Wok It Out

Whip up a healthy, satisfying, tasty meal. I love making stir-frys because if you have a tasty marinade then you can put it on anything and end up with an interesting nutritious meal. When I have a lot of vegetables in the fridge from grocery shopping that are speaking to me but don’t seem to go together stir-frys are a good way to unite them. In the summer there is an amazing mushroom marinade that my grandparents get at a farmers market near them in Massachusetts; it has soy sauce, garlic, ginger and a bunch of other yummy things that are part of the secret recipe. Marinades are often sold in grocery stores, I like Asian inspired ones. It is also good to order extra sauce from a Chinese restaurant.

To make the stir-fry you want to have all the veggies chopped and ready to go before hand because it goes quick. Heat the pan, add oil evenly and saute any whole spices first; onion, garlic, ginger. Then start with the ingredients that take the most time; examples include tofu, seitan (gluten free product that has a texture similar to meat), and carrots. Then add remaining ingredients; sprouts, peppers, mushrooms, snow peas, really anything handy or that you like. All while continually stirring! Add sauce and spice in the last few minutes of cooking. Sesame oil is a great way to get asian flavor.

Once its done serve it warm with a big bowl of brown rice. Guaranteed to please and the leftovers make a great snack. Wok Out!

Lemme Tell You About It

This week I tried a Lemon Poppy Seed Scone recipe from  Hadassah magazine that was totally vegan. I really wanted to bake something and when I saw these were vegan I thought it would be fun to try. One of the main ingredients was coconut oil which was why it can be vegan and still have a rich taste and normal texture. Coconut oil comes as a white solid and melts into an oil at high temperatures. Coconut oil is really good on rice, instead of butter, and also in desserts.

 

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones
Makes 8 scones.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 TB baking powder
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 cup coconut oil, solidified slightly
Juice and zest of 1 large lemon
3 TBs poppy seeds
2 TBs chopped crystallized ginger
3/4 cup vanilla almond milk, plus more for brushing

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Pulse flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade.
2. Add the coconut oil and lemon zest; pulse until mixture is crumbly.
3. Transfer to a bowl and add lemon juice, poppy seeds, ginger and almond milk. Stir until just combined.
4. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and pat dough into a 9-inch circle. Using a floured knife, cut into 8 wedges, separating wedges slightly. Brush scones with almond milk. Bake until golden brown, 25-35 minutes.

My friend and I made some bad measurements and I’m still a little iffy on whether or not the coconut oil is supposed to be heated before added to the dry ingredients, it was not mixing well. We ended up adding water to make it mix better and then realized that  the result was supposed to be a “dough”, we had more of a batter so we poured it into a cupcake tray. To make them a little more flavorful we brushed it with a glaze when they came out of the oven that was just heated sugar and lemon juice. Yum. The glaze cooled and made it shiny. These were surprisingly good considering we had given up hope that they would be edible when we stared experimenting with proportions and added vanilla extract. Even my dad and brother liked them and they are not pro-vegan food. Success! Try them for yourself!

Vegan Health Benefits

Many believe that vegans can’t meet nutritional requirements and while some people have problems this is not because of the inability but because people don’t eat well rounded meals. Some have said that it is only possible to be a vegan for certain blood types and that only people from certain parts of the world can adapt to this way of eating. There are a lot of rumors and beliefs and while you might not become one I think that people should know the truth about vegetarians to end stereotypes and misinformed judgements! There are a lot of pluses to a vegan diet. For example if you are a healthy vegan and eat a well rounded amount of veggies and grains then you are more likely to have a good amount of required ones, even more so than a meat eater. It also aids in disease prevention as the foods are not injected with hormones and eating less meat is better for your cholesterol, blood pressure, and prevents diabetes, and other cardiovascular diseases.

I came across this article the other day and if you are interested in more about the benefits check out the article here

Have Your Own Veg-Ventures

There is a common belief that vegetarians and vegans have a monotonous, limited, universe of eating options. However there are a lot of  vegetarian dishes on every menu. Its a good idea to try them out. Try going to a restaurant, searching the menu and getting something you never have before. Any restaurant now a days has, if not a range, an option. Wok it out to a Chinese restaurant, try a new dish at an up and Cumin’ Indian restaurant or even beans rice and everything nice at a Mexican one. 

The next time you go out to eat you might start to notice them. 

Ask Away

Asking questions is key when eating out. I know from experience. When I was just starting out as a vegetarian and I still ate fish I ordered a meal of salmon and quinoa at a restaurant in Cape Cod. At this point I wasn’t vegan, I ate dairy and eggs and fish because Cape Cod is all about fish and I figured that  I didn’t want to miss out because I don’t go often. After I had been enjoying my fish for awhile I had a strange feeling about the food, I had been enjoying the quinoa a little too much. I asked the server what was in it but I should have asked before I had eaten half of it because it turns out it had been cooked in chicken broth. I was horrified and actually cried. This was still in the beginning, it might have been my second month of vegetarianism and the first time I had slipped up. I felt like I had really let myself down and I got really worked up. I was determined not to let this be my downfall though and just returned to my usual routine of being a pescetarian. Today there are a lot of traps on menus in places you wouldn’t expect. For example, after this I was really upset but determined not to let it happen again, it hadn’t been a voluntary decision to eat the meat and so I made sure to ask servers from then on. There were several times when I had to switch things I would order for example when vegetable lasagna is cooked with chicken broth. Servers are fine with questions, there are a lot of specific dietary restrictions such as gluten free, lactose and tolerance and other allergies these days so I’ve learned its better to ask.

 

…And Thats A Wrap

This week I’ve been experimenting with wraps because they seem like they’re easy to take for lunch and I love a lot of things in wraps as it is, like falafels and burritos. This wrap was inspired by one that I really like from a place called “Ripe”.

I call it, well actually I usually don’t call it anything because its the only one I make. Its “the” wrap. The technique of actually wrapping the wrap is hard to master and the ratios are up to you. There are a lot of wraps out there to experiment with, like spinach, tomato or anything that looks interesting or you have at home. The filling of the wrap consists of…

-Avacado

-Black Beans

-Brown Rice

-Red Peppers (marinated in teriyaki sauce)   and

-A little low sodium teriyaki sauce

Place contents in the center of the wrap and roll it up. Wrap in tin foil and put it in the fridge for lunch…or eat it right away. And thats a wrap!

And Thats a Wrap

Becoming a Vegetarian doesn’t have to be a MissedSteak

Where do you stand on vegetarianism? There are some people who eat meat because it is programmed into them, they were raised as meat eaters and don’t think about changing to vegetarianism for a second. Of these some are set against it and others just haven’t thought about it. For example some people have said to me, “I think that some people are meant to eat meat, its part of their blood type while other people depending on where they live have developed in a different way and for them its fine to be a vegetarian but if I were to do it it would be going against my blood type and I just wouldn’t ever do it.” Where do you stand on the belief of ever converting, or that it isn’t natural for some people?

No Bones About It, You Must Take This Survey!!

I have collaborated with Isaac Farciert to come up with a survey. It would be great if you could fill it out so I can know what people would like to be reading and what you know etc. Thank you!

Would’ve Been, Could’ve Been, Should Have Beans

Growing up in public school, in phys-ed children are familiarised with a food pyramid. From an early age children are informed that dairy and meat play an important part in your food pyramid but when you shift to vegetarianism, and then again to veganism your ratios and staples shift. This can be seen when comparing a vegetarian food pyramid to a normal one. Grains are the basis of the pyramid, mainly whole unprocessed ones, and this is because they have a lot of fiber and important vitamins and keep you full. Grains should make up a large portion of what you eat.  Some examples of recommended grains include quinoa, wheat germ, whole wheat noodles, and couscous.

                 You are what you eat, vegetarians should eat vegetables. When deciding what vegetables to eat its important to vary raw and cooked ones to keep things interesting and also for your body to make sure you are not always eating the same things. Vegetables like leafy greens such as collards and spinach are chock full of nutrients. Each green is a little different. Have fun experimenting with your vegetables.

                 As simple as it may sound whole foods, foods that aren’t processed and have nothing added, are important in everyones diet. Beans and alternatives like tofu are important for protein and calcium, the same goes for dairy substitutes once you have cut out meat. Tofu is the chameleon of soy products, its cooked in a lot of ways and comes in many textures. Try substituting your favorite Chinese chicken dish with tofu. For example if you usually like sesame chicken try sesame tofu. The texture may be different but the flavor is really good because tofu can change depending on what sauce. Would have been, could have been, should have beans. (pun intended).

                                                                                                                     Other 

Vitamins*

 Dairy Alt.**      Beans**

Vegetables                 Fruits

G        R        A        I       N       S

*Omega 3’s and Vitamin B12 and D-these are hard to get from foods

**And other fortified alternatives