Quick & Easy Low-Calorie Vegan Comfort Food is here! (Plus it's giveaway time!!!)

IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE! IT'S FINALLY HERE! As of May 15, 2012 Quick and Easy Low-Cal Vegan Comfort Food is officially in a bookstore near you (or on your favorite online store). Writing this book has been a true labor of love as I balanced work, school, blogging, pregnancy and writing - and I couldn't be more proud of how it turned out. Every recipe has complete nutritional analysis plus I give you 4-day menu plans for 1,400 to 2,000 calories. So whether you're trying to lose weight or are happy with where you are and just want to maintain your weight or heck, if you just love good food and want more of it in your life this book is for you!

Now on to the most important part - the recipes. I've got your covered for breakfast, lunch/dinner, snacks, homemade breads, jams, homemade sodas, shakes, smoothies and desserts (oh yes, there are desserts my friends).  Start your day off with Fluffy Flaxseed Waffles with Agave Cream (pictured above) with Grapefruit Brulee and Crustless Quiche Lorraine. Then move on to BBQ Popcorn (pictured below) or Spinach Artichoke Dip with Farfalle Chips as a snack.

 

For lunch lunch try a Caesar Salad with Chickpea Croutons (pictured below) or forget the rabbit food and go for a big messy Chili Dog with Eggplant Fries on the side. 

For dinner try Chik'n Fried Seitan, Andouille Gumbo, White Lasagna, Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce (pictured below) or go for the cover recipe - Seitan Cheesesteaks. 

 For dessert you have a lot of options. You can sneak over to the beverages chapter and make strawberry milkshakes, home-brewed ginger ale, or lemon grass soda OR you can head straight for the desserts section and chow down on this insanely good Lemon Cornmeal Cake with Lemon Glaze and Blueberry Sauce (pictured below), Moon Dusted Donuts, Ooey Gooeys or Butter Pecan Ice Cream. 

Needless to say this isn't your typical restrictive, bland, low-calorie cookbook. I believe in real food and bold flavors so if you haven't picked up your copy of Quick and Easy Low-Cal Vegan Comfort Food yet what are you waiting for! It's available online, in-stores and on kindle (available May 22) and nook. And for the next 7-days enter, below, to win a free signed copy of Quick and Easy Low-Cal Vegan Comfort Food! Just fill out the information below and I'll announce the winner on Friday, May 25th. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Match Meats Vegan Crab Meat

Although I’ve never actually had a crab cake made of actual crab I am a sucker for a good tempeh cake with a little tartar sauce or a spicy remoulade. I’ve generally steered clear of vegan crab meat as the thought of handling something that was remotely crab like kinda grossed me out plus why go out and buy expensive mock products when tempeh is just a couple bucks and readily available? 

Somehow, while veganizing Paula Deen recipes for my blog The Lady and Seitan  I found myself with a need for mock crab meat, on more than one occasion. So it was time to bite the bullet and order this strange beige stuff. I was surprised at how nutrient rich and high in protein Match Meats Mock Crab meat is. I was also surprised that immediately upon opening it my entire kitchen smelled like the Fisherman's Wharf in San Fransico. Every dish I've used this stuff in from my own impromptu crab cakes and She Crab soup to Paula Deen's Chesapeake Bay Crab Cakes have turned out phenomenal with a great, chewy texture and, what I assume, is a crabby flavor. Match Meat's Mock Crab Meat is now I staple item that I keep in my fridge just in case since it cooks up quickly and really hits the spot. However, the smell alone makes me think not once, not twice but thrice before making anything with it. I only cook with it on warm days when there is a great little breeze going outside so I can open my windows, light a candle and let the scent waft out the house.   

Quorn's New Vegan Burger

There's a fungus among us - and it is damn tasty. When the folks at Quorn contacted me about their new vegan burger I was over the moon with excitement. Their products have always looked soooo yum-tastic but none of them are vegan. Finally Quorn heard to pleads of its vegan audience and came out with a vegan burger. But not just any vegan burger, a smoky, savory, meaty vegan burger that is completely soy-free! New vegan meat analogs pop up in the market nearly everyday  but it is very rare that a soy-free product enters the market and I couldn't be more excited. Don't get me wrong, I love soy but honestly, it seems like every commercial vegan product is made of it!

Like most veggie burgers these patties can be cooked in the oven, microwave, grill or stovetop. After trying all four methods I think the stovetop method is my favorite hands down and produces the most juicy burger. I love these burgers so much that I want to make sure that you guys get a taste of these new treats as well so I'm doing a little giveaway. When I 1000 "likes" on facebook I'll give away 3 free quorn products to 3 of my facebook followers. Just head on over to facebook, hit the like button and I'll announce the winners the moment we hit 1000!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alicia-Simpson/106078829430735

Book Review: Vegan For Life by Jack Norris and Virginia Messina

As a student of nutrition I can't tell you how frustrating it is when I hear misinformation and hysteria about nutrition and veganism. The scientific literature is filled with solid, reproducible evidence that a vegan diet is not only safe but abundantly healthy for humans at all stages of life from birth and beyond including pregnancy and lactation. This has been echoed in position papers for years and is the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetics Association).
In Jack Norris and Virginia Messina's new book Vegan for Life: Everything You Need to Know to Be Healthy and Fit on a Plant-Based Diet , the authors lead you through a thorough, evidence based journey on the nutritional needs of vegans for every stage of life and give new vegans tips on how to make the transition. I knew this book was a winner when my mom picked it up, read it cover to cover and then said to me "I now feel 100% comfortable with you raising a vegan child, it's completely normal and so healthy for them!" This, coming from my mother is a BIG DEAL.

Norris and Messina, both registered dietitians, discuss protein from plant sources, vitamin b12, calcium, vitamin D and bone health, fats, iron, the vegan food guide, vegan diets during pregnancy and breast-feeding, raising vegan children and teens, vegan diet for people over 50, the health benefits of veganism and how to manage weight, heart disease and diabetes with a vegan diet. Vegan for Life is an essential book for all vegans. Not only will it educate you on a healthy vegan diet but it will empower you with the knowledge to tackle most any nutrition related question that comes your way about a plant based diet.

Breakfast Lifesaver! Amy's Tofu Scramble in a Pocket Sandwich

I'm not a morning person. Not even a little. Getting up at 9am is my idea of getting up early. But now that I have a little girl my schedule has been turned upside down and I find myself getting up before sunrise to get ready for the day. Between getting myself ready, my daughter ready and heading out the door on time breakfast has slowly shrunk lower and lower on the priority list. But as a breastfeeding mom skipping out on any meal isn't an option. I love making tofu scramble breakfast burritos but that requires me getting up even earlier to make tofu scramble every morning which also isn't happening these days.

I've always been very skeptical of store-bought tofu scramble, especially frozen scrambles. They never looked that appetizing and the few that I have tried have been bland and pasty.When it comes to Amy's brand products things have been hit or miss for me. I love their enchiladas, hate their breakfast burritos. Love their black bean burritos but hate their soups and the list goes on and on. When I saw these breakfast pockets I was desperate and willing to try anything. I threw a pocket in the microwave as I was headed out the door with  my daughter on my hip and was surprised that it was amazing! The pocket was a little gummy but the scramble was dead-on and delicious. The next day I decided to pop the pocket in the oven while I got ready, 30 minutes later the car was packed, we were ready to head out the door. I grabbed the scramble pocket out the oven and headed out the door. The gummyness of the pocket was gone and it was divine. My only complaint is the size. It's super yummy but also super small. It really takes two and some orange juice to fill you up. But size aside, this is absolutely perfect. And if you have kids this would be the perfect size for a breakfast on the go!