Vegan Month - Completed!

The challenge: To try out a vegan diet for one month -July 2011
The reason: I'm vegetarian, and have always wondered how hard it would be to be vegan. And, to keep life interesting. I like giving myself little challenges every now and then.
The outcome: A future of much more vegan cooking & eating.

I never really had seriously considered going vegan. I must admit, even I used to think that vegans were just incredibly restrictive and a little too extreme. Maybe living in California has changed my perception a bit, and the idea of just trying out veganism for a month - just to see how hard it would be - seemed like a good one.

Well, I've been pleasantly surprised. For the most part, during my experimental vegan month, I didn't ever feel deprived. Yes, being vegan often requires a little more planning and effort, but vegans also don't just eat twigs & seeds- there's a whole world of vegan options, especially in California. I don't think ever I've made so many new dishes in one month, so it was an exciting experiment!

Some things I learned:

1. First and foremost- it's not that hard to be vegan! Really! (Well, ok, this is coming from a vegetarian, but it was not NEARLY as restrictive as I thought it would be). Yes, you may need to refuse some things you like (or used to like). But almost always you can a) find a vegan substitute or b) make your own healthier version that will leave you feeling better than if you ate that hunk of cheese or scoop of icecream.
2. There are so many great vegan blogs- Finding Vegan is one of my new favorite sites.
3. It's maybe not such a great idea to over-do it on the raw veggies. (We'll just say it can be ... um... unpleasant, digestive and otherwise...)
4. Fake butter works well in baking, as do egg replacers! You can make a delicious cupcake (including frosting) without any dairy products!
5. Don't eat your delicious new favorite raw kale salad 4 meals in a row. Oh wait... see #3. Seriously.
6. It's better to not have the "fake" item and just choose a different ingredient all together- something natural! For example, soy yogurt is gross. I'm sorry, but it is. Better to just pick something that isn't trying to be something else. Also, I learned that Tofutti's Better Than Cream Cheese tastes just like normal cream cheese, but has 5 grams of TRANS fats (the very very bad for your health kind!) Since I usually have low-fat cream cheese, I think that's a step in the wrong direction. Just because something is 'vegan' doesn't automatically mean it is 'healthy'. (The same goes for vegetarian). I think a lot of people confuse that. Reading ingredients & nutrition info is important.
7. Being vegan isn't just about what you eat- it's a conscious lifestyle choice. I have a lot left to learn about not just vegan eating, but the vegan lifestyle. I'm not sure my "vegan month" was a "real" vegan month, since I was focused on eating vegan, and largely forgot about the other parts. While I have always tried to pick products not tested on animals, I can't say I've carefully scrutinized every household product, personal care item, or piece of clothing I bought. Why shouldn't we all be more informed about everything we eat, use, and wear? The problem is we've gotten lazy (myself included!) and don't put forth the time and effort to find out where our food and products come from. But vegans do.

Life lessons I have a lot of respect for vegans. I think in the past, I've tried to sugar-coat or simplify my reasons for being vegetarian, to avoid long discussions or to make the issue more palatable to the general public. ("I just don't like the taste of meat"- while true, it skirts the topic of a full belief system against animal cruelty). Being a scientist, I completely understand we as humans evolved eating meat; however, the way we eat meat today- where it comes from, how it's obtained, what's in it- is not the same. By being so removed from our food sources, the onus is on us to become informed and make decisions. Going vegan for a month caused me not only to question things, but also to become excited about diet and nutrition again. It's been really refreshing to discover, at 33, that there is still so much I have to learn about something we deem to be as basic as food. Reading ingredients on packages, googling whether something contains animal products, searching for recipes- while time-consuming- was exciting and kind of humbling. Ultimately, what it all meant was that I can still really change and there are still plenty of new things to try. Soooo.... am I going vegan for good?? While that wasn't necessarily the point of my vegan month, I am seriously considering it. Life's a journey, and so are our culinary preferences and choices... so I can't close the book on the possibility. Right now, I'm questioning things (Will I feel guilty about not being vegan? But can I really give up cream cheese and froyo for life? ) I am glad I gave those things up for a while, because I just *might* have been in a yogurt-a-day, cheese & crackers, dairy-high-diet rut. I think my next step is to get more information. I think it's good every now and then to take a step back and really think about what you're eating- whether that's to figure out where it comes from, what's in it, or what it does for your health & well being.

Vegan Blueberry Tart!

Um, wow. I just ate two bites of this dessert, and it's killer (and vegan!) The original recipe comes from Vegan Culinary Crusade, which included dried lavender. Since I didn't have any, I omitted it, but it still tasted wonderful. I made two small tarts, but I think next time I might use an even smaller container- maybe a mini muffin tin (?!) -they are soooooo rich and filling, it's best to keep servings small.

Without further ado, here's the recipe!

Ingredients:

Crust

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup walnuts

4 medjool dates, pitted

pinch of salt

Filling

1 cup cashews, soaked 2 hours

2 medjool dates, pitted

1 TBSP agave syrup

1 tsp dried lavender (if you have it!)

1/2 tsp lemon juice

pinch of salt

Topping

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 tsp agave syrup


Steps:

1. Soak the cashews for the filling for about 2 hours.
2. Combine the nuts for crust in food processor and pulse into a fine meal. Add dates (briefly soaked in warm water if they are hard) and salt, pulse until the dates are well mixed in.
3. Press the batter into small tart shells or a medium tart pan, using your fingers to press the batter evenly across the base of the tart pan and to create an even crust around the sides. Place the tart shell in the freezer or refrigerator to firm up.
4. Combine the filling ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. (Note: this wasn't clear from the original recipe, but I had my cashews in a big bowl of water soaking. I poured off the water before adding the cashews to the blender, but then ended up having to add about 5-6 Tbsp to get it to blend, so maybe don't pour off all the water!) Add the filling to the tart shell and return to the freezer for ~30 minutes.
   
5. Heat the blueberries and agave in a small sauce pot over low-medium heat, gently stirring to keep most of the blueberries whole. Pour over the top of t he tarts & serve! (or store in fridge for later). OR: simply sprinkle fresh blueberries over the top of the tart.

Notes:
The cashew filling can also be a vegan icecream- just store in the freezer and serve with fruit. Keep in mind that small servings are good for something that rich & filling though!

Vegan muffins

Muffins and cupcakes are some of my favorite things to make. They're easy, tasty, and you can vary them a million different ways. But during my vegan month, I was a little skeptical that vegan baked goods could be that great (without perhaps using way too much oil). Well, I'm happy to say that there's no reason to be afraid of vegan butter and egg substitutes! I used Red Mill All Natural Egg Replacer for this recipe, which is made of whole soy flour, wheat gluten (but there are gluten-free egg replacers too!), corn syrup solids, and algin. It contains NO trans or saturated fats, and has a measly 30 calories and 1 gram of fat per "egg" equivalent.

I found this "easy vegan baking batter" recipe through the Lunch Box Bunch/Healthy Happy Life, a great vegan site. I decided to try it as a base for a few different types of muffins- lemon poppy seed and banana cinnamon.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup agave syrup
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup soy milk - (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
  
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 5 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2-3 Tbsp Egg Replacer + water to activate as per instructions on package
• 1 mashed banana (optional)

• For flavors I used you will also need: lemon for zest, poppy seeds, and for the second muffin, banana and cinnamon. I also sprinkled the tops with some clear sparkling sugar.
  

I opted to make the low-fat version, using 1/4 cup of oil and 3/4 cup of the almond milk, which I don't think sacrificed much flavor. I also substituted whole wheat flour for about half of the total flour, which I wouldn't really recommend doing unless you are making a heartier muffin- such as maybe something with oats or raisins in it.

They were very tasty! Especially right out of the oven.


There aren't instructions on the site, but here's what I did:
Steps:

1. Mix together the flour, baking soda, powder and salt.
2. Mix 2 Tbsp egg replacer with the instructed amount of water on the package, and add to dry ingredients.
3. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. (The banana is optional -it makes the muffins really nicely moist, but does give a strong banana flavor. Without it, the muffins are still spongy and moist).
4. Place in mini or full-sized lined or greased muffin pans and bake at 350 until a toothpick comes out clean. (About 12-15 minutes for mini ones).
   

After mixing all the ingredients, I actually split the batter in half (something I do fairly often when I'm baking! I like variety). With half of the batter, I added a very small ripe banana and mashed it into the batter, and then added some cinnamon and just a sprinkle of nutmeg and cloves (don't go overboard with those spices!). With the other half, I added some lemon zest and poppy seeds.

Front row: vegan lemon-poppy seed mini muffins
Back row: vegan banana cinnamon mini muffins

The batter can also be used for pancakes, waffles, and coffee cakes too! Happy vegan baking!

Vegan Summer "Pasta"

I found this recipe for vegan raw spring pasta through Finding Vegan (my new favorite site! the pics are awesome and always inspire me to try new dishes). The picture made my mouth water - it just looked so deliciously creamy! But, surprise, that's not pasta- it's spiralized zucchini!

I had never used - or for that matter heard of- a spiralizer before, but I have to say, I got pretty excited about using it for the first time. I can make noodles out of vegetables??!! No way!!!

The epic virgin spiralizer experience:

I can't wait to try out other things, too - like sweet potato fries and homemade veggie chips. But back to the "pasta" dish. The recipe comes from Vegan Culinary Crusade, so I can't take any credit. But I'm glad I found it! Here are the ingredients and steps, copied from VCC:

Pasta ingredients:

• 1 large zucchini, peeled or spiralized into noodles
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup asparagus
  

Sauce

• 1 avocado
• 6 TBSP water
• 1 TBSP lemon juice
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1 TBSP fresh thyme

Steps:

1. Wash & cut fresh asparagus into bite-sized pieces and place in the freezer. Keep the peas in the freezer as well until you are ready to use them.
   
2. Peel & spiralize the zucchini (it's easy!) and mix in the salt & pepper. Set aside.
   
3. Put all the ingredients for the sauce in a blender or processor and blend until creamy.
   
4. Boil a pot of water. Remove the asparagus & peas from the freezer and place in a large bowl. Once the water has reached a boil, pour it over the asparagus & peas so that they are completely covered. Let stand for ~ 2 minutes.
   
5. Drain the water from the asparagus & peas and mix in with the zucchini noodles.
6. Add the sauce & toss!
   

Notes:
Just a little bit of a warning: raw veggies can be a little harder on the digestive system (sometimes they make you... bloated), so moderate your portion sizes.

This dish looks creamy and rich, just like an alfredo pasta. But looks can be deceiving! The avocado does give the sauce a nice creaminess, but obviously it doesn't taste like a cream sauce. But, the dish is summery and refreshing with the lemon and thyme. This would be a good accompaniment to a summer meal, but I'm not sure I'm sold on raw zucchini.

Bon appetite!