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10 Yummy Vegan Cake Recipes To Try!
What birthday is complete without cake? You are correct, no birthday is complete without cake. I'm not much of a baker, but on one day every year it seems utterly appropriate to try (and fail) to make a delicious birthday cake. Check out some awesome vegan cake recipes from around the web for your birthday baking pleasure!
What birthday is complete without cake? You are correct, no birthday is complete without cake. I'm not much of a baker, but on one day every year it seems utterly appropriate to try (and fail) to make a delicious birthday cake. Check out some awesome vegan cake recipes from around the web for your birthday baking pleasure!
1. Vegan Toasted Coconut Cake from Vegan Baking
Photo credit: Vegan Baking
Layers of toasted coconut and coconut cream? Sign me up!
2. Epic Vegan Chocolate Cake from Jamie Oliver
Photo credit: Jamie Oliver
Not only does this cake look incredibly decadent, but it's gluten free!
3. Vegan Healthy Walnut Pumpkin Cake from Oh She Glows
Photo credit: Oh She Glows
I love everything pumpkin. Add in walnuts? I'm in heaven.
4. Vegan Cocoa Apple Cake by Eggless Cooking
Photo credit: Eggless Cooking
Cocoa and apple in one cake? Yes please!
5. Vegan Pineapple Upside-Down Dump Cake by Jolinda Hackett
Photo credit: flickr via About.com
Super easy, super yummy. A win win in my books!
6. Vegan Amaretto Chocolate Cream Cake (Gluten Free) from One Green Planet
Photo credit: One Green Planet
I. Can't. Even. I'm drooling.
7. Vanilla Pound Cake from Vegan Richa
Who doesn't love a classic vanilla pound cake?
8. Vegan Rustic Chocolate Chip Banana Oat Cake with PB Banana Glaze from Oh She Glows
Photo credit: Oh She Glows
My fiancé's mouth dropped open when I read him the description of this cake. He would like to eat it everyday.
9. Vegan and Gluten-Free Carrot Cake from Vegan Richa
I'm a BIG fan of carrot cake. It's sweet but not too sweet, and so comforting!
10. Vegan Chocolate Chai Marbled Cake from One Green Planet
Photo credit: One Green Planet
Related Blog Post: Vegan Mousse Recipe
Is your mouth watering as much as mine is? Yum! Let me know in the comments which recipe you'd try first. I'm going for #6!
Until next time,
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Birthday Wishlist: Vegan Edition
In my family we have a tradition. Five times a year, a month or so before each of our birthdays and before christmas, an email will come in listing everything on our wishlist. We're a very practical family, and like to know exactly what the others need or want when those times of year come around. I can actually go back and see my birthday wishlist from 2002 if I go deep enough on my hard rive... All of this to say, I have a bit of experience making wish lists. Well, every kind of list, really. But that's a topic for another day.
In my family we have a tradition. Five times a year, a month or so before each of our birthdays and before christmas, an email will come in listing everything on our wishlist. We're a very practical family, and like to know exactly what the others need or want when those times of year come around. I can actually go back and see my birthday wishlist from 2002 if I dig deep enough on my hard drive... All of this to say, I have a bit of experience making wish lists. Well, every kind of list, really. But that's a topic for another day.
Now that I'm vegan, making a list is a bit more complicated. I can't just see something I like on instagram or pinterest and pop it on. I have to do research into the company and item to ensure no animal products were used and that the product wasn't tested on animals. It would be laborious, expect that I love shopping and don't mind the excuse to do more of it to find the PERFECT vegan items to lust after! The two big ones on my list this year were the Matt & Nat Parabole bag and Chubby wallet, which my parents graciously picked up for me (thank you, again!) and for which I wrote a whole dedicated post, here. But what else is on my list? Take a look! (This post contains some affiliate links.)
1 In the Oceanic of Time Dress 2 I Tank I Can Black Tank Top 3 Strike the Match White and Navy Stripe Two Piece 4 Beneath the Garden Arbor Grey Lace Maxi Dress 5 Aim'n Wave Logo Tights 6 All in Good Cheer Grey Tulle Skirt 7 Night Drive Blush Trench Coat 8 Scenic Drive Black Wrap Maxi Skirt 9 Share My Lair Ivory Crop Top 10 I'm Into You Black High-Low Wrap Dress 11 Photo Opportunist Black Bodycon Midi Dress 12 Meridian Arc Ivory and Blue Print Halter Maxi Dress 13 LULUS Exclusive Gracefully Yours Black Dress 14 Sun Sign Black Maxi Dress 15 Take a Ladylike-ing To Dress 16 Radiant Gradients Dress 17 Space is the Place Black Crop Top
1 Two-Piece Suits Me Natural Beige D'Orsay Flats 2 Ahimsa Dress Boot in Black 3 Romance Cosmetic "I Do" 4 Boyd Sunglasses 5 Up All Night Flats 6 Plant Based Memory Foam Mattress 7 City Classified Sadler Black Suede Pointed Flats 8 Melissa Petal Flats 9 Roller Coast to Coast Black Clutch 10 Ellison Sunglasses
Related Blog Post: Should You Get Rid Of All Your Leather Now That You're Vegan?
And there you have it! As a former shopaholic, this blogging-about-the-things-I-want-to-buy-but-not-buying-them thing is kind of fantastic... I hope you liked my list and maybe found a new item or two to add to yours (if you have, remember to use Ebates to get cash back on your online purchases. I've been using them for years and recommend the site 100%!)
Until next time...
Where do you like to shop for vegan goods? Let me know in the comments below!
Don't forget to sign up for the Plant Based Bride newsletter (form at the bottom of this page) to never miss a post!
Go check out my post on my new Matt & Nat bag and wallet here, if you haven't already!
10 Reasons to Go Vegan!
Are you sitting on the fence, unsure about taking the leap into veganism? I understand. It took me 8 months of debating and researching after going vegetarian before I made the change. Now I wish that I'd gone vegan years earlier! As they say, hindsight is always 20/20. Perhaps you'll benefit from my hindsight by reading my top 10 reasons to go vegan!
Are you sitting on the fence, unsure about taking the leap into veganism? I understand. It took me 8 months of debating and researching after going vegetarian before I made the change. Now I wish that I'd gone vegan years earlier! As they say, hindsight is always 20/20. Perhaps you'll benefit from my experience by checking out my top 10 reasons to go vegan! (This post contains some affiliate links.)
1. Improve Your Health - Cutting out animal products is good for you! Meat and dairy products are full of hormones, antibiotics, cholesterol, and acidify the body. (Check out this post for a brief explanation of body pH). With a diet consisting of whole plant foods you are all but guaranteed to get sufficient amounts of the nutrients you need, as long as you get a wide variety. (There is a debate on how available B12 is in a vegan diet, so I make sure to take a supplement.) Eating a diet high in fibre, low in fat, and full of vitamins and minerals will lower your risk of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, Alzheimer's, and a whole host of cancers. So ditch the animal products and eat your vegetables!
Want to know more about the health benefits of going plant based? Check out some of my favourite books on the topic:
2. Lose Weight - Have a goal to drop a couple of pounds? Consider going vegan! Vegans are 10-20 lbs lighter than meat eaters, on average, and have lower rates of obesity. Eating foods that are lower on the caloric density scale (like fruits and vegetables) more often can lead to almost effortless weight loss.
Interested in how to lose weight on a vegan diet? Rip Esselstyn's book is a great one to check out:
3. Save Animals' Lives - Are you an animal lover? Then why discriminate between species? Did you know that pigs can learn to play video games and are smarter than dogs? Did you know that the intelligence of chickens has been compared to that of monkeys? Did you know that cows have best friends and get stressed when they are separated from them? One vegan saves more than 100 animals a year. You'll love the feeling you get knowing that you no longer contribute to the killing of any sentient beings for your nourishment!
Want to learn more about the animals commonly killed for your food? Check out this article about the emotional lives of cows, this one about the intelligence of chickens, and this one about pigs showing how incredibly smart and adorable they are.
4. Stop Animal Cruelty - Factory farms are horrible places. Animals are stuffed into wire cages and metal crates within windowless, filthy, buildings to live out their short, unhappy lives. They never get to raise their offspring, build complex social relationships, or interact with their natural environment. Many will never feel the warmth of the sun or breathe fresh air. Factory farms are run as a business dealing in a commodity, not living creatures. Their goal is increasing profit, not the quality of life of their captives. The more animals they can squeeze in, the more money they can make; even with the increased death toll from disease and infection. And if the plight of animals doesn't move you, think about yourself. Did you know that the meat you eat is often contaminated with feces, blood, and other bodily fluids; causing many cases of food poisoning around the world? Or that the antibiotics pumped into animals to prevent excessive death from their subpar living conditions is having a negative impact on your health when you consume their flesh?
It's time to open your eyes to what animal agriculture has become. Ready to learn the truth about where your food comes from? Check out the documentary Earthlings or read the book that made me go vegan:
5. Help People - Factory farming doesn't just hurt animals, it also has a negative impact on the workers and the people who live in close proximity to their facilities. The large amounts of feces sprayed into the air by these farms have resulted in huge increases in human respiratory problems, and the new, resistant, bacterial strains developed due to the overuse of antibiotics in animals are a serious threat to human health all around the world. Poor sanitation and waste management can lead to E.coli and salmonella contamination in our food supply, causing millions to become sick each year, and even die. Zoonotic diseases, those that can be transmitted from animals of other species to humans, like swine flu, are caused by overcrowding and poor waste management on factory farms and result in many human deaths.
Not only does going vegan reduce these negative effects, but it can have a wonderful, global, impact on feeding the hungry. It is estimated that almost a billion humans are suffering from hunger, and almost 900 million of malnutrition. Every year, starvation is the cause of death for over 2.5 million children under the age of five. But we are producing enough food to feed every single human being on earth! So where is all of that food going? A study in 2013 from scientists at the Institute on the Environment and the University of Minnesota demonstrated that if all food crops grown on earth were fed directly to humans, rather than to our livestock, approximately 70% more food would become available for human consumption, feeding 4 billion additional people. This surplus would not only feed the billion hungry people on earth, but an additional 3 billion people, an important fact when studies of human population growth estimate an increase of 3 billion people in less than 100 years.
Still not convinced? Let me break it down further. Cows are not very efficient at turning the food they eat into muscle. This is clear when you look at the numbers: one pound of beef (cow muscle) requires 13-20 pounds of grain to be produced. Put another way, 13-20 times more people could be fed if the grains were eaten directly, rather than to the cow. While pigs and chickens are slightly more efficient, it still requires 7 pounds of grain to produce one pound of pork and 4.5 pounds of grain to produce one pound of chicken. Why are any of the people passionately speaking out about world hunger continuing to eat meat?
Read more about feeding the hungry with plants here and for further information about the negative impact of factory farms on people, see here.
6. Save The Planet - There is no other human action with a greater negative impact on the environment than the raising of livestock for human consumption: the meat industry contributes as much as 51% of man-made pollution, more than all forms of transportation combined (sitting at around 13%). Not only that, but methane gas from livestock is 25-100 times more destructive to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide from vehicles. Did you know that even if we stopped all use of gas, oil, or fuel from today onwards, we would still exceed our maximum carbon equivalent greenhouse gas emissions (565 gigatons) by 2030, exclusively from the raising and eating of livestock? Reducing methane emissions makes an almost immediate (within decades) impact on methane levels in the atmosphere, while reducing CO2 emissions doesn't have a significant effect for as long as 100 years.
One calorie of beef requires 160 times more land to produce than one calorie of potatoes or rice, and causes 11 times more greenhouse gas emissions. Overspilled manure from farm land increases the phosphorus and nitrogen levels in the water supply, reducing oxygen levels and killing aquatic life. Deforestation for the use of livestock farming and agriculture of feed crops (the cause of 91% of the destruction of the planet's rainforests) emits approximately 2.4 billion tons of CO2 yearly. A quatre pound hamburger takes over 660 gallons of water to produce (the equivalent of showering for 2 months straight). 116,000 pounds of excrement is produced every second in the United States alone from farmed animals. Animal agriculture uses 1/3 of the world's fresh water and 45% of the earth's land. Going vegan is the absolute best way to reduce your impact on the environment and do your part to save our planet.
Want to learn more about the environmental impact of animal agriculture? Watch Cowspiracy, an incredible documentary on the subject.
7. Plant Based Food Is Delicious - And I don't just mean meat and dairy substitutes or desserts. After a couple of weeks on a vegan diet you will notice your taste buds change and will be able to distinguish and appreciate the subtly delicious tastes of plant foods in their natural state! (Although, coconut ice cream is to die for.) I dare you to go to a vegan restaurant in your city and not find something delicious!
Want examples of mouth-watering vegan dishes? Look no further than these instagram accounts.
8. Live Longer - Thrive on a vegan diet for years longer than your meat eating friends. Vegans have been shown to live as many as 9 years longer than omnivores due to reduced deaths from illnesses like cancer and heart disease and increased health and vitality from an abundance of nutrients. What could you accomplish in an extra decade of life? Why not find out!
9. Join The Ranks - Did you know that Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, Kristen Bell, Natalie Portman, Kate and Rooney Mara, Jessica Chastain, Emily Deschanel, Ellen Page, Jared Leto, Michelle Pfeiffer, Carrie Underwood, and Alicia Silverstone are all vegan? The movement isn't just full of celebrities. Many incredible athletes have made the switch: Brendan Brazier, Robert Cheeke, Rich Roll, Robert Hazely, Georges Laraque, Carl Lewis, Jack Lindquist, Mike Mahler, Patrick J Neshek, Fiona Oakes, Amanda Reister, Jim Morris, and so many more!
If celebrities under all of the pressures of Hollywood and athletes competing at international levels can thrive on a plant based diet, why can't you?
Related Blog Post: Vegans vs Protein
10. Be Happier - Go vegan for a healthy mind: you'll have lower incidences of anxiety and depression than meat eaters! Magnesium, which is plentiful in plant foods and virtuality non-existent in animal products, is important for energy, improving sleep, and regulating your mood while reducing headaches.
You'll also be happier knowing that every single day you're saving 1100 gallons of water, 45 pounds of grain, 30 square feet of forest, 20 pounds of CO2, and one animal's life. Every single day. If you could make that kind of positive impact on the world, would you?
You can. No other choice has such a profound impact on the health of the planet in every single aspect.
Make a change. Go vegan!
Until next time,
Which reason resonates the most with you? Why did you go vegan? Let me know in the comments below!
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Building Strong Bones with Plants
Calcium is important, everyone says so. "Get your calcium for strong bones!" they say. And where do you get calcium? If you ask the average person, they'd confidently say "From milk!" If that's the case, how come vegans aren't breaking bones from a minor fall or developing osteoporosis at astonishing rates? The answer is simple.
Milk is not the only source of calcium. It is, in fact, not even the best source.
Calcium is important, everyone says so. "Get your calcium for strong bones!" they say. And where do you get calcium? If you ask the average person, they'd confidently say "From milk!" If that's the case, how come vegans aren't breaking bones from a minor fall or developing osteoporosis at astonishing rates? The answer is simple.
Milk is not the only source of calcium. It is, in fact, not even the best source.
Why We Need Calcium
When most people think about calcium, they think strong bones. And while calcium is a mineral stored (mostly) in our bones and teeth, supporting their structure and hardness, it is utilized in the body for so much more. Calcium is needed for muscles to contract, nerves to carry messages between the brain and the body, blood vessels to move blood, and releasing the hormones and enzymes that control virtually all function in the body. As you can see, calcium is a heavy hitter that you REALLY want on your team.
How Much Calcium A Day?
Calcium recommendations are as follows:
Aim to reach your recommended daily intake but don't overdo it! Calcium overdose (usually due to supplementation) can cause abdominal pain, constipation or diarrhea, headaches, nausea and vomiting, irregular heartbeat, and even a coma.
The Trouble with Milk
Milk consumption actually causes calcium loss from your bones. Yes, you read right. But if cow's milk causes this detrimental effect, why doesn't everybody know about it? I can see why a lay-person might be confused. At first glance, cow's milk seems like a great source of calcium. After all, it contains quite a lot at 300mg per cup. But cow's milk, especially milk that has been pasteurized, contains calcium that is difficult for the human body to absorb. And that's not all. Cow's milk, like all foods containing animal protein, has an acidifying effect on the human body. Why do we care about the body's pH? Most people don't, but your body certainly does. The human body must remain within a very narrow pH range to maintain normal functioning, with the ideal pH registering at 7.4 on the scale. This means that the body must remain in an alkaline state. If it doesn't, a syndrome called acidosis may develop, common side effects of which include fatigue, headaches, insomnia, breathing difficulties, heart palpitations, hot and dry skin on the hands and feet, and supported growth of abnormal cells.
So what happens when the animal protein in milk lowers our pH below the optimal level? Your body, recognizing the need to alkalize, goes in search of a substance to do the job. It finds phosphate, which is great at neutralizing strong acids and bases. And where does your body find phosphate? In the calcium phosphate salts that are the structural component of your bones and teeth. The body pulls the calcium phosphate stored in the bones out into the blood to alkalize it, using the phosphate for that purpose and excreting the calcium in the urine.
That's right, when you eat or drink animal products, including cow's milk, you cause calcium to be pulled from your bones and peed out.
Over time, this drawing on calcium phosphate reserves to neutralize the acid-forming effect of animal protein can lead to structural weakness in your bones and teeth (or osteoporosis). Not only that; increasing your calcium excretion through the genito-urinary system can raise your risk of developing calcium-rich kidney stones.
Scientific studies have proved this effect time and again. So why isn't it common knowledge? That, my friends, is a whole other post.
Foods High In Calcium
Now we know that cow's milk is not the best source of calcium. So what is? Here is a table of select vegan foods high in calcium:
My recommended daily intake of calcium as an adult between the ages of 19 and 50 is 1,000mg. 1 cup of tempeh (184mg), 1 cup of kale (179mg), 1 cup of collard greens (357mg) and 8 oz of a plant milk (300-500mg) is enough to provide my daily calcium needs.
Getting Enough Calcium on a Vegan Diet
Calcium is essential. No one will argue with you on that. But cow's milk is NOT the ideal source, by any stretch of the imagination. Vegans actually have a bit of the upper hand on this one as our lack of animal protein intake reduces our calcium losses in comparison with an omnivore. Still, at the risk of sounding repetitive here, calcium is a very important mineral and must be present in the body in adequate quantities. Be sure to eat your greens and a variety of other plant based foods high is calcium, and supplement if need be. Remember that age, vitamin D levels, alcohol and caffeine consumption and various other factors can affect calcium absorption. Eat a variety of plants, whole, and you'll be doing better than 90% of the milk-guzzling population.
Until next time...
Do you monitor your calcium levels and intake? What is your favourite high-calcium food? Let me know in the comments below!
Be sure to subscribe to the Plant Based Bride newsletter (at the bottom of this page) so you never miss a post!
Sources
- https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Calcium-Consumer/
- http://www.budwigcenter.com/how-to-maintain-a-perfect-ph-balance/#.VcvB03i6_dk
- http://saveourbones.com/osteoporosis-milk-myth/
- https://drbenkim.com/ph-body-blood-foods-acid-alkaline.htm
- http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/139/5/493.abstract
- http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/calcium.php
- http://www.livestrong.com/article/28213-can-person-overdose-calcium/
