Zesty Italian Salad Dressing!

I'm always trying to eat more leafy greens, and I've actually been really into salads lately. It wasn't always like that though, I used to hate salads. I don't like buying bottled dressings, so I looked up a homemade italian dressing, and found this one:

http://www.pennilessparenting.com/2010/07/perfect-homemade-italian-dressing.html

I use white wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil in the recipe. It's AMAZING! It's so yummy, and I eat up all my salad when I use this. I bought a glass dressing container recently, and it's come in handy. What homemade dressings do you guys like to make?

Whole Foods Shopping Trip!

Shopping at Whole Foods, while a regular thing for me, is still a lot of fun every time I visit. I go there for my groceries once a week, I actually love grocery shopping, it's fun! I shop there because they have so many different vegan options and everything is all natural, the people are so nice, and there's always something new to try. Here's my grocery haul for today- where I got a lot of new stuff, and some regular stuff! :)

Produce

• Organic Pink Lady Apples: These are hands down my favorite apples, and I was upset the past few trips because they didn't have them. I was happy to see them today! I only eat organic apples, as it is one of the most pesticide filled foods, so always opt for organic!
• Naval Oranges: These weren't on my list, but they had samples out, and they were really juicy and sweet, so I picked up two! Can't wait to cut these up
• Red Grapes: I love grapes, they're a great snack! I love them because they're quick and easy and super yummy, and they also make a wonderful frozen snack!
• Blueberries: I usually like to put blueberries in smoothies or my soy yogurt. I'm going to start going to the gym this week, as well as personal training sessions, so I'm going to make protein shakes with Jarrow Optimal Plant Protein for post workout, so blueberries will make a yummy addition!
• Organic Tomatoes: I'm always looking for new lunch ideas, although I love my salads. I actually got this sandwich idea from Elle Fowler on youtube, which is a tomato sandwich. I veganized it with vegan mayo, and toasted two pieces of vegan bread, and put sliced tomatoes on top, which was so yummy!
• Organic Baby Carrots: I actually love carrots, and I'm not a big fan of raw vegetables yet. They're sweet, and I always pack them for lunch with hummus
• Organic Spring Mix: I eat at least one salad a day, but usually two. I make homemade italian dressing, which I'll post soon, and it's delicious! I love my salads now. I always change up my lettuce, but Spring Mix is my favorite

Bulk

• Long Grain Brown Rice: Brown rice is a staple in our house- not just for me, but my parents as well. When my mom makes it, she makes it in the microwave, which isn't a way I like to cook if I can help it, so I make it stovetop. I usually make a lot of it, so I have some for the week
• Forbidden Rice: I've been intrigued by this rice so many times, and haven't picked it up until now. I love the color- it's pitch black! I'm excited to make this- maybe tonight!
• Pistachios: I love love love pistachios! They're so good, and I like shelling them, it takes more time to eat, so I get fuller faster
• Walnuts: I put these in my cold cereal in the morning (I'll post the recipe soon)
• Vegetable Corkscrew Pasta: This was a new thing I picked up! It looked good and actually has real vegetables as well as wheat, so I'm excited to try it!
• Fresh Ground Almond Butter: I get this, without fail, every single week. It's fun to grind it yourself, and I love knowing what's in it- just almonds! I like making banana sandwiches and wraps with almond butter, as well as putting it in smoothies, and with my apples!
• Organic Raisins: This was in a box, not the bulk bins, because the ones in the bins have canola oil on them. I love raisins as a snack, or on my cold cereal (or hot!) in the mornings!
• Organic Unsweetened Applesauce: While I almost always opt for fresh fruit, I do enjoy applesauce once in a while

Bars

• Luna Bar: I only got one, as I had three in the house already, and I got my favorite- Iced Oatmeal Raisin. It's so good! 
• Kind Bars: I got the Almond and Flax (plus Omega 3's- which I already ate, it was delicious!) and the Almond and Apricot. I love Kind Bars, and even though they do have honey in them, they don't have dairy, which is fine with me. 
• That's It Bars: These are amazing on the go! All it is is fruit- two servings of it! I actually printed out four free bar coupons, so I saved over $6!

Snacks

• Crunchmaster Multi-Seed Rosemary and Olive Oil Crackers: I love these crackers, and they're filled with great ingredients. I dip these in hummus as a snack, but I don't have them as a snack too often (I usually have fresh fruit or nuts)
• Chocolate Covered Cherries: I eat very healthy, but I do enjoy chocolate on a regular basis. I love it, and it's my treat. I believe that indulging in little ways is key to not going overboard eventually, so I picked these up
• Seasnax: Don't judge, but I actually love these. I was very skeptical last week when I saw them, but curious, so I only got one. They have bigger and little sizes, and I got the little one. It's a seaweed snack. I know, it sounds gross to most people, but I actually love them. They're little sheets, and very very low in calories (for those of you who count). Seaweed is high in nutrition, so that's a plus!
• Seasprinkles: These are basically the same thing as Seasnax, but in a ripped up form

Baking

• Organic Agave Nectar: I use this as a sweetener in a lot of my baked goods, as well as a replacement for honey, and on my vegan pancakes, waffles, and french toast. 
• Vegan Chocolate Chips: I use these in Chocolate Covered Katie's recipe for vegan chocolate chip cookies, which I love. I also occasionally put them in my cold cereal and trail mix

Non-Dairy

• Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk: I use this for everything you would put milk in- my oatmeal, cold cereal, baking, etc
• Whole Soy and Co Yogurt: I love this yogurt, in fact, it's one of the only non dairy yogurts I like (I love Trader Joe's brand- but I don't have a TJ's near me ):). I love putting cereal and fresh fruit in, and making a parfait. I love it plain too, though!
• Earth Balance Mindful Mayo: I've been wanting to get a Vegan Mayo for a while, and when I got a $1 coupon, I decided it was time. I used it right when I got home for a tomato sandwich, and I absolutely love it! I'm going to use it in Eco-Vegan Gal's 'tuna' (chick pea) recipe, on sandwiches, and in dressings!

Other

• Organic Puffed Kamut: This is the cold cereal I use in the morning, with a little fiber and protein for energy and satisfaction (: It's simple and I love it
• Whole Wheat Pasta: I got the 100% whole wheat pasta, which isn't only healthier, but tastes better. I make pasta about once a week, either with extra virgin olive oil or tomato sauce
• Kombucha: If you are into nutrition, or the Tone it Up girls, you have probably heard of kombucha. They rave about it, and it's supposed to be super healthy and good for you. It's a fermented tea, but is quite expensive, so I've never tried it. I bought a bottle, and will post about how I like it
• Buffalo Garlic Tofu: I tried a sample of this and absolutely loved it, so I had to pick a small container up. I stopped eating tofu as much as I did before, but I do enjoy the premade Whole Foods varieties once in a while

So this is what I got today! Have you tried any of these products? How did you like them? Do you have anything new you love?

Great Vegan Travel Foods!

Unfortunately, eating a healthy, clean eating, vegan diet on the go can be very difficult. I'm going to fly up to visit my cousins this weekend, and I went to Whole Foods to buy some travel-friendly healthy snacks.

•Organic Baby Fruit Purée Packs: I know these may seem silly, as they're targeted towards toddlers, but they're a great product. The brand I bought only contains puréed fruit, and is a great option when you can't pack regular fresh fruit

•Organic Dried Fruit, such as dried apples or bananas: If you love chips, these could be great for you. I love them, and the only ingredient there should be is the fruit, nothing else!

•Luna Bars: getting nutrients on the go can be tough, which is where Luna Bars can help you. These are loaded with important vitamins and minerals, such as calcium and iron, as well as fiber and protein. Plus, they're DELICIOUS! My favorites are Vanilla Almond and Iced Oatmeal Raisin

•Larabars: These fruit and nut bars are great, each is raw, vegan, kosher, non gmo, and has no more than 9 ingredients. The flavors are so great, I love the peanut butter and jelly and the cashew cookie!

•Kind Bars: Be kind to your body, with Kind Bars! They're all natural fruit and nut bars, and are absolutely delicious! Some have additional benefits such a extra protein and antioxidants

•That's It Bars: I love these. Each only has two ingredients, fruit. They have two servings of fruit per bar, so they're great if you can't carry fresh fruit with you (see my post on them!)

•Kale Chips: you can make these at home, but I bought them for convenience. These just might cure your crunchy tooth, and chip cravings. Plus, these have around 8 grams of protein per ounce! Not to mention they're made of kale

•Homemade Trail Mix: There are so many reasons to make trail mix at home, as opposed to buying it pre made. First off, it's cheaper. Second, you can portion size it yourself, because trail mix is often over eaten. Third, you can customize it! A serving is about 1/4 cup. Add whatever dried fruit, nuts, and seeds you want!

I hope this helped. What are your favorite nutritious, on the go snacks?

That's It! Bars

Some people simply don't like fruit. I don't get why, or how, and I personally think you might be insane, but it's true. Some people are always on the go and don't necessarily have the space or time to eat fruit. I always get enough fruit, so it's not a problem of mine, but I did see this bar in Whole Foods and it really caught my eye.

That's It! Bars are made of one ingredient, and one ingredient only: fruit. No added sweeteners, no weird frankenfood ingredients, nothing the average 3rd grader couldn't pronounce. They come in three flavors: Apples and Cherries, Apples and Apricots, and Apples and Pears. The ingredients are in the name!

I had the Apples and Pears and it was delicious! It was very tasty and had an indescribably amazing texture to it. They're only 100 calories, of course 0 grams of fat, contain 3 grams of fiber as well as natural health benefits from fruit. The most important part? They only have two, whole food, non GMO ingredients: Apples and Cherries, Apples and Apricots, and Apples and Pears. Each bar has two servings of fruit!

So while you should always go for the whole fruit when you can, these are a great option for when you simply can't. For example, I'm going on an overnight school trip, and need to pack my own vegan food. I don't have access to a fridge, so I can't pack much fruit. I will be consuming quite a few of these in the four days I'm away!

Try these!

Recipe Review: Chocolate Covered Katie's Rice Krispy Treats

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned her many times, but I'm going to mention her again anyway. Chocolate Covered Katie, in my eyes, is the queen of everything vegan desserts. I've made a few of her recipe's and all of them turn out amazing, she just knows what she's doing! I'm going to my friend's house later today, and she eats a lot of junk food. As a vegan, it's already hard to eat at a friend's house or out in a restaurant. As a clean eating vegan, it's even harder. So I decided to pack my own food for the weekend (oatmeal for breakfast, nuts and seeds for a snack, luna bars for nutrition, etc. Then I decided to pack some kind of healthy junk food replacement, so I wouldn't feel deprived. So I made CCK's Rice Krispy Treats and believe me, I don't feel deprived at all.

These turned out amazing. She suggests using peanut butter, but I used freshly ground almond butter. OH. MY. GOD. I can't say enough about these, they're amazing. I know they are a little fattening due to the almond butter, but lucky for us the fats in almonds are healthy fats! Just make sure to watch how many you eat (as hard as it may be).

She also has a chocolate version (of course!) and I didn't modify the recipe at all (besides changing the nut butter). Here's the link!

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/08/18/5-ingredient-rice-crispy-treats/

I'm Finally Going Full Vegan!

It sounds like a contradiction to call my blog 'The Clean Eating Teenage Vegan' if I still eat greek yogurt. I replaced milk with almond milk a long time ago, way before I even considered becoming a vegetarian, much less a vegan. I like the taste better, I used to hate the taste of milk. Then I slowly stopped eating other dairy products one week at a time- one week I stopped eating cottage cheese, the next I stopped eating string cheese. I replaced fat free shredded cheese with Daiya shredded 'cheese' (a 100% vegan cheese replacement, free of dairy (casein, whey, and lactose- most 'non-dairy' cheeses still have casein- making them not vegan, also free of soy, gluten, eggs, rice, peanuts, and tree nuts). I love all of my replacements, but for a while, that left non fat greek yogurt. I love greek yogurt, but I know it's right for me to give it up. First of all, the dairy farms are just as cruel as the meat farms (the egg farms are worse- they dispose of the male chicks- meaning throw out, or even grind through a machine) and it is important to me. Second, dairy has led to osteoperosis, and even cancer, and is honestly something I just don't want to be consuming. Third, and lastly, think about what the yogurt is made of. Milk. While so many people drink it, do they really think about what they're drinking? Infants drink their mothers milk to obtain nutrients and essentially 'fatten up'. The same goes for cows and their young- they have milk to give to their young and fatten up their young. The only reason we consume cows milk is because they product the most of it. But did you know that naturally, they only produce about 1/3 of what the dairy industry forces out of them? To me, I might as well drink my mother's breast milk. I don't know about you, but that doesn't roll in my family.
What about calcium? There are SO MANY vegan sources of calcium! I used to buy Oikos Organic Nonfat Greek Yogurt, thinking it was great for calcium, but then I found out that the 5.3 ounce cups only provide 15% of your daily calcium. I bought 3 new non dairy vegan yogurts today, and the Silk one that I bought had 30% of your daily calcium, plus an added 5 grams of protein and 1 gram of fiber. Yes, it does have quite a bit of sugar, 18 grams, but it is considered a treat for me. Another source of calcium is Luna bars, which provide 35% of your daily value.
Blue Diamond Refrigerated Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk provides 45% of your daily value, making it 90% for two 8 ounce glasses. I know that odds are, you aren't going to consume two glasses of milk by itself a day, but here's an example: when I make oatmeal, I use 1/2 cup of oats and 3/4 cup of almond milk. The almond milk provides around 34% of your daily calcium (33.75% if you want to get technical). Then I'll make a protein shake for a post-workout protein source (all natural vegan protein powder of course, I usually make my Violet, You're Turning Violet! shake) and I usually use 3/4 cup of almond milk for that, providing another 34%. Already, that's 68% of my daily value. I usually have something else with calcium, and all of the little percentages add up, but if you for some reason don't have any other calcium that day, if you have another 8 ounce glass, you have another 45%, making it 113% for the day, so you're covered! (You can use that 8 ounces of almond milk in a healthy hot chocolate with truvia and unsweetened baking cocoa, if you'd like ;)

The only thing that boggles my mind about full vegan is yogurt. I like yogurt. I could probably give it up for good, but if I can find a vegan replacement, I'd rather do that. I tried Amande, and almond milk yogurt, and didn't eat it. It was gross. Then I had O'Soy, which is okay, but I learnt that the live cultures come from a cow. Today, I bough Silk and Whole Soy & Co, both soy yogurt. I also bought one rice milk yogurt, Ricera. Hopefully I find one I like! Any recommendations? When did you go vegan?

Violet, You're Turning Violet!

I love this smoothie. I adapted it from Whole Foods' Almond Berry Cream Smoothie, all I've done is added some all natural vegan protein powder. Why did I rename it? Because I saw the all natural ingredients they put into it (Unsweetened Almond Milk, Bananas, Blueberries, and Freshly Ground Almond Butter) and it came out bright purple. I'm talking a deep, deep violet. So when I drank it, my mouth literally turned violet, and it reminded me of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. You know, the scene where she ate the gum and turned into a blueberry. I made one later that week at home, and I didn't add as much blueberries, plus I added protein powder, so it didn't turn a deep shade of violet, but violet nonetheless

1 banana
2 scoops of Jarrow Optimal Plant Protein Powder
1/2 cup blueberries (add more if you want a darker shade of purple, or a stronger blueberry taste)
1 tablespoon freshly ground almond butter
1/2 cup-3/4 cup of Blue Diamond Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze

Blend! I add the protiein powder for a post-workout shake, but if I'm just having it as a snack, I'll usually leave the protein powder out