The Hopeful Herbivore

It's been a minute since I've posted anything to the blog. I've been busy (Haven't we all?). But unlike a million other bloggers that rejoice in making you read a life story before the recipe, I'm gonna get right to it. Just a quick heads up that most recipes posted now will be leaning towards WFPB (yes, always vegan) and that is how my personal diet has been trending. So, little to no added oil or added sugar. Sooo, I literally JUST made these for a holiday party for the first time. I was nervous. PB cookies.. that are vegan.. with no oil and very little (optional) processed sugar. But they are freaking delicious! PRINT RECIPE Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups almond flour (I use Thrive brand ) 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon sea salt 1/3 cup maple syrup 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter (I use Santa Cruz dark roasted) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional: a small amount of raw/organic cane sugar for the fork imprints Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I use ...

  Everybody loves a pasta salad. This one couldn't get any easier, and it gets rave reviews. This recipe size is for a party (think 15-20 servings). You can easily half it if you want to make less. Ingredients: 2 1 lb boxes of mini farfalle (bowties) 2 cups vegan mayo (I personally love Just Mayo) 1 packet of dry Italian dressing 1 12 oz bag of frozen peas 1 2.25oz can of sliced black olives In a large pot, boil water and add salt. While waiting on water to reach boil, combine vegan mayo and seasoning/dressing packet. If frozen peas are covered in ice/stuck together, place in strainer and run under warm water until broken apart. Drain and add to Italian mayo mix. Cover and place in fridge. Fix pasta according to directions. Make sure to stop cooking early. Al dente is best, as you don't want your pasta to turn to mush as it absorbs the dressing over time. Drain pasta and return to pot. Toss in Italian mayo and pea mixture. Spoon into serving dish. R...

The simple answer is, yes, it can. "Should it be?" is much more contested. The reality is, a high-quality vegan dog food (or very carefully planned homemade food, but that is much more involved and we don't recommend it) can provide all the nutrients that Fido needs. Many dogs thrive on such diets. Still, many folks argue that it's not natural. Sure, wild dogs most assuredly consume other animals. But here's the rub. It's hard to use the "natural" argument, as if we're still raising wolves in our home. Is the fluffy bed, water cooler, curling up for tv time, or daily walks on a leash "natural" by wild dog standards? What about the fact that the "meat" most dogs are now consuming aren't wild animals they've hunted, but instead, scraps and byproducts from the slaughterhouse floor and reject pile? Is that really 'better' for our pets? So, let's just let go of the 'natural' argument on thi...

Recently, I shared a post about criticism circulating in the vegan community . Vegans judging other vegans for not being 'vegan enough.' I had also written up a veg-friendly baby registry . Shortly after typing up that list of items, my pregnancy ended due to preterm labor. But I am now again expecting. And much to my annoyance, the two worlds have collided again -- vegan criticism and parenting. During my first pregnancy, I would occasionally post tidbits on Facebook, such as a picture of Seventh Generation diapers. And immediately, a vegan acquaintance would chime in with, "Why aren't you going to cloth diaper?" And again, with my current pregnancy, I recently posted a pic of an organic soy formula that I was excited to finally find locally. Almost instantly, I got, "Aren't you going to breastfeed?!" I was instantly peeved. Why? Because it bothers me that anyone feels entitled to publicly criticize such personal parenting decisions. It...

Ever been told, directly or indirectly, you're "not vegan enough?" Yeah. Me too. Even though I run a vegan/animal rights blog, a vegan/animal rights Facebook page, visit and donate to places like Farm Sanctuary, and haven't consumed any meat, dairy, or eggs in well over 2 years and counting. But you see, this morning, I posted a simple Instagram of a box of Oreos, captioned as "Some days, this qualifies as a #vegan breakfast." I expected a few of my omni friends to be surprised that Oreos were vegan, or for them to make a few lame vegan jokes. I even anticipated a possible hint of judgment with a "that's not so healthy" kind of comment. But no. My omni friends chimed in with good humor, like "I approve." or "I need a box of these!" Instead, it was my 'pure' vegan friends who chimed in to remind me just how non-vegan the Oreos really were, and ipso facto, how non-vegan I was. "They're notori...

As some of you know by now, we're expecting twins in June 2014. As is customary, people have started asking where we're registered, what items we need, and more importantly, "What should we not buy?" What they mean by that is, "What doesn't fit with your eco/vegan/animal rights lifestyle?" And the truth is, I appreciated that people cared enough to ask. But I keep feeling apologetic when I answer them. So, I tried to figure out a way to tackle this that didn't come across as demanding or somehow rude. Sure, we made registries, but people like to buy unique items for baby, or just see small items here and there and pick them up without thinking. We knew a registry wasn't going to be enough. So, how do we tell people what we prefer? I just wasn't sure. But once several people asked, I accepted that if people are going to go out of their way to gift us with something, they'd surely want it to be something we would proudly use and is i...

Fall is upon us. Pumpkin-flavored everything is being released. We're jumping on that bandwagon. It's time for a Maple Pumpkin Pie Smoothie (vegan, of course). When making the smoothie, you want at least two of your ingredients to be very cold. For example, my almond milk and canned pumpkin had been chillin' in the fridge for hours. Or you can use cold almond milk and frozen banana. It's up to you. Just make sure something is cold, so you don't end up with a room temperature smoothie. Also, you can vary the amount of pumpkin. 1/2 can will leave you with a fairly thin smoothie. 1 whole can will result in the thickest, almost milkshake, texture you've ever successfully sucked through a straw. So, that's all up to your personal preference.    Ingredients: 1/2 can of pumpkin 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk 1/2 ripe banana 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ginger 1/4 teaspoon nut...