Tag: cruelty free

Stuffed Mini Sweet Peppers with Vegan Cream Cheese

*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. That means I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. All opinions are my own.

Hello everyone,

I am so excited to share a newly tested recipe that is sure to be a hit at your next summer soirée! Give my recipe for raw Stuffed Mini Sweet Peppers with Vegan Cream Cheese a try!

This recipe simply calls for a handful of raw vegetables, vegan cream cheese, a few select spices, and requires minimal prep time and no cooking. How much simpler can it get? The best part—it’s a truly hassle free recipe but the end result still packs a serious flavor punch!

Raw Mini Sweet Peppers

I made these Stuffed Mini Sweet Peppers with Vegan Cream Cheese as an appetizer for my friend’s veggie BBQ, and the entire plate with gone within the hour. People kept going back for seconds due to the bright colors and great taste. I believe I found another “goto recipe” to keep in rotation with my time-tested indulgent vegan macaroni salad and fresh summer pasta salad!

Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think! Printable recipe below!

Cheers & happy eating!

Jocelyn

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The Impossible Burger: My 5-Minute Review

Hello everyone,

Staying warm? Enjoying the snow? I don’t know about you, but when it’s cold outside I crave comfort food. One of my favorite comfort foods is a hearty vegan “burger.” That’s right—a faux meat patty topped with gooey, melty vegan cheese, Heinz ketchup, banana pepper rings, and a dollop of Just Mayo. It always hits the spot! Well, I’ve been hearing buzz about the Impossible Burger for months and months, so I finally decided to find one nearby to give a try. Today I am here to finally provide The Impossible Burger: My 5-Minute Review.  

After years of research and $180 million in funding, the Impossible Burger debuted in the summer of 2016 in NYC at Momofuku Nishi. Now, this restaurant is not a burger joint. It’s an asian fusion restaurant. Possibly an odd place to launch a veggie burger, but it worked! People were lining up hours before the restaurant opened to get a bite of the Impossible Burger.

So why was everyone in a tizzy? Well, the Impossible Burger is a plant-based burger that looks and cooks like ground beef. These qualities are supposed to make it satisfy vegans/ vegetarians and omnivores alike. How does it achieve this? It includes heme—a molecule extracted from fermented yeast that mimics the same molecule that’s found in animal blood. This enables this meatless burger to “bleed” and sear, just like animal-based burgers.

Impossible Burger

Now, these qualities are off-putting for many vegans/ vegetarians, but considering I didn’t cook the burger, I didn’t mind it. The Impossible Burger looks like a medium cooked  regular burger, but so do many other veggie burgers. In fact, I found it to be similar to Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burger in both flavor and texture. The Impossible Burger tasted juicy and a bit greasy, with a slightly crispy exterior and soft center. I ate mine topped with pickles, vegan cheese, lettuce and ketchup, and boy, did it hit the spot! Continue reading “The Impossible Burger: My 5-Minute Review” →

Thanksgiving Dessert Made Easy

Hello everyone,

Who is ready for the holidays? It’s the season for good food, great company, and even more time to relax and do what you love. I’m hosting my family for Thanksgiving again this year, and I can’t wait. I simply love hosting this holiday in particular. Pumpkin is one of my favorite seasonal flavors so I’ll be making three different pumpkin-themed desserts. This is Thanksgiving dessert made easy!

If you’re looking for a simple addition to your current dessert spread, the Vegan Cardamom-spiced Pumpkin Cookies won’t disappoint! Of course, pumpkin roll is always delicious, albeit a bit anxiety inducing trying to avoid those cracks, and who can say no to “cheesecake.”

If you’re looking for an “easy out” to your Thanksgiving dessert preparations, I highly recommend picking up a tub of Eat Pastry cookie dough. You simply scoop out the 100% vegan, non-GMO dough and place golf-ball size dough balls on a baking sheet and drop it in the oven. It’s ridiculously easy and hassle free!

I picked up a tub of the Peanut Butter Chocoloate Chip last week, and it did not disappoint! The cookies were perfectly gooey and sweet—a hit at my latest game night! Why not give one of my tried and true recipes a try, or if you’re going easy on yourself, pick up some Eat Pastry cookie dough.

Cheers & happy holidays!

Jocelyn

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

Spooktacular Vegan Graveyard Cake

Hello Everyone & Happy (almost) Halloween!

Are you planning a halloween potluck? Heading to a boo-tastic bash? A frightful party? Why not make a spooktakular vegan graveyard cake?!

This fun dessert is quick, easy, and devilishly delicious! It’s not a made from scratch piece of art—instead it’s a cake that is easy to whip up so you can spend all that extra time on the decorations! There are so many “accidentally vegan” baking items on the market that are perfect for this recipe. Just grab a boxed cake mix, follow the instructions, add icing, and then decorate your ghostly graveyard cake! I’ve been making graveyard cakes off and on since I was in elementary school so I can attest that they never grow old! Why not give it a try?

Cheers and happy haunting!

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!

Continue reading “Recipe: Vegan Chocolate Chip Carrot Cake” →