Hey there!
I am almost done with my first year of college! It has been very eventful, and I have learned much in and out of the lecture halls. One of the things I've had to learn a lot about it how to manage to eat delicious vegan food...at college! This is no easy feat!
When my dinning halls failed to deliver their promised constant vegetarian and vegan options that they boast about online, I started to look online for plant-based dorm recipes to feed my appetite. It was then that I discovered.....
and abundant abounding plethora of....
almost nothing.
The resources online for vegans are great and fabulous, but frankly I found very little about how to maintain a happy and delicious plant-based lifestyle at college.
Since I committed to become vegan last May 15th, 2012, I have discovered that I love to cook!
Unfortunately, as a first year, I am limited to preparing food using a microwave and my fridge-freezer.
For my birthday I got a Magic Bullet, and this has expanded my world into the realm of smoothies! Nom!
I am starting this blog with the intention provide other peer college vegans with some resources and suggestions for how to continue to nom on plant-based deliciousness and save the world within the limitations of university housing, limited mobility, etc.
Some universities are more supportive of vegans than others, and I while I hope that one day all institutions have vegan options, in the mean time, I am not going to cry about not having access to vegan Chocolate Mousse--I'm going to make it on my own and make it GOOD.
I will try to post recipes on a regular basis, and I will also discuss what I have found to work for me in terms of supplementing dinning hall food and making new dishes out of their offerings. I'll also cover the basic "kitchen" (I don't have a kitchen at school) equipment needed to whip up your vegan mousse and eat it too!
A lot of the things that I eat I just throw together, but sometimes I see a recipe on one of my favorite blogs and adapt it depending on what I have (or lack).
Bear with me as I am no professional photographer and most of the time just use my phone! The yum of recipes can speak for itself, outside the bounds of color and form :)
To start off this blog experiment, I'll share one of my favorite recipes!
Enjoy!
Chocolate Avocado Mousse:
Don't be shy if you don't like avocado, it tastes like creamy chocolate mousse :)
Makes 2 snack servings (enough for you and your roommate!)
Ingredients:
-1 ripe avocado
-4 tablespoons soymilk, almond milk, or other non-dairy milk
-2 teaspoons to 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (depending on how much you like chocolate/avocado--I would start out with 2 teaspoons and adjust to your taste from there)
-2 teaspoons to 2 tablespoons molasses or agave syrup (depending on your sweet tooth...I don't have much of a sweet tooth so often I use 2 teaspoons)
Method: (It looks like a lot of steps but I just over explain)
1. Crack that avocado open! Slice it in two parts, twisting the two halves to gently separate them. Dispose of (compost if you can) the avocado seed and scoop each side into two separate small bowls. 2. Mash up the ripe avocado with a fork or smush it up with a spoon. Remove any of those fibrous strings that sometimes come with the avocado goodness.
3. Add 2 tablespoons milk to each bowl. Each bowl should now contain half of the avocado and 2 tablespoons milk.
4. Add your desired amount of cocoa powder. For instance, if you want to use two teaspoons, add one teaspoon to each bowl. If you prefer two tablespoons, add one tablespoon to each bowl.
5. Add desired amount of molasses to each bowl. Maybe your roommate likes it sweeter than you. I wouldn't add more than one tablespoon per bowl, though!
6. Mix it up! Stir, stir, stir. Refrigerate for as long as you can stand. This will allow the flavors to have a little mixer party of bonding in your fridge...i.e. it will taste more robust after refrigeration.
7. Enjoy. Yum!
Below: A close up of the mousse nom. Nom!
This is a treat for me, as avocados are not always that plentiful at school. Stay tuned for a banana ice cream spin off!
