Become A Vegan In One Simple Step

PLAN! :-)

Plan your menu for every meal before going to the grocery store. Try to keep breakfast simple with foods like bagels, smoothies, oatmeal, etc. Make enough dinner to serve for lunch the next day or better yet make enough for dinner, too.

Keep it simple with recipes like Califlower Cous Cous with Mint & Basil Sauce & Fried Rice.

Take your favorite non-vegan recipes, switch out a few ingredients and veganize it. I recently made my mom's collard greens recipe using liquid smoke opposed to smoked meat. It was yummy and I couldn't tell the difference.

If you don't want to plan your menu or don't have the time, Happy Herbivore offers affordable vegan weekly menus with grocery lists and directions.

Also Pinterest and my recipe page are great resources.

Plan ahead for social gatherings- This time of year (also Christmas, New Years, etc.) can be difficult because there's so much temptation to eat foods that aren't necessarily good for you at gatherings. I usually eat a meal before leaving my house and bring a simple vegan dish to events to munch on and share.  If you're heading out to a restaurant, check out the menu online so you have an idea of your options. Fortunately, many restaurants now have at least one vegan entree. If all else fails, order several side items-like french fries, steamed vegetables, applesauce, garden salad with balsamic vinaigrette, rice (check to make sure it wasn't cooked in beef or chicken broth) and a baked potato.

Plan for snacking- I used to keep fresh fruit and nuts in my car for those times when I wasn't sure about my next meal. You don't want to be stuck with nothing to eat.

It can be overwhelming in the beginning, but soon you'll establish a routine and all of this will become second nature. I wish I could say every situation will be perfect, but the health benefits of compassionate eating are worth the effort.

Is the Sugar in Your Cabinet Vegan?

Sugar isn't automatically vegan? There's no meat, dairy, or eggs, right?

Not so fast. Plain white sugar can contain bone char- which is crushed animal bones used during production.

How do you avoid bone char in your own cooking? The USDA doesn't consider bone char an organic product, so buying sugar with the offical organic label can help you bypass that ingredient.

Here's a great video from Kathy discussing ways to avoid sugar containing bone char.

Further reading:

Vrg.org

Are animal ingredients included in white sugar?

Vegan Sugar & Other Sweetener Options

Mother's Day Vegan Lunch

It felt so good cooking with my family and giving my mom the gift of vegan food on Mother's Day. We made portobello lasagna, macaroni & cheese, kale salad and cheesecake.

What she said about each dish:

Kale salad-It was her 1st time having it and she said it was delicious

Mac & cheese-commented that it looked like conventional mac & cheese but didn't taste like it to her.  She did say it was good but her taste buds expected a more "cheesy" flavor since it looks like traditional mac & cheese.

Cheesecake-loved it!

Lasagna-She called it her favorite of the 4 dishes and asked for the recipe to make it later.

Success!

Watch us cook here...

Recipes:

Portobello lasagna

Kale salad- I added nutritional yeast to the recipe in the video

Macaroni & Cheese

Cheesecake

2 tubs of vegan cream cheese (16 oz)

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup soy milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Juice of ½ lemon

1 tbsp vegan margarine

9-inch pre-made graham cracker pie crust

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl until well combined. Pour into pie crust and bake for 45 minutes. Allow to cool on the counter for a few minutes. Place cake in the refrigerator for 2 hrs to firm or in the freezer for about 1 hour.

Walking Away From Beef

I used to think I wasn't much of a beef eater until I stopped eating it in 2008. I was wrong. From going to cookouts and running to a drive-thru before heading home, beef was just as pravalent in my diet as seafood.

Now that the U.S. is dealing with another mad cow crisis (by the way, mad cow is always going on-we just don't hear about it until many people get ill or die) in our meat production, I decided to talk about some delicious alternatives to eating beef.

These burgers don't taste like regular beef and aren't as tough but you will feel better about eating them. I promise if you start eating this way, you will acquire a taste for veggie burgers.

My introduction to veggie burgers was Boca. I hated them (and still do) because of the way they smell and their cardboard on a bun taste. I remember thinking, "See, this is why people don't eat this crap."  I haven't had one since '09, so maybe the recipe has improved but the smell hasn't. Hubby still eats them.

Next, I moved on to Morningstar (which has more vegetarian than vegan products) and enjoyed their black bean patties until I became a vegan.

Then I started eating Annie's vegan patties-very good and they have several varieties.

Now, we enjoy my favorite homemade version.

Some tips:

*Don't give up if you try a brand or recipe that you don't like.  I'm so glad that I didn't allow Boca to be my vision of what a veggie burger is.

*Don't be afraid to top your burger with condiments to get used to the texture and flavor.

*Baby steps are okay. I went from eating beef; to enjoying Morningstar's black bean burgers; to eating Annie's brand; to making my own right at home. You can do it!

Learn more about how factory farms typically operate in the U.S. here.

Have you tried any vegetarian or vegan burgers? What are your favorite brands/recipes? Let's talk about it in the comments.

Letting Go.... For Now

I've written before about making the decision to let my kids eat what they want when we dine out. I'm willing to compromise since they enjoy a mostly vegan lifestyle at home.  I know I can make the decision for them, but the truth of the matter is, I'm tired. I'm tried of nagging the kids about making the right food decisions at restaurants.

Why should I have to sell them on the idea of veganism? I have to let the food and my compassion for them speak for itself. I want them to enjoy eating out without mom breathing down their back and making them second guess all of their food choices. 

Adults often can't and/or won't make vegan food decisions, so why should I expect my children to?

Over the weekend, we celebrated a birthday with the hubby's family at a buffet-style restaurant. Theo and I walked to each station grabbing vegetables noodles, french fries, and fresh fruit. There was an abundance of seafood, beef, and chicken and we almost made it back to the table without him questioning it, until he saw fried drumsticks. He asked for one, and I allowed for him to have it.

He enjoyed his meal and headed back up with his cousins and my aunt for dessert after he spotted a man eating an ice cream cone. My aunt bought him back to the table with a cup of chocolate ice cream, two small pastries, and Jell-O. *Sigh*

He liked the pastries and ice cream but said the Jell-O was weird (I never gave it to him before) and played with it instead. Woohoo at him not being a Jell-O fan. Here's why I care.

The point of this post is to focus on celebrating our success instead of harping on why I'm such a crappy mom for allowing my kids eat in a way that I don't agree with.

I want to start focusing on the fact that my kids now indulge in vegan food and cooking.

How they ask questions about animals and expressed interest in visiting an animal sanctuary.

How they now understand why mommy doesn't eat meat or dairy.

How they beg for green smoothies and couldn't imagine a week without oatmeal for breakfast.

How when the server asked my 7 year old what he wanted to drink, he had no problem ordering water with lemon.

Maybe 2 years from now, my boys will automatically order vegan when we go to eat out.  For now, I'm letting it go.