vegan | Turning Veganese

Apr 02 2013

Breakfast Wrap

This particular item more resembles dessert than breakfast but the nutritional profile doesn’t disappoint. All I did was take a flax gluten-free tortilla and topped it with the following

1 tbsp chocolate peanut butter (I used Peanut Butter and Co. but really any vegan nut butter will do)

2 tbsp dried blueberries (dried cranberries or raisins would work well too)

1/2 banana, sliced

1/4 apple, sliced

1/4 cup granola (I used Cascadian Farms)

I microwaved it for 20 seconds so it would soften and then ate it… It kept me full until lunch time. The crisp acidic apple and the soft sweet banana were perfectly balanced with the chewy blueberries and nutty chocolate crunch of the granola and peanut butter. Next time I might add some slivered almonds.

This is Christie, signing off!

Tagged banana, breakfast, cascadian farms, chocolate, cholesterol-free, dairy-free, dried blueberries, dried cranberries, easy, egg-free, gluten-free, granola, peanutbutter, quick, raisins, soy-free, vegan, vegetarian, wrap

Mar 26 2013

3 Comments

Reviews

“Shrimp” Jambalaya

This was one of those nights when we wanted something fun, but didn’t want to work too hard for it.

This Vigo Jambalaya rice mix was an easy base for our next ingredient. Brent made that while I prepared the rest. I diced an onion and sauteed it in Earth Balance buttery spread, chardonnay, flake red pepper and garlic.

We’re using a different kind of vegan shrimp than our usual Ocean’s Best. Visually it was a decent substitute for shrimp.

This particular variety is soy and gluten free and has the texture of overcooked shrimp. I don’t mind that chewier texture, in most dishes I prefer it. It gave a good contrast to the tender rice and soft onion.

At this point I’m neutral to the two. Sophie’s has a slightly better nutritional profile because they’re made with konjac flour instead of potato starch like Ocean’s best. In the end, they’re both tasty, very processed, taste not unlike the real thing but won’t convince most picky carnists. I’d get them if you’re really missing shrimp. Real shrimp are harvested by ocean dredging which is the ecological equivalent of clear cutting a forest. These are better for your conscience.

If you get to try them, let me know what you think!

This is Christie, signing off!

Tagged butter, dairy-free, earth balance buttery spread, egg-free, garlic, gluten-free, jambalaya, nut-free, onion, prawns, rice, shellfish-free, shrimp, sophie's kitchen, soy-free, vegan, vegetarian, vigo, white wine

Mar 19 2013

1 Comment

Thoughts

Vegan on a Budget

Brent and I have been entertaining the idea of trying a food stamp challenge: that is living on what the average Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP recipient does. This is partly because rising food costs affect us all and are particularly hard on the most vulnerable among us. We’re also interested in demonstrating that being vegan on a budget isn’t impossible or torturous.

The average food stamp recipient gets just $31.50 per week. I realize how much money that is when I think about my favorite oatmeal costing just a few dollars for a supply that will last several weeks. Add the raisins and agave nectar (that will last a little longer than the oats) and you’ve got a nutritious tasty breakfast for a week, for example. I also realize how little money it is when I think about how much Brent and I can spend at a Starbucks.

We’re planning to present you with receipts and nutritional profiles for our meals. I suspect that meeting nutritional requirements will be the most challenging part but I’m prepared for some creative solutions to these problems. We’ll be following B12 and the intake of zinc most closely (since vegans can have trouble getting these nutrients) but iron, calcium and protein will be among the nutrients we follow (for those skeptical carnists among us). Vitamins C, A and D are easy to get if you eat vegetables and leave your house once a day for a few minutes so we’re not too concerned about those but we’ll be watching them anyways.

We’re curious about what you’d like to see as we undertake this challenge. What should our rules reasonably include? Are fruit from local trees and condiments from take-out fair game as ‘free food’ or should we stick to our budgeted foods? Would supplements be cheating if we can budget them? We want to hear from you because you’re the ones we do all this stuff for.

This is Christie and Brent, signing off!

Tagged budget, cheap, concerns, dairy-free, egg-free, food stamps, gluten-free, minerals, nutrition, poverty, publicity stunts, questions, vegan, vitamins

Mar 18 2013

1 Comment

Lazy Vegan, Reviews

The Lazy Vegan: Tandoor Chef Vegetable Masala Burgers

Hi, Veganesers! This isn’t a Lazy Vegan post as much as it’s a “I’m so busy and haven’t had a chance to go to the grocery store let alone cook anything” post. At least it’s not a “I’m curled up on the floor, crying my eyes out for no reason and have no appetite” post.

I spotted these Vegetable Masala Burgers by Tandoor Chef at a local grocery store last week and decided to try them. I like veggie burgers, I like Indian food… this seemed like something different that would be perfect for those lazy days.

The ingredients include the following: potatoes, canola oil, carrots, green beans, water, bread crumbs, bell peppers, onions, corn, salt, green peppers, milled cane sugar, ginger, cellulose gum, spices, citric acid, tumeric, mustard seeds. They are not gluten-free. I didn’t have any buns (at least not burger buns) so I threw some rice on the plate along with a roasted eggplant.

The burger was good but far from great. The spices were very subtle so I added some Sriracha to give it a kick. I was happy to see that one patty was only 120 calories, but it only has 2 grams of protein so it’s not very substantial. I’m glad I gave these a try, but I don’t think I’ll be buying them again. They weren’t tasty enough in order for me to prefer them to more protein-packed burgers that I can make or buy.

‘Til next time! –Melissa

Tagged burger, lazy vcegan, masala, review, tandoor chef, vegan

Mar 14 2013

2 Comments

Main Dishes

Chipotle Cheddar Wraps!

A wise soul recently pointed out that you can’t have too many wraps so we’re sharing another one. You’ll need the following:

1 ripe avocado, we’re using Flordida green skin but Haas is perfect too
1 block of silken tofu

1/2 lime

1 tin of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

spring mix or spinach

Daiya cheddar wedge

1/2 cup dry soy curls per wrap per person

bouillon

flake red pepper and salt to taste

Avocados are beautiful this time of year so they’re going to appear a lot over the next few months. Our avocado tree is also blooming. YES!

Brent set about making the soy curls according to the package directions using some flake red pepper and a cube of bouillon for seasoning.

Meanwhile I threw a block of silken tofu into the blender with 3-4 of the chipotle peppers and a spoon full of the liquid from the can, a pinch of salt and the juice from half a lime. I blended it until it was smooth and creamy.

We sliced up the Daiya cheddar and placed it into the wrap along with some soy curls. We microwaved this for 20 seconds to get the cheese melty and soften the wrap. We added the avocado, greens and a generous helping of he creamy chipotle sauce.

This wrap is AMAZING! We ate it for 2 meals that weekend. If you’re sensitive to soy, use seitan instead of soy curls and cashew cream instead of silken tofu. Let me know if it works out as well as this did. YUM!

This is Brent and Christie, signing off!

Tagged avocado, cheddar, chipotle, dairy-free, daiya, egg-free, flake red pepper, florida, gluten-free, haas, salt, silken, soy curls, tofu, vegan, vegetarian

Mar 12 2013

1 Comment

Main Dishes

Leftover rescue: Veggie Fried Rice!

We ordered some Thai food and were left with huge quantities of leftover rice. I’m not one to waste food so we decided to make it into a delicious meal. Usually we throw all of our leftover veggies into a lasagna but rice gave us a good reason for change.

I combined some carrots that we shredded in our food processor with some flake red pepper, chopped onion and a couple of teaspoons of corn oil. I stirred it in our wok (thanks to my big sister for the awesome gift!) until the onion became translucent.

Then I added some soy curls (use seitan if you’re sensitive to soy) and shitake mushrooms that Brent had reconstituted in our microwave with some bouillon and some frozen peas and julienne zucchini. When that had all gotten hot and steamy and the zucchini was soft.

Then I dumped in our rice and seasoned it to taste with teryaki and tamari sauce.

It made a great dinner, leftovers and might benefit from some pseudo-shrimp and sesame seeds when we make it again. It was so easy, I don’t think we’ll be able to resist the urge.

This is Christie and Brent, signing off!

Tagged bouillon, carrots, corn oil, easy, gluten-free, leftovers, onion, peas, quick, rice, sesame seeds, shitake mushrooms, shredded, soy curls, tamari, teryaki, vegan, vegetarian, zucchini

Mar 08 2013

1 Comment

Thoughts

Black Trumpet Mushrooms!

These babies are relatives of another subtler favorite, the chanterelle. They’re similar in shape but they’ve got a richer flavor and beautiful smoky color. These hail from the Pacific Northwest and I left the gathering to the professionals this time. Wild mushrooms are something you should only partake in if they’re gathered by someone who really knows what they’re doing.

These were beautiful when sauteed with some vegan butter and garlic salt. In a wrap or over pasta they made a nice meaty addition to my dinner.

This is Christie, signing off!

Tagged black, black trumpet mushrooms, chanterelle, dairy-free, gluten-free, mushrooms, soy-free, vegan, vegetarian

Mar 06 2013

2 Comments

Thoughts

Resistance Was Futile

Hello, Veganesers! I’m finally back from my trip to Europe. It was a good time. I saw a lot of sites, mastered foreign public transportation systems, walked in the cold and rain, and conversed awkwardly with the locals. I also ate a lot. And I’m sorry to report that I pretty much failed at staying vegan.

After a successfully vegan voyage across the Atlantic, I was very optimistic about my food choices. I traveled with a large group. Our breakfasts and dinners were included in the travel package. It was only lunch that we needed to (or, really, that we could) get on our own. I was expecting buffet style dinners and breakfasts, so I was ready to load up on fruits and veggies and toast with jam and salad and rice and potatoes. I packed a bunch of protein bars to eat during the day so that I wouldn’t have to depend on whatever our lunch choices were.

I wasn’t prepared when I realized that we had a sit-down service for dinner every night. If the hotel didn’t know in advance that there was a vegetarian in the group (there were actually two of us and explaining that I didn’t eat meat was confusing enough so I didn’t say “vegan”), then we had to settle for whatever meal was being served. Luckily, this only happened on two occasions.

The meals usually started with soup; I think it started with a salad on just one night. The soups were usually a vegetable soup, but I can’t say they were vegan. The entree was chicken, beef, or pork served with fries or rice or potatoes and veggies like broccoli. On the nights when I didn’t get my “special” meal, I gave my meat to someone else in the group and ate the rest. And then I had a protein bar in my hotel room.

It was really interesting to discover what “vegetarian” meant wherever we went. In Portugal and Spain, I was served mushroom omelettes with veggies on the side. Luckily, there were plenty of mushrooms so I just picked them out of the egg. In France… sigh… I was given fish. Fish with a side of creamy rice one night and fish with a side of green beans the next night. It was hard to be disappointed when the servers were so proudly serving me my “vegetarian” dish. I could have skipped the fish, but I didn’t for two reasons. One, I was really hungry by the time dinner rolled around, especially after all the walking we did everyday. Two, it bothered me that a lot of people complained or left their food uneaten if they didn’t like it and, while I don’t really eat fish anymore, I felt really guilty throwing it out. (Also, it was kind of delicious. I know, I know, I’m a horrible vegan. I can only eat so many vegan snack bars before I want to hurl.)

There were small victories. We did have a buffet dinner one night, and I was able to eat a ton of salad with yummy fresh veggies along with a ton of yummy artichokes. A lot of the hotels served mushrooms in the morning, so I was able to load up on something warm and delicious and nutritious. I was able to get vegetable soup or other veggie dishes for lunch, like pasta or veggie paella. And on a cold day in Paris, I resisted the urge to get French onion soup and got a salad instead. The arugula was soooo good.

The plane ride back home offered a nice dose of getting back to my vegan diet. I was too tired to take photos, but I got a nice and tasty pasta arrabbiata with a side of veggies in a vinaigrette dressing and fresh fruit for dessert. I was again glad to hear that a vegetarian option was offered to everyone else, but this time it was an Indian dish with paneer that I would not have been able to resist. Then, for snack time, I got a triple decker sandwich with fresh cucumbers and red pepper on this really tasty brown bread. I was happy with that.

I’m confident that I would have been more successful at staying vegan had most of my meals not been included with the travel package. I did pay for it, after all. Unfortunately, we were on the road a lot and in remote locations for most of the trip, so a walk to a nearby market or restaurant wasn’t possible. We even went to a small spot that had a grilled ham and cheese sandwich on the menu, and they wouldn’t make it without the ham. I do consider it a victory that I avoided meat. It wasn’t easy since everyone around me was eating it and it all smelled so good.

I would love to go back to Europe for obvious reasons but also because I would like to have an opportunity to seek out vegetarian and vegan places. Our tour guide was very passionate about saying that there are no vegetarian restaurants and everyone eats meat, which of course cannot be true. The trip also demonstrated to me that “vegetarian” has a different meaning depending on where you are and “vegan” is still a totally new concept.

Looks like we’ve got a lot to teach the world, you guys! And I better start by being a real vegan myself. –Melissa

Tagged france, portugal, spain, travel, vegan, vegetarian

Mar 05 2013

2 Comments

Main Dishes

Vegan Paella, for real this time

I made paella once before and a Latina colleague informed me that unless it contains meat, paella is merely veggie rice. I don’t think she’d be able to argue with this vegan paella, though.

We used Vigo yellow rice instead of making our own. Brent and I have become big fans of this vegan rice mix because it’s tasty, easy and costs less than $2. If you get to try it, it gets a little toasty on the bottom of the pan and don’t worry because this improves the flavor significantly.
I started by sauteeing some onion with a little olive oil and some flake red pepper. While that was cooking, Brent was cutting some Brussel’s sprouts and thaw the Ocean’s Best vegan shrimp.We also threw in some black olives that I cut in half.

These all went into the pan until everything was steamy and hot and the onion was soft and the sprouts had begun to soften. I turned off the heat and added the red pepper. I put a lid over it and allowed it to steam until the pepper was just barely hot. I find bell peppers get bitter when cooked so I avoid cooking them completely unless the skin has been removed.

We scooped some rice onto our plates and arranged the veggies to make the paella look delicious and that didn’t take much effort. It was really good and the shrimp definitely added what was missing from my last paella effort. Next time I might add daikon as an answer to sea scallops. Savory olives (instead of mussels), sweet bell pepper, herbal Brussel’s sprouts all brought out the light flavors in the saffron rice and sweet shrimp. YUM!