Becoming Tasty Kaiti... my story

Friends, Family, and even Strangers have criticized me for switching to a vegan diet:

"Are you always going to be vegan?"

"I could never give up __! I'd rather die.."

"It's crazy that you don't eat __!" 

Well, I've had some of my own interesting experiences with my health and I couldn't feel better about my decision to go vegan. I don't know if I've ever actually shared my story, and since today is World Health Day, it seems appropriate to share.

A few years ago I was having issues staying healthy. I would get sick after eating foods that I grew up on, burgers, pizza, ice cream, sushi, etc. Every day I was dealing with a distended stomach that made me look pregnant, a swollen face/neck, irritability, and sometimes even hives! It was so annoying that I decided I wanted to make a change. I made a list of everything that was making me feel AWFUL (cream cheese, burgers, chicken, fish, milk, ice cream... I could go on and on) and took it to the doctor to see what they had to say. They couldn't really give me a firm answer but it appeared as though my body had a tough time breaking down and accepting the proteins in animal products. Sure I could go to the doctor regularly and get a quick fix like a shot or pills... but if it was something that I could fix just by changing what I was eating, why wouldn't I just do that?!

I decided to make the change and invest in better food choices rather than investing in medications that would come with who knows what kind of side effects. After not being vegan for 23 years it was definitely going to be a challenge, especially for a giant foodie like me!!! But I was blessed with a crazy food memory and a love for experimenting in the kitchen. I went to the internet in hopes of finding some recipes that would ease my transition into a plant-based diet. Stuff that would make a carnivore feel truly satisfied in taste, texture, and a full belly! To my dismay, there was not much online (2010) that was very appealing to me as a new vegan. I still wanted a meaty burger and creamy, cheesy mac n cheese. 

Salt Potatoes... One of the first recipes I posted on my Tumblr page back in 2011!

I started my very first blog on Tumblr, trying out recipes from some cookbooks I had and then writing the review of the recipe. Then I switched over to Blogger (in Aug 2011). It was then that I realized there were a lot of people out there like me! They too wanted to find food that reminded them of the foods they used to eat so they didn't feel deprived. 

What's up South Africa, Australia, The Phillipines?! So Cool!!! 

Today, my blog (on Blogger) is coming up on it's 4th birthday, has been viewed over 23K times and has reached ALL OVER THE WORLD! I've expanded my blog from just blogger to a whole new website (www.tastykaitis.kitchen) which has menus, food holidays, and I hope to start adding more videos in the future. I never imagined this blog would take off as much as it has and I hope it will continue to grow! In fact, just recently as you may or may not have read, my social media accounts have even been recognized by big names in the food and vegan celebrity worlds. (Food Network, Chef Michael Symon, Vegan Bros, just to name a few!!!) 

Felt pretty cool to have a Tasty Kaiti's cup while I was in KY
(Shout Out to the great team at the US-127 Starbucks in Frankfort!!)

Welp, that's my story!  I went vegan for health reasons, as have big names like former President Bill Clinton, Mike Tyson, Usher, and more! There are plenty of people who go vegan for animal rights reasons, I love animals, but that was not my personal reason for changing my diet. Please remember that everyone is different, and not everyone is going to agree BUT, this is my personal blog. I'm not here to force anything on anyone, please do not try to force your opinion on others who may be reading. All I'm asking is for people to do is "TASTE THIS!" Maybe by posing that question I can influence people to try foods that can impact their health for the better... Maybe not. I'm just in it to give tasty foods to the people looking for them! 

From Top: Chopped Salad, Mac-No-Cheese, and Roasted Brussel Sprouts... One of my favorite dishes to serve people who doubt the delicious-ness that is Vegan food! 

I will be the first person to admit... I am not a fan of vegan food that "tastes vegan". Tofu, is one of my least favorite ingredients to use. (Sorry... but it's true) BUT, I will say, that what I do like about it is that it tastes like whatever you want it too! One of the first tofu recipes I found when I chose to go vegan was a recipe for chocolate mousse but... I wanted to switch it up... So I went with peanut butter instead! Adjust the sweetness and peanut buttery-ness to your liking!

1/3-1/2 cup peanut butter (CREAMY!!)

1/3-1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar (aka powdered sugar)

1 (12.3 oz pkg) soft silken tofu

Put all three things in a blender and puree until smooth and combined.  

Then divide into glasses/bowls/parfait glasses—whatever you’ve got, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, at least 30 minutes.  (Or overnight)  

Then serve.  That’s it.  No really,  I’m serious! …

Okay fine if you really want you could dollop with vegan whip cream/chopped peanuts/or vegan chocolate.  But it truly doesn’t need it.  The best part…? Try secretly feeding it to your carnivore friends/family… bet they don’t know it’s tofu! ;-) Remember just a smile, a spoon and "Taste This" works every time!

SUPER Greens (my favorite salad mix)

March 30, 2015 3:07pm. @FoodNetwork started following me (@tastykaitis) on Twitter!!!!!! 

I can't even explain how SUPER I feel writing this! Food Network is like... my LIFE! I've seen just about every episode of every show, buy the magazines when I have the cash to spare, and am constantly on the site to see what's new and find some recipes to veganize for me and you.  I've dreamt my whole life to have my own show on the Food Network! (Ask my parents... I used to talk through my steps in the kitchen with everything from making cereal to veggie chowder!  ... I may or may not still do it -- and yes I'm almost 27!) :-D

While I took some time to reflect on the excitement of my day... I wanted to make sure I remembered every detail... I realized that I spent the morning prepping my homemade salad bar, complete with my SUPER Greens Salad Mix!!! 

I'm sure I'm not the only one who goes to the grocery store salad bar more than 2xs a week. I know I'm not! I see the same people 4-7 times a week at the salad bar! But do you know how expensive it really is?! Food Network Magazine did an "In the Know" article back in 2011 (yup, this one stuck with me!) called Shop the Salad Bar. It showed just how much your average grocery store marks-up the items on a salad bar (at $5.99/lb... Whole Foods- near me at least is $8.99/lb) is MIND BLOWING!!!!  The mark-up on chickpeas... 386%!!!! (and that article was from 2011... who knows if this has gone up over the past few years!)

The thing that SUCKS is that the items that are the most bargain items on the bar... tend to be the ones that aren't vegan/vegetarian friendly.  

Like Bacon.......................... And Cheese! :-(  (See all the findings here from the article here: Salad Bar Math) 

So... I started making my own salad bar at home! One day(more like an hour depending on how many veggies you have)+Veggies+mandoline= Salad Bar for the WEEK! For less than it would cost you to buy your salad for the week. Plus you get to decide what you put on your salad... you don't fall subject to the sadness that ensues when the grocery store swaps out one of your favorites for... Hard Boiled Eggs (Bleccchhhh!)

Grape Tomatoes, Red Bell Pepper, Fennel, Onion, Celery, Cucumber, Mushrooms and Carrots (Not Pictured: Peas, Baby
Corn, Microgreens, Beets, Kalamata Olives, Hummus, Quinoa, Farro, Wheatberries, Kamut, Harissa, etc!)

I'm sharing with you my "recipe" for SUPER Greens. What makes them super? Well... It's a mix of 4 of the Top 10 Most Nutrient Dense Foods (see: Dr.Fuhrman's List Explained for details) and it's chopped up so that you can enjoy the benefits of being about to eat lots of greens and actually feel full until dinner. 

1 pkg Baby Spinach & Arugula

8 leaves Kale, stemmed and roughly chopped (I like Lacinto best)

16 Brussel Sprouts, sliced about 1/8" (use a mandoline for uniformity)

Dump all of the spinach and arugula into a huge mixing bowl. Add in sliced sprouts and chopped kale. 

With the leaves all still intact, the mix is pretty voluminous... But wait... I'm going to fit it all back into the spinach/arugula
box!  WITH ROOM TO SPARE!!

Take a pizza cutter and cut the greens by rolling the cutter throughout the bowl over and over until everything is chopped and mixing into itself.

You'll notice that the mix takes up a lot less of the bowl... Scoop it out and store the mix back into the package for the spinach and arugula.  What was once full is now...

NOT!

Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Now for the Veggies: 

I used my mandoline for all my veggies except tomatoes (mostly bc I love tomatoes and nothing beats biting into a juicy tomato!)

Store water dense veggies in water (celery, cucumber, carrots... think of what veggies sit in water on the salad bar) in the fridge. I don't put my onions in water because it tends to leach the onion flavor. 

With everything else stick them in a tupperware in the fridge. When you have everything on hand, already prepped, tossing a salad together is a cinch!(pun ABSOLUTELY intended) 

With all the nutrients you get from these SUPER Greens and from raw veggies in general... You can have a SUPER day like me!!!* 

*Results not guaranteed :-)

I feel as though this post needs to be dedicated to a friend of mine from college... Not necessarily because he loves salad, but because he is known to most as SUPER Mario! :-) "This just in... You're Super!!!" hehehe