The month of silence - the happy month

February has been crazy. Lots of classes, lots of work, lots of training. After we both decided to keep on training, we've been pretty picky about the food, especially the protein amount that we consume. It's a little interesting, however, that people around keep asking on where do we get our daily protein intake from. It's much easier than omnivores think - actually, such foods like beans, chickpeas, lentils or tofu have lots of protein... And if you manage to cook it nicely together with matching spices and veggies, you can get a very fulfilling, tasty dish.

The first month of being vegan was a little challenging since we both (well, especially Miks) were used to animal products and we consciously would try to substitute them for vegan options, such as vegan wieners, vegan salami slices and so on. At some point it even felt that I turned back to meat after a long time of being vegetarian, since in all my vegetarian years I have never tasted any kind of meat substitute :) But, after all, it took us approximately a week - maybe a two - to figure out what does it take to be vegan, how to cook the food and add relevant spices and organize a nice, clean diet. One more challenge to come - introduce some fresh greenies since neigher me nor Miks eat that much of raw food.

But to keep on the food tradition, that's short review on some of the yummiest dishes we've prepared and eaten so far. It's been delish!

Fake meats and cheese

Probably for the first time I am happy that such thing as Facebook has been invented. Within the last week I have joined a couple of vegan groups on Facebook through which I was able to find more information about the foods available in the city where I live.

Can you imagine a girl, who's been vegetarian over 10 years, trying to choose the best looking sausage? Neigher could I. But it happened!

Soo... That's what I got:

Vegan sausages, more sausages, cheese and cheesy-like spread. Looks yummy! But not only it looked yummy, but tasted yummy too...

I am having mixed feelings - happy and confused - at the same time :) Happy as I found about vegan sausages and cheese and confused that well, hmh, it's a sausage? But oh well. It was delicious indeed!

If you happen to be living in Denmark/Sweden, you might be interested in checking out where to get some goodies: http://astridochaporna.se/aterforsaljare/ 

Raw coconut and lime bites

Alright, let's admit that: I love cakes. I really do. The small tiny yummy bites of the cake make me feel better instantly no matter what my mood was before.

And yes, when you turn vegan your choices of cakes to not shrink, actually, they pretty much stay the same yet the level of your creativity will probably increase. Long story short: I have found an awesome raw vegan coconut/lime bites (recipe here) which I absolutelly fell in love with. It's simple, fresh and very delicious.

So yes, it is possible to be vegan and eat good. And yummy. Have a rawsome Saturday!


                                  Viktorija
                                  Mood: inspired
                                  Music: Wavelength - Fade

Vegan burgers

Yes, it is possible to have a genuine, unadulterated junk food experience on a vegan diet. This greasy, succulent burger is just one of the ways for granting this wish. Served with fries on the side, a vegan mayo and a spicy BBQ sauce really just adds to the whole picture.

So, of course, the mayo and BBQ sauces are also used on the buns for that juiciness. For freshness and crispiness we used rucola salad leaves, finely shredded carrot and red onion rings. For that fat and greasiness as well as saltiness we added a few slices of sun-dried tomatoes and added a teaspoon of that oil where the tomatoes have been soaking. Finally for the protein there’s a large variety of choices. This time we tried small patties of bean-steak, however, our favorites are either tofu steaks when feeling creative for experimenting with flavors or any vegan “meat” found at supermarkets for that standard, but delicious meat taste and texture.

After making and tasting these quick, home-made burgers why would anyone want to pay for McDonalds frozen meat hockey pucks, pickles that come from a powder when mixed with water and a budget toaster cheese that nobody would take for free? I don’t know.

Recipe
- Burger buns
- Rucola salad
- Sundried tomatoes
- Either baked tofu or vegan "beef" loafs
- Red onion
- Carrot
- Mustard
- Ketchup
- Eggless mayo
- Soya sauce
- Tabascco

Preparation:
Cut the buns in half, warm both halves in an oven until they get warm and slightly crispy. Combine ketchup, musturd, a drop of soya and tabascco sauces. Spread the created saauce on the bottom bun; then add a generous amount of rucola, topped by finely shreded carrot, followed by sundried tomatoes and red onion, cut in rings. You can add a tea spoon of the oil that sundrieds were soaking in. It'll give a nice salty and greasy feeling. Add a piece of tofu or meatless loaf (we had beet loafs from ekko gourmet). The top bun should have a generous spread of a vegan mayo. Assemble the burger together and enjoy. It will most likely be one of the best burgers you have ever tried.

Enjoy the weekend!

                                                              Miks

Vegan going out

When I used to vegetarian, I'd catch myself thinking where do vegans go eat if they're in the city. It seems that all the offered food contains only animal ingredients and nothing clean and healthy can be offered. Well, vegetarians and vegans have one option available for sure - vegetable sushi - but you can't eat sushi all the time you're out in the city... Sometimes you just crave for a change.

Yesterday me and Miks participated in the event organized by International Community where international professionals have an oppotunity to meet their fellow internationals, living in Aarhus, for a jug of beer. Fun. After the beer I usually get pretty hugry and craving for calories so... we ended up eating at Café Gaya :) They have really yummy vegan sandwitches with vegan sausage and the most incredible soup...

Besides, there's one more place opening in Aarhus pretty soon: a 100% vegan café called Mikuna. It seems that those guys have pretty amazing plans to spread the word about the herbivore diet!
If neigher Miks nor me like the food in the city we agreed to organize something ourselves. Who knows, it could work, huh? ;)



                                                          Viktorija
                                                          Mood: wishful
                                                          Music: Yael Naim - New Soul

Healthy evening snack

I am a person who loves snacking. Between the meals and instead of meals. As me and Miks turned vegan, I have been looking for healthy snack ideas that could keep us full of energy and that would supply us with the needed vitamins. Since I had some leftover soya yoghurt in the fridge, I decided to make a fresh, yummy yoghurt-fruit smoothie.

Recipe:
- 1 banana
- 1/3 of creamy plain soya yoghurt
- 1 frozen bag of raspberries
- A handful of blueberries.

Just mix it all with a blender and enjoy! Feel free to a little bit of fresh spinach or seeds. I thought I'd store it in the fridge so that I can enjoy it for a couple of days BUT... Miks consumed it in half an hour... :)

                                                                                 Viktorija
                                                                                 Mood: Kenny G - Songbird
                                                                                 Music: inspired

Vegan Chocolate Cake

CAKE!!! Everybody loves cake. Especially if it's chocolate cake. So since me and Miks were invited to a cozy home party, we decided to astonish people by making our first (hmm... no one knew that!) vegan chocolate cake. It was so yummy that no one believed it's vegan :) I loved the reaction of people when I said that no eggs, no milk and no butter are used. "What is it made of, then?" - a question would follow. But really, what is it made of? :)

Cake ingredients:

* 1,5 cups of flour

* 1 cup of sugar

* 2/3 cup of cacao powder

* 1 cup almond/soya milk (if you don’t have those just use water)

* 1/3 cup of vegetable oil

* 1/2 tsp of salt

* 1 tsp baking soda

* 1 tbsp apple cider/rice vinegar

* splash of brandy/liqueur

Glaze:

* 1/2 cup sugar

* 3 tbsp vegan butter/margarine

* 2 tbsp soy/rice milk

* 2 tbsp cacao powder

* splash of brandy/liqueur

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180°. In a deep dish mix together flour, sugar, cacao, baking soda and salt. When it’s mixed, add the water, a splash of brandy/liqueur, oil and vinegar and mix it once again until even. Pour it in the deep dish and bake it for ~30mins. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze: in a small pot bring sugar, butter/margarine, soya/rice milk and cacao to boil. Stir constantly for approximately 2 minutes, remove the heat and stir for about 3-4 minutes more until it thickens. Add a splash of alcohol and pour onto cake when it’s cooked. Let it cool and enjoy!

                                                    Viktorija

                                                    Mood: full&happy

                                                    Music: Pharell Williams - Happy