5k and the chili cook off last night

So last night I decided to go do a 5k with my friend Sarah. The husband was sick and I needed to get away for a while. Anyway, afterwards your bracelet entitled you to a chili cook off sample(s). (you see where I am going with this...right?)

So booth after booth, no vegetarian chili. I had some crackers and such (ok I admit, I had two tiny cubes of cheese, but believe me, the guilt and self flagellation the ensued about this for the next few hours was quite enough punishment) .

About 50 booths later, I see the Brevard vegan alliance representing. I say a silent prayer of thanks, and wave my arms in jubilation shouting my peeps!! (yes I did...I was delusional from hunger) The lady looked at me and said, Oh I am so sorry, we just gave our last sample away. (I shed a tear here or two....) She did offer me some cole slaw. I asked for two tiny Dixie cups instead of one...

Outings are my biggest challenge right now. When I get hungry,  I slip. Mind you, I am still 90% vegan right now, but I see room for improvement. Much room. Dealing with situations like this is one area I need to improve upon. the only way I can see dealing with this is (again) to carry my own food with me.

On a positive note, I met the people at the Brevard Vegan alliance and there was one very nice guy there who actually seemed to listen when I babbled on about every single vegan recipe I have tried lately. I think I was a little "over zealous" maybe? LOL Like when a person changes religion, lets say, or joins a certain cause...they are going at 110 miles per hour . But maybe I should just blame that on low blood sugar. lol

:)

Mushroom Wellington

So I followed this mushroom Wellington  recipe The Vegan Version. I made a few changes. I used sweet potatoes and roasted them like the instructions say ( the original recipe called for a russet potato I believe). Also, I used portobellos instead of the other mushrooms. I added a little more kale. I also used a little white wine to sautéed the veggies.

I used the coconut milk like the recipe called for and might I say, wow, that stuff is awesome.

Also, Pepperidge Farms puff pastry is vegan, FYI not all pre made puff pastries are vegan!!!

I thought this was really good and while I loved the sweet potato in it, the husband didn't. However, he still gave it a 6/10 as is and says he would love to try it with he russet potato! So I consider this a huge success! My daughter loved it and gave it a 8/10. :) score!!!

Product Review: Almond Cheese

So in my quest to find a suitable replacement for goat cheese, I stumbled across Almond Garlic & Herb style cheese. I couldn't wait to get home and try this. Especially after a riveting conversation with the checkout guy who told me he resisted veganism for a long time because of his love of cheese and then he tried this brand and he went vegan and never looked back. (holy run-on sentence, Batman!)

Anyway, I went home and tried it. The consistency was like a dry mozzarella style cheese. The initial flavor was very garlicky and herby just like the package suggests. The initial flavor disappear rather quickly, but over all it was pretty good. I didn't get that "tang" that I get from "regular cheese" or even the ones with the yeast added actually seem to have a bit of that "tang". But it wasn't bad. I wonder how it will hold up in my tabbouleh salad.though. I don't know how it will respond to exposure to liquid. I might just add a little and do an experiment.

Recipes I will try soon!

Pumpkin Pie Brownie by Post Punk Kitchen

Mushroom Wellington by theveganversion

I will report back, with pictures!

Fake "meat" that isn't meat that looks like meat

I had a friend the other day say something interesting, and I have heard this before, but it struck me differently this time. 

 

She said (basically, and I am editorializing here) she doesn't like fake meat products because they look like meat, and if she wanted to eat meat, she wouldn't be a vegetarian. (and I say, but it ISN'T meat!!!)

 

Now, like I said, I have heard this before, but I have to say, "fake meat" doesn't bother me at all, because, well, it isn't meat.  Meat doesn't look like the animal that it comes from, and heck, isn't even called what it really is (why do we call "cow", "beef"?) I am sure the answer is based off some brilliant marketing ploy to disassociate the consumer from what they are consuming. Maybe I am so desensitized that I should care, but I am confused as to what *exactly* should bother me? If it isn't meat, it isn't meat.

 

But I think that if you are striving for a vegetarian/vegan diet, it really doesn't matter, as long as it isn't meat.

I am happy to make anything that looks appealing to a meat eater that they will EAT, that doesn't contain any meat. I consider that a WIN.  For example, I am married to the pickiest eater in the world, maybe even the universe. I had a WIN last night. I made Taco's with boca crumbles.He ate them! He liked them! WIN! (he had normal cheese and I had Vegan cheese, one step at a time, right?) (this is a bit of a repost...sorry!)

 

To each his own, though. (or her own).

I did buy a Vegan Indian Cookbook recently AND I dug out my copy of Veganonmicon!! So I am psyched and ready to cook!

Vegan Tacos! and "cheese"

Success! I made vegan tacos. (Mine had vegan cheese and hubby had regular cheese) but I used the veggie crumbles and the husband ate it! And he thought it was ok! Score!

I am trying to come up with some recipes that he will actually eat. Next time, I might have to change out the  cheeses hee hee.

Which leads me to cheese. I found a vegan artisan "cheese"  cookbook on Amazon that I am going to get. My one thing I need to find a suitable replacement for is Goat Cheese. Honestly, I am not missing the other cheese at all, which really surprises me. I guess looking at cheese differently has just, well, grossed me out.

The mental picture of a grown man sucking on a cow teat and the word "mucus" just sort of did me in.

One thing I am finding is all "cheese" is not created equal.

Apparently Vegusto is the best Vegan "Cheese: and I heard that it is coming to America soon. Everyone RAVES about this "cheese".

I tried some shreds I bought in the meat free dairy case at the store and they were strange tasting. Not bad, but not great.

However, the Veggy brand "slices" I bought were actually pretty darn close to the real thing. They melted and tasted almost exactly like American cheese slices.

I will keep posting about this topic until every Vegan cheese has been explored!

Sneaky Meat

So I went to the grocery the other day and bought a few prepackaged salads from the deli. One was black eyed peas. Now, me being the bad Southern girl that I am, I have never had a black eyed pea in my life.

So I grab it and I DON'T read the label!! I am finding that this is UBER UBER important!!! Not just for fat and calories and fiber but for sneaky meat.

I ate half and decided I should read the ingredients and they added bacon grease to it!!!!!!!!!!!!
*hangs head in shame*. Now, why would they do that?? I don't understand?

Lesson learned....Read the labels if you don't make it yourself.

In the same vein as sneaky meat, I am finding out that certain things, well, bother me now. Like at Subway. I get the veggie patty on wheat, no cheese. But it BOTHERS me that the guy that makes my sub just made the guy next to me a meat lovers sub. And used the same gloves. It just bothers me. Instead of being "one of those people" I think I will just not go there anymore.

Results: Sweet Potato Somosa and Mint Sauce

So here are the fruits, or rather, vegetables of my labor. Total time 3 hours, included roasting of the veggies. Not for the faint of heart.

The family was less than thrilled. I loved them, but I love sweet potatoes. I didn't expect the hubby to like it, so that was no surprise. I am surprised my daughter didn't like it though. I am going to let my friend Liz try one tomorrow, so I am interested in her input. 

http://www.veganbaking.net/pastries/718-puff-pastry#.URYxCHy9KK0

(I found a prepackaged puff pastry that was vega, but I'm going to make my own next time)

Vegan Lessons for Today...

Be wary of the term "flavorings" unless they come from a non animal source and the package STATEs that, be wary. The term "flavorings" has an extensive list (like 30 or so, fact check me here) that have been "pre-approved" by the FDA. So the company doesn't HAVE to list what is in your food, if it falls within these categories. Unfortunately, when I google this, I find some very interesting articles on how to flavor my weed. Uhm, ok...(Note: I do not smoke weed) Ok good luck finding this list on the FDA website, because it is making my head spin.


Things you used to like that don't appear to have meat in them, might have meat in them. For example, my saffron rice. It has chicken flavoring. Boo Hiss.

Spices are your friend. I am experimenting with Indian, Ethiopian, French and Moroccan. You can buy little collections of these spices on Amazon.

I am making Sweet Potato Samosas for tomorrow with mint dipping sauce. Again, spices are your friend.

The best chocolate bar in the world is VEGAN! *rejoicing*

So, one thing I was really worried about was chocolate. I love chocolate and I am NOT giving it up for Jesus himself or Buddha or *enter religious or philosophical figure of your choice here*.

It just ISN'T happening, people. So, one of the first things I checked out before I even breathed a word of this vegan journey is my favorite chocolate bar.

Alter Eco Dark Quinoa Bar

Despite the 1970's orange wrapper , it is so incredibly tantalizing. The toasted quinoa is delicious. It is dark, but not too dark, fair trade, organic and ......wait for it....VEGAN.

Yum, yum, yum....my favorite.

 Unfortunately, I did just find out (after examining the nutritional content with a fine tooth comb) it is TWO servings, not ONE. So be aware of those calories girls! (and guys). Savor it! Make it last! One delicious bite at a time.

Coming out of the closet - The Vegan Closet

Ok, so I am being very quiet about my exploration into Veganism at this point. (Here is where you say: Hey! You have a blog and posted it on Facebook. You are OUT, girlfriend) Uhm, not so fast.

I mentioned to my mom today that I am eating a mostly vegan diet and got no reaction, which surprised the HELL out of me, quite honestly. lol I had a few coworkers give me this look (ok, you Vegans out there know what I am talking about, I bet you do!). It made me giggle slightly inside, because they looked at me like a 3-headed martian from space. Then it just got awkward. LOL Now, I really can't blame them, because we just had a conversation about the vegetarians in the office about 2 months ago and I had said I wasn't one and now, just a few short months later, I am touting the vegan flag (quietly for now) lol.

I am very hesitant to really say anything for several reasons. This is the first time I have seriously considered Veganism. I mean, I have gone on several bouts for several weeks at a time and even eaten primarily vegan throughout the week. But this it the first time I have paired my food intake with information. Information changes people. I feel enlightened. I feel violated (by certain industries and certain 'associations'), I feel liberated, I feel a little bit confused, and I feel a lot disgusted, but I am also excited about food.

Honestly, I started this journey with the idea to just really learn as much about nutrition as I possibly could and one thing was consistent; the health benefits of a vegetarian diet. But then, I kept asking why. And the more I asked WHY, the more I read about things that just thoroughly disgusted me. And how can I really consciously be a party to what I have read about and seen? I just can't do it.

But I do have a bit of anxiety about certain situations. Like family dinners. I am not well equipped to deal with too many outings right now. I keep finding myself in situations that are "less than vegan". But my plan is to meet these challenges head on and document them and try to avoid them in the future by coming up with different ways to deal with things. For example, I need to start carrying some of my own food with me. Like more nuts and fruit, etc for "emergency" situations. Also, I need to stock my work shelves with vegan soups, and such. Again, in case of "emergency". So if anyone is watching, I fully expect to slip up often for a while. And that is ok, because I will learn more and the more I learn the better prepared I will be in the future.

As a matter of fact, I am going to make a "Vegan Emergency Kit" and post it here! LOL

For now though, I am going to try to keep this a little hush, hush until I am better educated. But I know I am going to have to come out of the closet soon with a few close friends. I'm a little scared lol

Honey, the great vegan debate.

So, I made some tofu the other day. It was honey roasted. Here I am, trying to be all vegan and stuff and didn't even think about honey being an animal product. I did some research and wow, there is a crazy debate in the vegan community about honey. It seems like there are two schools of thought. Old school vegans who do NOT eat honey and other people who claim the title vegan who do eat honey. No judgement from me, I am just interested to learn more and the WHY's of the whole debate.

Some blogs I read asked the question, "Is honey the milk of the insect realm?". I don't know. I know bee's are really important to our vegetable and fruit crops and there always seem to be something in the news about new pesticides that harm bees or killer wasps from Africa that want to kill the bees. I know that honey is actually not the main purpose of the bee industry in the US. It is pollination and honey is actually a by product that the bees produce naturally, without any duress. (this last part seems to be under debate).

I am going to revisit this topic as I learn more. I think that I read a quote today that said, if the worst thing you do as a vegan is eat honey, you are doing great. Honestly, if I choose to give it up, it will be one of the last things I give up since I just bought a metric crap ton of it. It is supposed to really help with arthritis and join pain, although some people say there is no nutritional value at all.

Cont...

02/07/13
So a vegan friend gave me this link to read about honey. In case you are interested and would like a read.
After today, I am going to stop obsessing about honey. I think there are a few other steps I can take and some other things I can work on before I revisit this topic with any real input. Currently, I feel a bit badly after reading this article. But honestly, I just never really considered insects in my compassionate animal repertoire. I mean, maybe I should? I will give it serious thought. My husband actually has a friend that is a Bee Keeper. I might get her input, just to have a balanced view.

One thing that seems to be a constant though, honey seems to bee*(pun intended) the line in the sand that makes non vegans (some, ok, a lot) think vegans are a little nutty. Ok that also isn't entirely true, although I have read some voracious debates so far and they make my head spin!

Actually I am finding my friends reactions uhm, interesting to say the least....but I will post more about that later. ;)

Pirate's Booty, Veggie! Arrr!

I love, love, love Veggie Booty. Guess what? It is vegan! yay! Buy them at The Vegan Store online! (the following information has been borrowed from the Vegan Store. So please buy your veggie booty from them :)

Ahoy matey! Drop anchor and discover our favorite crunchy treasure, Pirate's Veggie Booty. These tasty puffs are baked to perfection with real, all-natural ingredients. Pirate's Veggie Booty is a great-tasting snack made from rice, corn, and a medley of vegetables like spinach, kale, carrots, and parsley.Gluten-free. 1 ounce bag. 

Ingredients: Corn meal, rice, soy flour, contains one or more of the following: sunflower, expeller pressed canola, or corn oil, rice flour, spinach powder, broccoli powder, carrot powder, evaporated cane syrup, cabbage powder, kale powder, parsley, dextrose, black pepper, sea salt.


Nutritional Information:
Serving Size: 1 oz
Servings per Container: 1
Calories: 130
Carbohydrates: 19g
Total Fat: 5g
Saturated Fat: 0.5g
Trans Fat: 0g
Sodium: 90mg
Sugars: 1g
Fiber: 1g
Protein: 2g

Where Do You Get Your Protein?

 

Ha ha ha, so my vegan friend posted this video to me the other day:
I watched it and laughed my ass off and the proceeded to watch the other 13 videos by Vegan Smyth.

How long did it take once I mentioned the word "veganism" to one of my friends before this question was asked to me? Guess! Hmmmm, well I shall spare you. Less than 24 hours.  Ha ha ha. I find that mildly amusing. So what do we take away from this video? Lots of veggies and beans and nuts have protein. And you can eat them and stay alive lol. (I love where he sings "I am a vegan and I am still alive! OMG, LOL, WTF???" lol

Who knew lettuce was such a protein powerhouse? And Mushrooms?? Wow!

Dr Colin Campbell, author of The China Study, states that we only need 8-10% protein in our diets which we can obtain very easily from a whole-food plant based diet. He also states that it’s virtually impossible not to get enough protein on a whole-food plant based diet. He tried to come up with a whole-food plant based diet that did not contain adequate protein but found it virtually impossible to come up with one. He also says that it is nearly impossible to NOT get enough protein, to do so you would have to eat a diet made up entirely of junk food, or a severely limited diet (such as, a Fruitatarian diet).

Excess protein intake can actually cause health problems (particularly protein from animal sources) such as kidney problems, kidney stones, over acidification of the blood stream – leaving you more susceptible to disease, gout and more.

Annie Chuns Roasted Seaweed and the local Vegan Joint

Okay, so I am looking for new and tasty vegan foods. I plan to share the good, bad and ugly here. The first delicacy is "Annie Chun's Roasted Seaweed Snacks". I will have to come up with a creative rating system, like 4 out of 5 stalks of broccoli! Actually, that is what I would give these! They are awesome. So awesome, in fact, I ordered a lot of them on amazon. :) Cheaper than Whole Foods and in bulk! Yay!

So, important question for a NEWB here. How do I know it is vegan? Well, this question is one I normally ask myself after I have eaten something :/ but this time, I was proactive! There is actually a little V on the top right in a circle that says the words "vegan" underneath! Thank you Annie, for making it impossible for me to screw this up!

 

Now my friend Michelle (who's favorite meal is steak, by the way) hated them (she said they tasted like fish food). BUT, she actually consented to go to brunch at the local vegan restaurant called "Ethos", She was a good sport. She was a little perplexed how they made a vegan egg. (She was actually saying "what is wrong with an egg, anyway?? She was a little traumatized). But I assuaged her fears by telling her there was turmeric in the "eggs" and she was happy about that. We got the breakfast burritos, which were very good. We both really liked them! She was very happy to find out that Mimosas are indeed vegan!

Brunch was great and I can't wait to go back and try dinner or lunch at Ethos. They packed quite a crowd on a Sunday too! That was interesting and encouraging!

And by the way, I wasn't the ONLY one that liked the seaweed: (Michelle's pup)

Why? Why Veganism?

Well that is a very good question, I am happy you asked. There are a lot of reasons! Let me share them with you.

1. I am not a big meat eater by nature. My body prefers a vegan diet. I don't know why. I love cheese. I mean, I LOVE the taste of cheese. If cheese were a man, I would marry him...well, at least up until recently that is. My skin looks better, my joints feel better, my hair grows faster all when I avoid animal products.
2. I have a neurological condition that I believe to be hormonally aggravated. There are tons of hormones in animal products since the factory farming industry pumps the animals full of hormones (and other things like anti-biotics) and guess what? We ingest that crap! I don't want to ingest that crap. We get enough of that from our beauty products, cleaning supplies and plastics. 
3. The factory farming industry is BAD. I do not mean to be cute and flippant here, but in addition to not following the rules with how they kill the animals, this industry violates human rights too! It is responsible for injuries, child labor, disease and many safety concerns. Also, there are a crap ton of things they do to the meat (read about Burger King in the news recently? Yeah, they were mixing horse meat into the "beef" and not telling the consumer). Do you know if there is a beef contamination, they can pull the beef off the shelves and NEVER notify the public that there has been a recall? Did you know the American Beef Association ran experiments on starving African children to "prove" meat was healthy? Yeah, that is the tip of the iceberg and we will go into all this in painfully excruciating detail at a later date. 
4. The animals SUFFER. It is terrible. I will spare you the details. There are a lot of books out there that go into detail. Read them.  "If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian."
   Paul McCartney
5.  There are a lot of lies floating about out there. Lies by "respectable" organizations like the FDA and the USDA. Organizations that are supposed to protect us and watch out for our best interests. They don't.
6. Factory farming is destroying the earth. Poo. Farts. and Burps. Yeah it sounds funny. No, it isn't funny at all. It is destroying the air, the water and the land.

So when I was in high school, I read a lot of books. I don't remember most of them, but I do remember seeing images of chickens being tortured. That was horrible. I guess eventually, I just blocked it out, became disconnected from my food like so many people out there. America, we are the most overfed and undernourished country in the world. We are so disconnected from what we eat it isn't even funny.

I was disconnected. I literally blocked out mentally what I was eating. I removed myself from my nutrition and my food. (and not just meat here, everything)

I made a decision to start watching nutritional documentaries. It was a Sunday, I was bored. I watched 7 that day. One was a documentary called "Vegucated". It sucked me in. It was cute and campy and funny. It was about three people who went vegan for 6 weeks. Then about half way through, (I was already invested) it put the meat whammy on me. It was terrible. Disturbing. Horrible. Watch it!

Greetings Vegan Padawans!

Hi, My name is Andee. I have flirted with Vegan-ism for years now. I went vegetarian in high school for about a year and succumbed to a hamburger at a flea market, practically force fed to me, by my friend Katy (ok that part is a lie, sorry Katy). It has been an on and off flirtation every since then. Well, Vegan-ism, get ready, I want to go from unabashed flirting to at least third base. ;)

This blog is not going be preachy and condemning (at least not of YOU). I don't care if YOU eat meat. However, I care that I used-to-up-until-very-recently ate meat. I want to explore new foods, new recipes, new ways of thinking. I want to explore foods I thought were vegan that are not, and foods I thought, no way is this vegan, and it is!

So if you ever experienced food guilt or you just want to learn along with me, or you just want to incorporate more veggies into your diet or try new foods, come along with me!

I want to share my observations with you. I am excited about food. More excited than I have ever been before!

Come with me! Into the veggie Casbah!


Andee