Thinking of Going Veg? Start Here!

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Let's Go Veg!

Ok. So you have heard all the reports about eating a vegan diet. You have heard that it's a healthier way of eating. You have heard that vegans are much less prone to degenerative diseases. You have heard that osteoporosis is almost unknown in societies where a vegan diet is the norm. You have heard about how animals that are raised in factory farms to be sold as meat or chickens who lay eggs and cows who give milk are kept in very cruel and cramped conditions. You have heard of all the ecological problems that are caused by the raising of animals for food. So, you finally decided that, to be your healthiest and to be a good citizen of the world, going vegan goes a long way.

But you are used to the standard American diet. That's the diet I call the "McDonald's Egg McMuffin for breakfast, Burger King Whopper for lunch and Kentucky Fried Chicken for supper" diet. Or you have been raised on the home cooked pot roast and potatoes (the old "meat and potatoes") standards. How do you shift over without feeling deprived?

My Vegetarian Odyssey

As of 2014, I've been a vegetarian now for over 35 years. And I've been a vegan for around 25 years. Needless to say, I developed some "tricks". I personally love to cook, but only when I'm in the mood. I also like to have some easy quick recipes to throw together.

First of all, I (like most vegetarians I have met) didn't become a vegetarian because I don't like meat. I happen to love meat. When I was a teenager, my family used to call me the chicken hawk (after the little guy in the Foghorn Leghorn cartoons) because I loved chicken (dark meat) so much. When I was in high school, I got home from school late and didn't usually get home until 6-7 pm -- by which time, my younger siblings and my parents had already eaten. So I would take a bottom quarter of a chicken, throw it in the oven, and that was supper most of the time. I still haven't found anything that tastes like a broiled rib steak or pastrami or corn beef (believe me, I've tried!). And when I became vegan, there went ice cream and milk chocolate (another two of my favorite foods).

What do vegetarians eat?

Fortunately, there are so many vegan substitutes these days for non-vegan food. Having grown up in a kosher home (where meat and dairy are not mixed together), the first time I ever had a cheeseburger was after I became a vegetarian (soy burger and dairy cheese at that point). Now, I have cheeseburgers (soy burger, vegan soy cheese) with a couple of strips of soy bacon (pig products aren't kosher at all, so I never tasted bacon that wasn't of a soy origin). My milk is made from rice or soy or nuts. My meat is made from soy and wheat gluten. My cheese is made from soy. My butter is non-hydrogenated and made from soy and vegetable gums. I use pumpkin, flax seeds, apple sauce, and sometimes rice milk or mashed potatoes to substitute for eggs and/or shortening. Oh, and by the way, since I became vegetarian, I have lost about 80 pounds (granted, that is 30 years of weight loss, but, heck, a weight loss is a weight loss), my blood pressure (which in my 20s was high normal) dropped (to currently normal), my cholesterol dropped. I have a feeling if I hadn't become vegetarian and then vegan I probably would have had a stroke before I was 40.

I know a lot of people just want to stick with their comfort food, and that's ok. (If you have a recipe for a comfort food that you'd like to have me convert, feel free to write a request as a comment and I will try to incorporate your recipe into a future lens). Another good place to get recipes to adjust is women's magazines.

To "Veg" or not to "Veg"? That is the question

Now that you have decided to take the plunge, I will give you some advice on substituting. I have managed to make recipes that contain meat, chicken, dairy, etc. into vegan recipes. I'll start off by giving you an example.

Changing your Comfort Foods

Having a Vegetarian Substitute for your Comfort Foods goes a long way Towards Making the Changeover Successfully

When I was young, my mother used to make a casserole that I loved. It is similar to shepherd's pie. It had mashed potatoes on the bottom, then peas and carrots, then chopped meat, then it had egg noodles on top. I decided that this would be easy to make, so I started with the mashed potatoes on the bottom. My Mom used canned peas and carrots, I decided to use frozen peas (less salt and sugar) and fresh carrots. I diced up a couple of carrots into small cubes and added a bag of frozen peas (I try to use organically grown vegetables and fruit as much as I can). I'd kind of mix the peas and carrot together, then put them in the casserole dish on top of the mashed potatoes. Then I added a layer of fake chopped meat (Green Giant makes a good one. It's called "Harvest Burger" and it is fat free and comes frozen in a zip bag that you can reseal and put back in the freezer when you are done). I then added egg free noodles (DeBoles makes very good egg free noodles. They have a Jerusalem artichoke variety and a whole wheat variety. I prefer the whole wheat variety, but it's harder to find in the stores. I have also found a number of other substitutes Tofu noodles (low in calories) and mung bean "fettuccine" noodles.) on top of it all. I put the whole thing in a medium oven and bake it until all the ingredients are heated and the noodles are crispy (but not scorched).

In my travels, I have found rice,soy and nut "milk" (I use unsweetened almond milk). I use tofu instead of soft cheeses or for smooth desserts and creamy sauces and dressings. There are many soy based meats. Besides the "chopped meat" I used in the above recipe, I have found "beef" chunks, "chicken" chunks, "chicken" nuggets, etc. I also found that tempeh is a good substitute for chicken and fish chunks in salads and the like. (Tempeh is a soy based food that comes in slabs and you can find in most health food stores.) I have found soy "bacon", soy "cheese" (mozzarella and cheddar varieties are common). Soy or rice based "ice cream" is also very easy to find (there are many different versions, flavors, varieties, etc.)

Another recipe

Vegetarian "Tuna" Salad with Chick Peas

So, I guess you are interested in another quick recipe, right? Ok, how many of you out there like tuna salad? I use the same ingredients with chick peas instead of tuna. The chick peas are better if they are firm than in they are mushy (you can buy firmer chick peas in specialty kosher supermarkets, middle eastern stores, or health food stores or you can make your own firmer chick peas from dried chick peas). You mash up the chick peas with a fork.

Add whatever you like; I have put in diced celery, chopped or sliced olives, scallions, onion and/or garlic (raw or sauteed a bit), chopped greens (baby spinach, kale, romaine lettuce, etc.), diced pickles (I like dill pickles), mayonnaise (there are many vegan mayonnaise brands on the market) or olive oil, and many other ingredients. Try your own favorite ingredients. This salad tastes great on whole grain bread or toast (with or without a smear of your favorite mustard and/or a leaf of red leaf lettuce).

Compugraph Designs' Printfection Store

In addition to our Cafe Press and Zazzle sites (see modules above), we also have a store on "Printfection" which includes cutting boards (good wedding or housewarming gifts), mugs and cups, tees, etc.

This canvas bag is only one of several Vegetarian themed items at our store:

Compugraphd Printfection site

(Click on the picture to go directly to this product's page)

Vegetarian Themed products from Compugraph Designs on Zazzle

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Vegetables Mug

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Eat a Good Breakfast Neck Tie

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Vegetarian Recipe Binder

Fettuccine Alfredo Healthy Vegan Redux

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Recipe Redux a la Vegan

I was an inveterate meat eater when I was young. When I was in high school, I often came home late and would make supper by tossing a bottom quarter of chicken in the over and bake a potato. Not exactly healthy (particularly since I ate a lot of candy and other junk during the day), was it?

Enter Recipe Redux

When I decided that it was time to start eating healthier vegetarian fare (in my ovo-lacto days), I started off with redoing the meat and chicken recipes I had grown up on. I did several different versions of my Mom's Shepherd's Pie, one with mashed potatoes on the bottom, then peas and carrots (I used to use frozen peas and I'd dice some carrots), then fake meat, then noodles on top (whole grain way back then -- I can't eat wheat anymore).

Fast Forward a number of years, I had a cookbook from vegan Chef [then] Brother Ron Pickarski (see below). He had a recipe for a stroganoff wherein the "sour cream" was made from cauliflower.

Fast forward to a few months ago. I decided I'd like to add more cauliflower to my diet. I always liove cauliflower and our local Shop-Rite started expanding their organic produce section and cauliflower is one of the items they usually have in the organic section.

I started creating cauliflower sauces (I have a couple versions up on line here on squidoo and on my vegan recipe blog).

Vegan "Fettucine Alfredo"

Thanks to Mung Bean Noodles (because I can't eat wheat), I can make an easy dish. The sauce is the hardest part (the noodles only have to be left in boiling water until they are soft

• Serves: 4
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Ingredients

• 1 Head Cauliflower
• 1 bunch scallions
• sliced up as high as you can go
• 4-7 cloves garlic
• minced and left to sit for 30 minutes
• mushrooms
• mixed varieties (fresh
• frozen or dehydrated)
• chopped greens
• 2-4 Tablespoons tahini (or to taste)
• your choice of spices
• any other vegetables
• steamed or sauteed
• almond "milk" as needed
• 1 bag mung bean fetuccine noodles

Instructions

1. Steam the cauliflower (and any other vegetables you are steaming -- I often use sweet potato to add some sweetness to the sauce) until very soft. Let cool. While the cauliflower is steaming, sautee the other veggies (adding the garlic only after 30 minutes have passed).
2. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth, adding almond "milk" as needed to get the mixture moving.
3. When you remove the steamed veggies from their basket, take the steaming water and add enough water to cover the noodles -- boil the water, turn off the heat and add the noodles. Leave the noodles in the water until they are at your desired softness (I like a bit al dente). Strain the noodles and mix them with the sauce. Warm up if needed before serving.

"Creamy" Cauliflower Sauce

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Low Fat, Low Calorie, High Antioxidant "Creamy" Cauliflower Sauce

If you like creamy sauces, but can't eat dairy or need to keep your saturated fat consumption low, cauliflower can't be beat. Cauliflower is white and, when steamed and pureed and added to other ingredients, cauliflower can be part of a very healthy creamy sauce, good for pasta (whole grain, bean-based or Shirataki -- tofu based), sandwiches (veggie burgers, for example) or even on other vegetables.

Recipe for Cauliflower Sauce

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Ingredients

• 1 Head Cauliflower steamed
• 1-2 tablespoons Tahini
• Almond "milk" or soy "yogurt" as needed for consistency
• Sauteed Vegetables:
• any combination of onions
• shallots scallions
• garlic -- mushrooms
• something green (spinach kale
• eg) -- etc.
• Turmeric (3/4 teaspoon or to taste)
• Coriander (3/4 teaspoon or to taste)
• Cumin (1/4 teaspoon or to taste)
• 1 large can pitted black olives drained (optional)

Instructions

1. Saute the vegetables (in olive oil) and add the spices when they are almost cooked through. Cooking the veggies with the spices helps the spice mellow and blend with the other flavors. Take the cauliflower and put it in a food processor. Add Tahini and olives (if using) and the vegetables. Puree the mixture until it's well homogenized. That's it.
2. If you are using this for pasta, cook the pasta according to the package directions (the pasta pictured, has a lot of protein and is available below). Mix in liberal amounts of the sauce (it's healthy, so enjoy!)
3. You can also use this on sandwiches instead of mayo or on vegetables (like broccoli or asparagus, for example).

Use the Cauliflower Sauce as Salad Dressing

Over the summer, I eat more salads more often than I do in the winter. Lately, I make a salad with cucumbers, avocado, carrots, a nectarine or peach and a large can of black olives. I use either one large cucumber or 2 Kirby cucumbers, 1 avocado, 2-3 small carrots or 1-2 large carrots, 1 nectarine or peach. I dice the cucumber(s), avocado and nectarine or peach, cut the carrots lengthwise, then slice thinly, and, either take the olive as they are after draining, or, if I have the time, slice the olives (3 slices per small olive). Then, I put them in a bowl, spray olive oil on the veggies, and add balsamic vinegar (a splash or two) and a large spoonful or two of the cauliflower sauce. I mix this all together. The cauliflower sauce sort of gives the salad a creaminess without added fat.

Vegan Pumpkin Pudding

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For Vegans --

I've been a vegan for a long time and I LOVE Pumpkin -- here is one of my recipes.

I had originally used this recipe (which I created on my own, but with input from other recipes) for pumpkin pie, but making a healthy vegan crust (as in without hydrogenated vegetable shortening or saturated fats) was problematic. The crust I used to put this in was created with a healthy nugget type cereal and frozen apple juice concentrate, pulsed together only until it holds together, spread it on the bottom of a pie pan and bake it for a few minutes, just until it's solid. Then pour the pudding in and bake until firm (as with the pudding).

Easy, Quick Vegan Pumpkin Pudding Recipe

This is a very quick recipe: Take out your food processor or blender. Take a can of Pumpkin Puree. You also need a container of Tofu, stevia to taste, pumpkin pie spice, and Vanilla Almond "milk". Take the Pumpkin Puree, the Tofu,1/2 to 1 cup of Almond "Milk", the stevia, and a teaspoon or two of pumpkin pie spice and put it all in the food processor. Process until it's well blended and smooth. (You can taste this before you bake it and adjust as needed)

Pour the mixture into a pan and bake it at 245 degrees for about an hour or until firm. Let the pudding cool and stir with a spoon and put in a container and into the refrigerator.

This also makes a good pie filling.

Do you like this recipe?

Let me know (in the comments section) if you try out this recipe and if you like it. Did you make any changes to the recipe that others might like?

Compugraph Designs' Printfection Store

In addition to our Cafe Press and Zazzle sites we also have a store on "Printfection" which includes cutting boards (good wedding or housewarming gifts), mugs and cups, tees, etc.

This apron only one of several witch themed items at our store:

Compugraphd Printfection site

(Click on the picture to go directly to this product's page)

Vegetable Themed Designs from Compugraph Designs Zazzle

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Vegetarian Recipe Binder

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Vegetables on Parade Mug

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Vegetables on Parade Case

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Breakfast Recipe Binder

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Go Vegan Vegetarian Stationery

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Vegetarian Thanksgiving Apron

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Parve Passover Magnet

A Sugar-Free Vegan Ice Cream Like Dessert

I'm an Ice Cream Freak

I'm an Ice Cream Freak, but when I became a vegan I had to find a substitute. There are many non-dairy ice cream substitutes on the market (since my Mom found out she was dairy-sensitive I've been buying them for her), but when my old diabetes diagnosis (pre-vegetarianism) reared its ugly head, I couldn't eat those either (they are all sweetened with some sort of sugar, whether it's honey or rice syrup or even agave nectar -- which is ok for most diabetics -- I can't eat them).

Enter Dr. Oz and his daily TV program. On one of his programs, he mentioned a product called "Yonanas", which makes an ice cream like dessert with frozen fruit, mainly bananas. I started freezing bananas that very day, knowing that I would one day buy this machine.

I eventually sat down and ordered the "Yonanas" from Amazon.

Strawberry and Bananas Frozen Dessert

For the most part, the fruit you use to make the dessert is sweet enough that no added sweetener is needed. But, if you find that you want it sweeter, it is probably best to add a powdered sweetener since syrups may be hard to stir when poured on the frozen dessert.

Peel the bananas before you freeze them (I use a freezer bag and I label it with the date) -- it's hard to peel them after they are frozen. It's also easier to break the bananas in half when you freeze them.

If you look in the frozen fruit section of your supermarket, you will probably notice lots of choices. Pre-frozen fruit makes this process easier.

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Ingredients

• 3 Frozen Bananas (6 half bananas)
• 1 bag frozen strawberries

Instructions

1. Put the ingredients in a bowl to all them to defrost a bit (I find that 5-10 minutes is best). Feed them through the "Yonanas" machine into a bowl, turning the bowl as the mixture fills in on one side. (It is best to alternate bananas and other fruit, beginning and ending with a banana piece).
2. When all the fruit is processed, blend the mixture with a strong spoon. Serve immediately or freeze for future use (the texture is a bit grainier when it's frozen and you will probably need to let it sit to soften).

Make your own recipe

It is easy to come up with your own recipe. After making the strawberry version, I discovered that I have a mild strawberry allergy. So I started buying bags and bags of frozen peaches and now I use a bag of peaches to make the easy quick version.

I also buy frozen blueberries, though they don't process as smoothly as larger fruit. I also freeze my own nectarines, pears, apples, plums and mango (I prefer the taste of fresh mango frozen to the store bought frozen mango).

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Ingredients

• 3 frozen bananas (6 halves)
• about 1-2 cups of your choice of other frozen fruit

Instructions

Let the fruit sit and defrost for 5-10 minutes. Process using the "Yonanas" machine, into a bowl, turning the bowl as needed. Blend the mixture with a strong spoon. Serve immediately or freeze for later.

Compugraph Designs' Shop on Spoonflower

Spoonflower features custom designed fabric. Click on the picture to see Compugraph Designs' Spoonflower fabric shop.

Fruit Themed Products from Compugraph Designs on Zazzle

Compugraph Designs' Zazzle store has many products that we put fruit themed designs on. Click on the picture for some of those products.

More Fruit and More Flavor

Today, July 18, 2012, I tried an experiment. I made some yonanas with just 6 pieces (1/2) frozen bananas (3 whole bananas), and about 1/3 bag of frozen peaches to make Yonanas. I then took a large (mixing) spoonful of Compote, and put the compote on the Yonanas. It was delicious. It was like having a fruit sauce on soft-serve ice cream, but with no ingredients other than fruit (and a bit of stevia and spices). (In this batch of compote, which is more or less different every week, I used a piece of sugar free dried papaya, snipped into small pieces, an apple, a pear, three fresh apricots, a nectarine, 1/2 fresh mango, some stevia to taste, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon -- and, when it cook a bit, I added a bag of frozen blueberries.)

Give it a try -- I was amazed at how delicious it was.

Picture of the Fruit I put into the Yonanas

Someone, in the comment section, asked for a picture of what the Yonanas vegan banana dessert looks like, so I have two pictures here that I took when I made some to put away for Shabbat (the Sabbath). The first picture is the frozen fruit I put in (bananas -- which I freeze myself, peaches, cherries and cranberries -- which I buy already frozen, and some apricots, which I freeze myself). The second picture is what came out after processing all that fruit and spoon blending it a bit.

Picture of the Dessert that came out of the Yonanas after Processing

Fruit Themed Designs from Compugraph Designs on Zazzle
Here are four samples of products with fruit themes available at the Compugraph Designs Zazzle Store:

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Tu BiShvat Seder Tie

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Citrus Fruit Canvas Bag

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\"Pineapple Slice\" Tie

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\"Veggie and Grapes\" Tie

Chocolate "Chip" Pancakes

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So I was wondering what to eat tonight and I decided that I was going to try pancakes. So I took:

1/4 cup each oat flour and buckwheat flour
1/8 teaspoon salt (I only put that in because I need sodium, so it's optional)
1 teaspoon powdered maca (optional, but it enhances the chocolate taste)
Stevia to taste (I use a powder and used about 1/8 teaspoon)
1/4 cup (heaping) cacao nibs

and put it all in a small bowl. I stirred them around with a dry spoon. Then I took:

1/4 cup (heaping) walnuts
1 cup almond "milk"

and put them in a smoothy machine and whirred them together. The nuts were still a bit chunky. Then I blended the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients.

I used my electric grill to cook them. I sprayed olive oil on the grill, dropped the batter (two heaping tablespoons per pancake) onto the grill. (My grill fit two pancakes.) They cook in about 10-15 minutes -- I haven't had any burn and they didn't stick to the grill.

If you like, you can put syrup of a sort (maple, agave, etc.) on the pancakes; I ate them as is and they were delicious.

Spinach for Breakfast?

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I realize that very few (if any?) of you are on the restricted diet I'm on right now. First of all, I'm a vegan (as a reminder, that means I don't eat meat, chicken, fish, dairy or eggs). Secondly, I'm diabetic, so I don't eat any sugar (including agave nectar) or white flour products. Thirdly, my body is sensitive to wheat and rice. Fourthly, I recently developed an allergy to strawberries, one of my top 5 favorite fruits. Fifthly, right now, I am in the middle of six weeks without any grain (well, I am eating breads made out of whole rye with a bit of spelt, but not every day -- I'll explain why later one).

So, in any case, I have also been working on adding more dark green leafies to my diet. I have been making baby spinach and/or baby kale based salads and adding spinach and kale to my sauteed veggies. The biggest issue with eating leafy greens is keeping enough in the house (there isn't a lot of room in the refrigerators in our house, so I often have to buy more 2-3 times a week).

I have been working on my breakfast for a while. Firstly, I heard that I should eat more protein for breakfast (like 25-30 or more grams of protein for breakfast). Enter Mung Bean Fettucine -- a serving has 20 - 25 grams of protein. I've been eating the Mung Bean Noodles for breakfast for a while. But I want to get some leafy greens in.

This is what I ended up with as my breakfast goes like this: I take my blender (smoothie machine), add 1 cup almond "milk", I add a couple of handfuls of spinach and/or kale, 2 Tablespoons of nut "flour" (meal) -- I've used both almond and hazelnut, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon ginger. I sometimes add a handful of raw cashews and I try to put in 1/8 teaspoon of pink (himalayan mountain) salt (I need the extra sodium). I whirr it all together and pour it into a pot. I start heating it up and then I add 1/4 bag of the Mung Bean Fettucine. I cook it until the noodles are soft, then I cover the pot and let it sit a few minutes.

When I put it in the bowl, I add 2-4 Tablespoons chia seed (or hemp seed). This adds another 6-12 grams of protein in addition to the omega-3 fatty acids it contains. I also put in 1/8-1/4 of a teaspoon stevia (find the amount of your favorite sweetener) and, if it's not too liquidy, I add some more almond "milk". I love this and it's healthy and nutritious.

As for the Rye, there was a study I read about in Dr Mark Hyman's book, The Blood Sugar Solution , that a study was done on male diabetics where they either ate all their carbohydrates from rye or they ate all their carbohydrates from wheat, oats and potatoes. The former group did much better, blood sugar wise, over the course of the study than the latter group. I found an on-line version of this study -- Rye vs Wheat, Oats, and Potatoes: How Different Carbohydrate Types Affect Your Body