For the first time ever, the New Orleans Saints are going to the Super Bowl, and I have only one thing to say—"Who dat?!" As I watch the big game this Sunday to root for my hometown team, I'm going to make sure that there are plenty of healthful vegan snacks on hand. I might be a little too anxious for eating, but I'll have a variety of snacks around just in case.

Low-Fat Black-Bean Dip

One great option for a healthful game-day snack is baked corn tortilla chips. By buying corn tortillas, cutting them into triangles, and baking them until crispy, you eliminate all the fat from frying. There are also a multitude of options for healthful dips to go with them:

•Low-Fat Black-Bean Dip

•Guacamole

•Black Bean and Corn Salsa

•Tomatillo Salsa

•Chickpea-Parsley Dip

•Hummus

Regardless of which team you'll be cheering for this Sunday, what vegan treats will you be eating?

One recipe that all vegans need in their repertoire is baked tofu. A good baked tofu recipe can act as the foundation for many other recipes, such as a hearty salad, the main course for dinner, or the filling for a tasty midday sandwich. The options are endless with such a versatile recipe.

All-Purpose Baked Tofu

The baked tofu recipe that I like most is a variation that I learned while working at Real Food Daily in Los Angeles. You marinate tofu in a blend of soy sauce, vinegar, and garlic for a subtle yet savory flavor. The tofu cubes are then baked until each side is golden brown and beginning to firm up under the heat.

Enjoy!

Finding a delicious vegan cookie is now as easy as strolling into your local Starbucks! Many of the coffee giant's locations are now carrying Lucy's vegan cookies—which are good and good for you.

Whether or not Lucy's cookies are at a Starbucks near you, we're giving you a chance to get your hands on some. We are giving one lucky winner a case of Lucy's cookies and three runners-up a sampler pack!

The case contains 16 boxes of cookies—four boxes of each of Lucy's flavors (Cinnamon Thin, Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal, and Sugar)—and the sampler pack has each of the four flavors. Enter to win a free case now by filling out the form on PETA.org.

Hurry and complete the form on PETA.org by February 23 for your chance to win a free case of cookies!

Making homemade bread doesn't have to be as difficult as it sounds, and it can be much healthier than store-bought bread, without all the added preservatives. One of my favorite varieties to make is a rustic sourdough. I like to call it "country bread."

Country Bread

This recipe calls for an active sourdough culture, and the remaining ingredients couldn't be simpler—just flour, water, and sea salt. To make this a true country loaf, place the round of dough in the oven without slashing the top. As it bakes, the bread will break apart and create a rustic look.

Enjoy!

Firm tofu, which you can buy in almost any grocery store, is one of the easiest substitutes for the flesh of dead fish. You can coat tofu slices with the same type of batter and fry or bake it using the same techniques.

Tofu Fish 'n' Chips

To make tofu fish n' chips, dredge marinated tofu in a mixture of flour, corn meal, and Old Bay seasoning, and then fry it in an oil that won't burn over high heat. Serve with a side of fries or chips and vegan tartar sauce for a complete meal. Enjoy!

While visiting with my in in-laws for the holidays, I'm often asked to try new and sometimes unusual food. This Christmas was no exception. During our trip to snowy Ohio, my husband's father fried up a big plate of mush and topped it with a generous amount of maple syrup.

I quickly learned that mush isn't nearly as scary as it sounds. It's just a creamy cornmeal mixture that can be fried, just like polenta.

After returning to the south, I had to prepare polenta the way I was use to—a foundation for savory toppings.

Polenta cakes with roasted eggplant

To make my polenta cakes, I omitted the leeks from this recipe and pan pan-fried until crunchy, rather than grilling, and topped it off with marinara and a side of plain roasted eggplant.

Enjoy!

With Hanukkah in full swing, one delicious addition to your holiday meals should be a creamy golden beet soup.

Golden Beet Soup

Unlike red beets, golden beets have a delicate sweetness that goes well with savory ingredients.

Enjoy!

There are many delicious vegan cheeses on the market now, but most have one quality that could use improvement. Some don't melt easily enough, while others melt too easily and turn to a liquid that hardens again within a few minutes. Some taste a little too much like vegan margarine, and others have no flavor at all! Finally though, there is one brand that gets it right in all categories—Daiya.

Daiya comes in two mouthwatering flavors—vegan cheddar and Italian. The best thing about Daiya is that it melts, but it doesn't get too runny like other vegan cheeses. Remember the days of making a grilled cheese sandwich and then pulling the pieces of toast apart to see how long you can make the strands of melted cheese that were connecting them? You can do that with Daiya cheese.

Now is your chance to win your very own Daiya cheese sampler, courtesy of Pangea! We're giving away a sample pack that includes both the Italian and Cheddar vegan shreds to one lucky winner.

To enter, leave a short comment below telling us about your favorite use of vegan cheese. The deadline to enter is January 4, 2010, and the winner will be selected at random and notified by January 8, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting.

Here in Georgia, it's a cold and very rainy day, which means that I'll be warming up soon with a sizzling bowl of stew.

Vegan 'Beef' Stew

Stews made with a stock or broth base are one of the easiest things to veganize. All you have to do is use vegetable stock or broth instead of broth made from chickens, cows, or any other animal.

One of my favorites is a classic vegetable "beef" stew that uses browned seitan instead of beef. After creating the base with vegetable broth and tomatoes, you can throw in any of your favorite veggies and seasonings to create a custom stew that is perfect for you.

Enjoy!

The holidays don't have to be centered around hearty late-afternoon lunches or extravagant dinners. An alternative—or an addition!—to these popular meals is the holiday brunch.

Vegan frittata and Match vegan sausage

I've always been intimidated by making vegan frittatas, a brunch favorite, out of fear that I'd mess up and be left eating a runny pile of tofu, but during a recent brunch, I finally put these fears to rest and gave it a shot.

Blending firm tofu with cornstarch and soy milk, adding sautéed veggies, and baking for 45 minutes left me with a firm and delicious frittata. To my surprise, there wasn't a runny or watery piece of tofu in sight.

Enjoy this brunch staple with your choice of sides on a holiday or any day of the year!

Many of us are thankful for animals every day and choose not to include them on our plates each day of the year. Around the holidays, however, we are given the extra opportunity to let our compassion shine through via tasty vegan recipes that inspire our loved ones to extend their circle of compassion too.

Green Bean Casserole

One of the nicest (and sneakiest) ways that you can show others how fantastic vegan food is, is to offer to prepare the Thanksgiving meal—or at least some of it. The following are the top five recipe cheats that help to veganize many a traditional holiday dish:

1) Vegetable broth. If your family tends to use chicken stock for everything, vegetable broth is a simple substitution that costs about the same and comes in boxes or cubes and can act just like chicken broth.

2) Vegan margarine is the perfect substitute for cholesterol-laden butter. Just use it exactly the same as you would butter in all your cooking.

3) Plain soy milk. For recipes that call for milk, you can just use the exact same amount of soy milk to replace the milk.

4) Silken tofu. You might not expect your Uncle Bill to enjoy tofu, but hidden inside a pumpkin pie, it just might not seem so scary after all.

5) Just make a vegan green bean casserole. This isn't an ingredient per se, but it is a secret weapon that helps to ensure a magical Thanksgiving dining experience for all. Woo them with this veganized recipe for the classic holiday dish.

For even more ideas on creating your compassionate holiday feast, check out these recipes and also this list of items of more instant versions (like premade gravy) at your local grocery store. Don't forget to include a yummy faux turkey to complete your masterpiece!

Posted by Mylie from PETA Living

The season of eating is rapidly approaching, and if you have a lot of cooking and baking planned this year, make plans now to do something better for animals and your body: Dump the dairy.

Thinking of baking up a batch of cookies for your sweet Aunt Sue? Instead of traditional butter-laden bites, give her the gift of no cholesterol instead! Replacing the dairy in your favorite recipes is easy. There is no fumbling around with complicated concoctions, and you don't need to throw out all your favorite recipes or anything. You just need to clean up their act with a little vegan inspiration:

•Try substituting plain soy milk for recipes that call for milk. You can just use the exact same amount of soymilk to replace the milk that it calls for.

•If it's buttermilk that you need, simply add one tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to one cup plain soymilk. The result will be a thicker, sour type soymilk.

•To replace butter, try a healthy nonhydrogenated style spread. Just use it exactly the same as you would butter.

•To replace eggs, you can use things that you might already have on hand, like soft tofu or mashed potatoes. Check out this list of simple egg replacements.

Easy peasy, right? Now that you are ready to veganize your baking, need more inspiration? Search for recipes here!

Posted by Mylie from PETA Living

Watching Chef Tal cook a vegan celery root soup on a recent episode of Oprah reminded me that you don't need heavy cream or milk to give soup a luxurious creamy texture. Cooking vegetables or beans in a broth or water and then blending at a high speed will actually do the trick.

With a hefty bunch of asparagus sitting in my refrigerator over the weekend, I decided to make a cream of asparagus soup.

Cream of Asparagus Soup

You start by sautéing onions and asparagus in vegan margarine, and then you add broth and bring it to a simmer. The next step—blending all the ingredients—is what creates the smooth texture, but I also like to add just a little unsweetened soy milk to make it extra creamy.

A touch of lemon and cayenne in the soup add tartness and spice that help balance out the strong asparagus flavor. And because of that full flavor, I must warn you that this recipe is strictly for asparagus lovers. Enjoy!

Vegan meats have been popping up on menus around the country, even at restaurants that are known for serving dishes with animal ingredients. With so many options out there, we decided to find out which are the best. Today we're bringing you the best vegan meatballs—made from ingredients like tofu or veggies, not the flesh of dead animals—served at restaurants across the U.S. So who has the best? The winner is …

Ike's Place, San Francisco, California: The runners-up come from all corners of the country, but Ike's has the best vegan meatballs in America. For a sandwich shop that isn't even all vegetarian, Ike's has a huge vegan menu, including two vegan meatball favorites: the Vegan Meatless Mike and the Not So Sloppy Ike.

And the runners-up and their winning dishes are:

•The Greenery Raw Food Café, Encinitas, California: Veggie-walnut meatballs served on zucchini noodles with marinara sauce

•Gianna's Grille, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: "Haastile" Meatball Sub, with sautéed onions, green peppers, and mushrooms

•Caravan of Dreams, New York City: "Live Love Boat," featuring savory almond-Brazil nut meatballs served with sliced tomatoes on a Napa cabbage leaf boat with mango chutney and marinara

•Twisted Tree Café, Asbury Park, New Jersey: Baked tofu meatball wrap served with tomato sauce and vegan cheese

•Buddha Hut, Worcester, Massachusetts: Italian meatball soup

•Portobello Vegan Trattoria, Portland, Oregon: Spaghetti and meatballs

•The Breakroom Café, Oakland, California: Homemade vegan meatballs served on a French panini and topped with vegan mozzarella, upon request

•Spiral Diner & Bakery, Dallas, Texas: "Sketti n' Meatballs" made with tasty soy meatballs, served on spaghetti with homemade marinara sauce and topped with pine nuts and pesto

•One World Café, Baltimore, Maryland: Vegan meatball sub sandwich

Did we leave your favorite vegan meatball spot off the list? Tell us about it by leaving a comment below!