Farmers market salad and slaw!

So I grabbed a few things from our local farmers market this past weekend and have been making everything under the sun with the veggies! Today I chose to make a nice fresh salad with a side of Amy's vegan minestrone soup! 

With all the left over I threw together a little slaw! Carrots,Swiss chard stalk,carrots and scapes! For the dressing  I used vegan mayonnaise and red wine vinegar with chopped up ginger,garlic, and a few pieces of kale thew them in the ninja and instant slaw dressing! Be careful with the red wine Vinegar because the mayonnaise is a bit vinegary on its own!

Weekly prepping!

So to make my life easier and meals faster I prep all my veggies for the week ahead of time! I go pick up fresh fruit/veggies twice a week and cut everything up and bag it! This week I picked up some local squash and zucchini and prepped them when I got home! It's simple and easy! Cut up whatever you are cooking with for the next few days and bag it! (I don't recommend prepping avocado  :-P) When it's time for dinner there's no prepping veggies just pull out of the bag and use! Most days I just have rice  and veggies all I have to do is grab a bag and the job is done! I find it saves so much time when cooking dinner and there's no mess! Also a bonus tip and money saver!! if your local grocery store has a reduce produce section give it a look! Our local stop&shop has a great reduce produce section and you can usually find organic fruits and veggies! I buy it for half price come home bag it up and freeze it!

 

Pigs in a blanket!!

I love love love pigs in a blanket! So basic and simple and only 2 ingredients!! You can't go wrong! 

         1. Vegan hot dogs (I like tofu pups)

     2. Pillsbury crescent rolls (original) 

 

 Follow the directions on the crescent roll package for lee heating the oven! Cut tofu pups in half and roll up in the crescent! If you want to go crazy add some daiya cheese in with the hot dogs! And there you have it simply easy lunch or dinner! 

Simple vegan brownies!

I'm not a huge fan of baked goods more like I dislike them but sometimes we all need a little comfort food! I did a little research and discovered that  the
 ghirardelli dark chocolate brownie mix was vegan as long as you don't add the eggs! So I figured I'd give it a try! I used energy egg replacer and the final product was iffy it was  flat and crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside I defiantly wouldn't call it a brownie so anyways I topped them with some walnuts and scooped away! It tasted amazing! I'm defiantly  going to try this again with another egg replacer!

Simple lunch!

What's more simple then a salad? I thew together some kale, Swiss chard, garlic,ginger, carrots, cucumbers and lettuce topped with light raspberry vinaigrette!  

Popsicles for everyone!

Simple simple simple my favorite word when it comes to food! Here are some simple popsicles

         1. Cut up various fruit and mash it 

      2.  Fill pop mold and top with banana 

     3. Freeze and enjoy 

Also adding coconut milk ( the can kind) gives them a great creamy texture and a nice hint of coconut! 

Farmers market breakfast!

I hit up the local farmers market this weekend and a little farm stand in Adams behind the old good will! I scored some awesome squash and zucchini and the best part they were huge and super cheap 3 for $2 can't go wrong there! At the farmers market I grabbed some scapes Swiss chard and kale and some carrots I threw it all together and sautéed them with some earth balance  and made a scrumptious breakfast! 

Soy chicken patty

 So I stopped at Price chopper pittsfield to check out what they had for vegan options!! I came across these soy check patty's they were pretty cheap so I said what the heck and grabbed a box. I followed the directions and wasn't to please with how mushy they were but they were after being cooked. I  even broiled it and still wasn't all that firm or "crispy" but the next day I cooked them up and threw them in with some rice and beans they were perfect! I definitely wouldn't recommend them for using like a "burger" though!

Ice cream!!

I like to keep it simple with my "ice cream" 

Banana & Starwberry Banana Ice Cream

1.frozen banana's/frozen banana's and strawberries

2. milk alternative of your choice

3. dash of vanilla or other flavoring

4.blend

 

*if you have an ice cream maker skips the last step and throw it in there

 

After blending I pour the mixture into a bowl and place into the freezer. mix every 10 mins or so until able to scoop out into semi hard balls. place on cookie sheet and put back in freezer after 15 mins they should be ready!! Put leftover balls into a container  and back into the freezer for later use!! 

 

fruit salad

Simple and easy fruit salad!

1. 1 Bag of Fresh Spinach

2. Handful of Fresh Blueberries

3. Handful of fresh starwberries

4. Amy's raspberry vinaigrette (other brands work as well)

 

 

 

Introduction!!

    I'm finally getting around to starting up a blog for my cooking! Its been a long time coming but Ive finally managed to squeeze in some time! I may not update as much as you would like but please bare with me I have a very active 2 1/2 year old! (what 2 1/2 year old is very active?) So if i miss a few days here and there im not sorry im a busy mom!! :-p A little back story as a child i lived with my grandparents and had the amazing grandmother who cooked everything! Food was a big part of my childhood, hanging out with nan as she cooked every meal (most from scratch.) I fell in love with cooking,All the delicate herbs and spices.. I couldnt get enough.I cooked some amazing food threw my teen years but never really went anywhere with it! I became pregnant in Feb of 09 and my love and passion for food came back. All the amazing smells and tastes came back! (maybe because I quite smoking? or maybe just all the crazy cravings) I was in love with food again.But I knew I had to change my eating habits. As the cravings came I decided to test out new and fresher foods.I was determined to get fresh and whole foods in my diet. I like most thought uggghh this is going to be expensive but as I started buying better food and less crap my grocery bill started going down. I have many tips and tricks to saving money that I will share at a later date! But anyways after the birth of my son fresh food was in! I was going to do it and I did it and will never look back! My sons 2 1/2 now and loves being involved in cooking and will eat just about any fresh fruit or veggie over a bag of chips any day!! I decided a few months ago to take peta's 30 day vegan challenge and as you can see by the name of my blog im still vegan!! It was a hard switch but well worth it! My son is not a vegan nor vegetarian he has some sensory issues and I feel as though he can make that choice for himself later! Although he still eats pretty clean! So you may see a few posts here or there that are not vegan!! With all that rambling out of the way Welcome to my blog Berkshire Vegan Mom! Hope you enjoy my recipes as much as I do!