Vegan Roast Beef Goulash Recipe, Really?

Before I became vegan I loved my steaks and pot roast. Every Sunday for years I cooked a pot roast in the slow cooker (crock pot) and by using a different variety of accompanying vegetables, I had a different tasting meal each time.

Then I became vegan for health and ethical reasons and, wow, did I miss my pot roast. Then one day I decided to buy the vegan "beef-less tips" I had seen many times but had not tried. I came up with the following recipe and loved it. I call it goulash but it is very similar to cubed pot roast with gravy.

Before getting to the recipe, we must discuss the main ingredient, the beef-less tips. I have only seen one brand of this, so that is what I will address. There may be others available but I have not seen them. The one I found is made by "Gardein". It is labeled "home style beef-less tips" and comes in a 9 ounce package. I found it in my area at several large supermarkets in the "meat-less" frozen food section. I suspect it would also be available at many health food or other stores that carry vegan/vegetarian products.

According to your location, you may not be able to find this product. If this is your situation, you can substitute any vegan meat-less product that fits the following. I would not use hamburger substitutes since it tends to crumble. So look for a meat substitute that will stay firm during cooking. Also, your substitute should be as thick as possible, preferably in bite size or larger chunks. O.K. To the recipe.

Ingredients
2 cups vegetable stock or water (see directions)
1 cup carrots, sliced or cubed
1 cup celery, cubed
1/2 medium onion, diced coarsely
2 large potatoes, cut into 2 inch cubes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 package (9 ounce) beef-less tips or substitute
1 tablespoon cornstarch
salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions
1. If you do not have vegetable stock you can use 2 cups water and 4-6 vegetable bullion cubes.
2. Place vegetable stock in a large soup pot on medium heat.
3. Add carrots, celery, potatoes and onion. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender (about 10-15 minutes).
4. Add garlic, cocoa powder and cumin. Stir until cocoa powder is dissolved.
5. Add beef-less tips
6. Dissolve cornstarch in ¼ cup cold water and add half to the pot. Stir while watching the thickness of the gravy. Add more cornstarch as needed to get the thickness you want. If too thick, add vegetable stock or water.
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot with cornbread, dinner rolls or garlic bread.

Make sure to put the beef-less tips in near the end of the cooking time. Do not overcook.
The only tricky part of the recipe is in acquiring the amount and thickness of the gravy. If the liquid gets low (boils away) add more vegetable stock. If you have too much gravy, cook a little longer. And, above all, taste as you cook. Don't overdo the salt. Let your taste be your guide.

K.A. Miller is a freelance writer and webmaster for http://www.veganshome.com/ where you will find many yummy vegan recipes and discussion of the vegan lifestyle.

Original article

Tropical Smoothies: Quick and Easy at Home

Ahh a Tropical smoothie! These yummy drinks are quick and healthy snacks that your whole family can enjoy on a daily basis. The selection of ripe delicious fruits that are available and the creamy taste combine to make an irresistible combination that makes you want to drink them each and every day.

One drawback to enjoying a the wonderful drinks daily is driving to a juice bar, waiting in line to place and order and then paying high prices each and every time. This is very hard to do on a regular basis and you will probably think it is not worth all the work. Also they might add ingredients that you do not want, like extra sugars, to their recipes. It is hard to tell sometimes what is added to healthy drinks when you are in a store. But it actually is quick and easy to make these kind of drinks at home with a blender. If you have a commercial blender, such as a Vitamix, so much the better, but your regular blender will also work to create a thick creamy healthy drink.

So if you are interested in making a Tropical Smoothie at home, here is how create them:

Ingredients:

Use your favorite combination of tropical fruits. I like to blend up mango and bananas for my smoothie drinks. I also recommend using orange juice or cranberry juice for a really great taste.

Other ingredients you can add to your smoothies are honey or agave syrup for some sweetness and ice to keep your smoothie nice and cool. The ice is an important part of the recipe, as the Vitamix blender is so strong and works so fast it can heat up your smoothie.

What to do:

Place all the fruits into your blender and add some ice to keep it nice and cool. To serve 1-2 people I would cut up 1 large banana and two mangos and use about 1 cup of juice. Make sure that the lid is locked on nice and tight. Now blend together for a minute until you get a nice, creamy drink. The amount of blending required will vary by the brand of blender that you have. You may have to make a few smoothies and experiment a bit to see what works for you.

That is it! Pour your finished drink into glasses and enjoy the thick and creamy, yet healthy snack anytime of the day. Naturally you will need to adjust the recipe for your particular tastes and amount of people you are serving.

So now you know how easy it is to make a Tropical Smoothie at home. What I like best, is that you can use up any ripe fruits that you might have and you will know exactly what is in your smoothie. You can also adjust the taste and texture just the way you like it.

A tropical smoothie is a healthy and refreshing treat anytime of the day. A To view pictures of a tasty tropical smoothie, Click on tropical smoothie and go to my blog to view photos of my Tropical Smoothie. Thanks for reading!

Original article

Five Tips for Going Vegetarian

Increasingly, people have become interested in eating less meat or even going vegetarian. There are many great reasons to start to reduce and even remove meat from your diet entirely. Not only is reducing your meat consumption good for your health, but it's actually good for the planet as well. Producing livestock for the amount of meat that the planet currently consumes is one of the most destructive, non-eco friendly practices in existence today. However, reducing or giving up meat can be challenging. Here are five tips to make it easier!

Start Small
Don't try to give up all meat at once! Phase yourself into it. Start by just practicing Meatless Monday to get used to a day without meat as well as to start to learn to cook without meat. Like anything else, if you try to give up something entirely at first, you'll be challenged to be successful.

Select Easy Vegetarian Recipes
Don't begin by trying to cook the most complicated vegetarian recipes possible. Eating vegetarian can be challenging, so invest in a book of simple vegetarian recipes. There are a number of great cookbooks that featured fully, hot vegetarian meals that can be cooked in thirty minutes or less.

Don't Eat Only Salads
Much like eating meat doesn't mean that you should eat only hamburgers each day, eating vegetarian doesn't mean that you should eat only salad every day. You don't just want to be a vegetarian, you want to be a healthy vegetarian. That means a diversity of diet that extends beyond lettuce and tomatoes.

Research Protein Sources
Without a doubt, the biggest challenge when you give up meat is finding alternative sources of proteins. As we said above, you don't just want to be a vegetarian, you want to be a healthy vegetarian. If you're only giving up meat, consider eggs as a great source of protein. You may also want to consider continuing to eat fish. Alternatively, do the research about the best nuts, soy and other products to supplement your protein.

Find a Message Board and Ask Other Vegetarians
The best advice on going vegetarian can be gained from other vegetarians. Find a good message board or online community and talk to other vegetarians about the best way to go meat free, stay meat free and be healthier (and kinder to the planet).

Even if you don't want to go vegetarian, reducing how much meat you have in your diet will pay off for both your personal health and the health of the planet. Start today by having just one meat-free meal and go from there!

Jocelyn Saurini became a vegetarian because of her desire to go green with her life. Now she not only writes about green living tips, she also writes about how to go vegetarian. She eats meat-free and lives waste-free as much as she can, and she hopes she'll be able to help you do the same.

Original article