Hi Friends! It’s raining outside (yay – rain in Southern California!!), I’ve got a fire in the fire place, and soup season is officially in full swing! I LOVE making soup, and it just doesn’t get any better than this gluten free and vegan, Creamy Cheddar Bacon Cauliflower soup! It’s a full meal by itself, although, I can’t blame you if you want to eat some crusty bread with it, and improve the situation even more with a beer… just saying’. 😉 This soup is so incredible, that it has been officially, and permanently added to my list of family favorites. It’s joining favorites like my Tortilla Soup and my Classic Chili, and my (yet to be posted) vegan Chicken Noodle Soup! I have recently developed a bit of an obsession with cauliflower, and this soup is the result! I know, I’m a little late to the cauliflower party, but I’m here now, and I’m making up for lost time! You gonna want to get this on your favorites list ASAP, so let’s talk about how you can whip up a batch of this soup in no time flat! …
25 Creative Ways to Prepare Tofu
Tofu is definitely gaining more respect in the court of public opinion these days. Most people don’t cringe when you say ‘tofu’ anymore, or tell you that they ate it once, and they hated those slippery little white cubes, floating in their Japanese soup. It’s so mainstream that you can even order is right off the menu at Chipolte! (Yes, Sofritas is tofu! It’s amazing btw, in case you haven’t tried it! Spoiler Alert: This post contains a link to a sofritas copycat recipe! ) Besides it’s super high protein content, one of the best things about it is that it will soak up the flavors of anything you cook it with, marinate it in, or blend it with, making it a really versatile food! So enjoy this list of 25 creative ways to prepare tofu, including recipes from my blog, and from other talented food bloggers! Enjoy!
****Update – Bonus Links!! I prepared this list for you a while ago, and in the meantime I’ve posted a couple of really great tofu recipes to my blog, so be sure to check out my Simple Sesame Garlic Buddha Bowl, My BBQ Tofu Bowl, and my favorite Weeknight Tofu for more amazing tofu recipes!*******
1. Crispy Tofu Bacon
Cheftographer / Via cheftographer.com
Recipe Here
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Southwestern Bacon Avocado Salad
Have you ever played that game where you name just one thing/record/food that you would pick, if you could pick only one to be stranded on a deserted island with? Let’s play it right now! If you could pick just one record, one comfort item, and one food that you would be stranded with, what would you pick? (Answer in the comments – GO!) For me, that one comfort item, or that one album might change…. my favorite possession is without a doubt, my camera, although without a power outlet, or a laptop, that wouldn’t last too long. *I think the goal is not to over-think these things* My go-to answer for music is usually Bob Marley’s Legend, for it’s ability to cheer me up because if I was stranded I might need that. However, I should probably pick something really long, so a Grateful Dead live show would be a good one. At the moment though, I am having a full.blown.obsession with Eric Church’s new album, Mr. Misunderstood, so that’s such a tough question really! The struggle is real folks!! The one thing that I never have a hard time with though, is the food. I ALWAYS pick salad! It’s strategy really… see if you pick salad, there are sooo many different ways to make salad, and so many ingredients, that it would be like having a whole bunch of different foods, so it’s really a no brainer. (They’d have to drop me off with a whole salad bar, hehe!) Now that I’ve fallen head over heels in love with this Southwestern Bacon Avocado Salad, I think it would have to be THIS salad. It’s that good. (BTW – my husband said that this was the best salad he’s ever eaten in his whole life! Yay!) Try it, I think you’ll agree. I’d have to specify though, to whoever was going to be dropping me off on that island, PLEASE pack the Chipolte Lime Ranch Dressing too!
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Vegan Gluten Free Cinnamon Blueberry Pancakes
Pancakes come in all shapes and sizes, but I have to say that my favorite ones, are of the fluffy, pillow-y variety! So how do you make them fluffy, when you are making vegan, gluten free pancakes? Well, when I went to work on this recipe, that was priority number one! Priority number two is that they needed to incorporate aquafaba. Why? Because I have to say that I’m fascinated with it! So, for those of you not in the know about this yet, I’ll give you a very quick primer. Aquafaba is the latest and greatest egg-replacer that you probably have in your cabinet right now. The vegan community is buzzing about it! It was discovered about a year ago, and it’s been revolutionizing the way people bake without eggs. It’s basically just the bean brine that your canned beans come packed in. Mind blowing, right? Yes, it’s really that simple! Now, people are taking it a little (or a lot) further than that, and actually whipping it into a thick, creamy consistency and baking it into meringues, icings, and all kinds of wonderful creations! It’s really quite amazing, and a lot of fun to experiment with. In a lot of recipes however, you can just substitute one egg with 3 Tbsp. of the liquid (no whipping required) and it works great. This pancake recipe is sort of a hybrid, in that it takes just a short whisking, but the results – light, fluffy, gluten free pancakes on your plate are so worth it! If you are adventurous and give this new aquafaba thing a try, definitely leave a comment at the end of the post and let me know what you came up with. If you ‘d like to connect with other aquafaba experimenters, pop onto Facebook and check out the Vegan Meringue – Hits and Misses group, it’s a pretty active group and it’s fun to see what works and what doesn’t. And if experimenting in the kitchen isn’t your thing, or you just don’t have the time, then don’t worry friends, I got your back! I do the experimenting, and you get yummy, tested recipes! If you want to get those yummy recipes right in your inbox, and never miss a single one – sign up for my email list. It’s right over there ——> to the right —–>in the sidebar! So, back to what’s really important here…. Yummy, Fluffy, Cinnamon Blueberry Pancakes!! Make them this weekend for breakfast, or dinner. You can even freeze some them and pull them out on a week day for a quick, filling breakfast before work or school. And while you’re in the pancake making mood – definitely make up a quick batch of this crispy Vegan Bacon (yessssss!) to go with your pancakes! 😋
Tofu Bacon is the perfect compliment to these pancakes!
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Angel McNall is the author and photographer of High Vibe Lifestyle. For over 20 years, Angel has been teaching people how to live more vibrantly by eating a plant based diet, and using plant based medicine. 
