Weekly Round Up Allergy Series: Vegan Recipes

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I thought maybe I’d start this WRU with a helpful summary of what the definitions of vegan vs. vegetarian are as they can be quite confused and interchanged frequently. They are similar to many, but to others they are very different.

Let’s start with definitions:
Vegetarian – A person who does not eat or does not believe in eating meat, fish, fowl, or, in some cases, any food derived from animals, as eggs or cheese, but subsists on vegetables, fruits, nuts, grain, etc.

Vegan – All of the above, but also avoid the use of all products tested on animals, as well as animal-derived non-food products, such as leather, fur and wool.

There are different variations on vegetarianism (such as including fish into their diets or allowing any milk products, but do not eat meat). Vegan is very strict and more of a lifestyle which includes their foods versus just the foods in a diet.

Okay! Now let’s get to the FOOD! This was rather fun and way easier than I thought it would be to find strictly vegan recipes, but they are very accessible and easy to find. Here are some of the ones I found the most appetizing and look amazing!

Vegetable Lasagna w/Ricotta Nut Cheese via LunchBoxBunch.com
Mango & Hatch Chile Pizza w/White Garlic Crust via Vegan Richa
Raw Ranch Veggie Wraps via Food and Yoga for Life

Charles's Vegan Fajitas

Vegan Fajitas via Charlie Harvey
Vegan Cinnamon Rolls via What Vegan Kids Eat

Don’t those look amazing?

I have a few recipes for vegans, too! Very easy (as always) and delicious!

Artichoke Salsa

Chickpea & Cucumber Salad
Very Veggie Pasta
Olive Tapenade Stuffed Shells (just take off the cheese or use vegan)
Cornmeal-Dusted Potato Wedges (sorry, sweetheart not included!)

I can’t wait to hear if my CDSM friends make any of these recipes. PLEASE LET ME KNOW! I love to hear how recipes go. Also, be sure to come back next week for the next part of my allergy series on nut-free recipes. YUM!

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Weekly Round Up: Authentic Mexican Recipes for Cinco de Mayo!

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

It’s finally May and it’s time to embrace our Mexican friends’ heritage and culture by celebrating Cinco de Mayo! In case you aren’t familiar with the history of this holiday, here is an except from The History Channel:

Cinco de Mayo—or the fifth of May—commemorates the Mexican army’s 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War (1861-1867). A relatively minor holiday in Mexico, in the United States Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with large Mexican-American populations. Cinco de Mayo traditions include parades, mariachi music performances and street festivals in cities and towns across Mexico and the United States.

Since this is foodie blog, I figured the best way I could support the holiday is by doing a Cinco de Mayo Weekly Round Up. It was relatively easy to find authentic Mexican recipes, so I had to include a bunch! They are are unique recipes and I think it would be great to make a lot of these and try them. If you don’t like it, at least you can say you’ve eaten it before! Not everyone can say they’ve eaten menudo!

Foodie Blogs with Authentic Recipes:

Enchiladas Caseras via Beyond Wonderful
Tamales Masa harina3
Corn Tamales via Mexico in my Kitchen
Menudo Rojo via La Cocina de Nathan
Chicken with Quick Mole Sauce
Chicken with Mole Sauce via Penza Family
Tres Leches Mexican Flan Recipe
Tres Leches Mexican Flan via Cooking with Alia
Arroz con Leche via Girlichef

Here is a list of “Mexican” foods from my blog. They may not be authentic, but they are delicious and easy to make, especially for those who want to celebrate Cinco de Mayo and are less than enthusiastic about trying something from the pictures above. :)

Mexican Chicken & Black Bean Filling
Mexican Wedding Cookies
Easy Chicken Fajitas

Now that you have the history and some food ideas for Cinco de Mayo, what are your plans? Are there any celebrations in your area? I’d love to hear what you cooked or other ways you celebrated. Please share on CDSM’s Facebook page — I love to see others’ creations!

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Weekly Round Up Allergy Series: Dairy Free Recipes

In case you missed the previous posts, I am doing a 5 part series on recipes for those with dietary allergies or intolerances. Last week I did the Gluten Free Series and can be found here at this link in case you missed it.

Moving on! It was amazingly simple to find dairy free recipes. When you think of all the foods that have some sort of dairy in them, you’d assume that there would be very few left to eat or modify, but I was wrong! Here are some of the best and had some of the best reviews on them. I also made sure to choose things that seemed to me were the ones that I’d miss if I had to give up dairy products (i.e., ranch, ice cream, cheese spread, etc.).

Espresso and Sea Salt Cookies  (gluten free, dairy free)

DF Expresso & Sea Salt Cookies via Around My Family Table

DF Coconut Chocolate Ice Cream via Food Wanderings
ranch 1
DF Ranch Dressing via My Whole Food Life
Dairy Free Yogurt
DF Yogurt via Living Without

GF Ham & "Cheese" Scones via Once a Month Mom

DF "Cheese" Spread via Natural New Age Mum

Here are a few of my own recipes that are dairy free:

Pot Roast with Veggie Gravy

Smoky Chicken Skillet
Chilled Roasted Vegetable Salad w/Horseradish-Dijon Dressing

No one in my family has dairy or lactose allergies, so we are big fans of eating it in our house. I’d love to hear some suggestions on modifying recipes that have cheese to be used in a dairy-free way. Please, share with others on our Facebook page or here on the blog for those who may be new to dairy free eating or are thinking about changing their diets!

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