The BEST Veggie Burger

I'm pretty sure I've tried every store-bought vegan burger on the market. What can I say? I attend a lot of tailgates. Most of these so called burgers, taste like nothing. NOTHING. You can find a great vegetarian burgers everywhere, they have all kinds of flavors and spices and they are filled with...cheese, milk and eggs! I'm trying to decrease my cholesterol (and my thighs!) here people, get that crap out of my veggie burger! I'm pretty sure these companies were so creative on their non-vegan veggie burgers that when it came time to create the vegan burger they were like "Vegans? they can't eat ANYTHING! Let's freeze some soy protein in a burger shape and move on".
I thought it was hopeless. Until, the always trustworthy Trader Joe's offered me this:

I think I've read the ingredients on this box 50 times. I literally can't believe it's vegan! These burgers taste delicious, you barely need ketchup. No. Seriously. I think these even taste better than those animal product filled "veggie" burgers you can find everywhere. To prove they are vegan I have this:

What I love most about these burgers is that you can see the vegetables in it! What? Veggies in a veggie burger? Unheard of. Plus the burgers are individually wrapped whereas many others have two per wrapper. Did I mention they are $2.99 for a box of 4? Great stuff. Get out there and try them.
As I mentioned you can find them at Trader Joe's as well as Whole Foods, and I'm sure other stores too.
READ LABELS. Even Dr. Praeger's brand has other products that are not vegan, so make sure you read all the ingredients before purchasing.

What are your favorite veggie burgers? Do you make your own?

Green Bean Casserole

In the next few posts I will share my recipes from my first vegan Thanksgiving! I must say they were all a hit! If any of you had met my family, you would know that they would NOT be shy about dinner if they didn't like it. I don't even want to think about last year's attempt at vegan french toast... They can be a tough crowd, let. me. tell. you.

Ok first up is my favorite from this year, Green Bean Casserole!
My first thought is usually that I "can't" have things now that I'm vegan, but what I've learned to do is find a way to make vegan versions of my favorites. In this case, the vegan version even tastes better!

I have to admit that this recipe is not from my brilliance, and I adapted my recipe from this one at VegWeb,com, which is an amazing resource for vegan recipes if you haven't checked it out please do. I made this recipe three times, all different ways, and I liked it best plain and simple:

Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:
4 cans french style green beans (I used 2 with no salt added and 2 with)
2 cups Imagine brand Portobello Mushroom Soup
(or 1 cup of above and 1 cup of Imagine brand Cream of Celery OR Potato Leek)
1 cup vegan sour cream (I love Tofutti's Better than Sour Cream)
3/4-1c French Fried Onions and/or Corn Flakes for topping (I used a mix of the two)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
In a saucepan over low heat, whisk together the soup and sour cream.
Drain the green beans and place them into a 9in square or circular baking dish.
Pour the soup mixture over the green beans
Bake for 20 minutes
Add the topping.
Enjoy!

Now, you might be saying, WAIT! JENN! where am I going to find this Imagine Brand soup?!?!?!? Honestly, that's how I felt when I first read the recipe on VegWeb. Fear not, dear health food lovers! I personally saw this brand at Whole Foods, Outpost Natural Foods, and Woodman's all right here in the great state of Wisconsin. If you can't find it at a health food store near you, you can try the brand's store locator. Happy shopping!

This recipe could not be easier, and tastes delicious.
It would be great to add garlic/onion or other flavors to this, so please, feel free to be more creative than I was. I loved it just like this!

Why Life After Bacon?

So, where did Life After Bacon come from? Well honestly, it came from my boyfriend, he loves to remind me how much I love the taste of bacon. We were trying to think of ideas for my blog and his idea made me laugh the hardest, so it was the winner! Thank you Billy :) Of course, it goes deeper than that. It's about my new life, the new and improved me, if you will.

I didn't go vegan because I dislike the taste of meat and cheese, this is Wisconsin people, that would be ridiculous! I did go vegan because I want to be healthier, and I want to treat the earth with respect. It was on that journey that I learned too much about the way animals are treated and killed to ever go back. Seriously, watch Food, Inc., yesterday.


It isn't always easy. The first 26 years of my life were spent eating meat, and my former favorite, cheese. It's been a little over a year since going vegetarian, and now, meat isn't even appealing to me, I don't need it, I don't want it. Cheese, well, I gave that up in February 2010.(I gave up milk and butter when I ditched meat last year.) I'd be lying if I said I haven't had cheese a few times since then, but I keep going. I tell myself to stop being such a pansy and make a good choice. It gets easier every day. So if you are just starting out, don't get discouraged, just keep making the right choices.

If you want to be fit and healthy, there is no easy fix, no pill, no magic. You have to CHANGE YOUR LIFE. I lost 7 pounds and kept it off with this way of life, and I'm not done. I don't feel deprived of anything. (When I crave bacon? I get the imitation stuff like Smart Bacon and make a BLT with whole grain bread and veganaise, its AMAZING, seriously.)

That's why my life will be bacon free. Life after bacon is delicious, energetic and pain free for me. It can be all that and more for you.

P.S. I do also workout, it is an obvious and important step if you want to lose weight. However, I didn't workout anymore than usual when I lost weight on this diet. Wanna talk more about workouts? Contact me! I have some GREAT ones.

Peanut Sauce!

This is by far my favorite vegan dish right now. I first discovered a version of this recipe about a year ago, I've made it almost once a week since then, each time I make it a little better. This is so my comfort food.

Ingredients:

1/2-3/4 cup Crunchy peanut butter (I use Trader Joe's Organic, unsalted)

2 Tbsp Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)

Sriracha (or any hot sauce)

1/2-3/4 cup warm water

7-8oz extra firm tofu

1 Broccoli crowns, chopped

2-3 Baby Bok Choy, chopped

1/2 Onion, chopped
Rice stick noodles or brown rice spaghetti

1 Tbsp grapeseed oil (for pan) 

Directions:
fill a medium/large with water and a pinch of salt, heat to boil (for pasta)

heat oil in a frying pan
cube tofu and place in frying pan
while tofu is cooking, add peanut butter, liquid aminos, and sriracha (I like it hot and use 3-4tbsp) to a mixing bowl

slowly add water to the peanut butter mixture until sauce is gravy-like consistency
chop up veggies and add them to the frying pan with the tofu, cook 4-5 minutes or until tofu is crispy and veggies are cooked
add the rice noodles to the boiling water (if using brown rice noodles you may want to add earlier, they cook longer) cook according to package directions
assemble serving bowls with noodles, tofu/veggies, add peanut sauce, mix and enjoy!

Food Revolution

If you haven't heard or seen yet, Jamie Oliver started a Food Revolution in the United States. If you missed the episodes, don't worry you can catch up here. He wants America to stop eating processed food with loads of chemicals and start cooking, real, whole food. Amen to that. The things we eat can barely even be called food. Next time you are about to eat something, read the ingredients. If there is something you can't pronounce on there, you probably shouldn't be eating it.

I like this idea. My family and friends kind of think I'm a crazy person for being vegan, and even as they become more accepting, going veg is not exactly on their to do list. However, cooking whole food is something they can definitely get on board with. Baby steps right? So I'm telling everyone about Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.

Ok so the episodes have already aired, but this is still important and still going on! People all over the country are standing up and asking for fresh, whole foods in their school lunches, in their workplaces, and in their homes. So if you can cook, spread the knowledge! If you can't? learn, ask a friend, buy a book, anything!

Here's a recent update from Jamie:




and my favorite from the show, a flash mob:

The Urban Frog

The Urban Frog is this lovely little coffee shop/juice bar/deli in Green Bay, WI.  I remember going there in high school, even then, I was always searching for new, exciting, healthy food. I remember trying a carrot apple juice (that I thought tasted horrible) but I do recall a delicious lunch. So 9 or 10 years later, in 2010, I was shopping at my favorite boutique in Green Bay and Billy, my boyfriend, noticed The Urban Frog. He suggested we stop there for some juice. Turns out my tastebuds have seriously grown up.

I had the Zinger (carrot, apple, lemon juice) which was SO good. Billy had a pineapple/orange shake with almond milk. They were both fantastic!

They also have a lot of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free options on the menu. I will definitely go back to try the food next time I'm in town. While we were there they had a local organic farmer selling produce and other yummy looking treats!  So if you live in Green Bay or ever go there to visit, I highly suggest stopping by The Urban Frog!

The Chicago Diner

I'd like to give a shout out to The Chicago Diner! This week The Chicago Diner turned 27. 27! Their slogan is "Meat free since '83". HA, awesome. They've been meat free since before I was born! Amazing. This week they are having 1983 prices for one of their sandwiches every day. I had the gyro on Tuesday (it's a favorite in my office). It is so good, I can't stand it. A few of my coworkers are totally addicted and every time we get it we each eat the whole thing.  Tomorrow is the last day of the special prices and they are having prizes and gift bags, so you should go! I totally would if I weren't going back to Wisco for Easter weekend.

Some evidence:

Yes, those are sweet potato fries you see, and the tzatziki sauce is vegan also.

So The Chicago Diner has been a successful business in Chicago since 1983 and yet, most people are still not aware of the health benefits of a meat free life! (Granted, I didn't know until about a year ago either, which is why I am trying to educate via example.)
Don't believe me? Check out the American Dietetic Association's position paper about it. Also some seriously helpful doctors that gave me amazing recipes and advice in their recent 21day kickstart program! You can sign up for their next one in September 2010. More on this in future posts.

Back to the Chicago Diner, they rock! Plus, the container shown in the picture is biodegradable and the plastic bag the carry out orders come in is compostable. Seriously.
So if you're in Chicago, go there, be amazed, try something new, it's delicious.