The End is Near (for me, at least)!

Tomorrow is my last day of being a full-time vegan.   Samm is apparently finishing out the month - good for her, but I have places to go and people to see, and I'm NOT going to my favorite Irish restaurant or the brunch at Drury Lane and be forced to eat only the ungarnished fruits and veggies!

The last few days have been MUCH easier.  I don't know if it's because I've finally found recipes that I enjoy, that I'm now incorporating several types of vegan diets instead of just the raw, or that my husband cooks some of the meals (normally he cooks most meals).  He loves to cook, I hate it.

Maybe it's because I've been feeling really good this last week.  I'm down four pounds - consistently - from January 1.  I do not drop weight quickly, so this has made me feel pretty good!

Or maybe it's because the end is near.  I'm planning on staying vegan Mondays through Thursdays (or, at least, mostly vegan).  I'm not going to obsess about trace milk products in my food, but I'm not going to eat food that contain significant amounts of animal byproducts.  However, I'm wildly excited about going to my favorite restaurant, Ballydoyle, on Saturday with a big group of friends that I haven't seen in a while.  I'm already drooling over the thought of Irish chips with bleu cheese dip, steak boxty, and bread pudding.

I have yet to try making my own nutrition bars, mostly because I'm not at a point in my training where they're necessary.  But, maybe that will be a good project for this very, very cold weekend that is coming up.

I am going to be careful and not scarf down a ton of non-vegan food, though.  I hadn't had bread in two weeks when I ate about a half loaf of it last Saturday (it was essentially my whole dinner, so don't judge!) and I felt the effects of it for over a day.  Nothing gross, I just felt very sluggish, and that bread really just sat in my stomach like a lump of dough.  So if bread will do that to me, I'm a bit nervous about how I'll feel after eating dairy and meat again.

Thursday nights are now California roll nights, so Matt will be rolling those up when he gets home.  Yum!  However, I want to share my new favorite recipe:  sauteed houby (mushrooms, to all of you non-Czechs out there).

Sauteed Mushrooms

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp A-1 or Worchestershire sauce
1 pint sliced mushrooms



1.  Put the olive oil and A-1 in a cast-iron skillet; heat and stir with a metal spatula until A-1 is bubbling.

2.  Pour in the mushrooms, coat in mixture.  Stir frequently.  When mushrooms seem well-coated, cover the skillet.  Continue to stir every minute or so.




3. The mushrooms will start to reduce and the mixture will become very liquid.  When this happens, cover for another 3-5 minutes to soften up the mushrooms.








4. When there is little liquid left, uncover and reduce heat slightly.  This will severely reduce the amount of liquid.  If it seems like the A-1 is burning, you're doing it correctly.  Scrape the bottom of the skillet with the spatula to get all that goodness mixed in!

5.  When the majority of the liquid is gone, remove the mushrooms from heat.  Sprinkle with some salt before transferring to the plate!






The trick is to make sure that the mushrooms are cooking in the reduced A-1 sauce.  That's really where they get their awesome flavor!  While these mushrooms are GREAT on their own, they also make a fantastic topping for mashed potatoes.  You can also sautee some onion before you add in the mushrooms!

Namarie!

Rock Bottom

I can't say that going vegan has been 100% easy. I've had my moments and my cravings. I've been lucky in that I haven't had very many cravings. Last night, however, was hard.

We went to a restaurant called Rock Bottom for a friend's birthday. I took a chance to look up their menu ahead of time. The nice thing is that they have a .pdf you can download that will tell you if there's any milk, egg, meat, fish, nuts, wheat, etc. in each of their dishes. I'll be honest. It didn't look promising! There was milk and eggs in their veggie burger. I knew I would be limited to a salad.

I was wrong, however! Once we got there I discovered a roasted red pepper hummus on their appetizer menu. Score! I ordered that and the Santa Fe Ranch Salad, sans animal products with a balsamic vinaigrette. Both were delicious!

I won't lie to you. It was hard sitting there and watching my friends eat chicken wings, steak, fried chicken, and spinach dip. What was worse was the conversation about White Castle hamburgers! I was silently dying inside until my food came out. I wasn't about to tell any of them to stop talking about food I can't eat. That wouldn't be fair to them, but it was really hard to sit there and listen to the glory that is the slider.

Eating out with friends and food conversations are just something I'm going to have to get used to if I stick with being a vegan. I've been seriously considering sticking with it. I like how my body feels and I can't argue against that. People are telling me to supplement in the occasional animal product but I don't think I can do it. If I don't eat animal products for a long time won't my body disagree with it? Plus I've found that I don't really have a desire to eat meat, eggs or dairy. It's just not there. Instead I crave fruits and vegetables. I suppose your body is going to crave what it wants. It might as well be craving foods that are good for you!

Speaking of foods that are good for you, as a vegan one of the most common questions we get asked is "where do you get your protein from?" It makes sense since most protein comes from meat. There are several ways for vegans to get protein. There's protein in nuts mostly. That's probably your best source. Still, you have to eat a LOT of nuts to get the required protein.

A friend suggested hemp protein. It comes in a powder like whey protein (which contains dairy). The only difference is that there's actually less protein in hemp or soy protein then there is in whey protein. I think I found a solution.

At Whole Foods there's a protein supplement that's 100% pure plant-based protein. It's protein derived from hemp, soy, and a bunch of other plants that I've never even heard of. Best of all, it's low in fat (about 3 grams per serving) and has the same amount of protein as whey!

I bought the container and I've been mixing it in with my smoothies. The container suggests you use two scoops but I've been finding that two scoops is making my smoothie very chalk-like. You can't taste the actual powder but you can feel the texture. It seems to fail at dissolving fully. Still, if you're low on protein, a plant-based protein may be the way to go.

Chowpatti Vegetarian Restaurant

Tonight Matt and I went to Chowpatti Vegetarian Restaurant in Arlington Heights, IL.  It is an "international vegetarian" restaurant, but we stuck to the Indian food, as the owners are Indian.

The food was fantastic!  And, it seems that they can make anything on the menu vegan if you ask.  I do know that we had the vegan brownie and vegan cinnamon roll for dessert.  Yum!

I was so pleased with this dinner.  It was the first time in two weeks that I felt like I was eating real food.

Enjoy the photos of our dinner!  I have put the descriptions of each food (copied from their online menu) next to the pictures.

Bombey Sev Batata Puri

"BOMBAY SEV BATATA PURI consists of six crispy original wheat chips or corn chips topped with potato, onion, cilantro and three special chutneys (sauces): Spicy Garlic, Spicy Golden, and Sweet Date. All three chutneys are combined to your request of spice level and then topped with sev (crunchy chickpea noodles). Served cold. (Spiced Mild, Medium or Hot) Upon request, these items can be made very-mild."

This was my favorite dish of the night.  We got medium, but it was way hotter than I prefer.  However, the mix of flavors was amazing! I could have eaten all six.

Samosa Plate

"SAMOSA is a tasty fried, triangle crust filled with mildly seasoned potatoes and green peas."

This was totally comfort food.  Although it was reminiscent of Shepherd's Pie, it absolutely appealed to the Czech in me!

Combination Platte

Sauces from top to bottom:
Aloo Mutter - green peas and potatos
Chole Channa - chickpeas
Tarka Dal - curried lentils

Paratha - Grilled whole wheat flatbread
Steamed Vegetable Biryani - rice with veggies

Vegan Brownie and Vegan Cinnamon Roll

They use fruit juice instead of sugar.  The brownie was made with carob instead of chocolate.  They were both AMAZING!









Namarie!

Neat Loaf!

Last night I made neat loaf. You read that right. Not meat loaf, NEAT LOAF! I was both excited and apprehensive to try this recipe. Lets face it, when something is supposed to be like a meat-based food it's almost always completely different in taste, smell and texture.

This recipe was VERY easy and VERY tasty! My house smelled delicious too, just like if I were cooking real meatloaf. The taste is similar to meatloaf. The smell is spot on and the texture is close as well, and very moist! I did notice that when it asked that I combine all ingredients there was a bit of the dry ingredients that didn't get caught up in the mass. It wasn't more than a 1/2 cup worth so I just tossed it.

Here's the recipe! Give it a shot. You'll be surprised!

Neat Loaf
(Makes one loaf, about 12 slices)

1 cup cooked brown rice
2 cups bread crumbs
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 pound firm tofu
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
3 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp stone-ground or Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp black pepper
barbecue sauce or ketchup for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the brown rice, bread crumbs, walnuts, onion, celery, and carrot. (You can put the walnuts, onion, celery and carrot into the food processor to save time chopping.)

Puree the tofu in a food processor or mash by hand until very smooth. Add to the rice mixture along with the barbecue sauce, soy sauce, mustard, and black pepper.

Stir with a large spoon or knead mixture by hand until it is well mixed and holds together, about 1 minute.

Transfer to an oil-sprayed 5 x 9 inch loaf pan or other baking dish and distribute evenly using a spoon, spatula, or your hand.

Top with barbecue sauce or ketchup. Bake for 60 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe from Healthy Eating for Life for Children by Amy Lanou, Ph.D., as republished in The Survivor's Handbook: Eating Right for Cancer Survival by The Cancer Project.

Gnocci!

I forgot to blog about the gnocci I made!  Oh, it was SOOOOO good!  This is one recipe I'll definitely be using again, vegan or not!  I got this recipe from TheKindLife.com  We ate almost all of it.  Yum!

Gnocci with Vodka Sauce

Kind Lifer Caseydog posted this recipe for a kind version of ‘Gnocchi with Spicy Vodka Tomato Cream Sauce’ in the forum, and it looks and sounds so delicious! I love gnocchi! Can’t wait to try this recipe. Caseydog wrote, “I love gnocchi (Italian potato dumplings) and some warm pasta sounded nice on this cold rainy night. I have been craving the indulgent vodka tomato cream sauce that I have tried at restaurants. Well, I have lightened up this version, making it almost fat free and vegan.” I just love when people take recipes that they used to love, but change them to make the dishes healthier. I love delicious food that not only tastes great, but is also kind to our bodies! Here is the yummy recipe... Let me know if you try this! And thank you Caseydog!

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 15 minutes
• Total time: 30 minutes
• Servings: 4

• 1 pound(s) of of gnocchi
 (I got vegan gnocchi from Whole Foods)
• 1 tbsp. of olive oil
• 2 tsp. of parsley

• 1/2 tsp. of hot red pepper flakes
  (I used ground red pepper)
• 4 minced garlic cloves
  (Four was TOO MANY!)
• 1 28 ounce can of whole tomatoes
 (I used three fresh tomatoes)
• 1/2 cup(s) of silken tofu
 (I used firm tofu)
• 2 tbsp. of of vodka


  

Steps

1. Put the gnocchi in a pot of water, and bring to a boil.
2. Boil for 3 minutes, and then drain and set aside.

3. Sauté the olive oil, parsley, red pepper flakes, and garlic cloves in a medium saucepan.
4. Add the can of whole tomatoes, and bring to a boil.
5. Puree this in a blender along with the silken tofu.
6. Transfer back to the saucepan after blended.
Heat gently, and add the vodka.

7. Heat for one minute, and then toss with the gnocchi.
   
   

 

Namarie!

Nut Mush

At Samm's request, here is the recipe for Nut Mush aka Nut Yogurt.  First you have to make Velvety Dessert Milk, which is really good.  I added cocoa to mine, and it gave it kind of a dark chocolate taste.  This is a MESSY process, by the way!

Velvety Dessert Milk

7 cups filtered water  (If I ever make this again, I will use less water for a richer taste!)

1 cup soaked raw almonds (I put them in a medium-sized bowl, cover with water, and soak for 8-12 hours)

10 pitted honey dates

½ vanilla bean  (I just poured in a little vanilla extract)

1 tsp agave nectar

1/8 teaspoon salt

Combine water and almonds in blender until smooth. Strain, but save pulp for another recipe. Rinse blender and put milk back in. Add remaining ingredients, blending until smooth and creamy.

You'll use the pulp for the Nut Mush/Yogurt!

Nut Yogurt

2 cups filtered water

1 cup almond pulp (from Velvety Dessert Milk)

1 cup soaked raw cashews (soak for 2 hours)

2 teaspoons probiotic powder (I use it in liquid form because it was the cheapest one at Whole Foods)

½ vanilla bean  (again, I use vanilla extract)

Combine the water, almond pulp, cashews, probiotic powder, and vanilla bean in a blender until smooth. Pour into glass container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Stored in a glass container in the fridge, Nut Yogurt will keep for four days. Serve with berries.

Namarie!

Smoothie Love

Who doesn't love smoothies? Even though there's snow on the ground, I still love drinking a smoothie. I won't eat ice cream in the winter but smoothies are A-OK!

Every morning I've been having a smoothie along with a small bowl of oatmeal topped with dried cranberries and nuts (either almond or walnut). I add a teaspoon of brown sugar to the oatmeal just to give it a little more flavor because lets face it, oatmeal is bland.

Anyway, the combo keeps me full until I take my lunch break at 2:00!

Here's the smoothie recipe I created by combining the Kickstart recipe with a recipe from the book "Skinny Bitch in the Kitch." (Which is a hysterical vegan cookbook if you don't have it!)

Samm's Smoothie

1 cup plain or vanilla almond milk (or 1 container of rice yogurt)
1 banana
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup strawberries
2 tbsp flax meal (Gotta get those omega 3's!)
1 cup orange juice
1 cup ice (use only if berries aren't frozen)

Put in a blender with the berries on the bottom, especially if they're frozen, and set to "chop." Once the berries are finely chopped set the blender to puree and run until smooth.

You can use any combination of fruit you want. It all seems to go together. Sometimes I add a bit of mango pulp to the mix for a bit of a tropical flavor. If you like your smoothies more watery add more orange juice, or less if you want it thicker. The great thing about this recipe is that you can have fun and experiment!