2011 Vegan Awards

Here are the winners of my personal Vegan Awards for 2011:

Best legume/bean :

Chickpeas

Chickpeas are amazing and so versatile! I love roasted chickpeas in quinoa, spinach and cranberry salad, roasted chickpeas as a snack, or sauteed chickpeas with vegetables. I love falafel, hummus and The Sexy Vegan's mock tuna salad , and chickpea mock crab cakes.

Best Vegan Sausage:

Field Roast Frankfurters (picture courtesy of Field Roast)

These sausages are addictive! I can eat them hot or cold and never get tired of them. They remind me of my favorite Czech sausages.

Best Cookbook:

The Happy Herbivore by Lindsay S. Nixon

This was the most frequently used vegan cookbook in my kitchen in 2011. The recipes are low in fat or fat free, yet very flavorful, delightful and easy to make. I made almost all recipes from that cookbook, many of them multiple times.

Best Chocolate:

Chocolove xoxox (Orange peel in Dark Chocolate)

and Whole Foods Dark Chocolate with Coconut

Best Tea:

The Republic of Tea Apricot Decaf Black Tea

and Rishi Cinnamon Plum

Best Plant-Based Milk:

Whole Foods Unsweetened Almond milk

This milk is amazing! It has only 40 calories a cup and I use it for everything from Overnight Oats, puddings, creamy soups and sauces, baked goods to smoothies. I also enjoy a splash of this milk in my tea.

Best Meat Alternative:
Gardein's Mandarin Orange Crispy Chick'n
A tasty chicken alternative, with fantastic texture and seasonings.

Best snack:
Marinated Collard Greens! I make these very often and when I don't make them, I buy them at Whole Foods's deli bar. Here is my recipe.

My personal best recipe of 2011:
Vegan paella with Sophie's Kitchen vegan prawns. This recipe won me a Kindle in a recipe contest :-) I am very proud of this recipe and I make it quite often. I made the recipe pretty simple so everyone can make it at home. You can leave out the vegan sausages and the vegan prawns if you don't have them, but the recipe will miss them.

Best vegan pizza:

Mellow Mushroom pizza with some many options-I still haven't tried them all :-)

Best vegan friendly grocery store:

Sevananda Natural Foods Market because they only sell vegetarian and vegan products (with the exception of cat and dog food). They also make awesome baked goods and have delicious hot and cold bar options everyday.

Best drink:
Caffeine-free and decaffeinated tea :-) I have quite a collection and love them all for different reasons.

Best grain:
Quinoa (a delicious, versatile and nutritious grain with funny "tails")

Here is my favorite way to enjoy quinoa, in a roasted chickpea salad with raw spinach and dried cranberries.

I also love my quinoa tabbouleh salad

Best vegan friendly restaurant:
World Peace Cafe is a vegetarian restaurant that is run by volunteers. They offer a great selection of vegan and vegetarian foods, wide assortment of teas and delicious vegan cakes. I love volunteering in the kitchen there. The staff is very nice and when I volunteer there I learn so much about cooking and food and ways to keep my mind calm and peaceful.

And their Peace burger is the best vegan burger that I have EVER had! Here is a picture of the burger from their website. They offer meditation classes every Thursday evening. More info here.

Best vegetable:

Kale

I became a kale addict overnight. I used to hate kale and then one day I had some kale salad at Whole Foods and boom! A new kale addict was born :-)

I love my kale raw, but I do enjoy it cooked as well (or baked into kale chips)

Not sure what to do with kale?

Try my kale recipes:

Garlicky Cheezy Kale

Winter bulgur & vegetable medley

Lemon kale pesto

Kale with creamy avocado and lime dressing

Kale salad three ways

What are your 2011 winners?