Culinary Classes & A Reminder

Hello everyone! If you've friended me on Facebook or have 'liked' my page, you may be aware that I have been trying to go into some culinary classes. The college and system that I had initially tried for was not good at all - and so I just got stressed out and never had a chance to go. Thankfully, however, thanks to a new eye-opener, my guidance counselor and a great teacher I have been able to start some classes and lessons. You can't believe how happy I am and how much my own confidence has raised. I am really proud of myself for never giving up - and I am so thankful to all of you that have taken the time to listen to and support me. :)

Today was quite fun, I was the first to arrive to class (as usual) and while I was a touch nervous there, I knew that I was in my element. We started off with gathering a few ingredients for my first class period, and since my teacher was both aware and very interested in my veganism he decided to give me a vegetarian recipe. It was for Asian Sesame-Soy noodles and sadly we didn't have a lot of the exact ingredients, but it is a very quick stir-fry dish so my partner and I went to work with finding ingredients for tomorrow's recipe. When he came around to check for ingredients that he needed to buy and to suggest substitutions, I suggested mixing vinegar, teriyaki sauce, brown sugar and molasses together for the missing dark brown sugar and soy sauce. I hope it turns out well although I really don't like sweet foods (surprising, huh?). The next cooking class I had, I volunteered to make some simple naan bread and I actually have to make naan bread for someone else as well, tomorrow. So I am thinking that I should probably do all of the preparation (kneading, rising ect.), slice them into equal but separate pieces per each recipe and have the other girls grill them. I may be using some vegan ghee from non-dairy margarine as well, with cilantro for decoration. This food blogging has really paid off!

Well, that's it from my adventures for now! Hope you guys have as great of a day as I!



Now, for that reminder - don't forget to enter my giveaway! Its absolutely free to you and you get a choice of your prize. Go to to this link  http://shinsveganloving.blogspot.com/2012/09/funbites-review-back-to-school-event_20.html and you can enter every day for six more days!

Enter now!

FunBites Review, Back-To-School Event AND Giveaway!





Image from Funbites.com/

"Back to school" means a different thing for everyone, for the kids (and those new to college) it can be about meeting new people, getting older and having wonderful experiences. For parents it is about another time to pay bills and make sure that their children are getting the most out of their education, entire school experience and most definitely nutrition. Sadly, not all school lunches are made equal and a lot of times they aren't very healthy but with a little spare time you can easily pack a healthy lunch. What if your kid is still a little picky and that broccoli croquette you've presented isn't very...appetizing to them? You may not have the time to make huge bentos where everything is delicately placed and fits well 100% of the time, but you can make something that is both cute and interesting to the senses of looking and feeling. Introducing Funbites!

As with all of my product reviews, I will point out the good and the bad - as well as reasons for my point of view. Since this is also a back-to-school event I am also posting helpful tips, pictures and websites from those who have either emailed me or messaged me on Facebook, to aid those that want to jazz up their lunches.

Website Price (For Both Shapes): $12:99

Price That I Paid: $0 as I requested to review it.

The Pros: I have a love for their color and the two shapes that they come in, hearts and squares, however I only requested to review the heart shape and so I cannot verify on how the square shaped Funbites cutter will work. This food cutter is better than a few others that I have bought in bulk in which it does not break easily and you never have to worry about it rusting as it is a plastic. Plus, it makes a sandwich, rice, pancakes or other foodstuffs very neat and easy to eat with little fingers and there is no danger of them cutting themselves. I really love the hearts on the sides, and you will see me using those two the most often at home. It comes with a food pusher which is a smaller block that you fit inside of the actual cutter so that you don't have to always take a butter knife or something else and empty it onto a plate in a big mess. To help sturdy it further, it has great big handles that you can grip and use to cut and shape your food. The weight is quite heavy so that does make it harder to lose it, plus it is easy to sturdy due to the handles on both sides. The size (a bit bigger than the palm of my hand) makes it much easier to put in a place where it won't be misplaced either, plus, the reason for Funbites being made is pretty fun too. Check out their website near the bottom of their page to see just how awesome that is.

The Cons: It is quite bulky and heavy, even for me. It also makes it kind of hard for children to use unless they can push all of their weight on it. It is a bit harder to push the food through because of the way the plastic is. Some of the food that you have cut may still be in bits of the food cutter or may not be fully pushed out, which means that sometimes you do have to push it out.


Overall Overview: I would buy this food cutter although it does have its issues. I would be more likely to buy it if I had a small child in the house, but I do have a few relatives and friends with children and they are very content with it.

The makers of Funbites have not commissioned me to do this review and I am not a member of their company.




Tips, Tricks and Fantastic Blogs:

Sarah Felder of Bentoriffic and Lisa Latorre of Veggie-Bento suggest using silicone cups, trays and molds to create great little stashes of frozen yogurts, hummus and guacamole. After placing them in the molds and freezing them, you can pop them out or keep them in their molds as a sort of edible ice-pack that will keep the rest of your food at room temperature.

For grains such as brown rice, spaghetti and other pastas you can place into a cup or twirl into "birds nests" for super cute kyaraben. Any leftover fruit can be sliced and placed on tortillas with peanut butter or in a quick smoothie.

                 Bentoriffic Blog     Veggie-Bento Blog      Cute Food for Kids Blog         FunBites Blog


There are two mandatory entries for this giveaway.

1. Like Shin's Vegan Lovin' and FunBites on Facebook and share this post.
2. Follow me on Google Friend Connect on the right sidebar.

Extra Entries:
1. Share this giveaway on your blog.
2. Comment with your favorite lunch utensil.
3. Share one of my posts on Pinterest, Twitter or Facebook then link it into your comment.
4. Follow me on Twitter and tweet "I've just entered Shin's Vegan Lovin's and FunBites giveaway!" and link to this post.

Do not unfollow once this is done. Separate each post or they won't count. You may do the extra giveaways every day as much as possible until the giveaway is over for extra chances.

Make sure to leave me a way to contact you through email, and other details will be posted once you have won. Good luck!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED; WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN LATER!

Thank you all who have entered and thank you FunBites!

Asian "Fig Newtons" with Golden Milk (Guest Posted on Veganosaurus)

When I was a little girl my favorite cookie to eat was always a Fig Newton (actually, the whole pack...) but as I slowly became more health conscious I lost touch with these soft pillows of tasty goodness. I don't believe that either Newtons can be considered "healthy", but when I decided to take a spin on two of my favorite treats (Fig Newtons and Dadar Gulung, a pandan crepe stuffed with coconut) I was instantly happy. There are two ways to make these treats and to gobble them down with, I've provided some delicious and silky, smooth golden milk.

Thanks to Susmitha of Veganosaurus, I could post these and spread them to a whole new audience. I am honored to have guest posted on your blog! ^^

(Dadar Gulung Newton Filling Ingredients)

• 4 large Dates, minced (or Date Paste)
• 1/4 cup of Unsweetened, Toasted Coconut
• 1 tsp of Raw Sugar
• 1/4 tsp Clementine Zest
• A mix of Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cardamom and Allspice
• 1/2 tsp of Virgin Coconut Oil

Toast all of your dry ingredients together, let them cool partially and then add in your coconut oil. Set aside and make the dough.


(Dadar Gulung Pastry Ingredients)

• 1 cup of Oat Flour
• 1/2 cup of White Whole Wheat
• 4 tbl of All-Purpose Flour
• 2 tsp of Raw Sugar
• 1/4 tsp of Baking Powder (omit if you want them crunchy like I did)
• 2 tbl of Virgin Coconut Oil (semi-solid)
• About 3 tsp of Pandan Extract
• Enough Coconut Cream to Mix

Mix your dry ingredients together first, then fork in your coconut oil. Dribble in your pandan extract and coconut cream, then knead your dough until it becomes a smooth ball. Refrigerate for 15 minutes and reminisce about your childhood in the meantime. Roll out to your preferred thinness, taking mind that this will puff up only slightly, and then put your coconut filling in the middle. Pinch your sides up and moisten lightly with the leftover coconut cream, then roll onto the newly formed seam and cut even pieces from your dough log (which should be a rectangle by now). Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until cooked to your liking and serve with golden milk


They look like mini-burritos, don't they? If you have any extra dough you can roll it in some chocolate chips and bake for the same amount of time, or you can make a fantastic and pretty healthy pie crust. Better yet - you could make straws to sip your golden milk with (they stay crunchy) or a variation on cannollis with a coconut cream topping!


(Golden Milk Ingredients)

• 1 cup of Non-Dairy Milk
• 1/2 tsp of Turmeric
• 1 tbl of Raw Sugar or Agave Nectar
• Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cardamom, Allspice and Cloves (to taste)

Warm all of your ingredients together and strain, let cool and strain if necessary.

Thanks for visiting my post and many thanks to Susmitha for hosting me! I hope that you all have enjoyed this short experience as much as I have!

BBQ Ribz, Baked Beans & Potato Salad (High Protein)

I've been wanting to work on seitan ribz for almost two years now, and I finally got the chance over Labor Day weekend late last month. The process took longer than I thought, only because I had left town for pretty much the whole day when I planned on putting these lovelies on the smoker-grill. They were so tender with a slight chew and very juicy with a hint of smoke and a caramelized crust from the dry rub. To serve with the BBQ dinner for one, I made a big pot of baked beans and made some quick, single-potato salad for atmosphere.

(BBQ Baked Beans Ingredients)

• 1/2 pound of Navy Beans&
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 8 cups of Cold Water
• 1/2 cup of Agave Nectar
• 4 tbsp BBQ Sauce

(BBQ Baked Beans Directions)

• Combine all of your ingredients except for the salt into a slow cooker and cook for eight hours.
• Add salt after tasting.

(Potato Salad Ingredients)

• 1 Medium-Sized Potatoes(diced)
• 1/4 Minced White Onion
• 5 tbsp Vegan Cream Cheese
• A splash of AC Vinegar
• A pinch of Salt and Pepper

(Potato Salad Directions)

• Boil the potatoes until tender. Drain and rinse in cold water.
• Mix your cheese and vinegar together and toss in your potatoes.
• Fold in your onions and season with salt and pepper as you like.
• Refrigerate for at least an hour.

(BBQ Ribz Ingredients)

• 2 and 1/2 cups Vital Wheat Gluten
• 2 tsp Oil
• Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt, Onion Powder and Black Pepper
• 2 cups Cold Veg Broth

(BBQ Ribz Dry Rub Ingredients)

• 1/4 cup Raw Sugar
• Cayenne Pepper, Black Pepper and Chili Powder
• 2 tsp Salt

(BBQ Ribz Directions)

• Mix your dry ingredients together with your oil and then slowly pour in the broth.(Don't use all of this, because you will need some later.) Knead fifteen times.
• Let your seitan rest for about 30 minutes and set your oven to 300 degrees.
• Fill a long casserole dish with more broth and your preferred seasonings, then spread out the seitan into it.
• Roast your seitan for 30 minutes, flip and cook for thirty minutes more.
• Cut into ribz and slice off anything uneven. Pop a few popsicle sticks into them, then allow to cool in the fridge.
• Coat the ribz in the dry rub. Grill/smoke for 20 minutes to an hour and serve with the rest of your meal.

Hope you have a great BBQ!

Oatmeal Walnut Raisin Cookies for Dad (Low-Fat, Low-Sugar, for Diabetics)

My father's birthday was a few months ago and while he generally doesn't like gifts, I did get on the phone with him and asked what type of cookies he would like. He shocked the both of us by stating he wanted oatmeal raisin cookies with walnuts inside. These were the perfect cookies for him, but I was a bit nervous as I'm not very experienced with these types. They may not look fantastic in the photo, but he was absolutely ecstatic to see them. The recipe makes about 11-12 cookies. Since he is a diabetic I had a lower sugar content and also gave him only half of the batch.


What's your favorite type of cookie?

(Ingredients)Makes 12

• 1/2 cup of White Whole Wheat
• 1/4 cup of Dry Oats
• 1/2 tsp of Baking Soda
• 3/4 tsp Baking Powder
• 5 tsp Raw Sugar
• 1/4 cup Chopped Walnuts
• 1/4 cup of Chia Seed Gel
• 2 tbl of Veggie Oil
• 1 tsp of Vanilla Extract
• A few tbl of Golden Raisins
• Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Allspice and Cardamom to taste

(Directions)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix your flour,oats, baking soda, and baking powder together in large bowl.
• Next,add nuts, raisins, and vanilla extract. Mix together
• Blend in oil and spices until incorporated.
• Stir in your sugar and chia gel until blended.
• Place 1 tbsp sized dollup on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Once done, let cool. Enjoy!