Vegan Awesome

Hot Summertime = Cool Raw Soups

2010-07-22T17:03:00.000-07:00

The Vita-Mix has opened up a whole new world of simplicity and ease. We finally invested in one and couldn't be happier with what we've got in return: a powerful blender that we use to make an assortment of awesomeness every day.

One thing we've been making a lot of, during these drenchingly hot summer days, is raw soup. Cool, fresh, and light, these soups really hit the spot and cool the brow. I usually serve them alongside the ubiquitious kale salad. It makes for a filling, interesting, and light dinner. It's also hella nutritious.

Last night, we made Kristin Suzanne's Harvest Soup, served with a side of kale salad.

It was lovely. The soup was flavorful and filling. We topped it with some chopped tomato and the other half of our avocado. It has definitely earned a spot in our raw soup rotation now.

I highly suggest making some raw soup, even if you don't have the fantastic Vita-Mix. There are plenty of blender friendly recipes out there to experiment with.

I wanted to leave you with a few articles that I've found interesting this week:

"The Yoga Mogul" http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/magazine/25Yoga-t.html?_r=1&hp

"Well, Is it Organic or Not? http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/15/fashion/15skin.html?_r=2&ref=health

"Eating Synthetic Animals" http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/2010/06/eating-synthetic-animals/58930/

"It's a Personal Choice" - Rethinking an Old Standby

2010-07-20T18:07:00.000-07:00

I admit it. In conversations about my veganism, I sometimes take the easy road - the simpler explanation, the easier-to-swallow discussion, the quick dismissal of the conversation when it reaches a level of discomfort.

In a conversation with someone about my veganism, I’ve been known to say something very peaceful and non-confrontational, along the lines of “It’s really a personal choice. I don’t care what other people do.” Usually, this puts me in a safe place where I don’t appear to be pushy and the other person can walk away without thinking too much about what I’ve said.

It’s a crutch I fall back on all the time, because I’m a non-confrontational person. I don’t really like having an argument or discussion about animal rights all the time, so I cop out sometimes.

I used to think that there wasn’t anything wrong with this statement. And maybe there isn’t, but for me lately, I’ve been rethinking my position on this common statement of mine.

When a person supports factory farms (or small farms), they are making a choice. That much is true. The statement itself is not incorrect. It technically is a choice that people in society make. But when I say “it’s a personal choice,” I give an impression. I’m indicating eating animals is something that can be done casually.

In reality, the way animals are treated on factory farms is horrific. By saying “it’s a personal choice,” I downgrade what is truly at stake here - the life of living, breathing beings – to a casual choice. I present the body of an animal as something a human can carelessly choose to destroy or not to destroy. It is not a casual thing. It is desperate, painful, and charged with feeling. By reducing it to a simple “choice,” I rob the situation of the truth, while reinforcing the status-quo.

By not taking a moment to feel uncomfortable and really talk about what I truly believe, I let a chance slip by where I can really make people rethink their stance.

I don’t have to be crazy, confrontational, or angry. I could just be up front and honest. Instead of lying and saying, “I don’t care what other people do,” (I do care) I can say simply, “I refuse to support or participate in the suffering and death of animals.” That statement is simple, powerful, and true.

As much as I hate someone thinking of me as “that angry vegan,” I think I’d rather speak my truth, be a little uncomfortable, and take a stance for those ever-suffering farm animals.

2010-07-17T06:58:00.000-07:00

Last month, I did 108 Sun Salutations As (and Sun Salutation Bs) in about an hour and a half. If you know what a Sun Salutation is, you may have gasped a little. If you don't know what that is, look at the videos I linked to first and then come back to this post.

Okay, so that is a pretty intense workout, right? I thought my arms would be completely useless after my 50th Chaturanga. And they were. I was modifying my Sun Salutations by plopping onto the ground with a sweaty grunt and doing a half hearted Cobra instead of an Upward Facing Dog. I was prepared to have ridiculously sore arms and shoulders for at least a week.

Surprisingly, my arms were barely sore at all. It was as if I had a moderate weight lifting day at the gym.

The muscle group that was the most sore surprised me: my hamstrings.

I have never had a sore muscle like this in my entire life. Seriously. I grunted in pain every time I sat down or moved a little. Walking up and down stairs was wincingly painful. The thought of stretching my hamstrings in a yoga pose made me want to throw up. My hamstrings were insanely sore for almost a full week and a half.

Several weeks later, I could still feel the soreness, deep in the tissues of my hamstrings. I had a yoga teacher training class while my hamstrings were still sore and while we didn't focus on the hamstrings specifically, it was seriously painful. It was a full weekend of yoga, with lots of stretching. I thought that might be good for my hamstrings. It might give them a bit of a stretch after a full week of avoiding anything that might pull those tortured muscles. Then, later as I fought the urge to throw up in Reclining Hand to Big Toe Pose, I realized I was probably doing more harm than good by stretching them, even gently, even by modifying my usual poses.

Why is it so hard for us to give our bodies the necessary time to heal? The thoughts floating around in my head were silly, if not outright ridiculous. "I'll lose all the work I've put into limbering up my hamstrings!" "Your practice will suffer!" etc, etc. I actually had to argue with my own mind to give my body the rest it needs to repair itself. The hamstrings are notoriously slow to heal. I needed to give my legs at least three weeks ("Three weeks! You'll forget how to do Standing Forward Bend!") and then I need to strengthen them with weightlifting. It'll be a long process, but it was clear my muscles were over stretched and maybe even ripped. I needed to let them heal.

I know a lot of people, besides myself, probably fight with themselves over this same issue. We don't want to take the time to heal ourselves for fear that we'll lose the work that we've put into our chosen activity. Our minds scream that we don't need to take a break, it'll be alright, you're strong. But it's that gut feeling (you know, the throw-up reflex) that lets us know that we must let ourselves heal. We can't continue to grow as a yogi or a runner or a cyclist if we don't let our bodies rest. The poses I'm so worried about losing flexibility in have suffered tremendously because of this injury. I can't get myself in a full Standing Forward Bend if I wanted to. My hamstrings literally won't let me. Even the half Standing Forward Bend has my face scrunched up in pain.

It's time to let myself heal and ignore the voice in my head that wants me to bend a little deeper. My hamstrings will thank me.

Heaven = Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

2010-07-13T18:17:00.000-07:00

When I watched Chef Chloe sweep the Cupcake Wars episode she competed on, I knew I had to make one of her cupcakes. Luckily, she generously posted up the recipe for her winning cupcakes. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to try what ended up being the best cupcakes (vegan or otherwise) I have had to date.

She has two of her other winning cupcake recipes up and around the Internets – Chocolate Orange and Raspberry Tiramisu. These look a smidgen more difficult than the Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes.

I decided to do the easiest one first and if it was good, then I’d try the rest. I tend to trust only a few vegan bakers, namely Isa Chandra Moskowitz, and if it’s not her recipe, I look at it with suspicion.

After baking these delicious pretties, Chloe makes my short list of vegan bakers I trust. I’m definitely making the rest of her cupcakes!

I made the frosting with coconut oil, which was a first for me. It turned out well, with a sweet, slightly coconut taste. I had to omit the espresso, because I couldn’t find it and I wasn’t in the mood to go on a search. I don’t believe I missed it at all.

The only word of warning I’d like to give about these cupcakes is that the strawberry slices tend to get watery after they sit around for a day or two, causing the frosting to melt and the cupcake to get a little soggy. I’d either leave the strawberry off until serving time or eat them all in one sitting.

Vegan Junk Food: Tofurky Pizza Review

2010-07-11T07:33:00.000-07:00

It’s official.

The crappy frozen pizza you loved to scarf down as a child is now vegan… and awesome.

Tofurky has recently released a frozen, thin crust pizza with its faux meat and Daiya cheese. Yes, you heard that correctly – Daiya cheese.

The Husband and I tried two different kinds: Pepperoni and the Italian Sausage with Fire-roasted Veggies. We didn't try the last variation, Cheese Pizza.

On both pizzas the crust is very thin and crispy, so it yields to the strong flavors of the Tofurky “meats” and the Daiya cheese.

The Roasted Vegetable and Sausage Pizza had a respectable amount of thinly chopped veggies (mostly peppers), which held their own in the flavor department. The sausage was crumbled in small pieces and had a wonderful flavor. I’m not normally a fan of Tofurky sausages. (I don’t think they taste the best. I’m a Field Roast fan.) Yet, somehow, they really worked in combination with the other flavors present. The Daiya cheese was the perfect backdrop to the rest of the pizza. It tasted just like it should – perfectly cheesy.

The Pepperoni Pizza tasted like… pepperoni pizza. It was pretty amazing actually. It tasted like what you remember frozen pepperoni pizza tasting like. The Daiya and the pepperoni worked together fantastically in this pizza.

Overall, I’d say Tofurky’s new pizzas fill a much needed gap in the vegan junk food department. The Husband always says that, for whatever reason, he misses junky, frozen pizza most of all from his pre-vegan days. I suspect many others feel the same. I wasn’t ever a huge fan of frozen pizza, but I am a huge fan of Tofurky’s new pizzas. They are a perfect, light easy dinner alongside a crispy salad.

These aren’t in many stores yet. We found them at our favorite health food store in Maryland when we were up there visiting for the 4rth of July. We put them in a container with ice for the road trip home. If you don’t see them in your local health food freezer, make sure to put in a request for them to carry the new Tofurky Pizzas.

Exercise Makes You Smarter

2010-07-08T18:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the NY Times Well Blog cites a study showing that exercise increases the production of neurons in our brains, thus improving thinking. Apparently, our brains have bone-morphogenetic proteins (BMP) that control, or often destroy, the growth of new brain cells. Exercise increases the amount of a brain protein, awesomely called Noggin, that cuts BMP production by up to 50%. Thus, allowing the growth of more brain cells. The article points out that there is some questions still remaining about how too much Noggin or too much BMP might cause some craziness in the brain, but it seems like exercise won't create an overabundance of Noggin, even if you run for hours.

I think this is fascinating stuff. It seems to me that our bodies are genetically equipped to reward us for movement. I mean, think about it. Our ancestors had to move around all the time just to survive. It makes sense that our brains are wired to reward us for all that exertion by making us smarter.

I'm definitely not a scientist, but it makes me wonder if our brains adapted to all the movement we had to do, creating more brain cells, making us smarter and helping us survive and procreate.

If nothing else, this news really reinforces a commitment to working out. That can be a new mantra as you sweat away on a run or on your bike: Create more Noggin!

Patience is a Garden

2010-07-06T18:24:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a ridiculously long time since I last posted. I tend to get the blogging blues. I run out of things to say or I get discouraged at the concept of all my words and pictures languishing unread and unappreciated. Thus, the long time between posts. I come back determined to write regularly about the things that are important to me - veganism, food, yoga, and health. So, hopefully, I can keep it up for real this time.

Like my gently sprouting resolve to write more on this blog, The Husband and I have planted a new garden.

This is when we first planted the garden. We were so proud!

Our backyard was completely and sadly unkempt when we first moved in, so we decided to fix it up and grow some food. This summer is our test garden. We didn't plant a lot, being totally gardening newbies. We slaved away in the ridiculous NC humidity to clean out the backyard and force it into some semblance of order. We bought organic soil (yay for Whole Foods and their $3.99 soil) and organic veggies (once again, thanks to Whole Foods), then planted them with lots of tredipation and hope. We planted:

- two cucumber plants

- three tomato plants (heirloom varieties)

- purple jalapanos

- yellow bell peppers

So far, we have yet to kill any of them. Although it is still early. Our purple jalapanos plant has actually produced. The pepper is adorable and looks like an itty-bitty eggplant.

One of the cucumber plants has grown and flowered, while the other one seems to be stunted. It hasn't really grown, but it hasn't yet died. So, hope lives on that it is just a runt.

The tomato plants are getting huge, but haven't yet flowered or produced. We finally got some of those little cages that keep the tomato plants from falling over. Now we just need them to get big enough to fall over...

The bell pepper hasn't grown much either, nor has it produced or flowered.

I'm so interested in the garden and check on it all the time, like by watching it closely I might catch a flower blooming or a tomato ripening. You know a watched pot never boils, so I guess a watched garden never grows! Send me patience! :)

Feminism and Veganism

2010-03-13T06:14:00.000-08:00

Happy cows at Poplar Spring Farm Sanctuary, living out their lives for themselves.

These are two –isms that I’m not afraid to label myself with.

I was deeply inspired by this blog post by Voracious Vegan writer Tasha on the Choosing Raw website. In fact, at work, before I could stop myself, I began to cry a little when she said, “As a woman and a feminist, I demand the right to protect my body from reproductive exploitation, and I want the same for all the females on earth, no matter what the species.” This really speaks to my heart as a human and as a female.

I remember watching a documentary showing a momma cow being separated from her child. The momma was struggling to escape the grasp of the cow hand in a herculean effort to reach her child. The calf was screaming and trying to reach its mother. Of course, since they were in a factory farm, they ended up being separated in the most rough, cruelly inhumane way possible.

The insanity is that these things happen every day, every minute. The sheer amount of pain and grief that goes into a single glass of milk is so mind-boggling that it defies description. A female cow is forcibly impregnated, then her children are separated from her practically at birth, and, if male, are sent to be raised as veal, or, if female, are raised to endure the same perpetual grief as her mother.

How is it possible that in this day and age people simply accept that things like this happen? So that they can have an endless waterfall of milk? Insanity! Of course, the exploitation of female (and male!) animals does not begin and end at milk production, but for some reason the production of this particular food stuff speaks to me as a woman and I find it a fitting example the correlation between feminism and veganism.

Tasha describes my beliefs much more eloquently than I can. I encourage you to read her post and think about the connections between veganism and feminism. Her words thoroughly describe the powerful correlations between women’s struggle and the struggle that our farm animals face everyday. She talks about it with such passion and clarity that her words will speak to your very soul.

It is things like this that reinforce my choices. I’m grateful for the reminder, even if it brings me to tears at work. However, it also makes me want to run outside and yell the truth out to everyone, grabbing people by the shoulders and yelling at them to see the truth. Yet, at the same time, it also makes me want to give up, curl up in a ball, and cry, cry, cry. If you, like me, can’t bring yourself to the intense, in-your-face-activism of many vegan organizations, but you want to do something for the plight of these animals; please read my post here on being an example of vegan awesomeness. It’s not as action oriented as many approaches, but it is a different take on the usual kinds of activism and I feel like it can be very successful in its own way, especially when it is consciously directed.

An Ode to Winter Squash

2010-03-01T15:37:00.000-08:00

Rich in Vitamins A (well over 100% of your daily intake) and Vitamins C, as well as anti-cancer fighting phyto-nutrients, winter squash (like butternut and acorn) are delicious and exceptionally healthy. Take advantage of the overabundance of these wonderful root vegetables during this never-ending winter and let those nutrients nourish your body while tempting your palate.

If you haven’t already purchased Bryant Terry’s Vegan Soul Food Kitchen, then you absolutely must buy it. It is full of painstakingly detailed recipes that are clearly made with skill and a love of southern food.

For example, his Butternut Squash and Bartlett Pear Soup is simple to make, drop dead gorgeous, and astoundingly delicious.

Bryant Terry’s Butternut Squash and Bartlett Pear Soup

I copied it here for ease, but you can also find it at the Vegetarian Times recipe database here.

3 Tbs. olive oil
2 medium leeks, white and tender green parts finely chopped (3 cups)
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (2 lb.)
3 Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces (11/2 lb.)
5 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 14-oz. can light coconut milk
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
Pumpkin seeds for garnish, optional

Heat oil in saucepan over medium-low heat. Add leeks, and cook 10 minutes, or until soft, stirring often.

Add squash and pears, and sauté 5 minutes. Stir in vegetable broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add salt, if desired. Simmer 20 minutes, or until squash is fork-tender.

Remove from heat, and stir in coconut milk. Purée soup in batches in blender or food processor, or use immersion blender in saucepan; blend until smooth. Return soup to saucepan, and stir in thyme. Reheat over medium-low heat 2 to 3 minutes, or until warmed through. Season with salt and white pepper, if desired. Serve garnished with pumpkin seeds, if using.

If you’re looking for an even simpler way to enjoy a winter squash, simply have it as a side dish for dinner. Try this quick and easy recipe and you’ll be full Vitamins A and C before you know it.

Maple Glazed Acorn Squash Halves

1 acorn squash, cut in half with seeds scooped out
1 tsp – 1 T maple syrup

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat the acorn squash (the inside, not the outside) with maple syrup and bake for 45 minutes or until the squash can be pierced with a fork.

Maple Cinnamon Quinoa Stuffed Squash Halves

If you are feeling decadent, then you can stuff the acorn squash with quinoa for a level-7 vegan dish!

1 Cup of Quinoa
2 Cups water
½ - 1 tsp cinnamon (or more if you want it!)
1 Tb maple sryup

Additional add-ins – raisins or cranberries, sliced almonds or chopped pecans

Follow the directions above for Maple Glazed Acorn Squash Halves. Once the acorn squash is in the oven, bring the water to a boil. Add the quinoa. Let it simmer for 15 -20 minutes until the water is completely absorbed. Add the maple syrup and cinnamon – and any additional add-ins you’d like in your stuffing. When the squash is almost done (8-10 minutes or so), pull it out of the oven and add the stuffing. Bake until squash is completely finished.

A Restaurant Review – Butternut Squash

Lastly, in the theme of squash, I’d like to do a quick restaurant review. In Chapel Hill, NC there is an adorable vegetarian restaurant tucked away near the UNC campus. Its name is… wait for it… Butternut Squash. We were excited to try it out, but had been warned that many of its food items were bland. We decided to give it a go anyway and, I’m glad we did, because we were pleasantly surprised by the food.

We started off with the Tempeh Hot Wings with an avocado sauce. These were deliciously spicy, thick chunks of tempeh. We truly enjoyed them. Then Brandon ordered the Indian curry dish. Piled high with thickly sliced veggies and covered in a delicately spiced tomato curry, it was delicious. I had the house salad without feta, which had pan seared butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and pears. It was good, but not big. I wouldn’t recommend it for a dinner. Along with a soup or a few bites of your husband’s dish, it will fill you up though. All in all, I give Butternut Squash a big thumbs up! It was simple, delicate flavors, but it definitely wasn’t bland.

I'm sorry there were no pictures. I'm terrible at remembering to take pictures in restaurants!

I hope you enjoyed all the squash talk this week and I hope you find yourself enjoying one and reaping all the lung healthy benefits of Vitamin A and beta-carotene.

Sandwiches in Simplicity

2010-02-20T07:17:00.000-08:00

Veggie Hummus sandwich pictured here with the best hummus ever (a local brand) and a delicious Earth Fare vegan cookie

A good sandwich can heavenly. The disparate flavors and textures unite together to create a unique flavor experience. There is something simple, satisfying, and down-right magical about a well-made sandwich. It never fails to be an exciting meal for me; maybe because I don’t have it that often.

My favorite sandwiches have grown even simpler since I’ve gone vegan. The ingredients have dropped to a few fresh, healthy items that work together to create a delicious mix of flavors and textures. Many people like a complicated sandwich, piled high with faux meats and condiments. Now, there is nothing wrong with that, but I prefer a more uncomplicated sandwich.

Here are three of my favorite sandwich combinations. Be warned, they are basically the same sandwich with slight alterations. The good thing is, if you are a piler-on of condiments and faux meats, my sandwiches might just be a good starter for you. If you, like me, like an unassuming sandwich - light on the belly and full of flavor - then these babies are for you.

Adapted “Vegan Powerhouse”

In Columbia, MD, there is this adorable café inside David’s Natural Market. Their Vegan Powerhouse sandwich is my absolute favorite. I can’t seem to match the exact awesomeness of this sandwich, but I try. I don’t make it a lot because I don’t buy faux cheese a lot, but sometimes I get that craving and I gotta have it!

2 slices of sprouted grain bread (or whatever bread you love)

1 slice of vegan cheese

Vegan mayo to taste

Tomato

Alfalfa sprouts, lots of it (this is the best part of the sandwich)

Lettuce

Italian seasoning to taste (optional)

Avocado Alfalfa Sandwich

Starting to see a pattern? Do I have an alfalfa sprout obsession or what?

2 slices of sprouted grain bread (or whatever bread you love)

½ an avocado, sliced

Vegan mayo to taste

Tomato

Alfalfa sprouts, lots of it (this is the best part of the sandwich)

Lettuce

Hummus Veggie Sandwich (pictured above) or Hummus Avocado Sandwich

I make this sandwich two different ways. Sometimes, I make it simply a hummus sandwich, but sometimes, I add an avocado. Yum!

2 slices of sprouted grain bread (or whatever bread you love)

Hummus

½ an avocado, sliced (if you’re going for it)

Tomato

Alfalfa sprouts, lots of it (this is the best part of the sandwich)

Lettuce

A Hot Cup of Chai

2010-02-07T18:08:00.001-08:00

A single curl of steam curls up off of a cup of chai tea. You breathe in the spices and the warmth, hugging it close to your chest, and then you take that first sip… ahhh.

I love having a cup of tea. It gives me a reminder to take a few minutes to stop and breathe. Enjoying that simple moment in time reminds me to pay attention to the small things in life and not get caught up in my day-to-day worries.

In particular, a great cup of chai tea can truly make your entire body, mind, and soul relax. Those of you who have experienced it know what I mean. Once you begin drinking chai – assuming you like the mixture of its intense spices – then you are hooked. Just a whiff of those spices mingling together can get your attention from across a room.

Everyone has his or her favorite chai tea, and I want to share my three favorites with you.

1. Chocomaya Chai Tea from Chakra 4 Tea (pictured above)

This stuff is insanely delicious. It is chocolately and deeply spicy, with a kick from chipotle pepper. The mix of chocolate, chai, and chipotle will knock your socks off. If you don’t live in Pheonix, AZ where this fantastic restaurant and store is, then you can order the tea off of their website, linked above. It’s pricey at $3.50 an ounce, but it is definitely worth it for an occasional treat.

2. Stash Double Spice Chai

Talk about spicy! The moment this tea hits the hot water, you’ll have people coming in droves wondering what that delicious smell is. This is the kind of tea you want to sink into. Going for only $5.45 (30 tea bags) on their website, this is a cheap indulgence. You can also find it at almost any grocery store or health food store.

3. Indian Chai from Allann Brother’s

For those of you who like milder spices, this tea is the best! It’s a loose leaf chai that smells sweetly of spices without burning your nostrils. Allann Brother’s is a fantastic coffee company out of Oregon.

I hope I inspired you to make a big cup of chai and relax!

Smoothie Mania!

2010-01-30T08:17:00.000-08:00

I am addicted to smoothies.

There, I admitted it.

I have one every morning. Usually, it’s a green smoothie – not really sweet, but bursting with greens and fruit. It is delicious, and it gives me a wonderful boost of energy for the day.

One morning, a few weeks ago, it was bitterly cold outside. We had left the heat on low the previous night, so I had been freezing all night long. I felt frozen from the inside out. I looked at my husband, who was preparing cold, cold veggies and fruit for the smoothie and I shook my head. I couldn’t even entertain the thought of putting that cold stuff in my cold belly.

“Not today. I’m having oatmeal.”

He looked at me, knowingly. “Are you sure? I think you might regret it.”

I was absolutely certain though. I made my oatmeal mix and headed off to work, braving the cold in anticipation of warming my insides all the way through with hot, cinnamon and walnut oats once I got to work. The oatmeal was good. It was even pretty good, but it was no smoothie. I missed my burst of energy. I missed the knowledge that I had ingested loads of nutrients before 9:00 a.m. I had a smoothie as soon as I got home, and it was as if all the cells in my body let out a sigh of relief. From then on, I decided that I would meet the winter coldness with a smoothie in hand.

The moral of the story is: drink smoothies! They are an awesome way to get more greens and fruit into your diet. The energy and nutrition are contagious! If the beginning of your day is so healthy, it’s hard not to follow it with more healthy choices.

I want to share our basic smoothie recipe as well as a couple special ones for you to try and enjoy. Just blend all the ingredients together in a blender. We have a crappy, old blender that serves us well. If you use kale and you have a cheap blender, you might have to blend a little longer to smooth up the tough kale leaves. These recipes will serve two hungry people, or four not so hungry people. I suggest doubling the recipes if you are trying to feed more than two or halving it if only feeding one.

Refreshing Cucumber and Berry

This is the usual formula for our breakfast smoothie. Sometimes we replace the fruit with an avocado, add some celery, and have a full on veggie smoothie, but only occasionally.

2 bananas

1 Cucumber, peeled

¾ Cup to 1 Cup frozen fruit (we are on a blueberry kick right now, but I any berry would be good)

Huge handful of spinach, kale, or romaine

1 to 1 ½ Cups Water

2 heaping Tbs of Hemp protein powder, optional

1-2 heaping Tbs of milled flax seed, optional

Sweetener to taste (stevia, agave nectar, dates, etc), optional

Handful of ice if needed

Almond Butter, Apple, and Banana Smoothie (Pictured at the beginning of the post)

We had this one for a weekend breakfast one morning and it was a thick, decadent treat.

3-4 bananas, depending on size

2 medium apples (sweet ones, not Granny Smith or the more sour apples, unless that’s your thing and then go ahead!)

2 Tbs almond butter (or peanut butter, if that is what you have handy)

1 Tbs milled flax seed, optional

Sweetner to taste, (stevia, agave nectar, dates, etc.), optional

Cinnamon, to taste, optional

1 to 1 ½ Cups Water

Handful of ice, if needed

Banana Cherry Peach Smoothie

This fantastic smoothie was discovered while we were in Arizona earlier this month. The sweetness of the peaches and the sharpness of the cherries makes a delicious treat.

2 Bananas

1/2 Cup frozen sweet cherries

1/2 Cup frozen peaches

Huge handful of spinach, kale, or romaine

1 to 1 ½ Cups Water

2 heaping Tbs of Hemp protein powder, optional

1-2 heaping Tbs of milled flax seed, optional

Sweetener to taste (stevia, agave nectar, dates, etc), optional

Handful of ice if needed

Also, the beauty of smoothies is that you have so much control. There are no rules, so you can alter these basic recipes to fit your likes and dislikes. If you don’t like bananas, replace it with cucumbers or a fruit that you do like. If you don’t like spinach, use romaine. Experiment and don’t be afraid!

Arizona - Sunshine, Palm Trees, and Vegan Food

2010-01-23T07:49:00.000-08:00

Imagine… palm trees swaying under bright blue skies, lemon tress fragrant and dripping with fruit, 70 degree weather, and delicious vegan food every where you turn.

Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?

I spent four lovely days enjoying these things in Pheonix, Arizona, while we visited Brandon’s aunt and uncle. It was a welcome break from the winter weather here in North Carolina. We relaxed, had great conversation, and ate delicious food.

If you ever find yourself in Pheonix, I have three restaurants you absolutely have to try. I’m only sorry that I didn’t take any pictures of the food we ate. We wolfed it down too quickly!

Chakras 4 Herb and Tea Shop

This place is absolutely awesome. It’s tiny, but it has a nice, colorful ambiance. It’s an all vegetarian restaurant which caters to those who are vegan and who eat raw. The food is pricey, but the portions are big and the food is deliciously spicy. They have unbelievable desserts. All of us, including Brandon’s omnivorious aunt and uncle were blown away by the raw vegan cheesecake (at $9 it better be good!). I suggest you grab a steeply priced pot of their Chocomaya Chai tea with almond milk and agave (it will serve 4 people with seconds). It is wonderfully fragrant, spicy, and chocolately. Everything we tried on the menu was delicious, but if you are a greens lover like me, grab the Rawvacodo kale wrap (although it can also be a sandwich or a regular wrap if you please), and the half-size will serve you well. Any bigger and you will be totally gorged and won’t be able to get those delicious desserts. Just be prepared to spend a pretty penny here. You’ll leave with empty pockets, but a happy belly. The store itself has a ridiculous array of spices and jarred treasures for purchase, from the tea on their menu (really expensive at $3.50 an ounce!) to chia seeds and cacao nibs to grapefruit peel and basil.

Loving Hut

You’ve most likely seen the Supreme Master tv website popping up on random veg websites; if not, check it out here. Not only do they do global, web-based, veg-friendly television, but they also have some pretty darn good restaurants. This all vegan, asian-inspired restaurant was a big hit with everyone. We even ate there twice! The staff is friendly, the prices are reasonable, and the food is just good. Be forewarned though, that there is a lot of mock meats and soy-based items on the menu. If you don’t eat soy or you don’t like mock meats, you might not want to eat here because that makes up the majority of the menu.

Z Pizza

Don’t let the unassuming outside and Subway-esque inside fool you, this regular-looking pizza joint offers Daiya cheese! Not only that, but many of their menu items are healthy (organic, fresh, whole-wheat, etc.). They know what vegan means and they aren’t afraid to whip up a sweet, vegan pizza for you. We had a nice, casual lunch there and enjoyed every moment and every bite. I had the lovely California Salad and a California Pizza with Daiya Cheese. It's affordable and filling, plus everyone – omnivore, herbivore, or carnivore – will be happy.

With the great company and good food, I really enjoyed my sun-filled stay in Arizona. How can you not be happy in a place that has avocadoes 3 for $1? I hope that my mini-food guide will help you find some good eats when/if you visit the area.

Also, Happy National Yoga Day! Look here to find a studio near you who will be offering free classes. YogaToday is offering a second free weekly class today, if there isn't a studio near you or you just can't seem to get out today. I wanted to go to a studio today, but staying up late last night made it pretty difficult. We'll see if I make it out or if I just do my yoga at home. Namaste!

Lastly, don't forget to sign up for the Vita-mix giveaway on Chocolate-Covered Katie's blog. If you don't know what a Vita-mix is, go here for all the details. Suffice to say, you want one - so sign up!

Soup Versus Salad

2010-01-09T18:17:00.000-08:00

Icy cold temperatures across the nation are keeping us all in doors huddled over our stoves, making soup and tea in a desperate attempt to warm up. This frigid winter is a reminder to us all how the food we crave reflects the season. In the winter, you want hearty, warm, spicy foods that warm you from the inside out. In the summer, you want light, crisp, cool foods to cool you off.

Now, I love the taste of salad and I often want salad for dinner. Tonight as I stood in my kitchen, shivering, I debated whether to have the salad I wanted or heat up the leftover soup in my fridge.

The soup won, even though I wanted the taste of the salad. It was definitely the right choice. My whole body curled around the soup and I enjoyed every warm, nourishing bite. It's amazing just how much the temperature outside reflects the choices we make regarding food.

I don't have a picture of my soup, but I do have a couple of pictures of food I've been eating lately. One of our absolute favorite dishes of all time is Veganomicon's Smokey Grilled Tempeh. It is absolute heaven with a sweet potato and buttery brussel sprouts on the side.

I know I just talked about how salad lost in tonight's battle for dinner, but I want to remind myself (and you!) just how delicious and beautiful a salad can be. This lovely massaged kale salad was inspired from Choosing Raw's lovely dish:

I hope everyone is cuddled over their own bowl of soup tonight, or if they are brave enough, crunching on a cold salad.

A New Year

2010-01-01T09:20:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

I'm not huge on resolutions, but I am huge on reflection and goal setting. I think making a simple goal or two for the year is a great way to get things accomplished and take stock of your life. For me, food is a huge aspect of my daily life, so I like to reflect back on the choices I've made this year. I personally think it's important for all of us to constantly check ourselves when it comes to food; to reiterate to yourself why you've chosen this path.

For most health conscious people, especially those of us that are veg, the path we choose is fraught with sudden realizations, obstacles, and emotions. Choosing this way of eating is ultimately questioning our entire society’s way of living and consuming. It is not easy, and no two people have the same experience; therefore, it’s often a lonely path to take.

For these reasons, I think it’s very important to constantly check in on yourself to see why you are choosing to eat the way you do at this stage in your life. For example, I’ve been eating progressively simpler and unprocessed foods. I’ve began to shed the faux meats and cheeses, eating them only rarely. I’ve added a lot more green smoothies and salads to my diet. I also know that I’ve struggled in the past with calorie obsession, so I have to guard against that in my current diet. I need to constantly check in and make sure that I’m not succumbing to the worry that I’m eating too many calories. Thankfully, I haven’t stressed over calorie content in a long, long time.

Ultimately, you have to answer the question for yourself. No one can do it for you. So, why do you eat the way you eat? It’s good to check in with yourself and see why you are eating the way you are, being honest with yourself about your worries and concerns. Do you worry about weight? Does that affect your choices? If so, does it affect them in a negative way? Are any of your worries unfounded? Do you eat mindfully? Do you eat the way you do in order to reduce animal suffering, is it for your own health, or both or neither? It might even behoove you to have a buddy, who you feel comfortable with, to help you answer these questions honestly.

For me, my reason for eating the way I do is to maintain and grow my level of health and happiness, as well as to reduce the suffering of sentient beings and the planet. I want to love what I eat and feel good eating it. I think I'm definitely on that path. (Re)Discovering your reasons for your choice can sometimes help to keep you motivated and give you clarity. I know it does for me!

If you are looking to make some positive changes in your lifestyle, then I fully suggest checking out the following two challenges:

- http://30dayyogachallenge.com/ - a daily email with short yoga videos.

- http://www.21daykickstart.org/index.cfm - PCRM's fantastic 21 day vegan challenge. If you aren't already vegan, then try it out! It's only 21 days! :)

-http://www.choosingraw.com/choosing-raw-spark-wellness-january-2010-cleanse-program/ Although it costs a little moula, this looks like a great opportunity to really make a major change in your eating habits.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful New Year!!!

Snow, Daiya Cheese, and Berries who <3 Coconut

2009-12-18T19:42:00.000-08:00

It’s snowing here in NC.

It’s snowing a lot.

Trapped inside with no where to go, Brandon and I decided to treat ourselves to the Daiya cheese that has been hanging out temptingly in our fridge since we went up to Baltimore for Thanksgiving and brought it down with us. If you haven’t had Daiya cheese yet, I suggest you go out, find it, and give it a try. It might be the best vegan cheese so far. It’s hard to find, since it’s only sold to stores and restaurants for now.

We were lucky to find it packaged in one of our favorite health food stores in Maryland (Roots) and sold in little plastic containers. Not able to pass up something as awesome as Daiya cheese, we filled up a cooler with ice and took it home with us. We used this great, quick pizza crust recipe, which we absolutely adore, and piled it high with veggies: spinach, tomatoes, onions, and olives.

For dessert, we made Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Berry <3 Coconut crisp from Veganomicon. I’ve made this a ridiculous amount of times. It’s quick, easy, and no-fail delicious. Fresh and warm out of the oven, I put a big scoop of Rice Dream Vanilla on it and just savored the awesomeness.

After a day full of fresh veggies – green smoothie for breakfast, a big salad for lunch, and fruit all day – I was ready to indulge my bad side with this wonderful dinner. It was a great night – curled up watching the second season of Allie McBeal and frolicking in the snow with our pup. I hope that everyone is also enjoying their snowy night as much as we are!

Holiday Stress, Pumpkin Cookies, and Raw Apple Pie

2009-12-12T05:56:00.000-08:00

All the holiday fervor has been keeping me busy. We went up to Baltimore to visit friends and family for Thanksgiving and my sister is coming down to visit us this weekend. Then there is all the shopping and tree-putting-uping... whoo. Plus, it's been a bit of a shock to my system to get out in the real world and go shopping. I haven't been a very good consumer this year, and I had forgotten just how crazy and stressful it is out there. I went out after work one day to do a little X-mas shopping... by the time I got home, I was a stressed, crazy mess. Was it always that way or has it gotten worse?

One good thing about the holidays though is all the baking... (or un-baking): the cinnamon, the nutmeg, the pumpkin... I made these wonderful Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies from the Post Punk Kitchen website for our local vegan meetup. They were a hit! This recipe makes a ton of cookies, so be prepared to gorge yourself or to bring them into work to share.

In our little southern city, we also have a thriving raw vegan meetup. For that meetup, I made the All American Apple Pie from Ani Phyo's uncookbook. Wow! It has the most minimal of ingredients and took me 10 minutes to throw together. Not only that, but it tasted fantastic. Raw vegan desserts are dangerous!

Also, there is a droolworthy giveaway on the adorable blog of a local NC vegan bakery in Carbarro area. The giveaway is here. Good luck!

I hope your holidays are filled with stressless online shopping and tons of cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin baked (or unbaked) goods!!!!

Raw Foods

2009-11-08T12:19:00.000-08:00

I love raw vegan food blogs.

I’m not raw, but for some reason I love to read them.

Maybe it’s because the writers feel so passionately about the food they make. Maybe it’s because the food is bright and vibrant.

I’m not sure.

I love them though, and my favorites list is full of them. I follow many of them on a regular basis. It is a guilty pleasure in a lot of ways, because I don’t follow a raw foods diet.

I’ve explored it in the past. If you are a vegan and you spend a lot of time online, it’s hard to miss the raw vegan scene. The claims are big. If you go raw, you feel better, you look better, you can cure illness, etc. It’s hard to ignore. I’m a researcher at heart and, although I have an open mind, the cynic in me requires any big change to begin with intense research. I went through a researching bout with raw foods several months ago and remained unconvinced of many of the arguments. I totally saw the value of it, and believed in the healthy aspects of incorporating raw veggies, but I had a hard time believing all the claims. So, I just let it go and moved on with my vegan diet.

Well… except for the raw vegan blogs that I love so much.

Fast forward a few months, and I finally read The Thrive Diet, which had been sitting on my shelf forever. Brendan Brazier makes a lot of raw food claims, but he uses different wording. It all made sense to me, but I wanted more proof. More evidence. I began researching raw food-ism again using the terms and concepts written about in the Thrive Diet. Low and behold, there was the proof I had missed in the previous research. I won’t get into all the research stuff, because each person will resonate with different things, and it’s up to each of us to do our own research concerning food. So, if you are interested, start researching. We all have to find our own answer when it comes to what we eat!

This doesn’t go to say that I whole-heartedly believe all the claims, but I do believe that raw foods does have a lot of benefits. A lot more benefits than I originally gave it credit for. Thus, Brandon and I have been giving raw foods a bigger role in our daily lives to see if it works for us. We are trying to be “raw before dinner.” No rules or anything though. If we want a cooked lunch or breakfast, then we have it. I don’t believe well-chosen vegan cooked food is bad for you in any way.

For breakfast lately, we’ve been having smoothies: lovely green smoothies, packed full of energy. You can practically feel the energy vibrating through your veins. Our greenest smoothie to date, pictured below, had cucumber, avocado, kale, and an apple (with some coconut sprinkled on top). Whoo! Talk about a rush… and yummy too.

For lunch, I’ve been having a huge salad with varied toppings (because I get bored so easy). Yum… isn’t that lovely?

For dinner, we just eat our normal cooked vegan food. Pictured below is one of my favorite comfort food: mashed potatoes and corn, smothered with Punk Rock Chickpea Gravy from Vegan with a Vengeance.

To make our new experiment more affordable, we plan on cooking dinners that will last for more than one meal, so we can have it for more than one dinner. All those organic veggies really add up!!!

If you are curious about those lovely raw vegan blogs I’m talking about, check out two of my absolute favorites: www.choosingraw.com and kristensraw.blogspot.com. I’m warning you though, it’s addictive!

Harvest Dinner

2009-10-28T19:03:00.001-07:00

This past Sunday, my local vegan group here in Greensboro hosted a Harvest dinner, where guests paid $10 to enjoy a vegan dinner, created from local farmers. We had the dinner at our host Valerie's gorgeous Blue Moon barn, which is also an art and music studio. Valerie, our group organizer Jen, and I worked hard to create a fantastic dinner for a group of around 20 vegans, vegetarians, and those interested in eating that way.

It was a lot of hard work, but at the end of the day, the appreciative smiles and earnest thanks of those we served made it all completely worth it.

For the meal we had appetizers from our local and awesome nut cheeze makers, a pumpkin soup served in a pumpkin, and a pear and walnut salad. For dinner we had delicious crowder bean croquettes with mushroom gravy, roasted root veggies, and kale. For dessert we had a to-die-for apple pie and homemade ice cream. Not only that, but we had a vegan candy toss for all the veggie children. Like I said, it was a great success.

The pictures here were obviously not taken by me. They are all taken by Heather Spealman, our local (vegan) jewelry maker and photographer.

Brandon's Coconut Curry

2009-10-26T18:01:00.001-07:00

Heather and I had a wonderful honeymoon in Grenada at a place called The Lodge. The place was fantastic and we highly recommend it. Because the hosts at The Lodge are such wonderful cooks who come up with very creative and unbelievably delicious meals each day, Heather and I came home wanting to create our own delicious meals. While many of the meals we created were not successful and no one will confuse me with a gourmet chef, one meal turned out very well. It's mother-in-law approved and I decided to share it tonight. It's probably way over-spiced (novice that I am) and I'm sure people will undoubtedly have their own renditions for it, but I found this dish to be delicious and perfect just the way it was. So without further ado, here's is Brandon's own Coconut Curry recipe:

Veggies:
1 small head of cabbage
1 Onion, sliced
4 Cloves of Garlic, minced
4 Carrots, peeled and julienne cut
1 Large Zucchini, sliced in rounds
1 Large Yellow Squash, sliced in rounds
1 Red Bell Pepper, Sliced
Scallions, chopped, for garnish

Sauce:
1 Can of Coconut Milk
1/2 Package of Silken Tofu
1/2 Tbsp Thyme
1 Tbsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Curry
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1 1/2 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Agave
1/2 Tbsp Dried Basil
1 tsp Red Curry Paste
1 Tbsp Ginger
Salt and Pepper to taste

Other:
Jasmine Rice
3 Bay Leaves

Saute onions, cabbage, and garlic in a little bit of water (or a little olive oil if you prefer) until soft, but not brown. Set aside and keep warm.

Prepare rice according to directions.

Steam zucchini, squash, bell pepper, and carrots until soft (but not too soft).

Blend all sauce ingredients together in blender until smooth. Heat in a small saucepan with the bay leaves over medium low heat until heated through, stirring occasionally.

When serving, put a bed of the cabbage, onion, and garlic mixture on your plate. Put a scoop of rice on top of the cabbage mixture in the middle of the plate. Surround the scoop of rice with the steamed veggies. Drizzle the sauce over the top of the rice and veggies. Top with scallions. Enjoy!

This is a great dish that Heather and I truly love. Adjust the spices to your taste and I'd be lying if I said I hadn't tried blending a green chile in there or adding more curry. If any of you try this by the way, please share, as I'd love to hear what other people think of my creation.

Top 5 Dinner Fails

2009-10-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

Don't you hate it when you have a fantastic idea for dinner and it turns out to be a bust?
You find a recipe you are excited about. You buy all the ingredients, usually expensive ones. You slave diligently over the stove, excited to share your delicious meal with your loved ones.

Then there is that moment...

You know the moment I'm talking about.

We all know that sinking feeling that occurs when you suddenly realize that your delicious meal is not delicious. It can happen when you taste the recipe to see if you have the right amount of spices. It can happen when you get a whiff of something that doesn't smell quite right. It can happen as you see the look on the face of your dinner partner as they try it.

FAIL.

All cooks, veterans and beginners, have those moments. So tonight I wanted to share with you our 5 top Dinner Disasters:

1. Korma Catastrophe

Our favorite Indian restaurant in Maryland has a delicious korma dish that Brandon loves. He wants nothing more than to replicate it at home. He had already tried making two or three mediocre replicas when, at an Indian market, we found a korma mix packet that was vegan! He was so excited to get home and try it. We bought a bunch of fresh veggies and rice and we were ready to go. The packet said to only put half of the powder in if we wanted the dish to be mild. That was the plan. Brandon forgot and the whole packet went in. When they say that Indian hot is way hotter than American hot, they weren't kidding. That was the spiciest meal we had ever eaten. We tried all the tricks - putting a potato in the sauce to soak up the spices, using more rice than veggies, drinking soy milk on the side. Nothing worked. It was inedible.

2. Seitan Cordon Blues

Brandon wanted to replicate his chicken cordon bleu recipe, but in a more compassionate manner. So, he tried a boiled 'chicken' seitan recipe, with faux ham, and 'cheese,' baked it in the oven. He served it to me and my Mom. It was a bit dry, a lot chewy, and a bit tasteless. We haven't tried it again, but one day I think he'll get it!

3. Crunchy, Basil-y Lasagna

Back before I was vegan or even vegetarian, I had a vegetarian friend. I liked vegetarian food and cooked it at home often, so I thought I'd make her a dinner one night. I had made this delicious lasagna with basil and cheese for Brandon and we had loved it. So, I decided to make that dish for her. I was still new to cooking and when I couldn't find real basil, my innocent, new-to-cooking plan was to use dried basil instead. Now I am horrified at the thought of using dried basil in the same amount as the recipe originally requested of fresh basil... If that wasn't bad enough, I didn't get the right kind of pasta. My friend was a trooper though. She crunched through the uncooked lasagna, the cup of dried basil, and drippy (ew!) cheese with a smile. Poor thing!

4. Blueberry Parfait Horror

Last Fourth of July, my Mom and I made these delicious looking berry parfaits from My Sweet Vegan. It had complicated ingredients, like agar, but we were excited about making them. For whatever reason, whether we cooked the agar wrong or bought a bad batch or the arrowroot was bad, the parfaits turned out chalky and horrible with bits of congealed agar floating around with the blueberries.

5. Curried Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

Sounds good doesn't it? I should have known that the recipe wasn't a good one when the recipe said to garnish with sour cream and eat with tortillas. I didn't listen to my instinct though, and made this terrible, watery soup that didn't have much of a taste at all. Luckily, we were able to make it edible with a lot more spices, some peas, and hot sauce.

Vegan Suggestions

2009-10-21T17:50:00.000-07:00

I'm extremely excited! While I eagerly awaited my trip to Portland, OR (or Vegan Meca as I sometimes refer to it) last August, I dreamt of Go Max Go vegan candy bars. I waited and waited and then finally the day arrived, we took our trip, and we found ourselves purchasing these delectable treats from Food Fight Grocery in Portland. These candy bars were everything I wanted them to be and Heather and I looked at each other with sad eyes as we left Portland to return to the east coast, both of us pawing at the windows as we salivated over candy bars that we knew we'd never see again... or at least not until we returned to Oregon again next year (I did grow up there after all).

A couple of weeks went by and Heather and I continued to long for the chocolatey goodness that we'd experienced in Oregon. We looked and looked for these bars all over Greensboro and Winston-Salem and I even searched for them during a business trip to D.C. (where I lived for several years). Alas, I searched without success.

Then one day, we were at Earth Fare when we happened to notice as we were leaving, a suggestion box. Heather and I figured it couldn't hurt, so we filled out a request

for Go Max Go candy bars. Well, recently Heather and I perused the candy section of Earth Fare and to our excitement, we found that they now carry them!!!!! I've never actually made a suggestion to a store before, so I was so happy that they'd listened to our request! Now we have to control our urges to indulge in these delicious things 24-7 instead of dreaming about them (okay, maybe I still dream about them a little). Heather and I have been so happy to have them available to us. We give them a paw and a fist up.

Yoga and Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad

2009-10-20T15:33:00.000-07:00

I absolutely adore yoga. It calms me down when I'm stressed. It helps me stay focused and centered. Not only that, but it tones my body and makes me feel strong. I've been doing yoga for roughly six years now. Strangely enough, I was introduced to yoga in the military when our Physical Training Instructors brought it into the mix. I've always been flexible, so I thought I'd be good at it and excitedly signed up for the first class. Deep down, I think I wanted to show off. One hour later, I was surprised by my lack of flexibility. I was sore in muscles I didn't know I had, but I was extremely relaxed.

I was also hooked.

Six years later, with intermittent regularity, I've been practicing. I take classes when I can, but mostly I practice at home on my own, or I use the fantastic website, Yoga Today. I wish I could afford to take classes in a studio, but it's just too darn expensive. If you haven't tried yoga, I highly suggest you give it a whirl, even if you don't fancy yourself flexible. It's definitely not about being flexible. It's about something entirely different and if you go, you'll find out what that is.

Anyway, I told you all of that so I could introduce a delicious salad Brandon and I enjoyed last night. I bought the most recent Yoga J ournal (November 2009). In it are a couple of recipes for warm winter salads. I almost flipped by, since salads are one of those things that don't really spark my interest, but one of the recipes contained the three magic words that always catch my eye: quinoa, sweet potatoes, and kale. Those are my three favorite ingredients! I decided to try it out... and let me tell you, even my seriously skeptical husband was impressed. Now run out, buy or borrow the November Yoga Journal, flip to page 38 and make this salad. Replace the honey with agave nectar and you are golden... and maybe, just maybe, you'll read the rest of the magazine and be inspired to start your own yoga practice.

Enjoy and Namaste!

Monday Night Vegan Football

2009-10-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for some football? Chances are, there are not an abundance of football fans reading this blog, so "no" would likely be the common answer. However, this won't stop me from blogging about it anyway. This week, I get to watch the Denver Broncos play against the San Diego Chargers. Because of this, I've made my football snacks match the times that I've

spent in both Denver and San Diego.

A long time ago, in a West Coast far, far away, I was a surfer. And yes, as a surfer, my travels often led me to strange lands like San Diego, which according to Ron Burgundy means "a whale's vagina." In San Diego, citrus fruits and avocados reign supreme which is lucky for me, because there are few things that I love as much as a good avocado.

With that in mind, I've made guacamole, with a citrus twist.

Brandon's Easy-and-Obvious Guac

2 Avocados, ripe and ready

1/4-1/2 cup of your favorite salsa (I dig Newman's Own Chunky Garlic)

1/4 fresh cilantro (way chopped up)

Juice of half a Navel Orange

Juice of half a small Lemon

Juice of half a Tangerine

A few chopped up Scallions

1/4 cup Diced Onion

Dash to Dashes of Paprika, Salt, Pepper, and Chili Powder

A little hot sauce if you like, I'm all about Cholula

Mash it all up in a bowl and serve immediately. This goes great with chips or anything else you'd like to dip with and it's an excellent way to bring a little San Diego into your home.

The pictures of the guac were even worse then usual this time, so I decided to just put up a nice picture of an avocado. And now I'm hungry.

From Denver, we have mostly meat-based dishes, especially Rainbow Trout and Steak. However, Coors beer is known to "tap the Rockies" arguably making it the most recognizable edible item that stems from Denver. I hate Coors beer. However, did you know that Coors is vegan? And do you know what other beer Coors makes? Blue Moon. Yes, Blue Moon. Blue Moon is a very good beer and is very much worth trying out. Because it's brewed by Molson, just like Coors, Blue Moon is also vegan and is an excellent complement to my guac and chips (for the record, I'm digging Kettle Chips: Krinkle Cut... and

they're absolutely fantastic!)

So sit back tonight, watch the game, and enjoy some vegan guac, chips, and and ice cold beer. I can't think of anything better for Monday Night Football. Can you?

Vegan Night Out - Boba House and Downtown

2009-10-17T19:06:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, in a tiny little city called Greensboro, two vegans went out to dinner at the only vegetarian restaurant in town...

Boba House

Brandon and I are deeply grateful for the existence of Boba House. Without it, we would be relegated to having date night at restaurants with only one or two sketchy vegan options. At Boba, we have many choices, plus the food is really good and the atmosphere is truly unique. Plus they have vegan desserts!

Since the University of North Carolina, Greensboro (UNCG) is located here, there are a lot of college kids downtown. Thank goodness for them! Without them, we wouldn't have the adorable artsy, downtown area that we have. And we definitely wouldn't have Boba House.

If you are looking for a great night out in Greensboro, start with Boba. I suggest starting with the Crispy Spring Rolls, then ordering the Eternal Bliss with "chicken" or "shrimp." Interesting side note: Boba makes all their own faux meats, so you are really getting something original and different. Finally, make sure you order the Kahlua Cake for dessert. You won't be disappointed.

Afterwards, see a movie at the historic Carolina Theater or catch a live play at the Triad Stage. Or you could just walk around downtown, check out all the lovely stores and numerous art galleries. There are antique stores, cute little shops, and places to grab a beer. You'll find plenty to keep you occupied downtown.

Greensboro is a small city, but it is a unique one and it has a lot to offer to the visiting vegan. If you find yourself in the area any time soon, make sure you stop at Boba House and enjoy all the city has to offer.

Until next time!

Vegan MOFO Indian Night!

2009-10-15T16:45:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made Vegetable Korma. There are many ways to make Korma, and I've tried several of them. This is the best I've tried so far, though I messed with the recipe a little bit. I got the recipe from an awesome website for an Indian restaurant, where the owner posts recipes for the dishes they serve. It's fantastic! I've tried cooking several of the recipes, and I especially recommend trying the sweet saffron rice if you happen to feel the need to spend money on saffron (totally worth it). Below is the picture of the goodness:

I used different veggies so as to use whatever I had hanging around the house, and I definitely recommend putting an onion in there. I also would like to use coconut milk next time, blended with cashews instead of soy milk and corn starch, which I used according to the recipe.

Heather and I make some sort of Asian-influenced dish at least once a week. We love curries and dishes with plenty of flavor; and I'm kind of a carb-junkie so I dig anything I can put over rice (or pasta, but that's a different story). Seriously though, check out this site, check out Asian-inspired recipes, and definitely check out my stir-fry that we posted last week. These are dishes that are usually pretty healthy, delicious, and versatile. Most of them are pretty easy too. Enjoy!

Work Potlucks

2009-10-14T18:15:00.000-07:00

What's worse than attending a work potluck as a vegan?

Organizing a work potluck as a vegan.

Tomorrow my office is having a big office potluck. I'm the secretary, so I usually do the planning on most of my office's work functions. Luckily, the people I work with are wonderfully supportive of my veganism, so that isn't the issue. I'm not around meat a lot, so these functions kind of throw me into the meat world again. For example, everyone wants a meat dish, so I have to deal with a lot of meat talk. What kind of meat do we want? How much meat do we want? So far, I haven't had to take their money and actually buy it yet. Other people have always volunteered.

Also, I usually take up a collection of money and go out and get snacks and extras. Of course, people always ask for things I don't want to buy, like those big bags of Halloween candy that contain Snickers, Milky Ways, etc. Today, I just ignored all the suggestions and bought a big bag of vegan candy. There was a lovely bag of Swedish Fish and Sour Patch Kids at the grocery store. I got plain chips, nuts, and pretzels. I figure, if they don't like it, then they shouldn't send the vegan to buy it.

Then comes the actual potluck - a lot of people weighing their plates down with all sorts of different non-vegan stuff, while looking at my measly (but delicious) plate with pity. "Oh, that's right... you can't have this cake, can you? It has eggs in it. I'm sooo sorry."

Needless to say, I kind of dread tomorrow. Not that I expect anyone to go out of their way and make anything that I can eat. I really don't. I would be terribly embarrassed if they tried to accommodate me. I'm always prepared for these events anyway. My trusty PB&J and me get along just fine. However, I do know that at least one wonderful person will make something that I can eat. Also, I can eat my lovely dish. You know, the one that is going to be out of place around all the mayonnaise-drenched potato salads and chicken wings. I made Veganomicon's Lentil Salad. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks delicious and I know I will enjoy it a lot tomorrow, alongside the pasta salad I know will be vegan. Wish me luck!

Vegan Milks

2009-10-13T18:30:00.001-07:00

I used to love a glass of milk. I know, many people cook with milk, many have it in their cereal, many hardly use it. I however, love a glass of milk. As a vegan, I've found things that fill that desire very easily. Everyone knows about soy milk, but they usually dismiss it as a possible beverage, rather using it to cream their coffee or in the above uses. For me it was a little different.

When I was a kid, all I drank was whole milk. I hated 2% and I wouldn't drink it. Around late high school I began realizing that maybe whole milk was a little too much for me, so I finally made the switch. At first I didn't like the 2% milk, but after a couple of we

eks, I got used to it. Eventually, I only liked 2% and hated whole milk and 1%. A few years later I made the same switch to 1% and the exact same thing I happened. I learned to prefer 1% and no longer enjoyed 2%. This happened again when I went to skim milk and again when I went to soy (this was before I went vegan). By the time I went vegan, I had already been past the taste of dairy milk and was

pursuing other milks. Now, while I still enjoy a glass of soy milk upon occasion, I greatly prefer some of the other milk options out there. And as a former milk junkie, here are my recommendations for the booby-juice lover in you:

So Delicious Coconut Milk

This stuff is frea

kin' awesome! It's got a subtle hint of coconut with the same thin consistency of skim milk or 1%. Once again, it's been a long time since I could stand the thickness of anything higher than 1%, so the thinness of this coconut milk is awesome. Additionally, the flavor is phenomenal and hits parts of your taste buds that dairy never even considered going near! This stuff is expensive, but if you can catch it on sale or are willing to splurge, it's totally worth it!

Rice Dream Enriched Rice Milk

This is a good staple that you can find in most natural food stores; at Earth Fare, Whole Foods or equivalent; and even at many grocery stores, including Wal-Mart (where it's very affordable in the cereal section in cardboard containers). This has the thinness that I like combined with a unique flavor that I truly enjoy. Give it a little bit of time to get used to the taste and eventually you'll find it as delicious as I do.

I know that these are obvious for many vegans, but I found myself needing to share with other milk drinkers these two products. Of course there's always soy milk, and I prefer Plain Silk brand for those who are interested or the Plain Kirkland brand from Costco. However, I try to limit my soy intake, and because I love Tempeh, I figure drinking rice and coconut milk is a good way to do that. Besides, rice and coconut milk rock.

Now if only I could find a healthy and cheap single malt scotch...

Comfort Food: Potatoes!

2009-10-12T18:02:00.001-07:00

My ultimate comfort food is the potato, in any of its various forms. I know it sounds pretty boring, but if we were honest with ourselves, comfort food often is kind of boring. It's the Mac and Cheese that people call comfort food, not the gourmet dishes. Of course, everyone has a different favorite comfort food. It seems to me that comfort food usually reminds us of growing up, giving us fond memories of excitedly awaiting dinner as a child. Sometimes, it simply makes our bellies sigh in happiness. For me, I think it's because a lot of my family's dishes centered around that deliciously starchy tuber. For some reason, it makes me feel happy, safe, and warm. Baked, fried, hash browned, boiled, mashed - any way you can cut or cook it - it still has that effect on me.

On today, Comfort Food Monday, I wanted to share with you a list of my top five favorite potato dishes, in no particular order:

1. Potato soup

2. A big bowl of mashed potatoes with Punk Rock Chickpea Gravy (from Vegan with a Vengeance), piled high, with corn on the side.

3. Baked potato with all the fixings (broccoli, fake bacon bits, Tofutti sour cream, chives, etc.)

4. Fries! (this is a given though)

5. A simple pile of mashed potatoes with a dollop of Earth Balance, a veggie on the side, and either Chickpea Cutlets or Smokey Grilled Tempeh (both from Veganomicon).

I also stumbled across a different and awesome way to prepare my favorite veggie. This idea comes from another MOFO'er. I was looking through our fantastic list of MOFOing vegan blogs and found this gem - Welsh Onion Cake on The Great Vegan Conspiracy blog. Onions? Potatoes? Cake? I was instantly in love and had to make it. This recipe did not disappoint. The potatoes practically melt in your mouth. If you love potatoes, definitely give this lovely dish a try.

I hope everyone else is enjoying all the lovely food posted by all the MOFO'ers this month. There is no end to the all the gorgeous food flooding the web. I'm hoping to find more favorites as the month goes on.

Vegan MOFO Football Sunday: Pasta Salad

2009-10-11T16:41:00.000-07:00

I don't know a man alive who doesn't love pasta salad. Additionally, I can't think of anything more manly than products with names such as Veganaise and Tofutti Sour Cream. With that in mind, one of my very favorite foods for football Sunday is my Mother-in-Law's famous pasta salad.

I don't know how she does it. I follow the same recipe. I use the same same methods, the same ingredients, the same ways of cutting vegetables... and yet my pasta salad never comes out quite as perfect as hers. Still, even when a novice like me butchers the recipe, it still comes out delicious, albeit not as delicious as when Mom makes it. She gave me permission to share the recipe, so you're all very lucky. Try it. Seriously.

Mom's Famous Pasta Salad:

Ingredients:

Box of spiral pasta (cooked according to the package directions, and then drained and cooled)
Veggies of your choice (I used diced up onion, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, red bell pepper, and frozen peas thawed out)

Sauce:
3/4 Cup of Veganaise
3/4 Cup of Tofutti Sour Cream
2 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all the sauce ingredients until smooth. Toss the pasta and the veggies together in a large bowl. Mix sauce in with the pasta and veggies. Cover and refrigerate. Enjoy whenever you like, stirring before serving. It's best when you give it overnight for the flavors to mix together.

That's it! Easy and delicious!

Veganized! Pasta with Walnut Sauce and Broccoli Raab

2009-10-09T17:29:00.000-07:00

I waste a lot of hours reading the NY Times online. Maureen Dowd? Gotta love her. Plus, they always have these awesome looking recipes in their Health section. I rarely try them out, because I'm just not good at veganizing things. The other day, though, I found myself drooling over the Pasta with Walnut Sauce and Broccoli Raab. It is vegetarian, but not vegan. Since I had a big bag of walnuts lying around, I decided to veganize and see if it turned out to be as good as it looked.... and boy, did it. It was a perfect, creamy, light pasta dish. I'm very proud of my veganization of this recipe, even though I only had to replace a couple of ingredients.

So, here is what we did. We replaced the 1/3 cup of ricotta cheese with a 1/3 cup of the Vegan With a Vengeance recipe Basil-Tofu Ricotta and we replaced the 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese with a 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast. Also, I didn't have walnut oil, so I simply didn't use it at all... and I wonder just how much of a difference it would make if you did use it? We didn't have broccoli raab either. We just used regular old broccoli. It's a really simple fast recipe and it's very delicious. I highly suggest trying it out!

Comfort Food: Soup and Cornbread

2009-10-08T18:16:00.001-07:00

Sometimes you just need cornbread. I don't know what it is. Perhaps there's a certain smell to the air, a particular feeling in your toes as you get up out of bed in the morning, or a specific type of car that cuts you off on your way home from work. Whatever it is, it's urgent when it hits, and it's critical to respond. Cornbread. Necessary. Now.

Now, a key element of having cornbread is the ability to dip said cornbread into a substance of some sort. Heather makes an unbelievable potato soup, so when I expressed my cornbread desire and Heather mentioned potato soup I was instantly sold. It was as if clouds had opened in front of me, showing potato soup as the ideal complement to my sudden need for corn bread. So it was decided, so it was made.

And so it was, a wonderful dinner was made, another low quality picture taken, and tremendous deliciousness ensued. We used the cornbread recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking, which is a book that freaking rocks! The lovely Heather's perfect soup recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:

4-6 Medium Yukon Gold Potatoes (Peeled and cut into chunks)

6 Cups Veggie Broth

1 Onion (Diced)

2 Garlic Cloves (Minced)

1 Tbsp Rosemary (Crushed)

1/4 Tsp White Pepper (or black pepper to taste)

In a large stock pot, bring veggie broth to a boil. Add potatoes, onion, and garlic. After 15-20 minutes, or when the potatoes are soft and easily pierced with a fork, ladle half the mixture in a blender or food processor (carefully! Don't burn yourself.) and puree until creamy (also carefully!). Pour the blended mixture back into the pot, stir. Add pepper and rosemary. Simmer on medium-low for roughly ten minutes. Serve hot with corn bread.

The Best Stir-Fry Ever

2009-10-07T17:32:00.000-07:00

At least once every two weeks, if not every week, Brandon and I make a stir-fry.

We use all sorts of veggies, spices, and sauces. Over the years, it has been perfected into an awesome, infallible dish, which we are going to share with you.

Brandon created quite possibly the best stir-fry sauce on the planet. It is flavorful, yet mild. So it complements almost any veggie combination you can think of. Using this base, we've thrown together a very traditional Asian Stir-fry: bell peppers, bok choy, zucchini, squash, etc. We've also gone crazy and put a lot of unlikely stir-fry veggies in there together, like sweet potatoes (zapped in the microwave to get them a little soft), eggplant, brussel sprouts, or turnips. It all tastes good in this sauce... seriously. Throw in a protein of some sort, if you'd like: pre-baked tofu is fantastic; chickpeas are divine; or, like you'll see below, marinate some tempeh and throw it in. Have fun with it! We definitely do.

This is the basic Asian stir-fry recipe we use on a regular basis:

Ingredients:

Rice, as much as you want or need (my favorite is Jasmine rice with this recipe)

1 Tbs toasted sesame seed oil (this is practically mandatory, although you could use other oils if you absolutely have to)
Roughly 1 tsp ginger powder (a little less or a little more depending on your love of ginger)
3 garlic cloves
1 medium onion, halved and sliced thinly
2 carrots, sliced thinly
1 bell pepper (red or yellow are the best), sliced thinly
1 zucchini, sliced
1 yellow squash, sliced
2 bunches baby bok choy, rinsed and sliced into chunks

Brandon's Awesome Stir-fry Sauce

3/4 Cup veggie broth
1/4 Cup Hoisin sauce
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 tsp corn starch

Tempeh Marinade

3/4 Cup veggie broth
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tsp sweet red chili sauce (or any chili sauce you have on hand or red pepper flakes)
crushed garlic clove
1 tsp toasted sesame seed oil
(optional) 1/2 tsp - 1 tsp liquid smoke (it's just however much smoky flavor you want)

1 hour and 30 minutes beforehand: heat up a medium sized pot full of water. Chop up your tempeh. Once the water is boiling, throw the tempeh in for 15 minutes. While that cooks, get your marinade together. Find a shallow dish. Once the tempeh is finished, drain it and put it in the shallow dish. Pour the marinade over it. Cover and let it sit for an hour, tossing occasionally.

Put your rice in your rice maker and cook according to the directions on the bag.

Chop up all your veggies. Put your sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Grab a wok or a nice, big skillet and heat it to medium high heat. Pour your toasted seasame seed oil in and let it heat up. Throw in your onions and carrots. Cook till the onions are translucsent and the carrots are softening up, about five minutes. Put in your garlic and ginger. Cook it for another minute. Toss in your tempeh (not the marinade though). Let the tempeh brown a little. Give it maybe five minutes or so. Toss in your zucchini, squash, and bell pepper. Let it cook for a minute. Pour in your sauce. Let it come to a boil. Turn down the heat a little and let it cook for about 5-7 minutes, uncovered. Stir occasionally. Put in your bok choy and cover. Cook for another 5-7 minutes or until your veggies are still slightly crisp.

Serve, and enjoy!!!

Co-Opping

2009-10-06T17:46:00.000-07:00

As Heather has mentioned in a previous post, we're broke. And while we'd like to say that we always shop organic, buy local, and avoid such evil establishments as Wal-Mart, the truth is, a savvy and financially challenged vegan must find ways to adapt.

We've scouted areas for the cheapest buys. We purchase cheap rice milk and soy milk at Wal-Mart, along with Boca and Amy products when necessary. We also keep an eye out for organic canned beans and whole wheat pasta, which sometimes makes an appearance. Our local Earth Fare and/or Whole Foods is where we get our novelty items. And veggies come from any of the farmer's markets we can find (one of which is open year round off of highway 40 between Greensboro and Kernersville). Harris Teeter, the local grocery market has great deals on many sauces, pastas, and fruits and vegetables. Costco is a good place for us to get baby spinach, frozen fruit, oranges, almond butter, and Cliff bars (my usual breakfast). And finally, we have our local Co-Op, Deep Roots.

Deep Roots has just about everything we like, from organic and local produce, to Sun Burgers, to Vegenaise, to Primal Strips and most other delicious vegan items. While it isn't huge, it has most of the things you look for when you're trying to cook for the week, and we shop there often. The one thing that makes it awesome, and the greatest thing on the planet is the spice section!

While I realize that most savvy shoppers have explored the bulk spice aisles in their favorite grocery stores, this has been a fairly new endeavor for us. For years now, we've spent big money on little jars of spices, thinking that spices were just expensive and we'd have to deal with it. However, Deep Roots has a wonderful bulk spices section that includes most anything I'm looking for, including beet powder, to my pleasant surprise the other day! And to top it off, the items in this section are cheap! I bring in a spice jar that I already have, the cashier is nice enough to pre-weigh it for me, and then I fill it up with my favorite spice. In the end, I wind up spending usually around 10-20% of the amount that I spend in the grocery store, and since I'm re-using the same jars over and over again, I'm reducing a little waste as well. I highly recommend it for anyone in the Greensboro area.

If you don't live in the Greensboro area, fear not! It's very likely that you too have a nearby Co-Op or some sort of natural market. Perhaps it'd be worthwhile to check it out. You might find spice bargains of your own!

Until tomorrow!

Delicious and Cheap Spaghetti Bolognese

2009-10-05T17:25:00.000-07:00

We're pretty broke.

So, Brandon and I are always looking for delicious, cheap meals to help get us through the financially tight times without sparing flavor. Who says you need to eat bland, unseasoned bean soup every night just because you are a little low on funds?

I wanted to share with everyone one of our favorite "poor" dishes: Spaghetti Bolognese. It costs less than $10 and it will feed four people or, in our case, two people (one with a voracious appetite) for both dinner and lunch the next day.

Although the recipe looks deceptively simple and flavorless, it is not. Just make sure you use some really good veggie broth, plenty of Italian spice and oregano, and you are set. It's one of those recipes that you can totally mess with and make your own, although it is seriously fantastic just as it is. Enjoy!

Vegan Awesome Football Sunday

2009-10-04T14:00:00.000-07:00

Every Sunday, I eagerly await 1:00 for the NFL games to start. While many may not appreciate the greatest sport on the planet as much as I do, the event of swearing at the T.V. coupled with the presence of junk food can be enticing for anyone. It was a conversation with my friend Dwayne about junk food that led to this question, "Hey Brandon, are onion rings vegan?" Dwayne is not a vegan, however his question peaked my interest and while I'd yet to find vegan onion rings in a restaurant or in the frozen section of my local food stores, I responded with a simple "they could be." From that point on I began speculating on ways to make vegan onion rings. Naturally, it's easy to simply deep fry some onions, smother them in sauce and be content. However, if I was really going to do this, I wanted that fried shell encasing the onion ring. You know, the kind that is sturdy enough that when you take a bite, sometimes you rip the entire onion out and you're left holding a greasy shell of a ring. This is the kind of junk food I was looking for, and I'm happy to say that the following picture was the result:

Pretty awesome huh? Tasted fantastic and was perfect for football Sunday! So the next time somebody wants some greasy sports-watching food, try this out. You need a deep fryer with lots of oil. You can use Crisco or vegetable shortening, but I used vegetable oil.

Ingredients:

Bread Crumbs (I used Panko Bread Crumbs)

Two Onions

About 6 Cups of Oil for the deep fryer

About 1/4 Cup of Flour

Batter:

I used a basic vegan pancake batter from the book "Vegan with a Vengeance" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, omitting all spices other than salt. You can use your favorite vegan pancake batter!

Directions:

Cut off the ends of the onions and peel the skin. Slice the onions whole so that rings are created. Dip each ring in flour, coating it. Then, dip the ring into the batter until completely covered, then dip into the bread crumbs coating each side until covered. Put on a plate, ready to be deep fried. Repeat this with all rings.

Deep fry the rings in batches according to your deep fryer's instructions and capacity.

Season how you like, using any dipping sauces you want and enjoy!

I didn't season them, I used Barbeque sauce, ketsup, and Cholula hot sauce. It was absolutely fantastic! Enjoy the food and enjoy the game!

A Vegan Saturday in Greensboro

2009-10-03T19:27:00.000-07:00

We moved to Greensboro, NC from Maryland/D.C. area about a year ago. We knew that we would be losing many of the options that we had become accustomed to. Bracing ourselves for that fact, we moved. Greensboro definitely does not have many options for vegans, but there is actually more here than we anticipated. So, during MOFO, I wanted to share with everyone the cool stuff vegans can eat and do in Greensboro.

Meetup.com has been a great help to us in finding other like-minded individuals. In Greensboro, we have a vegan meetup group and an animal welfare meetup group. We have met such wonderful people in our area through this site and attended many an awesome potluck.

Anyway, today, we met with our animal welfare group to help out at a yard sale/bake sale to raise funds. We plan to use the money to start up an unchaining project, where we go to people's homes and offer to build fences for them if they will spay/neuter their dog and take them off of the chain. We hoped to raise enough money to complete our first project.

I baked Isa's delicious Coffee Chip Muffins for the event... and although I couldn't find coffee granules (or afford the $7 coffee extract), they were still delicious as plain, old Chocolate Chip Muffins.

It was a long day, but it was really successful and I believe we earned enough to start our first unchaining project!

Afterward, we went to a really fantastic local restaurant called Jack's Corner Mediterranean Deli. It isn't a vegan restaurant or even a vegetarian one, but it has many vegan options, all of which are notated on the menu with a cute little carrot. One of the most fantastic items on the menu at Jack's is the vegan falafel burger. Yeah, you heard that correctly... a falafel burger. It comes with these insanely good seasoned fries. This restaurant has all sorts of awesome options for vegans. If you happen to be in the area, you should totally stop by and have something from Jack's. You won't regret it.

Afterwards, we were exhausted and came home to relax and watch movies for the rest of the evening. It's been a long day, but also a very satisfying one.

Until tomorrow, happy MOFOing!

Comfort Road: Field Roast Love Part Two

2009-10-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

In part two of our Field Roast love-fest, I wanted to bring back an old favorite. After all, that really is what comfort food is all about right? Nostalgic properties, hearty taste, and a love affair with your plate. With this in mind, imagine the excitement I had when at my local Earth Fare (essentially a Whole Foods equivalent) I found a Field Roast Meatloaf. This is a new product, but we fearlessly put our faith in Field Roast and concocted a typical comfort meal of champions: meatloaf, green beans, and mashed potatoes and gravy. Being a condiment person myself, I enjoyed a little ketsup mixed with some Cholula Hot Sauce (a current obsession).

I want to make sure no one thinks that all we consume is Field Roast. Left to my own devices and with unlimited finances, sure I'd be known to eat some sausage and peppers, meatloaf, and other items on a consistent basis, but we also enjoy some good old fashioned veggies. However, since this is comfort food at its finest, we'll worry about that later.

We decided that we couldn't really do much better for comfort food than to use this meatloaf, some green beans (plentiful even this time of year) and good old fashioned mashed potatoes and gravy. The result was a picture perfect resemblance of home, completed by the presence of duck-pond potatoes.

Awesome Deliciousness

This turned out to be a fantastic Friday night dinner. You can go through all the work of making an excellent Lentil Loaf if you want to, with home-made gravy and everything... or you can do the Friday night comfort food and use Field Roast and Road's End Gravy Packets. Either way, you'll end up with a delicious vegan feast fit for even the most difficult omnivores and the most finicky vegans. At roughly nine bucks, the meatloaf isn't cheap, but it fed two of us (three if you figure that I eat enough for two people) with enough left over for sandwiches the next day. The entire meal cost us about $15, not counting the ketsup and hot sauce and we very happy with the results. We highly recommend giving this meal at least one chance.

Vegan MOFO and Vegan Sausage & Peppers

2009-10-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

This month we’re participating in Vegan Month of Food (MOFO). What’s that, you ask? Well, it’s similar to the month of writing done every year for the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), except it’s about sustaining intensive food blogging for the whole month. The rules are that we can write about anything we want, as long as it’s about vegan food and it’s written often.

So, Brandon and I set up a few themes to help inspire us throughout the month ahead.

Sunday - he’ll write about football food, since that his favorite thing to do on Sunday is eat and watch football.

Mondays - we’ll discuss our favorite cheap dinners that have gotten us through our little financial rough spots.

Tuesdays – Grocery shopping tips in Greensboro, NC and beyond.

Wednesdays – Our favorite Asian foods.

Thursdays – I’ll discuss my favorite kitchen tools. It’ll be an Ode to a Kitchen Tool, of sorts.

Friday – Comfort food night!

Saturday – Vegan Night Out in Greensboro, NC.

Since today is our kickoff, I decided not to go with one of my favorite kitchen tools. Instead, I want to share with you one of my favorite vegan pre-made grocery store buys in an easy-peasy recipe that I make all the time: Vegan Sausage and Peppers.

Before my revelation, when I was still eating animal flesh, this was my specialty. Everyone loved it. I couldn’t even cook, and it was a hit. Mainly because the key is to the let the flavors stand alone, without a whole lot of hubbub, so it was easy, easy, easy. When I went vegan, I thought, there goes that. I tried unsuccessfully to replicate it. I used Tofurky sausages, seitan, and even vegan breakfast sausages in desperation. Nothing hit that perfect note I was looking for. I finally just gave up.

Then I discovered Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage sausages.

I thought, why not try it out?

It was absolutely perfect. It doesn’t exactly taste like sausage (thank God), but it is delicious and flavorful and hits all the right notes. So, without further ado, here is the simple recipe I use to make this easy meal.

Vegan Sausage and Peppers

Tbs of olive oil

One large onion, quartered and sliced thin

Two garlic cloves (or garlic flakes or powder, whatever you got!)

Three bell peppers of varying colors, sliced and cut into thin strips (or thick, whatever you like)

Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage sausages, cut into thin rounds (or thick, whatever you like)

Pepper

Pinch of red pepper flakes

A little soy sauce or Braggs

2 Tbs of water

Jasmine or Basmati rice (you can use other rice variations, but this is the best for this)

Put your rice in your rice maker (or pot) and get it going.

Meanwhile, chop up your veggies and sausage and have everything at the ready. Pour a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a big skillet, let it heat up. Throw in your onions and cook them till they brown a little. Throw in your garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Saute for a minute or two. Put your sausage in the pan and let it brown on the sides a little, or as much, as you want. Then throw in your lovely, colorful peppers. Sprinkle on some soy sauce or Braggs to add some salty flavor and loosen up any burnt stuff. Add your pepper (and salt, if you want) to taste. Throw in a couple tablespoons of water to help steam the veggies. Put the lid on for 5 – 10 minutes to let the peppers soften. It tastes the best if the peppers are a tinsy bit crisp. When it’s done, pile the sausage and peppers on top of a bed of jasmine rice and eat up. You can add some hot sauce or Braggs or soy sauce to the mix for some added flavor, if you’d like. Otherwise, enjoy!

This recipe is awesome because it’s delicious as is, but you can mess with it as much as you’d like… add spices, add veggies, change up the sausage or make your own sausage, etc. Feel free to make it your own.

Happy first MOFO day! See you tomorrow for Part 2 of our Field Roast love post.

Relaxin' in the Caribbean...

2009-08-05T14:57:00.000-07:00

We've been MIA for a while. We got hitched, went on our honeymoon, and then bought a house. It's been busy, busy, busy. The blog got pushed to the wayside, but now we're back.

We may take a new approach to the blog and go for a less article-ish style and more for a personal day-to-day life thing. We'll probably put more a lot more pictures of our adventures in vegan food, maybe the occasional recipe, maybe a cookbook review or two, and definitely some pictures of stuff - like our honeymoon!

We honeymooned in Grenada at this fantastic vegan bed & breakfast in the Caribbean called The Lodge. Mark and Mary are the owners and they are wonderful hosts and great vegan chefs. The food and the scenery were great. We couldn't have asked for a better, more relaxing honeymoon. If you're planning on going on a real vacation anytime, look them up because, as you'll see in these lovely photos, they are great cooks and the scenery is just breathtaking. Plus, who doesn't want to spend a week in a 1920's era mansion on top of a hill called Morne Jealoux (Jealous Hill) eating crazy-good vegan food and watching the sun set?

How to be Vegan Awesome

2009-02-28T11:32:00.000-08:00

As Brandon said in our first entry, it's important to have different angles on veganism. Some choose shock tactics, unbridled politics, or relentless education of the masses. All of these are useful, fruitful, and important. We need our PETAs as much as we need our PCRMs. We need both abolition and welfare. Everything balances each other out.

That being said, not all of us subscribe to a particular angle. Many of us, in fact, see the point of all sides. Where does that leave the unaffiliated vegan, who sees the point in naked fur-free ads, political lobbying, and unmitigated leafleting? Where does that person go; who would otherwise be paralyzed by lack of loyalty to any one approach or stretched thin over all of them? Maybe it's even simpler than that. Maybe you can't bring yourself to be loud, pushy, or naked?

Well, we have the answer for you.

Be vegan awesome.

Brandon and I are sharing with you our simple plan for being vegan awesome for the year 2009. It's nothing crazy. It's not loud, pushy, or naked. It could even be sneered at as passive. Sure, it's quiet. Sure, it's passive; but it's definitely effective if done correctly.

1. Introduce yourself as you first.

Often, vegans let their veganness define them. Almost immediately upon introduction, they drop the V-bomb. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, but sometimes it causes the people you are meeting to label you a certain way. Allow the people you are meeting to get to know you first. I want to make it clear that this is not a way of hiding your vegan ways, nor of being ashamed of it. It is a way to present yourself as a person, not a political statement. Let them begin to like you and enjoy your company (or dislike and hate your company) for what it is. Act like being a vegan is totally normal, not strange or different at all; thus, not meriting immediate revelation. Omnivores don't introduce themselves as such and neither should a vegan.

2. Reveal your veganism naturally and confidently.

Like I talked about in my "Sweet Potato for Awesomeness" post, no matter how hard you try to hide or not talk about it, it will come up naturally. People always notice what other people are eating and you will be no exception. Especially, since your vegan food will smell so awesome, you'll have people coming up to your desk or lean over to your table in a restaurant to see what you are eating. And when they do - when they inevitably do - you should let them know about your veganism as though it's not at all different or strange. I know this is hard to do, especially at work when you don't want to rock the boat or start an argument. Confidence, even feigned, is the key here. Have a sentence already mentally prepared, like "I don't eat any animal products. I'm vegan" or whatever suits you best. Be as un-confrontational as you can possibly be. I know this might rankle the faux fur of many a militant vegan, but just try it out. See how people react when you don't take a holier-than-thou stance. You might be surprised.

3. Don't complain and don't force your ideas down other's throats.

Please, please, please don't complain. That is one of the hardest stereotypes to get over: the complaining vegan. If you go out to lunch with co-workers or with omnivorous friends, eat what you can and don't complain or try to convince them to go to the new vegetarian restaurant and hour away. Smile and crunch on your iceburg lettuce like it's the most awesome thing in the world.

Another bad stereotype is the pushy vegan. It's tempting, I know, but try to refrain. You desperately want to tell your cubicle neighbor at work, who is wolfing down a cheeseburger and complaining about how high his cholesterol is, that a vegan diet might help him out. Refrain. Just be your fit, healthy, low-cholesterol self. You might even allow yourself to say something along the lines of, "Yeah, my cholesterol used to be high..." Try to make sure it's conversational and not preachy. He'll eventually notice how healthy you are, and he'll eventually start asking you questions. Give the guy time.

That is the point of being vegan awesome; people like you for you. You're a cool, hip person. They find out you're vegan and they are un-threatened because you are un-confrontational and not judgmental. They think, "This cool, hip person is vegan." I know it sounds silly, but think about it. Whatever preconceptions of vegans they had is now shattered. Vegans are pushy. Not Brandon, he's awesome. Vegans complain. Not Heather, she never complains. Vegans are self-righteous. Not , she/he is so nice. They may even find themselves listening to what you have to say. They might even think about you when they see a new vegetarian restaurant. They might even defend veganism when someone tries to bash it. Regardless of whether or not they go vegan, they now have a positive image of vegans.

So there you go. It sounds simple, but it can be difficult. It might work for you, and it might not. That's for you to decide. A different approach might be a better fit. That is the beauty of the vegan movement. There are so many different ways to approach it, and none are wrong (except violence, of course). We are simply providing an approach that has worked for us. Hopefully, it'll work for you too. Now go and be awesome, however you define it.

Vegan Awesome in Traffic

2009-01-07T07:49:00.001-08:00

I was stuck in traffic on my way to work this morning. It wasn’t really that bad as far as traffic goes. After spending a year driving the beltway in our nation’s capital every morning and afternoon, I know what real traffic is. This morning was not so much traffic as it was a small two-minute hiccup in my daily routine. However, because it’s been almost six months since my D.C. driving days, I was perturbed by the slight inconvenience. It was in this brief period of annoyance that I thought about how I could possibly look at traffic from a vegan awesome point of view. True, there was no opportunity in the car to refrain from consuming animals, nor was there an opportunity to show others just how awesome this refrain could be. However, the true essence of vegan awesome is simply to be vegan, and to be awesome. I began to ponder.

To be vegan, one could attest, is to be many things. Perhaps a vegan is environmentally conscious. Perhaps a vegan is all about nutrition and health. Perhaps a vegan is morally sympathetic. Whatever the reason is, I think that all full-fledged vegans have to have some level of compassion in order to make it work. To stray from so many traditions and deal with the criticism that many vegans face must be driven by something strong, and compassion is a strong concept. Therefore to me, the essence of being vegan lies somewhere in the realm of compassion.

To be awesome is simply to exude such a positive reflection of yourself that you are undeniably likeable. While no one is liked by everyone, if you make yourself consistently humble, kind, and happy, then you’re bound to be awesome. After thinking of these two concepts, it became clear to me exactly how being vegan awesome could help me in my battle against traffic.

First of all, I realized that my battle wasn’t at all against traffic. More so, it was about my impression of traffic; that is the annoyance that I attached to it. Once you attach annoyance to an event or even a person, agitation at every little thing ensues. Think about it. If you don’t like someone, aren’t they far more likely to irritate you no matter what it is they do? I think so. I looked around at the people in the cars surrounding me. There was a young woman looking very exhausted and almost emotionally damaged to my right. There was a middle-aged man on a cell phone with an impatient ambience about him. Behind me was a woman in her thirties driving a Suburban who proceeded to cut off someone in the lane to the right of me (I would learn shortly that she’d find it necessary to cut me off as well). All around me, as cars passed by, I saw the same looks of anger, frustration, impatience, worry, etc, etc. I think that the first problem with people’s impression of traffic is the concept that everyone involved is competing against one another to get to the proverbial finish line. This isn’t the case at all. As I noticed everyone feeling the same way, I realized we weren’t competitors, but rather we were all teammates in the sport of traffic. We were all frustrated and upset and we all had the same goal… to make it to work on time.

Once I came to this realization I started rooting for the people around me and trying to help everyone out. I ensured that my signal was always on prior to changing lanes, and I always smiled and waved when a teammate let me into their lane as if to tell me that they had my back. I let people in at any chance I could, and I really enjoyed the camaraderie.

“Way to go, lady-putting-on-make-up-in-the-rear-view-mirror!” I cheered, as the maroon Honda Civic made it through the intersection before it turned red.

“Right back at you angry businessman!” I waved at the Dodge that I let in front of me.

This type of attitude made me feel genuinely hopeful that all of my teammates would emerge victorious and be on time to their destinations. Before I knew it, the traffic had passed, and I was pulling into the parking lot of my office, on time and feeling far less stressed then usual. Taking this approach and realizing that everyone you’re around is in the same predicament as you is not only an exercise in compassion, but also of humility and patience. The humble fact that you are no more important than the rest of the people on the road combined with the patience to simply enjoy the solidarity or the music in your vehicle can be a rewarding experience. So while this may not be an exercise in veganism or further the cause of animal rights, it’s definitely an exercise in the concepts of being vegan awesome. And maybe, just maybe, it’ll make you enjoy your morning commute a little bit more.

Unexpected Side Effects of the Red Pill

2008-12-30T16:08:00.001-08:00

Remember in the Matrix, when Neo was shown the red pill and the blue pill? You remember: if he chose the blue one, he could live in blissful ignorance; if he chose the red one, he would have to face the depressing, stark reality of the matrix.

As vegans, that's what we all did. We took the red pill.

Now we live in a highly conscious state. And as most of you know, it didn't just stop with your choice of food. Suddenly, you were conscious of other things too. Quickly, you realized - if you didn't from the beginning - that your clothes and product choices were also important. Not only did most of them contain animal products some of them were tested on animals or contained insane amounts of chemicals that could hurt you or the environment.

Other words began to seep into your daily life: natural, fair trade, organic, sustainable, etc.

Before you know it, your entire perspective on consumerism changed. If you were like me, previous to swallowing the red pill, you spent money la-di-dah, not thinking about it at all. Now each purchase seems crucial, sometimes requiring research. Shampoo? Not as easy as it once was. If you don't have much money or access to a health food store, you might find yourself online trying to find a mainstream brand that is cheap as well as both cruelty-free and natural. (White Rain is the answer to that puzzle, by the way) The once mindless choice, of which the most difficult aspect was picking the one that smells the best, now becomes an agonizing, time-consuming ordeal that could require research and an internal struggle.

Not to say that any of this is bad. In fact, it's good. More people should take that red pill and think about what they are buying. The world would be a better place.

It just becomes a little tiring is all, or more appropriately, it becomes a little overwhelming. It seems like the world is so full of injustices. It almost makes you want to give away everything you own, go live naked in the woods, and eat nuts and berries so you don't contribute to additional suffering.

This morning, I was reading VegNews, not expecting the red pill that awaited me. I started reading the article "Food, Inc.," and was smacked in the face with news that the banana I ate this morning as probably stained with the blood of South Americans; the chocolate bar I recently bought might have been brought to me by child labor in Africa; and the jasmine rice I'll be eating at lunch today might be tainted by the cruel rice market in Asia.

Needless to say, I was horrified.

The answer, of course, is to look for the fair trade symbol and be more conscious of what I'm buying: all of which I will do to the best of my ability, and most of which I already do for the most part.

All of us have to take things one thing at a time, moment by moment. It is imperative to be informed, but it is overwhelming to sit at my computer and think of the injustices in South America, Asia, and Africa. Not only is it overwhelming, it's counterproductive because it makes me feel so helpless. It's not quite as overwhelming to choose the fair trade chocolate, or (cringe) no chocolate, when I'm at the grocery store. I think it's also important to remember that we can only do the best we can. Our choices make an impact and it's up to us what that impact is. Hopefully, the choices I make will make that red pill go down easier.

Vegan Awesome Person of the Year

2008-12-29T07:51:00.000-08:00

Oprah Winfrey as PETA's Person of the Year? Seriously? I mean, no disrespect to the philanthropic icon, but she's not a vegetarian. Sure she brought notoriety to a cleansing diet that happened to be vegan, but let's not forget that she steered away from this diet and has resumed her carcass-eating ways.

I respect Oprah in all that she does and I believe that she does a lot of good in this world. Should any other organization, publication, or random person name her to be Person of the Year in any give time frame, I wouldn't bat an eye. But PETA? PETA which stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals? To me, being at least vegetarian if not vegan should be a pre-requisite for the honor. I realize that publicity is all the rage, but may I suggest an alternate personality? Might I recommend someone who has recently made that switch to veganism and is arguably as beloved by people around the nation? Or maybe I'll just give an award for Vegan Awesome Person of the Year.... drum roll please...

The 2008 Vegan Awesome Person of the Year is... Ellen DeGeneres!!!

Yes, the lovable, dancing, freak-freaking, gorgeous-actress-marrying, animal-loving, 50-year-old-turning, utterly hilarious Ellen DeGenerous is my choice for person of the year. For years people have been telling me that Ellen loves animals, and even prior to my decision to go veg about a year and a half ago, I thought that slightly odd, since I couldn't find her name listed among known vegetarians. This year, Ellen made it known that she has elected to go vegan, and I couldn't possibly be more excited. From having PCRM President Neal Barnard, M.D. on the show, to having a vegan wedding, Ellen has demonstrated vegan awesomeness in everything she's done. Being vegan isn't the only thing that makes her awesome, but the fact that she is so awesome AND a vegan is the reason why she deserves this honored distinction.

Hats off to Ellen and may her viewers see her for the Vegan Awesome person she truly is!

A Sweet Potato for Awesomeness

2008-12-24T13:02:00.000-08:00

My work place is remarkably varied. It consists mostly of women, but from all ethnic backgrounds and from all over the nation. Yet, I still live in a fairly small city in the south. So, I tread carefully when it comes to politics and my veganism. I'm naturally a little reserved anyway when it comes to talking about that stuff. You can just chalk it up to me being un-confrontational. I just don't like to argue about things, especially those kinds of things that lead to serious arguments, like not eating meat. I don't want to be known as that crazy, vegan girl who won't shut up. I'm dedicated to the idea of being vegan awesome.

And yet, no matter how hard you try not to talk about it or draw attention to it, it comes up.

As you are standing at the community microwave, the inevitable questions begin, "What's that? Is that tofu? Are you one of those healthy eaters?"

Or, "Do you want to grab a burger?"
Me: "Oh, no thanks."
"What? Are you a vegetarian or something?"

Somehow you are forced to answer. Then it spreads like wildfire. You have people coming up to you and conspiratorially whispering things like, "I try not to eat very much red meat," or "I don't think I could live without cheese."

And that is how it happened to me. I told one person and suddenly my whole office was aware that I eschewed all animal products.

There were various reactions. Some were confused, others wary. Yet, strangely, most were supportive.

One lady in particular - the loudest, most southern of them all - who I had heard say things like "towelhead," was the most interested.

One day, out of nowhere, she brought me a sweet potato.

Yes, a single sweet potato.

It was like a white flag. It was a sign of support, and maybe even of solidarity.

She came to my desk and said gruffly, "Here you go." She thrust a medium sized sweet potato towards me. "My husband deals with produce all day and had some extra of these. I know you can eat them."

I was strangely and deeply touched.

It was the beginning of an unexpected and extremely nice effort on her part to make me more comfortable in the office when it came to food. She asked me questions about dairy and appeared to be interested in the answers. She only brought things I could eat to office functions. She even bought vegan butter just so she could make me cinnamon apples.

Although I can't place all the credit on being awesome, since most of it belongs to her open-mindedness, I believe that my quietness and unobtrusiveness brought out in her a motherly notion to protect me and provide options for me. It is a perfect example of how, by simply being there, you can change someone's perspective forever.

And in case you are wondering, I used the sweet potato in a delicious vegan stew.

What is Vegan Awesome?

2008-12-23T08:38:00.000-08:00

Obviously, one would assume that vegan awesome is simply a person projecting a favorable opinion of veganism. This is a justifiable assumption when the phrase "vegan awesome" is all in lower case letters, but what of the concept itself? The concept "Vegan Awesome" in it's title form and full of wonder can be summed up by further advancing the vegan lifestyle choice, into a free-thinking version of simple awesomeness. What do I mean? I mean that merely being vegan does not make you Vegan Awesome, but rather there must be further lifestyle choices that propel you to that status.

Take for instance activism. Activism certainly has it's place in the animal rights sector, as well as for other noteworthy causes (environment, politics, etc.) However, not everyone is swayed by activism. While one person may be fully convinced that the fur industry is wrong after an encounter with flour or paint, another may decide to wear more fur, purely out of spite. Additionally, seeing a video on the horrors of factory farming might convince a large percentage of the population to go vegan, while others may be more influenced by learning the health hazards of what can be referred to as "a westernized diet." The point of this is purely marketing. From a realist perspective, many angles should be taken on the issues involving animal rights and dietary preferences. Keep PETA, PCRM, and all the other organizations which address different angles of animal rights. Keep the protests and activism that has brought so many people to the cause and raised awareness of these key issues. Continue discussing the big three reasons for going vegan: ethics, environment, health. All of these things are valuable marketing devises and important cogs in the machine of progression. Like these other concepts, Vegan Awesome is just one small part of it all; one small way to help people make kinder, healthier choices.

All vegans and vegetarians are displaying an alternate lifestyle to that of the average person, especially Americans. Whether we like it or not, we are flagships for our cause and we are viewed as such by our peers. For some reason, people spend a great deal of time noticing, discussing, and inquiring about food and the eating habits of others. We experience this at lunchtime with our coworkers, hearing voices of "what's that?" and "eeewww." We experience this in the grocery store when the checkout person has never heard of rice milk, scoffs at tofu, and gives you a puzzling look when you ask if something is made from organic sugar. We get to be the "difficult one" on trips and the black sheep of the family during holidays. No matter what we do, our simple dietary preferences and our kind lifestyle choices define the way we are seen by those around us. Much like a famous figure, we represent something larger than ourselves... at least to those around us.

When someone who doesn't know anything about the National Football League (NFL) hears the phrase football, oftentimes the first thing that comes to their head is Michael Vick and his horrible treatment of animals. Other people think of Pacman Jones and his famous strip club fight. Obviously, those who follow the sport don't isolate these two people, so they have a better opinion of the sport and probably of athletes as a whole. The same concept can be applied to vegans and vegetarians. For many of us, we are one of very few vegans that our peers know, and in some cases we are the only vegan in their life. Therefore, their impression of vegans and vegetarians tends to derive strictly from us and perhaps whenever PETA makes the news. This has led to an unfortunate brand of stereotyping and we all face an uphill battle meeting new omnivores because of it. Often we're seen as elitist, preachy, and just plain weird before we even get to know the people. This is the nature of humanity and we know this going into it.

So how can we get back to square one with the omnivores of the world? How can we let them know that not every vegan is extremely serious, preachy and angry all the time? How can we let them know that we are not as difficult or strange as they seem to think? The concept of Vegan Awesome is that if they change their opinions of the vegans and vegetarians that they know, then they'll gradually change their opinions of vegans and vegetarians as a whole.

Being Vegan Awesome is cognitively deciding that you are going to be a vegan, and you are going to show people how awesome being vegan is, purely by being awesome yourself. If you become "that awesome vegan" they know, then they'll have a better opinion of veganism in general. Once they form a better opinion of veganism as a whole, they'll be more open to incorporating vegan choices in their life. Maybe it's a big difference and someone will go veg. Maybe it's something more subtle like switching to rice milk or simply reducing their meat intake. I do believe though that by being Vegan Awesome, you'll have some impact (big or small) on those around you. And remember, good and healthy habits are "in" this year.