Absolutely not. I love processed foods wayyyyyy too much. But, this lentil soup is so good, so easy to make, and is just coincidentally clean!

1. Bring vegetable broth to a boil in large pot.
2. While broth is heating, add oil and chopped onion to pan. Let heat until onions are a little translucent.
3. Add diced carrots and garlic into pan with onions. Let heat another five minutes or so.
4. Once broth is boiling, add in lentils and a touch of salt and pepper.
5. Pour the carrot, onion, garlic into pot with lentils and broth, cover and let simmer about 10 minutes.
6. Blend with a hand blender and garnish with seeds and parsley!

There's one place where Los Angeles DEFINITELY loses to New York, and that is in bagels. First, why do no bagel places in LA offer vegan cream cheese?? Second, why do the bagels not taste fluffy and delicious like New York?? Third, why isn't there a bagel place on every corner with fluffy bagels and vegan cream cheese?? OK, rant done. At least I can make my own bagel sandwiches at home and now, with vegan lox!! Thank you Sophie's Kitchen!

Everything Bagel
Sophie's Kitchen Vegan Smoked Salmon
Trader Joe's Vegan Cream Cheese
Tomato
Red Onion
Capers

Well, it's not exactly a sauce, but this is the best magic ingredient for anything you make. Avocado toast topper? Check. Mix into your soup? Check. Dust on top of popcorn? Sure. Use for anything ever? Yep. Super cheap at Trader Joe's so stock up!

So, I'm not going to lie. I'm pretty unhealthy. I don't eat breakfast. Every doctor I've ever seen has told me I should. "It's the most important meal of the day" and all that. But here is the thing, I LOVE dinner. And I eat so much of dinner that I'm still full when I wake up! However, here and there I'll scarf down a little something in the morning. Like this morning when I scrambled whatever I had in the fridge and made it into a meal.

Bread
Avocado Slices
Cherry Tomatoes, Halved
Green Onion, Chopped
Follow Your Heart Parmesan
Trader Joe's Everything But the Bagel Seasoning

Trick or treating is fun. Eating animal products isn't. I thought about handing out cash, but Marcus has reminded me that we aren't those people. If you find yourself in the same predicament (i.e. not able to hand out Washingtons) then you can hand out these and still be kind to all kinds!

Remember, Gelatin = made from animal bones and tendons, Carmine (in food coloring) = made from beetles, Lard = pig fat, and Milk Fat = fatty acids found in milk.

So earlier this week, I MADE CHEESE. Yes that all caps is my excitement because, well, I MADE CHEESE. And last night we made that amazing, meltable, gooey, savory, just the right consistency mozzarella cheese into pizza! It was so easy. The recipe is below and because I'm lazy, I clearly bought the crust and used a jar of Bertolli sauce we had in the pantry. 

Also, as much as I love Trader Joe's, I did not love this crust. Any suggestions on another frozen gluten-free crust??

PS - Ignore the burnt crust. That was on purpose. I like burnt things. I'm not weird, you're weird.

Andrea's I MADE CHEESE Pizza
Trader Joe's Cauliflower Crust (or any vegan/gf crust!)
Bertolli Tomato Sauce (or any tomato sauce. stir in some fresh chopped garlic and red wine!)
Mozzarella
Chopped Veggies or any Toppings

Do you live in Venice? Thousand Oaks? Ontario? Doesn't matter. Brave the traffic and go to Pura Vita. It's well worth it. The food is ridiculous, the wine list is expansive, and the staff is the loveliest group of people. We've been twice this week and if I have it my way, we'll make it at least three times. PS - these pics are from their insta @puravita_la but they're all the things we've tried so far. My pictures just didn't compare!

Definitely our new date spot! And any day spot...

So my husband, as amazing as he is, still caves and eats pizza here and there. And not the good kind pizza, but the gross one that a mommy cow suffered for. I can't fault him, it's all about progress and not perfection. But I think I finally found a way to get him off the pizza. I MADE CHEESE. Amazing, meltable, gooey, savory, the right consistency mozzarella cheese. Only took 15 minutes. Seriously. And made enough cheese for two pizzas or an entire box of Triscuits. Cheese and crackers is a nutritious full meal and I refuse to believe otherwise.

Recipe is below and credit goes to The Buddhist Chef! The one thing is I can't seem to cut the cashew flavor completely. So if anyone has any suggestions on how to do that I am all ears!

Buddhist Chef's Easy Mozzarella
1/4 Cup Cashews, soaked for 4 hours
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Maple Syrup
2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1 Tbsp Agar Agar Powder (see link for best company to order from!)
2 Tbsp Tapioca Starch
1 tsp Salt
1/3 Cup Coconut Oil
1 1/2 Cup Water

1. Soak the cashews in a bowl of water for at least a few hours until they're soft.
2. Put the cashews (drained) and all of the other ingredients into a blender and blend.
3. Pour mixture into a pot and stir consistently until it's boiling. The sides will pull away from the pan.
4. Pour into two lightly oiled ramekins or bowl.
5. Regfrigerate for at least an hour or two before you use!

This weekend I attempted did something I've been scared to do for years. I made lentil soup. At home. From scratch. I know, seems so silly now because of how easy it was, but I was paralyzed by the thought of making it! Really, I was just scared I'd never measure up to Amy's lentil soup which I eat all too much for any human to. My recipe is SUPER simple and has a very important ingredient that I add to almost every soup. Bacon. So much cabinet space now freed up! Bye-bye cans! Next up...saying goodbye to carton ramen. Eek.

1. Add oil to a pot and heat up, then add in the garlic, celery, carrots and onions. Let all cook until everything is soft and the onions are a bit brown.
2. Add in the lentils, about 8 cups of vegetable broth, and bouillon and let simmer on medium heat, covered, for about 20 minutes. Keep an eye to make sure it doesn't burn.
3. Once it's not so soupy anymore (should be about 20 min but could be closer to 30), take off the heat and start transferring one cup at a time into a blender. With each cup, add in about 1/2 cup of remaining vegetable broth to thin a bit. I like to blend on pulse so it stays a little chunky, but you can blend fully for more of a puree!
4. Put in a bowl and add Baco Bits. I usually add wayyyyyy more than I took a picture of!
​5. Enjoy!

I just got back from a beach vacation (pics below that have nothing to do with this post, but just because I'm in post-vacation mourning) and I took a new deodorant with me. In the last year I have tried three non-toxic cruelty-free deodorants. I won't name the other two because they were....ok. Both gave me rashes I had to overcome. Both stung if I applied right after shaving. And both got sort of a sandpaper feeling. But Bare Bones Body deodorant never gave me bumps, never made me itch, never burned, and seriously smells amazing. Like, I sometimes just smell my pits for a pick-me-up. Is that weird? Whatever. You'll see.

No need to try a bunch of brands. I did that for you. Just get this one. 
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Highlight #1 - the only ingredients are organic coconut oil, organic lemon essential oil, organic tea tree oil, candelila wax, baking soda, shea butter, and arrowroot powder.

Highlight #2 - the business was literally started by a kick ass girl in her kitchen. Woman power!