Indulging v. being healthy

There seems to be a strong misconception  that the option is to either eat a healthy diet, or a delicious, satisfying one.

For holidays, special occasions, and times of grief I hear a lot of people say they're foregoing their diet in exchange for more comforting, rich food.

There is no reason that everyday meals cannot be so delicious they seem like indulgences, but still be healthy.  Food is important.  In Western societies so many of people are lucky enough to have the resources to eat a lot, and waste this privilege by either stuffing themselves with either tasteless or toxic foods.

So many favourite meals can be turned healthy in delicious ways.

For example,  replace the wheat flour with coconut flour when making cupcakes.  Instead of sugar use xylitol.  Instead of a dessert that should be an occasional treat, the cupcake becomes an everyday healthy breakfast or snack that tastes better than the unhealthy version.

Store bought burgers often have the texture of cardboard and don't taste much better.  Homemade burgers are utterly delicious, have more nutrients, and, depending on how you make them, have no over-processed ingredients.  Find some gluten free buns at the store, or use a lettuce wrap instead (this is my preference because then you don't get filled up on the bread and can eat more!) and you've got a healthy, yet delicious, meal.

Food made from scratch is often healthier than store bought, and makes taking out unhealthy ingredients out of a diet simple.  Plus, omemade is much cheaper and often better tasting as well.

Not quite sure how you can make your comfort foods healthy?  I like a challenge!  Tell me your favourite foods/recipes and I'll get back to you with a healthy and delicious alternative.

The Cost of a Vegan Diet

A lot of people I've met have said that they would love to be vegan, but they just can't afford it.  This always baffles me.  I look at the grocery bills of non-vegan friends and am always stunned by how much more they pay than me.  The cost of butter, milk and meat in the store always shocks me.  But then again, the cost of packaged veggie 'meats' and other imitation products always surprises me too.

Being vegan can be inexpensive, if you done properly.  For example, store bought soy products (such as milk, tofu, and imitation meats) are quite expensive.  And often packed with chemicals.  Homemade soy milk is incredibly cheap, and with 28 grams of protein a cup it's a lot more healthy.  Tofu is quite simple to make from scratch out of soy beans.  Imitation meats can be made by flavouring vital wheat gluten mixed with water.

In fact, making almost anything from scratch at home instead of buying it from the store will save money and turn out a healthier product.

Pre-made packaged meals are ridiculously over-priced (as they are with non-vegan meals).  Making lasagne from scratch (right down to the noodles) is very inexpensive and healthier.  Same goes for pizza, burritos, and anything else you might find in the frozen food section of your store.  If you like having frozen food at home, just whip up huge batches of your favourite foods to store in the freezer.  Let everything you make freeze on a pan not touching any other food.  Once your food is frozen you can take it off the pan and throw everything in a box or bag together.  This way none of your food will freeze together and you can avoid having to package everything individually.

Another way to save is to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, which are quite cheap.  I know a lot of people who shy away from vegetables because there are tastier things out there.  This is silly.  If you cook them right, vegetables can be delicious.  Or, you can just hide them in other foods.  Make foods such as tacos, wraps, or sandwiches.  I try to toss a handful of vegetables into every pot of pasta I cook.  When your body is craving a sweet snack, it actually wants fruit.  Try to get into the habit of reaching for fruit as a snack instead of candy.  You could even have a few strawberries dipped in chocolate, or an apple with a small slice of cake.  Your body craves what you normally use to fill certain needs, so after some time of incorporating fruits and vegetables into your diet, you will begin to crave them.

There are so many other ways to be a vegan and spend less money on groceries than non-vegans.  There's tons of information on the internet, so take a look around.  Or you can check out my zine full of ideas on how to save money as a vegan while still being kind to your body and the environment.

Morning Nutrition Boosts

It can be super tough to get all the nutrients you need in a day, especially when you're an on-the-go-vegan.  I tend to focus on getting my iron, calcium, and protein.  To give me a good boost of these nutrients I try to have a smoothie for breakfast everyday. 

Here are three recipes that I love:

Iron Woman Gingerbread Smoothie

It's a little strong in taste so I would suggest adding an extra banana or subtracting a tbsp of blackstrap molasses.   As the recipe is, the author says there are 7 mg of iron and 350 mg of calcium.

Iron 101 Smoothie

This smoothie is refreshing and light, yet packs 8 mg of iron, 320 mg of calcium and 12 g of protein.

Creamy Vanilla Vegan Smoothie Shake

For this recipe I would suggest adding a few more bananas and a bit less water.  As is, I estimate this recipe contains 10 mg of iron, 364 mg of calcium and 29 g of protein.  However, this recipe makes a lot of smoothie!  So you'll get less depending on your serving size.

 

As great as these recipes are, I often deviate from them.  The beauty of smoothies is that you can still mix a couple up during those awkward days between grocery shopping trips when all that's left in your fridge is half used lemons, fruits starting to go bad and a bit of milk.  And you still end up with a filling and healthy breakfast!


You can really never get bored of smoothies because there's so much you can do with them.  Throw in some extra fruit or vegetables, 'yogurt', coconut, seeds and so much more.  Have some fun experimenting, and let me know if you come up with anything great!

Gluten Free Vegan Pizza

Well, I faced a fun challenge this week!  I threw a dinner party for some friends.  One of my guests was a celiac!  Oh no!  I had to make sure she had something to eat, and I didn't want her options to be an array of salads and fruit plates.

She introduced me to this very interesting pizza recipe.

I happily got the 'dough' ready using Daiya 'cheese' and 2 ground tbsps of flaxseed mixed with 3 tbsps of water in replace of the egg.  It was a matter of minutes before I popped my first few sets of mini pizzas into the oven on waxed paper, fearing some gluten residue might be contaminating my ancient cooking pans.  This was a mistake.  Smoke started billowing out of my oven, setting off the fire alarm and sending me into a panic.  With the windows open, fire alarm moved and stove top fan on I let them finish baking.

They looked perfect when I pulled them out.  With excitement I tried to flip them off the wax paper, but they were stuck!  I tried flipping the paper and frantically shaking it, then I tried carefully pulling of the paper before I finally had to scrape them off, leaving me with a ball of cooked cauliflower and 'cheese'.

My disappointment dissolved away after taking a bite.  It was DELICIOUS!  I ended up oiling the pans and baking more.  They turned out floppy and completely unpizza-like.  I also could not serve them to my celiac guest due to concerns about gluten contamination.  However, my other guests snatched them up (which honestly, I was not too happy about as I hardly got any!) and ate the 'pizzas' alone with a fork or pilled ontop of bannock. 

I'm not quite sure what to do with this recipe.  I may try to make pizza again, or bake some sort of casserole.  But the lesson here is, baked cauliflower and 'cheese' is an incredibly delicious combination.

Frozen Pizza

You know what's awesome?  Popping something frozen into the oven at the end of a long day and pulling out something steamin' and delicious less than an hour later!  Not so awesome?  The options for vegans and those on a tight budget.  But have no fear!  Here I am with a yummy solution!  Just make your own!

I used this recipe to whip up some from scratch dough!  I used spelt flour and needed to add an extra 1 1/4 cups so depending on what type of flour you use you'll probably have to play with the recipe a bit.

While I was letting the dough sit I chopped up some fantastically fresh veggies, garlic, and herbs from my balcony garden.  I chopped everything really small so I could squish more onto each pizza!  I tossed some ground flax seed onto a clean surface then pressed little balls of dough into little pizza circles.  The circles went onto a baking sheet then were covered with tomato sauce, my veggie mixture and Daiya "cheese".

Once they're all done, set the trays out in a freezer.  Once they're frozen you can toss them into a container, bag or box for easy access.

Ready to eat?  Toss one in the oven on a pan THEN start preheating the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Putting food in the oven before preheating saves time and energy!  Hurrah!  Once the oven has preheated give the pizza another 10 minutes.  After that?  Time to eat! Yum!

You know what's super fun?  Cutting the pizza up into tiny, cute lil' bite size slices like I did!

And there you have it folks!  Easy, delicious and healthy frozen pizza dinners!

Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce

Looking for something a little different for dinner tonight, but something that won't take too long or be too complicated?  This cauliflower alfredo sauce is just what you need!

My cauliflower was rather large,  so I added a bit extra nutritional yeast then spooned it over some gluten free rice pasta - delicious!  However, I wouldn't recommend keeping leftovers if possible.  While still good, it's just not quite as awesome the next day.

I'm going to attempt a raw version in the next few weeks and I'll let you know how that turns out!

Enjoy!

Vegan Caesar Salad and Fettucini Alfredo

WOW!  By far the BEST caesar saled I've EVER had and absolutely fantastic pasta!

My salads are always rather intense.  And this caesar was no exception.  The recipe for the dressing is from Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.  (FYI, the title doesn't lie - this IS the ultimate vegan cookbook, just not for the financially impaired vegan...)

In a blender obliterate 1/3 cup of almonds.  Put them in the container in which you shall store your dressing :) (This recipe makes a lot, so be prepared for left overs).  Then blend 4 cloves of garlic, a brick of silken tofu, 3/4 cup oil, 3 tbsp lemon juice, 1 BIG tbsp of capers,  4 tsp caper brine (the liquid in the jar), 1 tsp of sugar and 1/2 tsp mustard powder.  Whisk this all up with the almonds and voila!  Easy peasy caesar dressing!  Now, just let it chill out in the fridge for an hour or so.

I threw this dressing over lettuce tossed lovingly with chopped mushrooms, green onions, garlic croutons, and bits of vegan bacon.   Salads are SO much more delicious when you get creative :)

As for the Alfredo, it takes much less time.  Melt 1/2 cup of margarine in a sauce pan with 2 tsp of arrow root powder.  After the melting has finished toss in a brick whole brick of vegan mozza cheese (cubed for faster melting) and a few pieces of cheddar.  Depending on the cheese it may not melt well, but don't fret!  It shall still be DELICIOUS.  Once the cheese has more or less melted throw in 2 1/2 cups of your favourite milk and a 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast.  Stir often, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan, until you have a thick, and creamy sauce.  Then pour it over your cooked pasta and enjoy!

This will be one of the most amazing dishes your vegan lips will ever taste.

Faux Chicken

I found a recipe for fried 'chicken' from scratch in La Dolce Vegan! by Sarah Kramer, a must have for every vegan kitchen.  I was a little skeptical at first and though this dish is time consuming, it's absolutley delicious.  And gives you lots of time to drink wine and visit with dinner guests:)

To start, in a frying pan throw together 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast, 2 tbsp of tamari (I used soy sauce), 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp dried sage, 1/2 tsp dried thyme and 1/4 tsp celery salt.  The recipe calls for 1/2 tsp of salt as well but I left this out.  Bring this mixture to a boil.

Meanwhile, stir together 1/2 cup of water with a 1/2 cup of gluton  then knead the dough for 5 minutes.  Slice them up into strips then lay them down in the frying pan.  Then just cover these babies up, stir and flip occassionally, and wait.  They'll balloon up a little and flipping them around the pan is pretty fun.  It'll take about an hour for the water to boil down.

While you're waiting, mix together 1/4 cup of flour, 1/2 tsp of paprika, and a dash of pepper (again, I left out a 1/2 tsp salt).

Once the water has all boiled out of the pot, remove the 'chicken' from the pan and then coat it in oil.  Dip each strip in milk (a bowl with about 1/4 cup should be enough) then coat them in the flour mixture.  Toss them back into the pan to brown each side, then serve them up!

I diced mine then threw them in a bowl with some rice.  It was suprisingly delicious.  However, it only make 3 servings so I'd suggest doubling or tripling the recipe for dinner guests or leftovers.