Mac & No Cheese Please

Taking time to cook for yourself is a wonderful act of self-care and saves money. I know it takes energy and planning, but you are worth it!

Cooking on the weekends and freezing soups and casserole dishes makes it easier to bring your lunch to work or when you get home after a busy day. Packing your own food helps you stay on your vegan path as well. 

When I met my husband, Wade, at a yoga conference, he had packed his own lunch which I thought was cute. Now we do it all the time and feel like little kids with our tupperware.

I have experimented through the years with several mac n cheese recipes and have found this one from the Engine 2 Diet to be EASY and delicious! It also doesn’t use vegan cheeses, which are processed and are high in fat and oil, so it’s healthier too.

Mac Not Cheese:  click here for recipe

Cashews-protein

Nutritional yeast-B vitamins

Roasted red peppers- Vit C; gives the pasta an orange color

Lemone juice, garlic & onion powder- flavor

Fusilli rice noodles-Trader Joes

Peas for side dish- legume for protein

Subscribe to my YouTube channel for weekly recipes: 

click here

Exciting Time Magazine Article: How a Vegetarian Diet Can Save the Planet: click here for article

Yoga’s Path to Weight loss available on amazon: Click here

KK Book Cover - Vegan Mac & Cheese

“This is a beautiful life-affirming reminder that it all begins and ends with love- self, the Divine and to all the creatures on the planet! You feel her love and passion for yoga throughout the pages and it motivated me to get on the mat and let go of the struggle. Also practical tips to a smooth transition to a plant-based diet, for the betterment of all.“- Frangelica Fellini Amazon review

 

Thank you for your support, keep cooking!

Vegan love to you,

Xo Kathleen

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

It’s healthy treat time!

These yummy Banana Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies are from The Engine 2 Diet web site, by Rip Esselstyn: click here for recipe.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

Rip is the fire fighter and Iron Man Triathlete in Forks Over Knives. His Netflix Documentary, Engine 2 Rescue Kitchen, gives great tips on how to make your kitchen vegan friendly.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

Mashed bananas-instead of oil of eggs; high in potassium

Peanut Butter- Protein (Costco Natural PB, with no added sugar)

Oats-High in fiber

Wheat Flour or Gluten-free Flour (Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour)

Maple Syrup- instead of sugar; high in minerals

Vanilla-for flavor

I will be a guest on Victoria Moran’s Mainstream Vegan Radio Show on Wed March 23rd at 2pm Central Time. All shows are archived on Unity FM Radio: click here to listen

These yummy Banana Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies are from The Engine 2 Diet web site, by Rip Esselstyn: click here for recipe.These yummy Banana Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies are from The Engine 2 Diet web site, by Rip Esselstyn: click here for recipe.

 

Sea World has announced it will no longer breed orcas and will end the use of orcas in performances, which is HUGE.

However, my heart aches for the orcas like Tilikum who is dying at the San Diego Sea World after being in a swimming pool for 30 years. He was taken from his native Iceland when he was 2 years old. 

Thank you for caring about all beings!

Vegan love to you,

Kathleen 

Kale & Quinoa Salad with Citrus Dressing

Happy Spring Friend!

Are you craving more greens as it gets warmer?

This fantastic Kale & Quinoa Salad with Dates, Almonds & Citrus Dressing is a wonderful combination of raw and cooked food from www.thekitchn.com: click here for recipe

Kale-super food packed with Vitamins A, K, C, protein and iron.

Quinoa- 1 cup has 8 grams of protein, fiber and magnesium

Dates-high in potassium and Vit K

Almonds-great source for protein, fiber and potassium

I had the pleasure of meeting Raw Food Expert Mimi Kirk this weekend. She’s 77 and was voted PETA’s sexiest vegetarian!She’s an amazing activist for health, animals and the environment.  We both have articles in this month’s issue of Vegan Lifestyle Magazine out of Australia. I love this magazine filled with recipes, fashion and social issues. Available: iTunes: click here or Google Play; click here.

Kale & Quinoa Salad

New York Times Article about new plant-based lobby group, lead by Elizabeth Kucinich. Her husband, former Ohio Congressman, Dennis Kucinich is the reason I went vegan in 2002. He was having health problems and reversed them after going vegan. I sat in the audience soaking up every word he said like a sponge. click here for article

FREE CONSULTATION: If you’re interested in adopting a plant-based diet and need help with meal planning or anything else, contact me for a free consultation: kathleen@kathleenkastner.com

I’m here to support you!

Vegan love to you,

Kathleen 

Cranberry Chickpea Salad

I have another inspiring documentary for you!

search

PlantPure Nation is a follow-up film to Forks Over Knives, which is now an Instant on Netflix in the U.S.

click here for trailer

The filmmakers set up plant pods in small communities and provided plant-based meals for 10 days. It’s amazing how quickly their cholesterol levels dropped in a short period of time. 

Have you had your cholesterol checked recently? Cardiologist Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, from Forks Over Knives, encourages people to get their TOTAL cholesterol below 150 to prevent the risk for heart disease. 

Remember, a vegan diet has zero cholesterol and is high in fiber. Animal products are high in cholesterol and have zero fiber. 

Cranberry Chickpea Salad: The PlantPure Nation Cookbook, by Kim Campbell

click here for recipe

Chickpea Salad

This chickpea salad uses tahini (sesame seed butter) instead of of vegan mayo.  The cranberries, walnuts, celery and carrots give it a delicious flavor and crunch.You can eat it on a bed of kale with rice crackers or on your favorite bread. It’s a perfect lunch to take to work. 

Keep nourishing yourself with plant powered foods! It’s wonderful for your health, the animals and the planet. 

Vegan love to you,

Kathleen

Vegan for LIFE!

“If slaughterhouses had glass walls, we would all be vegetarian.” -Paul McCartney
I loved and cherished animals as a young child, even though I was raised in a meat eating family in the middle of Kansas, which is known as a “beef state.” I remember getting violently ill after eating a bite of roast when I was 6 years old, which lead me to stop eating beef and pork forever. Unfortunately, I continued to eat chicken until my 20′s.

However, my 22- year old cat, Samantha, helped me see the light. She was dying from kidney failure and I made the choice to end her suffering, by having my vet put her out of her toxic misery. As I held her precious body in my arms, I watched as the vet pricked her frail frame with the needle and in an instant I felt her soul release. In that defining moment, I felt in my heart the deepest connection to all animal souls and that I had no right to be eating any of them. I made the conscious decision to stop eating all forms of meat, including fish.
In 2002, I shifted from being vegetarian to vegan and my body began to heal itself of acne, allergies and asthma. Why my doctors never asked me about my diet, is beyond me? Instead they gave me lots of prescriptions for these conditions, when all I really needed to do was change my diet! Once I learned about the cruelty of the dairy, veal and egg industry, I was done eating animal products for life.
I am a vegan first and foremost for the animals, for their protection and safety, to help them live their lives free of pain and suffering. I do not feel God put them on the planet to live a life of confinement, fear and being slaughtered, so that people can get their “protein” fix for the day. There are numerous forms of plant based proteins, including green leafy vegetables, beans, nuts, tofu and even brown rice. Plus the human body doesn’t need as much protein as the media would like to convince us. Excess animal protein in your diet can contribute to cancer, kidney stones, gall stones, high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, constipation and obesity.

Going vegan is great for your health, the animals and the environment. If going 100% vegan sounds too over whelming, begin by having one or two vegan meals a day and start retraining your taste buds, to the joys of a plant based diet. In time, you will begin to crave foods with more prana/ life force, instead of meat which is devoid of prana. Adding daily yoga and meditation into your life will also help shift your consciousness to be more compassionate to all beings.

Fill up on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, peas, lentils and  beans. Www.ohsheglows.com is my favorite vegan blog and cookbook. It is full of delicious recipes that will leave you feeling satisfied and happy, no deprivation.

A vegan diet is simple and satisfying and no was has to be harmed for food. Watch the movies “Forks Over Knives,” “Earthlings” and “Cowspiracy” to learn more about the benefits of going vegan for your health, animal compassion and environmental sustainability.
I lead 21-Day Vegan Cleanses to help you jump-start your vegan diet: click here

The next time you sit down for a meal, pause and ask your soul, not your mind, what it would like to eat and really listen to the answers.

What is more important, to satisfy your appetite or to save a life?
Namaste’ – the divine in me, honors the divine within you and in all beings.