Cheap and Easy Homemade Salsa!
Because People Like to say, “Salsa”

Buying salsa kills me. For a simple mix of onion and tomato it costs $3.50. This measly 15.5oz jar lasts about 10 minutes, 5 minutes if I share it with friends. Plus! That’s not even the good salsa! I’m just talking the run of the mill Tostido nonsense you get at the 711!

I never thought I could master the art of salsa so I begrudgingly complied to the salsa injustice I faced. That is until I went to Spain. In Spain, Mexican food basically does not exist. I know, I know, they’re Spanish! Shouldn’t they eat exactly like Mexicans?! No. Unfortunately, there is nothing about Spanish cuisine that even comes close to Mexican.

Like all globalized nations, they do have Mexican food. But frankly, it’s awful and it costs double the price of the same products you’d find in the states. So my little 15.5oz Tostido jar of salsa turned into an even smaller jar for $2 more and an even worse flavor!

No thankyou.

So I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands and my little kitchen in Barcelona was the birth place of Cheap Vegan Salsa. It has been a while since I talked salsa on here so I decided to re-share my recipe with you.

But first, recognize that no two home made salsas are identical and you can be as creative with this recipe as you like. Want to add Garlic? Mango? Black beans? Jalepenos?! Go for it! I’m providing the cheapest salsa building blocks, it’s up to you to make it your own.

Cheap Vegan Salsa

• 1 large can crushed tomatoes - $1 
  (fresh tomatoes blended are even better)
• 1 green bell pepper - $0.35
• 1/2 large onion - $0.20
• 1/4 lime - $0.10
• 5-10 cilantro leaves - free from your herb garden
  (a $3 cilantro plant is an investment, it will last as long as you water it) 
  
• salt

1. Pour crushed tomatoes into a jar.
2. Dice the onion and green pepper and put them in the jar as well.
3. Rip up the cilantro leaves and throw them in too.
4. Squeeze lime on top.
5. Salt to taste, I think the salsa in this photo probably had 1-2 tsp
6. Let salsa sit in fridge overnight.
   You can eat it right away but it will improve the longer it sits.

There you have it! 2 and a half times the salsa for under $2!

Cheap Vegan Food on the Road! Pun Intended.

I just completed my cross country road trip and have now made it to sunny Los Angeles! On the way I have had a lot of interesting, delicious, and fun vegan eating experiences. I’ve found that one of the best places to find cheap road food is by seeking out local food trucks.

Food trucks are a great way to get a taste of local flavor or to try a new foodie trend for half the price. Because food trucks don’t have to pay the costs of a brick and mortar restaurant, they have a little more flexibility in offering great food for cheap. Making these trucks great for cheap vegans in a bind.

Support your local food trucks!

In a world full of Red Lobsters, Outbacks, and Olive Gardens, it’s important to support the local maverick chefs who put their neck out to follow their dream of providing imaginative dishes that cater to our lifestyles as conscious consumers.

In New Orleans I came across a couple with just this mission in mind. Fat Falafel (photo above) is a local NOLA food truck that serves a menu that consists mostly of falafel dishes and french fries (with the most amazing vegan aioli I’ve ever had)  

Theresa Galli and Gavin Cady, CEOs of the Fat Falafel Food truck, strive to provide sustainable meals that happen to cater to the vegan diet. From the frier oil to the packaging, Fat Falafel, and many other food trucks on the road, strive to reduce their ecological footprint. By setting these standards for themselves, they set a grass roots example of the positive trends rising up in the food industry.

Don’t know how to find food trucks? Roaming Hunger (www.roaminghunger.com) is an app that helps you find these food trucks roaming around in your area. You can also use the site for catering or to start your own food truck.

www.thefatfalafeltruck.com

“Why not eat eggs? It doesn’t hurt the chicken.”

When people ask why it’s bad to eat eggs since chickens will lay them anyway, these pictures speak more than words. 

“These are Rhode Island Red hens that spent the first 18 months of their lives in an egg-production factory farm. After 18 months the ladies are considered to be “spent” and are sent to slaughter unless they’re able to find a home like this which are unfortunately few and far between.”

These hens were rescued from factory farms. The first two photos are 1 day post rescue, the second two are 2 months post rescue.

I don’t usually post this kind of thing on here, but I thought it was worth sharing.

(source)

(original reddit thread)

What do Vegans Eat Anyway? (Part II)

Having a vegan guest over? Maybe you’re just thinking of trying to eat healthier for the new year, or even go Vegan! But knowing where to start can be tricky, especially when you don’t know what is and isn’t vegan yet. So here’s a mini mock-menu of some real life Cheap Vegan staples I eat on the regular.

Pumpkin Pie From Real Pumpkin
Find out my secret to ending liquidy vegan pie! 

Happy Belated Thanksgiving! If you were like me and you were too busy to cook dessert, this pumpkin pie recipe will come in handy. 

Making a pumpkin pie from a real pumpkin is surprisingly easy. It can also be cheaper than buying canned pumpkin. This time of year is great for getting discount pumpkins since most people are not cooking from scratch or making Jack-o-lanterns.

Health Benefits of Pumpkin

Pumpkin is extremely filling and healthy, making it great for cheap vegans. About 1 cup of pumpkin has 2g of protein, 19% DV of vitamin C, 11% DV fiber, 8% DV iron, 4% calcium, and a whopping 245% DV of Vitamin A!

Vitamin A is beneficial for eye health. Retinoid forms from vitamin are helpful for pregnancy and childbirth, infancy, childhood growth, night vision, red blood cell production, and resistance to infectious disease.

Besides the health benefits of pumpkin, they’re delicious! Buying pumpkin fresh instead of canned is the healthiest way to take in these nutrients. 

Although a pie isn’t exactly the healthiest way to eat a pumpkin, is a nice treat especially around the fall holidays.

Fresh Pumpkin Pie

You can make pumpkin pie from many different types of pumpkins. You can use regular pumpkins for a more mild flavor but cheaper price, small pumpkins about the size of cantaloupe, or specialty pumpkins like the cinderella pumpkin pictured above. You can even use butternut squash for a slightly different flavor.

I used the cinderella pumpkin for it’s naturally sweet flavor. This was my first time using this type of pumpkin and I don’t want to ever go back. Not only was the pumpkin tastier, but the seeds were much meatier too!

Fresh Pumpkin Puree

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F
• Use serrated knife (I use a bread knife) to cut pumpkin in half.
• Scoop out seeds and separate for baking pumpkin seeds later.
• Place pumpkin halves on a baking sheet. You can cut pumpkin as many times as you need to. Water may collect on pan so make sure to use a pan with raised edges.
• Bake until you can stick a fork through easily.
• Remove and cool. If you’re in a hurry, place pumpkin in ice water to speed the cooling process.
• Scoop meat of pumpkin into a strainer and press excess water out.
• Blend pumpkin in a blender. 

You now have homemade pumpkin puree.

Pumpkin Pie Recipe

I still haven’t found the perfect pumpkin pie recipe but I found the most important change I made this year was using coconut creamer instead of soy milk.

• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 cup coconut creamer***
• ¾ cup granulated sugar cane syrup
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• ½ Tbs. dark molasses
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp. ground ginger
• ¼ tsp. grated nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. ground allspice

**includes photo of product, this coconut creamer changed EVERYTHING about how I make a pumpkin pie. The coconut milk mimicked the actual cream so well that I had no problems with firmness or texture. It was perfect. 

(You could possibly use coconut milk but I haven’t tried that yet)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Combine all ingredients and bake. Make sure to combine the cornstarch with a little cold coconut creamer first so you don’t get lumps of starch in your pie.
3. Pour mixture in pie crust of your choice (Whole Foods has vegan pie crust but you can save money by making your own)
4. Place in oven for 50 minutes or until the pie has firmed or become browned. Cooling should solidify the pie more firmly. Because of the creamer, the pie may be a lighter color than usual, this is normal and still tastes amazing!