Good Vegan Reads

There are a few books that I have come to rely on in my vegan transition.  There are plenty of books out there, including several that I hope to one day read.  But here are two that I can't live without!

1. Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook.  This was the first book I bought when I decided to become vegetarian.  I bought a used copy at our local bookstore.  What I really like about it is that the first 100+ pages talk about vegetarian diets in general, meal planning, and other useful information.  When they finally get to the recipes, they don't skimp.  They offer several categories, from a chapter focused solely on "Vegetable Main Dishes" to another that deals with Legumes.  They talk about side dishes and entrees, desserts and soups.  There are almost 400 pages of recipes, and I haven't even begun to try all the ones that sound appealing.  Even if I had bought this book new and paid full price, it would have been worth the investment.
2. Living Vegan for Dummies by Alexandra Jamieson.  If you ever saw Super Size Me, you "met" Alex Jamieson, who was--at the time--Morgan Spurlock's vegan girlfriend.  She wrote a book called The Great American Detox Diet based on the diet she put Spurlock on after he nearly killed himself on Mickey D's and has since become a respected chef and nutrition expert.  Anyway, this new Dummies book came out recently and has helped me with more information regarding vegan nutrition and the like.  I'm learning more about foods I'd like to explore, like seitan, and I always appreciate new recipes!

There are plenty of sources online for anyone wanting to learn more, but I've always been a book person.  I haven't mastered curling up in bed with a Kindle, so I'll continue buying books. :)  If you like books too, these are just a couple I recommend if you're considering going vegan all the way!

Easing into Vegan Eating, Part 2

So...let's say you've decided for sure you want to become vegetarian or vegan or maybe even just want to incorporate more vegetarian dishes into your life.  Or maybe you're wanting to become vegetarian on some level but the rest of your family is resistant...and maybe you're the cook in the family or at least one of them.  What are some things you can do to ease into the vegetarian lifestyle?  Here are a few things that I did along the way:

1. Have a salad with every meal.  A lot of families already do this and if you do, I congratulate you!  It's a great way to incorporate fiber and phytonutrients in your diet.  Salads don't have to be boring.  There are so many lettuces out there as well as tons of raw veggies just waiting to be chopped up!  And dressings...that's where I really enjoy experimenting.  If you can, avoid conventional bottled dressings--they're full of horrible additives, things like high fructose corn syrup and other sugars as well as a host of preservatives.  You can even make your own croutons with bread, olive oil, and seasonings, toasted in the oven.
2. If you can't get rid of the meat on the plate, at least make it smaller.  Nutrition experts say that a serving size of meat is about the size of a deck of cards.  So make sure it's no bigger than that.  Make the rest of the plate veggies!
3. Do you (or your family) have a favorite vegetable or fruit?  Find ways to incorporate that veggie in a lot of your meals.  For example, if the family can't get enough yams, don't wait until the holidays to eat them!  Thanks to the internet, you can search and find dozens of recipes online in no time flat.  Do a search for your veggie--for example, search for "yam recipes."  Try a new one every week.  Hang on to the ones that make everyone gobble it all up.  Who needs meat when the veggies taste so delicious?
4. Plan to make one meatless meal a week.  Even most hard-core meat eaters have one or two meatless entrees they enjoy.  So take advantage of that.  If the family likes broccoli and cheese casserole, then make it more often!
5. Find ways to convert old favorites.  Here's where the fun comes in.  If you like experimenting in the kitchen, see what you can do with some of your old favorites.  Maybe you had a dish that was made with ground beef.  Why not try making it once with Boca crumbles?  See what the family thinks.  With the right spices and other ingredients, they might not even figure out what's missing!

If becoming vegan is your ultimate goal, then keep trying.  No one's perfect!  But if you want to be vegan, you can do it!  My final recommendation is to find websites and books that give more information on vegan nutrition and offer tons of mouth-watering recipes.

Easing into Vegan Eating, Part 1

Well, I must admit that when I first became vegetarian, there were four times I had meat after that:

1. I'm on the Booster Club for my kids' school, and every spring we have a barbecue for the kids.  We had a bunch of leftover hamburgers.  I had been a vegetarian for two months and was going to pass, but I thought, "Well, it'll go to waste if I don't...".
2. Several months later, my sister and I took my mother out to eat for her birthday at one of our local Chinese restaurants.  She had ordered some kind of rolls stuffed with pork.  I didn't know it at the time, and she apparently forgot that I had become vegetarian a few months earlier.  She told me her food was really good but that she couldn't eat all of it and told me to take a bite, because I'd love it.  I asked afterwards what was in it (stupidly) instead of before!
3. My parents went to Alaska for the second time on a long, leisurely trip.  My dad and uncle went hunting for caribou and did a lot of fishing.  They shipped back some halibut that my sister stored in their freezer.  Upon their return, they invited us over for dinner.  My dad asked why I wasn't eating the fish.  "I'm vegetarian, dad."  I know there are a lot of pesco-vegetarians out there, but I wasn't one of them.  Still...I felt bad and he was so proud.  So I ate a couple of bites. 
4. Last Thankgiving, we went to my aunt's house, and I brought a vegetarian rice dish.  I didn't have turkey or ham, mind you.  I carefully looked through all the food and in the corner was a crockpot bubbling with green bean casserole.  Mmmm...mushrooms, green beans, crunchy stuff on top.  I put a lot on my plate, in the space where the ham and turkey used to go.  I was almost done with it when I spotted a piece of bacon!

Needless to say, I ask now if it's not immediately apparent, especially since I'm now vegan and milk products are sometimes easy to hide in things!  But that's not why I told you about these events.  Instead, I wanted you to know that even if/when you do make that commitment, if you do slip up, don't beat yourself up about it.  If you become vegan, you have made that choice for yourself.  If you slip up once or twice, that's okay.  We've been raised in a society that is serious about its food, and meat and dairy are huge to our culture (some of you might remember the "Four Food Groups"--meat and dairy were two of them, half of the food we were supposed to eat!).  So...being vegan is sometimes hard, especially at get-togethers, but it's not impossible, and you'll get smarter, like I have (I always ask now!).

Thinkin' about Bein' Vegan?

Just this month, I've talked to a few people considering going vegetarian and even vegan.  That's exciting, heady stuff!  It's quite a commitment--I know!  Even just considering the choice makes a person think long and hard about his or her life and choices.  Some people decide to go cold turkey, while others (like I did!) gradually ease into the process.  Some people need to try it more than once.  Lots of people prefer to research and gather the facts.

I feel fortunate.  I talked with my doctor about becoming vegetarian (haven't been in to see him in quite a while, but I plan to tell him I'm vegan next time I go!), and he was thrilled to hear it.  I've had lots of support.  My health was the number one reason why I made the change, but it's also the reason why I've eliminated lots of other things from my diet (like trans fats).  Sometimes it helps knowing there are some good substitutes for many of your old favorites.  Other times you just decide to do the best you can.  So, you might be wondering, what are some of the things that I personally have done to ease into the vegan lifestyle?  Here are just a few things:

1. I became a vegetarian first.  I know you've already read that here elsewhere, but I don't think I could have become vegan all at once.  I had to decide first to become vegetarian (and I found that very easy!).  Once I started researching and making healthier lifestyle choices, as well as researching the ecological impacts of my diet, becoming vegan weighed heavily on my mind, until I finally decided it was time.
2. I love coffee.  A lot, and way too much.  That said, though, I haven't pushed it out the door entirely yet.  Give me time.  It's the only other thing I drink aside from water with lemon.  I used non-dairy creamer for a very long time, but have you SEEN the junk in there?  It's like a chemistry lab!  I switched to Silk French Vanilla soy creamer, and it is yummy.  So...until I can give up the coffee, at least it's vegan.  I put a little bit of Stevia in the Raw in it, and I'm good to go.  I don't miss the dairy at all.
3. I have mental reminders for myself of why I decided to go vegan.  It's probably a little too graphic for many of you, but suffice it to say that I ultimately made the choice for several reasons:  a) for my health, because milk and animal protein are actually BAD for our bones, in spite of what we've all been taught!; b) vegans make an even smaller environmental impact on the planet than vegetarians (but way to go, vegetarians--you're still doing your part!); and c) ethical reasons--dairy products are still exploiting animals.  Okay...if you're still with me, I know I promised not to be graphic, but I can't help myself.  Feel free to stop reading if you need to...I am a mother of four wonderful, beautiful children, and I breastfed every one of them.  I'm glad I did, and I will never regret it.  However, I also worked full-time and I had to express my breastmilk every day at work two or three times a day for a long time!  I just think, "Geez, cows can never be done.  They just have to get hooked up to a breast pump every day."  Being engorged is uncomfortable, and I refuse to ask a cow to suffer pain so I can have a slice of cheese.  So, even when I think, "To heck with my health!" I remember the cows.  Now, I'm searching for a good soy cheese.  I found one at our local health food store the other day made with almond and soy, but I was disappointed because it had casein (milk protein).  Sorry, but I don't consider that vegan.  So I'll keep looking!  Until then, no cheese!  And I'm okay with that.
4. I love vegetables.  So I just try to find new ways to enjoy them!
5. I used to love to cook, and I'm trying to find that love again.  I have found (and I love this the most) that dishes are easier to clean when you haven't used them to cook animal products, cheese, eggs, etc.  I love easy dish cleaning! 
6. I talked with a vegan I knew.  I work with her, and she became vegan a few years ago for her health.  I asked her dozens of questions before I became vegetarian.  She was more than happy to share her journey.  Sound familiar?
7. I celebrate my success.  Actually, I rarely "look back" anymore.  It was hard at first.  It's not now.  But I feel so much better, and that's what I celebrate.  No more tummy troubles, acid reflux, extremely dry skin.  So many of my "ailments" have cleared up with my new diet.  I have no reason to go back.

If you choose to go vegan, I wish you the best of luck.  There are more and more of us everyday.  Whether you decide to go vegan or vegetarian or just want to eat a veggie meal once in a while, I salute you.  It's a choice.  It's a good choice.  I hope, no matter what you decide, that you are glad you made that decision like I am!