What Is Queso?

Spanish for “cheese,” queso is a bit more than your average cheese. Typically it’s more like the consistency of a cheese sauce, minus the macaroni. Only, queso is spiced up with a bit of pepper, onion, and cumin.

You can DIY your own vegan queso with your favorite store-bought vegan cheese shreds (try a dairy-free cheddar or pepper jack), a bit of your favorite nondairy milk, and a big dollop of vegan butter to make it saucy and creamy. Mix all together over low heat, add your spices, and let it get to that consistency you love. Then let the pouring, dipping, and dripping begin.

Not into making your own queso? That’s okay! Plenty of vegan ready-made brands are now on the market, too. Check your local grocer for jarred options like Siete or Mother Raw. There may be local options in your area, too to explore.

7-Layer Dip

You need:
Warmed Queso
Prepared guacamole
Vegan sour cream
Prepared guacamole
Black olives
Green onions
Lettuce
Tomato

Instructions: Layer a few spoonfuls of each ingredient into a cup or bowl. Serve with your favorite chips or veggies.

Nacho Mom’s Black Beans & Rice

You need:
Vegan Queso
Rice (brown or white)
1 can of black beans
1 Ripe avocado
Vegan sour cream

Instructions

• 1. Cook rice or heat leftover rice
• 2. Mix rice with desired amount of heated queso
• 3. Open and rinse a can of black beans
• 4. Top the rice mixture with the beans, avocado slices and vegan sour cream

More Ways to Enjoy Vegan Queso

Add to any of the following dishes:

• Nachos
• Tacos
• Burritos
• Baked potatoes and fries
• Raw or cooked vegetables
• Veggie burgers, dogs or nuggets
• Macaroni and cheese
• Quesadillas
• Fajitas
• Soups or chili
• Sandwiches or wraps
• Enchiladas, lasagna or any pasta

Looking for more vegan cheesy recipes? Check out this guide.

The post How to Use Vegan Queso In Your Favorite Recipes appeared first on Vegancuts.

In short, these muffins are downright delicious and healthy for you! Did I mention that they’re oil free? Just an added bonus, in my opinion. Just picture these muffins coming fresh out of the oven, their scent wafting through your home and then having to wait another 5 or 10 minutes before eating, trying not to drool all over the place.

Pair these tasty chai oatmeal muffins with a hot cup of cider, coffee or a spiked cup of vegan nog. You really can’t go wrong with the pairings of the season. 

Go ahead, make these at the start of your week and have breakfast or kid-friendly snacks for the rest of it!

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Vegan Chai Oatmeal Muffins

Super moist, oil-free, spiced muffins dotted with oats, seeds, and grains.

Course Breakfast, Snack

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 12

Author Jackie Sobon

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons Vegg Baking Mix
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 + 1/4 cup Earnest Eats Mayan Oats divided
• 1 cup organic sugar
• 1 tablespoon Blue Lotus Chai
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F and prepare a cupcake/muffin pan with 12 liners.
• Beat the Vegg Baking Mix and warm water together vigorously, until it gels up, set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, 3/4 cup Earnest Eats Mayan Oats, sugar, Blue Lotus Chai, baking soda and salt.
• In a smaller bowl, stir the apple sauce, non-dairy milk, vanilla extract and vegg gel together until smooth.
• Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir until combined. Use an ice cream scoop to place the batter into each liner, filling it within 1/4″ of the top.
• Divide 1/4 cup Earnest Eats Mayan Oats between the muffins and push gently on top so that they don’t fall off easily after being baked.
• Place the pan into the oven and bake for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick draws clean.
• Let cupcakes rest on cooling rack for 5-10 minutes before eating.

About the Chef

Jackie Sobon is the chef and photographer behind the blog Vegan Yack Attack, cooking food and taking beautiful pictures of it is her passion and “Camera Eats First” is her motto. She has worked for Vegan Cuts for close to 3 years, photographed cookbooks for Happy Herbivore and Cupcakes & Kale, as well as for her own eBook, The Great Vegan Pumpkin. She has been featured on VegNews.com, as well as many top vegan blog lists and Chickpea Magazine.

The post Vegan Chai Oatmeal Muffin Recipe appeared first on Vegancuts.

Vegan meat has come a long way in recent years, with Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods achieving strong flexitarian customer bases and driving new category growth. Turns out meat-eaters are some of the biggest fans of vegan meat.  

But there’s more on offer beyond the fast-food vegan burgers. Holiday feasting is rich with vegan options for every palate — from the meatiest of meaty to more whole-food based recipes.

If you’re looking for the store-bought route, you have a plethora of options. The usual suspects are still going strong, and for good reason. Recipes abound for meatless mains, too. But whichever route you choose, one thing is for sure: gone are the days when the vegan food options were slim. These vegan recipes are perfect for the holidays.

Vegan Roasts and Mains for Christmas

Tofurky

This vegan holiday feast launched more than two decades ago and has been making vegans feel awkward at holiday dinners ever since. But the joke’s on naysayers: this roast is deliciously meaty and satisfying. Have you tried it yet? Tofurky also makes a vegan roast ham, if that’s more your style.

Gardein Holiday Roast

Gardein’s Holiday Roast delivers a blend of sweet and savory. Like the rest of the brand’s range, it’s full of flavor and meat-like texture. It won’t disappoint.

Field Roast

Field Roast makes a few different vegan roast options, including its meaty and tender stuffed Celebration Roast with Mushroom Gravy. It also makes a Wellington-like roast En Croute, coated in a puff pastry. All are perfect for your feasting.

Vegan Ham

Place this Vegan Ham roast on your favorite platter and decorate with charred pineapple and orange slices. It looks stunning. It smells amazing and it tastes even better. Get the recipe here.

Vegan Drumsticks

This vegan drumstick recipe cooks up in just 30 minutes. Just swap out the seasonings for classic turkey seasonings like fresh sage and rosemary. Christmas tasting and gluten-free! Get the recipe here.

Vegan Turkey Roast

Did someone say masterpiece? Show off your skills as you sculpt a realistic-looking vegan turkey that will leave guests begging for more. Perfect with drumsticks and extra gravy. Get the recipe here.

Whole Roasted Cauliflower

Not all roasts have to be meaty. This whole roasted cauliflower from Jamie Oliver is certainly a show stopper, but it tastes even better than it looks. Get the recipe here.

Vegan Nut Roast

You can always throw it back to traditional vegan fare of decades past with this decadent nut roast. It’s umami and rich through and through. You’ll savor every bite. Get the recipe here.

Vegan Wellington

This vegan wellington wraps crisp puff pastry around meaty lentils and savory mushrooms. It’s the spirit of Christmas on a fork. Get the recipe here. 

Need more festive feasting ideas? Check out our Thanksgiving recipes guide for additional mains, sides, and sweets.

The post What Can Vegans Eat at Christmas Dinner? appeared first on Vegancuts.

Why Vegan Beauty?

Did you know that many leading beauty products and brands use ingredients from animals? 

Lanolin is the sheep oil secretions found in wool. It’s commonly used in balms and salves to help moisturize dry skin. Sheep production is one of the most unsustainable practices, however. The ruminant animals are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, livestock, including sheep, produce 7.1 gigatonnes of Co2 per year; 14.5 percent of all emissions. 

Wool procurement isn’t exactly a haircut for sheep, either. The shearing process can be painful and cause wounds to the animals. Mulesing, the practice of removing flesh from the hindquarters of the animals to prevent flystrike, is done without anesthetic. It’s such a controversial practice that it’s been banned in New Zealand, one of the top wool-producing countries in the world. 

Honey and beeswax come from bees, of course. These are substances they produce out of necessity; beeswax is used in hive production and honey provides nourishment during the cold winter months. Honey production is a bee’s life’s work: it takes the nectar of some two million flowers to make just one pound of honey. If that were done by a single bee, it would take 90,000 miles of flight — that’s three times around the globe!

Taking honey and wax from bees is often done by smoking the insects out of their hives. Some of them die in the process. Bee populations are also struggling in recent years, making their products even more important to their survival. 

Another common animal ingredient in beauty products is carmine. This bright red color used in everything from bath bombs to lipstick comes from the crushed shells of the Latin American cochineal beetle.  There are many more animal ingredients in beauty care, from egg albumen to horse urine (yes, really). 

Animal Testing

One of the biggest reasons people choose vegan beauty products is to avoid the animal testing common with many mainstream brands. Animal testing is done to prove safety, typically because of the use of synthetic and harsh ingredients. 

Brands that conduct these tests have been targeted by animal rights groups like PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), for decades. Not only does animal testing involve painful experiments, like rubbing chemicals into animals’ eyes, but it requires these animals be kept in cages, inside labs, without anything resembling a normal life.

Fortunately, a growing number of mainstream brands like Dove and Cover Girl, have abandoned animal testing. There are also brands that never tested on animals to begin with — there are hundreds of brands employing all-natural ingredients that are safe and don’t require lab testing at all. Some of them are on this list, but there are many more. 

How to tell if a beauty product is vegan

Ever try reading an ingredients label and think it’s written in another language? Well, it kind of is. Most brands use the Latin name for ingredients, especially botanicals. There’s a simple reason for that: there is only one Latin name for a plant, but there can be many common names for these same ingredients. 

But it’s not just the Latin that can throw you off — it’s often the slew of chemicals and disguised names for animal ingredients that can make it difficult to tell if a product is vegan or not. There’s a complete list here from PETA that can help you decode your beauty labels.

This list of holiday gift ideas needs no decoding, however. It’s all vegan and all perfect for the beauty lovers on your list.

1. AVegan Beauty Plant Based Restore Night Cream

Rejuvenate your skin while you sleep with this potent anti-aging formula that smooths and firms while you rest. Safe fore sensitive skin and it won’t clog pores. Rich in vitamin E for repairing and healing, soothing aloe and chamomile, and age-defying lycopene and lutein.

Get it here

2. Kypris 1000 Roses Serum

For the rose lover, this moisturizing beauty oil is rich in sustainably-sourced ingredients. It’s a rose bouquet for the skin that will help to reduce dryness and lock in moisture. This serum oil is rich in bioidentical CoQ10, vitamin C, and yes, those 1,000 Bulgarian roses. Santa can’t do better than this.

Get it here

3. HanZá 8 Bath Bombs Gift Set

Give the gift of quiet time with a little bit of fizzy perfection. This bath bomb gift set is natural and organic, rich in healing clays and shea butter. Essential oils deliver a fragrant oasis as your giftee will soak away stress. 

Get it here

4. Skinveda Ayurvedic Natural Toner

Bring a spritz of summer glow to winter with this hydrating water-based, alcohol free toner. This sprayable-gel tones and tightens skin, and soothes a dull complexion.

Get it here

5. Bed of Nails Acupressure Mat

For the hard-to-shop for person on your list, give the gift of acupressure.

This Swedish-designed acupressure mat was inspired by ancient Indian healing traditions. Thousands of non-toxic plastic spikes, harmless to the skin but with many healing benefits, work similar to acupuncture without the need for expensive treatments. The pressure of the rounded nails against the skin may help the body release endorphins, which provides a sense of joy, energy and pain relief, and oxytocin, which makes you calm and relaxed.  

Get it here 

6. Rose Quartz Cooling Jade Eye Mask

You’ll get oohs and aahs on Christmas morning when your giftee opens up this sparkly beauty. A cooling jade eye mask made of rose quartz? Yes, please. Choose from pink (rose quartz) or green (jade). The small gems help to reduce puffiness and cool stressed out over-Zoomed eyes. Toss in the refrigerator for an extra cooling effect. 

Get it here

7. 24 Piece Vegan Truffle Collection

Beauty starts from within, right? The answer is definitely yes, especially when chocolate is involved. This silky smooth vegan truffle collection is the perfect gift for the chocolate lover on your list. Chocolate is rich in antioxidants that can help with a glowing complexion. No dairy here to clog pores and cause breakouts. 

Get it here

8. Pacifica Stress Rehab Coconut & Caffeine Facial Mask

Stuff stockings with goodies like this stress-reducing coconut mask and you’ll be everyone’s favorite this year. Pacifica’s Stress Rehab mak helps fight redness and reduce puffiness, which may be extra necessary after a late night of gift-wrapping. 

Get it here

9. Everlong Beauty Tea

Sip your way to beauty with the Everlong Beauty Tea. This mellow brew contains farm-to-cup ingredients including skin rejuvenating and calming goji berry, lemon peel, green tea, hibiscus, rose petal, chamomile, dandelion, and blackberry leaves.

Get it here

10. OSEA Undaria Algae Oil Organic Seaweed Firming Body Oil

OSEA’s Undaria Algae Oil is a cult classic for a reason. This fragrant, lightweight oil is rich in antioxidants and omega-fatty-acids for the ultimate hydration. Its fragrant scent and skin-smoothing benefits are sure to make this one a hit for everyone on your list.

Get it here

11. Vegancuts Beauty Box

Give the year-round gift of vegan beauty discovery with the Vegancuts Beauty Box. Your giftee will receive a box filled with the best in vegan beauty every single month. They’ll get to try new products and enjoy favorites, with surprises in every box.

Get it here

The post 11 Vegan Beauty Holiday Gifts appeared first on Vegancuts.

Cold, dry air combined with mask-wearing makes for a legitimate skintastrophe. But you can DIY yourself to clear skin with this simple vegan face mask.

This easy, three-ingredient vegan face mask relieves dry skin from cooler weather with all that indoor heat, or summer skin that’s seen too much sun.

It’s perfect for dry or acne-prone skin, as it combines the moisturizing benefits of gluten-free oats and banana with bacteria-fighting lemon juice. And smells so amazing that you might just want to eat it! (Good news: you can.)

Oat Benefits for Skin

Oat isn’t just for your lattes or breakfast bars. It’s a known skin trick that works. And it’s much more affordable than some of those fancy skincare products. 

Just like oats can soothe and calm gut issues, they can do wonders for problem skin, too. Oats are great in baths for itchy, dry skin. They can also be mixed together with water to form a paste for pesky bug bites, cuts, and blemishes.

When combined with the astringency of lemon and moisturizing bananas, they help to clarify and tone the skin. The potent antioxidants help fight free radical damage while oats help to lock in moisture and shrink pore size. And did we mention they’re extremely cost-effective? (We totally did, but it bears repeating.) Oats cost just pennies on the pound, which is a steal for your face and your wallet. And for sensitive skin groups that may react to over-the-counter products many ingredients, oats are as minimalist as you can get.

Lemon Benefits for Skin

Tightening, sloughing off dead skin cells, clarifying, and brightening. It’s no surprise all that can come from the mighty lemon, right? Lemon juice is a skin powerhouse, loaded with potent plant exfoliators that work without damaging skin. Mixed here with softening oats and banana, you get the best of all worlds: a mask that clarifies and strengthens skin while locking in moisture and balancing skin tone.

Banana Benefits for Skin

Banana bread isn’t the only COVID banana trend we’re loving. Smashing those ripeys all over your face is the lockdown DIY beauty trick of the year. From skin sapped of moisture from being locked inside all day (er, year), to the pore-tightening and refining benefits that help clear up that pesky maskne, bananas are where it’s at. Don’t fret if those ‘nanners’ get a little too soft. It’s the perfect thing for your Zoomed-out skin.

Print

DIY Moisturizing Face Mask

A simple, make-at-home vegan face mask recipe from the experts at Vegancuts.

Author Amanda Shea

Ingredients

• 1 banana
• 2 tbsp of gluten-free oats
• 1 tsp of fresh lemon Juice

Instructions

• Mash up the banana in a bowl.
• Add the gluten-free oats and lemon juice.
• Stir together all the ingredients.
• Cleanse your face and generously apply the mixture.
• Leave the mask on your face for 10-15 minutes.
• Wash the mask off your face.

3.2.1275

Want someone else to do the hardwork for you? ‘ team of experts carefully curate 4+ of the most unique and luxurious vegan and cruelty-free skin and body care products through the Vegancuts Beauty Box. Learn more about the Beauty Box here.

The post 3-Ingredient Vegan Face Mask With Gluten-Free Oats and Banana appeared first on Vegancuts.

What Is Chocolate?

The seeds of the tropical cacao fruit, cacao or cocoa beans, are buried inside the fruit’s white pulpy flesh. About the size of a small football, cacao pods grow in equatorial regions across Africa, Central, and South America. 

Cacao enjoys a long history of value; the Aztec and Incan empires were big fans. Cacao beans were even used as currency in what’s now Guatemala and parts of Mexico, according to anthropologists. 

In its whole form, cacao is rich in fats — creamy cacao butter solids hold the naturally crumbly beans together. But when separated, the cacao solids, also known as cocoa powder, form the basis of what we know and love as chocolate.

Cacao butter is often mixed back in with cocoa solids as part of the tempering process — the mixture is then combined with sugar, flavorings or add-ins, and, sometimes milk. Tempering heats and cools the chocolate until it creates the snap-break texture of chocolate bars.

But by itself, cocoa powder enjoys many uses — in baking mixes, primarily. You’ll also find this in hot chocolate mixes as well.

Benefits of Chocolate

Yes, benefits. As in, healthy.

Chocolate isn’t just candy. In fact, it’s a legitimate superfood —  in the right setting, that is. Chocolate drenched in sugar and milk fat? That’s no different than any other candy bar out there. But chocolate where the cacao solids are at least 70 percent (aka “dark” chocolate), is loaded with healthy antioxidants and chemicals including anandamide (the “bliss chemical”). The name, if you’ve studied any Sanskrit, comes from the word “ananda,” which means “joy, bliss, delight.” If you’ve eaten chocolate, you certainly understand the sentiment. Cacao makes happy brains. 

But how?

Chocolate is rich in anandamide, which triggers a serotonin response in the brain. Serotonin is the chemical we experience when we feel love or pleasure. It’s why chocolate is often associated with our love-filled holidays. It enhances the spirit of the seasons with its brain-altering boost.

That boost equates to improved mood and may help to mitigate stress and panic attacks in those at risk.

Beyond the love chocolate may make you feel, it’s also giving love to your body by way of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. 

According to a growing body of research, the flavonoids in chocolate can be beneficial to your heart health. Consuming chocolate has been linked to a 37 percent reduced risk of heart attacks and a 29 percent decrease in stroke risk.

Dark chocolate is a powerhouse for minerals including nearly all of your RDA for copper and manganese, and more than half the RDA for magnesium. It’s also a rich source of plant-based iron, zinc, selenium, and potassium. 

Theobromine, one of the chemicals in cacao is also linked to a reduced risk of preeclampsia. A potentially serious pregnancy complication that can elevate the mothers’ blood pressure, preeclampsia shows a 40 percent reduced risk in women who enjoyed “high doses” of chocolate during pregnancy. 

The antioxidant-rich flavonoids (which give cacao its dark color), are great free radical fighters. This may make it a benefit in reducing the risk of certain types of cancer. 

Vegan Chocolate

The Aztecs and Incas rarely sweetened their chocolate. It wasn’t until the Spanish brought it back to Europe that iterations of the modern chocolate we eat and drink today began to emerge. But a growing number of chocolatiers are making chocolate with less sugar and without the dairy for a cleaner, healthier, and less cloying experience. 

That doesn’t mean milk is out of the equation, however. A growing number of manufacturers are emulating the milk chocolate experiences of childhood with dairy-free milk like almond and oat. But just like with traditional chocolate, the real benefits come by way of the rule: the darker the better. Opt for a dark chocolate bar or a dark hot chocolate to reap the benefits of this magical fruit. 

Vegan Chocolate Brands

Want to sink your teeth into a hunk of chocolate by now? These brands may help:

1. Taza

This chocolate is inspired by Mexican traditions, this organic and non-GMO certified vegan chocolate company works directly with chocolate producers for its artisanal chocolates. Flavors nod to tradition as well with chili, cinnamon, and vanilla in the mix.

Get it here.

2. Alter Eco

Indulge the senses and do a world of good with Alter Eco’s dark chocolate. Farmers are paid a premium and the company works to help build cooperatives. The chocolate is always organic and Fair Trade and flavors run the gamut from sea salt to mint.

Get it here.

3. Raaka 

With its bean to bar philosophy, Raaka makes sure each bar meets its high quality standards including organic and Fair Trade. While the dark options run aplenty, don’t miss out on the creamy coconut milk treat once in a while for something extra special. This three-pack includes the Coconut Milk bar as well as Sea Salt and its Bourbon Cask Aged bar as well.

Get it here.

4. Theo

Theo dreamed up a Fair Trade organic chocolate bar before there was one. It was the first in North American to deliver on its dream and it keeps pushing the industry further with its commitments to farmers and quality. The proof is undeniable once you take a bite. Start with the salted almond.

Get it here.

5. Endangered Species

Not only is Endangered Species committed to great chocolate, but it’s also committed to Fair Trade and supporting its growers and producers. Like its namesake, the brand is also a voice for the animals, spotlighting them on each package and donating a portion of proceeds to their protection. 10 percent of net profits go to its GiveBack Partners, supporting wildlife around the world.

Get it here.

Want even more chocolate? Check out the Vegancuts Chocolate Box.

The post The Benefits of Chocolate (Plus the Best Vegan Options to Try) appeared first on Vegancuts.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about pretty much every vegan I’ve ever known, it’s the shared love of cooking that everyone seems to have. For some, it seems that going vegan encouraged them to learn to cook for themselves so they were certain they weren’t eating any animal ingredients. But often an enjoyment of all things culinary developed from there. For others, it was an opportunity to try out new recipes and cooking techniques so they didn’t just live on ramen noodles and salad. Either way, I don’t know a single vegan person who doesn’t know the basics of cooking and baking, and that’s a huge bonus when it comes to holiday gift-giving. This holiday season, share your culinary gifts with friends and family, vegans and non-vegans alike. Everyone can appreciate gifts made with love.

Food gifts are inexpensive to put together, delightful to make, and show that the giver has paid attention to the recipient’s tastes and preferences. In the season of sharing, why not share a little love from one kitchen to another?

Here are 5 DIY gifts you can make and present in a fancy jar, satchel, or reusable bag.

1. Vegan Three Bean Chili Mix

My Heavenly Recipes’ chili mix is perfect on cold winter nights. Few things warm you up from nose to toes like a hot bowl of chili. Packed with flavour and warming spices, it’s a little bowl of heaven filled with healthy veggies, fiber- and protein-rich beans, and all that spicy deliciousness. The great thing about a chili base like this is that the recipient can add whatever they like to suit their tastes, be it tossing in of some chopped fresh peppers for crunch or topping it with guacamole and crushed tortilla chips. The variations are endless.

2. Layered Soup Mix

Whollyfully has a whole host of vegan soup mixes on their site, and this five-bean one is a must-make. Much like chili, this chunky soup is a warming hug on a cold day, and absolute comfort food. A multi-layered, colourful jar of ready-for-the-pot soup mix is a thoughtful gift for anyone on your list, and a wonderful thing to have in the cupboard when the winter sniffles strike. You can layer all kind of soup mixes from bean ones like this to noodle soups to curries. Add a fancy bow and you’re basically the vegan Martha Stewart now.

3. Coffee Fudge Brownie Mix

Who better than Alicia Silverstone to inspire you for this DIY food gift? Her Kind Life website is full of yummy recipes, including this brownie in a jar.
Ideal for the coffee and chocolate lover or whenever a choco-licious craving hits. These brownies just need egg replacer, margarine, and a bit of vanilla extract added to the dry mix. Then just toss them into the oven, bounce around for 25 min or so ’til they’re done, and indulge away.

4. Punk Rock Cookies in a Jar

The Post Punk Kitchen is known for its vegan cookies invading your cookie jar, because, who doesn’t love cookies? (I literally just ate one.) A jar full of sweet, chewy soon-to-be cookies is absolutely squeal-inducing and can be put together as a team effort to be munched on while watching those terrible old holiday TV specials over and over again. Give this gift and you’re sure to get many thank yous.

5. Mulled Cider Mix

This mix from the Spruce Eats, is simple, sweet, and spicy.  Pour these ingredients into a small jar and tie up with ribbon: simmered in cider, it makes for a gorgeous holiday beverage that can be enjoyed on its own, or kicked up a notch with some rum or brandy.

The post 5 DIY Vegan Holiday Food Gifts Better Than Store-Bought appeared first on Vegancuts.

What Is Tea?

Tea in the traditional sense is just one plant: the camellia sinensis plant. It produces four types of tea: white, green oolong, and black. Yes, they’re all the same tea leaves. So what makes them so different?

The difference in tea has to do with their fermentation and drying processes, with white being the least fermented and black the most. Green, including the powdered matcha, is the second stage after white, and oolong is between green and black.

These different stages alter the antioxidant compounds available in tea as well as the flavor profiles. While green tea may be best known for its antioxidants (and their purported cancer-fighting benefits), all tea brings with it varying benefits.

Herbal Teas

We say tea when we drink a hot cup of herbs, but those, technically, are teasans. Tea only really applies to the four states of the camellia plant. And while those options are limited, the herbal tea, or teasan category is as wide and bountiful as our herbal kingdom.

From Asia to the Amazon, there are tens of thousands of herbs, fungi, bark, seeds, and fruits — all part of intricate healing systems.

Popular herbal teas in Western culture include ginger, chamomile, rosehips, licorice, and mint (spearmint and peppermint).

Benefits of Tea

If it brings us no other benefit than a few moments to slow down, sip something warm, and take a few reflective breaths, tea is a worthy experience. Is it liquid enlightenment? That might be going too far. But it’s close.

But, of course, teas of all kind offer us a number of benefits well beyond the reflective sipping.

While its cousin green tea gets all the hype (they come from the same plant), the more common black tea brings loads of benefits, too.  All tea derivatives are loaded with antioxidants including a number of polyphenols, including catechins, theaflavins, and thearubigins. Hot or iced, you can enjoy the benefits of tea either way.

Herbal teasans are loaded with good-for-you benefits, too. Specific herbs offer specific benefits. Ginger, for example may aid with nausea (especially during pregnancy). It may help to reduce inflammation, too. Licorice can soothe a sore throat. Chamomile promotes restfulness and calm. It’s safe for children, too.

You might call peppermint the King of herbal teas. So synonymous is it with the category it’s worthy of its own mention. Hot or cold, mint is an easy tea to make in a pinch, especially if you have fresh mint leaves handy. Simply steep a small handful (6-8 leaves) in warm or cool water. Sweeten as desired and garnish with lemon. Mint is known for its tummy-soothing properties. And because it’s caffeine-free it’s also perfect for little sippers.

Vegan Tea Recipes

While you can certainly enjoy your tea with minimal add-ins — sugar, lemon, or cream — you can take your tea game up a notch, or several, with some extravagant and seasonally apropos vegan tea recipes. Here are a few crowd-pleasers.

1. Vegan Chai

Why pick a spice when you can have all of them in the same cuppa? Chai is the Indian tea favorite mix of black tea with spices including ginger, clove, cinnamon, black pepper, and all mixed with frothy dairy-free milk. Check out this recipe here.

2. Matcha Latte

Matcha is full green tea leaves powdered. You whisk it up like you might with hot cocoa to make its earthy, grassy flavor pop. Mix with milk of choice and herbs (it goes well with turmeric) for an added boost. Or serve it with just a hint of sweet and cream. Get the recipe here.

3. Taro Root Bubble Tea

It’s purple and has bubbles, what’s not to love? This herbal tea gets its flavor from taro root (you can use a purple sweet potato, too). Mixed with tapioca pearls and creamy macadamia and coconut milk, you’re in for a royal antioxidant-rich sweet treat. Get the recipe here.

4. London Fog

Earl Grey is a popular tea choice because of its distinct and robust flavor, thanks to the rinds of the Italian bergamot citrus fruit. It’s a worthy base for a latte, too, as this creamy vegan London Fog recipe proves. You can swap out the almond milk for oat milk for an even richer froth. Get the recipe here.

5. Vegan Afternoon Tea

Want to go full tilt in your teaxperience? Make an afternoon of it, just like they do in England. Here’s a BBC guide to a vegan afternoon tea. Get the recipes here.

The post Vegan Tea Recipes: Sip Your Way to Healthy Benefits appeared first on Vegancuts.

Their comeback is part of the natural wellness revolution of the last decade. As consumers seek out to clean up their skincare routines, natural products like jade rollers are having a moment. 

Jade Roller Benefits

Jade rollers enjoy a long history of use, but do they really work? They’ve been hailed for removing toxins, decreasing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and making that puffiness disappear in mere minutes. 

But it’s not necessarily the stone doing the trick.These benefits can be experienced with any type of facial massage, according to Manhattan dermatologist Suzanne Friedler. 

“Any time you massage any of the tissues, you’re increasing circulation. Your skin may look brighter, more luminous, maybe more contoured and less puffy,” she told the Washington Post. “But if you’re looking for substantive change, that’s not going to happen with the jade roller. It’s also not going to have an effect on inflammatory conditions like eczema or psoriasis.”

Massage can be so effective on the face because there are as many as 300 lymph nodes in the face and neck. Massages or facials can help the lymph fluid move through the system, including toxins, and stimulate blood flow, giving skin that sought-after glow. 

You’re likely to notice results. But don’t expect a facelift. Still, instead of keeping a spoon in the freezer, a jade roller may be a worthwhile investment. Credit natural “coldness” — real gemstones are cold to the touch — to their high thermal inertia. That determines how slowly or quickly a stone warms to the temperature of the surrounding environment. While a metal spoon will warm up to its environment rather quickly, you may find your jade roller stays quite cool at room temperature. But you can refrigerate or freeze most jade products, too. (Just be sure to read the instructions specific to the product you purchase.)

Rollers are also designed for the face (spoons typically not so much). Your jade roller is likely to be able to get into small areas around the eyes and there are no edges like a spoon well.

It’s not just jade that’s useful in rolling. Other stones are touted for their benefits, too. Rose quartz, amethyst, and obsidian are also common for their benefits on skin — from detoxifying to depuffing.

How to Use a Jade Roller

Your jade roller should come with instructions, but it’s always best to start with clean and dry skin. Some experts recommend using a light facial oil to prevent pulling or damaging the skin. It’s also best to avoid using a jade roller on broken skin.

The general rule of thumb is to roll up and away from the center of your face. So from neck to ear, roll up and toward the ears. From forehead center roll out toward edges. Eyes roll up and out toward the ears.

Be sure to pay special attention to tension points, too: the brow and temples and the lower jaw line. 

Roll for a few minutes, being careful not to overdo it, especially around sensitive skin under and around the eyes.

Clean and dry your jade roller before storing.

Types of Jade Rollers

Jade Facial Roller by Herbivore

Herbivore’s jade roller may improve skin elasticity, reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and puffiness, and it may reduce muscle tension in the face. 

Check it out here.

Rose Quartz and Germanium and Massager by Fancii

Call it a two-for-one, this jade roller from Fancii also has germanium massage roller for broader skin areas — think decollete, cheeks, and even arms and shoulders. 

Check it out here.

Black Obsidian Roller by Celestial Silk

This sleek roller stimulates lymphatic drainage, which helps reduce puffiness and the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The company says because it improves lymphatic drainage, it may also help reduce headaches, migraines, and even anxiety. 

Check it out here.

Amethyst Roller by Esmee

The popular purple stone amethyst works wonders for cheeks and chins alike. It’s also particularly helpful with under-eye tissue, getting rid of bags and dark circles.

Check it out here.

4-1 Natural Gemstone Roller by Bliss Oak

Can’t decide? This set is interchangeable, so you can easily switch between jade, quartz, amethyst, and obsidian. Try them all out and see which works best for your skin type and needs.

Check it out here. 

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