Valentine's Day Dinner & Dessert | Cooking with My Hubby

Valentine's Day is coming, so I thought it would be fun to do some cooking with Eric to celebrate on my YouTube channel.

The menu:

We made kale salad, portobello lasagna & chocolate-covered strawberries.

Kale salad is one of my favorite salads. To prevent the bitter taste and make it easier to chew, we massage the kale for about 5 minutes and let it marinate for at least an hour (so make this dish first).

Portobello lasagna is one of my mom's favorite dishes and she still doesn't believe the Field Roast sausage is really vegan. This dish is simple, delicious and perfect for skeptical male eaters.

For the dessert, we used fresh strawberries, toothpicks & a bag of chocolate chips. Just melt the chocolate, dip the strawberries, place on parchment paper and set in the fridge for about an hour.

Brands of vegan chocolate chips:
Wegmans semi-sweet
Enjoy Life
Sunspire
365 Everyday Value dark chocolate

Check out the video below and subscribe to my YouTube channel for more cooking videos and vlogs. Happy Valentine's Day!

Vanilla Cupcakes & My Baby is 12

In my Coming to America voice, "Oh my God...Oh my God, I can't believe it!"

I have a 12 year old? When did this happen? *tears* 

In previous years, Jason dismissed my attempts to make him vegan cupcakes. Today, he smiled and said, "okay" when I asked him about it.

Success! 

Isa Chanda Moskowitz' vanilla cupcakes are amazing. Have you tried them? You must! These cupcakes are so moist and delicious. Seriously, they're my favorite and I'm so glad Jason allowed us to celebrate his birthday with them.

I'm sad that my baby is growing up too fast but I'm happy about the compassionate young man that he's becoming. 

Happy Birthday, J! 

Get the golden vanilla cupcake recipe here and the buttercream frosting here .

Moskowitz has other yummy cupcake recipes in her cookbook, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.

I also made this recipe a while ago on my YouTube channel. Check it out :-)

What We Ate Today #4 | Vegan Family Meals

It's been too long since I've shared some of our meals, so I'm back on YouTube to show you the goods.  

Breakfast: 

So Delicious yogurt, granola & apple slices, bagel with Earth Balance

Lunch:

Vegan Tuna Sandwich, Way Better chips & carrots

Vegan Tuna Sandwich

by Brown Vegan

Ingredients

• (2) 15 oz chickpeas, drained & rinsed
• 1 cup red onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon relish
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• ½ cup vegan mayo
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• 6 Hamburger buns

Instructions

Grind chickpeas in a food processor for a few seconds. Transfer to a bowl and mix in all the remaining ingredients. Serve on a bun with lettuce and tomato. Enjoy!

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Dinner:

Lentils & rice, simple salad

Lentils & Rice

by Brown Vegan

Prep Time: 5

Ingredients (Serves 5)

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon All-purpose seasoning blend (I used Flax Seasoning)
• 2 cups dry lentils, rinsed (I usually soak mine in water for about 30 minutes)
• 4 cups of vegetable broth
• ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 3 cups of fresh greens
• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Sauté onion and garlic on medium heat for about 4 mins.

2. Add in chili powder and all-purpose seasoning blend.

3. Continue cooking for another minute, then add in lentils and vegetable broth.

4. Bring to a boil.

5. Reduce heat, cover and continue cooking for 15-20, or until lentils are soft.

6. During the last 5 minutes, add in the greens and sun-dried tomatoes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve with rice or quinoa.

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Watch the full video here and subscribe to my YouTube channel to get more cooking videos and vlogs.

Check out all the previous "What We Ate Today" posts here

Q & A : Vegan Kids While Out

Question from my Facebook inbox......

"Forgive me if this has been touched on a million times, I am brand new to your YouTube channel and have lots of catching up to do!

The questions that pop into my brain immediately are kids birthday parties or events and school lunches.....  how do you handle?

My kids are presently 8 and 7 and I try to make one good sized change for us every few months. I cannot imagine, though, how one deals with the endless parade of pizza parties the kiddos are invited to.  Do you make exceptions or are you EXCLUSIVELY vegan?

My babies :-) 

Answer-Yeah, school events, cookouts and kiddie parties used to be a major struggle for me.  I wanted my kids to be vegan but it was too difficult (mainly because my older kids are with their dad on the weekends) and I hated them being left out during birthday parties.  Also, I feel it's hard enough for adults to become vegan, so it's a ton of pressure for kids.

When my kids were in public school, I packed them a vegan lunch and they still enjoy eat vegan meals at home. When we eat out, go to a party, etc. they eat whatever they want.

When I was trying to get the boys to eat an exclusive vegan diet, I would bring dishes/treats to parties and school for them to share. Also, I would feed them before we went to parties and right afterwards.

I'm not sure if my views on vegan kids is popular, but after 3 years, I feel this way works best for our family.

I hope that helps! 

Want Your Kids to Eat Better? Smash the TV

It can be pretty difficult to get your kids to embrace vegan eating when TV commercials are working overtime to contradict everything you say. 

The case against TV commercials:

“And what are they marketing to children? According to Dr. Harris, the top four products are fast foods, sugared cereals, sugary drinks and candy.

Thomas Robinson, a professor of pediatrics at Stanford University and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, has studied childhood obesity and its links to screen time. In experiments with preschoolers, he told me, ‘even a 30-second exposure to a novel product, one that you’ve never seen before, changes their preferences for brand.’ ””

— NY Times

When we started this journey, we had five TVs in our house and the boys wanted everything they saw advertised on them.

Even though our vegan lifestyle wasn't the only reason we got rid of cable, I will say it made it easier to get the boys to eat vegetables and try new dishes once it was gone.

What Can You Do

*Reduce your child's TV time

*Send them outside like grandma used to do us-I know y'all remember those days. lol

*Play a board game or cook together

*Skip the commercials- DVR your child's favorite shows and fast forward through all the commercials. 

*Be willing to say no to your child's demands-I know from experience that is easier said than done, but I worked overtime to get my kids to accept healthier alternatives opposed to the crap pushed in advertisements.

Do you think watching too much TV affects our eating habits? Leave me a comment below.

Further Reading (from quote above): How Advertising Targets Our Children