Macaroni Salad

My mom made this today and I thought I would make a blog post about it because it's really simple to make and it's so good! To me, it tastes just like the real thing. For this recipe, she used Nayonaise. We've tried both Nayonaise and Veganaise before. I think Veganaise is a *little* bit better, probably the closest to mayonnaise you're going to get...Nayonaise has a stronger vinegar taste to it. That's the only difference that I've noticed. I like vinegar though, so either one will work for me!

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. elbow macaroni
2 cups of Nayonaise/Veganaise
1 large onion
2 stalks of celery
1 tsp. basil
2 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Just cook the macaroni according to the directions on the box, drain them and then add in all the other ingredients listed above. Obviously you can add more or less of certain ingredients depending on your taste. Like for ours, my mom probably added a little over 2 cups of Nayonaise because we think it tastes better when it's more creamy..We also like a lot of onion, so we put tons of onion in...It all depends on what you like.

Product Review: Amy's Tofu Scramble

Before I went vegan I would have scrambled eggs quite often for breakfast (probably TOO often, from a health perspective..) so when I first tried this, I was hoping it would satisfy my cravings for that. Thankfully, it did! I love this but I try not to eat it too often because it is frozen, and I try to stay away from frozen foods as much as I can..but when I'm not feeling well, or just want something quick - this is great to just pop in the microwave for four minutes and it's done.

The tofu scramble itself is delicious. I'd like to learn how to make it myself. It would be a lot cheaper and I would have it more often. But, this scramble is made up of tofu (obviously) and tons of veggies. It has spinach, onions, zucchini, mushrooms, carrots and tomato. There is also a side of hash browns.

It's vegan, gluten free and all organic. I would definitely recommend giving it a try!

Bite-Sized Taco Appetizers

I came up with this little idea after my family's get together on New Year's Eve. Now, I know it's been done before - but probably not quite as often vegan style! So I thought I would make a post about it. They're a great little snack to serve and they're healthy too. Very low calorie!

Ingredients:

Tostitos Scoops

Lightlife 'meatless' ground beef (1 package equals close to 1 pound of beef)

Old El Paso taco seasoning packet

Dayia jack style cheese (shredded)

mild salsa

All you have to really do is cook the ground beef according to the package, including the seasoning packet and you're done with the 'hardest' part of this recipe.

The rest is simply putting your little mini tacos together. Scoop the meat and salsa into the Scoop and sprinkle some vegan cheese on top. You could add in onions or peppers if you'd like - I thought of doing that myself..but I figured since there's already onions and tomatoes in the salsa I used, it didn't really need any extra. But there you have it..So simple and so tasty. A great appetizer to serve at your next party!

Stay tuned for more (hopefully) more frequent updates! One of my resolutions this year is to make this blog even better - and share as many recipes as I can think of with everyone. My goal is to make at least one post a week. Of course, that depends on my health - and if I'm feeling good enough to actually do some cooking that week. But I am definitely going to try my hardest to make that happen!