Favorite Foods – Veganized!

I saw this and thought it was so hysterical and true that I thought I would share it with you all.

1377549_569372486445645_824011639_n

It’s fall. Which means it is soup season. I love soup. The problem is, since changing over to a plant-based, whole foods diet, two of my favorite soups have been off the table:  Split Pea (with ham) and Ham and Bean. And I have missed them.

So last week I decided to go hunting and see if I could find some vegan alternatives that would give me the same flavor without having to add ham to the soup.

And I hit the jackpot!

Sunday, I tried this Vegan Split Pea Soup in the crock-pot. I even served it to my neighbors. It was great! The addition of liquid smoke gave it that meaty flavor without the meat, and the hearty vegetables were delicious.

Then Wednesday, I made this Vegan Country “Ham” and Beans, minus the seitan ham because I didn’t have any and didn’t feel like attempting to make any. I did it in the crock-pot instead of on the stove top, and I should have cooked it on high instead of low, because the beans didn’t get done and I ended up cooking it on high again Thursday for a few hours to get the beans done. At any rate, the kids and I ate it for dinner on Thursday and it was good. I added liquid smoke to it as well, to add that meaty taste. It was a little heavy on the sage, so I think next time I would cut that in half, and it needed more salt, so I would increase that.

So many people wonder how I can get by without meat, but these two soups are perfect examples of how our meals don’t have to center around meat to be tasty and healthy.