Beet Hummus! from Healing Tomato

26 Wednesday Feb 2014

Posted by whatahipster in Uncategorized

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beet hummus, beet recipe, beet root, healthy lifestyle, healthy living, hummus, vegan, vegan beet recipe, vegan snack, vegetarian

It is high time for a guest recipe! I have been following the Healing Tomato blog for a couple months now and have been fascinated by all of her recipes. It is a vegetarian blog but it would be very easy to turn her recipes vegan either by omission or vegan substitutions. When she posted this recipe for beet hummus, I just knew we were meant to be friends. I LOVE BEETS! I grew up on beets. My mom fed me beets like candy and I developed a taste for healthy vegetables. She used to put beets on cottage cheese and it was one of the best meals in the whole world. I have been meaning to look up some vegan cottage cheese to bring this memory back to me in vegan form. Anyway, back to the Healing Tomato. I do not even know her name but she is fabulous and the blog is a great read! Check her blog for the recipe for beet hummus! She is on Google+ as well. I will be making this as soon as I get a free moment. Working two jobs and being a full time student is very difficult, especially when trying to move across town during the middle of mid-term week! All this work will pay off in the long run. Who knows? Maybe this blog will transform from the Impoverished Vegan to the Almost-Above-Poverty-Line Vegan! Just one step closer to being the Rich Bitch Vegan that I have been dreaming of becoming.

Try it on apple slices, carrot sticks, pita bread, or triscuits!
The options are endless.

Popcorn

19 Thursday Dec 2013

Posted by whatahipster in Uncategorized

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Chili powder, food, Garlic powder, healthy living, nutritional yeast, Onion powder, Popcorn, Sea salt, vegan, vegan snack, Yummly

“Popcorn?”, you may say. Yes. I am indeed writing a blog post about how to make stovetop popcorn! Why? Because most people do not know how! Thanks to my dad and our movie nights growing up, I have always known how to use a pan, some oil, and the stove to pop up some of the most delicious corn you have ever tasted in your life. “But I can just go to the store and get a microwavable bag! It is much easier!”, you may say. No. Surprisingly, it is literally the same amount of time and effort to pop your own popcorn than it is to buy the overpriced, mostly non-vegan, store-bought bags.

Ingredients:

⅓ cup popcorn kernels
2 tbsp. oil of your choice

Here’s what you do:

Heat the oil on medium heat with 3 kernels, covered. Why 3? I have zero idea. Just do it. When the first kernel pops, pour the rest of the kernels in and place the lid on again. Swirl the pan around the stove to keep the kernels and oil moving to prevent them sticking to the bottom of the pot. The popcorn will pop. And pop. And pop. Wait one minute and remove from heat. Trust me. You want all of the popping to be stopped. If a single kernel pops when you have the lid off most of the fluffy, light, airy popcorn will be strewn across your kitchen floor. Now you can take the lid off of the pot and serve with your favorite topping! Just plain old salt is amazing on it. Nutritional yeast also makes a great, savory, cheesy flavor. Why does this work? Huh. All I know is the concept behind this method is that when a random 3 kernels are heated and one of the kernels pops, the oil is at the perfect temperature and the popcorn will not turn out overcooked or burnt.

Ever get tired of plain, salted, or buttery popcorn? The nutritional yeast from earlier is a miracle worker. Not only does it contain essential minerals and protein, it tastes like cheesy popcorn! I would place the flavor very close to cheddar.

Here are a few interesting toppings for your popcorn to keep things from getting boring.

Ranch Style

¼ tsp. onion powder
¼ tsp. dried dill weed
⅛ tsp. garlic powder
⅛ tsp. sea salt
⅛ tsp. black pepper
⅛ tsp. vegetable oil

Mix this all together for a garden fresh, salty snack!

Sweet Chili

3 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
½ cinnamon powder
1 tbsp. chili powder
¼ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. cayenne powder
1½ tbsp. paprika

Mix this all together for a kick-in-the-mouth sweet and savory flavor!

Here is a link to so many great vegan popcorn toppings from Yummly.

This is my favorite combination for a topping
Buttery, salty goodness!

Three. Juuuuuuust three

Be sure to cover it, obviously, or there will be a poppy mess

Srsly tho. Make your own popcorn! Save all the money!

Pop! POP! pOp! PoP! pOP! POp!

Quick Baked Tempura

28 Monday Oct 2013

Posted by whatahipster in Uncategorized

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Baking, Deep frying, tempura, vegan, vegan snack, vegan tempura, Whole-wheat flour

Fried food is just SOooOooO good! Right? Right. While fried food may taste divine, the oil and fat will not feel good after a few clogged arteries. This quick recipe will let you enjoy the amazingly crunch goodness of tempura without frying! Here is what you do:

Preheat the oven to 450°F
Slice some vegetables into bite sized pieces
Mix 1 tsp. corn starch, ¼ cup whole wheat flour, 1 cup unflavored, unsweetened almond milk
Mix 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. olive oil, ½ cup breadcrumbs in a separate bowl
Dip the veggies into the first bowl, then the second bowl and place on a baking sheet
Bake for 8 minutes, then flip them over and bake for an additional 8 minutes

These proportions are for a single serving, so try multiplying the measurements if you are serving food for 2 or more impoverished vegans. I love this recipe because the veggies still taste fried and crunchy and delicious without that heavy oil feeling burdening your stomach.

Try adding some garlic powder to the wet mixture
Any vegetable can use a little extra garlic kick!

Add 4 tbsp. beer to the wet mixture and 1 extra tsp. corn starch
if you are making mushrooms for Beer Battered ‘Shrooms!

Different sizes of rings will coat differently in the batter
Try to make sure the batter is fully covering the veggies

Pre-baked deliciousness

Post-baked DELECTABLENESS

Cut the oil and fat and bake your tempura! (I still deep fry occasionally…I just cannot resist it)

Better Bruschetta

31 Saturday Aug 2013

Posted by whatahipster in Uncategorized

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antipasto, bruschetta, college, eating, fat sick and nearly dead, food, health, healthy, hummus, italian, italy, lifestyle, light snack, snack, spinach, vegan, vegan snack, veganism, vegetarian, vegetarianism

It is 2 PM. Your stomach rumbles, head spins, and eyelids droop. Sounds like it is time for a snack! Instead of grabbing a chemical filled energy drink or fully loaded cup of coffee, how about having a nutritious, savory slice of bruschetta.

Fresh bruschetta with hummus and spinach

Ingredients:

1 slice whole-grain bread ($0.33)
2 tbsp. roasted garlic hummus ($0.35)
1 handful of baby spinach ($0.12)
4 tbsp. bruschetta topping ($0.50)

Preparation:

Toast the bread until lightly brown. Spread the hummus on the bread. Top with baby spinach leaves and the bruschetta topping and devour like a wild herbivore. The bruschetta mix I used was store bought, containing tomatoes, onions, garlic and basil.

Ready in less than 5 minutes, this $1.30 snack is karmically and nutritiously better than any dollar menu item at any fast food joint. In the afternoons, caffeine is so very seductive. It tempts not only your neurotransmitters, but also your palate. Delicious coffee is delicious! One cup of coffee in the morning keeps your mind focused, as well as reducing the risk of heart failure and Alzheimer’s disease. In the afternoon, your body has worked off the caffeine and tells you that you probably need another boost. Fill this with vitamins and nutrients instead. Your body will thank you later.

Eating a vegan diet, the human body will need sustenance intermittently throughout the day due to the small amount of calories in such large amounts of food. Take a look at this chart from Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.

The amount of calories it takes to fill up a human stomach with vegetables is about 400. For chicken, it is about 1,200! We can achieve that same, satisfied, full feeling on vegetables, and eat MORE! Eating small meals and snacks throughout the day is the best way to keep the body well nourished and functioning properly. This also keeps the metabolism on its toes and processing well into the later years of life.

Did you know?

The most commonly accepted pronunciation of bruschetta is not what you think. In Italian, the digraph is always pronounced /k/. ex. [bru’sket:ta]

Brusketta. Brushetta. Bruschketta. Bruschetta. VIVA L’ITALIA!