Cauliflower Mash

1 head of cauliflower
2 tbsp earth balance
2 tbsp non-dairy cream cheese spread
1 tsp minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste



Cut the cauliflower off the head, keep stems (just as you would do with broccoli. Rinse well and place in a medium sauce pan. Add a cup of water and boil, covered, until the stems break with a fork. Don't worry about over cooking, you are going to mash anyways. Once it is cooked, drain the water then put back on the stove for a couple of minutes uncovered to evaporate the remaining water.

Add remainder of ingredients and mash with a fork as you stir. If it does not look mashed enough, try use a potato masher.

To make it fancy, top with chives. If you don't want to do vegan and want extra flavor, add a tsp of ranch dressing. I used to do this to my mashed potatoes.

Green Chile Shrimp Enchiladas

Green Chile Shrimp Enchiladas

1.5 lbs bay shrimp
1 package of daiya mozzarella cheese (or your preferred shredded cheese)
½ white onion diced
1 small can of diced green chiles
1 can of large olives – slice on your own
1 large can of green enchilada sauce – medium
1 package of white corn tortillas

Tips:

Rinse and clean bay shrimp, ensure no shells are left on.

Microwave 12 tortillas at a time for 45 seconds – this is important! If you do not do this, the tortilla will break while rolling.

Make sure you have all ingredients in separate bowls, easy for you to grab a handful of each.

Diya cheese is a non-dairy vegan cheese. I was extremely impressed with how creamy it turned out! And NO grease! So if you’re willing to be adventurous, try Diya (can be found at Sprouts and Whole Foods)

This is a MESSY dish to make, don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty and the ingredients mixed together. They all combine together in the end.

In a large glass baking dish, cover the bottom in enchilada sauce (about 1/3 inch worth). Take first tortilla and dip in the sauce on the bottom of the pan so both sides are coated in sauce. Take a handful of cheese and place in the middle of the tortilla, then a handful of shrimp, sprinkle onions (to your liking) and a thin row of green chilies. Take one side of the tortilla and begin to roll, loose is ok, the two ends of the tortilla should be on the bottom of the pan. You will get the hang of rolling as you continue the process. Repeat with additional tortillas, filling the pan. You may need to add more enchilada sauce to the bottom of the dish to ensure you have enough to coat each new tortilla. The sauce on the bottom will also help your enchiladas from sticking to the pan. Once you get to the end, you can roll on top of the other enchiladas. Don’t be afraid of ingredients falling out. If you have a decent amount of ingredients left over, you can make more enchiladas in a smaller dish, I had to do this with my batch. Once you are done, sprinkle remaining ingredients on top of enchiladas, shrimp, cheese, chilies, onions, and be generous with the olives! Pour remaining green sauce over the batch and put in the over, uncovered, at 375 for 40 minutes.

Forks Over Knives - our inspiration

I used to be a bacon lover, I even have a piece of bacon tattooed on my arm. I'd cook meat every night along with a starch and veggies, the way my mom had taught me while growing up. I always thought this was the right way to serve meals, as it never effected me in any way. I've been with my boyfriend for about a year and a half, living together about the entire time. I'd cook for him every night, meat, starch and veggies. Next thing we knew, he blew up. The way I had been cooking caused him to gain a good amount of weight. We didn't get it, he wasn't eating fast food on the regular like he used to, we never eat fast food. We tried to cut out starches and eating low fat, low calorie meals, but even that didn't help. His mom had cancer and passed on March 9th., along with losing 16 other family members on his mother's side to cancer. So we've also been concerned about his health and his future.
We were browsing through Netflix one night and stumbled upon a documentary called "Forks Over Knives." He started to play it and I threw a fit, not wanting to get grossed out had we just eaten dinner. He gave me the look and still let it run, so I chuckled at him and said "You'll never give up meat." He agreed and wanted to watch it anyways, so we did. An hour and a half later, after being glued to the TV, we looked at each other and said "That's it!" We were convinced, we no longer needed any animal products in our diet.
So I walked over to our fridge and started gathering together everything that had meat, dairy and high fructose corn syrup in it; our fridge was almost empty. Then I proceeded to do the same to our freezer and pantry. We had about 5 bags of food gathered together and an almost empty kitchen.
Since I have always cooked on the regular and still found this to be a difficult task, I decided to write a blog to help others out there looking to change their diet and their lives around. In this blog I will include our daily struggles, recipes, restaurants, product reviews and helpful tips I've come across trying to be a successful vegan.
If you are interested in the documentary, please look it up on Netflix, purchase it online, or buy the book. I suggest to also buy the book in addition to watching the documentary because it does include a lot of helpful tips and recipes that the movie does not.

http://www.forksoverknives.com/

With Love,
Ashley and Nick