Oh She Glows – Guest Post with Angela Liddon

I am thrilled to announce the very first guest post to appear on the pages of Family Fresh Cooking. I met Angela Liddon via her amazing blog Oh She Glows earlier this year. Love this girl. Angela’s vegan blog is a huge success and it is obvious why. Her recipes are amazing, her wit, candor and enthusiasm shine in each and every post and her photos rock. All of the delectable photos in this post are hers. Can we also talk about how cute she is?  Take it away Angela….

*We are double trouble today, swing over to her blog for a guest post by moi!*

Hi everyone, my name is Angela and I am excited to meet you on Family Fresh Cooking today!

When I first came across Family Fresh Cooking, I was blown away by Marla’s down to earth nature, gorgeous photography, healthy recipes, and family stories. After a couple months of enjoying Marla’s blog from afar, I finally got the courage to leave her a comment. Shortly thereafter, we started communicating over email and really hit it off.

I’ve been blogging at Oh She Glows since 2008 and my adventures with vegan cooking and baking began in 2009. When I first started eating a vegan diet, I was clueless as to what I could eat. I bought tons of packaged vegan products like fake meats, tofu, and soy cheese and I based my meals around these foods. Instead of bursting with energy, I felt tired and weighed down by my new vegan diet. Not surprisingly, I soon tired of the processed vegan products and I realized that in order to sustain a vegan lifestyle long-term, I had to learn how to cook with real, plant-based foods. It was really that simple.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve learned a great deal about cooking without animal products through trial and error. And yes, I’ve had a lot of recipe failures…too many to name! What I’ve learned is that vegan food can be both healthy and delicious at the same time; I don’t have to sacrifice or feel deprived in the slightest. Today, I thought I would share with you some popular vegan recipes that will please even the toughest critic!

How about dessert, first?

I thought you’d agree…

These Berry Bliss Oat Squares are bursting at the seams with strawberries, blueberries, and banana sandwiched between a soft cinnamon maple oat crust and crumbly topping. They make a wonderful afternoon pick me up or breakfast on the go.

This Chilled Double Chocolate Torte is one of the most popular recipes on my blog and for a good reason! It is decadent, luxurious, and a real crowd pleaser. There is a secret healthy ingredient hiding in this cake that no one can ever guess…what do you think it is? Nope, it’s not tofu!

Up next, 5 Ingredient No Bake Date Squares – Simply dates, oats, almonds, coconut oil, and a touch of salt.  If you are a date square fan you will love these. They make a fun chilled summer treat that doesn’t require an oven. Just be sure to keep the squares chilled or they do lose a bit of their firmness.

I can’t think of a better summer treat than a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ‘Blizzard’ made from healthy cookie dough balls and processed frozen banana. This tastes so much like the real thing, you will never go back!

Aside from my sweet tooth, I’m also a big salad fan. I like my salads to have staying power though, so I focus on high-protein grains and beans, a bit of healthy fat, and a hefty dose of vegetables to add bulk and nutrients.

Refreshing, light, and flavourful while filling at the same time, this Back on Track Wheatberry and Bean Salad is one of the most popular salad recipes to date. I first made this salad as a way to get my healthy eating back on track after the holidays and it had me feeling great in no time!

The Energizing Protein Power Salad is another go-to salad recipe when I want to pack in a lot of protein into my day. This recipe is also easily adapted based on the grains and beans that you have lurking in your cupboards. Other salads I enjoy are the Protein Power Goddess Bowl and the Carrot Raisin Spelt Berry Salad.

My 15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta is our favourite quick and easy dinner when we are pressed for time. A blend of ingredients like avocado, olive oil, garlic, lemon, and basil create the ‘cream’ in this delectable pasta sauce and no one will believe you that it’s vegan when they try it!

This post would not be complete without mentioning my go-to breakfast. I started making green smoothies at the beginning of 2009 during a very rough time in my life. I used these smoothies as a way to start my day off on the right foot no matter what was to come. I named them ‘Green Monsters” because my first few attempts were pretty scary!

Since then, I have made all kinds of delicious concoctions and I rarely go a couple days without one. They are creamy, refreshing, and give me a ton of energy whenever I need a pick me up. My current favourite blend consists of 1 cup of spinach or kale, 1 & 1/4 cup non-dairy milk, 1 banana, 1/2 cup frozen mango, 1 tablespoon chia seeds, and some wheatgrass and protein powder. For more recipes, you can check out the Green Monster Movement.

I promise…they don’t taste as scary as they look! Try one and you will be hooked.

A big thank you to Marla for inviting me to guest post today! I hope you enjoyed this post and please feel free to stop by and say hello over at my blog, Oh She Glows. You can also find me on Twitter, Tastespotting and Foodgawker.

Thank you so much Angela! xo

Tagged as: Angela Liddon, berries, diet, FFC, food bloggers, guest post, healthy, Oats, Oh She Glows, vegan, vegetables