Healthy Plant-Based Recipes for Beginner Cooks - The New Baguette

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The New Baguette

A healthy recipe blog about plant-based cooking for beginners.

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Vegan kale Caesar salad on a pink floral platter on a wooden table

Massaged Kale Caesar Salad

Close-up photo of creamy edamame dip

Creamy Edamame-Arugula Dip

Two plates of buckwheat kasha with mushrooms and onions on a black wooden table

From the Motherland: Kasha with Caramelized Mushrooms and Onions

Vegetarian banh mi sandwich on a white plate

Portobello Banh Mi with Quick-Pickled Carrots

Two bowls of curried butternut squash soup with cilantro on a wooden table

Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut Milk

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Hi, I'm Alex

Recipe developer, food photographer, and plant-based food lover.

Delicious healthy recipes are my jam, and this blog is my outlet for sharing them.

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Cozy in a bowl 🧡 This creamy, Thai-ish curried butternut squash soup calls for just 6 ingredients:
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-butternut squash
-coconut milk
-Thai red curry paste
-soy sauce or tamari
-fresh lime juice
-cilantro (for serving)
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Head to thenewbaguette.com or my bio link to learn how they come together. Holla if you need this soup in your life 🙋🏻‍♀️

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New recipe alert!
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Caesar salad is probably the world’s most universally loved salad. Crunchy greens, funky dressing, crispy croutons - it’s just so fun to eat! This addictive plant-based version gets an upgrade from watery romaine to verdant kale 💚 The creamy cashew-based dressing is inspired by @diginn, adapted from the #CompassionateCuisineCookbook by @catskill_animal_sanctuary, and is probably the most delicious way to eat a whole bunch of kale 🌿 Get the full recipe on thenewbaguette.com + via my bio link.

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Over the weekend, I got to celebrate my 29th birthday 🥳 That, combined with the approach of 2020, has me reflecting more than usual. Something I’ve been thinking about lately is: dissociating my happiness and self-esteem from my work.
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When I quit my job 3 years ago, I thought it would instantly make me happier. Sure, I did have a pep in my step those first few months of self-employment. And sure, eliminating the overflow of work emails did free up some mental space. And yes, it IS very rewarding to build your own thing 💪🏼 vs. working for someone else. But it wasn’t long until I realized: it didn’t make me any happier, and largely what I did was replace my old problems with new ones.
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I used to look at self-employed people (photographers, bloggers, authors, etc.) and think they had it made - all I wanted was that perceived sense of accomplishment for myself. I used to think that if I could make it as a self-employed person, I would finally deserve to be happy. And I’m NOT looking to go back to a “regular job” anytime soon. But what I’m saying is, I’m still largely the same 🤷🏻‍♀️ I still worry about money, battle Imposter Syndrome constantly, and wonder “WTF am I doing with my life?” about 100x/day.
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There’s also this thing where I judge my entire self based on work successes and failures, since my work is so personal. Like if I don’t get a project I was hoping for, I think, “Well, that’s probably cuz I suck!” vs. “That project just wasn’t right for me...” which is likely closer to the truth.
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We tend to think, “When I…[lose weight, get married, quit my job, fill-in-the-blank], I’ll be happy.” But goals are a moving target and reaching them doesn’t suddenly turn you into your ideal self. What I’ve learned is that happiness is independent of life’s circumstances (tragedies and natural disasters excluded, obvs.) Our thoughts create our feelings and we can choose to be grateful for what we already have. I know it’s an Instagram cliche, but it’s so true!

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New class announcement! 🎉
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Friends, join me next Sunday (Dec. 15) at noon for a hands-on cooking class at @abigailskitchennyc! The class will focus on Vegan Holiday Entertaining, so I’ll be sharing a whole bunch of tips and party snack recipes that go beyond the standard meat-and-cheese board. .
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Abigail’s Kitchen is an intimate bistro-turned-cooking-school in the West Village and a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Tickets available via my bio link. Can’t wait to cook together 🤗 (Feel free to DM me any q’s!)

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Truth be told, I’m not a big fan of soup. Growing up, I was forced to eat soup every night as the perfunctory first course of our dinner. And the type of soup we ate… well, it was lackluster at best (sorry, mom…😬). Our nightly broth consisted of carrots and potatoes; often something starchy, like rice, barley, or noodles; and sometimes beans or lentils – a combination I like to call “poverty soup.”
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It’s wasn’t exactly anyone’s favorite part of dinner, but we continued the routine (and my parents still do to this day) based on the Soviet belief that dinner is not complete without soup.
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So why this soup? Well, it was kind of a happy accident. This Thai-inspired curried butternut squash number with coconut milk is rich and silky, but not heavy, and simultaneously sweet and tangy… definitely NOT poverty soup. Head to thenewbaguette.com (or my bio link) for the complete recipe 🧡

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Well, here we are: December. It’s honestly hard for me to retrace my steps from the past 2 months - they were a whirlwind. Struggling to find our groove in the new apartment; rushing to finish end-of-year work projects; sowing seeds for next year’s projects; Thanksgiving prep; trying to maintain a social life. Oh, and the general gloom that accompanies 4pm sunsets… 😕 I don’t know where the time went.
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To be transparent, there’s been very little cooking around here lately. My meal prep routine has become non-existent and I’m afraid I’ve neglected my Instagram (and you guys), too. As my friend @jenliddycoach says, “Life got life-y”. And while my default self wants to feel guilty for letting things fall through the cracks, Alex 2.0 is reminding me to be patient with this transitional phase of life (and talking to herself in third person 😉).
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Hope your Thanksgiving was full of yummy things and fuzzy feelings! New recipes and announcements coming soon 😘

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A little pep talk for those of you worried about overindulging or derailing your health goals tomorrow: Don’t be! The Thanksgiving table may be vast, but there is no room for guilt or shame for enjoying yourself 🙅🏻‍♀️ A healthy diet is a culmination of weeks, months, and years - not individual meals - so a single annual feast isn’t going to kill you. Having a good appetite is a gift and a sign of vitality 🙏🏼 So be grateful for the food on your plate and enjoy yourself! 😘

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We may have Thanksgiving prep on the brain right now, but there are 2 days until Thursday and we still have to eat in the meantime! If you’re looking for a simple weeknight dinner to eat between now and then, make this quick pasta with mushrooms and beans - my take on Italian Pasta e Fagioli. All you need is a package of mushrooms and a few pantry staples, and it comes together in ~30 minutes. Full recipe in bio link 🍝

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