And the winner is...

The winner of the necklace giveaway was chosen today at random through Random.org, and the winner is...

Inspirehealth16

Suzanne says

"I love being vegan b/c I am doing it the right way this time. I went vegan years ago, but only replaced meat w/ meatless foods. Gained weight, didn't feel any better. This time I've done my research and I LOVE it. I feel amazing, I am fighting cancer and heart problems, helping animals, helping the enviroment and doing my part to make life better."

Way to go girl! Please contact me and we will get this necklace right out to you! For the rest of you, thank you all so much for the vegan loving comments! I really enjoyed reading all of them! If you still would like a necklace Shelly at Lavoro Jewelry has offered a 15% discount on everything she is selling exclusively to Little House of Veggies readers by simply adding in the special code VEGGIES at checkout!

So make sure you all go check out her Etsy shop LAVORO..

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!

SPECIAL GIVEAWAY!! Sport your Vegan love with pride!

 Happy Meatless Monday my veggie people! I hope all of you are going to be celebrating this weeks Meatless Monday with delicious, healthy, and cruelty free meals!  If you need some recipe inspiration, you have come to the right spot! :D Please excuse my lack of posting any new recpies recently. My camera has a boo boo and had to see the doctor, so hopefully it will be back in action soon. I am just not myself without my cmera. :( 

In other news...check these out...

 Pictures from Lavoro Designs

 I have a very cool giveaway for you all.  Aren't these necklaces cool?! Love them! Let me first just say that I have already ordered one of these for myself and I can not wait to wear my Vegan Love with lots of pride!  My friend and fellow vegan Shelly, who runs an Etsy shop called Lavoro jewelry designs, has made these cute Vegan  necklaces and is not only letting me give one of them away, but also giving anyone else who wants one a 15% discount, a special exclusive for Little House of Veggies Readers! This necklace has two separate discs. You can choose to have the necklace say Vegan and the date you went vegan, or Vegan/ Love (the one I am getting), or Raw and vegan/love. And you can coose your bead that goes with it. All you have to do to be eligible to win the necklace is...

• leave a comment expressing why you love being vegaan
• *like* Lavoro jewelry designs on facebook by clicking here
• follow Little House of Veggies on Twitter, Faceebook and/or the blog.
• tweet about this giveaway
• Each entry above can be left with separate comments. And each comment makes you that much more likely to win! 

That's it! The winner will be chosen at random this coming Friday morning, May 20th.  
 For those of you who do not win, but would like to order a necklace, you can purchase one at the Lavoro Etsy shop by going HERE and using the code VEGGIES to receive 15% off of this necklace and anything else that you see that you like!

GOOD LUCK FRIENDS and stay tuned for some awesome upcoming recipes!!

Cinco de Mayo recipe roundup

What are you going to make your family in the spirit of Cinco de Mayo today? Mexican inspired food is always so good, so full of flavor, and one of my favorites! Here are my top 10 favorite Mexican inspired dishes from my blog and a few from my Mother's blog to help you choose something awesome to make for the holiday today!

 Morgan's Cinco de Mayo 

recipe roundup

1. VEGAN TAMALES: These vegan tamales are so amazing! A little more work than some recipes, but full of great flavor, and leftovers for the next day! And your guests will be very impressed!

2. LOADED NACHOS WITH ROASTED PEPPERS AND SMOKEY "CHEESE" SAUCE: Nachos with "the works". Chips, beans, roasted poblano peppers, corn, bell peppers, pico, cilantro, and to take it over the top, my own smoeky "cheese" sauce which is hummus based and so cheesy delicious! Need I say more? This is sure to be a crowd pleaser of veggies and non veggies!

3. BLACK BEAN TORTILLA SOUP:  So delicious. An Easy and pretty budget friendly one pot meal that can be eaten as soup the first round, and then... wait for it... it morphs into  ablack bean queso dip for the most delicious side dish/appetizer ever! So good! 

4. BLACK BEAN TACOS WITH CORN AND AVOCADO SALSA:  This is one of my very favorite recipes on the blog. Its so easy to make, so full of good flavor, and everyone I have ever served it to loves it!  It was also one of the most popular recipes on the blog last year! Your really can't go wrong with this one!

5. TEMPEH AND BLACK BEAN ENCHILADAS WITH TOFU CHEESE AND RED SAUCE: You cant have a Cinco de mayo party without enchiladas on the menu! And mine are far from anything traditional. Tempeh and black bean filling, creamy tofu cheese with lots of cilantro, and smothered in red enchilada sauce! Serve with a side of brown rice!

5. CRISPY FISH TACOS WITH CABBAGE SLAW AND SPICY TOMATILLO CILANTRO SAUCE:

Inspired by "fish tacos"',  these are incredibly good and very addictive! 

6. GLAZED TEMPEH TACOS WITH JICAMA, MANGO AND AVOCADO SALSA, AND LIME SPIKED SOUR CREAM:  These delicious tacos have really unique flavor and if you havent had jicama before, well, now is the time to try some! it is so good that most of it ends up in my mouth while cutting instead of in the mango salsa! Oh and speaking of mango and avocado salsa, you can eat this stuff with a spoon plain, its so good!

 

7. TACO STYLE SALAD WITH SPICY TOMATILLO CILANTRO DRESSING:  I pretty much love anythign served over chips. But what really makes this meal awesome is the spicy tomatillo cilantro dressing!  If you didn't notice, this uses the same dressing as the "fish" tacos. So you can make two cool meals with just one dressing.

8. CHICK"N CHILI VERDE SOUP:  from The Health Seekers Kitchen.  How amazing does this sound? This is one of my Mom's recipes and pretty much anything that she cooks up I love to eat! her food is so good!

9. Roasted Sweet Potato and Anaheim Pepper with chili-lime dressing:  from The Health Seekers Kitchen .   Another one of my Mom's amazing recipes. The ingredients in this look so interesting and so delicious!  And the dressing looks awesome!

10. SPICY TWO BEAN TAMALE PIE:  from The Health Seekers Kitchen .  This looks hearty, healthy and like perfect comfort food!

Have a Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Israeli Couscous Salad with Spicy Toasted Chickpeas and Fresh Veggies

Happy Meatless Monday to you all! I hope everyone had a great weekend! I spent some time over the holidays with some of my family who lives states away from me and it was so fun to see everyone! I especially loved to see all my little nieces and nephews. I know everyone says this about their own, but mine are just the cutest ever!  I always miss them, but I see them every few months so its not too bad.

Ok, onto this delicious salad. I made it with Israeli couscous, which is a toasted pasta shaped like little tiny balls. It is much larger than the couscous that you are used to. The flavor is delicious, and fun  for children to eat, and it has a great presentation if you are making this to take to a gathering. With the addition of spicy toasted chickpeas for a punch of complete protein,and lots of fresh raw vegetables, it makes the perfect, light yet filling meal. And it is great eaten chilled, so its also perfect for packing in lunches for yourself or your kids. If you can not find Israeli couscous, you can make this using regular couscous or whole grain pasta noodles that are smaller shaped (like elbow macaroni noodles) and get great results. 

Hope you all enjoy this as much as we did, and if you didn't know what to make your family for meatless Monday, well, now you know. :) And stay tuned. More coming to you this week from my kitchen!

Israeli Couscous Salad

with Spicy toasted chickpeas and fresh veggies

Serves 4-6

printable recipe

What you need:

2 C. uncooked Israeli Couscous

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

pinch of sea salt

Cook couscous according to package directions. Fluff, and then add...

  

1/2 c. green olives, sliced in half

1/2 c. black olives, sliced in half

1 cucumber, seeded and diced

1/2 avocado, diced

juice of 2 lemons

 2 Tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp. of Ume plum vinegar or red wine vinegar

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

 salt and pepper to taste

 1 recipe for toasted chickpeas (recipe below)

Spicy Toasted Chickpeas: 

 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed well, and blotted with a towel to get extra moisture off.

1 Tbsp. olive oil

good pinch each of salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chickpeas and salt, pepper, and a good pinch of cayenne pepper. Toss and cook for 3 or 4 minutes, then remove from the heat and let cool for 5 min. Fold into the salad.