Vegan MOFO 2018! Introduction Post

Hi! :-)
I'm Sandy! Tea-addict, Christian, cat and craft lover..... and VEGAN! 

Thank you for stopping by my blog.
Welcome to all those newbies who have found my blog via the 2018 Vegan MOFO link!
My apologies to those who have been following a while for my lack of posts for quite some time now.
The truth is that I've totally lost my blogging mojo as we largely eat very plain, simple meals and I go with a "wing it" cooking style which doesn't make a great method for creating actual "recipes"!!! ;-) 
BUT I've discovered something...... a lot of people just want those easy to follow meal ideas!!!
So here's hoping that MOFO can help me rediscover my love of blogging and get motivated to keep posting more frequently!

You can read about my vegan story on this link. I'm still vegan (obviously!), however I am far more refined now with what I choose to eat and not eat. I avoid all oil and flour like the plague and at home I don't cook with salt or sugar either making my diet largely SOS free.
I do use tamari and other ingredients that contain sodium but don't ever salt my food.
I've always done my best to eliminate oil but for the last 14 months I have been avoiding all flours as well and I have found that it has had a wonderful effect on my mind-frame, energy, cravings and satiety levels. I don't only exclude gluten containing flours but all flours, including rice, besan, oat, and gluten free flours etc. I am also very rigid about avoiding all between meal snacks as I find it makes me enjoy my meals so much more! I have had times of completely avoiding all high fat items such as nuts, avocado, tahini and only having a spoonful of flax each morning, but now I am having nuts a few times a week, and other higher fat items occasionally too. All of this means I am again finding myself leaning more towards an "Eat to Live" style of eating as recommended by Dr. Fuhrman, but without the smoothies and still being mindful of the % of calories from fat and aim for between 15-20%, a little higher than some other plant based doctors would recommend but I'm ok with that. I found that keeping my rate at around the 10% mark actually made me have huge cravings and rarely did I feel satisfied with my meals. Despite never being overweight (I put this down to the TYPE of food I was eating!), I was definitely prone to overeating. I could eat copious servings of unrefined starches in the form of whole grains and potatoes yet still be looking for more food! Since I have no health conditions nor am I aiming to lose weight, this works for me. I would still recommend keeping it at 10% for those with reversible health conditions or those who are trying to reach an ideal body weight. I don't condemn the above items but I now limit my consumption of them as opposed to allowing myself an "all you can eat" attitude! With large quantities of Dr. Fuhrman's well known GBOMBS I find myself no longer having cravings and feeling far more satiated. I was very pleased to recently listen to a youtube clip where Dr. Goldhamer mentions that some people find a small serving of fat does provide more satiety for them. Another clip where he also mentions the negative affects of eating foods refined down to a flour was very encouraging for me to listen to. Also eating this way is more in line with recommendations made by Dr. Greger. That said, I am very mindful to keep the amount low and weigh out any nuts I do eat to be precisely 15g! Or else I know I could easily overeat them!!!


What does this mean for my meals?!?
I eat a basic meal plan that is based around the following each day:

Brekkie:  Oats or sweet potato, flax or chia, banana, berries, yogurt
                  (in every imaginable form!!!).
Lunch:     A huge salad with a variety of mainly raw veggies
                  (cooked ones added in the cooler months),
                  served with either legumes, tofu or a veggie burger
                  topped with hummus, seeds or avocado
                  and a piece of fresh fruit to finish.
Dinner:    A plate filled with lots of cooked veggies and a legume,
                  and a small amount of unrefined starch in the form of                            corn, pumpkin, potato, brown rice or other wholegrain.


Over the next month I'm hoping I can share with you some of my easy to follow, yet totally delicious meals and staples that are the mainstay of our diet!

Don't forget to jump across and follow my facebook page where I have continued to post pictures of my meals & quick ideas even when I haven't blogged proper recipes. I have also recently started to try and do more helpful videos with basic ideas & staples.

Feel free to share your journey below and if you follow a plant-based diet for ethical, environmental or health reasons (all of them for me!!!).
I'd also love to hear if you follow a 'free eating' method or have you made any refinements that have helped you in anyway!

HAPPY VEGAN MOFO!
(And I have to say, I'm pretty happy that we've 
finally said goodbye to winter too!!!)

WIAW - and Mofo Wrap-up

How has your Wednesday been?

 Here's what I ate today:

I finally decided to do a summary of my Mofo posts - I know its a few days late, but don't they say better late than never?!?
After all, my planning was pushed back a day ;-)
I hope you have enjoyed baking as much as I have this past month!

 Snacks:
Vanilla cupcakes with raspberry filling 
Carrot cookies 
Strawberries and cream cake 
Scrolls 
Cranberry macadamia cookies 
Peanut butter scones 
Chocolate prune cookies 
Banana sultana loaf

Mains & Sides:
Red lentil tortilla bake 
Mexican chickpea filo pie 
Roasted vegetable roll 
Pasta bake with cauli cheese sauce Roasted stuffed capsicums 
Pizza couscous timbales



Fingerfoods:
Baked tofu strips 
Lentil meatballs 
Cheeseless pizza bites 
Blistered potato chips 
Baked eggplant parmigiana 
Chickpea nuggets


Desserts:
Healthy pastry crust 
Quick baked apples 
Apple crumble pie 
 Baked pumpkin pudding
Apple fig walnut strudel
 
Other posts:
Snack box 
In my kitchen 
Precooked grains 
Events we don't plan









Did you try any of these recipes?
Which ones did you enjoy the most?


My favourites were the cheeseless pizza bites, lentil meatballs and the strawberries and cream cake. They will now be regulars in our home!

VEGAN MOFO

Welcome to Vegan Month of Food

This is the first time I've joined in Vegan Mofo.
For more information you can read about it on the vegan mofo blog. 
You can check out other bloggers who are also participating on this list.

After much debate about if I would have a 'topic' or not, I eventually decided I would.....
I have really enjoyed watching all the "bake off" series, both the British series & the Australian series. I would never apply to go on these types of shows but I decided that I would do my own bake off.

So for Vegan Mofo I bring you........ No judges, no contestants, no time limits, just yummy baked goods!

Cupcakes

Pies

Biscuits

Tarts

Bread

Dessert

Pastry

I aim to make all recipes as whole-food as possible with the occasional treat.... which is largely what our family home does for all cooking anyway.

 I guess there's only one more thing to say then -->

On your marks, get set, bake.......

A Study in "P" Major

For those of you who are musically inclined you may have realised that I'm clearly not talking about playing the piano here...... since there is no musical note "P".
However, I do like to sing while I'm cooking ;-)

Today's study in P major includes:

PLANT MILK AND PASSATA!

2 'major' parts of our cupboard!

 

PLANT MILK

I tend to be someone who tries any new plant milk that comes out. 
I like to use different types of plant milk for different purposes too.

Here's my own assessment of the situation:

I prefer the taste of soymilk and rice milk over any other type of plant milk. I enjoy cooking with almond milk for a bit of a change but I don't particularly like the taste of it for drinking or in smoothies. My daughter LOVES the Sanitarium So Good Almond Milk - probably because it has more sugar than almonds in it and that is a reason that I don't let her have it too often. That said, I did notice just this week in the grocery store that there is now a 'sugar free' version available! Well done Sanitarium I say!!!! :-)

I find oat milk is quite thick and rather bland. Of course it is wonderful on oats but I don't use it for too much other than that. The Australia's Own Organic brand provides a range of organic plant milks with few additives which is always a good thing in my opinion. Note that their oat milk does contain honey so it will not suit people who choose to avoid bee products.

Rice milk is quite sweet - even though it doesn't usually contain any sweetners. I love cooking with ricemilk as I find the amount of sugar in a recipe can easily be reduced then.

Vitasoy wins in my books - easily!
They use whole soybeans instead of soy protein (which I largely try to avoid). All their products are non GMO.
I love the range that Vitasoy offer too.
All my favourites just so happen to be from the Vitasoy range!
                                    My favourites:

I love making my morning coffee with Vitasoy's Organic Soymilk. It is rich and creamy and not watery like some milks can be. It has a delicious flavour and it has low sodium compared to other soymilks too. My coffee simply isn't the same using other milk! Also it contains B12 which is a bonus too - 1ug per 250ml. 

The chocolate flavour soymilk also contains B12 and is delicious. Any evening is complete with a glass in hand ;-)

The Vitasoy ricemilk is my favourite for cooking with for the reasons mentioned above. It also makes for a delicious addition to smoothies. I also must admit that as a plain 'drink' it is my favourite!

With all of that said, I still do tend to make my own soymilk for everyday use! I have had a soy milk machine now for 18 months and it has well and truly paid for itself! 
Of course home made soymilk doesn't last as long as store bought, and it doesn't have quite the same consistency or flavour to it. However, it is completely additive free and has just ONE ingredient! Can't beat that for everyday use! 



Now for another major "P" in my cupboard:

PASSATA - Tomato Cooking Sauce

I have found there is not a huge range of these available. Usually just a generic brand and Val Verde is available in standard grocery stores. 
I cannot get over the MASSIVE range of pasta sauce that the stores now stock!
Personally I don't use pasta sauce. I prefer to use a passata base and make my own 'sauce'. I don't like the amount of addictives and oils that are included in many of the pasta sauces and that is why I prefer to make my own.
(The Sole Natura brand that is shown below is from Costco.)
Of the sauces shown here I was surprised to find that all of them (except Coles brand) had exactly the same amount of sodium and each also included acidity regulator E330. Now even though I consider myself to be a numbers person - I don't like numbers in my food! 

So for those reasons, the winner for me is "Coles" having no "E"s included and with nearly a quarter the amount of sodium of all the others.
(I don't always shop at Coles though so I will buy another brand when I need it! We do use a lot of this sauce!)

Questions of the Day:

 

What is your favourite plant milk?

Do you prefer the make your own pasta sauce or buy a premade one?

The Same but Different

The great debate:

Feeding omni's and vego's in the same meal..... is it possible?

The answer is simply YES.

It might take a little bit more work but its not 'hard'.

Over Christmas I read a long debate on a discussion website about how many vego's still cook meat for their friends and family even though they hate doing it! 
I regularly have to practice this skill since there is NO WAY I could convince family members to eat vegan meals with me!
So in this post I'll give some practical tips on how to make meals that compliment both appetites!

Below you'll find a list of great ways that you can share a meal that is "The Same but Difference" - a phrase that my hubbie and I often have a little laugh about ;-)


Shepherds pies - made with lentils in place of the meat. Try this recipe for a fab lentil shepherd pie.

Enjoy a meal of mash and pies together. Pie fillings can be as creative or as simple as you please! Same goes for 'bangers and mash' - plenty of faux meat options to make easy similar meals.

Left - meat pie                                    Right - mushroom pie

           

Another easy option is to have burgers together. I love a good veggie burger! Why not try this lentil pattie recipe.

Bolognese - Try using a bean or lentil bolognese over pasta, along with a mince bolognese.

Meat balls are another great option that can easily be turned vego! Try using lentils, red kidney beans, okara or gluten flour to make meatless balls.

   Left - regular mince meat balls                           Right - okara 'meat' balls

Pizza! - this has got to be one of the easiest meals to share together. Vego pizza options are endless - just make sure you top it with pizza cheeze sauce.

Stir fry's are also easy to just make the same vegetable base & just top with either tofu or other.

Roast Dinner - can easily keep everyone happy - esp on a cold winters night. Veggie roast are endless, try using legumes of all kinds, nut roast or if you're having a lazy day there are some amazing premade store-bought roast available too.

Left - chicken roast dinner                                                                Right - seitan roast dinner

Baked Loafs - along with a meat loaf  you could serve a lentil loaf or bean loaf.

Lasagne - another great dish that can easily been turned veg. Try this version for a very 'meaty' option!!!

Check out this version of home-made 'Cheese and Bacon Muffin' breakfast:

Tofu bacon with tofutti cheese slice & hash browns. Now surely that is "The Same but Different" to an omni's meal!!!


Is that enough meals to make you feel like you can eat veg in an omni setting???

Better still - why not tell your friends and family about all the benefits of a plant-based diet???

You never know - they may just look at your meal and decide it's equally delicious!

Not only for their health, but for the many lives of animals that suffer for our dinner plates.

Decide on a vegan resolution you won't regret it!

After Christmas come down...... 2012 - A Year in Review!

I LOVE this poem! It always gives me a little chuckle when I read it!
 
     ‘Twas the month after Christmas, and all through the house
     Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.
     The cookies I’d nibbled, the eggnog I’d taste
     All the holiday parties had gone to my waist.
     When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
     When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber).

     I’d remember the marvelous meals I’d prepared;
     The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,
     The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
     And the way I’d never said, “No thank you, please.”
     As I dressed myself in my husband’s old shirt
     And prepared once again to do battle with dirt–
     I said to myself, as I only can
     “You can’t spend a winter disguised as a man!”

     So, away with the last of the sour cream dip,
     Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip
     Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
     ‘Till all the additional ounces have vanished.
     I won’t have a cookie, not even a lick.
     I’ll want only to chew on a long celery stick.

     I won’t have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,
     I’ll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.
     I’m hungry, I’m lonesome, and life is a bore—
     But isn’t that what January is for?
     Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
     Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!

Do you make New Year's Resolutions?

If you've been following my blog but aren't vegan - maybe you'd like to consider making a vegan resolution!
The PCRM - Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, have set up this new website to help people make the transition. It has many helpful tools including recipes, started kits, health information, programs to follow, even inspiration from others who have made a resolution! 
Check it out here -  http://veganresolution.org/

And of course if you want any help along the way - feel free to ask me anything you want :-)

I usually don't make an official resolution - but I do often take the time to reflect on the year that's been & decided if there is anything that I want to change for the coming year.
For next year I have decided to try & not let life get me down so much. I do think that I am the kind of person who views things in a way that seems to have such a negative twist on ~everything~ and its really hard for me to stop my mind from over-thinking things. This coming year I am going to aim to be a more positive person. A more positive wife & a more positive mother in particular!

I guess that leads me to the question.....

Is it possible to re-train our way of thinking???

I'll give you an example from my kitty!!! Not really....but I just love these pictures ;-)

So if you're like me.... let's try and aim to see the positive in situations in the coming year!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE 

xxx Sandy

2012 - A Year in Review -->
Here's my 12 favourite recipes from 2012:
 

Lentil loaf - I think I've lost count of the amount of times I've made this recipe now! 

 


Pina-colada doughnuts - these have become a favourite in our household (and in our neighbours too!).
 
 
Tofu bacon  - this is now one of my favourite fall backs. It has so many uses - a great salad topper, sandwich filler or heck - just eat it by itself cause its so tasty ;-)

 

Winter curry and couscous - I think I can still smell the amazing aroma that this dish fills the house with!!!



Asian lunch salad - because we all to have a favourite salad! 
 


Strawberry mousse - I didn't think I could ever love a dessert as much as this life-is-good dessert until I came up with this mousse!


 


Tex-mex pizza  - we all need a favourtie pizza topping!
  

        Spiced lentil burgers - I love a good veggie                          burger, this one is so easy & so delicious.

 
Fruity yum cookies  - these were sooooo tasty I couldn't not include them. 




Cheezey brown rice with green beans - something a bit different yet amazingly tasty.

 

Mashed sweet potato with mexican spiced black beans  - all the amazing flavours of a mexican restaurant in your own home.
 


 Cranberry apple joy - can't forget a drink in this collection. This one is so satisfying!
 

~Vegan-versary~! and My vegan story.

~ Today is my 5 year vegan-versary ~

Yep, 5 years ago today I decided to go cold-tofurkey vegan.

I have NEVER looked back.

I didn't go on a 'hunt' or anything to find veganism. It found me!

On my quest to be at peace with food and myself I picked up two books in the space of a few weeks of each other. Unbeknownst to me, they both were promoting a plant-based diet and vegan lifestyle! 
This was at the same time as I was taking part in a Health & Nutrition course run by the Seventh-Day Adventists who promote the health of being vegetarian (I didn't know this at the time!).

 I WAS WON OVER!

The books:

Skinny Bitch

and

Turn Off the Fat Genes

 Now I must be honest with you.... I wasn't exactly 'fat' and trying to lose weight!

 But none the less, books with titles like that always tempt to me!

In fact, when I went vegan I gained weight! 

I found the food fun and exciting. 

I have always loved cooking and experimenting in the kitchen & suddenly I had a whole new way of using my kitchen and that meant lots of experiments & lots of new food to try.

I then managed to accumulate quite a large pile of vegan & vegetarian cookbooks as I seeked to work out what I could eat that wasn't just 'veggies' - as is often what people think vegans consume! 

I spent about the next 6 months cooking meals that were always from cookbooks as I learnt my way around serving vegan meals.

Here's my collection of cookbooks and health books!

And the pile in the kitchen as well!

At that time my favourite cookbook was Vegan Cooking for One, by Leah Leneman. I cannot remember a single meal that I cooked from that book but it got me through my early stage of being vegan and provided many easy & basic meals. I loved it! The book now has little notes written all the way through it - though never gets pulled out of the cupboard anymore!!!! lol

Now a days I make my own meals....and blog them!! 

I love to find flavours that work well together, I love knowing that vegan meals aren't boring and don't have to be complicated to make! And I love making treats that are vegan and sharing just how tasty vegan food can be when we have guests over.

 For me, being vegan isn't just about what's on my plate and making sure that I'm consuming healthy food. Its about so much more. I also believe its very spiritual. If you wish to read more about where I stand on this issue you can read my blog post Veganism & Christianity. I love living a life of compassion knowing that I am doing the best I can to not harm animals. I know that as humans its never completely possible to avoid all animals products, but I know that the little bits I do can make a difference!

I have recently ditched all chemical cleaners, not only because of the health benefits it provides me and my family but also because I know that no animals are harmed or tested when I buy 'vinegar' from the shelves instead of some chemical cleaner!

You can read about my switch in detail  here --> chemical-free-cleaning.

I don't consider myself to be a 'pushy' vegan. I don't go around criticising people who consume animal products, nor do I insist that when people come to our home they must eat only vegan food. 

Clearly I'm not against omni's --> My husband is one!!! <3

And just as I respect the fact that people have their choice, I do expect people to respect the fact that I am vegan and have chosen this as my lifestyle and its not just a 'phase' I am going through! I am committed to this FOR LIFE!

I'm not one to bring up the subject of veganism, but if someone asks me about a vegan lifestyle then I'm going to be the one to tell the truth.... unashamedly! 

I believe everyone has the right to know the truth!

The truth about the way animals are treated and the truth about what it really means to consume only plants! (And guess what, that doesn't mean protein deficiency and osteoporosis, in fact quite the opposite - not excess protein and bone-hurting calcium that comes from cows-milk!)

Cheers to plant-based health!

Having said that, I believe that there is a lot of ignorance in the word about a vegan lifestyle.  I sincerely believe that people don't understand that eating a plant-based diet WILL improve your health and is completely nutritious! 

None of the garbage we hear is true such as 'incomplete proteins', 'calcium only comes from cows milk', etc - I could go on but I'm sure you've heard it all before ;-) 

It breaks my heart to think that SOOOO many people don't know what is truly 'healthy food'. People just DON'T KNOW, so of course they believe what they hear! Its quite sad to think that our whole food system is controlled by the meat & dairy industry & people live in fear of giving those products up! The dietary education that is provided to us as children & even to doctors is just useless. Our system is drug orientated and is aimed at curing disease instead of preventing it! And when study after study continues to prove that meat & dairy are actually harmful to humans, people push it aside -- scared of what it might mean to have to give them up.  

Contrary to popular belief - vegan food is not boring or plain! 

Thus the name of my blog ;-)

For many years I have also been very keen on caring for our environment.

In Year 1 at school we watched a documentary about the environment. I can't even remember what it was called but I remember the turtle "Hyronimus" being killed and it was due to the damage that was occuring in our water system.

It DEVASTATED me. I raced home to convert my family into recycling more & not wasting so much water. 

To this day I remind my family about "Hyronimus" each time they are doing things that are not environmentally friendly.

As a mother, I even used cloth nappies til my daughter was toilet trained!!!! 

So when discovering that consuming a plant-based diet was far more environmentally friendly, it was just another reason to add to my growing list of why I needed to be vegan!

Did you know:

1 cup of coffee needs 140 litres of water.
1 kg maize needs 900 litres of water.
1 litre of milk needs 1,000 litres of water.
1 kg of wheat needs 1,350 litres of water.
1 kg of rice needs 3,000 litres of water.

1kg of beef needs 22,000 litres of water.

(Source http://www.gdrc.org/uem/footprints/water-footprint.html)

Its not only water that is affected by the food choices people make. A UN report has estimated that 7.8 billion tons of carbon dioxide *EACH YEAR* is made from raising animals just for food consumption. That is more than all forms of transport combined. 

Yet as a general rule, people continue to be more concerned with their car emissions than the emissions from the meals they consume!

If you wish to read further about the environmental impact of food choices here's some helpful links:

wikipedia --> Environmental_impact_of_meat_production
13_breathtaking_effects_of_cutting_back_on_meat
Eatinguptheworld - The Environmental Consequences of Human Food Choices

Nature is beautiful - that's why I choose to eat like I care about it!

One last note that I'd like to mention:

I find it hard when people make a general rule about 'vegans' being extremist, rude, forward or forceful, self-righteous, hippie people.... 

Really?!?

None of the vegans I personally know are that. But they are just everyday people doing what they can to make a difference in the world.

Here's some food for thought:

 So if you aren't personally vegan - next time you hear the words "soy", "tofu" or "vegan" don't think we are trying to convert you just by saying those words --> remember that nearly everyday we hear the words "meat", "eggs", "cheese" and have to move on!

Yes, there are some 'vegan police' in the world! But they are few and far between. Most vegans are genuine people with real compassion, for people and animals alike!

 

Where do you stand on the consumption scale? 
What's your vegan story?
Do you remember the exact day you went vegan?
Was it a process for you or did you do it cold-tofurkey??? ;-)