A few weeks ago my friend posted a photo of her delicious looking frozen yogurt. I don’t remember if I’ve ever tried frozen yogurt before going vegan. If I did I probably didn’t like it much because I really don’t remember eating the stuff. But like I said, my friend’s frozen yogurt looked good and it got me wondering. I’ve never heard of a vegan version so I just went ahead and made my own. I did a little Googling and found that everyone pretty much used the same method. Frozen fruit combined with your choice of vegan yogurt whirled around in the food processor and then frozen until firm.

I used 1 small frozen banana (I cut it into chunks prior to freezing) and Strawberry Amande Cultured Almond Milk Yogurt. Some people added sweetener to theirs, but I thought mine was just fine without. Of course I found that out after adding agave resulting in an overly sweet frozen yogurt. Anyway, I let my frozen yogurt freeze overnight and then left it sitting on the counter for a few minutes until it softened enough to scoop out of the mason jar. For toppings I went with fresh blueberries, unsweetened coconut, and slivered almonds. It was quite delicious. I so wish I could make a coffee/mocha version. But this strawberry banana version will keep me content until then!

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day! I know I did! And it even ended on a wonderful note. *points to the photos above* Yesterday while at the Galleria Whole Foods in St. Louis I spotted some of the So Delicious Almond Milk Ice Creams. FINALLY! I’ve been dying to try the Cookies ‘N Cream. Yesterday must have been my lucky day because there were a few left. Do you remember when I said the Butter Pecan was my favorite? I’m going to have to change that. The Cookies ‘N Cream is BY FAR the best of them all. Even my non-vegan husband thought so. And he’s a man who loves his cookies and cream ice cream. It’s one of his favorites. He said he couldn’t even tell it was vegan. So I did what anyone would have done. I hid the ice cream in back of the freezer. I mean… I only bought ONE carton!

After dinner tonight I ended up whipping up a banana split. It’s been forever and a day since I’ve had one. I know that typically banana splits are made with vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream. I thought the Cookies ‘N Cream would be even better. And it was. I took a small banana and split it in half lengthwise and placed it in my ice cream dish. Then I topped it off with a few smallish scoops of So Delicious Cookies ‘N Cream Almond Milk Ice Cream, some crushed pineapple, homemade whipped coconut cream, chocolate sauce, walnuts, sprinkles, and of course a cherry. It was the best thing in the world. Happy Mother’s Day to me! And to all of the awesome mothers out there! Make yourself one of these banana splits. You deserve it!

Everyone seems to be on this overnight oats or overnight oatmeal kick. So I decided to join in on the fun. Besides, I needed a break from my usual smoothie for breakfast routine.

The first recipe I tried called for steel cut oats. While it tasted GREAT, the texture was weird. It was very gritty. I wasn’t about to give up though. About two weeks ago I came across this recipe for Vanilla Blackberry Overnight Oatmeal. Instead of using steel cut oats she uses rolled oats. I asked about the texture and was told the end result was much softer. I had to give it a try. I used 1/2 cup rolled oats, a little over 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (I used Silk Pure Almond), 1/2 cup fresh blueberries, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, dash nutmeg, and 1 tbsp agave nectar. I combined all of the ingredients in a larger mason jar, shook it up, and refrigerated it overnight. Come morning… the tastiest oatmeal I’ve ever had! I’ll totally be experimenting with different flavor combinations this week. I already have quite a few in mind.

Speaking of Oh My Veggies and overnight oatmeal, she has another recipe on her blog for Coconut Mango Overnight Oatmeal which also looks amazing. In fact lots of her recipes look good. I bookmarked a few which I’m hoping to try this week!

Now go and enjoy yourself a mason jar full of overnight oats!

Today it’s all about the buttah! I know. I know! It’s butter! Well, I’m from Rhode Island. So I can get away with calling it buttah! No, seriously. That’s how we say it.

If you’re familiar with my website you must know that at times I leave the word vegan out. I don’t do it intentionally. I don’t have a problem with the word vegan or anything like that. It’s just that my food is no longer vegan food to me. Now it’s just… well… FOOD! So please don’t be surprised if you’re reading my blog or looking over a recipe and see the word butter without the word vegan before it. You can take comfort in knowing that I did in fact use vegan butter. I mean come on! Do I REALLY have to be THAT specific? Does the term butter ONLY apply to the DAIRY filled spread? I was under the impression that the vegan stuff could simply be called butter as well.

Sometimes using the word vegan just seems… repetitive. For example, I never see anyone complain that I don’t use the word vegan before sugar. Why is that? All vegans know that all sugars are not in fact vegan. So should I always make note of the use of ‘vegan sugar’ in a recipe? Or do you just assume that as a vegan for the past 3+ years I do in fact use a vegan sugar?

When I first went vegan over 3 years ago the word vegan was used so much that my 4 year old (now 7 year old) son walked around saying ‘VEGANS!’ for the longest time! It was usually accompanied by a peace sign which I found to be adorable! But as time went on the word just sort of faded. When I send hubby out for butter, he comes back with a tub of Earth Balance. Or Smart Balance (the vegan one in case you were STILL wondering). By now he knows that I don’t consume dairy. So if I send him out for ice cream I know he’s going to come back with my favorite brand/flavor of vegan ice cream. Do you see the point I’m trying to make here?

If I have offended any vegans, I apologize. But think about this. The food we vegans eat isn’t JUST vegan food. It’s actually food. Now while I have NO issues with people who eat an omnivorous diet (my husband and son still do and I still love them oodles), I personally don’t view animals or animal byproducts as FOOD. So maybe you can understand a little better why I no longer label my food as VEGAN food and instead simply just call it like I see it. Animals and animal byproducts aren’t food to me. And vegan food is just normal food.

And while I’m at it I’d also like to remind everyone that this is in fact MY blog. Yeah yeah yeah, we’ve all heard the ‘This is my blog if you don’t like it there’s the door!’ speech before. Maybe you have? But some of you might need to be reminded of that. In the past I’ve offended people with MY views and MY choice of words. In fact I’m sure some of you reading this now might be pretty pissed off. A good example would be my blogging about why I decided to go vegan which I posted a while back. A lot of fellow vegans sent me hate mail and made snide remarks about my ‘in your face’ approach. But here’s the thing. It wasn’t an approach! I wasn’t trying to convert anyone. And I really don’t think I should have to apologize for MY feelings/thoughts on the matter.

We all have our reasons for why we chose to go vegan. For me, it was upsetting watching men shovel chickens in tiny ass crates into a live poultry shop. A shop that stunk up the entire block. It also confused me to watch people walk by gagging and yelling out about how badly it smelled only to walk across the street to the fried chicken place and order some fried chicken. I was simply expressing MY feelings/thoughts. It upset me. And it confused me. I have the right to feel those things. And I shouldn’t have to apologize for it. I ended up taking down the post because too many people were just so upset. Well, guess what? That’s not happening anymore! If you’re offended by something you see here, stop visiting! It’s that simple. If you have a question or concern, feel free to ask me! I won’t bite! There’s no need to hold it back. And there’s definitely no need to create an alias just to point something out to me! I mean come on! That’s just CRAZY!

I’m not a bad person. But at the same time I’m also not some doormat that you can walk all over and wipe your dirty feet on. In the past I have given into the nagging and complaining. I stood back as my photos, entire blog posts, ideas, etc. were stolen. I’m here to tell you that is NOT going to happen anymore! Standing up for myself and what I believe in does NOT make me a bad person. And if you can’t see that, you must be one of the people I’m referring to.

Non-vegans: If you have a question or concern regarding an ingredient or specific brand I use, PLEASE, feel free to ask! The comment form is there for a reason. I won’t bite! I promise!

Vegans: When are you going to wake up and realize that we are ALL on the SAME team here? A lot of my audience are non-vegans. Most are friends of mine who happen to think my food looks good. The ONE day out of the week they try out a recipe is ONE day an animal didn’t make it to their dinner table. Jumping all over someone because they didn’t specify what type or brand of butter they used doesn’t help the cause. It turns people off and in most cases scares them away entirely. Think about that.

Makes: 8 scones

Calories: 230 Fat: 5 g Sugar: 18 g Sodium: 124 mg Protein: 4 g Iron: 10%

Around this time last year a popular fast food chain started advertising tiny chicken sandwiches called chicken minis. Once in a while my husband would treat our son to some chicken minis. He really took a liking to them. I really didn’t like the idea of him eating fast food (or chicken for that matter) so I took matters into my own hands and made my own version. I introduce to you… Chickpea Minis!

Makes: 8 slider patties

I really wanted to post this recipe last year. I had a friend try it out, I took some photos, and I was ready to go. But life sort of got in the way. The fast food chain doesn’t even carry this item anymore (at least I don’t think they do?). Who knows? Maybe a few non-vegans missing the chicken minis might enjoy this version more? I know my 7 year old can’t tell the difference. He thinks they’re chicken minis!

Just a few notes. I didn’t specify an exact amount of pepper because everyone is different. My husband says the chicken minis are rather peppery. So I tend to add LOTS of pepper. If you’re not into pepper, add less or skip it all together. I’m told the texture is a bit softer than the real deal, but that’s to be expected.

Many thanks to Danielle Vance for trying this recipe out for me over a year ago (lol) and suggesting the use of cornstarch.

One day while walking through the frozen foods section of Whole Foods I spotted a package of this wonderful looking 365 brand Organic Spinach Florentine Ravioli. I grabbed a package and brought it home not knowing exactly how to prepare something like this. It seemed too fancy to just throw some marinara sauce on top and call it a meal. I wondered how it would taste with some slow roasted grape tomatoes — similar to the Shells With Slow Roasted Cherry Tomatoes I made last year. I took the container of slow roasted grape tomatoes out of the fridge, combined it with some butter, and the Spinach Florentine Ravioli and was blown away at how amazingly delicious it was. I’m so not kidding. This is probably one of the tastiest things I’ve EVER eaten. And it’s so simple to throw together. Here’s what I did…

Start off by preheating your oven to 250°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Wash your grape tomatoes and then slice them in half lengthwise. When you’re finished with that place the tomatoes on the baking sheet cut side up.

Chop up the shallot and mince the garlic. Sprinkle over the tomatoes. Spray a little more cooking spray over the tomatoes/shallots/garlic. Add a little salt and pepper if using then pop in the oven and cook for about 3–4 hours. Keep an eye on the tomatoes to make sure they don’t turn too dark. The original recipe I followed to slow roast tomatoes called for 6–8 hours in a 200° oven. I decided to speed up the process a bit.

Once the tomatoes are done cooking, remove them from the oven and set aside. Cook the ravioli according to instructions on the back of the package. Drain and set aside.

Using the same pot, melt the 2 tbsp of butter. Add the tomatoes/shallots/garlic, 1 tsp of oregano, and mix until well combined. Add the ravioli and stir until evenly coated and heated through (about 3–5 minutes).

Now you may proceed to nom the heck out of it.

This recipe makes 2 servings. The nutrition info below was entered into my MyFitnessPal account and does NOT include salt/pepper.

Calories: 337 Fat: 6 g Sugar: 16 g Sodium: 496 mg Protein: 13 g Iron: 22%

I like to stock up on the Spinach Florentine Ravioli because this really is a quick and easy meal to throw together. It might seem like a lot because of the slow roasting, but really once you pop the tomatoes in the oven you can just go about your day. The ravioli doesn’t take long to cook either. I swear, it only looks and tastes like I’ve fussed over this dish all day long.

ETA: The photo has been taken down as of Wednesday morning. For future references, if you’re going to use someone’s photo you should ALWAYS link back. Give credit where credit is due. But that just goes without say. Do the right thing, people!

So this isn’t REALLY a food post, but it is something that I just had to get off my chest.

Remember my last post where I went on about how awesome Native Foods Cafe was? Well, I thought the food was so good that I decided to check out their blog in search of some good recipes to try. I’m clicking through the pages when I come across this one. I’m staring at the last photo pretty hard because I can’t get over how familiar it looks. I recognized that bowl. Of course I did. That’s because it’s my mother-in-law’s bowl with MY spaghetti squash dish inside of it. Here is the original photo which I uploaded back in 2009 for Vegan Mofo (I believe).

Now I don’t know. Maybe some of you are thinking ‘What’s the big deal? It’s JUST a photo.’ Don’t get me wrong. A small part of me is extremely flattered that someone thought MY photo was cool enough to use in their blog post. But then I started to get angry. There’s no link back. No mention of it being MY photo. It’s clear someone just right clicked and uploaded the photo to be used in their blog post without my permission. That’s just not cool. Now I sent an email using the ONLY contact that was available on the site. I haven’t heard back yet. And commenting is conveniently turned off for all blog entries. I’m really hoping to get this resolved because I’d be really bummed out if these guys just acted as if nothing happened. I take time out of my busy day to put together my blog entries complete with my OWN photos. They might not be the best entries, recipes, photos, etc. But they’re MINE and I work really hard at what I do. A link back or simply just asking before taking isn’t asking for much at all. Quite frankly I’m shocked and rather turned off. It’s unprofessional.

I’d also like to point out that there isn’t an ounce of cilantro in that dish. It’s clearly parsley.

On Thursday my husband surprised me with a quick trip to Chicago. I really shouldn’t say quick because it was a whole five hour drive there and another five hour drive back home. But we didn’t really stay long. It was a business trip, but hubby took me along for the ride. It was a hectic trip, but some good did come of it.

I stopped by the South Loop Whole Foods store to see if I could find some goodies that aren’t available in the St. Louis Whole Foods. Like the new Daiya Wedges! I got the Jalapeno Garlic Havarti Style and the Jack Style wedges. I haven’t tried them yet, but when I do you’ll be the first to know about it. Ok maybe second. I do tend to post on Facebook A LOT! I also got some of my favorite Pom Tea. I seriously can’t find this stuff anywhere around here. I was pretty excited to see it chilling in the cooler alongside the other delicious looking Pom beverages.

Before heading back home we stopped by Native Foods Cafe. I thought this place was pretty awesome. The service was excellent and the food was amazing! I ordered the Double Cheeseburger Deluxe Pizza, a Carrot Cream Cheese Cupcake, and a cup of Native Iced Tea. First of all, that iced tea was GOOD! And after walking aimlessly around Chicago it was just the thing I needed. When I first took a sip I was expecting an unsweetened black tea. But that’s not what I got. It was a mixture of floral and fruit while lightly sweetened. I need to drink that stuff daily. Seriously. I need more of it in my life.

Look at that pizza! I don’t think my photos do it much justice. Anyway, I had to take my food to go because it was getting late. As my husband carried the pizza all through The Loop back to the parking garage the smell was taunting me. It smelled just like a cheeseburger! So once we got into the car I ate a slice. I don’t like eating in the car, but I couldn’t help myself. It smelled SO good! Five hours later I walked through my front door and the very last thing I wanted to do was photograph my dinner. But I had to share this with you. It was too good not to. Afterward I popped the slices in the oven and ate it… ALL.

I’ll probably end up recreating this pizza sometime in the near future. I know I’m going to end up craving it and getting frustrated because I can’t have it. Just like when I moved 900+ miles away from Veggie Heaven and could no longer enjoy my favorite vegan Swedish Meatballs. I still dream of those meatballs.

The only photo I have of my cupcake is my Instagram photo which you can view here. The cake itself was good, but I wasn’t too crazy about the frosting. The texture was a little weird to me. It was sort of jelly-like? Not the best description, I know. But that’s what comes to mind.

Overall I was very impressed. I can’t wait to go back. I do however think they should consider opening a St. Louis location. There are lots of cool vegans down here. I’m sure they’d love having a place like this around about as much as I would.

As you can see I’ve been pretty busy this past week. I’ve been wanting to fix up MidwestVeg for quite some time now. I guess you can call it a bit of a Spring cleaning. I’m pretty excited about the new look. My best friend Echo from Echoia.com made me the most awesome logo ever. *points to the upper left hand corner* If you’re in the market for a logo yourself, send her an email. The woman does wonders! And Sarah of OneStarryNight.com helped me with a few WordPress related issues. Notice the excerpts at the bottom of this post. And a cool new plugin to change the font in my headers. My other plugins were severely outdated. Anyway, take a look around and tell me what you think. There will be LOTS more changes to come in the near future. Now onto some less boring stuff. Like cupcakes!

Ok so the cupcakes have nothing to do with this post. Except they kind of do. Hopefully Echo likes them as much as I do. Cherry Ski cupcakes in a jar! Nom!