obsessed with soda stream

Thank you to David's sister, Alicia, for getting us this awesome Soda Stream!

In our house, nothing beats a simple vodka and soda for a light cocktail alternative and a Soda Stream allows endless opportunities to be creative too.

It's also been the perfect pair to our Vodka Zinger that I posted about earlier.  We've been able to make all sorts of naturally flavored vodkas with freshly carbonated water all while reducing our carbon footprint and reducing the amount of chemicals and toxins we take in.

Alcohol and greening up our lives?  Win win.

sausage & tomato vegan nachos

Nachos are definitely a guilty pleasure.  I tried to come up with a somewhat better alternative with ingredients that we already had laying around the house one.

I used the TJs Veggie Flax Tortilla Chips and topped them with one sliced and heated Tofurky Italian Sausage, halved and sautéed cherry tomatoes, and vegan shredded cheese.  

A little less guilty, but no less delicous.  

Berry Greens

We a few strawberries and a carton of blackberries left over from our recent experiments with the Vodka Zinger.  (Update: try blood oranges!)  I thought I'd see what it tasted like adding them to our daily green juice.  The smell was unbelievable when the strawberries went through the juicer!

I swapped out an apple for the berries and matched that with a cucumber, four stalks of celery, a handful of spinach, and two cups of kale.  Serves 2.

chia seed breakfast

It can get confusing keeping track of every new buzzy superfood that you should be eating for this reason or that...  But if you're looking to get in on the superfood movement and aren't sure where to start, then look no further than the chia seed.  A super concentrated food used by the ancient cultures of Mexico, chia is packed with omega 3, protein, fiber, and calcium, among other awesome nutrients!

Here's an easy way to add chia to your day.  Simply mix 1 Tbs of chia seeds with 1 serving of peanut butter until you get the consistency you want.  I like to use Trader Joe's all natural no salt added crunchy peanut butter cause it's already kind of runny, so adding to the chia seeds to it makes it a little thicker.  

Spread on your favorite whole grain bread or flat and enjoy chia!

organic beet juice

I'm not sure why but a lot of people have problems with beets.  It took me a long time personally to come around to eating them more regularly...helloooo beet salad...but for some reason I took instantly to the juice.  I find it's sweet and with a delicious velvety feel.  David is one of those people.  While the beet juice wasn't his favorite, it was was definitely better than he thought!

I picked up these organic beets a local farmer's market in the UWS on Columbus ave one Sunday afternoon at sensible Drunch.  

I paired four beets with 5 organic carrots and two organic persian cucumbers.  Serves 2.  

leftover veggie burritos

I hate wasting fresh produce.  So when I've got some veggies I need to use up, I either throw them into the juicer or make a big skillet of sautéed veggies.  In this case I just added some southwest seasoning to spice things up and used just about a Tbs of coconut oil to cook the veggies.

Use whatever you have lying around here.  Here I did roasted red and yellow peppers, onions, and mushrooms.  David made homemade guacamole and I opted for the vegan cheese.  Try tofutti sour cream next time your having a mexican night.  It's thick, creamy, and tangy just like a milk based version, and an easy vegan swap you won't even miss.

Pair your fillings with a whole wheat tortilla and you've got a simple and easy meal and kept those veggies from going to waste!

miso miso

This soup is so easy and delicious and I threw it together with leftovers and things I had laying around.

Miso soup is a go to staple in any diet where the goal is to heal your body with food so your body can heal itself.  Packed full of enzymes and probiotics, good quality miso (not the type you get from a takeout joint) does wonders for your digestive system.  Think of it as the vegan Activia!  

TIP: It's important to never boil the miso.  This is will destroy all the good stuff your trying tot get into your body.  Dissolve the paste into a few Tbs of water before adding it to any soup once you've removed it from heat.

Look for miso in the refrigerated section.  At my store it's located with other vegan products like Vegenaise.  If you're trying miso for the first time try out Miso Master's "mellow" miso. 

Miso Miso

Serves 2

• 3 cups water
• 1 1/2 tsp barley miso
• 1 1/2 tsp white or "mellow" miso
• 1 Package Udon Noodles
• 1 handful Trader Joes Sesame Seaweed Snacks 
• 2 pieces leftover baked savory tofu - recipe in Vegan Eats World

1. Bring the water to a gentle boil
2. Add the noodles and boil for a few mintues to loosen and warm them
3. Chop the tofo into bite size pieces and add to pot and remove from heat
4. Dissolve both misos into a few tbs of water and then add to the pot and stir
5. Serve and sprinkle each bowl the seaweed snacks

another vodka zinger

I got this for David after reading about it on gizmodo.com.  It's called a Vodka Zinger and it's amazing!  It's basically a device for muddling ingredients and and then infusing vodka with them.  You can do anything: herbs, fruits, cucumber, jalapeños.  The beauty is, making flavored vodkas with natural fresh ingredients and no sugar added! 

For our first go around we did organic blackberries and lemons.  We let it steep for about 6 hours while we were out and the flavor was pretty good.  However, the real magic happened when we finished it the next night after it had set for a a full 24 hours.  Delicious.

my first juice

Having a small apartment in NYC there are not many things that I can think of to ask for during Christmastime that we have room for.  But this year I had my heart set on a juicer and thank you Mom and Dad for my our new juicer!  Our Breville Compact Juice Fountain is the perfect juicer for a small apartment.  Compact but powerful and easy to clean, I love it!  This is the first juice I made, and it's also a great introductory juice for anyone looking to take their first try into green juices.d 

TIP:  Apples are a sweet base for a great tasting green juice.  Start with sweet red varieties like honeycrisp or gala when first trying out greeen juice to up the sweet factor.  Experiment with what you like.   I usually use two granny smith apples now because I like the tartness!

Veggie Juice 101

Serves 2

• 2 apples
• 3 celery stalks
• 1/2 a cucumber
• 3 carrots
• 2-2 1/2 cups packed kale (I used lacinto here)

cold night comfort food

This cold night comfort food trio is sure to fill you up and keep you warm on a cold night.  Savory baked tofu full of flavor, maple glazed roasted brussels sprouts packed with nutrients, and beta-carotene loaded sweet potato mash are connected with the flavor of pure organic maple syrup.  Even better, all of the ingredients are budget friendly.

Baked Tofu - Vegan Eats World: 300 International Recipes for Savoring the Planet

Maple-Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Sweet Potato Mash

• Two Medium - Large Sweet Potatoes
• Organic Pure Maple Syrup to taste
• Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Cube the sweet potatoes and boil til soft
2. Drain water from pot
3. Drizzle in maple syrup and season to fast
4. Use and immersion blender to "mash" to the sweet potatoes