Triple Chocolate Threat!

Move over Krispy Kreme, there's a new donut in town. These vegan Triple Chocolate Donuts will not only knock your socks off, they're healthy and nearly fat free to boot. Now you can indulge in that sinful treat we all enjoy with absolutely no guilt!! To make these donuts you'll need a donut pan, which can be bought relatively cheap, and is totally worth the money you'll spend on it. I mean, what could be more fun than surprising your family with chocolate donuts for breakfast, right?? These tasty breakfast confections are baked, not fried, cholesterol free, and nearly fat free (if you ever find a fat free chocolate chip let me know!!). For an even lower fat donut simply leave off the glaze, and for a completely fat free donut leave out the chocolate chips and eat them sans glaze. But, I say, treat yourself, use the chips, use the glaze, and enjoy.

Triple Chocolate Donuts

1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

1 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

2/3 cup raw sugar

2/3 cup chocolate chips

2 flax "eggs" **

1/2 cup + 3 Tbs Fat Free soy milk

3 Tbs applesauce

1 recipe Chocolate Glaze (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray donut pan with cooking spray and set aside. Prepare flax "eggs"** and set aside. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients through chocolate chips stirring to combine well (sifting flour and cocoa if clumpy). Add applesauce to soy milk. Add soy milk mixture and flax "eggs" to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fill donut molds 2/3 full and bake in preheated oven for 11 minutes (or until toothpick inserted in donut comes out clean). In the meantime, prepare the Chocolate Glaze. Remove donuts from oven, cool in pan until they are cool enough for you to handle. Once cool enough for you to handle, remove to a cooling rack and cool completely. Re-spray pan and prepare second batch as directed above, filling molds 2/3 full. Spread glaze over donuts with a spoon and serve. Yields 12 donuts.

Chocolate Glaze

1/2 cup chocolate chips

3 Tbs fat free soy milk

In a small saucepan combine chocolate chips and soy milk, gently heat over low heat stirring constantly until chocolate has melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature before using.

** To make flax "eggs" combine 1 heaping Tbs of ground flax seeds with 1/4 cup warm water and blend until frothy for each "egg". You can purchase flax seeds already ground and keep them in the freezer, or grind them yourself using a spice grinder, a coffee grinder or a blender. Making flax "eggs" can be done by hand beating the flax and water together with a whisk. I've found the easiest and most efficient way to do this is by combining the two and blending with an immersion blender.

If you've bought a donut pan you might as well go ahead and try these Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip donuts as well.

7 simple ways to make vegan a lasting change.

Maybe you've seen Tal Ronnen on Oprah, or Jonathan Safran Foer on Ellen. Maybe you saw Alicia Silverstone on The View or Kathy Freston on Extra!. Maybe you saw The China Study's T. Colin Campbell on Larry King Live or you saw Dr. Oz turn a meat loving cowboy vegan. Maybe you say Zooey Deschanel on Top Chef or maybe your daughter bought you The Kind Diet for Christmas (yeah mom, I'm talking to you). And of course, there's probably no one that hasn't heard of or read Skinny Bitch. If you haven't seen or heard about at least one of these things you have probably been living in a hole for the last several months. Veganism has hit the media big time. With all of the mainstream talk about veganism maybe you've decided to give it a try for yourself.

You may have bits and pieces of information that make veganism appealing to you. It's likely you've heard something here or there about a plant based diet being optimal for your health. You've probably been made vaguely aware of the effects our meat eating has on the environment. Chances are you saw the PETA coverage of downer cows on the news and promptly turned the channel. Aside from these snippets that we see on our television or read in our morning papers many of us never take the issue to heart and continue to do our own research. We think veganism is just another "fad diet".....after all wasn't it just a few years ago when Dr. Atkins told us that we should eschew all veggies and carbs and live solely on meat, cheese and dairy (this remember was before he died after suffering a heart attack, congestive heart failure and severe hypertension), surely something easier than quitting meat will come along, right? Sure we think, factory farming may cause pollution, but so what, right, we've got to eat. We've seen the PETA coverage and either don't care, after all they're just stupid animals, or we ignore what we see because we fear that if we "know" we'll actually have to examine our behaviors and attitudes around our diet.

Maybe with the start of the new year you've decided for the first time (or maybe for the 15th year in a row) to actually examine your diet and examine your attitudes about food and the environment and give up animal products for good. If going vegan was your New Year's resolution (or goal) it's likely that on Day 4 you're still doing pretty well. But with 361 days left in 2010 (and hopefully a lifetime left for your new lifestyle) how do you make this change permanent?

Below are my tips for adopting a vegan diet and making it stick.

1. If you are switching to a vegan diet from a diet of meat transition slowly. Big changes don't happen over night, and you shouldn't set yourself up for failure by eliminating all animal products from your diet in one fell swoop. This works for some people, but doesn't seem to be the case for most. My recommendation is to forgo dairy before all else. It's well documented in Dr. Neal Barnard's book Breaking the Food Seduction that dairy products produce casomorphins when we consume them. A chemical akin to the drug morphine, that causes a physical addiction to dairy products. In order to eliminate dairy from you diet it's best to treat it as you would a serious drug addiction. You wouldn't slowly wean yourself from narcotics, expecting to have a little here or there and actually kick the addiction. The same is true with cheese, milk and yogurt. Every bite serves to feed the addiction. If you are serious about eliminating dairy then by all means, just say no.

Once you've managed to kick the dairy habit (which seems to be the hardest step for anyone adopting this lifestyle) move on to eliminating the flesh foods. This can be done either all at once or in stages. For me, taking it in stages worked best. I eliminated all but chicken and seafood, and then slowly eliminated chicken, and finally seafood. There are many abolitionist vegans who disagree with me claiming that all animal consumption should be eliminated, period. And while that's surely the goal here, I happen to think that some is better than none, and that even slowly reducing your flesh intake raises your consciousness to a level that will eventually lead to the elimination of all animal products. Plus, by not allowing yourself any leniency in the beginning, it's my opinion that you are just setting yourself up for failure. Which, leads me to tip number 2.

2. Don't beat yourself up over your mistakes. Changing the diet you've been eating all of your life isn't always easy, mistakes happen. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and commit again. That said, once you've committed to any one step of eliminating animal products don't give yourself the ok to "cheat" and then call it a mistake. A commitment is a commitment after all, even when it's tough. Reduce mistakes by learning to read labels, learning where animal products are hidden, and being vigilant.

3. Don't let your food choices become an issue in social settings. For instance, you will undoubtedly be invited to a friends house for dinner or out to a restaurant. Don't let your new lifestyle prohibit you from going. Politely let your friends and family know of your diet changes and make sure they know that it isn't necessary for them to go out of their way for you. Ask in advance what the menu is and then offer to bring a dish so that you know you will at least have something to eat. They choose to go to a steakhouse? Assuming you aren't ethically opposed to others having free will to make their food choices go along, you can get salad anywhere. So what if it's not the best meal you've ever eaten, going out to dinner isn't really about eating anyway, it's about socializing, you can eat when you get home. Allow yourself to have fun and not fret over the fact that the menu is seriously lacking in appropriate choices. More often than not you'll find that your friends are more than willing to pick a place that's suitable for you, so lighten up and don't let your lifestyle hold you back. And, speaking of friends.........

4. Know that your friends and family will probably not have the reaction you were hoping for (unless of course your daughter is already vegan and she's so super proud of you....yeah, you again mom!!!). Many of your friends and family are likely to feel attacked and offended by your new choices. They tend to internalize your decision and feel that your veganism is somehow an attack on their choices and their lifestyle. Remind them that your choices are not about them, that what you have chosen is what you feel is the best way for you to live your life. Eventually they will come around, I promise, and if they don't then it's probably worth asking yourself if you need them as a friend anyway.

5. Educate yourself. I think one of the easiest ways to make veganism a lasting change is to educate yourself. My favorite thing to say to people is "Once you know you can't not know", and that "knowing" is all that it takes for me to be committed to a cruelty free way of life every single day. Being educated also won't hurt when you are bombarded with the millions of questions and comments you will undoubtedly receive. The more you know, the more confident you are in your choice and your response, the more effective you are in opening the eyes of others.

There is no lack of information available about the vegan diet and lifestyle. Do a web search, go to the library, check out some blogs. The information is all there for the taking, all you've got to do is open up your eyes, open up your mind, open up your heart and READ!! There are many great books available, following are my recommendations:

For your health:

The China Study by T. Colin Campbell is absolutely necessary reading. If you ever questioned the role of diet and health this is a must read.

The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone. This is a very easy read and her style of writing is very personable. I have a few issues with this book, but for the most part it is good, with a great message. My only complaint is that she makes veganism seem hard to nearly impossible for people not living in NYC or LA. I live in the midwest and don't have access to some of the ingredients her recipes use, and even so have NEVER had trouble being vegan. So, if you read this book, don't be discouraged by her SuperHero plan.

For the Animals/Environment:

Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer is a must read. This book is excellent in describing how in order to change the effects of animal agriculture it is absolutely imperative that we stop supporting the animal products industry. He's not necessarily a proponent of veganism, but very clearly makes the point that if you disagree with any aspect of animal agriculture the only way you can change it is by boycotting it.

Diet for a New America by John Robbins. This book really touches on all aspects of veganism, but particularly on Environmental and Animal Cruelty aspects.

For Spiritual Growth:

The World Peace Diet by Dr. Will Tuttle is an absolutely necessary read if you are interested in how our diet is connected to our behaviors. I HIGHLY recommend this book.

6. Make your choices about something other than yourself. After all of the research you've done you'll know that the Standard American Diet (aptly given the acronym SAD) is killing us, and not only is it killing us it's killing everyone who adopts our Western way of eating. Cancer and diseases of the heart are taking our lives at an alarming rate, an there's very good evidence that all it takes to stop the madness is to stop the consumption of animal products. More importantly you'll know that the meat industry is one of the largest polluting industries (second only to the military) around.......our meat eating habit produces more greenhouse gas than the entire transportation sector combined, this includes cars, buses, trucks, planes and trains! You'll know that the animals are not only born in horrific conditions, but treated in a cruel and brutal manner their entire lives. They are subject to cruel and unusual treatment every single day of their lives. Once you know that by changing your diet you can change so much there's no temptation to ever go back.

For me, being vegan isn't about me, it's not about my health. It's about the health of my children, it's about the health of the planet I want my children to enjoy, the health of the planet that I want future generations to have the pleasure of experiencing. It's about the lives of millions of animals that are needlessly and senselessly abused and killed every single day just for the selfish enjoyment of our tastebuds. It's about knowing in my heart that when I don't fill my body with the fear and violence involved in producing animal products I am in a better place to reduce the amount of fear and violence our world is experiencing. And, with all of these things at stake, how could I ever go back? I've heard from countless other vegans who feel exactly the same way. Make the choice for something bigger than yourself and it will all make sense.

7. Finally, find support. Find vegans in your community. Start a vegan support group. Join the amazing vegan cyber community on Twitter and Facebook. You are not alone in this!!

Go vegan for you, for the animals, for the planet, for PEACE!!!

Help me dehydrate.

Santa was very good to me this year. I got a food dehydrator!! I've been wanting one for nearly a year now, and was so excited to finally get one. Honestly, I only wanted a dehydrator to make these really rockin' raw corn chips that I have a recipe for. Of course, I'll make some fruit roll ups that I can actually let me kids eat, and dried apples are a must. But, I need help, I don't really know what else to do with this machine.

I know there are all kinds of things I can make in here, breads, crackers, etc. So, I'm asking a favor. Send me your favorite dehydrator recipes please. Comment with your favorite recipes or links to your favorites. Help me get some use out of my new toy.

Do the Practice.

Do the practice. Words that are familiar to many yogi's. Sutra 12 of Book One tells us that through practice and non-attachment the fluctuations of the mind are brought to rest. It's the mantra of yoga teachers everywhere. Do the practice, do the practice, do the practice. Even that late, great Sri K. Pattabhi Jois says "Practice and all is coming".

But what does this mean? Do the practice on the mat, or keep up the practice off of the mat? Unfortunately no great guru has ever given us the answer to this question. And maybe that's precisely the point. One of the great things about yoga is that it's for each individual to figure out for herself.

For me "do the practice" is a call to live in a yogic manner, and for me that means to do the physical practice. The physical practice of asana is where we come to train ourselves, like warriors preparing for battle. We train to battle the citta vritti, the fluctuations of the mind-stuff. The asana practice is where we come to recharge and refocus, to regroup and reorganize when necessary. From the physical practice we bloom.

So, does this mean to do the physical practice every day? In an ideal world, yes. In a world without the demands of human life, yes. As a daughter, a mother, a wife and a teacher, well yes. As much as I'd love to give myself a break for falling into all three of these categories my honest thought is that there are no excuses. Do I do the physical practice everyday? No. I try, but I don't. What I tell myself is that life gets in the way, that I'm busy or that I'm tired. What I know is that these are all just stories that my mind is telling me. When I start to come up with these stories I know that it's time. It's time to get on the mat, to regroup, reorganize and change my priorities.

How is it possible to keep up the physical practice when the demands of life seem to get in the way? How, especially during this busy Holiday season, can you make time for your physical practice each day? I don't know all of the answers, but I do have some tips that help keep me on track and make my practice a priority.

1. First and foremost, let go of any ideas you may have about how long you have to practice. A yoga practice doesn't have to be 75 minutes. If all you can carve out of your day is 10 minutes, use it. It's amazing what only a few minutes on your mat will do for you. Need some energy? Run through a few sun salutations followed by your favorite standing poses, throw in an inversion and a backbend and you're done; Need some grounding? Try a seated practice of forward bending, savasana and finish with some seated meditation. The point is, the practice doesn't have to be long it just has to be done.

2. Try to attend class at a studio at least once a week. Knowing that you will have the opportunity to practice with a group energy will often be enough to keep you motivated in your home practice through the week. While a home practice is often a beautiful experience of compassion and intuition it can be very powerful to experience the energy of a group. Make the most of your group practice, tune into the energy of the room, recognize the feeling that group practice gives you and recall that feeling as you practice at home.

3. Choose a time each day in which to do your practice. Get up before the rest of your house and practice in the silence of early morning. Send the kids off to school and relish the silent emptiness of your house. Wind your day down with a meditative yin practice or a relaxing restorative practice. Find what works for you and stick to it. If you intended to get up and practice in the morning but didn't? Map out your day and work it in at a later time.

4. Remember that it's called practice for a reason. We aren't perfect at it. We accept the parts that we aren't good at and keep working to make them better. In other words, don't let a day of missed practice be a set back. We make mistakes at it. Accept it and try again tomorrow. It's just practice.

5. Develop self awareness. Notice how the physical practice changes your attitudes. Notice how the physical practice can set the tone of your day. When you begin to develop awareness for what the physical practice does for you, beyond the physical, you will be encouraged to practice.

These are just a few of the ways I keep my self on the path and keep up my physical practice. What does "do the practice" mean to you? How do you make your practice a priority?

My Vegan Care Package

Here we are again, almost a month since my last post. As usual, I've been cooking, and we've been eating, but unfortunately blogging has taken a backseat to life. I've still been testing recipes for the upcoming Happy Herbivore cookbook. This book is going to rock your world, you're going to want to get your hands on this as soon as it's off the presses. It's loaded with so many quick and family friendly recipes and utilizes ingredients that are always found in any well stocked pantry. To see a sneak peek at what you'll find in the book, check out the photos on flickr.

In addition to testing out all of Lindsay's recipes I spent 10 days in Hawaii over the Thanksgiving holiday celebrating my 10th anniversary. In addition to soaking up plenty of sun, I ate my weight in fruit and avocado. Plus, we found 3 all vegetarian grocery stores, and plenty of fruit stands to keep us sustained. Our Thanksgiving dinner was a pineapple tofu red thai curry. Beats a Tofurkey any day!!

Now on to the focus of this post. The care package. A while back I participated in a vegan care package swap hosted by Lindsay from the Cooking for a Vegan Lover blog. I was fortunate enough to get paired with Amy from the Tahinitoo blog. Fortunate because Amy happens to reside in Portland, otherwise known as a vegan's paradise. I returned home from Hawaii to this incredible box of goodies.......................

.....................a perfect treat to return home to!!

Amy took special care to include peanut free goodies so that Teeny could sample. We received a huge bag of kale chips made in Portland, some Mac & Cheese (which happens to be a favorite of my kidlets), some really incredible Indian dal snacks, soy jerky, fruit bars, chocolate agave, a quinoa bar, Funky Monkey banana snacks, some homemade apple butter, a locally made Thai Massaman curry paste (which we've made a curry from already, and it is superb), and shamelessly, my favorite part of the entire package, a Go Max Go Twilight bar (the vegan version of a Milky Way). Amy also threw in some non food items including a reusable produce bag (which I love and can't wait to get more of.....those little plastic produce bags are so annoying), a bread bag clip, a package of homemade note cards, a Food Fight Grocery sticker, some adorable owl stickers and kitty buttons for the girls, and an amazing bar of locally made soap.

I think it's safe to say that I hit the vegan care package jack-pot!! I can't wait to participate again.

Thanks Amy...............you rock!!!!

Have you missed me???

Well hello there, you've been wondering where I've been haven't you? I've been here, right here in my kitchen all this time. Right here cooking up a storm. Right here where you'd expect me to be, cooking all sorts of things I've been dying to blog about.

So, why the lack of food posting lately, you are no doubt asking yourself.......right? Well, as badly as you want to know where I've been, I've wanted to tell you even more!! Waiting to tell you has surely been slow and brutal torture.

Without further ado, the reason for my absence...................................The Happy Herbivore is developing a cookbook that will be published and available for your purchase in about a year!! OK, you're really confused now, right? All of this build up and excitement over someone else developing a cookbook, crazy, no? So what, right? Well, as a matter of fact, this cookbook truly is exciting for me. Exciting you see, because she's asked me to be a recipe tester for her. Yeah, that's right, me a recipe tester!!! Along with a few others I get a first glimpse and a first taste of the recipes that will be included.

I've been a fan of the Happy Herbivore blog for quite some time now and I finally "met" Lindsay (aka Happy Herbivore) on Twitter a few months ago. Not long after that we became cyber-friends, we learned that we had a lot in common when it comes to our ideas about food and veganism, and shortly after that she approached me to test recipes for a cookbook she was hoping to have published. And now it's official, she's made a deal and the cookbook will hit shelves in just about a year.

This cookbook is going to knock your socks off. Lindsay cooks real food for real people, using real ingredients that you can easily find at any well stocked market. Lindsay's recipes use whole foods, whole grains, and include little to no added fat. It's good food you can feel good about.

So, there you have it. I've been here, right here in my kitchen cooking up a storm. Now that it's official I can finally share with you!!! I'll leave you with just a few photos of what's been cooking in this test kitchen...................

Sloppy Joes

Baked Onion Rings

Chocolate Chip Cookies
(low fat, whole wheat, and all of the flavor of it's full fat cousin)

For more sneak peeks at what the testers have been cooking up, check out the flickr pool.

Adopt A Turkey

Say hello to Rhonda and Hawthorn. These beautiful birdies are the the gobblers we adopted through Farm Sanctuary's Adopt a Turkey Program. This year I let the girls view the pictures and quotes from each of the Turkey's and these were the favorites.

For just $25 you too can Adopt a Turkey and help care for the rescued animals at Farm Sanctuary locations. You can even gift these turkeys. The recipient will receive an adoption certificate with their turkey's name, the sanctuary they reside at, and the personality of their turkey.

According to the USDA more than 45 million turkeys will be cooked and eaten in the United States during Thanksgiving. Help reduce that number, celebrate Thanksgiving the vegan way.


Turkey's that are raised for food are raised under horrible, unnatural conditions, crammed so tightly into their living space that they can hardly move. Because they can't move and are deprived of their natural behavior, the tend to peck one another, leading to a horrific practice of cutting off their beaks with a hot blade, known as debeaking, so they will not be able to peck at one another. These birds are also produced to grow so large that their legs can not carry the weight of their bodies. For more information on how turkeys raised for food are treated visit this link.

Keep your holiday table cruelty free this year. Let your meal celebrating thanks represent your values, create a plant based Thanksgiving, spare a turkey, and donate instead to the cause of offering life to those who have been rescued.