A Fruity Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 Pink Lady Apples
• 2 Large Bananas
• 2 Wedges of Honey Dew Melon
• 1 Cup of Green Grapes
• 1 Cup of Black Grapes

Steps to Make this Fruity Salad:

1. Chop bananas, apples, and melons into inch-size chunks.
2. Add to a large bowl and add both colored grapes.
3. Toss fruit together and serve!

Strawberry Toast

Being a vegan doesn't always mean coming up with eccentric ideas and substitutions; so here is a very simple idea for one of my favorite breakfasts.

Ingredients You Will Need

• Vegan Whole Wheat Bread
• Vegan Margarine
• Sliced Fresh Strawberries

Steps To Make This Simple Meal

1. Place 1-2 pieces of the bread into your toaster according to your appetite.
2. Toast on medium heat for 1-2 cycles according to your burnt-ness preferences.
3. Spread a quick slab of vegan margarine across the toast and top with slices of fresh strawberries.
4. Enjoy this recipe as a healthy breakfast or afternoon snack!

Simply Shish Kabobs

A simple summer favorite of mine happens to be kabobs which are one of the simplest items to keep completely vegan, but the secret to an amazing shish kabob is solely in the marinade.

Ingredients You Will Need

• 1 large red pepper
• 1 large yellow pepper
• 1 1/2 cups of whole mushrooms
• 1 medium sized zucchini
• 16-20 inch size pieces of grilled tofu or protein
• 1/4 cup of soy sauce
• 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of light maple syrup
• 2 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon of ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons of dried sweet basil

Steps To Make The Kabobs

1. Clean and chop the red and yellow peppers and zucchini into inch-size pieces.
2. In a large zip-lock bag combine the soy sauce, olive oil, maple syrup, garlic, pepper, salt, and basil.
3. Place all of the vegetables(peppers, mushrooms, zucchini) and tofu in the zip-lock bag and seal the bag.
4. Shake the bag to evenly coat the vegetables and allow to marinade in the refrigerator for an hour.
5. Once the hour is up, assemble your kabobs in any order which appeals to you.
6. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side and enjoy!

The Vegan Shepherds Pie

Who says that herbivores and carnivores can't enjoy the same great flavors of traditional comfort food? No one, that's who. With this recipe both health critics and old-fashioned eaters can enjoy the English tradition of Shepherd's Pie in an animal friendly dish with half the calories of the old Shepherd's Pie!

Ingredients You Will Need

• 2 cups of mashed potatoes which have been prepared by you or a store
• 1 small yellow onion
• 1 pound of ground beef substitute (I highly recommend MorningStar or LightLife)
• 1/3 cup of water
• 1 cup of mixed vegetables-corn, carrots, peas, green beans
• 2 tablespoons of vegan margarine

Steps To Make This Comforting Dish

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Finely chop the yellow onion while melting the margarine in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add the onions to the melted margarine and saute until the onions are translucent.
4. Crumble the ground beef substitute into the skillet and stir for approximately 3 minutes and pour in 1/3 cup of water.
5. Add the cup of vegetables to the skillet and allow to cook for 2 minutes.
6. Pour the contents of the skillet into a large casserole dish and coat with the mashed potatoes.
7. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are golden and firm.

Beautifully Baked Doughnuts

These doughnuts happen to be quite delicious, pretty simple to make, and you can feel great about eating them because they require no animal products, frying, or extreme amounts of sugar!

Ingredients You Will Need

• 1 cup of sugar
• 3 cups of flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 cup of egg substitute
• 1 cup of soy milk
• 1 teaspoon of white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of light maple syrup
• 1/2 cup of melted vegan margarine
• Optional Glaze: 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons of soy milk

Steps To Make This Delicacy 

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 
2. Pour one cup of soy milk and add the teaspoon of vinegar to create a buttermilk substitute by allowing to sit for a few minutes.
3. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
4. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg substitute, homemade buttermilk, maple syrup, and melted margarine.
5. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and fold the mixture together so that it forms a wet batter.
6. Place your bowl of batter in the refrigerator and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
7. Once cooled, spoon the mixture onto a baking pan to form 4 cookie-like doughnuts. (Or if you own one of those fancy doughnut pans then just pour the batter into that and move on.)
8. Bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown.
9. Remove doughnuts and repeat this process 4 times for a total of 16 baked doughnuts.
10. Take a small cookie cutter and cut out the center of the doughnuts. Sometimes I skip this part because the doughnuts are delicious either way.
11. To finish it off, make a glaze for your doughnuts by combining 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons of soy milk in a bowl and dipping the doughnuts in it. This part is optional, but I highly recommend it for all sugar lovers!

How Simple It Is

In this day in age people constantly hear and speak of topics such as veganism, vegetarianism, nutritional facts, losing weight, and living a healthier lifestyle. However, many of these people fail to actually take action or are intimidated by the changes to their current lifestyle. It is not that hard. It is all a matter of mind over matter, a mere need to have control and tasty food options.

I can say from experience that the possibilities of a vegetarian or vegan diet are endless. So I am here to share my knowledge of cuisine and experimental dishes with all of you. Hopefully I can increase both mine and your own knowledge and confidence in making healthy vegetarian choices. So enjoy and check back any time you need some ideas or encouragement ! :)

You should also know that I am a young teenager with the drive and desire to become a great vegetarian culinary artist one day! I would enjoy nothing more than a life filled with traveling, cooking, photography, and writing. Come along with me and I will lead an expedition through A Meatless Milieu.