Avocado Pesto Pasta

Got this recipe from Meatout Mondays...happy Monday!

This amazing dish is easy to make and has simple ingredients. The avocados create a deliciously rich and creamy sauce. While its fat content appears to be high, the source is from healthy monounsaturated fats, which are actually beneficial for cholesterol levels. For added nutrition, use whole wheat pasta and toss in steamed broccoli, asparagus, or spinach.

Ingredients:
1 lb. dried linguini 1 bunch basil leaves (about 2½ ounces) ½ cup pine nuts 2 ripe avocados, pitted & peeled 2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice (about ½ of a lemon) 3 cloves garlic ½ cup olive oil salt (to taste) freshly ground black pepper (to taste) ¼ cup chopped sun dried tomatoes (optional)

Directions: In a large pot, bring water to a boil; add pasta and cook to package directions. While pasta cooks, in a food processor, blend basil, pine nuts, avocados, lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Drain pasta; in a large serving bowl, toss pesto with hot, freshly cooked pasta and garnish each serving with a basil leaf; for an extra touch of color and flavor, top pasta with sun dried tomatoes. Check out this and more outstanding recipes at http://www.ChefChloe.com

Meatout Is This Weekend

There has never been a better time to go vegan if only for one day a week. All over the world people are turning on to vegetarianism and veganism. I found a post about meatout on Vegansaurus' awesome vegan blog:
http://vegansaurus.com/post/3949293683/its-time-to-do-stuff-shut-down-fur-sto...

" What are you doing this weekend for Meatout? You are supposed to host a meat-free event and get the people excited about vegan food! DO IT! OR go to an event someone else is hosting like this one in San Francisco:
What: Vegan Feed-in, leafleting, and signs at the March & Rally to Stop the Wars
Saturday, March 19th; 12pm (noon). Where: UN Plaza
RSVP: Contact FARM’s new West Coast Coordinator, Alex Felsinger;
831-601-9082, alexf@farmusa.org

Vegan Shamrock Shake

Check out the Vegan St.Patrick's Day recipes on VegWeb... An awesome collection here: http://vegweb.com/holiday/

Recipe submitted by Charlsey, 11/08/09

Vegan Shamrock Shake

Ingredients
1 cup non-dairy vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup nondairy milk
1/4 teaspoon mint extract
4 to 5 drops green food coloring (optional, but I had too!)

Directions: Add all ingredients to food processor or blender. Blend on HIGH until smooth. Pour into glass and enjoy the creamy mintyness.

Source of recipe: I used to love these as a kid around St Patrick's Day, This might not be exact but perfect for me...
Makes: 1 serving, Prep time: 5 minutes

Meatout on March 20, 2011

"Feeling sluggish, catching frequent colds, or considering shedding a few pounds?

Unhappy about animal manure being dumped in your water supplies? Or just troubled by the suffering inflicted on innocent, sentient animals in factory farms and slaughterhouses?

What is Meatout?

On (or around) March 20, thousands of caring people in all 50 U.S. states and two dozen other countries get active to host educational events for Meatout- the world's largest grassroots diet education campaign. Activists distribute free food, educate their communities, and ask their friends, families, and neighbors to "kick the meat habit” and explore a wholesome, compassionate diet of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

New to plant-based eating?

Visit http://LiveVegan.org, where you can find delicious recipes, learn all the “why’s” and “how’s” to transitioning toward a vegan lifestyle, and receive our Meatout Mondays e-newsletter.

What To Feed A Vegetarian Baby

I found this question and answer segment on Babies Love Organic's website here: http://www.babiespreferorganic.com/help-me-with-new-vegetarian-baby-foods/

I have learned that preparing ahead of time is the best! Our daughter is almost 3 months old, so of course she will not be eating solids yet. However, when she does start, I want to be prepared.

We have chosen to go vegetarian again and she will be as well. Does anyone know of any good recipes sites for homemade vegetarian baby food? We will never buy store bought and it must be 100% Organic. Any ideas or tips or sites?

Thanks Oh and, FYI: I am not looking for others to force meat upon our family. My entire family has been raised Vegetarian and our Pediatrician has said this was fine, there are alternatives. Thank you for your input, but it will not be necessary. If my daughter gets sick…we will know, and she surely will never be removed from our home.

We are a wonderful Christian family who can provide more for our children than most people can. We also help other families and do missionary work. The Lord is with us as He is with you. God bless. Thank you for those with kind answers.

I feel the individuals who say that we must eat meat to live are usually (not always) the unhealthy and misinformed people whom we read their obituaries in the mornings. It is a lifestyle choice and one we feel comfortable with. Thank you again.

Check out the replies to this question and add your own if you wish here:
http://www.babiespreferorganic.com/help-me-with-new-vegetarian-baby-foods/

Faux Tuna Salad

Got this delish recipe from Kris Carr's blog who got it here:
http://soundlyvegan.com/2011/03/07/faux-tuna-salad/

Faux Tuna Salad

- 2 cups garbanzo beans - ¼ cup celery, small dice - ¼ cup red bell pepper, small dice - ¼ cup apple, small dice - ¼ cup dill pickle, small dice - ¼ cup fresh dill, minced - ¼ – ⅓ cup plain non-dairy yogurt or Vegenaise (The amount depends upon how wet you like your salad.) freshly-cracked black pepper - sea salt

Using a potato masher, mash the garbanzo beans in a large bowl. You could use a food processor for this, just be careful not to over-process the beans. You do not want a purée, but rather a coarse mash with texture. Add the remaining ingredients to the mashed beans, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Easy Chocolate Walnut Fudge

Seriously people, you need to check out Veg Web's chocolate special entitled Cooking With WebMistress Laura. Here is one of the recipes on her post for fudge..,yum, my favorite.

http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/211087/159e8e3ef0/1493001999/0d59dd011e/

Sometimes you need chocolate and you need it yesterday. Well, it's not always that easy! If you want something delicious, you must wait. It's okay, you won't have to wait too long, and the payoff is worth it! In just over an hour, you'll have a pan of rich, creamy fudge. I love this stuff so much that I can only make it on holidays or else I'll turn into a big block of fudge. It looks like I'm in luck because National Potato Chip Day is coming up this weekend. What goes better with potato chips than fudge? Don't answer that, let's just go with it!

What You Need: 1 cup vegan chocolate chips 8 ounces vegan cream cheese 4 cups powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 1 cup walnuts, chopped

What You Do: 1. Over a double broiler, melt chocolate chips and set aside. In a food processor, place the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract, and blend until smooth. Add the chocolate and blend to combine. Stir in walnuts. 2. Line an 8-inch square pan with wax paper and press the mixture evenly into it.

Refrigerate for at least an hour, if you can bear it. Cut into squares and try not to eat the entire pan in one sitting!