Norwegian Cruise Vegan friendly?

 We went on a family vacation in the middle of April for 7 nights aboard the Norwegian Jade. This was not our first rodeo.. I mean cruise. We are not those 50 cruise under your belt people but we aren't new either. So this time was different for me though. The last time we did a cruise I was a vegetarian, not a vegan. Was Norwegian up for the challenge? We will see...

The first day we got on board we imminently went for lunch in the buffet area, I was impressed with the signs for 'Vegan' or 'gluten free' in all different locations. The first thing I tried was their offer of 'Veggie burgers available' so I asked. That sent the kitchen into a panic.. they were asking each other "where is it?" After a bit of a scurry they found it and made it on the grill. The taste was better then expected! You could see the vegetables in it so it wasn't a Boca burger... Thank goodness!

 So lunch buffet was a win for them and it continued to be so for the entire cruise. They had awesome Indian food every day for lunch and man was it spicy!!! Asian food one the one side was all labeled 'Vegan' so I was happy that I could freely choose and not worry.

Our little cruisers found plenty of options too, pasta bars with different sauce options (vegan also). Every morning for breakfast there was fruit, breads or all sorts, a fresh juice bar (that was extra $) and plenty for me to choose from! 
My coffee is a must in the morning so I brought my own coconut milk in case the cruise didn't have any non-dairy milk options. However I saw one day someone asking for soy milk and low and behold they had it!! So the next morning I chose a random staff member in the breakfast buffet area for soy milk. That sent a look of panic on her face as she asked someone else where it was, they motioned to the back and she left for at least 15min as I stood there looking like an orphan child with my plate of food and no where to go. Finally she returned and poured me a nice glass which I was happy to have :)
I learned that they keep it in the area where the cereal is at... no need to run to the back.. but neither one of us knew that I guess.

My final verdict? Yes Norwegian Cruise Line is vegan friendly!! Give them a try!!


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Feeding Kids in a Vegan Family

It is amazing how concerned people are for your health and well being when you tell them you are vegetarian or vegan. The look on their faces sometimes is priceless! It's almost like you just told them you don't eat anything at all and that you are starving yourself and your family. Close your mouth, a bug might fly in. 

It gets better when you tell them your whole family eats that way, including the 2 toddlers you see running a muck. They immediately ask one of these questions: "Where do you get your protein? Where do you get your calcium? Where do you get your B6 or B12?" Followed by, "What about the kids? Don't they need milk for their growing bones?" Sometimes its asked in a condescending way, almost like they think we are backwoods hippies (is there such a thing?) who don't know any better and have not done our research. That is when I want to hid them over the head with my large juicer and ask them "How to you get your daily vitamins in? A large hamburger doesn't count you know?!?" of course I maintain my self control.

We recently went to a friend's house who has a older teenager who is picky still to this day. So when our boys are fighting over who gets the last apple for a snack the dad was shaking his head in amazement, "That is not normal" he said. Its not??? Should they be fighting over candy? Is that "normal"? Or when we made dinner and our oldest, who loves his broccoli, was upset because it was all gone! The friends we were visiting thought that was just crazy too! What 4yr old is visibly upset because he ate all his broccoli and there is no more to be had? Ours!  

I like our version of normal, it makes me happy our kids are getting a good start and being educated from day one about normal foods that happen to be healthy and good for you. I like that they fight over apples, broccoli, apples, carrots, tofu and any other fruit and vegetable. Is it weird? Is it not the 'normal'? YES! But who cares! Be different! Tell people you are vegan! Tell people you don't eat fast food! Shock! Educate! Carry on....

So we get asked "What do you feed the kids?" "How do you make sure they get their protein?" Etc... So glad you asked! We had a policy with our kids that they eat what we eat, no special meals unless there was an allergy to something. But so far so good and no food allergies! Here is an example of the day:


Breakfast: Blueberry waffles and protein shake with bananas blended in

Lunch: (Leftovers from the night before) Brown rice with Black beans 

Snack: Banana and peanut butter

2nd Snack (you know it happens): fresh veggies picked from the garden green beans, broccoli, sugar snap peas

Dinner: Spaghetti and Lentil 'meat' balls

That is only one day mind you but its filled with vitamins, protein, fiber, fruits and all the other good a kid might need. We also make sure they have their multivitamins along with everything else.



Hope this helps give you an idea! If you have a picky kid there are so many creative ways to make the food look cute and make them want to eat it. But that is a post for another day...

Quick Qunioa Black Bean Bowl

 

I love quinoa! And pecans and black beans!! So toss them together and beautiful things happen. If you like simple and quick meals then this recipe is for you. As always it is vegan...

Level of difficulty: Mad easy

Special equipment:  a cooking pot and your hands

Ingredients: 

2 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp  ground coriander

1 tsp cinnamon

6 tbsp olive oil

2 bunches green onions

3 cups (not cooked yet) quinoa

2 avocados

4 tbsp orange juice

4 cloves of garlic (4 tsp)

2 15.5oz can black beans rinsed and drained

1 cup chopped pecans (or more if you want)

1. Put 6 cups of water to boil in a large pot, once boiling add oil, quinoa, green onions, salt, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and green onions. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 18-20 min or until the quinoa gets its tails (if you make quinoa then you understand what I mean). Remove from heat and 'fluff'.

2. Slice your avocado and drizzle with orange juice and olive oil. Notice I said drizzle not let it go swimming in the liquids.

3. Heat up your oven to 350, place your pecans on a cookie sheet and put your pecans in for about 8min our until they smell amazing.

4. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan in a skillet over medium heat and add garlic, saute for 30 sec. Stir in 2 tbsp orange juice, then black beans. Cook until warmed through. Add bean mixture to quinoa mixture. Serve garnished with pecans and avocado.

Simple right???

Review of The VB6 Cookbook by Mark Bittman

The VB6 Cookbook: More than 350 Recipes for Healthy Vegan Meals All Day and Delicious Flexitarian Dinners at Night

3 out of 5 spoons

Review:

Let me say first off that I am a sucker for free anything but, that I can and will be critical when asked my opinion of something. So here goes!!

I had never heard of the VB6 book before let alone the cookbook, so this was a totally new and fresh thing for me to read. I loved the pictures and the flexibility of this book. He lets you know how to make the dishes in there with so many variations that this book could be kept for a long time to come and never repeat the same dish twice. I really enjoyed the 28 day menu he puts in there, I think that is perfect for the 'want to be' vegan. It gives so many options, yet provides a ready to go menu for those who are busy. (Like us moms..)  I would highly recommend this book for those that want to become vegan, it provides a nice 'soft' introduction to vegan life.

Another feature I liked was in the front pages of the book where he breaks down vegetables, fruit, grains, oils etc.. and teaches you 'What They Are', 'Best Time of Year', 'How to Store', 'Best Ways to Prepare', 'Cooking Times' and 'How to Store'. I honestly learned a lot!!! That part alone had me hooked. 

The Recipes:

I did a weeks worth of items from this book and took them from all parts of it too so there was a fair review. While we liked the ideas of the food when it came down to it they had a 'Eh' taste about most of them and needed something extra for the flavor department. I had to jazz up the ones I made with either spices, tofu or salsa. I will post my favorite recipes here on the blog later on. 

The cookie recipe I made from the book: 'Decadent Oatmeal Cookies'. Were good but, a bit to much in the liquid department. More flower next time Mark... 

The biggest issue I had with the book was the lack of vegan recipes in he dinner section. Yes I know this book was all about being vegan until 6pm so you are saying "Duh!!" 
But, I liked how he tried in some recipes to make the suggestion on how to make them vegan, still it was hard when the main ingredient was muscles or salmon. "Skip that one, and that one..."
I would not have personally bought the book because of that. In this house the big meals are dinner so that whole back part of the book was useless to me. And while he had a nice little box on 'To make dinners vegan'. I need recipes people! I can't create!! That is not a strong suit of mine!! Give me step by step and I got it.

The portion sizes seemed to be a bit off too. I made dishes that said 'Serves 4' and my husband and I would eat it all and still be hungry. So not sure what was going on there...

Pros: Nice pictures, healthy recipes, great teaching tool in the front, the variety of variations
Cons: Not enough vegan recipes for dinner, the portion sizes were off

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. But the opinions were all mine.

Vegan Coconut Banana Bread Recipe

 

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Well consider this flattery for The Simple Veganista.

I love Banana Bread and have made so many by now I thought I'd hate it! But alas no.. there is still a part of me that loves a good moist piece of Banana Bread with my freshly brewed coffee in the morning. Maybe because it takes me back to when I worked at Starbucks and had those early opening shifts. That Banana Bread and hot coffee was may reward to myself for rolling out of bed so early in the morning. Oh how good it was....

This recipe was taken from said above blog and then tweaked a bit :) Enjoy!!

Level of Difficulty: Low! I had the baby on my hip the whole time, he gets to lick the spoon at the end too!

Special Equipment: A good mixer or some strong forearms  

 Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups flour of choice
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
•  1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes (unsweetened)
• 1/3 cup warmed coconut oil 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup organic pure cane sugar or finely chopped dates
• 4 small or 3 large bananas (preferably overripe), mashed 
• 1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, spice and salt in a medium/large size bowl and set aside. In a small bowl mix oil, sugar, coconut flakes and vanilla. Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients and mix briefly, set aside. Mash bananas, you should have approx. 1 3/4 cups, add to batter and mix until combined. Pour or spoon into a well greased loaf pan...I used coconut oil to grease mine.  Bake for about 50 min to an hour. You can also do the toothpick test in the center of the loaf, if it comes out clean it's about ready. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 min.

Kid Friendly No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Balls

Super easy quick snack! Very kid friendly! Our oldest did all the work mostly himself :) minus the stove top part

Special equipment: Nothin!
Level of difficulty: 0! Super easy!!

• ½ cup vanilla-flavored protein powder
• 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ cup creamy peanut butter
• ½ cup sugar
• 3 Tbs. brown agave nectar 
• 2 cups crushed mini pretzels
• ⅓ cup sweetened flake coconut, chopped, or unsweetened

1. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray. Whisk together protein powder with 2 Tbs. water in bowl. Stir in vanilla.

2. Warm peanut butter, sugar, and agave in saucepan over medium heat 2 minutes, or until smooth. Stir in protein powder mixture. Stir in crushed pretzels and coconut until evenly combined. Pinch off 1 Tbs.-size chunks of dough, and place on prepared baking sheet to cool. Cool cookies 10 minutes before serving

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Sea Salt Oatmeal Cookies

Ok wipe the drool off your face and get ready to bake! The name is a mouthful I know, but the taste is so so good! The large sea salt chunks make all the difference in the world. Its a marriage of sweet, salty, chewy and crunchy.

Recipe adjusted and tweaked from here.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2/3 cup peanut butter
• 2 Tablespoons canola/vegetable oil
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/3 cup of nondairy milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup of rolled oats
• 1/2 cup or so of vegan chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Mix the peanut butter, oil, sugar, nondairy milk and vanilla together.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.
4. Pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture and combine. Add oats and chocolate chips.
5. Place spoonfuls of cookie dough on a lightly oiled baking sheet. 
6. Bake for 8 -10 minutes and let cool on baking sheet before transferring.