The Plant-Based Momma

Vegan and plant-based recipes

A very vegan Christmas at Disneyland!

It’s the most beautiful time of the year at Disneyland…and let me tell you: they did not skimp on their gifts to vegans this holiday season! This season has by far had the most vegan friendly offerings of any Disney special event. If you were contemplating going, now is the time. On top of all the new delicious seasonal additions, there are a handful of new vegan items that are a permanent fixture on their menu as well. This comes right after releasing an entirely plant-based menu for World Vegan Day. The progression is amazing and is so appreciated. Thank you, Disneyland. Our vegan kids appreciate it more than you can imagine!

Here are some of the holiday options that we thoroughly enjoyed. Scroll all the way down to see what my very favorite was!

Chana Masala and Pomegranate lemonade, Festival of Holidays Winter Wonders Booth; California Adventure

This was the husbands favorite dish of the day. It was deliciously loaded with flavor and we were so excited to have vegan naan.  The pomegranate lemonade was a huge family favorite. It was so loved that we went back for another round of refreshing seconds.

 

Pumpkin Soup, Festival of Holidays Winter Wonders Booth; California Adventure

This pumpkin soup was packed with holiday flavor and a delicious addition to their vegan menu.

 

Vanilla and Cranberry Trifle, Festival of Holidays Winter Wonders Booth; California Adventure

This dessert was the most anticipated from our trip. The two words vegan and dessert do not usually go hand in hand at Disneyland. We are lucky to have a few miniscule options, but nothing as loaded as this tangy deliciousness. We’re crossing our fingers that Disneyland continues with the vegan dessert offerings.. because what is a trip to Disney without a lot little bit of sugar.

 

Plant–etarium Street Tacos, Studio Catering Co.; California Adventure

As an avid and self-proclaimed taco connoisseur, these were by the far most interesting tacos I have ever tasted. I intentionally didn’t read anything about them beforehand and was totally surprised by the fresh pomegranates. They were an interesting addition and completely lended to the holiday flavor.

 

Vegan Chile Rellano, Paradise Garden Grill; California Adventure

My absolute favorite dish of all of the holiday offerings was this gorgeous chile rellano! A roasted poblano stuffed with veggie stew and served with spanish rice and beans.  It was literally stuffed with a multitude of flavors, that all complemented each other so well. The most amazing part is that as a vegan or vegetarian, it is so rare to be able to eat spanish rice, since it’s traditionally flavored with chicken broth. So anytime I can order it vegan, I appreciate it so much more than I ever have.

 

 

And while not a holiday offering, but a permanent menu fixture, Hungry Bear Restaurant in Disneyland, has now added the Beyond Burger! You can grab this “Messy Melvin’s Vegan Specialty Burger” in Critter Country. Disneyland now has a decent selection of veggie burger, as this joins their house made patty and the Impossible Burger, which is a secret menu item at Lamplight Lounge in DCA.

 

 

 

Here’s one of our happy vegan kiddos, thoroughly enjoying all of Disneyland’s vegan gifts to us this holiday season. We are incredibly hopeful that this is just a taste of more awesome vegan things to come!

The new vegan egg in town

After our “Great Vegan Egg Showdown” I was pleasantly surprised to learn about a new awesome company, Spero Foods. What has inexplicably stood out to me the most is not only the flavor, but their passion for wholesome plant based alternatives. All of their products have ingredients that you can pronounce…which means NO additives or preservatives. Simple, wholesome and real plant-based goodness. I love love the concept of this company and I feel good about feeding this food to my children. It genuinely is just plants.

And on top of their impressive background and their promise for food without compromise, the food tastes unbelieveable (and stay tuned because there’s more than egg – and we got our extended family in on it!). We enjoyed their Scramblit, with sauteéd veggies,  sprinkled their “Black salt” (which will be available soon) and topped wih avocado and their Sundried Tomato Chevre. The similarity is unbelievable and the texture was on point. Our family was so impressed and I am absolutely the newest and biggest fan of this company.

 

**I received product in exchange for my honest feedback and opinion. I only share products that I absolutely love and believe in.


The secret ingredient to creamy vegan mashed potatoes!

 

Thanksgiving is almost here and I couldn’t be more excited! Our family loves every single traditional dish.. so even if I’m not hosting dinner at our house, I make (or buy!) all of it so that my family can enjoy everything, without compromise.

Today I’m sharing one of those very favorite dishes, which is simply vegan mashed potatoes and gravy. Plant-based milks tend to have a different consistency than what’s used in traditional mashed potatoes. So our trick over the years to create a creamy dish has been to use (::drum roll, please::) a dollop of vegenaise! This ingredient makes THE creamiest, most delicious mashed potatoes. So, without compromise, I give you the creamiest mashed potatoes and the heartiest, most savory mushroom gravy you can imagine. No animals harmed, no hormones from other mammals consumed. 😉

 

Hope you have a wonderful holiday!

 

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Creamy Vegan Mashed Potatoes

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  • 8-10 Average Sized Potatoes (I use red and I don't skin them, but that's a preference!)
  • 1/4 cup Vegenaise or any other Vegan Mayonaise Secret to the creaminess!
  • 1 tbsp Earth Balance/Vegan Butter
  • 1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
  • Fresh Garlic **I don't add in fresh garlic when making for my kids, since it's "spicy"
  • Sea Salt To taste
  • Garlic Powder To Taste

Instructions

  1. Boil Potatoes until soft.


  2. Drain and Mash the Potatoes. I also use a hand mixer, but it's not necessary.

  3. Add all ingredients to the potatoes; mix and taste to desired flavor and thickness.

 

Print

Savory Vegan Gravy

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1/3 cup Chopped Onion
  • 5 cloves Garlic, Minced
  • 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
  • 4 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
  • 1/4 cup Low Sodium Soy Sauce Can use less, to taste
  • 2 cups Vegetable Broth
  • 1 cup Sliced Mushrooms
  • Sea Salt + Pepper To Taste
  • Water Depending on thickness preference

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. 

  2. Saute mushrooms, onion, and garlic until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. 

  3. While sautéing these ingredients, "toast" your dry nutritional yeast in another saucepan for 1 minute, over high heat. Set Aside. 

  4. After onions and garlic are translucent, stir in flour, nutritional yeast and soy sauce to form a smooth paste. Gradually whisk in the broth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

  5. Bring to a boil. Remove half of the gravy and place in a high speed blender until completely blended. Return to sauce pan.

  6. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until thickened. 

The Great Vegan Egg Showdown

 

I posted an Instagram story last week of our first time using Just Egg in a scramble. It was such a crazy day that I forgot to follow it up and update everyone. I received so many messages asking what we thought so I figured I would give an update. And to make it interesting, since I always have Follow Your Heart Vegan Egg on hand for baking, we thought it would be fun to do a side by side taste comparison.

We’re big vegenaise and Follow Your Heart fans and we also love what the Just for All company has done… As a mom, their cookie dough is a complete game changer and I loved getting mini packets of their mayo in the hospital while having a baby. Both are amazing companies and we couldn’t wait to compare them side by side. So we give you, the Great Vegan Egg Showdown:

Just Egg: Everyone has been highly anticipating this product for the last few years, us included. Made primarily with mung beans (of which I am a fan, being part filipino) this egg had a sweet undertone, which eventually disappeared after a few bites. The texture and smell were pretty close to what we remember the real thing being like, making it more realistic for someone craving an actual egg. The downside is that there were no baking directions on the bottle, whereas FYH has simple conversions readily available. The biggest bonus is that it is ready to pour for quick and easy egg access.

 

 

FYH Vegan Egg: Definitely has that sulfur egg flavor and smell. It has the typical runny egg consistency and texture when eating. We already know that it bakes really well, but the downside is you do have to mix it with ice cold water before you can bake or pour it in a pan. To a seasoned vegan, this isn’t that big of a deal, who likely has experience with mixing flax eggs or any other vegan egg replacer. Another impressive contender.

 

 

All in all, we were impressed with both products and are incredibly happy to have these two great options available to us. My personal winner was the Just Egg. I think it’s an easy purchase for vegans and non-vegans alike (possibly looking to lower their cholesterol or cut down on animal products). However, since I haven’t tried baking with it quite yet (that’s a blogpost for another day) I will say that I have been been incredibly happy with the baking results of FYH egg.

And here’s what the husband had to say for his vote: “I see the appeal with Just Egg for someone who is new to veganism/a plant based lifestyle. It’s very simple to pour into a pan or recipe, without having to mix a bunch of things together to create your faux egg. As a veteran vegan I’m used to mixing instant egg replacer for recipes so the FYH Vegan Egg wasn’t that big of a deal, but the Just Egg is really nice for quick egg access and convenience. My vote is for the taste and consistency of the FYH Vegan Egg. The Just Egg, in my opinion, has a little bit of graininess to it. And that would be my only negative takeaway. But the ease of use might surpass all of that.”

So there you have it, it’s a tie. I should mention that one of our kids was napping and the other at school, so we didn’t get their votes. But my guess is, with how similar both products are to the real thing and because both of our children have been vegan since birth, they may not be big fans of the smell and taste. But I know they are happy to partake in any baked goods with them. 🙂

Both options make veganism so simple and readily available and I am so glad that we have options at all. I will happily use both products and continue to show family and friends how simple eating vegan can be.

THE BEST Pumpkin Muffins

 

 

When I was nine months pregnant with my first October baby, six years ago, a friend told me about a local coffee shop that had amazing vegan pumpkin muffins. We excitedly drove there after dinner that night, with my pregnant mind on all things pumpkin. By the time we arrived, they had completely sold out and I was so bummed. Right then and there in the parking lot, we scoured the internet for the best vegan pumpkin muffins, ran to the store and grabbed the ingredients and hoped that I wouldn’t go into labor before I could get a taste. Luckily, we hit the jackpot on our first try. These really are THE VERY BEST pumpkin muffins. They are a total crowd pleaser, fall or not. We always love eating them at our annual fall picnic with coconut caramel and sliced apples.

I know a lot of people have had success with adding nuts, but I always add chocolate chips and a little bit of vanilla. But they are honestly the perfect fall spice blend, no additions necessary.

So thankful to Isa Chandra from PPK for these gems: The BEST Pumpkin Muffins

October Days

 

 

October is here! We are so excited, not only for all of the fun fall activities, but it also means birthday month for our boys. To welcome one of our very favorite months, we went on our annual pear picking adventure. It definitely pays to have a tall dad when trying to get the best fruits at the top. Now we need to figure out what to do with all of our pickings. I’m so glad we live in a world where there are Octobers….

 

I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers….

Our top five favorite vegan things of autumn!

Fall is such an exciting time. Cool crisp mornings, a slight breeze in the air. Apple picking and pumpkin patches. And aside from all of the pumpkin spice goodness, it also marks the beginning of birthday season around here, so it’s arrival is doubly exciting for our family.

Needless to say, we love everything autumn! We are so excited about new and old favorites and wanted to share our top five favorite vegan fall finds from this season!

1. Unintentionally vegan “Pumpkin Rolls” from Trader Joe’s. These delicious cinnamon rolls come with a packet of pumpkin spice icing, which makes for a perfectly festive fall breakfast. Or dessert. Or any meal for that matter. Trader Joe’s regular cinnamon rolls are also accidentally vegan. Another way to enjoy these are by sticking them in a waffle maker and eating them like waffles. Either way, you can’t go wrong with this fresh-out-of-the-oven goodness.

 

2. Toffee Nut Almond Milk Steamer from Starbucks. There are plenty of fall favorite coffee drinks out there, many of which can be veganized. But for a kid-friendly and caffeine free treat, we love these steamers. They are basically a steamed almond milk, with any added flavor of your choice. Toffee Nut gives you that perfect fall taste.  You can get these year round, but they are especially fun to order in the fall while walking around the pumpkin patch. For an extra autumn feel, add Starbucks “Autumn Sugar Topping” and it will put you in the mood for all things fall.

 

3. Trader Joes Candy Corn Popcorn. Dare I say that these actually taste BETTER than candy corn? If you have a sweet tooth, you will definitely love these.

 

4. Dave’s Killer Bread Pumpkin Spice Madness Bagels. If you love pumpkin, these are exactly what you need in your life. They are absolutely the perfect fall food and I love the idea behind the company. Pair them with Miyoko’s Butter for a delicious, mouthwatering combination.

 

5. Califia Farms Almondmilk Creamer. In delicious fall flavors like Pumpkin Spice and Toffee Tidings, your fall morning brew will put you in the perfect autumn mood.

 

So those are our family’s top five things we are loving this season! I would love to hear your favorites in the comments below. Here’s to a fun season filled with pumpkin patches, hayrides and lots of Starbucks Steamers. 🙂

A Bite of the Future & GIVEAWAY!

 

Starting this blog has afforded me a handful of very cool opportunities, which I love sharing. But one that I am most excited about is a partnership with a brand that I love, No Cow. No Cow is a company that believes in  delivering high-quality, non-dairy protein with ridiculously low sugar. There are so many other protein bars and cookies out there, masking themselves as a health food, but are loaded with sugar and other awful ingredients. No Cow is a genuine company that cares what goes into your body, without including dairy, gluten, soy or GMO’s. And the flavors are delicious…lemon meringue, mint cacao chip, blueberry cobbler bars and snickerdoodle and double chocolate protein cookies! And all with less than 1g of sugar!

I am so excited to be giving away a variety pack of No Cow protein bars and cookies! Check out my post on instagram to enter (it’s super easy!): @plantbasedmomma. AND we are also excited to offer 20% off of your first No Cow order! Just check out their website and enter the code “joannah20” at checkout. Hope you love them as much as we do!

 

 

Giveaway ends Sunday September 23, 2018 at 5pm PST. *Keep in mind that we may receive affiliate commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our honest reviews and opinions. We try our best to share things that we genuinely love and hope that you do too!

Vegan at Legoland!

We recently bought Legoland San Diego passes, thanks to Costco for having an amazing one-day deal. Did you know that Legoland is very vegan friendly!? Well, we didn’t. After visiting a few times, we realized that Legoland is highly underrated, for both food and fun.

Our family is pretty loyal to Disneyland, but our boys are obsessed with legos and after finding that great deal on passes, we couldn’t resist. Although there aren’t a plethora of vegan options, what they do have to offer is incredibly substantial and did not disappoint. I was especially impressed with all of the vegan snack options they offered! They had specialties like our favorite vegan beef jerky at a cheaper price than I usually get through Amazon. There isn’t a lot of information on the Internet for vegans at Legoland, so I wanted to share everything that we tried and loved!

 

Apple fries from Granny’s Apple Fries – these were a total hit with our family. They are covered in cinnamon sugar and a delicious treat. Be sure to ask for them without whipped cream.

Tofu Stir Fry from Wok ‘N’ Bowl Ramen – these were hearty and packed with a delicious flavor. This dish totally deviates from the stigma of bland amusement park food. While the allergen menu does not list any noodles, they do have one vegan noodle option. The kids loved it and ate it all, so it’s a huge win in my book.

Tofu Bao Bun from Ninja Kitchen – This was delicious and fresh and the husband and I enjoyed it very much. The tofu is pre-marinated in spices, so if you have a child with aversions to anything spicy, you may want to skip this one. The bun was tasty and fluffy and it paired well with the crisp pickled veggies. It all made for a delicious combination, just don’t forget to forgo the mayo.

Castle Ice Cream – Raspberry Sorbet. While we only had one option of scooped ice cream (which we were grateful for!), we did have a few different popsicle flavors to choose from (From The Coffee Shop). With both options, the kids were happy.

 

The Coffee Shop – We were so excited to not only find soy and almond milk as options, but also a plethora of vegan snacks!

 

 

And look at all of these delectable vegan snacks throughout the park (beware, there’s a lot.. which is a good thing!):

These Plant Snacks Chips were so good!

And you can never go wrong having Justin’s Peanut Butter Cups available. I craved these daily while pregnant with Cam.

We’ve picked these sweet treats up at Starbucks before, but the price point at Legoland was way better. Look at the price Amazon is offering them for and you can see what a deal this is: Emmy’s Organics Lemon Ginger Coconut Cookies (Pack of 2)

Our favorite vegan beef jerky!

 

Whoever the buyer for snacks is at Legoland, they are doing something right. And at reasonable prices. It feels so refreshing and progressive to have so many snacks with simple, clean ingredients available.

We ate our way through the park as much as possible, but weren’t able to hit all of the vegan options. There is also a great salad bar and a pasta with marinara option. If you want to branch outside of the park, within a few minutes driving distance you can visit one of our favorite places – Plant Power Fast Food. Their burgers, milkshakes and selection of sauces will make you an instant fan. Another local option is Veggie Grill. With all of the delicious vegan food they offer, you can never go wrong with a meal there.

We visit Disneyland often and are always excited about their vegan offerings, so it was great to see what another theme park had to offer. Disney definitely needs to take a cue from Legoland, listing all of their allergy information and vegan offerings on a printed menu that guests can keep. It’s such a welcomed addition and I applaud the park for being so open to different dietary restrictions.

 

And here they are, one enjoying said snacks and the other crying because he can’t actually eat the snacks he found.

 

For a vegan or allergy child, going to a place like this and being able to have an experience with different options is priceless. When visiting kid-friendly places, we are usually lucky to have one option and we’re always grateful for that. But at Legoland, our kids had the option to choose from different fruits, cookies, popcorn, popsicles, chips and vegan candy. And that to us, was priceless. We would absolutely recommend Legoland as a great outing for vegan families and hope they continue to pave the way for plant-based food at amusement parks.

 

 

 

 

*Keep in mind that we may receive affiliate commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our honest reviews and opinions. We try our best to share things that we genuinely love and hope that you do too!

The Redlands Vegan Tour

 

 

I had the privilege of tagging along with Niko, of About Redlands, on a vegan excursion through our beautiful California town. Being vegan for over seven years, my family knows firsthand just how far Redlands has come in the plant-based department. We went from one tiny single dinner option (that was often sold out) at our weekly farmers market, to more vegan options at Market Night than I can count on one hand. And now we are excitedly awaiting the arrival of our favorite San Diego based vegan fast food chain, Plant Power!

I discovered EVEN more options while on this vegan excursion through Redlands while eating at places I would have never even considered to have anything vegan. I’m definitely proud of how far our little town has come. Click here to read the article and discover a few hidden vegan gems in Redlands:

Thanks so much for including me About Redlands. It was such a pleasure!