Yummy drinks (and yesterday's vegetable-bean soup).

Okay, of course nearly all drinks (except milk) are vegan.

And, of course water is the best and most natural drink.

But, if I want to have a yummy drink while avoiding soda, sugar, and caffeine, I make one of these!

STEVIA TEA

(Use any tea.  I use non-caf green tea because I love it.  I'm not sure if it really fends off cancer.)

Directions:  Make a pitcher of tea as usual, but use herbal tea and a tablespoon or two of stevia powder instead of sugar. Stevia has a slightly planty aftertaste (because it is extracted from a plant), but is very delicious when you get used to it.  It's not very caloric at all, and doesn't raise your glycemic index like sugar.

STEVIA LEMONADE

(For this I use either fresh lemons or the jug from the store.)

Directions:  Fill a large glass with water.  Put in a little lemon juice and about half a dropper full of stevia extract.  Yum!

Of course, soy milk, almond milk, and rice milk are also great vegan drinks!  You can get them sweetened or unsweetened.  Soy milk has a lot of fat, though (4g/cup).  Almond milk has less (2.5g/cup).  Rice milk has very little fat but is highly caloric (I think 120 cal/cup)!

Well, today I didn't cook a main dish because we have lots of leftovers.  Instead I made bread and a big salad.  But here's the soup recipe I made on Sunday!  (Oil-free vegan!)

VEGETABLE-BEAN SOUP

7 cups water

1 can vegetable broth (or 2 more cups water)

6 oz can tomato paste

1 T fat free Italian dressing

1/2 large red onion, chopped

1 bunch green onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

1/2 head of cabbage, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

2 large zucchini, chopped

1/2 package mushrooms (4 oz.), chopped

1 cup frozen corn

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes

1 15 oz can kidney beans, drained

1 15 oz can green beans, drained

1 cup dry whole wheat macaroni

salt to taste

Boil all vegetables in broth/water for a little while, then add macaroni and canned stuff and continue boiling till veggies are tender and macaroni is done.

Makes 17 cups of soup with about 81 calories/cup.