Slop

So I can't say I'm vegan yet, not really vegetarian either. I'm at about twice a week for meat at this point. For example, I just ate a turkey sandwich for lunch. But, it was on whole wheat, had fresh avocado, no mayo, just mustard, and lettuce. At least it was dairy-free. I'm really getting much better about drinking my green smoothies everyday, and that helps a lot.

I have a new plan though, and it will hopefully ease my anxiety about cutting out meat entirely. What's this plan you ask? Eating slop. I made my first batch o' slop yesterday, and it is surprisingly tasty.  

Here's the theory: Meat is the only way to get the complete protein chain besides quinoa. So, in order to get quinoa in my diet daily, I'll always have a slop concoction in the fridge, and I'll have a scoop or 2 every day, just like I drink a daily green smoothie.

The best part is it's super-easy to make. I throw a bunch of stuff in the crockpot, and 4 hours later it's done! My first slop contained: Quinoa, a little rice, a potato, kidney beans, diced roma tomatoes, canned stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and spices. It's a chili-inspired slop. But, who knows, next time it might be a squash slop. Or a mixed veggie noodle slop. The possibilities are endless!

Wish me luck...

A vegan staple of mine: spaghetti

Before becoming (mostly) vegan, one of my favorite home made meals was spaghetti with sauce from scratch, with ground turkey meat. I'd have fresh garlic bread on the side. And if I had it around, a glass of milk. It was always so filling and satisfying.

Thankfully, that feeling remains when I cook the vegan version of this meal. Nothing is lost, in my mind. It's still super tasty. And just like before, it changes depending on what I have around the kitchen.

There are 2 differences between the old and new versions of this meal. First, the ground turkey is replaced with un-meats, like vegan sausage or frozen meatballs. Secondly, I use wheat pasta. That's pretty much it.

Here's the basics:

Fry up some red onion and garlic while the pasta is boiling. Add the frozen meatballs and reduce heat. I add them now so they thaw by the time my pasta is ready.

Add whatever veggies I have - I prefer either zucchini or yellow squash - chopped bite size. Add fresh chopped tomatoes and kinda smash them around. Lately I've been enjoying the locally grown heirloom tomatoes. It might look like one of these pictures at this point:

Add 1 small can of tomato sauce, plain, no salt added.

Throw some vegan parmesan style cheese on top and I'm good to go.

Here's another version I made recently with a spicy soy sausage, made by Field Roast Grain Meat Co.,  I cooked separately and added at the end.Yes, GRAIN meat. No soy in these bad boys. The ingredient list isn't even scary:

Mmmmm. that garlic bread looks so yummy. Earth balance vegan spread, fresh crushed garlic, a dash of dill and garlic salt. Quickly baked then broiled.

When eating veg seems too hard, I can always fall back on a trusted meal: Spaghetti.

Home made, sort of, vegan value meal

The other day, I was craving a chicken tender value meal from Wendy's. I contemplated going through the drive through and just getting fries, then going home and eat something else. I've done that before. But, that's kinda nasty. I resisted.

Instead, I dug into my freezer for a quick fix. I'm not always in the mood for the most healthy vegan meals. So, I made my own fast-food type vegan value thing.

Sweet Potato Fries

Soy "Chicken" Nuggets (Trader Joes)

Organic, Unsweetened Ketchup

Put it all together, and I got this after about 20 minutes in the oven:

It was not quite as satisfying, but by the end I didn't care. I was super full. I liked it. It was easy and prep free. Sometimes, that's all I want.

Bestest, fastest vegan breakfast ever

When I have this breakfast in the morning, my day is always better. I feel it when I walk down the hallways at work. I'm a bit lighter, quicker, happier. It gets me excited and wakes me up in the morning faster. It's almost like a shot of coffee. But whereas coffee used to wear me down eventually and dehydrate me, this drink and bread nourish and hydrate me. I don't ingest caffeine at all, and I haven't for a long time. I don't like my body or mood to be effected so drastically by a chemical that's not giving me any value.

Back to the breakfast. Green Drink. Toast. Earth Balance Spread. Simple as that. I pop the bread in the toaster, and make my drink while it's toasting. It's done before the toast, usually. My green drinks vary but a typical day's recipe would be:

3-4 medium size organic kale, stems cut out.
4-5 frozen mango pieces (or berries)
10 oz. Fortified rice milk
A splash of juice.
2 tbsp. ground flaxeed.
1 banana.

Vegan Tempeh Tacos

Soft tacos used to be a staple when I was eating meat. I'd Foreman Grill up some chicken, make some beans, top them with avocado and/or cheese and that was it. Easy, quick filling. But, I stopped eating them after going vegan because they seemed like they'd be empty. So I'd go with chips and guac and beans instead.

But a couple nights ago, I made something new: tempeh tacos. (by the way, I've never cooked tempeh before). They were awesome! And they're even faster to make than the chicken ones. I used LightLife three grain tempeh, cut it into 1/4 inch slices, and pan fried the strips til they were crispy.

While that was frying up, I put black beans in a small pot with some corn salsa, hot sauce, garlic, and red pepper. I mash them up a bit so they are sort of halfway between refried and regular beans. That's my fave. I flipped the tempeh. The, I made my guac with lemon juice, garlic, a dash of salt, red pepper and fresh jalapeno. That's it! My dinner was done.

I have to say, no b.s., they were awesome. The tempeh filled in perfectly for the chicken. It didn't taste like chicken, or much of anything, but it didn't need to. The beans, guac and hot sauce had tons of flavor. The tempeh just gave it texture and weight. Perfect. Plus, just a half package of tempeh has 20 grams of protein.

Recent eats, and some loose vegan recipes

1. Pasta
I've made whole wheat spaghetti, plain spaghetti, and other noodles in funky shapes. Sometimes I go all out and make a veggie sauce from scratch. Other times, I toss in a bit of olive oil spinach and/or and garlic and that's it. It's easy, fast, and the leftovers are great for lunch the next day.

2. Guacamole, beans, chips
I eat enough to fill me up for dinner. I'll mash up pinto beans and they look sort of refried. Other times I use the refried black or pinto beans from a can. I add some salsa and hot sauce and cumin to liven it up. While that's heating up, I make my guacamole. Usually I use 2 avocados, a few cloves of garlic, a splash of lemon juice, and a tiny dash of salt. Half a bag of chips, 2 avocados, and half a can of beans pretty much does it.

3. Hummus and pita
These are 2 ingredients I pretty much always have in the fridge. I'll garnish the hummus with sesame seeds, crushed red pepper and olive oil.

4. Indian food
I've been working a lot and eating out a lot lately, which I don't love. But, I do love Indian food. So I guess they cancel each other out. And lunch specials are the best cause you get lentils, rice, veggie dish, naan and a salad for about 7 or 8 bucks.

Highlights of the week (so far)

I've done a couple new things this week that worked out pretty well. But first. Amy's. Mac. And. Cheeze. I know I reviewed this already, but I ate it before I could take a picture. So, of course, I had to have another, and here's the proof. The picture says it all.

I also made some spaghetti sauce this that varied from my usual concoction. Usually, I saute zucchini and fresh tomatoes for a fresh, chunky veggie sauce. I didn't have any fresh veggies other than tomatoes, so I decided to make a vegan "meat" sauce. I cut up some roma tomatoes pretty small, then added garlic and olive oil. After simmering for a bit, I added some frozen veggie meatballs. Once they softened up, I smashed them into tiny bits and it looked like a meat ragu. And it tasted great. Satisfying.

Another thing I've gotten into lately is baked sweet potatoes. My aunt's neighbor, who is over 100 years old, says she has eaten a sweet potato almost every day for as long as she can remember. I take that as a good sign.

I'll throw them in the oven, wrapped in foil, with a bit of canola oil to keep them from sticking. I don't skin them or anything, I just scrub 'em and bake 'em. I put some Earth Balance buttery spread on top and that's it. They're really good. They take about 45 minutes to cook, but that doesn't have to suck. For example, I'll get home from work and throw them in the oven right away. Then I walk the dog, read my mail, make the rest of my meal, and then the potatoes are done. And I have an extra for work the next day.

Another recipe idea

Some of my friends who've been inspired to eat less meat have said it's hard for them. But, they've also said pictures from my blog sometimes pop in their heads and give them ideas.  So, here's one for the vault that I've made quite a few times.

Usually, I don't add the veggie sausage, but it was surprisingly good. I put the sausage on the Foreman Grill til' it was crispy. For my sauce, it was almost all fresh. I chopped up yellow squash and zucchini, a tomato, an onion, and added a can of unsalted diced tomatoes. I didn't cook it for too long cause I like the veggies crispy. I also used some olive oil and garlic. Toss that on your pasta and you're good to go! Dinner in less than 20. And it's a familiar meal.

Some of you may want to know why the photo is only of 2/3 of the plate. Me too.

A Hearty Dinner

Last night, I was craving meat. I didn't crave the taste, and I don't know if I could have even eaten it, but I wanted the feeling in my stomach it gave me. Also, I had a case of the after-work-I'm-tired-don't-want-to-do-shit feelings. So, I was on a mission for heartiness and fullness.

I quickly decided, arabic/mediterranean food, with lentils instead of meat. The whole thing took less than 30 minutes. Maybe even 20.

First things first, I threw the rice in my rice cooker. I wanted that going while I was prepping the rest of the meal. (I find my rice cooker essential. It's so easy, and I wouldn't make it otherwise). Then I boiled about 1/3 cup of dry green lentils (about 1 1/2 servings). I toasted a couple wheat pitas, put some hummus and olives on the plate, and dropped a handful of pine nuts and almond slivers on for texture. The rice and lentils finished it off.

It looked kinda brown—not the most appetizing. Not bad either. But with the brown rice, wheat pita, hummus...you get the picture.

Regardless of how it looked, it definitely did the trick. It could've used a salad, but I didn't have the fixings. It filled me up. I was stuffed. Whew.

Meatless Monday.

Gigant-o Eating Day

I think it's worth mentioning that I ate like a monster today. For lunch, I had an Indian lunch special with lentils, vegetable rice, wheat vegan naan, chana masala (garbanzo beans) and a green salad. Usually I can barely finish it, but today I powered through it, no prob.

For dinner, I had pasta. I made enough to take for lunch tomorrow. And then I ate all of it. 2 full plates. The sauce I made had a small can of tomato sauce, 4 whole tomatoes, half an onion, a zucchini, garlic, and 8 "veggie" meatballs. It filled up my whole huge saucepan, and then apparently, my stomach.

I guess I needed the fuel!

Anatomy of a Green Juice

I get asked this a lot, so here's an example of my typical breakfast juice/smoothie.

 

And once it's blended it looks like this (except there are 2 glasses full, 32 oz.)

I try to put in multiple greens, so some days it might be spinach and kale. I put tomatoes in there cause I won't eat them otherwise, usually. Whenever I drink one of these, it makes a huge difference in my day. My mood is better, and I have more energy. Cheers!

More Vegan Meal/Snack Ideas

Man, I've come a long way since eating veggie burritos, salads and green beans when I first went vegan. Here's a few meals and snacks I've had lately that I've really enjoyed. Enjoy!

Yesterday, I had lunch at my favorite Thai-Japanese restaurant: Pink Elephant. I got the green curry with eggplant, bell peppers, mixed vegetables and a side of brown rice. I was extra hungry, so I also had a salad and veggie egg roll to start. And I ate every last scrap. If you're ever around Topanga Blvd. and Sherman Way, check it out. I've never been disappointed.

I made some pasta the other night, and wanted to incorporate a bunch of veggies into my sauce. It worked out well. I used fresh tomatoes, onions, broccoli and zucchini. I used to put ground turkey in my Ragu and call it a day. This is sooooo much better, and makes a much lighter, fresher pasta.

Today, I made a tasty little snack that I make a lot. I garnished the hummus with olive oil, red pepper flakes and sesame seeds. I love olives, so I put some kalamatas on there too. I threw the pita on my gas stove to heat it up, and added some carrots for dipping.

I love my blender

My blender is this vegan's best friend. And my friends aren't usually inanimate objects. For my blender I make an exception. It's the easiest way to get my raw fruits and veggies in for the day. It's slightly different every time, and always delicious. If I want something more sweet I add more juice. If I want something fresh and green I'll use more greens and less fruit.

Here's what's recently made its way into my juices: Rice/Almond/Soy Milk, Orange Juice, Lemon Juice, Pomegranate-Mango Juice, Cranberry Juice, Tomatoes, Bananas, Apples, Pears, Strawberries, Blackberries, Blueberries, Frozen Pineapple, Ground Flaxseed, Spinach, Kale.

The more kale you use, the more likely it will be bright green. I made one with a pear, banana and strawberries (added to the usual rice milk and flaxseed) and it came out like a thick, yummy shortcake. If you like them cold, use frozen fruit. Personally, I prefer room temperature so it's easier to slam down the hatch.

If I have time, I'll make my juice in the morning and it's a great way to start the day (I don't drink coffee or caffeine, but it's a real pick-me-up). And I'll follow it up with wheat toast or oatmeal a bit later. Or, if I get home from work and realize I've had mostly cooked foods all day, I'll make my juice to get in my raw greens and veggies for the day.

So, thank you blender. You make it easy for me to get my nutrients. You save me time. You're easy to clean. You're the best, blender!

Green Drink

I was a little hungry after dinner, so I decided to make a green juice. I didn't have any raw greens yet today, so I wanted to get some in. It was really good, healthy, fast and filling. I just threw it all in a blender and that was it. It yielded just over 16 oz. of juice.

8 oz. Fortified Rice Milk
2 oz. Cranberry Juice (unsweetened)
4 oz. Orange Juice
6 oz. Baby Spinach
4 oz. Kale
2 tbsp. Ground Flaxseed

That became this

It's been nearly a month and I have yet to use an actual recipe to prepare any of my food. I have an awesome new cookbook, Vegan Yum Yum, that will be what I reference when I do get around to it. But for now, I'm improvising. I know basically what I need to be eating, which is a wide variety of veggies, fruits, grains, legumes, seeds, and nuts. It's working so far. Today, I prepped what looked to be a ridiculous amount of kale, spinach, broccoli, green beans, onion and garlic. Nope. I'm still amazed at just how many veggies I can eat in a sitting, and throughout the day. Here's what my chopped veggies looked like. They filled up my cutting board.

And after 2 minutes in the wok, that became this:

I used a small amount of canola oil in cooking, and a splash of Braggs and sesame oil at the last second for flavor. Lastly, I sprinkled some sunflower seeds and almond slivers to get whatever nutrients you're supposed to get from seeds. And I took a swig of fresh OJ to help digest all the iron from the dark greens. It was really good, and filled me up, for now. I'll have another snack before the night is over (I'm looking at you, avocado). And I'm going to prep this same meal to eat at lunch tomorrow, because it's fast, easy and tasty.

A good cooking day

I keep cooking new stuff, and it today it was especially tasty. For breakfast I had Kashi cereal with Almond milk (unsweetened), based on a suggestion from comments on my blog. It's the first time I had almond milk, and it's delicious.

For lunch I made guacamole with 1 large avocado, garlic and lemon juice. I added half a tomato to it, and the other half to some leftover black beans. I dipped away with my organic blue corn chips. Awesome.

For dinner, I tried something new. I quartered a bag of potatoes, chopped up a red onion, threw in some pressed and whole garlic and some olive oil. I tossed it all together, put it on a baking sheet, and baked it for 30 minutes. Then I tossed green beans in olive oil, with sliced almonds. I turned out great, and I have potatoes left over for lunch or dinner tomorrow. Simple, easy and yummy.