Very Berry Red Kale Smoothie

I was inspired to make a purple smoothie yesterday evening, so I gathered what I thought would look and taste amazing together. I discovered some frozen organic cherries in my freezer that I had no idea were there (which made me very happy since they are currently not in season), some blueberries, strawberries, and of course the rest of my red kale. This made for a really sweet, thick, and delicious smoothie with beautiful colour. If you're one for berries, this is the smoothie for you!

Ingredients: 

1. 6 cups of Red Kale (yes, 6! Kale is naturally a very fluffy, crunchy green- so when you measure it, it actually makes for a lot of cups. I used about half a head of Red Kale for this amount) 
2. 1 cup of blueberries 
3. 1/4 a cup of organic frozen cherries (you can find them in the frozen fruit/veggie aisle) 
4. 1/4 a cup of light canned coconut milk 
5. 4 strawberries 
6. A capful of vanilla extract* for additional sweetness 
7. 2 1/2 cups of H20 
8. Lots of ice! 

*Optional ingredient

As you can see, this is a pretty simple recipe. It serves about 4 to 5 cups and it took me anywhere from 5-10 minutes to make. Great for, in my opinion, any time of day that you may be craving something sweet and/or different. Enjoy! x  

Raw Tomato Soup

Hello everyone! Happy Sunday to you all. The weekend is officially coming to an end, and we are almost at the last day of the month, meaning it's almost May, which is inspiring me more and more to make lovely spring-derived recipes for each and every one of you. Today I was inspired to make a beautiful raw tomato soup, and to my surprise it came out not only delicious, but also very gazpacho-esque, which if you don't already know is an extremely refreshing soup from Spain. While I was compiling the ingredients for this recipe, I had no idea what it would come out like. I basically go by my instincts and what I know tastes good together, or what I think could marry well. As usual, I was pleasantly surprised with the results, and so was my family. This is a great soup to share with friends, a loved one, family members etc. I'd also recommend leaving it in the fridge to cool for awhile, or adding ice to the blender if you want it instantly! It's very filling (my tummy is sooo happy right now) and also very light, and I hope you'll try it and enjoy it as much as I did!

Ingredients:

1. About 2 cups of organic grape tomatoes 
2. 2 vine ripe tomatoes 
3. A sliver of avocado 
4. Half a handful of fresh organic basil 
5. 6-7 stocks of celery 
6. A tiny dollop of soy free vegenaise* 
7. 1 lemon 
8. 2 sticks of organic hearts of palm 
9. 8 oz of H20

*Optional ingredient

This recipe definitely exceeded my expectations taste-wise! Absolutely delicious and refreshing like I expressed before. Before I close this post, there's something I forgot to mention in my introduction that I find very important. I'd like to encourage all of you to use 100% organic ingredients if you can, and anything that you buy canned, make a point to look for this label. I'd also like to encourage you to look into the Non-GMO Project; it's very interesting and informative and gives you a heads up on what is and isn't genetically modified at your local grocers, restaurants etc. Please feel free to leave any comments for me below with questions, feedback, or just plain love :) x

Coconut Dream Smoothie

Hi everyone! Today I woke up with the inspiration to make something special and I decided to make a delicious green morning smoothie! I was in the mood for something sweet, and yesterday I tampered a bit with this recipe and perfected it to my liking today. I poured it into a huge mason jar and shared it with my boyfriend and we both really loved it, and I hope you will too.

Ingredients:

1. 2 leafs of swiss chard, washed and de-stemmed 
2. About 1 cup of spinach 
3. 1 cup of this light organic canned coconut milk (you can find it at whole foods). 
4. 1 banana
5. 2 pitted dates
6. 4-5 strawberries 
7. 12 oz of H20 
8. Lots of ice! 

and voilà! You now have yourself a creamy, coconut dream smoothie. Please feel free to leave any comments, feedback, or questions below. xx

Grassy Youth Juice

This green mushy looking thing above tasted sooo healthy and delicious, and I made so much of it that I have plenty leftover. This is a great meal replacement, and also wonderful for on-the-go. I made about 3 to 4 servings worth and stored away what I didn't finish in a mason jar for later. I put a heavy amount of leafy greens in it which made the consistency more JUICE-like (which I heavily enjoyed!) and I hope you will, too. One thing I highly recommend is a high-powered blender such as a Vitamix because it really makes the ingredients smooth out, so you don't get that seediness most of us don't like.

Ingredients:

1. 2 leafs of Rainbow Chard (de-stemmed)
2. Half a head of Red Kale 
3. About a handful of Curly Parsley 
4. Half a Lemon (pick out those seeds)
5. 1 yellow pear 
6. 2 strawberries 
7. 1 mini chiquita banana 
8. A sprinkle of Wheat Grass powder* 
9. Lots of water!!! (I put about 1 and a 1/2 bottles worth)
10. And lots of ice! (if you want it to be cold) 

*Optional ingredient

One more thing! If you'd like to take it a notch further and make this a more watery juice vs. thick, what you can do is pour the ingredients through a strainer.

Vegan Eatery Introduction

Hi everyone! Welcome to the official Vegan Eatery blog where I, Lauren Suarez, will be bringing you 100% original recipes of all kinds from salads, soups, juices, and smoothies! The majority of all of my recipes will be completely raw- those that are not completely raw will be specified. My goal with the Vegan Eatery is to inspire each and every one of you to be healthier, and in conjunction with being healthier, I believe this will help you in leading more fulfilling and inspiring lives. I truly believe eating a raw meal at least once a day makes a HUGE difference, not only in yourself (inside AND out), but in your approach to the world we live in. I hope I can transpire my inspiration into your routines, and by doing that it will inspire me even more to keep on giving you the motivation we deserve and the soon to come beautiful recipes.

Before I close my first post I'd like to give you a little background information on my diet. I've been a vegetarian now since I was 15 years old. The obvious reasons are all cliché because you've heard them all before, but overtime being a vegetarian means something different, and the results are not only beneficial for yourself, they're also beneficial to the environment. No, I do not look at a slab of meat and crave it. In fact, I look at a slab of meat and see and feel nothing at all (besides the every-now-and-then guilt for the person consuming it). I am now 22 years old (23 in May) and I've been through many ups and downs with my dieting. For example, I went 100% vegan in January of 2012, stayed that way for 6 months, decided to go 100% raw, stayed that way for nearly one month, and then went back to eating cheese. Throughout my years of vegetarianism, I've had the all but too common slip ups that most of us have, and I'm here to tell you right now that THAT IS O.K. and that this isn't something easy. Rewarding? Absolutely. Easy? Not in the least. There are many reasons why this is so, and one of the first I'm going to cover is a person's readiness to change. I think the best way to start eating better, or to become vegetarian/vegan/raw-vegan is simply by easing yourself into the process. In this day and age, instant gratification is what we aim for, and believe me I am a victim of that just as much as the next person. I'm one to be majorly rash and impulsive with my decisions based on dieting, and my experiences only show the obvious: it takes time and effort to commit, as well as endless research. When I jumped into veganism, I went on a rampage that only lead me right back where I started 6 months later. I'm not saying you can't do it! Some people work better that way and truly can transform their diets at the drop of a hat with no issues whatsoever. But realistically speaking, with all the common day-to-day life distractions at every corner, it's very very easy for the majority of people to fall back. I'm here to help you help me help you etc. So, to put it plainly, my goal here is to not only lead myself closer to a more raw vegan lifestyle, but to also help you get there with me (if you so wish). Just a simple recipe a day can make the difference, and when you start to reap the benefits of those differences, you won't want to turn away from them. 

So with that, I hope you'll enjoy everything I have to offer. Please feel free to leave comments below with any questions you may have. XX