Recipe | Smokey Avocado and Chickpea Dip

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1 15 oz can of Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 avocado
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large food processor and pulse until the desired consistency is achieved. My food processor was small so I processed the garbanzo beans, added them to a bowl, then processed the garlic and onion and added that to the bowl, then I just added the avocado straight to the bowl without processing, added the spices and olive oil and mixed everything together with a spoon.

Serve this as a spread on a sandwich or just dip your favorite pita chips in it. I won't judge you if you decide to just eat it with a spoon, though

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Recipe | Another Simple and Delicious Warm Barley Salad

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Makes 4-6 servings, depending on if you're eating it as your main meal or as a side dish

2 cups cooked barley
a couple tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
2 small zucchini, cut in fourths, lengthwise, and then chopped
1 tomato, chopped
6 slices of Smart Deli baked ham, chopped
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

I had my barley already cooked from when I made a huge batch earlier in the week. I suggest cooking your barley ahead of time, because the other steps of this recipe don't take much time to cook so you might end up over cooking your veggies while you wait for your barley to finish cooking. Do whatever you feel most comfortable with because this "salad" can be eaten piping hot, room temperature, and even cold.

Set a large skillet to medium heat and add some extra virgin olive oil. Sweat the onions and peppers for about 5-7 minutes.

Add some salt and pepper and then throw in your zucchini. Cook everything for another 5-ish minutes. I didn't want the zucchini to get too mushy, so I cut the cooking time a little short for it so it was still a bit crunchy. If you want the zucchini softer, cook it closer to 7-8 minutes.

Add some more salt and pepper to the pan along with the red pepper flakes and then add your "ham" slices. Separate the pieces a little bit with your hands as you're adding them to the pan. You don't need to cook this as it's already fully cooked. So just stir everything to warm the "ham" through.

Combine your veggies and protein with your 2 cups of barley and then throw in your chopped up tomato and toss everything with a few more tbsp of olive oil. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. You can enjoy this as just a side dish or as your entire meal.

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Beauty Tip | My Favorite "Beauty Gurus" on YouTube

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To go along with my Make Up for Beginners post, I thought I'd share a list of my favorite beauty gurus on youtube. I personally think they all do a fantastic job explaining different techniques, tools, and products. Their videos are also just great to watch. Some of them do more fashion than beauty, and others vice versa. I suggest you check them out, even if you're already well equipped with knowledge about make up and fashion.

• Lauren Elizabeth
• Hannahyep
• Alexa Losey
• Rachel Whitehurst
• Beautycrush
• Bethany Mota
• Kristee
• Emily June
• Miss Meghan Makeup
• Lindsey
• Meghan Rosette

I'm probably forgetting a few but those are the gurus that first came to my mind. I hope you find their videos as helpful and entertaining as I do :)

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Recipe | Warm, Asian-Dressed Barley Salad

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2 cups cooked Barley
a couple tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 bell pepper - chopped
1 small red onion - chopped
a couple tbsp vegetable stock
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 cup frozen broccoli
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup thai lime, chili cashews, chopped
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp sriracha
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix together the toasted sesame oil, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and sriracha together in a bowl and set aside.

I used 10 minute barley and just made the whole package. Cook your barley according to package directions. You can either do this ahead of time and have it ready or you can cook your veggies and other components while you're waiting for the barley to cook. However, wait to cook your veggies until your barley is about half done if it's not quick cooking, other wise your veggies will get too soft and over cook and won't be delicious.

Anyway, set a large skillet to medium heat and add some extra virgin olive oil. Sweat the onions and peppers in there together for about 5-7 minutes. Add some salt and pepper. When they start to become translucent, add the fresh ginger and vegetable sauce. Stir to incorporate the ginger.

You can now add all of your frozen veggies, reduce the heat to simmer, cover with a lid, and wait until your barley is finished cooking. Add some more salt and pepper to this layer of veggies.

When your barley is done cooking, drain and add two cups of the cooked barley to your vegetables. introduce the sauce you made earlier and stir to combine everything. Taste for seasonings and add more salt and pepper is desired.

Top with your chopped thai, chili, lime cashews.

I served this as a side dish to just a veggie burger and it was quite filling. There was a load of leftovers so this would be a great dish to bring to a party or a picnic or something. It tastes great cold or room temperature, too!

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Beauty Tip | Make Up for Beginners - 9 Essential Items

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So, I am not only obsessed with food, but with make up as well. I love experimenting with new looks, brands, tools, and techniques. I keep up, religiously, with my favorite beauty gurus on YouTube (I actually went to IMATS this past April JUST to meet some of them... go ahead and judge me). Anyway, since I only became REALLY interested in make up as of two summers ago, and so this obsession is relatively new to me, I know how difficult it is to try and figure out where to start. That's why I decided to make this post about 9 products that I personally think are essential to start off any beauty collection.

Keep this in mind throughout this post: if you are just starting out your beauty collection, don't start off with all high-end brands. There are some REALLY great drugstore items that can serve as dupes for their high-end equivalents. Just because something I photographed might be considered high-end, doesn't mean that's the EXACT brand I think you need to start off your collection... I need to save up money just as much as the next girl, and I appreciate a great cheap product wherever I can find one. Read reviews, watch tutorials, and go out to your local Target, CVS, Walgreens, or wherever, and experiment!

Numbers 1-3: Liquid Foundation, Concealer, Setting Powder

 

I personally think liquid foundation provides the most coverage. I'm currently using Revlon's Photo Ready liquid foundation and I'm in the color 005 or Natural Beige. This foundation gives really great coverage and doesn't leave my face feeling dry or looking pasty. It also has SPF 20 in it so that's a nice bonus. Revlon doesn't test on animals and you can get any of their products in any drugstore.

Concealer is pretty important... especially if you're a night owl like me with dark circles under your eyes that you want to conceal or if you get random breakouts during that oh so special time of the month. My favorite concealer is the Make Up Forever Professionals: 5 Camouflage Cream Palette. I love this one because it has a variety of shades to accommodate any type of coverage I may need and any variations of color my skin may go through (being tanner in the summer, for example). It also has a green concealer which cancels out redness on your face which is a LIFESAVER in the winter when I'm constantly sniffly and my face is dry and red and disgusting. Make Up Forever doesn't test on animals and can be purchased at Sephora and (I think) Ulta, too.

A setting powder isn't always necessary. I always use it just because I don't want my face to have a dewy finish at all. I use Rimmel's Stay Matte Pressed Powder and it's just amazing. It keeps my make up in place all day and leaves my face with a matte finish - just like the name promises. Rimmel London is another drug store brand that doesn't test on animals.

*Optional - During the summer months or on days where I don't feel I need as much coverage, I use a BB cream. The one I currently have I purchased without knowing that the brand actually tests on animals, so I don't want to recommend it because I will not be repurchasing it when this bottle runs out.

**Optional - Face Primer - This is actually pretty important if you go to a lot of events where you won't be getting a chance to touch up your make up at all and want it to stay put all day. Just like with my favorite BB Cream, my favorite face primer brand actually tests on animals. A sales associate at Sephora actually told me the brand didn't, so I trusted her and bought it. When I went  and did my own research recently, I found out that they actually do test on animals, so I won't be repurchasing that one. There are TONS of great ones that don't test on animals, though. Just do some research and test them out. Face primers can often double as eye primers, also.

Numbers 4-6: Eye Shadow, Mascara, Eye Liner

For eye shadow, start off with neutral colors. I have the Naked Palette by Urban Decay, who doesn't test on animals, and use it in every eye look that I do. There are some great palettes from the drug store that are quite pigmented and not chalky at all. Wet n Wild, surprisingly, has great products and I trust anything by Revlon.

Mascara - I almost always buy drugstore mascara. Revlon has GREAT ones. I know Maybeline is like known for their mascaras, but they unfortunately test on animals and their reason for why is like really, really, stupid. I picked up a sample of Benefit's They're Real! Mascara during a trip to Sephora and fell in love with it. I then received it as part of the gift that they give you on your birthday and have been using that as my main mascara. I don't think I can justify buying the full-sized one, so I'll be going back to drugstore mascaras once this one dries out.

I don't use eyeliner everyday, but when I do use it, I use a gel liner with a thin brush applicator. E.l.f is my favorite because it's cheap and gets the job done. E.l.f also doesn't test on animals. It's only sold in Target, I think. As for pencil liners, I really only trust Revlon or Urban Decay to not smudge all over my face. 

Numbers 7 and 8: Blush and Highlighters

E.l.f blushes have the pigmentation and overall quality that NARS does... but they cost an eighth of the cost. So which ones will I buy for the rest of my life? E.l.f. They do have a limited color selection, but I'm still building my collection. I'll test out other blushes as I go along but E.l.f will always be number one to me.

As the second part of my Sephora birthday gift of this year, I received the What's Up Face Highligher by Benefit. I will DEFINITELY be buying this in full size when I'm done with this sample. It adds just the right amount of shine wherever you apply it and it doesn't leave you looking TOO shiny or oily or dewy. It's perfect.

Number 9: Lipstick

I'm a firm believer in every girl needing a good red lip every once in a while. Revlon lip products do the trick. For a beginner I definitely suggest their Lip Butters because the color is buildable. It can either be very sheer, or you can build it up to be very opaque and bold. They also have SO many colors to suit many different tastes. Try them all!

I hope this post helped you with choosing some starters for your make up collection. Again, these are all my own opinions, so these may not suit your specific needs, but I do think at least some of these can apply to the majority of make up collectors out there. Have fun!

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Recipe | Vegan Single Serve Chocolate Chip Mug Cake

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(click the photo to go to the recipe)

Holy... oh my GOD is this cake delicious. I just stumbled upon the recipe on pinterest and, disregarding the absurd hour to eat something sweet, made it because my mom had all the ingredients on hand in the house.

THIS IS NOT MY RECIPE, but it's so delicious and fantastic that I NEED to share it with whoever reads my blog. PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS.

Also, I am not a vegan, but I do enjoy making up and trying out vegan recipes whenever I can.

Here's how I tweaked this recipe a little:

I used oat flour instead of spelt flour
For the milk, I used almond milk
I used brown sugar for both the sugar portion and the Stevia part of the recipe
I omitted the oil and just used extra almond milk instead
The applesauce I used was unsweetened
I used more chocolate chips than a normal person probably should have used...

I also suggest you microwave this closer to 2 minutes... maybe even a little longer. Maybe my measurements were a bit off (I couldn't find the tbsp measuring spoon so I used 3 tsp for every 1 tbsp called for), but my cake came out quite gooey, which was totally fine with me. There's nothing that NEEDS to be cooked (it's vegan - no eggs, no dairy, no nothin'), but if you're grossed out by the gooeyness and would rather a firmer cake, make sure you measure everything as stated and maybe don't stray from the recipe as much as I did.

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Health Tip | Meat Substitutions

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It's so easy to be a vegetarian nowadays with the HEAPS of options you have to swap out the meat components with in your favorite dishes.

I consider myself blessed to have been raised by a mother who sleeps, breathes, and (literally) eats organically. She preaches the importance of non-GMO products. Preservatives, carageneen, and pesticide-covered produce immediately spoil when she's around. And don't get me started about her meat industry rants.

She practices what she preaches and these habits have rubbed off on me. I've been a vegetarian for almost two years now and health-wise it was the best decision I've ever made. I live on my own down at school so I try my hardest to live by what my mom taught me when I'm out buying my own groceries and I think I do a pretty good job.

Here's a list of meat substitutes that are either all organic or use non GMO soy. You can start incorporating these into your diets if you're trying to make the transformation to a completely vegetarian lifestyle. All the products listed I've tried and loved. I'm sure there's a bunch more out there which are perfectly delicious that I just haven't tried out yet. GO EXPLORING!

I'll also post the links to the companies' websites (wherever I can) so you can find out if their products are sold in your favorite supermarket.

Disclaimer: not all of these options are VEGAN friendly.

Gardein

Gardein is probably my favorite brand of meatless cuisine. They have SO MANY options to choose from. These are just photos of the ones I or my roommate currently have on hand. Here's a list of all of Gardein's products I've tried:

The Ultimate Beefless Burger
Crispy Chick'n Patty
Lightly Breaded Turk'y Cutlet
Zesty Marinara Crispy Chick'n Filets
Mandarin Orange Crispy Chick'n
Chipotle Lime Crispy Fingers
Seven Grain Crispy Tenders
BBQ Pulled Shreds

Some of these come with little sauce packets, but I usually just toss them and make my own creations (as you can tell with my recipes). The mandarin sauce is really good though if you want a quick meal and don't have the time to make your own elaborate asian-inspired sauce.

Seitan and Tempeh

I don't really have a specific brand that I like to buy when I'm buying seitan or tempeh. For tempeh, it's easy for me to find an organic option in Wegman's or ShopRite or Trader Joe's or wherever I'm buying my groceries. It's not that easy when it comes to seitan... It's a wheat protein and not a soy protein so I cheat a little bit and buy it anyway because Westsoy is the only brand I've seen... but if you can get your hands on an organic brand then absolutely opt for that one.

Lightlife

Lightlife products are relatively new to me, but so far I'm enjoying them quite a bit. They're made with non-GMO soy and they're quite delicious. I was REALLY surprised by their deli options. They're like cold-cuts but totally meat free and tasty. Their Smart Sausages are VERY similar to the Trader Joe's soy sausages that are near and dear to my heart. Definitely an A+ in my book!

Quorn

I'm not sure if it's true for ALL of Quorn's products, but I do know that on the back of the packaging of the ones I've bought in the past, it's stated that the company doesn't use any genetically modified ingredients. Now, the protein that this company used isn't soy or wheat or even vegetable protein. It's called a "mycoprotein" which is similar to that of a fungus, but doesn't taste weird or anything; I happen to really like their products. Here's a list of all the one's I've tried:

Chik'n Patties
Garlic and Herb Chik'n Cutlets
Gruyere Cheese Cutlet
Chik'n Tenders

Trader Joe's


Okay, Trader Joe's is by no means a completely vegetarian grocery store, but they DO have some great meat-free options. ALSO!!!! Their private label guarantees these awesome things:

√ NO artificial flavors or preservatives
√ NO synthetic colors
√ NO MSG
√ NO genetically modified ingredients
√ NO partially hydrogenated oils (artificial trans-fats)
√ NO "marketing" costs

They also offer a BUNCH of organic options. Here's a list of some of my favorite Trader Joe's vegetarian products:

Italian Sausage-less Sausages
Soy Chorizo
Vegetable Masala Burgers
Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels
Organic 3-Grain Tempeh
Organic Vegetarian Baked Beans (I know this isn't really like a meat substitute but I LOVE THESE BEANS)

Veggie Patch

I've only tried their Falafel Chickpea Balls, but oh my GOD are they good. I'm definitely going to go out and try some of their other products. Although they're not organic, all of their products are completely GMO-free.

Dr. Praegers

I currently don't have any of these products on hand so I don't have any pictures, but my favorite product from this company is the Bombay Veggie Burger. They're GMO-free and just really delicious.

Boca

You need to be careful with this company, because some of their products contain GMO soy. However, they DO have some products which state that there are no genetically modified ingredients used, so just read the labels before you buy it.

Well that's all I can think of right now. There are obviously TONS of companies out there that make fantastic vegetarian meals and things of that sort, but this is just a list of specific MEAT substitutes that you can incorporate into your own meals. I hope this helps any budding vegetarians. Just be smart when you're shopping for groceries - do your research and read the labels. 

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