Oh Boy!

So, I visited a few websites today looking for ingredients that contain animal by-products, and let me tell you - there are a LOT of them.  Some of them I was aware of, but there are many that I was not.  Such as Casein.  This is the description from the PETA website:  

Casein.  Caseinate.  Sodium Caseinate.

Milk protein.  In "nondairy" creamers, soy cheese, many cosmetics, hair preparations, beauty masks.  Alternatives:  soy protein, soy milk, and other vegetable milks.

SOY cheese?  I didn't even think to check the ingredients in soy cheese to see if they contained an animal by-product!  I mean, after all, if you're going to make something nondairy, why would you still put a milk protein it?!?

Needless to say, I have a LOT of research to do.  I am aware of certain things Vegans do not eat or use, such as honey and bees wax, silk and cashmere, but there are a whole lot of them that I wasn't.  This may be a little harder than I anticipated to learn and incorporate one thing into my new lifestyle each week, but I am committed.  I will continue to read up on it, do some research, and share what I find with you.

We can do this.  Especially if we're doing it together.  It may take some time but like I've said before, this isn't a contest so we can take our time.  Which is good, because there is a LOT to learn.  

This Week's Recipe - Dec 2 - 8

“No Beef” Stroganoff

Serves 4 – 6

INGREDIENTS:

1 bag Gardein Beefless Tips

1/2 bag or 8 oz. egg noodles, cooked to package directions

1 can Campbell’s mushroom gravy

½ envelope onion soup mix
1 pkg cremini mushrooms, sliced
½ small yellow onion, diced
½ cube vegetarian “beef” flavored bouillon
¼ cup dry red wine (merlot works well)
¼ cup vegetable broth (or more depending on desired sauce consistency)
2 Tbsp vegetable or olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. 

2.  Add onion and beefless tips; sauté until tips are thawed and beginning to brown, and onions are tender.

3.  Add wine to deglaze the pan. 

4.  Add mushroom gravy, onion soup mix, broth and bouillon.  Stir to combine. 

5.  Add mushrooms, salt and pepper.  Cook until sauce thickens to desired consistency. 

6.  Add egg noodles and stir to coat.

7.  Serve immediately.  (Depending on portion size and what sides you serve this with, it will give you between 4 and 6 servings.)

Success!!!

Oh, I am just so happy with myself right now!  I had bought a can of mushroom gravy for Thanksgiving because I couldn't find my favorite vegetarian "turk'y" gravy.  But when it arrived, the picture on the outside of the can suggested that this was a really dark colored gravy, and that was not what I wanted for my Thanksgiving turk'y roast.  So I put it away in my cabinet and made my own mushroom gravy, which turned out fine.

So I was trying to decide how I was going to use this dark mushroom gravy, and I decided to make a "no-beef" stroganoff.  I thought about what ingredients I wanted to use, gathered them all together and I made it for dinner tonight.  It was a HUGE success!  My parents and I ate it together, and they absolutely loved it.  It had such a great, rich "beefy" flavor and was truly delicious.  I would even go so far as to say that you might just be able to sneak this one onto the plate of a carnivore and they wouldn't even know it didn't contain any meat.  

I took some pictures and am working on writing up the recipe.  I will be posting it here as this coming week's recipe tomorrow.  I hope you will give it a try.  It is really simple and quick to make, and could easily be made for a mid-week meal without a lot of work.  But it's special enough that it could also be served for an intimate weekend dinner with a few friends.

So I am off to write the recipe for you.  I hope you all have had a terrific week, and enjoy your Friday tomorrow!  Bring on the weekend!

Where I'm Aware

I find that the further I travel along the road to becoming fully vegan, the easier and easier it gets.  I become more aware of everything I use, and what ingredients they contain.  I have been noticing a lot of ingredients listed with vague titles such as "caramel color" and "natural and/or artificial flavoring".  What ARE those?  Because caramel color could certainly contain meat products, and so could flavoring.  I realize that I have a LOT of research and education ahead of me.  

I am trying to think of a way to tackle learning and memorizing all the "tools" I will need moving forward, and what will be the best way to do this.  One approach I was considering is making a project out of it.  I will research and learn one new tidbit of knowledge each week about the vegan lifestyle and diet, and share them here with you.  Then I will spend that week making sure I follow and adapt it into my daily routine.  I will post about my successes and failures, and what I find to be the easiest way to incorporate it into real life.  Hopefully we'll be able to increase our awareness together, and assist each other in ways we can be more successful in our choices.  

Have any of you done a lot of research?  Have you been a vegan for a while now?  Do you have any helpful hints you'd like to share with us?  We're all in this together.  If we're already eating a vegetarian or vegan diet, or just considering it, we're all on the same path.  We're just at different points along the road.  It's not a contest, there is no prize for making progress faster than anyone else.  There is no "finish line" to cross.  This is a lifestyle change, which means it is something you have to commit to each and every day of your life.  So if you're making progress slower than someone else you know, don't become discouraged.  It's not about being perfect, it's about being aware and making choices.  If you stumble one day, don't beat yourself up.  Just get back up, dust yourself off, and begin again.  If you truly want to make the change, you'll succeed.  But you'll do it in your own time, at your own pace.

When I first decided to become a vegetarian, I would really beat myself up when I made a mistake and had something that contained some sort of meat product.  Even if it was completely unintentional.  Then I realized that there is no scoring system, I'm not being graded here.  I'm just making decisions and choices for myself and my life.  I actually had a moment of weakness a while back and thought I would eat some buffalo chicken wings, because I used to eat them all the time.  I just had this overwhelming urge to eat a few of them, so I did.  And you know what happened?  My body did NOT like it.  I didn't feel good for a day and half after eating them.  But you know what DIDN'T happen?  The vegetarian police didn't show up at my door to take away my veg badge either!  The world didn't stop spinning or come to an end.  It was just a stumble, that's all.  So I moved on.  

I hope you're becoming more aware of the choices you make each day regarding your body and your diet, and I hope that you'll be successful in making the necessary changes so that you'll be happy and at peace with yourself.  Have a great Wednesday everyone!

P.S.  I know I'm late posting this week's recipe, but with all the Thanksgiving leftovers and a couple days of eating lighter meals to recover from the "feast of days", I haven't really cooked anything worth posting, but I will be this week.  I may just post a new recipe on Sunday, and begin weekly again from there.  Hope you don't mind. ;) 

Noodles and Cabbage and Chili, Oh My!

Now that we are past the Thanksgiving holiday, I've been thinking of new and delicious recipes to try.  One of which was a crispy cabbage salad, with green and purple cabbage, onions, and carrots.  Now you may be thinking "cole slaw", but this is not made with a creamy dressing, this is tossed in an olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper dressing.  It keeps it very light and crispy, and it's really very delicious.  

You can adjust the amount of oil, vinegar and seasonings to your own taste, or add any additional that you like.  I made mine with 1/3 cup olive oil; 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar; 1 garlic clove, minced; salt and pepper, to taste; 1 carrot, shredded; 1/2 onion, sliced thin; and 1/2 small head of each cabbage, sliced thin.  I whisked the dressing together, then tossed the vegetables in the bowl, covered and refrigerated for about an hour.  Pretty tasty, if I do say so myself.  

And since the weather is turning colder now, I've really been wanting to make a nice big pot of vegan chili.  I'm also going to make a vegan 'no-beef' stroganoff, and some cheddar broccoli quinoa.  I'm going to make large amounts of both so that we can eat the left-overs during the week, too.  It's always nice when you can take a couple nights off during the week and not have to cook a meal.  

I do have to say, I'm really having fun seeing how many of my tried and true vegetarian recipes I can now adjust to vegan.   It's not as hard as I thought.  As I learn how to swap things out, which vegan items I need to use, and what brands I prefer, it becomes easier and easier to make the adjustments.  

I love to cook, and I love to experiment with new ingredients in the kitchen.  I will, however, try to keep my recipes very easy so that anyone can make them without difficulty.  If there is ever something that requires a little more detail, I will do my best to break it down for you.  And of course, you can always comment with any questions you may have.

Now, I'm going to go have some delicious cabbage salad and an open-faced tomato and vegan cheese sandwich.  I hope you have a great Monday and a relaxing beginning to your week!