Charlotte Wolford

I don’t know about you guys, but I love to have noodle soup or ramen on a cold day. Recently, I was in Allston, Massachusetts to volunteer at Cradles to Crayons, a non-profit to collect donations for children. We were hungry, so we searched to see if there were any places nearby to eat. We came across Toto Ramen, a ramen restaurant! They have restaurants in New York, Massachusetts, and even Taiwan. Taking a chance to try out this new location, we went for it! When first walking in, it was a small place with a noodle bar and tables. One thing I really appreciated was the simplicity of the menu. They had 6-8 ramen choices, and then a small menu of appetizers. I opted for the chicken paitan, which was what you imagine an original ramen to be, but I added bean sprouts to the top. It was some of the best ramen I’ve ever had, and I would highly suggest this to anyone who was in the area! The noodles were made in the store, and I find that some noodles can get soggy while in the broth, but these never did! Once again, I would recommend this to anyone and everyone. Here is the link to their website (http://tottoramen.com/) and I hope you all enjoy!

Happy Mother’s Day! After dinner, we were craving something sweet, but weren’t sure what. I was looking at doughnut recipes, but realized that making doughnuts would take hours because of the dough needing to rise. Then, I came across an Ina Garten recipe for Cinnamon Baked Doughnuts! They seemed very simple and straight-forward to make, so I thought I’d give them a try! I put the recipe down below, because they tasted so good and only take around a half hour to make. The only out of the ordinary tool you need is a doughnut pan (I had a mini one), which you can easily find at a baking store. I put a heaping tablespoon of batter into each doughnut, and it made 24. The recipe says to dip them into melted butter, and then coat in cinnamon sugar, but I found that when I do that, the sugar clumps together and doesn’t taste as good, so I opted out of the butter. My dad suggested that we should make a caramel sauce, so he made a delicious one! Caramel is actually really easy to make, and I highly suggest that you make it with the doughnuts. I also put the recipe for the caramel below, and instead of using half and half, I used milk. I didn’t cool the caramel, and it tasted really yummy warm! Hope you had a great mother’s day, and enjoy!

Cinnamon Baked Doughnuts

Ingredients:

• Baking spray with flour, such as Baker’s Joy
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  For the topping:
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray doughnut pan well with baking spray.
2. Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients until just combined.
3. Spoon the batter into the baking pans, filling each one a little more than three-quarters full. Bake for 17 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then tap the doughnuts out onto a sheet pan.
4. For the topping, melt the 8 tablespoons of butter in an 8-inch saute pan. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Dip each doughnut first in the butter and then in the cinnamon sugar, either on one side or both sides.

Easy Caramel Sauce 

Ingredients:

• 1 packed cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 4 tablespoons butter
• Pinch salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Mix the brown sugar, half-and-half, butter and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Cook while whisking gently for 5 to 7 minutes, until it gets thicker. Add the vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further.
3. Turn off the heat, cool slightly and pour the sauce into a jar. Refrigerate until cold.

Ok, now for the overall review of being vegan. I think it was definitely a challenge, and it required more thought into what you are eating, and prepping food. I think if you want to become vegan as a lifestyle choice, you truly have to be against having the products of animals. It is also very challenging, because I would like to think that I eat relatively healthy. A lot of the foods that I would typically eat are not vegan. For example, RX Bars, Perfect Bars, and more protein bars are not vegan because of eggs. Also, if you want to have a salad, it either has to be a HUGE salad, or is filled with beans. I don’t like tofu, and that is one of the main proteins for vegans. I also did not see a huge difference in more energy, and my skin did not clear up noticeably, although a lot of people in YouTube videos that I watched had noticeable differences. I think that I would enjoy a paleo diet more, which is no dairy (but you can have eggs), and no grains. Almond milk is an easy switch, and I have used almond milk for a while. Overall, I would give the diet probably 3 1/2 stars, just because of some of the limits that it gave me from eating even healthy food. But, I think it’s a fun thing to try for a small period of time, and I challenge any of you to try it!

 

I’m so sorry I couldn’t get my last day of vegan post up on time! The power was out, but I was still vegan! For breakfast, I made some really easy cinnamon sugar “donut” muffins. They were super yummy and I had extra which were a really good snack! The substitute for eggs was apple sauce, which you can taste and I really enjoyed the sweetness. I put the recipe down below and it was by

bakerbynature.com. The pictures she posted had a glaze on it, but I opted to not put that on, as to make it more of a breakfast item.

Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut Muffins

Ingredients

For the muffins:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 8 ounces applesauce (unsweetened)
• 4 ounces almond milk
• 4 ounces olive oil (you may use canola or coconut if you prefer)
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• For the topping:
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 (F). Grease or line muffin tray, set aside.
2. In a large bowl stir together flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, whisk together applesauce, almond milk, oil, and maple syrup. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry, stirring until combined.
3. Fill the muffin cups 2/3 of the way full, sprinkle each with a little cinnamon sugar, and bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes, then transfer to a cooling wrack to cool completely.

For lunch, I made peanut noodles! It was a super easy and tasted a lot like pad thai! I didn’t use eggplant or mushrooms because of personal taste, but I used peppers and garlic instead. I would definitely make this again, and I used angel hair instead of the typical asian noodles. I put the recipe down below, and the recipe is from loveandlemons.com.

Peanut Noodles

For dinner, the lights were flickering, so I was looking for a quick fast recipe! I created a spinach pesto grilled cheese, which was surprisingly good! I did not use the stovetop, but I used the microwave instead so that the soy cheese melted more. The spinach pesto tasted pretty good, and it took me about 10 minutes to make. I put the recipe down below, and I would highly suggest this to any vegan. I also ate this with carrots and hummus.  Watch out for my next post, so you can see my overall review of being vegan for a week! Enjoy!

Spinach Pesto Grilled Cheese

Ingredients

For the pesto:

• handful of spinach
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/8 cup soy cheese
• 1/8 cup pine nuts
• For the sandwich:
• 2 slices bread
• 1/4 cup soy cheese

Directions

1. Blend the spinach, olive oil, soy cheese, and pine nuts in a food processor or blender.
2. Toast the bread in either a toaster or oven
3. Smear pesto on both slices of bread, put cheese on one, and top with other piece of bread
4. Put the sandwich in the microwave for 45 seconds- 1 minute

       

Day 4! Today was definitely an easier day in terms of prep. For breakfast, I had vegan toast with peanut butter, bananas, almonds, and strawberries. It was really easy, and the almonds added protein so I would be filled up until lunch. I will not be attaching a recipe for this, as it is very self-explanatory.

For dinner, I made pizza! I have tried CauliPower pizza, which is premade and you can just pop in the oven. It’s so good, but has cheese on top, so I bought a Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Pizza Crust. I put tomato sauce and soy cheese on top. I cooked it and I tried it, but it was not very good. The crust was not very good, and had an odd texture. If you wanted a healthier alternative to pizza, I would suggest the CauliPower pizza or Daiya pizza! Since I did not enjoy the first pizza, I decide why not try another pizza! I had Daiya Supreme Pizza, and it was pretty good, but I don’t think that either one of these vegan pizzas could be a substitute for pizza. They were ok, but nothing compares to it! Last day of vegan is tomorrow, and wish me luck!

      

Day 3 of vegan! I made an acai bowl for breakfast, which was super good, and only took 5-10 minutes. I have tried to make acai bowls before, but they have always turned out too liquidy and smoothie-like. But, today I was determined. I put much less almond milk in, and it turned out perfect! I honestly used no measurements for this recipe, but I will try and put them down below. Now, the fun part! Toppings! I put blueberries, slivered almonds, strawberries, cacao nibs, and a drizzle of agave nectar. I will definitely have this again, and highly suggest it, to anyone! It’s super customizable, and I usually use about ½ cup of frozen fruit.

Berry Acai Bowl

Ingredients

• 1 packet Trader Joe’s Acai Puree
• 1 banana
• ¾ cup frozen berry mixture
• ½ cup almond milk
• 1 handful of ice

Suggestions for Toppings

• strawberries, chopped
•  blueberries, chopped
• slivered almonds
• cacao nibs
• agave nectar

Directions

1. Blend all ingredients together and adjust based on opinion
2. Put your toppings on
3. Enjoy!

Ok, now for dinner. I decided to make vegan garlic pasta. I have to admit, this was not my favorite dish. The sauce had almond milk in it, and the taste was odd. I adjusted the recipe as well and didn’t add tomatoes, and instead added  7-8 sweet peppers. I also halved the recipe, as I only needed 1 serving. The recipe was from minimalistbaker.com. The dish was definitely easy, but did not taste very good. I put the recipe down below if you would like to try it, and wish me luck for day 4!

Creamy Vegan Garlic Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 3 cups (450 g) grape tomatoes, halved
• 10 ounces (283 g) whole wheat pasta (such as penne, linguini, or fettuccine | Use less if you want a higher sauce:pasta ratio | Use gluten-free pasta for GF eaters)
• Olive oil
• 2 medium shallots, diced (~1/4 cup or 40 g)
• 8 large cloves garlic, minced/grated (1/4 cup or 24 g)
• Pinch each sea salt and black pepper
• 3-4 Tbsp (25-33 g) unbleached all-purpose flour (or another thickener of choice)*
• 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) almond milk (sub up to 1 cup with veggie stock, if preferred)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (204 C) and toss tomatoes in a bit of olive oil and sea salt. Place cut side up on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes while you prepare the rest of the dish. Then set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package instructions. When done, drain, cover and set aside.
3. In the meantime, prepare the sauce. In a large skillet over medium-low heat, add 1 Tbsp (15 ml) olive oil and the garlic and shallot. Add a pinch of salt and black pepper and stir frequently, cooking for 3-4 minutes until softened and fragrant.
4. Stir in 3-4 Tbsp flour (or other thickener of choice – see notes) and mix with a whisk. Once combined, slowly whisk in the almond milk a little at a time so clumps don’t form. Add another healthy pinch of salt and black pepper, bring to a simmer and continue cooking for another 4-5 minutes to thicken. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. (Optional: You can also add a few shakes of vegan parmesan for extra flavor at this time if you wish.)
5. If you want an ultra creamy sauce, transfer sauce to a blender (or use an immersion blender) to blend the sauce until creamy and smooth. Place back in pan and reduce heat to a low simmer until desired thickness is reached.
6. Once the sauce is to your desired thickness, taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Then add pasta and roasted tomatoes and stir.
7. Serve immediately and garnish with extra black pepper, fresh basil, and/or vegan parmesan cheese

 

 

 

 

             

Day two of being vegan! For breakfast this morning, I planned ahead and made some super easy overnight oats last night. I don’t love most of the recipes online, as I think they end up too soupy, so overtime I have developed my own favorite mixture! The oats that I used were Bob’s Red Mill brand. I usually eyeball the amounts: I put the almond milk in until it achieves the thickness I like. I topped my oats with blueberries, and it filled me up and I wasn’t hungry until much later in the day. Also, I am aware that this is not the most appetizing looking recipe, but trust me, it is delicious!The recipe I will put down below, but keep in mind that I do not use many measurements, so it is a very customizable recipe!

Overnight Oats                     

Ingredients

• ½ cup of oats (you can use any of your choice)
• ¼-½ cup of almond milk
• 1 scoop of peanut butter (optional)
• sprinkle of blueberries

Directions

1. Put your oats, milk, and peanut butter into a mason jar or any container. Stir well and add more based on your opinion.
2. After 7-12 hours in the fridge, take out oats and sprinkle blueberries on top.
3. Enjoy!

Ok, now for dinner! I decided to make vegan quesadillas, which were also really easy and super good. They were stuffed with veggies, cheese, and were in vegan tortillas. The cheese I used was soy cheese from Trader Joe’s. It was super melty and didn’t even taste different from regular cheese. I also halved the recipe since I was making it for one, and it made 2. I also had extra corn from last night, so I added it in as well. I used my sweet peppers, which I am now loving and will definitely be eating them more often. I did not use mushrooms because I do not personally love them, and it turned out just as good! The recipe will be down below, and I found the recipe on 86lemons.com, which is a vegan website! I topped my quesadillas with Trader Joe’s guacamole,  Fruit Center salsa, and cilantro. Hope you enjoy, and stay tuned for day 3!

Amazing Veggie Quesadillas

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. coconut oil
• 1 medium to large red onion, diced
• 1 large green pepper + 1 large red pepper, chopped (or about 10-12 mini sweet peppers)
• 1 jalapeño, minced or chopped
• 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 3 cups fresh spinach, chopped
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 6 or 8 Food for Life Brown Rice Tortillas (wheat and gluten-free)
• Soy-shredded cheese
• guacamole
• salsa
• cilantro

Directions

1. In a large, deep skillet over medium or medium-low heat, add coconut oil, onion, and peppers (including jalapeño) with a pinch of sea salt. Sauté for 15 minutes until softened and translucent. You don’t want them to brown, so reduce the heat if necessary. Cook it slowly so everything gets soft and sweet.
2. Add black beans, mushrooms and spices. Mix everything together and continue cooking for 5 minutes. (This is where I added corn)
3. Add spinach and continue cooking for a few minutes, until spinach wilts. Add salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.
4. I used a large, shallow pan (sprayed with cooking spray, over medium heat) to cook the quesadillas. This makes it easy for flipping if you use a large plate or thin cutting board to sandwich the quesadilla and flip the pan upside down. Then slide the quesadilla off the plate/cutting board back onto the pan so you can cook the other side. I assembled the quesadillas directly on the pan. Begin with one tortilla, topped with about ¼ cup Daiya Shreds (cheese), followed by some of the bean/veggie filling. Do not spread the filling to the edge of the tortilla. It will spread out as it’s cooking. Add your preferred extras (avocado slices, cilantro, salsa, lime juice). Add a little more cheese on top, then top it off with a second tortilla. I set a cast iron skillet on top of the quesadilla while it was cooking. The weight helps everything stick together inside. Cook for about 5 minutes (until tortilla browns up slightly), then flip and repeat.
5. Cut quesadilla in half, then cut each half into 6 triangles. Optional – garnish with chopped cilantro, serve with salsa and/or guacamole

 

Today, my friends and I were talking, and we thought it would be a fun experiment to go vegan for the week! Everyday, I will  be posting about what I ate for breakfast and dinner. As for lunch, I will be at school, and I expect my lunch to be predictable: salads with some sort of protein, such as beans. Now, some of you may be wondering, what is vegan? Vegan is basically where you don’t eat anything produced by animals. To break that down, no dairy, honey (produced by bees) , meat, poultry, seafood, sushi, etc. I find this challenging, as I do enjoy food, but I am going to try my absolute hardest to have delicious, balanced, vegan meals! Now, lets get into my meals today!

Today, only my dinner was vegan, as I decided to go vegan in the middle of the day. I found an amazing, easy-looking recipe from http://emilieeats.com , where most of the food she posts is vegan! It all looks so good! But, I decided on a vegan burrito bowl. The recipe is right down below, and it was so yummy! But, for just some of my personal opinions, I changed parts of the recipe, and didn’t use much measurements. The things  that I did differently were that I used Trader Joe’s Microwave Brown Rice, added ¼ of a red onion, changed bell peppers to sweet peppers, and sautéed these two together with avocado oil. The sweet peppers I would highly recommend for anyone that likes a varied flavor. They had a great crunch to them and definitely stood out in the dish. For my salsa, I used one of my local grocery stores, The Fruit Center, made in store one. It is more chopped than a sauce, which I enjoy! Overall, I would highly suggest this dish to anyone, even someone who is not vegan. Once again, thank you to emileeats.com for sharing this recipe with the world! Hope all of you enjoy my week of vegan, and wish me luck!

Vegan Burrito Bowls                                         

Ingredients

• 1 package VeeTee Dine In Microwavable Brown Rice
• 2 cups romaine, chopped
• ½ cup black beans, drained and rinsed
• ½ cup bell peppers, chopped
• ¼ cup corn (thawed/microwaved if frozen)
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
• ½ lime, juiced
• ½ ripe avocado
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Cook brown rice and corn according to package directions
2. Add lettuce to a bowl or lunch container. Top with ½ cup rice, black beans, bell pepper, corn, salsa, and cilantro.
3. In a small bowl, add avocado, garlic powder, lime juice, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Mash until smooth. Scoop on top of burrito bowl.

 

 

Happy New Year! Over the holidays, I wanted to make a different cookie then what I typically make: snickerdoodles and chocolate chip cookies. Don’t get me wrong, both of those are delicious, but I wanted an easy, simple, holiday cookie.  My dad came across a picture of these very intriguing cookies: they were chocolate brown, with powdered sugar all over the top. After searching and searching, I finally found a recipe for those mysterious cookies, and they were called chocolate crinkle cookies! I found these cookies very easy and simple to make; First, you made a basic cookie batter, exactly what you would expect, chilled it in the fridge overnight, covered them with powdered sugar, and then bake. I tried one fresh out of the oven to see if the recipe was a success. Those cookies were so good! They were moist, pleasing to the eye, and perfect if you have a sweet tooth! I will most definitely make these again, and if you would like to try them, I put the recipe down below. Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE CRINKLE COOKIES

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS: