A Vegan Review: Olive Garden

Tonight I'm going share with you my tips and tricks at eating vegan at my favorite Italian restaurant, Olive Garden! :) 

First, let's talk about the appetizers, which of course means the bread sticks, the salad, and the soup. 

The bread sticks are vegan, as long as they are ordered with garlic but no butter. This is a special order, but it is never a problem and they always bake them fresh. Who wouldn't love fresh out of the oven breadsticks?! I know that I do. 

The salad that Olive Garden serves are vegan, as long as it is ordered with no croutons and dressing, as both contain milk. The dressing has parmesan cheese!

Finally, the Minestrone Soup is vegan and delicious. I love soup in the winter and this one pairs nicely with the breadsticks. 

For my main corse, I love the spaghetti and marinara sauce. Olive garden really does marinara sauce well. I love how chunky it is. 

Currently, Olive Garden is doing a buy one- take one promotion. Which of course means that you can eat twice for one price. :) 

As you can see from the packaging above, the order is for a "Four Cheese and Meat Sauce", which I ask to be substituted with marinara sauce. 

Do you love Olive Garden? What do you order? 

Join the conversation on facebook!

Thanksgiving 2013: Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

One of my favorite things to eat, both as a child and now as an adult, is macaroni and cheese. In fact, as a kid I'm quite sure I lived off of Kraft Mac & Cheese; but with the powdered 'cheese', milk, and butter it isn't the healthiest option.

Of course, going vegan makes finding a quality substitute a challenge. I've played around with different recipes and tried many different things. 

I showed you guys this quick microwave version, but today I want to share with you my favorite recipe for vegan friendly macaroni and cheese, that even the non-vegans will enjoy! (: 

__________________

Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 lbs of macaroni noodles 

1 1/2 cups of soy milk

1 1/2 cups nutritional yeast

1 1/4 cups of water

3/4 cup of oil

1/2 block of firm tofu

1 tbsp salt 

1/2 tbsp of garlic salt

1/2 tbsp of onion powder

1 tbsp of mustard

1/3 cup of soy sauce

Directions: 

1. Boil the noodles, drain them, and place them into an 8x13 inch pan. 

2. Mix the all of the ingredients into a high speed blender and blend until thoroughly mixed together. 

3. Pour this mixture over the noodles.

Bake @ 350* for 20 minutes or until golden brown. 

Enjoy!

Join the conversation on facebook.

Crescent Rolls

The best part of November 1^st is getting to eat all the Halloween candy from last night, whether it be from your own trick-o-treating adventure or candy that never got handed out.

So, in honor of that, I’m going to break my routine once again tonight. Instead of posting about something sweet, I’m going to assume that everyone else has their fill of sweets at home to eat and talk about a meal staple in my house.

I’m a big fan of breads, whether it is for a sandwich or with pasta or even with a little butter as a snack.

One of the staple breads that I keep in my fridge at all times, is the Pillsbury Original Crescent Rolls. 

Pop them out of the can, roll them up, and throw them on a cookie sheet. 

In 11-13 minutes they come out of the over warm and golden brown! They are quick and delicious and work great as a side to pasta, soups, and stews in the winter when a nice warm bread complements your meal perfectly. 

Add a little butter and just look how delicious this looks! So flakey and wonderful, plus they are only 100 calories a roll! (:

Have you ever tried these crescent rolls? What did you think about them?!

Join the conversation on facebook. 

Enjoy!

Meatless Mondays: Mac & Bean Casserole!

Today’s Meatless Monday recipe is a filling and delicious casserole of sorts. It’s simple, quick, and perfect for an on the go dinner.

____________________

Mac & Bean Casserole

Makes 4 large servings.

You will need:

A 2 quart microwaveable safe bowl

A spoon

A large strainer

Ingredients:

1 box of Elbow noodles

1 28 oz can of baked beans*

Directions:

1. Fill your bowl with water and your noodles.

2. Cook your noodles for 3 minutes and then stir. Repeat.

3. Cook for an additional 4 minutes, stir, and strain the noodles.

4. Mix the noodles with the beans, stir thoroughly, and microwave for another minute.

Enjoy!

**I use Bush’s Vegetarian Baked Beans

If you try this recipe, leave me a comment & let me know what you think!

As always,  join the conversation on facebook.

Meatless Monday: Spaghetti with Veggie Pasta Sauce

Meatless Mondays are become more and more prevalent; in fact I might even dare to say that they are becoming a trend and I LOVE it. The idea of going meatless for a day (or even just for one meal) is a great way to incorporate creative and delicious vegan meals into a diet.

Monday often gets a bad rap because it brings about the end of the weekend and the return to work, school, and responsibility; and getting back to the routine of the week can be stressful. After a long day (even if it’s not a Monday) the last thing I want to do it come home and cook a big meal.

If you are anything like me, you will love this simple yet delicious meal idea to make your Mondays just a little less manic. (:

_____________________________________________

Spaghetti with Veggie Pasta Sauce

You Will Need:

Large pot

Saucepan

Spoon

Colander

Ingredients:

1 box of spaghetti noodles

1 jar of spaghetti sauce

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 teaspoon of garlic salt

1 ¼ cup spinach

¾ cup mushroom slices

*You can use as little or as much spinach and mushrooms as you like, these measurements are reflective of my preferences.

Directions:

In your large pot, cook the pasta per the directions on the box, keeping in mind the number of people and the serving size.

While the pasta is cooking, sauté your mushroom slices in olive oil.

When the mushrooms are almost done, mix in you spinach and sprinkle the garlic salt over the mixture, stir until thoroughly mixed.

Pour in your sauce.

Continue stirring until both the mushrooms and the spinach are fully cooked and the sauce is warm.

Drain your pasta and serve it with you sauce.

Enjoy!

Note: A quick look at the ingredients list on both the pasta box and the jar of sauce will determine if they are vegan; be on the look out for milk or eggs in your noodles and milk or meat bi-products in your sauce. I like to use Mueller’s Thin Spaghetti and Prego Traditional Sauce.