian. I just loved meat so much. These documentaries made me realize that this issue was something that I had been avoiding all my life. But even then, I did not have the courage to change, even as I was crying for the poor animals that I would have for that dinner.

After watching pretty much all food-related documentaries on Netflix, I began my own online research about this topic. I listened to online presentations and Tedtalks, watched more youtube videos, and read some books. More and more I researched, I found out more about the truth behind our food industry and was really disgusted by it. This was it. I had to change. I refuse to support this inherently violent act! I could no longer walk around labeling myself as an animal and planet lover and eat a big giant steak for dinner.

Even at that point, I did not have the courage to call myself a vegan. What if I failed? I didn't want to be a failure! So for the majority of December, I would opt for vegan/vegetarian meals without having a label for myself. This worked great, until I found myself eating a big spicy pork burrito. This was a lunch that my boyfriend had bought me, and I just felt bad not eating it. And you know what, I felt worse afterwards. I realized that this cannot continue; I wasn't accountable for my actions! So at the end of December, I "became" a vegan.

Today is January 14th of 2015. It has not been long since my big decision. It was not an easy decision, but I stand by it 100%. Many people don't support it or believe in it. People tell me to have a "cheat day" and ask me when I'm going to stop being a vegan. I don't expect everyone to understand. But this is the start of my journey as an animal loving, planet respecting, and peace advocating person that I always hoped to be.

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Where to Eat: Green2Go Restaurant

Restaurant Name: Green2Go
Location: Brea, California
Vegan Friendliness: 3 out of 5
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

If you are looking for a healthy eatery in Orange County, check out Green2Go in Brea. They claim to serve fresh, local, organic food, which I appreciate very much.

I really like their make your own salad bar. They have a good range of vegetables that you can complete your salad with. You get to choose a base and 4 different "toppings" as well as the protein of your choice. The salad I got (see below) was very delicious!

Make your own salad with mixed greens and kale, tofu, asparagus,
mushrooms, artichoke, guacamole, and Asian dressing

They have very friendly staff, and I enjoyed my experience at Green2Go. The reason why I gave 4 instead of 5 for over rating is because I only got 5 tofu cubes on my salad. I do feel that 5 cubes are too little for 4 dollar extra charge.

To sum it all up, will I go back? Yes definitely.

Meal Ideas: Vegan Korean Meatless Wrap (Ssam)

I don't know if you have noticed, but Koreans love their meat! This makes it very difficult for vegans to eat Korean food sometimes, especially at restaurants where they use meat/ seafood broth for everything they make. So today, I want to show you guys how to make our meat wraps (commonly seen at Korean BBQ restaurants), vegan while still preserving the Korean flavors!

Instead of beef or pork, you can use mushrooms to mimic the texture of the meat. I like shiitake mushrooms but I know some people don't like their "mushroom-y" taste.

Next step is getting your bulgogi marinade to marinate your mushrooms. You can easily find this at your local Korean market or sometimes at other Asian markets. Make sure they don't contain meat in the ingredients. The one shown below, Wang brand, is vegan!

After letting the mushrooms sit in the sauce for some time. Time to saute saute saute!

And see how easy it was to make Korean meatless wraps? I like to wrap mine in red leaf lettuce, perilla leaves, green onion strips, with some ssam-jang (spicy bean paste). Make sure your ssam-jang has no meat or seafood broth in it, and you are all good to go.

Say ahhh~

Recipe: Vegan Baked Donuts

 

Ingredients (makes 12):

• 2 and 2/3 cups of flour
• 2/3 cup of sugar
• 2 teaspoonful of baking soda
• 2 teaspoonful of nutmeg
• 1 teaspoonful of salt
• 1 cup of dairy-free milk (I used almond milk)
• 1/4 cup of canola oil
• 1/4 cup of white or apple cider vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
• 1 teaspoonful of vanilla extract
• chocolate chips (for topping)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375F
• Mix dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt) in a large bowl
• In another bowl, combine all the wet ingredients (milk, oil, vinegar, and vanilla)
• Slowly mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients
• Place the batter into a greased donut pan (or muffin pan if donut pan's not available)
• Bake for about 10-12 minutes

• Feel free to be creative with your toppings. For mine, I simply melted my chocolate chips and dipped my donuts when they were cooled

Enjoy!

Recipe: Vegan Cinnamon Muffins

 

Ingredients (makes 12):

Muffins:

• 3 cups of flour
• 2 and 1/2 teaspoonfuls of baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoonful of salt
• 1/2 teaspoonful of nutmeg or cinnamon (I used cinnamon)
• 1/4 teaspoonful of baking soda
• 1 cup of dairy-free milk (I used almond milk)
• 1 teaspoonful of vanilla extract
• 1 tablespponfl of vinegar
• 2/3 cup of vegan butter
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of applesauce or other egg substitute equivalent (I used 1 mashed banana)

Toppings:

• 1 tablespoonful of vegan butter
• 2 tablespponfuls of agave nectar
• ground cinnamon

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375F
• Soften the butter and mix with sugar and mashed banana.
• Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately at first and slowly mix all of the muffin ingredients together.
• Bake in a muffin/ cupcake pan for about 20 minutes
• To prepare the toppings, mix melted butter and agave nectar together and drizzle the mix onto the muffin. 
• Top with some ground cinnamon