Vegan Month - Reflection

I only have a few hours left in my vegan month. It seems like the perfect time to reflect a little about what I have learned these past 31 days about my diet, relationship with food, and veganism. To start, a few lighter points:

• adding lots of Earth Balance margarine to anything will make it more delicious. When in doubt, add this/more of it. 
• Vegan month quickly became "eat as many cakes/desserts/treats as you want because, hey, it's vegan! It's gotta be good for you!" I have no regrets. 
• Vegan baking really isn't hard. No eggs - no problem. Egg replacer works great or you can just find recipes that don't have eggs in them at all. 
• The vegan substitutes like mayo, cheese, milk, etc. do take getting used to, but they aren't bad! I really wasn't into the Daiya cheese when I first tried it, but by the end I was putting it in a lot of stuff. Even on the pizza it started to grow on me. So give them a chance, meaning try them over and over again to let yourself adjust before deciding if you like them or not. 
• Peanut Butter Nanaimo bars. *drool*

Overall, the month was great. It really wasn't something that I had to "get through" and really was something that legitimately enjoyed. Of course it was hard sometimes. Mostly when I was out and hungry and had to go that extra step to find something that I could eat, but in the end that was probably for the best. It made me PLAN my meals so that in the end I was eating FAR healthier than I was before. I really liked that this month got me back into the kitchen even more and trying things outside of my comfort zone. 

I was really impressed with all the options I had. most restaurants could put something together for me (within reason - I was selective to begin with though). There were lots of GREAT substitutes too - from coconut or soy milk "yogurt" and ice "cream" to the cheese products. My landlords even gave me a spice to simulate egg flavour in tofu scramble (which I haven't tried to make yet, but I tried the spice and it was CRAZY how similar it was). 

I think what struck me the most was how I really didn't feel deprived of anything. There were lots of things I could eat. If anything, having to read ingredients and think out meals was a really positive thing, not at all something that frustrated me. I care about what is in my food and I liked taking that extra step to find out what was in it. 

Was there any cheating? Nope! I think there may have been one or two ACCIDENTAL incidents (one where a sales person told me something was vegan, I ate it, and then when I went to get it another day a different sales person said it wasn't vegan. The other was me mindlessly licking yogurt off my finger at work - oops). 

Will I stick with it? 100% every day? I don't think so. But I definitely will choose to eat vegan whenever possible. Most dairy-free subtitutes are here to stay: nutritional yeast instead of cheap-ass cheese in foods (lasagna, burritos, etc), coconut or soy milk "yogurt" and ice "cream", almond milk, etc. 

Cheese - yes, they will be introduced back into my diet, but as something that is featured, not thrown in. If I am going to eat cheese I am going to eat GOOD cheese and I am going to ENJOY it. Blue cheese, goat's mil cheese, artisan cheeses that are all rennet-free: these are what I want. Cracker Barrel - peace out. 

Eggs - yes, but again in moderation and as a featured food, not an ingredient. I know now that baking is easy without eggs so why waste them in baked goods? I would much rather have them scrambled, poached, or prepared in a way that I actually get to taste and enjoy them. And yes - I will be going back to my egg lady :)

That's it! Tomorrow I get to cross off my first, FULLY COMPLETED goal! 

Mac and Not-so-Cheese

Hey...Nutritional Yeast. C'mere and sit next to me a sec.

I gotta say, I wasn't really digging your "look" before. The yellow flakey thing you were doing, it wasn't really working for me. Sure, I'd heard good things about you, but I had something else in my life. Something I didn't think you would ever be able to replace. Cheese and I had a good thing going and I didn't want mess that up by mucking around with something new.

Then, well, this whole month got a little crazy I guess and Cheese was just out of the picture. Boom. Gone. I thought I'd be fine on my own, but pretty soon I started missing all those great dinners Cheese and I had shared. And it got me thinking...maybe...well, maybe you could help pull me through. Nah, I didn't NEED you, I didn't even WANT you. I just thought...why not give you a try? Why not look past those strange yellow flakes and have an open mind.

And Nutritional Yeast, baby, you Rocked. My. World.

That lasagna last night had me going back for THIRDS. Cheese never did that.

And the sweet sweet Mac and "cheese" we made tonight left me speechless. I licked the spoon. And the bowl. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I liked doing it. It was delicious.

You may not ever fill that special place in my heart that Cheese has, but I'm makin' room for you too. Because this - this thing we have going - it is no fling. This is the real deal.

Gluten-Free and Vegan Mac and "Cheese" with organic edamame. 

xxoo

Carrie

Nutritional Yeast canz be Cheeze?

Just a quick little update for you kiddos.

Dinner Wednesday night was vegan lasagna. I missed class so I could stay home and do homework (yeah...makes sense, right?) and I decided since I was home I wanted something hearty, baked, and nom-tastic. Especially considering that last night all I had for dinner was a vegan PB Nanaimo Bar.

So I surveyed my kitchen and decided on Lasagna. I have been curious about the nutritional yeast I got in my vegan swap package so I decided to make a cheese sauce to mix in to the lasagna. The recipe I used ended up going something like this:

1. Put a spoonful of Earth Balance margarine in a pot and melt it. 
2. Mix in 3/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk and a spoonful of flour to thicken. Whisk. 
3. Dump in 1/2 cup+ of nutritional yeast. 
4. Pinch of basil, oregano, thyme. Stir. 
5. Layer cooked noodles, thawed chopped spinach from a forgotten time that you found in the freezer, frozen veggies (I used a stir fry mix) and tomato sauce in pan. 
6. Pour cheese sauce over it. 
7. Sprinkle daiya cheese on top
8. Bake at 350 until it is all hot. 
9. Eat. 
10. Get seconds and eat again

Yeah - it was DELISH. The Nutritional yeast was shockingly cheese-like. I am still amazed. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely use NY in future recipes!

Before

About to be nom'd

 

Vegan Food Swap - The Haul!

I had mentioned before that I was participating in a vegan food swap this month, in honour of Vegtober and my vegan-goal. Well, I arrived home today and found my package waiting for me!

First, it must be said that I could not have be paired with a more enthusiastic partner. Sarina, whose blog Earth Given Kitchen is an AMAZING resource of eating inspiration and recipes, was excited to learn about my Vegan-month and decided to theme my goodies as things that would make me want to STAY vegan. So I knew it was going to be awesome.

Well, she did an AMAZING job. I received:

• Gingersnaps - with an great recipe to turn them into a graham-style pie crust
• Green-Vibrance - for a morning health boost
• HOMEMADE chocolate-pear granola!!!! (I am munching it as I type...so good!)
• Hemp hearts - with some ideas to incorporate them into various recipes
• Camino Almond Butter chocolate bar - which was eaten immediately (and therefore not pictured)
• Nutritional Yeast - with lots of suggestions on how to use it
• Assorted Teas
• A lovely note complete with a photo of my not-so-secret crush, Jason Segel. A million bonus points!!!!!

Seriously - what a lovely, well rounded and DELICIOUS box of treats! I have decided to use the Green-Vibrance, Hemp Hearts, and Nutritional Yeast in recipes that she suggested so that I can let my package reach its full potential. That means that tomorrow I'm going to have the GV in a breakfast smoothie (can't wait!), Wednesday I'm making hummus with the Hemp Hearts, and Friday night, the grand finale, will be my first ever nutritional yeast experience with homemade vegan Mac and "Cheese" - Exciting!

A HUGE thank you to Sarina for the thoughtful, delicious, and diverse package of goodies. I am definitely going to participate again next month in the vegan swap! Will I stay vegan? That, folks, is the subject of a future post...

Vegan Dinner

Today has been one of those days. No, not one of THOSE days, one of the other kind - it has been completely wonderful. Work was awesome, and then I had the most amazing evening with a friend discussing life-stuff. I just feel like I am firmly in the right place. Things are moving a little more slowly on the career-front than I would like, but I am in a really good place otherwise. It is pretty awesome.

Then I got home tonight and decided to try out the recipe for vegan burritos that a friend had sent me. Hollllllllllllllly they were GOOD. These are definitely going into the permanent rotation. And surprisingly fast! I used the Carrie-style of cooking which is best described as "throw stuff together without measuring, stir, and eat" and it worked marvelously! Check it out:

Lime-cilantro rice, black bean and corn burrito filling, guacamole 

Sooooo tasty. And filling. And healthy. I also added some vegan cheddar cheese into the burrito filling, and as I expected it was MUCH better in something that taking a leading role. It was yumtastic. Can't wait to eat it again for lunch tomorrow! 

Best. Day. Ever*

Today I took one of the kiddos I take care of to the ROM. I got my membership last week and wanted to take advantage. We had a blast! Well, as much of a blast as one 29 year old single chick and 19 month old kid can have.

On the way home I got an email from the people I am sending/receiving treats from in a vegan food swap - so delightful! Basically it is a chain letter, but with food - you send a package to someone and you will receive one from a different person. I'm excited to put mine together and definitely excited to get treats in the mail. Part of the swap is that you blog about what you get, so you will definitely see all my goodies later in the month.

The afternoon flew by and I got home before dark for the first time in AGES. It was a real treat. After catching up with my neighbours/landlords/wonderful people I share a house with, I got my mail and came upstairs. My mom had sent me knitting needles and crochet hooks that belonged to my grandma! So sweet and wonderful.

So I called her to thank her and she, out of the blue, told me I was talented and sweet and smart and all these other nice things. I mean I know that she is my mom and is obligated to think those things, but my family isn't particularly mushy when it comes to telling each other stuff like that, so it meant a lot that she made the point to share her thoughts.

Tonight I am making vegan pizza, homemade Lara bars, and writing a review of Inside for my book blog. Expect an update on the food (teaser - I just finished the Lara bars and they turned out amazing).

After a terrible week last week and a draining weekend, this was a truly awesome day. Thanks, universe. You're all right sometimes.

*Not really ever, more like best day in the past month or so. Gimme a break.