Portland Dining Guide: The Best Vegan Restaurants in PDX courtesy of The Portland Mercury

Portobello

Blossoming Lotus

Vita Cafe

Bye And Bye

Papa G's

Natural Selection

Los Gorditos

Black Sheep Bakery

Laughing Planet

Quick and Easy Dinner Recipe: Vegan Sausage Jambalaya

Ingredients:

1 box of Zatarains Jambalaya Pasta Dinner Mix

1 Gimme Lean Ground Sausage Link

Directions:

Follow the directions on the back of the Zatarains box. Cook the sausage separately in a small saucepan over medium heat. Make sure you scramble it like you would with "ground beef".

Notes:

I recommend pairing this with a side of mashed sweet potatoes, steamed carrots, and cornbread or Bisquick biscuits.

Quick and Easy Vegan Alfredo Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup of coconut milk

2 cups of firm silken tofu

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

pinch of nutmeg and black pepper (to your liking)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a food processor, and blend until very smooth and creamy. Transfer the mixture to a medium sauce pan, and cook over low heat until warm. Do not boil. Serve at once.

Notes:
This does not keep well, so if you want good leftovers you'll want to make another sauce.

Vegan Event Reminder: Animal Freedom Day is this Weekend!!!

Nadia Masoudi is an 18 year old film maker and animal activist from Hamilton, Ontario. Nadia is also the producer and director of a new documentary film called “Don’t Eat Me”. Her goal is to become an advocate leader for animal rights and has helped create Animal Freedom Day, a global event happening every year on July 23rd and 24th to raise awareness and solutions for animal rights. Her documentary will air  at Animal Freedom Day all weekend so go check it out, and let's help raise awareness for animal rights! Vegans unite!

Vegan Hero of the Week: Lea Michele

That's right! Your favorite girl from GLEE is vegan!

Quick and Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipe: the perfect topping for Mac and Cheese or Casserole dishes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup nutritional Yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup unbleached flour

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon dried yellow mustard powder

1 cup water

1 and 1/2 tablespoons vegan margarine

Directions:

Mix the dry ingredients, add water, and whisk until the clumps are gone. Put your dry mixture in a small sauce pot with the margarine, and cook over medium heat. Continue to whisk until the sauce thickens.

What to Eat for Lunch: A Vegan English Tea Sandwich

Ingredients:

2 slices of Dave's Killer Bread- I use Good Seed

Vegenaise

Cucumber- I like mine coined and halved

A sprinkling of Sea Salt and Black Pepper

I think it's safe for me to assume that everyone knows how to make a sandwich, so I wont be giving any sandwich how-to's here. If you prefer your sandwich a little heartier than I recommend adding sprouts, cabbage, or lettuce, and if you want an extra kick of freshness add some mint leaves.

Why I Went Vegan: I Learned the Truth about Factory Farming

I can't remember the exact date when I decided to give up meat, or when I knew I wanted to become vegan, but I do know what triggered it all.  It was Oprah! Yes, Oprah. I watched one of her shows titled "Food Inc" and was disgusted by what I learned about factory farming. I have always been a compassionate person, so enough was enough, I quit eating meat in protest of the brutal animal holocaust going on in our country and all over the world. I have never looked at meat the same way again. I don't see pork, or beef. I see the face of a murdered animal on a plate.

Oprah also had a second guest on the show, Alicia Silverstone. Alicia was promoting her new vegan book "The Kind Diet". I went out and bought The Kind Diet later that week, and devoured all of the nutritional information and yummy recipes she had included. I knew that I was on the right path, and headed straight towards a vegan lifestyle.

It did take me a while to make the complete switch though. First, I gave up all meat except fish. After that I gave up fish all together. Most recently I gave up dairy and eggs. It took a long time, probably a year, for me to go vegan. Why? I loved cheese. I had no idea how to recreate that flavor. I have searched vegan cookbooks from my library and looked online for the last six months and have stumbled upon some great faux cheesy recipes (don't worry I'll share them later). Once I found my cruelty-free cheese substitute I knew I ready to quit those nasty animal bi-products cold turkey.

I am so happy and proud to be living this lifestyle. All I want to do with this blog is promote the best (and most compassionate) diet in world, Veganism, and show you how it will enrich your life like it has mine.