Survival of the Vegan..

So - as you all know - I've gotten a bit lazy when it comes to blog posts. Most of it was a direct result of not having a kitchen, thus making it next to impossible to cook a decent meal, let alone create new recipes. Now, the laziness is stemmed from it being summer time - aka Grill Season, Matt and I have been grilling a lot more often, and while our food is delicious, the world does not need another blog post on how to grill a perfect ear of corn, or how to properly season summer squash.


That being said - I don't want to stop posting all together. I enjoy doing this, and it helps keep me honest and faithful to my new lifestyle. I started thinking about it and decided that I will switch the angle of the blog, and blog about survival tactics. What products are out there, that when worked into a healthy diet, help Vegans ensure that they are getting enough protein, enough fiber, or enough dessert! Let's be honest - we're all fat kids at heart.


While I'd love to start with Protein 101, I'd much rather start with my favorite meals (yes - with an 's') of the day are dessert. So, survival tip of the evening - Speculoos.

http://www.biscoff.com/DirectionsWEB/webcart_itemBuy.php?itemid=0816
This picture came directly from the website, but this brand can be purchased at Wegmans!

I discovered Speculoos this past September when I was in Belgium, in my pre-vegan days. I was sitting on a curb with my boss and co-worker, indulging in a true Belgian Waffle with Speculoos, sliced bananas, and whipped cream. Let me sum this experience up for you in one word. ORGASMIC. Yes, there - I said it. This was probably the most mind blowing meals I have had my entire life. Speculoos is produced by Lotus, and was discovered at one of those random food competitions where you have to create something unique out of a given product. The product you might ask - Delta Airline Cookies. These are a mix between a shortbread cookie and a graham cracker, and some ingenious woman decided to turn it into a spread the consistency of peanut butter for this competition. Lotus (same brand who produces the cookies) picked it up and have been mass producing it ever since. Story of Biscoff: http://www.biscoff.com/DirectionsWEB/webcart_static.php?file=static_biscoffSpread.html


I was thrilled to find out that Speculoos was sold back here in the states, under the name Biscoff Spread. I was even more thrilled to find out it was Certified Vegan! This spread can be eaten directly from the jar (my favorite method), on waffles, on graham crackers with melted chocolate and Ricemellow (think S'More with extra punch), melted as an ice cream topping... the list goes on. Trust me - once you try it, you'll create ways to eat the stuff - it's that good, I promise.

Post Race Smoothie

Okay - first recipe posting in a while. Sorry for the delay, we were without a kitchen for nearly 2 months!

I'm going to start with a simple one, my post-run smoothie. It's usually a kitchen sink smoothie depending what fruit we have in the house, but I try to make sure it has protein, fiber and potassium.

Ingredients:

1 cup Nature's Promise Unsweetened Soy Milk

10 medium - large Strawberries

3 cups Watermelon

1 small - medium Apple

4 tablespoons Old Fashioned Oats

3 tablespoons Chia Seeds

1/2 - 1 cup ice

Serves 3 (I like having leftovers)

Add all ingredients except ice into blender, and blend until smooth. Add ice, and blend again until smooth.

Pour into favorite post-race pint glass (hey - you earned it) and enjoy.

Very rough nutritional content, per myfitnesspal.com - based upon ingredients above:

1 serving

166 calories

5g fat

6g protein

32g carbs

7g fiber

385mg pottassium

36% dv calcium