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daily eats, life, Uncategorized, vegan, vegetarian, weekly eats roundups

Vegan Eats Roundup: Back to School Edition

September 13, 2018September 13, 2018by Katherine Baker3 Comments

Back to school, back to busy season! My goodness it’s been just over a week and I already am feeling all the feels for this fall. Excitement, stress, uncertainty, and gratitude for opportunity! Between being a full time graduate student, TA, and rewatch assistant, it’s been a 10-day whirlwind and we’re just getting started.

I thought I’d do a recent eats recap for ya. I was doing them weekly for a while, but have sort of transitioned to bi-weekly, just because most of the time I’m lazy and forget to take pics and/or because I usually eat some variation of pb&j for most lunches during the school year (hey, it packs well and tastes delicious, don’t judge me). So here we go! Hope this inspires some yummy plant-based food ideas for you.

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baking, cake, chocolate, easy, vegan, vegan baking

Vegan Chocolate Sheet Cake with Chocolate Buttercream (And How to Veganize A Non-Vegan Cake Recipe)

September 8, 2018September 8, 2018by Katherine Baker2 Comments

Do you ever just feel the need to eat deliciously rich, Bruce Bogtrotter-worthy chocolate cake? Because I do. That’s where this Vegan Chocolate Cake with Vegan Chocolate Buttercream comes in.

One thing a lot people don’t realize about vegan baking is that it’s actually quite easy to veganize a lot of “conventional” recipes with a few simple swaps.

Non-dairy milk for regular milk, vegan butter in place of butter, and an egg replacement (1/4 cup applesauce or canned pumpkin, 1 tablespoon chia seed or ground flax + 3 tablespoons of water, or 1/4 cup silk tofu, to name a few) for the egg, whipped aquafaba for egg whites, etc, and viola! You’ve veganized your desired “conventional” baked good.

Now, it may take a couple of attempts to figure out which replacements you like best, and/or which ones work best for your old favorite “conventional” recipes, but it’s truly not as scary as it sounds, and experimenting in the kitchen, though it can lead to some epic fails, can also lead to exciting new and wonderful creations of your own.

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health, healthy, life

Some Random Thoughts

September 4, 2018September 4, 2018by Katherine BakerLeave a Comment

I had a bit of a weird long weekend dealing with the highs and lows of the mega-strong antibiotics I’m on and decided to not pressure myself to engage in any immediately demanding work or social media on Sunday and Monday. I just needed a break.

But today is the first day of school and I’m chillin on the A train and feel like penning some random thoughts as a blog post. I personally love reading these kinds of posts, so I’m gonna try some out here. Let me know whatcha think!

1. Gratitude

I had a pretty meh summer. Emotionally, mentally, and physically (shout-out to the mud wasp who stung me and gave me cellulitis lol), it just wasn’t what I’d imagined (for the most part, there were definitely some highlights – like my trip to Alaska – though!)

But lately I’ve somehow shifted a lot of precious anger, resentment, and sadness. I think part of it has been just realizing how fortunate I am in many aspects of my life. Yes, there are struggles, heartbreaks, and disappointments. And sometimes you work your butt off for what seems like nothing. And sometimes people are just straight up mean or rude or try to get under your skin.

But I have a lot to be thankful for. Where I go to school, the amazing opportunities I’ve had lately, my precious pea of a dog, and incredible friends.

I don’t know how or why this attitude shift happened, but I am here for it (lol). Less attitude –> more gratitude. 😎

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cauliflower, gluten free, glutenfree, health, healthy, hummus, Uncategorized, vegan, vegetarian

Cauliflower Steak with Herb & Hummus Sauce and Hazelnuts

September 1, 2018September 2, 2018by Katherine BakerLeave a Comment

I love cauliflower; it’s one of my favorite vegetables. I’d even go so far as putting in my top three most loved vegetables, alongside sweet potatoes and romaine. And lucky for my tastebuds, cauliflower is finally having the moment I’ve always believed it deserves, and I’ve been trying it in every shape and form I can get my hands on. However, I realized last week I’d not yet made a Cauliflower ‘steak’ before, and then when whole heads of cauliflower went on sale when I was at the stores a few hours later, I decided to give it a try, and the Cauliflower steak with Herb & hummus sauce was born.

The result was an interesting and different veggie-packed dish that I will make again and again. Now, obviously, a cauliflower steak is nothing like a beef steak and I am by no means trying to fool anyone there.

Rather, I think this is a fun way to eat veggie and should be enjoyed in its own entity (I feel the same way about rice vs cauliflower rice – just different foods completely, so I don’t compare or replace them with one another, but enjoy them for what they are). I went with a rather simple preparation for the cauliflower. Just a bit of high-heat oil, salt, and pepper.

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health, nutrition, public health

5 popular health trends I don’t buy into

August 30, 2018August 30, 2018by Katherine Baker6 Comments

1. Collagen-mushroom-potion-infused-bulletproof-caffeinated beverages

Seems like it’s mega on-trend to whip up $12 lattes filled with grass-fed collagen, 8 different mushroom powders, and 17 other expensive supplement potion/powders these days.

It’s not that I have anything against those drinks; in fact I can appreciate the creativity behind them and recognize that they may be filling if they’re brimming with fats and protein powders. I simply don’t really buy into the grandiose health-promoting claims of these concoctions.

First, let’s talk about collagen. I’ve been digging through clinics research about it and am planning a whole post devoted just to collagen. But to keep it short and sweet in this post, let’s just say that from what I’ve read so far, I’ve concluded that if you’re into collagen and your diet lacks protein, it can be a source of protein for you.

But I’m not yet convinced that after orally digesting collagen and your stomach acid has broken it down, that it can actually maintain its structural integrity as collagen and end up in your skin and hair and nails as such.

There is some mixed clinical research on collagen and joint health, and a couple of studies on collagen and beauty (some of which have been funded by collagen supplement companies), but at this point in my PubMed dive, I feel the research is a bit shaky.

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dinner, healthy, pie, pizza, tomatoes, vegan, vegan baking, vegetarian, whole grains

Vegan Tomato Pie

August 26, 2018August 26, 2018by Katherine Baker1 Comment

In case you didn’t know, I moved to Jersey City, New Jersey last October and have really enjoyed it thus far.

After so many years in Manhattan, Jersey City has been a welcomed change of pace, and a couple weeks ago, in light of #InternationalNewJerseyDay, I did some googling to learn more about Jersey’s historical background and food scene.

While Wikipedia-ing and googling away, I discovered that addition to diner food and blueberries and bagels, New Jersey tomato pie is a thing.

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dining out, life, vegan, vegetarian

Tips for Eating Out Vegan Anywhere

August 24, 2018August 24, 2018by Katherine BakerLeave a Comment

I get a lot of requests for tips on how to order or what to get as a vegan at a restaurant or on the go. As someone who grew up a lactose-intolerant vegetarian in meat-and-dairy land Wisconsin, I have quite a bit of experience in this area, and thought I’d share with you, some of my favorite tips and tricks for eating out vegan.

I hope you find this advice practical and useful in all scenarios, including those in which you may find yourself at a non-vegetarian friendly restaurant. If you have any other tips you think I missed, or any further questions, please do drop them in the comments section, and or message me on Instagram.

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daily eats, health, healthy, hummus, inspiration, lunch, travel, vegan, vegetarian, weekly eats roundups, whole grains

Recent Vegan Eats

August 21, 2018August 21, 2018by Katherine BakerLeave a Comment

Hey friends! I skipped a recent eats post last week because I was traveling and transitioning jobs! More on that later. Here are some yummy recent eats from the past 2 weeks.

I was pretty lousy at remembering to photograph my food minus when I was in Cali, but that’s just the way it is sometimes! When I’m randomly subsiding off packets of nut butter and bagels and apples while spending days in airports and/or getting home at 1am before eating dinner, my phone is the last thing I’m thinking about when nourishing myself. And actually, I don’t think it would be healthy to remember to photograph everything I eat. Anyways, I’ll be better this week, I promise. 🙂 For now, enjoy some rather random snack and meal inspo, and of course, Millie pics!

Kashi Autumn Wheat with almond milk.

I adore shredded wheat cereals. They remind me of straight-up-childhood. Sometimes I forget about them when I’m on Cheerio or Chex kicks. But I’ve been craving sweet shreds lately and I’m a stroke of serendipity, these were on sale at the store last week, so I picked them up.

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20 minutes or less, 5-ingredients, chocolate, dessert, no bake, sweet, vegan, vegan baking, vegetarian

Peanut Butter Chocolate Pretzel Bites

August 12, 2018August 13, 2018by Katherine Baker3 Comments

I love a salty sweet treat. And these peanut butter chocolate pretzel bites are the epitome of a salty, sweet crunchy creamy dream snack.

Bonus: they couldn’t be similar to make. If you can make cereal, you can probably make these delightful nibbly desserts.

All you need is pretzels, peanut (or your other favorite nut) butter, chocolate chips, and some salt. And the only fancy equipment you need a microwave, microwave-safe bowl, and a refrigerator or freezer. Now let’s get into it.

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climate change, health, life, nutrition, public health, sustainability

How Climate Change is Impacting The Nutritional Value of Your Food: Part 1, Carbon Dioxide

August 9, 2018August 9, 2018by Katherine Baker3 Comments

I still remember sitting in my Public Health Impacts of Climate Change course at Columbia Mailman School of Health (my elective choice while a Columbia nutrition MS student) learning about how climate change is impacting the nutritional value of food.

To sum it up, I was “shook,” as the cool kids say. It was actually one of the lectures in one of the classes that set my on my current path, and I gotta say, no regrets.

One of the most amazing and wonderful things about studying what I study (which is the intersection of nutrition and environmental health) is that I am honestly so interested in what I am learning about that I eagerly listen and complete my reading and assignments. Especially about things like climate change and how it is disrupting the quality, quantity, and nutritional value of our foods.

I thought this could make for an interesting and enlightening blog post that will perhaps leave you feeling “woke” on the topic, eliciting similar feelings to those I felt in my chair of Mailman room 1101 (shout out to my EHS crew). If this isn’t your thing or your find this super boring, don’t worry, I’m sure more dog and dessert pictures will be coming your way soon.

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