My husband is a big football fan, so Super Bowl Sunday calls for some special man-food. Last year, he wanted burgers, beans, and potato salad.

Here’s what we made:

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For the burger, we used Boca brand patties. In general, I prefer handmade veg burgers to the prepackaged, frozen kind, but these are convenient when you need them quickly or want to bring them to a BBQ. If you're looking for something to bring to a party, the Cheesy Oozy Guacamole Bean Dip from The Kind Diet also makes excellent game fare.

What are your favorite brands of veg burgers? Do you have a favorite frozen kind? Share in the comments below, and don’t forget to tell me what you plan to eat for Super Bowl Sunday!

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You already know I'm not a fan of factory-farming McDonald's – well it turns out, I'm not alone. 

The fast food mega-chain recently asked customers to tweet their favorite McDonald's stories using the hashtag #McDStories and the campaign backfired in a big way.  there were no happy memories in sight- instead, people tweeted their worst horror stories! Here are some examples:

After about an hour, McDonald's pulled the plug on the Twitter campaign, because their feed was flooded with negative hype.

This is kind of amazing – so many people eat there and seem to accept this establishment as normal, so to have this happen is a huge win!

What do you think this means? How can so many people eat there daily if there is so much negative feedback – do you think times are a-changin?

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On The Set of "Suburgatory"

I normally bring my own food to set, but today, I had been up since 5AM, and already ate the meal I brought. So what to do? Breakfast was being catered, so I got creative and ordered a veggie breakfast burrito. My burrito had beans, rice, guacamole, hash browns, and pico de gallo, along with sautéed mushrooms, zucchini, onions, spinach, scallions, tomatoes, and some cilantro. If you like a spicy kick, you can even throw in some jalapeño. Yum – it was so tasty! Film industry folks, if you find yourself on set and need a yummy veg meal, create this! You can also order a version of this meal at lots of restaurants if you find yourself at a place where veg options are limited. 

What are your go-to dishes in situations like this?

After taking on cheese paninis and the cheesy oozy guacamole bean dip from my book, my friend Missi Pyle continues to explore her new kind diet. In this installment of her guest blogs, she's branching out and experimenting with seitan:

More Vegan Adventures in Wonderland with Missi and Meredith. Aka The Vegan 15 Aka Seitan is not from Satan!

You'd think cutting out a lot of animal product from your diet would make you svelt and bodilicous. Well. Not if you are me. You see. It's not like there aren't a lot of options to choose from. It's just that A. I don't even know what most of them are- Umebochi*? What the hell is that? Miso paste? Do you brush your teeth with it? Kobacha? Whatcha? And legumes. Ok I get it. Fancy word for BEANS. But you literally have to soak them over night. And B. I am such a ridiculous procrastinator, I don't usually think about what I am going to eat until it is already half way down my esophagus. 

I tend to just go for the same not so scary vegan food that is on the counter all the time. potato chips. pita chips and hummos. corn chips and hummos. corn chips and salsa. corn chips and guacamole and hot fake cheese. Bread and pasta and more hot fake cheese and more corn chips.

And when you are out at a restaurant, like the not so vegan one at jfk, and you are starving, and where literally the ONLY vegan thing on the menu is waffle fries. And its almost midnight and you've already had 2 glasses of wine, you eat the waffle fries. 

Hence the Vegan 15... and matching muffin top.

It was in the quest for something delicious, not scary, and not muffin top-able that I came across this recipe.

Naughty Vegan Polenta & Seitan Casserole.

Seitan you are asking?? What the hell is Seitan?** Well other than being naughty, obviously, it's basically wheat gluten. Or wheat meat. And its consistency is pretty dang close to that of say ground beef in a recipe.  Fake Ground beef? That doesn't sound too scary. But is it good? 

Well. Wait and see grasshopper. 

First you coat the bottom of a casserole dish with most of 1 qt of Marinara sauce. (preferably home made. wow. really? no. we did not do that. we let someone over at whole foods make it. Then put it in a jar. shh..)

Then you cook 1 package of polenta (about 2 cups)

 

and add a layer of it about 1/- 1/2 inch thick. just use half for first layer.  we kind of crumbled ours on there. which was hard on our fingers because it was hot and we are mildly retarded.

Then you spread half a package of seitan (store bought. whew) and spread evenly over the polenta. 

then another layer of polenta and the rest of the seitan.  You put the rest of the marinara on top. Then spread a nice layer of Daiya Mozzerella fake cheese on the top top. Garnish with oregano, sea salt, pepper, evoo.

 

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Open a nice bottle of red to keep you company while you wait.

 
Before you take this seitan dish out of the oven. Punish it for being so naughty by broiling the top for a few minutes to brown the "cheese".

Then wait for it to cool. Which is hard for us because Frank taught us waiting is for pussies.  

Then you put some in a bowl

 
and give it to your baby sister Meredith. 

 
Well. I am not sure that warm and creamy are going to take away my muffin top. But this dish IS delicious. and so NOT SCARY. its like polenta lasagna. But BETTER. seriously. by far the best thing we have made from Alicia's book. actually its not in the book. just on the website. maybe she should put it in the next book. Alicia?

Ok. 

Until we meet again, remember, no one goes to hell for getting naughty with seitan.***

*umeboshi are pickled ume fruits common in Japan.  apparently they are really sour and salty. still not doing it for me. but most vegans think they are super rad.

**truly sorry for that pun

***and that one. i should be punished****

**** again. Sorry.

***

Missi has since updated me that she lost the extra weight by switching to lentil chips from Trader Joe's (way fewer calories than corn chips). Now she says she can pretty much eat whatever veg food she wants without gaining weight. Yahoo! Stay tuned for Missi's next vegan adventure. 

What's your favorite "cheesy" vegan dish?

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I just fell in love again with the nishime (ni-shee-may) recipe from my book- well, I never really fell out of love with it except when I was pregnant. It’s a traditional macrobiotic vegetable dish and though I couldn’t eat one bite of it during my entire pregnancy, just a few weeks ago I started finding it delicious again!  I’m just so happy with how it tastes – it makes me feel so balanced and nourished- sooo good for winter.

If you haven’t tried nishime, it’s on page 273 of The Kind Diet. It’s especially nourishing to the stomach, spleen and pancreas. It’s so, so good for you and very superhero - but also, it’s just yum!

Eat it often!

What’s your favorite superhero comfort food?

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Tired of resolutions that don’t stick? Us too. So this year, we sought advice from Meghan Telpner, nutritionista extraordinaire, owner of The Love in the Kitchen Academy, and all around great gal who says things like “superfantabulous.”

If there’s one girl who knows how to set goals and stick to them, it’s Meghan. Seriously. This is a woman who was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease five years ago, a condition docs told her was incurable, and surgery and meds her only options. Not one to play by the rules, she reclaimed her health with yoga, meditation, acupuncture, herbal remedies and healthy eating. Five years later, Meghan remains symptom free.

So who better to set us in the right direction for 2012, right? And she’s making it easier than ever to keep whole, natural, local and (most importantly) delicious vegan food on the menu with these items from her kitchen:
 

1. Irish Moss:  This superfood gives a creamy texture to smoothies and puddings and is an excellent source of sulphur compounds, protein, iodine, calcium, iron, magnesium, selenium, zinc, pectin, vitamins B and C. It eases digestive discomfort, something I think we can all appreciate this time of year.
2. Milk It Kit: Sure, sounds a bit funny, but this kit makes it easy to make your own nut and seed milks right at home. 
3. Power Packs: Meghan’s put together a few power packs to make starting 2012 on the right foot easy. Try her Smoothie Kit, Raw Living Deluxe Kit, or the Stress Buster – all of which are chock-full of great stuff.

So start 2012 off right.

Until January 1 use the coupon code Resolution on any of Meghan’s finds on Ethical Ocean to save 10%!

Let Meghan help you reach your goals and conquer your resolutions while still staying kind.

Cheers to a superfantabulous year!

Today’s post is proudly sponsored by

Attention bakers: it's time to bring out your muffin tins and cupcake liners, as today is the official start of cupcake week for the Made Just Right Holiday Bake-Off! This week, we are accepting your fabulous vegan cupcake recipes, all flavors and varieties welcome!

(Photo credit: To Live and Eat in L.A.)

Submit your original vegan recipes for a chance to win great prizes, including:

• $1,400 Whole Foods Market gift card
• A year’s supply of Earth Balance® products
• Earth Balance® gift pack featuring a bamboo cutting board & kitchen supplies
• ‘The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition’ by Julieanna Hever 

So bring out your absolute best cupcake recipes, snap some gorgeous photos of them, and bake to win! The vegan cupcake recipe contest ends Dec. 18th. For more info about how to enter, click here.

We thought we'd help out with your recipe brainstorming by sharing this very simple recipe for making vegan "buttercream" icing. It's so smooth, creamy & delicious, we're willing to bet that no one will even realize it's vegan!

Ingredients: (makes about 3 cups)
1/2 cup Earth Balance® Buttery Spread, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) Earth Balance® Vegan Buttery Sticks, softened
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 to 4 cups vegan confectioners’ sugar (you can make your own by blending organic granulated sugar in a blender or food processor)
1/4 to 1/3 cup Earth Balance® Soymilk (vanilla)
Click here for the full recipe…

Now let's see some of your own cupcake creations! Submit your vegan recipes to the Holiday Bake-Off today!

Today’s post is proudly sponsored by

Last week we announced the 2nd Annual Made Just Right™ Holiday Bake-Off brought to you by Earth Balance®. We’ve just wrapped up the pie portion of the competition and now we are moving on to vegan cake recipes… delicious, fluffy, glorious cakes!
Submit your original vegan recipes for a chance to win great prizes, including:

• $1,400 Whole Foods Market gift card
• A year’s supply of Earth Balance® products
• Earth Balance® gift pack featuring a bamboo cutting board & kitchen supplies
• ‘The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition’ by Julieanna Hever! 
  
  

Do you have a yummy vegan cake recipe? Submit it to the contest here! Cake recipes must be submitted by 11:59 EST on December 11th, so start baking! The following week we will be accepting cupcake recipes and then the final week of the competition will be all about cookies. You can submit as many vegan recipes as you like, and we are giving out a special prize for 'Most Recipes Submitted'!
 
To get you inspired, check out this celebratory birthday cake recipe created by two of the fabulous judges in this year's Holiday Bake-Off recipe contest, Jenny Engel and Heather Goldberg of Spork Foods.

VEGAN BIRTHDAY CAKE

Ingredients

1 cup spelt flour
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon non-aluminum baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons egg replacer, dry
1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups unsweetened Earth Balance® Soymilk, plus 11⁄2 teaspoons unfiltered apple cider vinegar, (set aside to curdle)
1/3 cup neutral tasting oil
1 cup evaporated cane sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons naturally dyed sprinkles

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, egg replacer and sea salt. Whisk until uniform.

In a separate bowl, whisk curdled soymilk, oil, sugar and vanilla extract, and slowly incorporate into dry ingredients. Mix batter until uniform, but do not over mix.

Pour batter into two greased 9-inch- round baking dishes. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into middle of cake.

Find out how to make the frosting and assemble the cake by heading on over to Made Just Right™! And don’t forget to submit your own vegan recipe while you’re there!

Photo Credit: Patrick M. Gookin II

Today’s post is proudly sponsored by

There’s no better way to warm up this winter than with delicious organic, vegan soups from Amy’s. Amy’s is a vegetarian company with over 95 vegan products, 23 being vegan soups. Enjoy a piping hot bowl of hearty Rustic Italian Vegetable, or if you’re in the mood for something more exotic, try Thai Coconut, made with organic coconut milk, shitake mushrooms, and sweet potatoes. We have a soup for every mood and every palate!

In addition to our soups, we carry more vegan food items than you can shake a carrot at. Everything from breakfast, snacks, entrees, and desserts. Indian to Italian to Asian food choices. You’ll never be wanting for delicious and nutritious vegan selections. Have a craving for something in particular? Head on over to our product search page to find it!

Would you like to win an Amy’s gift pack?

Like us on Facebook and leave a comment on this post telling us about your favorite Amy’s product to qualify for a gift pack containing vegan soups, a mug, and coupons! Hurry and enter before December 6th at 11:59PM PST. 

Also don’t forget to sign up for the Amy’s Kitchen Newsletter. It’ll keep you up to date with the latest goings-on at Amy's, health and environment news, and not-to-miss discounts.

Happy holidays and happy kind shopping!

• This sweepstakes is open to all registered users of TheKindLife.com residing within the US. Learn how to sign up by clicking here.
• You may only enter once. Multiple entries will not be considered.
• The sweepstakes will begin on November 30, 2011 at 6:00AM PST and end on December 6, 2011 at 11:59PM PST.
• After the entry period has closed, a winner will be chosen at random and notified via private message and email. If winner does not claim prize within 24 hours, a new winner will be chosen.
• Odds are dependent on the number of entries. Any questions? Please contact the site admin.
• Void where prohibited by law.
  
  
  
  *UPDATE: We've chosen our winners. Congrats Kate and G Jonson!

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