Vegan beauties!

So, because there seems to be such a stigma around veganism and its correlation to less muscle mass and skinniness, I wanted to post some pictures of some famous VEGAN athletes and a few other vegan figures with great bodies! These athletes live on plant based diets and claim to feel better than ever!

WWE superstar Daniel Bryan

Taryn Terrel 

Ricardo Moreira Mixed Martial Arts

Mike Tyson

Marcus Patrick 

Baseball player Pat Neshek

Bodybuilder Ed Bauer

Georges Laraque Ice Hockey player

Bodybuilder Billy Simmonds 

Venus Williams

Bodybuilder Marzia Prince

Scott Jurek Ultramarathoner

Catra Corbett Ultra marathon runner who has ran a 400 mile marathon!

Salim Stoudamire Basketball player

And lastly, my favorite couple, Harley and Freelee! Who are both marathon runners and eat a completely raw diet!

Do you know where your meat comes from?

 Now days product marketing has become so detached from the product, and not only that but from the truth about the product. Many companies advertise their product to be 'natural' or 'farm fresh', when in reality it is far from that. They also add images to their logo or advertisement to suggest certain things that you can see in the pictures below, and that give the viewer the sense that their products are from a family farm or that the cattle spent its previous years, before it arrived on your dinner plate, grazing beautiful pastures. This however, is not the case. 

                                                       

This is an example of false claims of 'all natural meat'. Tyson has sued in order to keep their rights of advertising 'all natural' their products, but the USDA warned the company that such labels are not truthful and said that "Tyson regularly treats its birds' feed with bacteria-killing ionophores. USDA inspectors discovered that in addition to using ionophores, Tyson was regularly injecting its chicken eggs with gentamicin, an antibiotic that has been used for more than 30 years in the United States to treat urinary tract and blood infections. The drug is also stockpiled by the federal government as a treatment for biological agents such as the plague."

This information was taken from the following article, to learn more go to: http://www.naturalnews.com/024756.html#ixzz2EW5lzpQB

This Jimmy Dean logo is an example of not exactly false advertising, but they do a great job of implying that their product comes from a conventional family farm, by their addition of the small traditional red barn that we would all expect on a farm. 

 

This Hillshire Farm logo does a great job at the same thing with the red barn atop a green pasture.

Hebrew National is guilty of quite the same thing as well, with the addition of flowers and a nice green pasture for the cow to graze. 

So, this is ideally where we picture our beef coming from. From a nice country side farm where the cow is allowed to graze on endless fields. This, however, like I said, is not the case. Below are pictures of the common factory farm, which is where 99% of all animals that are slaughtered for food in America come from. 

These are not pretty pictures, and these are not healthy animals. Instead, these animals are sick and diseased, due to them sleeping, standing, and eating in their own waste. Even when packed full of antibiotics many still become ill, and because of the high amounts of antibiotics being put into these animals it is causing many antibiotic-resistant infections in humans as well. All of these animals are abused, and left for dead when they become ill. Also, when you hear the term 'free range', the last picture from above is often where the animals are actually coming from, because to be termed 'free range' the animal simply needs to be outdoors. This is the sad, heart-breaking reality of our factory farming industry, and for the sake of the animals, the planet, and us, it needs to END!

Helathy Vegan Quesadillas

These quesadillas are to die for! The "cheese" recipe is enjoyable just by itself, but when added into these quesadillas the result is phenomenal! Also, they are super simple and quick to make.

• 2 cups cooked chickpeas, or canned, heated garbanzo beans
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons white miso
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
• Twenty 10-inch whole-wheat tortillas
• 1 jar of your favorite salsa
• 1 can vegan, oil-free, refried beans
• and any additions such guacamole, onions, tomatoes, etc.

Combine the chickpeas/garbanzo beans, nutritional yeast, garlic, tahini, vinegar, miso, soy sauce, onion powder, cumin, salt, paprika, mustard in a food processor, and pulse until all ingredients become a smooth paste. This is the "cheese".

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spread the "cheese" on one tortilla, and the refried beans on the other. Lay one down on the skillet with the "cheese" facing up, spread salsa, and add your toppings. Then place the other, refried bean side down. Dry-fry until the tortilla is golden brown. Flip over and cook until golden brown on the other side.

Remove from skillet and cut into wedges. Repeat with other tortillas.

ENJOY!

Creamy Dairy-Free Noodle Casserole!

This casserole is a great alternative to the traditional, not so healthy, casserole, but with all the same great taste! Add whatever veggies you would add to your regular casserole.

• 16 oz. whole-wheat pasta (Whatever type you would enjoy in your dish. Also add as much pasta that fits your needs)
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1-2 cups mushrooms, chopped
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1/3 cups fresh chopped parsley
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 cups nondairy Portobello mushroom broth, or additional vegetable broth
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 cups panko bread crumps, or just enough to cover the casserole

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cook the pasta until just underdone. Drain, and set aside.

In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the onion, carrots, celery, and mushroom in water until softened, about 5 minutes.

Combine the vegetables and pasta in a deep 9 x 13-inch casserole dish.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add 1/2 cup of the vegetable broth and quickly whisk in the flour. Slowly whisk in the remaining broth. Add the parsley, thyme, paprika, and mushroom broth. Cook and continue to stir until thickend.

Pour the sauce over the noodle-veggie mixture, and bake, covered for 30 minutes. Then remove from the oven and sprinkle with panko. Return to over and bake, uncovered, for 10 more minutes. If the top is not browned, turn onto broil until so.

Super Easy No-bake Chocolate and Peanut butter Cookies!

These are delicious and super quick if you don't have much time! They also contain no added oils, refined sugar, eggs, or dairy, which is a great reason to not feel so guilty about enjoying them!

• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cocoa
• 3 tablespoos all-natural, organic peanut or almond butter
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
• 1 & 1/2 cups oats
• 1/4 cup walnuts, optional

Add maple syrup, almond milk, and cocoa to a medium to large suace pan, and bring to a boil, and let simmer for 3 minutes. Add the peanut or almond butter and stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla, oats, and walnuts. Stir well. Shape into small cookies, it should make enough for 8. ENJOY!

Hearty Minestrone Soup!

· 1 onion, chopped

· 2 celery stalks, sliced

· 2 carrots, sliced

· 1-2 teaspoons crushed garlic

· 6 cups vegetable broth

· 1/2 cups potatoes, cut into bite size cubes

· 1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage

· One 14.5 oz. can chopped tomatoes

· One 8 oz. can tomato sauce

· 1/4 cup fresh parsley, or dried equivalent

· 1 1/2 teaspoon fresh basil, or dried equivalent

· Freshly ground black pepper

· 1/2-1 cup uncooked whole wheat or brown rice pasta

Put the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic in a large put with 1/4 cup of the vegetable broth. Cook over medium to high heat, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes, until veggies are soften slightly.

Add the remaining 5 & 3/4 cups of broth and the potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, tomato sauce, parsley, basil, and black pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and cook for 45 minutes.

Add the pasta and continue to cook for another 15 to 20 minutes or until the pasta is fully cooked.

ENJOY!

*This is a variation of the Hearty Minestrone Soup from, The How-to Companion To the feature documentary Forks Over Knives; Edited by Gene Stone; Foreword by T. Colin Campbell, PhD, and Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., MD; 2011

Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are a wonderful treat, whether it's the holiday season or not. Vegan, planet, and allergy friendly too!

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F, Grease baking sheet

• 2 & 1/2 cups whole wheat/ unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tea. baking soda
• 1 tea. baking powder
• 1 tea. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tea. ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tea. ground cloves
• 1/2 tea. salt
• 1 cup unbleached sugar
• 1/2 cup vegan margarine, softened
• 1 & 1/2- 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 1 tablespoon applesauce
• 1 tea. vanilla extract
• 1-2 cups vegan chocolate chips

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and salt in bowl
Beat sugar and vegan margarine in large mixer bowl until blended, add pumpkin and applesauce and beat until blended
Gradually beat in flour mixture
If mixture is too dry, or you'd like them moister, add more pumpkin
After well mixed, add chocolate chips and stir
Drop by rounded 1/4 cup onto baking sheet
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until edges are firm, cookies may still be soft, but will harden up after removed
Let cool on metal racks if possible