Meet our Herbie of the Week: Stephen!After years of unhealthy eating habits, everything changed when he met his wife. Once she went vegan, Stephen decided to follow in her veggie footsteps and started to notice all sorts of changes — both mentally and…

With summer officially one day away, it’s about that time to bust out the tent and sleeping bags for some camping!

I have a HUGE section in my new book, The Happy Herbivore Guide to Plant-Based Living (also available in Audible format — and read by me!) dedicated to camping and what foods to bring, but here’s a quick rundown on how to survive as a Herbie in the great outdoors!

To start off– it really depends on what type of “camping” you are doing. If you have access to a grill/fire pit (and most campsites have this either at your individual site or a group communal area), then you can make pretty much anything you would at home on a stove. All you need is a pot and a skillet plus foods/ingredients that are shelf stable (like canned beans and pantry items) and fresh items that don’t need refrigeration, or last in a cooler. The good news is, most plant-based foods fit this bill so the possibilities are endless. The only thing you can’t do is bake, though some people I know bake pizza and other breads on grills all the time.

However, even if you can’t bake, you can always bake some muffins ahead — they’re great for any kind of traveling!

If you’re camping in an RV, it’s even easier.

If you don’t want to cook a lot, you can make things like canned soups, oatmeal (just add hot water!), vegetarian baked beans, canned beans, canned vegetables, fresh fruits. You can make PB&J sandwiches for hikes, buy the hummus powder you only have to mix with water (they even have powdered soy milk online), dried fruits, trail mix, crackers and other non-perishable foods.

A friend of mine makes my 6-ingredient burgers and has “burgers” with condiments and buns. All the ingredients to make the burgers are non-perishable and they’re easy to make at a campsite.

I also came across these great suggestions from camping Herbies:

“I made pancakes for breakfast. I pre-mixed the dry ingredients and put it in a container so I just had to add the almond milk.”

“Anything you can cook at home can be done while camping. We love to camp and stay plant-based. Foil packets (aka silver turtles) can be customized and are easy to cook on coals or a grill. Grilled corn and pineapple are wonderful. Watermelon blueberry salad is nice and refreshing. Grilled pizza is an option as well.”

“I make a few different bean burgers (and freeze them).”

“I would make some muffins ahead of time and freeze them, then thaw out when you want to eat. Since they don’t have to be kept frozen they double as ice in a cooler (that way you aren’t wasting cooler space on ice/ice packs).”

“Fajitas were our favorite, cut up onions peppers mushrooms etc and cook in a foil pan over the fire, open a can of refried beans and heat the can on the fire, wrap tortillas in foil and warm in the fire. Serve with salsa and smashed avocado.”

“Make up instant oatmeal packets before going and add hot water. You can also make salad in a jar.”

“Burritos! I’ve made some great black bean sweet potato burritos. They travel well and are delicious. Also, HH black bean burgers. They are so easy and quick.”

“I’d pack instant brown rice (cook 5 min in boiling water & sit 5 more) or Success brown rice (drop the bag of rice in boiling water for 10 min).”

You can also check out this post on Plant-Based (Vegan) Camping Trips: Tips from an Experienced Herbie Camper.

Happy camping!

What plant-based foods do you bring while camping?

Today’s Teaching Tuesday topic is something I love and can’t get enough of: nutritional yeast (aka nooche)!

I always get asked about nutritional yeast (especially what it tastes like), so hopefully you’ll find this little “lesson” helpful.

And if you’re still not sure about it, give nooche a chance 😉

(Image source)

What IS nutritional yeast?

Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast and is dairy & gluten free. It is a complete protein, and has a good source of vitamins. Most brands are also fortified with B-12.

What does it taste like?

It has a cheesy, nutty flavor! It took me several times before I got used to it; I thought it was smelly. Now I can’t stay away from it!

What brands do you use?

The only food I’m brand specific about is nutritional yeast (some brands are gross). I’ll only use Braggs or Red Star, even if it means having to order it online (like at bulkfoods.com).

How can I use nutritional yeast?

Nutritional yeast is commonly used in vegan recipes to replace a cheese taste. For example, I use it the Baked Shells & Cheese (The Happy Herbivore Cookbook), Grilled Cheeze (Everyday Happy Herbivore), Asparagus Quiche (Happy Herbivore Abroad), and the “Cheese” Ball (Happy Herbivore Light & Lean). I also use it in my tofu scramble and even like it sprinkled on popcorn!

Can I substitute it for active yeast?

Active yeast and nutritional yeast are completely different products that are used for two different things. When people ask me if they can swap out the two and use them interchangeably, I always have to tell them no because the results in whatever they’re making will come out completely different! Active yeast works as a leavening agent in breads and other baked goods. It’s primarily used to make your baked goods rise and add fluff to a piece of bread or a cinnamon roll. Active yeast can come in a jar, or it can come in little envelopes found in the baking aisle of your grocery store.

Do you like nutritional yeast?

Earlier this year I hosted a Virtual Minimalist Declutter Party Challenge (you can see the incredible before and after photos here.)

A couple days before the party, Andria posted a comment on the Facebook event page about her minimalist experience:

I couldn’t believe it! I was so impressed by her story, I immediately reached out to Andria and asked if she would share her minimalist journey on the blog.

I’ll let Andria take it away…

There I was living in my lovely home state of Michigan; a newlywed, unemployed, and sitting on a Master’s degree that wasn’t doing me any good. Terrified of leaving my home town, but desperate to get out and begin a career, after a year of interviews I was finally offered a job. In Alexandria, Virginia.

My husband Chris and I didn’t hesitate and jumped at the chance. We would pack up our stuff and be gone three weeks later, leaving all of our family and friends behind. This was our opportunity to live “the American dream.”

If you know anything about the D.C. area, you’re aware that the cost of living is insanely high. Especially for one individual, who is now employed by the state (me), and the other who is still searching for his big opportunity, but working retail in the meantime (Chris). We did what we had to do though. My parents paid our first month’s rent of $1,328 for our 650 sqft one-bedroom apartment (thank you!!), we had zero in savings, and two maxed out credit cards from our wedding just a few months prior. Not to mention the intense amount of student loan debt with a huge monthly payment. Needless to say, we were underwater barely able to tread. But, we both had jobs and were determined to make it work. Only a few short months later Chris found his calling as a firefighter, and hasn’t looked back since.

Fast forward to three years later.

We found ourselves struggling to save money, and what little we could save often was used in the following month for essential necessities. You know like, food. Gas. Utilities. At the height of our rental years, we paid $1,850 for a one-bedroom apartment. Not including utilities.

Things we felt like were luxuries took a back burner. No more cable, less trips to the coffee shop, better phone plan, etc. But it never felt like it made a difference. We were still relying on credit cards far too much, and still were not able to pay them down. We needed a change.

We moved out of the city.

Living out in the country felt less suffocating, and in our eyes much cheaper. Instead of an apartment, we found a nice house to rent for $1,295. Not much less than our very first apartment when we moved to the area, but at least we were getting more for our money. Which seemed important at the time. However, living further out also meant we had to commute in for work. Commuting equals more gas, which equals more money. Not to mention my sanity.

I started to feel like we were worse off than when we first began this journey three years earlier. I was becoming unhappy with my job, which made the commute even worse. But I didn’t have a backup plan, so we needed my job, my income, just to survive. Speaking to my mom one day she suggested, half kidding probably, that we move onto a boat. I laughed at her suggestion and continued the conversation in a different direction. But the more suppressed I felt, the more that suggestion kept entering my mind as an option.

The idea of living smaller really became clearer after several failed attempts to find and purchase a house within our budget. At some point during the process I remember telling Chris that none of it felt right. That it didn’t make sense to add large amounts of debt to more debt. So I presented him with the idea of moving on to a boat, living smaller, and being able to pay down our debt and save money. After many nights of convincing, with a few cocktails I’m sure, Chris was in. So in July 2013 we began looking for our next home. One that we could put money toward owning, not renting.

We set our purchasing limit to $20,000. The chain of events that occurred after we finally found it happened so fast, I can hardly remember. But, all you need to know is that it ended with the keys of a 1979 Trojan Tri Cabin in our hands for $18,000, and payment of just $330 per month.

Now that we had the boat, we needed to decide how to downsize. We started with one room at a time. First the bedroom, then the closets, and onto the bathrooms. The office and living room were next. Deciding which electronics and books to donate and take with us. Then finally, the kitchen. My sacred space. That was by far the most difficult for me because cooking is my de-stressor, and I did not want to part ways with some of my utensils. What will I do without a food processor? My juicer? My Kitchen Aid mixer??!!

We both had to donate, sell or relocate (my mixer is at the firehouse!) many of our possessions, and guess what? We don’t miss them, nor do we need them. Each of us has kept quite a few sentimental or family things, but overall the boat has ample storage space and hidden cubbies. Most of which we still haven’t filled because we don’t have enough stuff! Still no cable, or weekly trips to the coffee shop, but that’s because we’re used to it and don’t find it necessary. We’ve also done some work on the inside to make it homier. New paint, wood flooring, an Ikea bench hack for the nook, new pillows, and some key lighting all did the trick. More to be done I’m sure.

Since moving on the boat in September 2013 we’ve paid off three credit cards, saved a couple thousand dollars as an emergency fund, and the best part; that I am able to quit my job and pursue other passions in life without us having to rely on a second income. That to me is priceless. By the end of our year being on the boat (and five year anniversary of moving to the area), the roughly $14,000 that normally would have gone towards rent or a mortgage, will have gone towards us being completely credit card debt free and finally having savings in our account.

We came out here to live “the American dream,” and discovered that every person’s dream is different. Some people love the idea of having a house with a white picket fence, 2.5 kids, and a job they never tire of. But with that dream comes debt up to your eyeballs, a mortgage, and most often a job that is only in your life to pay for that dream. Our dream still exists; it just replaces all of that with a lovely two-bed, two-bath ‘condo’ literally on the water, with a dock instead of a fence. One of the lowest mortgage payments you will ever find in the metro D.C. area, a dog, and the financial freedom to take control of our future. When you live with less, you need less. I can’t imagine doing it any other way right now. This to me is the American dream.

On Wednesday my mom sent me this article saying, “Did you know Jennifer Lopez went vegan?”I couldn’t believe it and quickly put a little meme together and posted the happy news on Facebook. The first few comments bashed JLo and how she wasn’t really ve…