Native Foods has arrived in San Diego! Maybe you have one where you come from, but an entirely vegan-friendly restaurant is a hard to find around here. It’s such a luxury to walk into a restaurant and be able to order absolutely anything without meticulously scouring the menu and playing twenty questions with your server. I couldn’t be happier that kinda freedom has finally made it’s way to our suburban neck of the woods. In the interest of saving a … Read more
Popcorn, easiest snack in the world just got easier, thanks to a tip on Pinterest. Apparently the microwave popcorn industry is a sham, like so many other “easy” foods. You can take a simple paper bag, like the kind we use to take our lunches in before every three year old had their own stainless steel bento box, am I right?! Super cute and all, but I digress. Take your very simple and absurdly inexpensive brown paper lunch bag, add … Read more
This week the newest member of our family turned one. That thing that every person you know (and don’t know in line at Target) says about it going by way too fast is true. Completely true. We had a great day celebrating and we couldn’t have made it happen without the help of Isa Chandra and Terry Hope Romero’s Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. It’s a must own for all your celebrations. This birthday, we went with the basic … Read more
I’m over spending a small fortune on kale chips. Excellent snack, but the mark-up on those salty bits is out of control. I can and will make my own! And so will you. Add in some homemade potato chips for good measure and we just about have a party on our hands. Naturally (and ironically) on the evening before embarking on my spontaneous snack making adventure, I had been dissing the mandoline in a serious way. I think I may … Read more
To omnivores, a vegan diet can seem restrictive. But all things are relative, even when it comes to victuals. My brother Max Koteen started doing the RAVE diet a few years ago, and I have to say it sounded like a tough—but extremely healthy—row to hoe. RAVE is an acronym that stands for the type of foods to be avoided: refined, animal-based, vegetable oils, and “no exceptions.” Sounds a bit masochistic, doesn’t it? On the surface it makes eating vegan … Read more
I’ll be the first to admit that it took me YEARS to learn how to make rice. Yes, rice. What should be the most insanely easy thing under the stars to cook I was miserable at. Sticky, check. Burnt, check. Hard, check. I made every misstep in the book. I tried stove-top methods, rice cookers, rinsing, not-rinsing, jasmine, short grain, basmati. Ugh. I was exhausted and tired of eating lame rice. Somehow, I had the most success with short grain … Read more
Cleaning food processors and blenders is always a chore, especially the blender, with all its bits and pieces. Inevitably the blade pierces your dish gloves, rendering them useless, and without fail the little rubber gasket thing always falls down into the garbage disposal. Argh! To avoid all this drama and make cleaning up these appliances a snap, try filling the blender bowl half way (food processor just about an inch) with warm water and a few drops of dish soap. … Read more
Like the bagels from a previous post, this is another case of “buy it or make it.” I became slightly obsessed with making my own Lärabars because my three year old is bonkers for them and they don’t come cheap! Plus they rank high on my radar for natural ingredients and portability. Luckily I came across this great feature on Chow and decided to get to work. Basically, it’s like making rice crispy bars: super simple, but kind of a … Read more
Long before I was a vegan, I was not a fan of the egg. Well, that didn’t come out quite right. I think eggs are great for making baby chickens, but at its core it’s kinda a gross thing to think about eating—it feels like something only a raccoon would do. In the same way that my brother had to bait my hook with that red wiggler when we were kids, my mom had to crack the eggs into my … Read more
When you’re just starting out, it’s easy to focus on what you can’t have instead of the millions of things you can still enjoy. I thought it would be helpful to offer my favorite substitutions to make the transition easier and more enjoyable. Coconut milk ice cream Hands down better than the real thing. It can be a little expensive, so watch for it to go on sale and stock up the freezer. Look for the coconut milk yogurt too. … Read more