Some of my favorite recipes

I’ve always been a foodie – a cousin of mine often says that our family is obsessed with food. Since my early college years, I’ve been, well, obsessed with food – and would often keep my TV on the Food Network channel so that I could learn how to cook. I must’ve learned a thing or two, because now that I’m vegan, coming up with creative meals that taste amazing hasn’t been difficult for me. I usually post a picture of my latest vegan or vegetarian meal on my Instagram account Kikistylingfree or on my Facebook page Stylefree, but lately I’ve been getting messages from people asking me to share my recipes along with cooking information. So here I go! Sweet Potato Fries, Garlic Kale and Quinoa with Kalamata Olives and Portobello Mushrooms For the sweet potato fries: Serving: 1 to 2 Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: Approximately 30 minutes [should go into the oven first with the portobello mushrooms]

What you will need: 1 sweet potato, olive oil or vegan butter, salt, cayenne pepper, foil, a baking sheet

Step 1: PRE HEAT YOUR OVEN to 400 degrees! This will save you so much time.

Step 2: Peel then rinse the sweet potato with cold water

Step 3: Cut the sweet potato into approximately 12 “fries”. They should be cut like steak fries. Cut the potato in half. Then halve the two halves. You should now have 4 huge sections. Cut the 4 sections into three steak cut fries

Step 4: Line a baking sheet with foil and place the fries evenly on the foil. Make sure they are not touching each other.

Step 5: Drizzle olive oil or melted vegan butter on the fries then season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Note: cayenne pepper is extremely spicy so a little goes a long way. If you have never cooked with cayenne pepper, it gets even spicier when it is heated. Taste a little bit first to see if you can handle it. If not, use red pepper flakes or regular black pepper.

Step 6: Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until the side touching the foil is brown. Turn the fries over and bake for another 15 minutes or until the other side is brown and the fries are tender.

For the garlic kale: Serving: 1 to 2 Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: Approximately 20 minutes [should be made 3rd, after the fries and mushrooms go into the oven]

What you will need: 2 cups of kale, 1 garlic clove, 2 cups of vegetable stock, salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: Rinse kale leaves with cold water. If you’re using kale that has not been removed from the stems, wash first then remove the kale leaves from the large stems by simply pulling.

Step 2: Roughly chop the kale into small pieces. BE CAREFUL not to cut them too small. They don’t need to be chopped – just a quick, rough cut is fine.

Step 3: Chop one clove of garlic. To chop garlic, remove one clove from the bulb. Smash the clove by placing the knife sideways(so that it is flat) on the garlic clove and hitting it with your other hand, very hard but very carefully. Peel the skin from the smashed clove. Chop

Step 4: Heat the vegetable stock is a large pan until it comes to a rolling simmer. Add the garlic and kale. The kale will start to wilt and reduce in size. Continue to let it simmer and stir occasionally ( I like to use tongs) until the kale is tender but still has a slight crunch to it (apprx. 20 minutes). It should still be very green in color.

Add salt and pepper to taste

Have fun!!! xoxo

Vegetarian

Ahhh the infamous V word. So, I’ve decided to stop eating meat. Now  this may not seem like a big deal, especially since so many people in America are vegetarian now, BUT it’s a big deal to me. Especially since I’ve tried it once before. A few years ago, I decided enough was enough and I wasn’t going to eat meat anymore. I’m an avid animal lover and one  summer while in college I came across several YouTube videos that explicitly showed how some animals suffer before being  slaughtered and butchered for consumption.

It was indescribable. I literally cried in the arms of my (then) boyfriend after seeing images of cows and pigs and even dogs being cut open or their skin peeled off while still alive or shot multiple times before dying. I realize that this doesn’t happen everywhere, but it shows that there isn’t enough being done about animal cruelty in this industry. I was so shocked by what I learned, that I decided to go cold turkey – I cut meat out completely. I did pretty good for a few months. My meals consisted of veggie fried rice and pastas mostly. I didn’t even miss meat. Until ….. bacon. *DUN DUN DUN* (insert evil laugh).

I don’t remember the day. I don’t remember what I was doing or how I ended up there. All I know is, I had bacon and my whole world was turned upside down. Once I had that salty, porky goodness, it was all downhill from there. I know I sound like a hypocrite, and I was, but it was hard for me and I didn’t really prepare myself for the temptation. So eventually, I got off the vegetarian ride, but I promised I would get back on someday. Now I realize where I went wrong.

First, I didn’t educate myself. I made the decision based purely on my emotions. I failed to plan, so my plan failed.

Second,I didn’t surround myself with people who could encourage me and keep me motivated. With anything, you need a support system to help you stay on track.

Third, and I think most importantly, I didn’t transition. I chose the guerrilla approach because I was so passionate, but I should’ve taken a slow and steady approach instead. This time, I plan to slowly eliminate meat from my diet. I’ll then move on to eliminate cheese, then eggs  and so on until eventually I am vegan. For now though, I’m focusing on being vegetarian.

I’ve already started to cut red meat out of my diet. Pork will be next, followed by poultry, then fish and seafood. I’m actually pretty excited about it! Although I’m a health fanatic and a huge part of my decision to go vegetarian is because of the health benefits, I have to admit that an even bigger part of me can’t stand what animals have to endure just so that I can eat a cheeseburger and some hot wings – so I won’t continue to eat them. I’m reading articles and blog posts on everything from vegetarian recipes to animal cruelty laws.

The title of this post actually came from a video I found while searching the internet for content. So if you’re reading this post and you have any advice, PLEASE share! I welcome tips, criticism, links, documentary suggestions – whatever! Join me on my journey if you like! I would love to have a veggie buddy!