Meat

Being a vegetarian and now vegan has got me thinking. After cutting out dairy, all I can think about it meat. It's bizarre. I emailed my 'go to' person the other day about some support for supplements and some advice. She is vegan and informed me in our emails that she is actually eating meat again. She said that she tends towards being anemic and her iron levels are low and she wanted to be 100% for her daughter because she is breastfeeding. She made a really fabulous point that she is only eating free range, organic, local beef and wild caught fish. She said that she doesn't mind supporting an economy of fair practices when it comes to animals and I would have to agree with that statement. I tend to waiver between understanding why meat has come into our lives and the history of it being in our diet but I also think that animals shouldn't be needlessly dying for our consumption when it is healthy and absolutely possible to live a life without eating them. I realize, health wise, that dairy is and always was my problem. Yes, meat protein weighs me down and effects my gut but dairy is my issue in so many ways. Interesting thoughts going through my head.

Struggles.....

This is me being honest, things have been rough on the road to being completely dairy free.
I have been fighting off a cold and not feeling nourished and frankly feeling sick because of it. It is clear to me that my body is lacking something and I'm not sure what it is. I knew in this process that I would need to evaluate what I am doing and what changes need to be made. I need to supplement myself and get everything my body is asking for. Certain constant cravings indicate a lack of vitamins and nutrients and I need to figure out what those are and what I need.
As I work my way through this journey I realize that my body was telling me that dairy is something that it cannot handle and that it is so important that I change my lifestyle. When I stopped eating meat, I did it because of my health as well as being turned off by what I was eating. I'm realizing my weaknesses and that quitting dairy is 100 times harder on me than quitting meat was.
I'm hoping that I can get in touch with my body and understand what it needs to get through this tough time. I don't mind feeling hungry (as most of us never do because we over eat) but I don't want to feel lacking in something essential that my body is needing.
I need to look into vitamins and read up on anemia.
Struggles, that is what I am going through right now. I got a few new cookbooks today and I will post a wonderful recipe tomorrow as I try to stay motivated.

What does being healthy mean to you?

I chose to write about this because there are so many out there who need to put a label on things to feel like they are legitimate. I would prefer not to even use the word 'vegan' or 'vegetarian'. The only reason I do use those words is because they are familiar. Whether or not you eat meat, vegetables, dairy products or anything else, it is a personal choice and usually comes with quite a personal explanation/story. This journey and this blog to me is just about sharing my ideas/thoughts, recipes etc. It's not about proving anything to myself except that I love to cook and that I'm taking on a new challenge!
Being healthy for me means being strong both mentally and physically. It means having a healthy relationship with food and the earth as well as an appreciation for all things living.
I grew up with a single mother in a household with three kids. My mother was/is an incredible chef therefore I grew up loving helping her prep vegetables, cook and create anything food related. Us kids grew up with such a deep respect for food and an absolute passion for cooking. For as long as I can remember, my sister has been a vegetarian. I remember her strong will, even back then, to choose not to eat meat. I love that it is ultimately our decision and we have power over what we eat (in most cases) Growing up seeing my sister's strong passion opened my eyes to the other side of things. Instead of just assuming that I should eat what was put in front of me, I was given the tools to question it and wonder if it was what was best for me. I'm so grateful to have grown up with such choices and the luxury of being fed such wonderful food.
What I want to do is lessen my impact on living beings and the earth as a whole. I want animals to be treated well and I want the consumption of them, to not be abused. Consume with appreciation and an understanding of why you are choosing to eat what you are.
Whether you are 100% vegan, ovo-vegetarian, lacto-ovo or whatever else it may be, try to sit for a minute each day and think about the animal, plant, grain etc that you are eating and think about where it came from, where it's going (haha) and how appreciative you are of what it is doing for your body.

With that said, please enjoy this yummy recipe for a roasted red pepper butter (fake butter) sauce. I made it over pasta with veggies on the side. The recipe does call for a decent amount of fake butter and oil so it is a once in awhile treat! :)

Roasted Red Pepper Butter (Earth Balance) Sauce:
-1/4 cup of olive oil (I consider the oil as an 'as needed' type of thing-you can always put less)
-6 cloves of garlic
-1/2 cup of Earth Balance Organic Buttery Spread
-1 cup of roasted red peppers
-1 tablespoon of lemon juice
-1/2 teaspoon of salt
-2 tablespoons of fresh dill or basil (or both!)

Warm oil and add garlic and cook 3 minutes until garlic is golden.
In a blender on medium, blend butter, peppers, lemon juice and salt. Slowly add olive oil and garlic. Blend until smooth. Add lemon juice and salt as needed. Stir basil/herbs in by hand (do not blend them)
Serve over pasta and enjoy!

Literature

One of the first things I did when researching a vegan lifestyle was head to the library and take out every book on the subject I could find. At our local library (in our county) there aren't as many books on veganism as you would think. After reading through about 10 books on converting to veganism and about 30 cookbooks, I came up with a list of books that I love. For me it was a culmination of books I had read myself, reviews on books and recommended books from friends, all which I have read.
I want cookbooks with fresh, new ideas for cooking. I don't believe in mashed potatoes and pureed carrots over top to mock "gravy". I'm sorry, that just doesn't cut it for me. Simple is sometimes easy for people but I love cooking and I love full flavors and I most love being adventurous with my cooking. I love soups, salads, one pot meals and I cook curries and Thai food several times a week. Most Asian food is not only healthy, full of vegetables and healthy spices but it is often vegetarian/vegan or can easily be converted.
Here are a list of my favorite books and cookbooks and I would LOVE any suggestions you all might have to add to this list!

Cookbooks:
-World Vegetarian: More Than 650 Recipes From Around the World
by: Madhur Jaffrey
-Veganomicon (a must)
by: Moskowitz and Romero
-The Moosewood Restaurant Cooking For Health: More Than 200 New Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes
by: The Moosewood Collective
-Vegan With a Vengence
by: Isa Chandra Moskowitz
-Vegan Lunch Box: 130 Amazing, Animal-Free Lunches Kids and Grown-Ups Will Love!
by: Jennifer McCann
-The Voluptuous Vegan
by: Myra Kornfeld
-How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes For Great Food
by: Mark Bittman
-Vegan Planet
by: Robin Robertson
-The Vegetable Dishes I Can't Live Without
by: Mollie Katzen
-Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World
by: Moskowitz and Romero

Literature on the subject of Veganism:

-Becoming Vegan: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet
by: Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina
-The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your World and Our World
by: John Robbins
-The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight and Saving the Planet
by: Alicia Silverstone
-Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World
by: Bob Torres and Jenna Torres

Books I Love:

-The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
by: Michael Pollan
-The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World
by: Michael Pollan
-In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
by: Michael Pollan
-Eating Animals
by: Jonathan Safron Foer

"If you're not hungry enough to eat an apple, you're not hungry"

That is a quote from the amazing Michael Pollan. I believe it, but, reality is a different story. This new lifestyle takes a lot more thinking and planning than I am used to. I plan not only every meal but everything piece of food that goes into my mouth. I have adapted a new lifestyle of planning more in general. I plan my days to not only get housework, school work and mama work done but also to make meals and exercise.
I have been pre making hummus and salads to go in the fridge that I can easily grab and eat. Here is a wonderful recipe for a chili that I made today (I made it with seitan but it can be made with anything you want in it's place)

Vegan Chili Supreme-
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-1 large onion chopped (2 cups)
-6 gloves of garlic minced
-1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce (minced)
-8 oz of baby bella mushrooms (or any of your choice) finely chopped (1 1/2 cups)
-2 8oz packages of seitan chopped (3 cups)
-3 tablespoons tomato paste
-2 teaspoons smoked paprika (important)
-2 teaspoons dried oregano
-1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
-1/4 teaspoon celery salt
-3 15 oz cans of chili beans (I used 1 cup of each of the following: black beans, pinto beans and kidney beans)
-1 cup chopped carrots (2-3 large carrots)
-2 or 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
-1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

On medium high heat in a large deep bowl:
-Add onion and saute until they begin to brown (7-10 mins)
-Add garlic and chipotle chili. Stirring for one minute
Stir in mushrooms (cook 3-4 mins or until softened)

Add:
-seitan
-tomato paste
-smoked paprika
-oregano
-chili powder
-celery salt
-1 cup of water. Cook 3-4 mintutes, stirring ocassionally

Add:
-all beans
-carrots
-tamari (soy sauce)
-worcestershire sauce. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 1 hour or until carrots are tender.

Enjoy!

Junk Food

I'm realizing that one of the first things that those who are beginning vegetarians or vegans do is run and look for every alternative to meat or dairy that they can find. I have bought a few meat alternatives that I keep in the freezer that I have in a pinch in case I need some quick protein. I really don't like the taste of most of them as they lack so much flavor. I tend to be of the mind to stay away from alternatives and realize that I don't need those things and I get plenty of what I need from everything that I eat. Speaking of yummy junk food, I love the Alexis onion and garlic oven crinkles. I'm writing about junk food because I am a victim of it and that vegan style junk food is just as bad as any other. Hehehe.
Last night was a dreaded night for me. It was the first time since becoming vegan that we had burritos on the menu for dinner (requested by my husband) I dread this because in my mind, burritos don't exist without cheese and sour cream (among many other tasty things) I made vegan burritos last night and HONESTLY didn't even miss the dairy(for me, the avacado worked well as something 'creamy')

Courtney's Burritos:

-One can of vegetarian refried beans (or any beans you like)
-Saute one whole onion with 6 cloves of garlic finely chopped (until soft)
-To the beans add the onion/garlic mixture and add a little salsa verde and freshly chopped cilantro.
(Spicing the beans up like this really makes them feel like a main part of the burritos rather than a side note)
-I also cooked the rice with vegetable stock and added cumin, corainder, a little bit of chili powder and fresh squeezed lime.
-In light oil, I sauteed 2 sweet bell peppers and an onion (cut into strips) with salt, pepper, lime and chili powder (saute until soft)

Inside the burritos was:
-Whole wheat (lard free) tortillas
-Yummy spiced beans
-Yummy spiced rice
-Lettuce
-Tomato
-Green onion
-Fresh chopped cilantro
-Squeeze of fresh lime
-Sauteed bell peppers and onions
-Sweet corn (defrosted from frozen)
-Avacado slices
-Salsa

Ohhhhh Dairy!

I've never really realized what a huge role dairy played in my diet until now. I don't miss meat much at all. I recognize the wonderful smell of bacon but I don't have any desire to eat it. Dairy.....ouch! It's a tough one because everything I love has dairy in it.
For example:
Breakfast-
-Tea with half and half and agave-DAIRY
-Oatmeal with a little cream, blueberries and agave-DAIRY
Mid-Morning Snack-
-Rice cake with a slice of cheese-DAIRY
Lunch-
-Hummus and veggies-WOW! no dairy
Dinner-
-Tofu cesar-tons of DAIRY

This transition for me is more about changing all of my habits rather than just cutting out dairy. This process will challenge me because it means reading every label (even more than I already do) and cooking everything, rather than grabbing something on the go.
I will try to share a new, healthy and tasty recipe every day or every other day. Each recipe that I add will be found by me and tested first. Today I'm going to share a recipe that some of you already know but, I love it.

Wish me luck!


Thai (ish) Rice Noodle Dish (with tofu-you can use shrimp or chicken):
**very first, I saute up about 6 cloves of finely chopped garlic and about an inch of ginger (finely chopped) and sauteed until cooked-in light flavored oil**

This is for a double batch of sauce:

-1/4 cup of light oil
-1/4 cup of lime juice
-1.5 tablespoons of Chinese chili paste
-2 tablespoons of toasted, dark sesame oil
-the thick part of a can of coconut milk
-2-3 tablespoons peanut butter
-1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
-a few splashes of soy sauce
-teaspoon of brown sugar or agave
-add half of the ginger/garlic mixture from above to the sauce and save the rest for sauteing the tofu, shrimp or chicken
(heat all of this mixture in a pot on the stove-add things if it taste's off-a little more sweetness will cut the lime taste if you don't like it)

-In thin strips cut up carrots and green onions and cilantro (finely chopped)

-Use 8oz-16oz of rice noodles (however big your meal) take out of box and boil water in a kettle put the dry noodles in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Let the noodles soak until soft (about 15-20 mins)

-Saute tofu (I pre-bake it in cubes at a high temp) with a tiny bit of oil and the other half of the garlic and ginger mixture (you can use tofu or chicken as well).

Add cooked noodles to the shrimp mixture along with sauce and veggies. At the end, I add ground peanuts and fresh cilantro.

Enjoy!