Jessica and I met last August at the Healthy Living Summit. Unlike myself, who could only handle it for a week, Jess went vegan for the entire month of February. I asked if she’d share with you her experiences, and her favorite recipe, from this month. I can’t wait to make this sauce! Thanks Jess!
Hello!! I’m Jessica and I blog over at Black Cat Kitchen and I went vegan for a whole month.
Granted, it was the SHORTEST month of the year. …. details.
My reasons for going vegan were a little different than most. I wanted to experiment if going dairy-free would help with some skin issues I’ve been having. Verdict: It seemed to help the first few weeks, but then I started breaking out. Bummer.
However, I learned a few things in my month-long experiment.
1. Reading labels is KEY. I read labels before, but I definitely spent a lot more time this month at the grocery store looking up ingredients on my iPhone.
2. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I was already mostly vegetarian, so giving up the dairy and eggs wasn’t too difficult for me. But, as the days got closer to the end of the month, I found myself craving goat cheese and mayonnaise. (Not together, of course. That would be weird.)
3. Vegan meals are delicious! There are SO many great recipes out there that non-vegans would be surprised to find out are vegan. I’ve really loved trying out new dishes.
4. I could live off this peanut sauce. In fact, I almost did. I made at LEAST 3 batches of it during the month. It was my go-to meal when I was running late or didn’t have time to fix something. I usually get sick of leftovers after a few days, but I honestly could eat this every day.
Cilantro Ginger Lime Peanut Sauce
1/4 cup smooth, natural peanut butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoon minced ginger
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 bunch cilantro leaves
juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon sambal oelek (optional)
1/8 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
Put everything in a food processor and mix – it only takes a minute or two. (I didn’t even bother mincing the garlic or ginger – just throw it all in the food processor!) You can add a bit of water if you want the sauce a little thinner.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of sauce (I prefer less sauce) to stir fried veggies – I’ve used whatever was on hand: zucchini, onion, green & red peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, asparagus. Serve over rice.
The sauce will last about a week in the fridge. Keep chopped veggies on hand and you’ve got dinner in less than 15 min.
Now, I’m off to make more peanut sauce. I may need a 12-step program for this stuff.
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Read my healthy living blog at blackcatkitchen.com
Thank you not only for sharing this recipes but for pointing me to a whole new blog to explore as well.
Jess, I made this for dinner tonight and it was so good-though we used way more sauce than you do! Thanks so much for sharing it. I think its going to become a staple in our home.
You are welcome, Emily! It’s definitely a staple at mine … I usually get bored with leftovers, but not this! Plus it’s SO easy! Thanks for letting me hijack your blog for a day :)