Today is World Kidney Day and awareness events are being held around the globe. They call it the “silent disease” because you don’t usually feel anything until it’s too late. World Kidney Day encourages people to be screened to detect any problems early on. More than 10% of people, or more than 20 million, aged 20 years or older in the USA have chronic kidney failure.

In the United States, the leading cause of kidney failure is Type 2 diabetes. As many of you know, Type 2 diabetes has reached epidemic proportions in the USA and the statistics continue to grow with no change in site. The primary culprits are obesity and elevated levels of cholesterol, both of which are preventable through diet.

Now lets talk about cancer. In 1971, President Nixon and Congress declared a war on cancer. So what’s happened in 42 years? Cancer rates are escalating. Most research is directed towards expensive drugs that target late stages of the disease and enrich drug companies, but do not prevent cancer. One of the leading causes of cancer is a regular consumption of refined sugar and oils, such as soft drinks, chips, store bought cookies and pastries, deep fried foods (french fries, donuts), prepared meats including hot dogs sausages, bacon and ham, fast foods, food additives dairy and red meat. Yes, that’s a mouthful…..a mouthful that shouldn’t be going into your mouth!

Research has increasingly pointed to a link between the nutritional status of Americans and the chronic diseases that plague them, but the medical community still isn’t taking the time to educate their patients on the connection between food and their disease. As a matter of fact, most medical schools still fail to meet the minimum recommended 25 hours of instruction on nutrition. If all this research points to nutrition as the root of all chronic diseases, why isn’t your doctor spending time with you discussing it. In other words, your physician is treating your chronic disease with two hands tied behind his back because he has no training in the link between chronic disease and nutrtion.

Fortunately, because of all the press around the connection between food and disease, Americans are educating themselves and not putting all their trust into doctors. Diet is just as essential as drugs or any other treatment your doctor is prescribing. Follow your doctor’s orders but make sure diet is part of the healing plan.

I thought a lot about my Cousin Tony when I wrote this blog today. He lost both of his parents to chronic diseases, and he worries about dying young just like them. Fortunately, he knows the importance of diet and his health. He wrote a very inspiring song called “Change”. It seems like the perfect song to share with all of you today because we all have to dig deep to make extraordinary changes. You will find a link to the song following today’s recipe.

On to food. Today I made this delightfully light and refreshing rice noodle salad. It only takes about 30 minutes or less to prepare and worth every minute. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Happy to have another day… plant strong!

I know I said I wasn’t gonna do any posts for a while… BUT I was talking to a few peeps online about gluten-free baking,and I thought I just have to try to make a gluten-free cake recipe that I can be proud of, and boy am I proud of this one! At first I tried to make gluten-free muffins with dried fruit, but they turned out a bit gummy, so I upped the flax and added a nice fruity jam to add some moisture, and threw out the idea of muffins completely to make this beautiful coffee cake that I am proud to say I made. Its moist and has a good crumb, I would be happy to take this over a friends and see if they notice it gluten-free. Another bonus if I found all the ingredients I needed for this cake in my local supermarket. okay I will calm down now and see you on Friday (I have an awesome guest post from one of my favourite vegan bloggers).
Ingredients:
1/3 cup ground flaxseed
1/3 cup ground almonds
2/3 cup almond milk
1/3 cup apple juice
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp good vanilla extract
1/4 cup agave syrup or a vanilla/maple/carob blended syrup works well
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
1 cup rice flour (I used dove farms organic)
approx 1/2 cup strawberry jam or seedless raspberry

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200c/400f and grease an 8″ cake tin with vegetable oil and line the bottom with greaseproof paper. Whisk the ground almonds, flax, almond milk and apple juice together. Add the cider vinegar, vanilla, agave, vegetable oil, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, and whisk again. Now sift in the rice flour and gently whisk it in until there are no big lumps and the mixture is combined.Pour the mix into the prepared cake tin and dollop the jam in using a teaspoon, swirl together with a cocktail stick. Top with a handful flaked almonds and bake for 25-35 minutes, until the cake is a deep golden brown on-top and cooked through. Allow to cool a little before gently removing from the tin.

If you don’t know – this is a linked post where every blogger has linked the blog ahead and behind thus forming a chain. You can go from appetizers all the way to dessert! Do make sure to comment, everyone loves to hear what people visiting have on their mind.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my privilege to start you on your journey to the third Virtual Vegan Potluck! I am your host Lidia, author of Air Eater and host of Vegan Bloggers Unite! The goal of Vegan Bloggers Unite! is to literally have a place for all vegan bloggers to feel at home, see what others are doing and of course share thoughts. Virtual Vegan Potluck allows for that and more. Please feast your eyes and prepare to be amazed for the posts ahead. Luck for you all the very talented Alex of In Vegetables we trust is leading the way.

Please click below to the first link to start your potluck. Get your plates ready! Enjoy!

APPETIZERS
In Vegetables We Trust
United Kingdom

Fried Dandelions
United States

Vegan Richa
United States

Saving the World One Bite at a Time
United States

That Was Vegan?
United States

Vegan Sparkles
Australia

Vedged Out
United States

The Singin’ Vegan
United States

Oh My Potluck!
Canada

Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes
United States

Earthgiven Kitchen
Canada

Anne Sture Tucker – Balanced Living
Canada

A Week from Thursday
United States

86 Lemons
United States

The Little Red Journal
United States

Delicious Knowledge
United States

Better Bites
United States

EatPrayBake
Canada

Lemongrass and Ginger
Australia

The Vegan Cookbook Aficionado
Canada

Holistic Health Vegan
United States

My Kitchen Apothecary
United States

Juicy Dishes
Denmark

BEVERAGES
Veggie4AYear
United States

Veganosaurus
India

Gazing In
United States

Gormandize (with A-dizzle & K-bobo)
Australia

Almost Raw Vegan
Canada

We Go Authentic
United States

Fitful Focus
United States

Turning Veganese
United States

BREAD
Spontaneous Tomato
United States

My Good Clean Food
United States

Pass the Veggies
United States

Bankrupt Vegan
United States

The Misfit Baker
Canada

Bite Me (I’m Vegan)
United States

SALAD
Farmer’s Market Vegan
United States

Luminous Vegans
United States

The Vegan Gypsy
United States

Barefoot Essence
United States

Emmy Cooks
United States

Yum for Tum
United States

Veg Bon Vivant
United States

Mojo Central
United States

In Pursuit of More
Canada

The Veg Bar
United States

The Veg Coach
United States

uberdish
Canada

Canned Time
United States

Gaia’s Creations
United States

SIDES
Cauldrons and Cupcakes
Australia

An Unrefined Vegan
United States

Chop Serve Eat
United States

Too Cheap For Pine Nuts
United States

Quinoa, Kale and Exhale
United States

Vegan Fling
United States

Glue and Glitter
United States

willow & thyme
United States

Veggie Queen Adventures
United States

Veganishy
United States

SOUPS
Lorna’s Tearoom Delights
United Kingdom

sweetveg
United States

Fitting into Vegan
United States

Eat. Breathe. Balance
Canada

Soup and Such
United States

House Vegan.
United States

Karate Rice
Japan

MAIN DISHES
On the Path to Zen
United States

My Plant-based Family
United States

Veghotpot
United Kingdom

Rachel in Veganland
United States

Agent Minty
Canada

Veggisima
United States

Made of Stars
Australia

Poppy’s Patisserie
United Kingdom

The Cruelty-free Review
United States

The Road to Serendipity
Australia

Mermaid Café
Canada

http://thymeandlove.com
United States

http://forealslife.com/
United States

Jason & the Veganauts
United States

The Vegan Green
United Kingdom

The Vegan’s Husband
United States

The Little Foxes
United States

VeggieGirl
United States

Blue-Eyed Bookworm
Canada

Eat, Live, Burp
United States

The Savvy Sister
United States

The Beach House Kitchen
United Kingdom

V is for Vegetables
United States

vegan miam
United States

Move Eat Create
United States

Honk If You’re Vegan
United States

Veggie Next Door
United States

Veggie V’s Vegan Adventure
United States

Healthy Hypocrite
United States

The Vegan Pact
United States

The Split Plate
United States

The Essential Vegan
Canada

The Joyful Pantry
United States

DESSERT
Sugar Coated Vegan
United States

Afro Vegan Chick
United States

Vegan 404 [filet not found]
United Kingdom

SpinachRevolution
South Africa

The Food Duo
United States

An Ode to Mung Beans
United Kingdom

http://tinykitchenstories.com/
United States

Happy to be a Table of Two
United States

Sift, Stir and Savour
Canada

The Veggie Nook
Canada

The Little Green House
Australia

Sensual Appeal
United States

Mama et de Bebe Hawk
United States

The Vegan Kat
United States

Deerly Beloved Bakery
United Kingdom

Cake Maker to the Stars
United StatesThe Hungry Lifetarian

Sophie’s Foodie Files
Belgium

Keepin’ It Kind
United States

The Soulicious Life
United States

Gypsy Roller’s Veggie Kitchen
Canada

Lucy’s Friendly Foods
United Kingdom

Healthy Slow Cooking
United States

Cheerfully Vegan
United States

Kelli’s Vegan Kitchen
United States

The Healthy Flavor
United States

The Almost Vegan
United States

Herbivore Triathlete
United States

Herbivorous Geek
Australia

Blissful Britt
United States

Being Vegan
United States

Carrie on Vegan
United States

Self Health Web
United States

It’s a Good Thing I Like Hummus
United States

In Fine Balance
Canada

Queens of the Wild Frontier
United Kingdom

Baking Backwards
Canada

Broccoli Addict
Poland

vixbakes
United Kingdom

The Hearty Herbivore
United States

foodiEcology
United States

Cocina de Nihacc
Spain

Juice, Jam & Joy
United States

I am a diehard fan of all dishes creamy and salady, two things that can be a vegan challenge. Inspired by this recipe from Nava Atlas, I whipped up this tasty eggless “egg” salad and I’ve been nomming on it for the past day. The ingredients are approximations, so adjust the seasonings as your mouth sees fit.

Eggless salad sprinkled with paprika atop a bed of mixed greens and sunflower sprouts.

In a food processor, I blended one 14 oz can of rinsed and drained chickpeas, 1 scant tbs of vegenaise, 1 tbs of nooch (nutritional yeast), 1 1/2 tbs of lemon juice, 2 tbs of sweet relish, 1 tsp of dijon mustard, a dash of turmeric, about 1/2-1 tsp of black salt (Kala Namak) and black pepper to taste.

I transferred the mixture to a mixing bowl and added 1 chopped stalk of green onions and

one package of extra firm silken tofu drained and diced. I slowly folded the onions and tofu into the “eggy” mixture because I didn’t want the tofu to break up too much.

This is what the final product looked like. The chickpeas are the “yolk” and the silken tofu bits are the “boiled egg whites”.

This is an eggless-cellent version of the omni egg salad. The texture and taste is spot on. The “eggy” taste comes from the black salt which is not actually black in color (it is pinkish) and adds a sulfury taste to dishes. I used about 1/2-1 tsp of black salt in this, adding small bits at a time and tasting it as I went b/c this stuff is strong. Thanks to abracapocus, I was able to find black salt for a whopping 99 cents at Taj Mahal Imports.

Eggless salad sandwich mixed with sunflower sprouts with a side of chips and homemade peach pico de gallo.

I loved egg salad pregan and this definitely satisfies that taste for me. I’ve had it atop greens and in a sammich and I still have some left over for another sandwich or salad. N hates creamy-salady stuff, so this one’s all for me!

Are there any dishes/foods that you love that your partner (friend, roommate, sister, brother, etc..) hates (and hence you get to hoard it all to yourself)?

Know of any other ingredients, like black salt, that magically transform a dish?

You can check out her crafts and vegan recipes on her website, Facebook, Twitterand Pinterest or learn more about her brand new book: 40 Days of Green Smoothies! Welcome back Becky!

Happy (almost) Cinco de Mayo!

I made these Mexican hot chocolate milkshakes for my friend Jeanee‘s birthday, and they’d be perfect for celebrating the fifth of May this weekend! Check out how happy this shake made her on her special day:

Mexican chocolate is more than just spicy. It’s got a lovely blend of nuttiness, vanilla, and cocoa that makes it really special. It’s also kind of hard to find, though, and I’ve never seen vegan Mexican chocolate. Luckily, with something like a milkshake you can create your own blend of these flavors to get the depth of Mexican chocolate without having to actually track down the real deal.

Sometimes I dream of warm chocolate brownies with coconut ice cream dripping down the sides and a cherry on top…a decadent, delectable dessert that just happens to be vegan and gluten-free…and so I invented the Bon Bon Brownie. Rejoice!

Looking for the perfect vegan brownie recipe? Look no farther.

INGREDIENTS

2 T ground flaxseed
3 T water

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup strong coffee

1 1/2 cups gluten-free, all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup cacao powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup dried cherries

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Whisk flaxmeal and water together in a measuring cup and set aside.
3. Cream the sugar and the coconut oil together in a small bowl. Add the vanilla, coffee, and flaxmeal mixture, then whisk well.
4. Sift the flour, cacao powder, salt and baking soda into a big bowl and stir together. Add the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Add the cherries and stir again.
5. Spoon or pour batter into silicone doughnut molds. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. Let cool then remove from doughnut mold. Flip upside down and fill the center with a scoop of Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss and top with a cherry to serve.

Makes 12 brownies.

NOTES

• If you don’t have doughnut molds, that’s okay. You can use a lightly oiled 8×8 inch baking dish or a pie plate or a springform pan or custard cups…whatever you have. Baking time might be different for different dishes, so keep an eye on them. If you were distracted and forgot to set a timer, when your whole house suddenly begins to smell like brownies, run to the oven!
• Coconut oil is awesome. It’s a liquid when warm and a solid when chilled. It’s sweeter and buttery-er than butter, and it’s not all hydrogenated like margarine. Coconut oil is also an excellent moisturizer for skin and hair. If you hear a crazy meowing sound when you open a jar of coconut oil, let kitty have a little. Coconut oil is good for feline coats, too!
• Go ahead and sub dried coconut or chopped nuts or chocolate chips in for the cherries. These brownies are just a little on the fudgy side of cakey; if you like super-dense brownies, use less coffee.

NUTRITION FACTS

277 calories each (without ice cream)
7.7g fat
6g saturated fat
52g carbohydrates
2.4g fiber
27g sugar
2.7g protein

1/2 onion / 1/2 oignon
1 red pepper / 1 poivron rouge
4 cups Savoy cabbage (1 small) / 1 litre de chou de savoie (1 petit)
4 cups bok choy / 1 litre de bok choy
3 zucchinis / 3 courgettes
1 cup shiitake / 250 ml de shitake
1 cup white mushrooms / 250 ml de champignons blancs
2 cups of spinach / 500 ml d’épinards
4 cups of bean sprouts / 1 litre de fèves germées
4 tbsp of curry powder or more, to taste / 60 ml de poudre de cari ou plus au goût
1 cup coconut milk / 250 ml de lait de noix de coco
Salt to taste / Sel au goût

EN: Cut all the vegetables into small pieces and pile into a large covered pot. Cook over medium heat stirring occasionally until the vegetables have melted down to about half the size, about 30-40 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and coconut nut milk, then add salt to taste. Serve with rice noodles and protein of your choice.

FR : Coupez tous les légumes en petits morceaux et mettez dans une grande casserole. Faites cuire couvert au feu moyen 30 à 40 minutes en remuant occasionnellement jusqu’à ce que les légumes soient réduits d’environ la moitié. Incorporez le cari et la noix de coco, et ajoutez du sel au goût. Servez avec des nouilles de riz et la protéine de votre choix.

Yesterday I made some vegan pizzas which were surprisingly good, I use the word surprising because I expected to be fairly upset about the lack of cheese on my pizza. Needless to say, I wasn’t, not all at, this pizza recipe produces some glorious results. I made my own tomato sauce (recipe below) and added lots of fresh vegetables. Sam (my handy side kick) added some pesto and hummus (which I’ve been informed is brilliant when baked) too, which also works really well in combination with the tomato sauce. Make sure you have olive oil in the house before you attempt this though, because I just don’t think you can substitute this with any other oil. This recipe is enough for 2 large pizzas or 4 small ones (the ones in the picture are the small-sized ones). So hungry writing about this, wish I had some pizza left..

Ingredients:

For the base

300g plain flour (can be replaced with strong bread flour/wholemeal flour)
1 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil

For the tomato sauce

150 ml passata (you can use chopped tomatoes but I find the sauce is a little too sweet then, so I prefer passata, and if I want more tomatoes I will add slices of fresh tomato on top of the sauce)
1 large or 2 small garlic cloves (I like it quite garlicky so change it to suit)

For the topping

1 – 2 tsp dried oregano (make sure you sprinkle this on straight after you put on the tomato sauce, I prefer oregano because my Italian friend suggested using it rather than basil, but you can use basil too if you want to)
1 – 3 tsp pesto (if you use this, do not use it in combination with the oregano, it’s not good. Just spread it on after you put on the tomato sauce)
Hummus, lots of hummus (put it on in big dollops, as you can see in the picture, it bakes nicely like this)
Assorted vegetable (I used spinach, pepper, broccoli, mushrooms and sweetcorn because that’s what I happened to have in the house, but you can use anything, the more toppings the better in my opinion)

Method:

1. Put the flour into a large bowl and stir in the yeast and salt
2. Pour in 200ml warm water and the olive oil and bring together until you have a soft, fairly wet dough.
3. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until smooth.
4. Cover with a tea towel and set aside. If you want the dough to rise set it aside (for 2 hours at the most probably), I didn’t do this as I like thin crust.
5. Then make the sauce by mixing together the passata and garlic in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly and when it starts to bubble a little, take it off the heat, season to taste and leave it to stand at room temperature whilst you shape the base.
6. (If you have let the dough rise, give it a quick knead, and then) split the dough into 2 – 4 balls depending on whether you want two big pizzas or four small ones.
7. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into rounds using a rolling pin. The dough should be very thin as it will rise in the oven.
8. Lift the rounds onto two floured baking sheets.
9. Heat the oven to 240c/gas mark 8
10. Once the oven in on, put a baking tray or another baking sheet in the oven on the top shelf.
11. Smooth tomato sauce (and pesto if using) over bases with the back of a spoon.
12. Add your toppings, drizzle with a little olive oil and season
13. Put one pizza (that is still on its baking sheet) on top of the preheated tray/sheet which is already in the oven.
14. Bake for 8-12 minutes until crisp.
15. Eat and enjoy!

Some days are just magic. And after many days (weeks, months…) where life in transition from traditional expectations to the struggle of new and exciting horizons can seem grueling, heartbreaking, and downright difficult, a day where life effortlessly seems to flow is so welcomed and inspiring. Yesterday was one of those days.

It started out like any normal day. Rise and shine, tidy up the apartment, bang out some work. And then, when taking the dogs for a walk, a one minute elevator conversation with a very glamorous woman led to the prospect of some freelance work. Then I met the loveliest gal (sporting the cutest assemblage of french braids I’ve ever seen) at my nail place and we bonded over our mutual distaste for J-Lo and the homogenous style of Chicago’s Gold Coast (a sea of Uggs, scowls, and sunglasses even when it’s not sunny) and our shared love for full-bodied Brooke Shields-esque brows and recycled budget fashion.

The day was positively splattered with sparkles of hope. Everyone seemed joyful, kind, open – Even Phil, the homeless guy I chat with who hangs out in the local park, was even more chipper than usual. How do I know? We high-fived. He never does that.

And a glimpse of a rare, irresistibly crepey peach English Garden variety rose at the end of a stroll on a misty day just made everything seem relaxed and right.

the petals remind me of layers of buttercream frosting. agh, so pretty.

Nothing tangibly extraordinary, but rather a feeling of peace – like things are organizing themselves after months of hard work, and I can kick back a bit and watch it all unfold. Do you ever have those days? Aren’t they just marvelous?

letting my cheery toes (and the yellow flowers) feel the drizzle

I love dreary, enter-spring kind of days. While some people loathe drizzly, grey weather, I find it cozy and renewing. I welcome these days with open windows and a brightly-flavored, but filling meal that summons spring, while also respecting the delicate dance that is the unfoldment to it.

Creamy Chilled Farro with Asparagus

• Yields: 4 servings
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 – 45 minutes (depending upon whether or not your farro is quick-cook)

Ingredients:

• 8.8 oz (~ 1 1/2 cups) farro, cooked according to package instructions
• juice of 1/2 small lemon
• 1 avocado, ripe
• 2 tbsp hummus (I like tahini-free or lemon hummus to complement the sauce)
• 1/2 cup walnuts, raw or roasted (I like roasted for this recipe. It adds depth)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 bunch of asparagus, rinsed and diced in to 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 tsp soy sauce or Bragg’s Aminos
• 1 1/2 cup water or vegetable broth
• 6 grinds of Trader Joe’s South African Smoke Seasoning (because I’m an addict, people)
• 1 tsp olive oil, for sautéing
• Optional: 1 tsp red pepper flakes (or more, if you like a kick)
• dash smoked paprika, to taste
• salt + pepper, to taste
• basil, chiffonade, for garnish

Assembly:

1. Bring water or vegetable broth to boil in large stock pot and cook farro according to instructions. Once cooked, drain in colander and rinse with cold water. Drain again to ensure farro is dry.
2. In a blender, combine peeled avocado, walnuts, hummus, water, soy sauce, chili pepper, smoked paprika, and smoke seasoning. Blend until smooth. Gently add lemon juice until desired tartness is achieved. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. In a shallow pan, sauté garlic and olive oil, gently folding in the diced asparagus. Sauté until bright green and still firm.
4. In a large bowl, combine the farro with the blended sauce mixture and half of the garlic asparagus. Add more red pepper flakes if you like your food with a kick. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour to chill.

Once cooled, serve in individual ramekins and top with remaining sautéed asparagus and finely chopped basil, chili pepper, and walnuts. Serve with flatbread and olive oil for dipping. Think spring-like thoughts.