And then life happened

Well I am glad to report that although I have been too busy to sit down and blog I have not been too busy to eat vegan.  With final exams approaching it has been a balance of eating out and reheating leftovers.  Breakfasts have been a bag of oat squares and walnuts or shakes made with bananas, strawberries or blueberries, protein powder, kale, and almond milk both of which are easy to take on the go.  While eating out I have enjoyed veggie pho, thai food, and vegan burgers.  I had round 2 of bangers and mash but had it with peas and gravy this time.  I made the gravy out of "Better Than Bouillon" (BTB) veggie broth and flour by mixing a tablespoon of bouillon with 4 Tbsp. of water and heating it in a saucepan until bubbling.  Then I slowly whisked in 2 Tbsp. of flour which made it very thick.  I slowly added more warm water until it was the consistency I wanted.  I reheated some of the leftover mash and pan fried some field roast sausages and added some peas and smothered the whole thing with gravy. It was even better than the first time.

Last night I marinated sliced extra firm tofu in kalbi sauce (bought at any Asian store) for about 6 hours and then pan fried it and served it with brown rice and iceberg lettuce with vegan ranch.  Yep, Vegan Ranch!  I made some butter milk by putting 1 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar in a 1/2 cup and filling it with soy creamer but I think almond or soy milk would work also.  Let it sit for 10 minutes and then mixed it in a bowl with 2 heaping spoons of vegannaise, a cap of apple cider vinegar, 2 tsp. of fresh minced dill, 1 tsp. each of dried parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, mustard and salt and pepper to taste.  It was a little sweet because I used soy creamer but it was like the sweet ranch at teriyaki restaurants.

Today for breakfast I had malt o meal with sweetened vanilla almond milk.  Sometimes I add in craisins and chia seeds. 

For lunch my niece and I made a salad.  We cooked Israeli couscous  following the directions on the box but using BTB vegetable broth instead of water.  We blanched and chopped some asparagus and headed up some frozen peas and threw it all together in a bowl.  The couscous was so flavorful we didn't need dressing. My niece, a finicky eater, even asked for seconds. I had seconds too.

Fuck yea that's vegan!

Does that oven look different than usual? That's because last night I was invited to cook a vegan meal at a friends place.  I decided to go with one of my tried and true favorites, Japanese curry.  A lot of people are familiar with Thai curry and Indian curry but aren't even aware that Japanese curry exists and has its own unique taste.  I usually use the "Golden Curry" box curry that you can buy at most grocery stores but I'm working on making my own recipe because the box curry has MSG in it.  Last night for time and ease purposes I used the mild Golden curry.  I started by draining, pressing, slicing and frying the tofu then setting it aside while I browned the onion carrots and mushrooms in a bit of oil.  I added 1 cup water and then broke the curry cubes into the pan and stirred to dissolve.  Once dissolved I added another 2 cups of water and let that goodness simmer on medium heat for about 15 minutes stirring occasionally.  I sliced up the fried tofu, added it to the pan and let it simmer 5 more minutes. 

The curry was served with rice and sriracha to two of my meat loving friends who had never heard of Japanese curry before and are mildly skeptical about "the whole vegan thing."  It was also my husbands first home cooked meal after being away on a job for over a month.  I don't remember the exact comments because I had a glass of wine while cooking and when you're vegan it doesn't take a lot of wine to get the job done but it was something along the lines of ..."This is vegan?!"  To which I replied "Fuck yea that's vegan!"  The thing I like about Japanese curry is that unlike Thai curry there is no shrimp paste or fish sauce, it is truly vegan and truly delicious.

On Monday I decided to do another one of my favorite vegan meals, roasted veggies. There are a ton of vegetables that one can use to roast but I used cauliflower and onion.  I started by mixing a dry packet of Lipton's onion soup with about 3 Tbsp. of olive oil. I tossed the cauliflower florets and onion pieces in the bowl trying to cover each piece with the mix and let it sit while the oven preheated to 400 degrees.  I used a glass pyrex dish because it sticks less and spread the veggies out so they are in a single layer.  I put them in the oven for 15 min, use a spatula to turn and rotate a bit, then put 'em in for another 15.  Each oven is different but basically they're done when you can pierce the veggies with a fork. While the veggies were roasting I pan fried the Italian eggplant flavor of my field roast sausages and served the whole deal with brown rice. 

The Italian eggplant flavor sausage was good but I liked the smoked apple sage better and the roasted veggies were the star for sure but unfortunately the Lipton's packets are made with MSG so I'm trying to find an MSG-free version of that as well. As we all know MSG is Ew!

Breakfast this morning was an almond butter and fig jam sandwich and for lunch I'm going to have a hummus sandwich with sliced cucumber and mixed greens.

Vegan on the run

One thing I have noticed about successfully eating vegan is that there is a bit of planning involved.  I need to have things packed in glassware in the fridge so I can see what I have available and get to it easily.  For lunch yesterday I had a delightful wrap consisting of a whole wheat tortilla, Trader Joes cuban black beans, sprouted lentils and heaps of homemade guacamole that took 2 minutes to make. It also took about 2 minutes to eat...Delicious!

Having all the ingredients for great meals makes it easy to take food to go as well.  If I'm really going to commit to a veganish lifestyle there are many times I need to take food with me.  Last night I had a babysitting job so I threw a salad together to go.  It took 5 minutes to put some mixed greens, garbanzo beans, beets, sprouts, and green peas with a little container of balsamic dressing in a container and rush out the door.  I also threw a can of Amy's organic lentil soup in my purse just in case the salad wasn't enough, but the salad was enough if you were wondering.  The best part about taking vegan meals with me to school or clinical or work is that they can sit out for hours and because they don't have any animal products in them they wont spoil.

This morning I munched on Quaker oat squares mixed with walnuts while I did homework.  The fat in the walnuts enhances the sweetness of the cereal which is delightful.  I often have a bag of oat squares and walnuts in my backpack to get me through long days at clinical or school.

Because its Sunday I spent a bit more time on lunch than I usually allow myself.  I decided to do a vegan version of the British favorite Bangers and Mash.  I made roasted garlic by cutting the top off a bulb of garlic, drizzling it with olive oil and wrapping it in foil then putting it in the oven for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. While the garlic was cooking I steamed some cauliflower and purple cabbage and pan fried field roast sausage which I purchased at Costco.  Hell yes people, Costco has field roast!  I was surprised and delighted to see the lone vegan option perched on a shelf with its nose high in the air among the aisles of bulk meat but anything that makes eating vegan cheap and easy is entirely welcome.  When I got to the line which, as always, was a freaken mess the guy in front of me insisted that I go first.  Maybe it was the fact that I only had 2 items or maybe it was the 12-pack of field roast sausage staring him down making him rethink the majority of items in his cart.  Either way it comes in a variety pack. Today I used the smoked apple sage.

While everything was cooking I could not believe the amazing smells that were filling the house.  The roasted garlic with the field roast sausage was in-cre-di-ble.  I remember mentioning to my aunt-in-law the other day over tea that one of the most noticeable changes that happens when eating vegan is that my sense of smell and taste are like a damn bloodhound. By not over-saturating my palate with salt and fat I can smell and taste my food like never before.  I wonder if all vegans have this experience.

Once the garlic was done I squeezed each clove on to the steamed veggies and added olive oil. I used a hand blender to mash it all together but a food processor would probably work, just let everything cool a bit first.  After mashing I added salt and pepper and the mash had this light and fluffy texture that I knew wouldn't weigh me down.  Now I'll be perfectly honest, the star of the dish was the field roast sausage but the mash was the perfect accompaniment.  The purple cabbage added some color to the mash which was fun to look at too. The finished product.

The best part is I have lots of mash left over to use for a vegan meal on the run.

Vegan options

Yesterday was my last day of clinical.  I started my day with instant oatmeal spiked with craisins and chia seeds.  Before running out the door at noon I made a quick salad composed of mixed greens, sprouted lentils, garbanzo beans, and avocado smothered in honey dijon dressing.  Again, I realize honey is not vegan but I value the antibiotic properties honey offers.  Also, it tastes great.  I've noticed that having all the ingredients for a great salad neatly packaged in Tupperware in the fridge makes it so easy and fast to eat healthy. 

After enjoying my last hours of clinical a few of my classmates and I decided to go for a drink and some bar food. Great, three days in and I'm already off the wagon I thought.  Nope! We went to a place called the Honeyhole on capital Hill known for their slutty meat sandwiches.  To my surprise and delight they had a veggie BLT with the option of veganaise to make the sandwich vegan.  That's right people vegan mayonnaise exists and its freaken awesome.  I was not happy about the fact that my vegan BLT was mildly more expensive than the real bacon option but that extra 50 cents now will save me lots of money not spent on diabetes medications in the future.  The best part is that the sandwich was delicious.  I only ate half of my sandwich because when your food is not full of saturated animal fats you don't feel the urge to keep cramming food into your mouth when you know you are full just to reward the pleasure centers in your brain. 

Eating vegan is quite a different experience.  There have been so many times when I was eating meat and knew I was full but would finish my meal thinking "well I don't want to waste it," which was an excuse for "this is so good I have to keep eating it until its gone."  That almost never happens to me when I am eating vegan.  There is communication between my brain and my stomach.  My stomach says "we're all good here, stop putting food in my mouth" and my brain cooperates.  Rather than my brain on meat/drugs pulling a power trip, " F U stomach this is happening, deal with it!"  Which we all know feels good at the time but about 20 minutes later we all wished we had just stopped when we knew we were full.  Moderation people! Its a lot easier when you eat food that doesn't cause your eyes to glaze over and put you in a trance-like state until you come to with an empty plate in front of you thinking "how did this happen?!"

Anyway, I love Seattle because most restaurants offer a veganish option.  Tonight I'm going to a friend's birthday at Naked City Brewery where they serve a beet burger so good it'll make you cry. Damn being veganish tastes good!