Fabulous Vegan Recipes

It's been so long since I wrote a blog post containing a recipe much less a long blog post about my life. So, where have I been? I remember how obsessed with this blog I used to be: 3 posts a week, cooking so so much, taking pictures, obsessing over my Fb page likes. Then life happened and this blog took a back burner. But lately I've been thinking about getting back to it; just not looking through the same lens as I once looked at it.

I was recently asked to be a contributor for the Health IQ vegan quiz. Health IQ is a website devoted to celebrating the health conscious and giving people the knowledge to make positive decisions in their lives. I'm so happy to have contributed to this quiz because I talk all about protein and how it's easy and effortless to get enough protein when you eat plants. I have not had meat in at least 10 years and I just completed my first marathon last year. I'm certainly not weak or frail by any means!

Ever wonder how cool it would be if you could go into any restaurant and order a vegan dish? Where you could order the tiramisu because it was totally vegan? Or not have to worry about meat in your pasta sauce or dairy ending up in a sauce? This is happening in NYC by Kiki Adami and Hadara Slok, two dedicated vegans who help different restaurants in the city create an entire vegan menu for one night.

I just got back to the city last night after being home since the Friday before Easter. I spent some awesome quality time with my family and while I was home, my house sold. It happened so quickly and it made sense just to stay home and clean out the rest of my place. My brother in law and I brought all my furniture to my Mom's vacation house and then also to my mom's non vacation house. And after not working out for a week, my arms are hurting! It was such a busy, fun weekend and all I feel is relief: relief that my house is selling and I can move on, relief we switched out all the furniture and my mom's vacation house got a makeover and relief that I can just move on and not worry about my condo in PA. Also relief that I got my taxes done and I did not want to jump off a bridge after filing!

I am now in my second year living in New York City and I have never experienced such an incredible vegan scene. Not only have I become friends with fellow vegans but I can't walk down the street without running into a juice bar or a vegan restaurant. You can lose weight or gain weight when you move here, depending on where you came from. I have tasted some amazing smoothies, cheesy vegan sandwiches, raw desserts and fresh, amazing juices. Now, when I go home to visit my family in the burbs, I feel so limited because there are so few vegan places.

One of the best part about being a blogger is receiving awesome samples of products from plant based businesses. I love connecting with different companies that I see on social media and I'm so grateful and excited when I have the opportunity to try their products and post about them. There are some incredibly innovative people out there who believe in plant based nutrition, who make their products with whole, organic ingredients and who care about our planet. I love seeing more plant based restaurants open, more plant based products hit the shelves and more businesses serving vegan options!

Let's start with WHAT is a balance bowl? It's a bowl of super nutritious, healthy, yummy food. It usually includes a carb, fat and protein and is, therefore, very filling. Balance bowls help you to identify what veggies you love and can encourage you to try new foods. A great start to your day or post-workout meal, get your butt in the kitchen and make a balance bowl!

Well, tonight I'm still home in PA finishing up some business to close out 2015; I still have a condo in the suburbs and I need to sell or rent it. So I stayed home to clean it out, spend more time with my niece and enjoy two more days in the burbs. See ya tomorrow, New York City!

I just finished a text conversation with my vegan friend in NYC. I was telling her about the issues I was facing being home in Philly and being the only vegan. Let me tell you about Philly, if you don't already know. I'm from the suburbs but the Philly accent, the food, the sports, it bleeds into the burbs, let me tell you. I have had so many people talk about my Philly accent lately. Philly is famous for cheese steaks, Italian bakeries, pizzerias. Wawa market is all over the place, a major dairy milk contributor in the area and Wawa, PA, their headquarters is 20 minutes from my childhood home. When I'm home, especially during the holidays, I'm inundated with eggs and milk for cakes and cookies, dairy milk everywhere and cheese is everywhere. It's a lot to take in especially when I'm used to vegan food, vegan friends and vegan friendly New York City.

Chilis on Wheels, an organization that works to spread veganism and feed the hungry of NYC. What better way is there to spread love? I first met Michelle through a friend at a vegan event. She is an amazing, sweet person and I soon learned of her organization Chilis on Wheels.

In June of 2014, I moved to NYC after working as a social worker in PA for 14 years. It was a scary, stressful move but one I look back on with gratitude and excitement. I wasn't happy in PA because I felt bored, my life was lacking excitement and mostly I felt like I was flailing. Getting older and flailing, such a difficult and frustrating combination. I felt helpless and very unhappy. I had a job with steady pay and benefits, friends and family, health and my own home but it just wasn't inspiring me. I thought about my blog while I was at work...and NYC. Eventually, the comfort and familiarity of my job and my cushy life was not enough for me to stay. When your dreams call, you really can't ignore them. In reality, yes, you can ignore them but at what cost to your happiness? I constantly debated whether my safe and comfortable life was enough for me to be the best person I could be. And it wasn't enough.

PLANT POWER WORKSHOP December 4th, 6:30-8:30PM At The Yoga Collective NYC in downtown Manhattan Come meet me!!! Bring a friend and learn about the power and beauty of plants! My workshop will feature: The benefits of a plant based diet, where to shop for and prepare ingredients and a few easy ways to include plants in your diet. Enjoy a sushi making demo including samples Enjoy samples of Happy Tree maple water Enjoy samples of a raw vegan dessert Relax during my guided meditation Bring a friend!!! Tickets are on sale through Cyber Monday so grab them now! Space is limited. Tickets HERE PLANTS ROCK!

I first heard of Jordan and her blog via Instagram when she would post awesome, motivational pics. Her account was one of the fist Instagram accounts that I relied on when I first moved to NYC a year and a half ago. I signed up for a Juice Crawl in August and she was there also; needless to say I was so happy to meet her! She was so nice and we chatted about our blogs for a little bit before we silent clubbed around the city with headphones on and fabulous dance moves (it was a silent clubbing juice crawl haha). I was soon reading her blog and feeling relieved that someone else felt the same way about the fast paced life in this city. On her blog , Jordan mentions finding your skinny and I can completely relate; I compare myself everyday to other women on the street and worry so much about how I look, it's exhausting and a waste of time.

What are some good vegan restaurants to visit in New York City? I have a few blog posts about eating vegan in NYC but here is a quick list of restaurants and cafes I have tried!  It will change as I explore the city even more. The vegan scene in NYC is amazing! You can almost always find fresh organic vegan food in whatever neighborhood you are in or someplace nearby. I encourage you to try as many places as you can so you can support local plant based businesses and help the vegan scene grow even more. Hope you have a blast looking through my list and making plans!

I have interacted quite a bit with judgmental, harsh, inconsiderate vegans this week and I just can't not write about this topic. The vegan lifestyle is becoming more popular and people are opting for more plant foods in their diets; but being vegan is still very new to alot of people so it's important to be caring, compassionate, and understanding in order for the movement to continue to surge. Changing your diet and eliminating food groups can be scary, jarring, and difficult at first but if you have people around to guide you, it can be an easy transition.

I had the pleasure recently of reviewing some amazing products from Organic Gemini, a company that makes delicious food and drinks from Tigernuts, root veggies that are sweet and fibrous. The company sent me different flavors of their horchata drinks, cold pressed drinks that are similar to milk but come in various flavors. I urge you to try all of them but my favorite was the coffee flavored drink! Head over to organicgemini.com to learn more about tigernuts and to hear the story of how Miriam and George founded the company in 2013.

It's so easy to eat vegan in New York City; actually the hardest part for me is resisting the urge to spend money on take out or stopping at a restaurant.  It's impossible not to walk down the street and see a vegan dish on a menu anywhere.  That's one of the many reasons why I love this city.

I recently had the opportunity to be a mentor for people interested in becoming vegan.  It was called the Vegan Pledge and it was sponsored by Collectively Free and Peace Advocacy Network .  My pledge, Helena, embraced the vegan lifestyle and tried new recipes over the four week pledge.  We went to Peacefood Cafe in NYC and talked about being vegan, we exchanged recipes and talked about the social aspects of being vegan.  I have loved meeting and getting to knowing her so I'm super excited that she is my guest blogger!  Below is an excerpt she wrote about veganism and mindful eating.  Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Helena! My name is Helena and I am new to veganism; Nicole is my vegan mentor.  She is kindly lending space on her blog, for me to hash out some of the thoughts that come up as I begin this journey. Yesterday, the book “Becoming Vegan” by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina, finally arrived in the mail.  I was eager to get started on this treasure trove of inf

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! Aside from the rain, my weekend was so nice.  Today was all about vegan bakeries and vegan shoes!  I finally visited Mooshoes, the vegan shoe store on the Lower East Side in Manhattan.

I had such a fabulous weekend with my best friend from home! She stayed all weekend and we walked all around the city, eating vegan food and enjoying the sights. We've known each other since freshman year in college...so long ago haha and I always have so much fun with her.