The Collegiate Vegan

Mixed greens topped with chickpea avocado salad, pumpkin seeds and hemp hearts.

Casually eating an entire pineapple at the dining hall. After my cantaloupe, grapes and banana. I love raw breakfast.

Sea Snax, unexpectedly yummy.

I ordered some of these in bulk from Spencer’s Market (if you haven’t heard of it, go look them up. It’s like the Groupon of vegan specialty food) and it was a little risky, considering I’ve never eaten seaweed before. Happy to say I love them all. They came in original, wasabi, chipotle, and toasty onion flavor. Also got some packages for sprinkling on salads.

Why eat seaweed? Glad you asked! Sea vegetables are rich in B vitamins, which I’ll grudgingly admit are a little more difficult to slide into a vegan diet. They are one of the only plant based sources for B-12, and also have a lot of amino acids. Good news is it’s delicious, and becoming more easily available in supermarkets. If you don’t like the chips, you can always work some veggie sushi into your diet.

Individual Pita Pizza!

• 1 Whole wheat pita
• 1/2 Avocado, sliced
• 1/2 Tomato, sliced
• 1/2 Cup purple cabbage, sliced
• 2t Extra virgin olive oil

Place the pita bread on a pan and cover with cabbage, drizzle with oil. Alternate tomato and avocado slices. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. 10g protein, 12g fiber and only 400 calories.

Morning y’all! So for today’s breakfast,

• 1 cup cooked steel cut oats (1/4 cup when dry)
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• agave syrup, to taste 

This meal has 10 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber. There’s a solid chance that I still won’t be hungry by lunchtime. 

Frozen banana, frozen berries, fresh mango, coconut water.

Savory Winter Casserole

1/2 cup quinoa, uncooked
1 cup vegetable broth
1 head broccoli
2 cups chopped mushrooms
1 small yellow onion
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 cup almond milk
1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

1) Cook your quinoa in the vegetable broth
2) Saute onions, mushrooms and broccoli in a pan while the quinoa cooks
3) When onions are clear and browning, add almond milk and nutritional yeast to the pan. Stir to create a cream sauce.
4) When sauce has thickened and quinoa is cooked, combine and stir to evenly coat quinoa in vegetable/sauce mixture
5) Pour into a casserole dish, sprinkle bread crumbs on top, and then bake at 350 for 30 minutes 

I’ve been really lazy this week, just throwing together pasta with random veggies. Luckily for me it turns out delicious in the end. I got the cream sauce recipe here from my new favorite cook book, The Everyday Happy Herbivore.

Cook two servings of pasta according to their directions, I used whole wheat penne. While it cooks, blend together 6 oz of silken tofu, 2 tbs of dijon mustard and 1 tbs of apple cider vinegar. Toss cream sauce together with warm pasta and whatever chopped veggies are laying around. I cleaned out my freezer with peas and corn, and added some cayenne cause I’m a spice addict. Enjoy!

Winter quinoa salad with butternut squash, pear and toasted sunflower seeds

1/2 cup quinoa
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 T olive oil
1 small butternut squash
1 small pear
6-8 sage leaves
1/2 T dijon mustard 
1/4 t lemon juice

1) Peel and chop the squash, then spread on a cookie sheet with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for twenty minutes at 400, tossing half way through.
2) Meanwhile cook your quinoa. Bring water and quinoa toa  boil, then allow to simmer ten minutes until water is absorbed.
3) Toast your sesame seeds in a pan or toaster oven while the quinoa cooks.
4) Peel and slice pear. Fry sage leaves in a sauce pan with olive oil, making sure not to burn them. Take them out and place them on a paper towel to dry, and add the pear to the saucepan and saute for about five minutes.
5) Whisk together lemon juice, dijon and olive oil.
6) Fold everything into the quinoa and enjoy!

Makes 2 servings 

Zucchini Sticks with Marinara

2 whole zucchini
3/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/3 cup nondairy milk

1) Slice zucchini
2) Combine bread crumbs and garlic powder in one bowl, and pour milk in the other
3) Dip zucchini slice in milk, then in crumb mixture
4) Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes at 400.
5) Serve with marinara and enjoy! 

My Almost Famous Black Bean Burgers

1 can of black beans. My 15oz made 5, 20z will make 7-8
1 medium carrot, diced
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
1/4 cup corn
1 cup bread crumbs
1 egg replacer. I used an individual serving cup of apple sauce.
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cumin 

1) Rinse and mash your black beans in a large bowl.
2) Mix in all of your chopped veggies.
3) Mash in your bread crumbs, then your egg replacer.
4) Mix in your spices. 
5) Form into patties and place on a greased baking sheet.
6) Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes and enjoy! 

Garnish ideas: salsa, guacamole, lettuce, bean sprouts

Hanging out at my favorite cafe in Boston, Espresso Royale Cafe.
Sipping a soy cappuccino with my “Joy of Soy” bagelwich- A whole wheat bagel with veggie tofu spread, avocado, tomato, lettuce, sprouts, cucumber and red peppers. I hadn’t really paid attention to their vegan options until today, but in addition to the soy milk for espresso drinks they also have vegan muffins, tofu spread and hummus for bagels, salads, awesome vegan bagel sandwiches, and their soup of today is vegan chili! As if I needed another reason to love this place. Life is good.

Green Monster

1 banana
1 cup spinach
1/4 of an avocado
1/4 cup mango
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup coconut water 

Today’s Power Smoothie

A green smoothie in disguise,
- Two handfuls of blueberries
- One handful of raspberries
- Generous amount of Kale
- A little POM Juice
- A splash of lemon Juice 
- A little Coconut Water 

And, BAM! I’m ready to take on whatever today throws at me.