Category: vegan-friendly

Vegan in New York City

Hello fellow travelers,

I’ve been jet setting left and right lately. Traveling within Ohio, heading back to West Virginia/ Pittsburgh, taking off to Denver, Colorado, and even Warsaw, Poland. All the travel has been wonderful… and exhausting… and has caused me to neglect my blog. I’m hoping to add a plethora of travel/ restaurant review posts over the next several weeks.

To start, in September, I was lucky enough to head to New York City for a few days of work and pleasure. Cory’s family is from the NYC area so we’ve been there quite a few times which is why it’s shocking that I haven’t done a best of Vegan in New York City round up! I re-visited a few of my favorite speciality vegan restaurants, as well as, some other “off the beaten track” gems. There are so many great places to eat in NYC, it can be overwhelming. I hope you’ll give some of my “must stop” restaurants a try on your next visit to the Big Apple.

What’s your favorite place to eat in NYC?

Enjoy, fellow vegan travelers!

Jocelyn

* Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As always, all opinions are my own!

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October Savings: Fresh produce, Food Should Taste Good, Beyond Meat & More!

Happy October!

I just love the fall. Football. Fall foliage. Pumpkin spice. Bonfire weather. Relaxed atmosphere. I could go on. I also love that, for me and my friends, fall represents potluck season! I’m planning a “Halloween” themed potluck in a few weeks, and since I’m heading back to Poland this weekend, I really needed to get my household shopping in order today. I’m making a graveyard cake which calls for about a thousand ingredients. Okay, I might be exaggerating a bit… Anyway, I put together my October Savings round up with great deals on fresh produce, Food Should Taste Good, Beyond Meat & more!

I also wanted to remind you about the new-ish rewards program I joined−Fetch Rewards (available on both iOS and Android). I’ve already earned $8.00 in rewards for doing nothing more than snapping less than 10 receipts! Not bad for ~4 minutes of work. Join now! If you enter my referral code (BU7GX) and scan a receipt, we’ll each get 1,500 points. That equals $1.50 in rewards just for using my code! The only catch is you must enter the referral code before you scan your first receipt. You can do that when you first sign up for Fetch Rewards or by clicking the “Me” button and entering the code prior to scanning the receipt. Once you scan and send your receipt and it’s accepted, the 1,500 points will automatically be applied to your account.

Cheers and happy savings!

Jocelyn

PS – As always, in case you missed them, check out my top ways to save and other recent savings posts.

* Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As always, all opinions are my own!


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Simple Homemade Marinara Sauce with Garlic & Basil

Hello and happy fall!

If you read my blog you already know this—I’m Italian, and I love pasta. While I’ve been making my own homemade noodles for about a year, I’ve been hesitating on the sauce. Who wants that mess? You have to peel tomatoes and the juice splashes everywhere, etc. The list goes on. Or so I thought. Turns out I was wrong. Yes, it can be messy to make your own sauce, but it’s not that bad and it’s totally worth it. I never should have hesitated. I now LOVE making my own Simple Homemade Marinara Sauce with Garlic & Basil.

Not only is it way healthier to eat, but it makes your entire home smell amazing and it tastes so much better than that stuff from the jar. There is nothing better than the mix of fresh-snipped basil and ripe tomatoes with a splash of olive oil. There is a reason pasta marinara is a household staple, and it’s not just because it’s a cheap, quick fix. It’s really good, too. Pasta marinara is so simple, yet when you get a realllllly good noodle with an impeccable sauce, there’s just nothing better for a crisp, cool night!

My garden has been producing an overwhelming amount of tomatoes so my partner and I are hurrying to make sure none of our homegrown tomatoes go to waste. With a half dozen jars of salsa under our belt, we moved onto canning the following marinara sauce recipe.

Go ahead and give it a try. Let me know what you think!

Cheers and happy eating!

Jocelyn

* Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As always, all opinions are my own!

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Recipe: Vegan Chocolate Chip Carrot Cake

Hello friends,

My dad loves carrot cake. Every few years for my parents birthdays  … Yes, you read that correctly—my parents were born on the same day two years apart! Anyway, every so often, I surprise them with a homemade carrot cake. This year, I started making the cake, got half way through the recipe, and realized I didn’t have any raisons! A carrot cake without raisons! Can you believe it? Well, it was much too late to head to the store. Or at least, I didn’t want to trek to the 24 hour Giant Eagle. So I started thinking about how to make a carrot cake with a twist. I looked around the cupboard and saw some chocolate chips, pecans and ginger powder. Voila! Why not make a vegan chocolate chip carrot cake?!

I have this saying—good food + good food = good food. It works with basic ingredients as well. The cake was perfectly moist, not too dense, and just sweet enough. It did not disappoint! Both my parents loved it! Why not give this recipe a try the next time you need an ‘inspired’ dessert?

Cheers and happy eating!

Jocelyn

* Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As always, all opinions are my own!

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Recipe: Thick & Chunky Garden Salsa

Hello everyone,

Over the past week, I’ve been looking for the perfect salsa recipe for canning, and I think I finally found it. I stumbled upon Tim J Turner’s Youtube channel and found a video for, “Canning and Sharing a Thick Salsa Recipe.” I adjusted the recipe a bit, and the result was amazing! It produced a slightly sweet, a tad bit spicy, thick salsa—perfect for your next potluck or date night in. I’m so excited to share this Recipe: Thick & Chunky Garden Salsa.

As you know, I planted a garden this year, and I may gone a bit overboard with tomatoes. I don’t even like tomatoes that much. Luckily, I do love pasta sauce and salsa. What better way to put all those cherry and vine tomatoes to use than to make a bunch of sauces and salsas ahead of time?

Garden Veggies

Chips and salsa is such a feel good party food. It’s perfect for game night, football season, and so many other get togethers. Now I’m ready for fall with eight cans of homemade salsa! It has just the right amount of heat, and it’s a tad bit sweet. That means it will satisfy a variety of food palates! This salsa pairs really well with veggie tacos and simple rice bowls. Impress your friends at your next get together. Bring along some homemade Thick & Chunky Garden Salsa!

Cheers and happy snacking!

Jocelyn

* Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate and referral links. I may earn a commission or bonus if you click through to make a purchase.  All opinions are my own. I only work with companies and brands I personally support.

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