A Vegan Thanksgiving

Once the holidays start rolling around, it's inevitable.  Especially Thanksgiving.  The questions are bound to start coming....What do you EAT for dinner?  Do you make a Tofu Turkey?  Are all of your relatives vegan too?

And sometimes, traveling for Thanksgiving is a bit tricky.  It's no fun to have to turn down delicious appetizers, full plates of yummy food, sweet desserts.  It's also kinda rude to not eat what the host prepares.  I tend to fall on the side of switching to vegetarian for the day - still passing on the meat, but being ok with a little bit of dairy or cheese - rather than having to say no to everything and causing hard feelings!

But this year was my first year hosting Thanksgiving since become vegan.  And not only was it way simpler than trying to prepare a traditional dinner, but everyone loved it!  I like to think of my first vegan thanksgiving as all of the good of the traditional, with a little bit of modern and healthy mixed in.

Menu

Rosemary Green Beans

Mashed Potatoes

Stroganoff

Cranberry Sauce

Check out my previous post for a recipe for vegan stroganoff - a nice creamy dish with lots of onions and mushrooms!

Mashed potatoes were made with a few tablespoons of Earth Balance and some of the vegan sour cream left over from the stroganoff, as well as garlic powder.

Our Thanksgiving table was beautiful!  Could have used some more veggies I suppose - but what the heck, it's a holiday! 

For dessert, some out-of-the-box brownies! Enhanced with a sour cream swirl (vegan sour cream, brown sugar, and about 1/4 cup of the brownie mix), that makes them nice and moist and just a tad healthier :)

With the cooking made so simple, it was a wonderful day with the family!  Another day to be thankful for :).

Can I Call it Stroganoff?

Yesterday was kind of a special day at work.  We had our first annual Harvestfest, one of those potluck-type events that comes in abundance around the holidays.  Those events that you ponder over for a few minutes, wondering exactly how 'all-in' you should go.  Should you dig up a nice fancy recipe designed to impress, or take it easy and pick up something on the way?

This time around I decided to use our potluck as an opportunity to experiment with one of my mother's favorite recipes - perhaps one of the most non-vegan recipes that she made, but also one of my favorites.  Yup, the one that got requested every birthday from elementary school up through college.

Beef stroganoff.  I don't claim to know any of the history behind the dish - wikipedia tells me that it is a Russian dish.  (I didn't know I had any Russian in me, perhaps I should start using family recipes to trace back my ethnicity!)  More specifically, a Russian dish made of sauteed pieces of beef in a creamy sour cream sauce.

Beef.  

Cream.  

Very, very non-vegan!

However, I got to thinking that the beef is not at all what I love about this dish.  In fact, even at a young age I'd pick out the more sinewy pieces as I did not like the texture.  What I did love was the amazing flavor from the onions, mushrooms, and spices, that were used to enhance the dish.  I also loved the creamy sauce, and thought that there must be a way to reproduce this without having to use dairy.

Below is the recipe that I used for our potluck, and I'll have to say that I got amazing reviews!  (I smile inside when even those omnivores among us say that one of the vegan dishes was their favorite :) ).  I used all 'real' ingredients- meaning no substitute things, no fake meat, etc- with the exception of vegan sour cream.  In the future I think I will try to come up with a better substitute, but the brand I found was a surprisingly good rendition of sour cream.  Also, quick and easy.

I hope that you find this as enjoyable as I did!

(Note : I was in mass production mode.  You probably want to cut this down to half for a family-sized dish.)

Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff

Ingredients:  

3 Tbsp oil

2 Tbsp garlic

2 large onions

4 10-oz cartons mushrooms (your choice of variety)

2 peppers (I used one red bell, one large italian green)

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/8 cup VEGAN worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup kitchen bouquet (or gravy master)

1 Tbsp black pepper

3 Tbsp flour

8 oz. vegan sour cream

Directions:

1. Same as usual :).  For those of you who have been reading my recipes, you know that they pretty much all start out the same way!  

In a large saucepan, add enough oil to thinly cover the bottom of the pan.  Add garlic and chopped onion. Cook over medium heat until onions are clear.

2. While onions are cooking, chop up the mushrooms and peppers.  Stroganoff doesn't usually have peppers - my replacement for the beef was to use extra onions/mushrooms and add a few peppers for variety.  You will notice however that mushrooms become the featured element.

Add the mushrooms and peppers to the pan, in addition to the black pepper.  Continue to allow the vegetables to cook over medium heat until they become soft (about 20 minutes).  If you find that your dish is more watery, you will choose to leave the pan uncovered.  If not, then cover the pan so that the veggies cook faster and maintain the liquid.

3.  Next, add the soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, and kitchen bouquet.  Notice that the kitchen bouquet is what gives the dish its dark brown coloring.  Stir and continue cooking over medium heat.

4.  At this point, because of all of the vegetables and sauces you added, you will probably have a good amount of liquid in your pan.  In order to make a nice thick sauce for the dish, we add a small amount of flour.  Stir in the flour, turn heat down to low, and allow to simmer until the sauce becomes nice and thick.  At this point, it's also a good idea to turn your oven on (375) to start heating up.

5.  Once the sauce has become thick, remove your pan from the heat.  Stir in your sour cream (this is about half of a 16-oz container), or 2 'dollops'.  The color should turn from dark brown to a light brown color.  You can add more or less sour cream at this point depending on desired creaminess.




6.  I forgot to take a picture of the last step!  After adding the sour cream, pour your stroganoff into a baking dish (I used 13x9 for this larger quantity).  Bake at 375 for about half hour, stirring every 10 minutes.  The goal of this step is to further thicken the consistency.  I have found that without the meat though, this step can be totally skipped if you are short on time and/or enjoy the more creamy texture.

7.  Time to eat!  My mom always used to serve this dish with potatoes and cranberry sauce, so I admit I am partial to that solution.  However, wikipedia also tells me that the more common preparation involves serving over noodles.  Either way, delicious!  Enjoy!





Here's some of the less common ingredients that I used, kitchen bouquet and vegan sour cream :

A Tribute to Teff

Let's play the guessing game!

Is Teff a fabric?  The stuffing that goes in pillows?  A smug remark? The noise one makes when coughing?

How about the tiniest grain in the WORLD! Thanks to a friend that I met at NYC, who came all the way from Israel to run the race, I have recently been enlightened about this powerhouse of nutrition.  Food is just one of those things you get to talking about when waiting 5 hours for a race to start :).

Packing the Nutrients

From my quick reading of labels, I learned that Teff is very high in protein, as well as phosphorous, fiber, calcium, and iron.  For the vegan diet, that is good, good, and great! This whole grain is an excellent plant-based source of protein (who says you can't get protein from plants !?)  The high iron content is crucial, because it can be tricky to get enough iron on a vegan diet.   Not impossible, but having enough fresh greens and whole grain is necessary!

Here's a link to the brand of Teff that I purchased, for your own nutritional analysis :

http://www.bobsredmill.com/whole-grain-teff.html

Preparation

The second awesome thing about Teff is that it's super easy to prepare!  I chose a breakfast-oriented preparation, but it also can be eaten as a side for lunch dinner.

Cooking the grain is very similar to how you'd make oatmeal.  There is a simple recipe on the side of the bag that I followed, making substitutes where necessary.



Teff Porridge with Dates and Honey:

(Kristen's Vegan Version)

1 cup Teff
1 Tbsp Earth Balance
1/4 tsp ground Cloves
3 cups water
3/4 cup prunes/raisins/dates
1/3 tsp sea salt
3 Tbsp agave nectar / syrup
1/4 cup walnuts
Soy/Almond milk (optional)

Heat a saucepan over medium heat, add teff grains and toast 3-6 minutes.  When grains begin to pop, add water, Earth Balance, and cloves. Stir.  Bring to gentle boil, cover and cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.

Stir in the dried fruit, salt, and agave nectar.  Cover and continue cooking until grains are soft, about 5-10 more minutes. Add more water if porridge becomes too thick.

Serve topped with walnuts and/or almond/soy milk.

Enjoy!

Chickpea & Kale Curry

It's Sunday, and that means lots of time to cook! (And blog?) I'm going to keep it short today, sharing one of my favorite recipes that carries its weight in the nutrition department as well.

Chickpea & Kale Curry

Time:

1/2 hour + chickpea preparation (overnight if dried)

Ingredients:

Olive Oil

Garlic

2 Onions

Mustard Seed

Curry Powder

Coriander

Cumin

Turmeric

Salt

Hot Pepper

Nutritional Yeast

Kale+

2 Red Peppers

.. any other veggies that you want to add

Chickpeas (dried preferably, or canned)

Steps :

1. Prepare your chickpeas.  If you are using canned chickpeas, that means do nothing :).  However, I would recommend using dried beans whenever possible as you can eliminate all of the sodium that comes with canned veggies.  If using dried beans, soak overnight on the counter in a covered container.  Or, put out to soak in the morning to be cooked in the evening.  About 2 hours before you expect your meal to be ready, drain the beans and boil on high heat for about 5 minutes.  Turn the heat to low, cover, and  cook until soft.

2.  While your chickpeas are cooking, start preparing the curried vegetables.  In a large saucepan, add about 2 tablespoons of oil and 2 teaspoons of mustard seed.  Cook over medium heat.

3.  While the mustard seeds are browning, chop 2 onions.  Add the onions to the saucepan and stir.  Cook until the onions become clear.

4. Add about 1 tablespoon of fresh garlic (more, or less, as you prefer.

5.  Next, its time to add the kale.  Fresh greens tend to become much smaller in volume when cooked, so add more than you think you need.  I used 5 large stalks of kale, and tore them into small pieces directly into the saucepan.

6.  Chop up your 2 red peppers, and add to the mix.  Stir all of the veggies, and turn the stove down to medium/low heat (~ 2 out of 8 on my knob)

7.  It's time to add the spices!  This is of course variable based on your taste, but heres what I added :

        

         

Turmeric :              1 tsp

Hot Pepper :          1/2 tsp

Curry Powder:       1 Tbsp

Coriander:             1 Tbsp

Nutritional Yeast:   1 Tbsp

Salt :                      1 tsp (or as much as you need...)

Cumin :                  1/2 tsp

8.  Let simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes, or until the chickpeas are done.  Add chickpeas and stir!

Serve over rice or with bread/naan.  

I also like to add garnish such as fresh avocado to the top!

What's in the Fridge?

Just got back from a journey to Market Basket.....

Because for me grocery shopping is always a journey.  A time out of my day to be alone, to explore all of the numerous possibilities in the frozen food cases, to be thrifty and smart in the pasta aisle, and to be the first to spot new additions in the fresh produce section.

I think that today would be a good time to give you a taste of what goes into all of my cooking.  What's in my fridge? Pantry?  Spice cabinet?  After all, if there's no milk in the fridge and no ice cream in the freezer....

Never fear!  I hope that you will see lots of delicious and nutritious foods to put on your shopping list for next time that you are out.  Let's jump right in.

The Fridge

Here's a far-away shot... it really is full!

Most importantly, let's start out with the produce.  At least 50% of my grocery cart is fresh produce, and it's only that low because things like oats and rice take up so much room!  It is absolutely essential to being vegetarian/vegan to stock up on a VARIETY of fruits and veggies.  That's how we get our nutrients, thats how we get our minerals, and also thats one way we get our protein!  Yes I said it, Protein!                                                                               Absolute musts for me include onions, spinach, kale, and avocadoes.  Onions because I add them to everything (in some future blog I'll tell you that I start pretty much all recipes with sauteed onion and garlic, onions make everything taste better!!)  Spinach and kale because they are nutrition packed.  Spinach with vitamin A & K, zinc, beta-carotene, and kale with vitams A, C, K, calcium, potassium, iron, etc.  In fact, kale deserves a page to itself, a food that is a staple to the vegan diet.  The fact that kale contains iron makes it essential, because most other easily accessible iron sources are animal based.  And guess what, it even has protein!  Probably not enough to fulfill your daily needs, but a great addition to the other protein sources you'll see below...

I am so in love with kale that it gets its own picture.  In fact, you may have noticed that there isn't any kale in the fridge - thats because it's washed and drying on the counter!

Avocados are an important addition because they contain lots of GOOD fats - mostly unsaturated, but some saturated and also quite high in calories. Adding a small amount of avocado to smoothies, stir fries, salads, etc is a great idea - eating a whole bowl of guacamole probably not so much!

This week I also picked up mushrooms, zucchini, peppers, and scallions.  Beyond the basics, I tend to buy whats in season.  Zucchini are really awesome right now :).  In the fruit department we have apples, oranges, and bananas.  Not all that exciting - fall/winter isn't exactly the time for exotic fruits - but we do have apples, apples and more apples!  I'll have to get around to writing about lots of cool apple recipes that I've invented/discovered, because it's an absolute must to take advantage of the harvest season here in New England!

Here's a peek at the second shelf of my fridge -the protein shelf.  These are some pretty basic ingredients that I use in lots of recipes to get protein and healthy fats.  You'll see peanut butter and cashew butter in the back - I tend to have peanut, almond, cashew, and sunflower butter hanging out somewhere in my fridge.  All are absolutely delicious.  You'll also see coconut oil in the back, I use that sometimes instead of my default - olive oil.  In the front you see hommus - great for on top of salads, veggie burgers, sandwiches, fajitas, you name it.  There's a tub of earth balance there on the right.  I don't like to use 'artificial' foods so much, but every so often I have a craving for butter on a bagel.  Earth Balance does the trick.  And finally, a soy based yogurt.  This is actually not so common to see, something I decided to give a shot today.

 The Freezer

Let's take a quick peek at the freezer.  I tend to only do major grocery shopping once a month, so I stock up on frozen veggies for when the fresh run out.  I do make quick stops every week to get a few fresh things, but its always nice to have frozen ready and available.  Plus, frozen produce has just as much nutrition as fresh (as opposed to canned which has lots of sodium).

You can't see much here probably, except that I'm a hoarder when it comes to frozen food. But trust me, everything is there :).

The Pantry

Here's one good shot from my pantry.  Whole grains are another one of the essential foods for the vegan diet, and here you can see a collection of the breakfast variety.  Oats, steel cut oats, grits, and some flaxseed on the right.  I like to add flaxseed to smoothies in the morning, thus the breakfast shelf!

This next one is more like the lunch/dinner time whole grains shelf.  Farro, quinoa, a multi grain mix, wild rice, and teff (thanks so my new friend Lior!)  All sitting in front of a nice collection of whole grain pastas.  Carbs really aren't the enemy, and I tend to cook at least one of these lovely grains each night.

Spicing it Up!

Cooking to me is an art.  My meals are not overwhelmed by excessive fat, salt, and sugar that tends to come with non-vegetarian or processed foods.  Instead, I like to think of my job as bringing out the wonderful natural flavors that whole foods contain.  My spice collection is quite extensive - you're only seeing the major players above!  But to point out a few :

• Turmeric - is wonderful.  Slightly bitter flavor, high in manganese and iron.  I have been told by several of my wiser friends that turmeric is good for the body, for various known as well as not yet understood reasons.
• Coriander - great flavor.  Used in traditional Indian cooking, I add it to lots of my veggie dishes.
• Nutritional yeast - a MUST have.  This is one (if not the only) plant based source of vitamin B12.
• Cinnamon - High in manganese.  Used mostly for breakfast!
• Red Pepper - I like to 'turn up the heat' a bit every once in awhile.  Gets the blood flowing.
• Curry, Ginger, Cumin, Paprika - all great flavors to mix and match!

 Snacking

In addition to washing and drying all of my kale, theres another post-grocery shopping item that must be taken care of.  That is preparing my trail mixes.  It's sometimes tough to find a healthy snack on the job, so I like to take with me some fruit and trail mix every day.  Nuts are also a great source of vegan protein, so I do eat lots of nuts in addition to all the butters used for cooking.  To make this mix, so simple.  I buy whole containers of almonds, walnuts, pecans, peanut, and some craisins/raisins, and mix together in a tupperware.  One of my recent favorites in cocoa covered almonds (need above)  Ready for scooping and packing!

That's all for today, hopefully you can now envision what I'm working with when i start putting more recipes up!

I Eat Goat Food

Or rabbit food.  Although according to my dad, 'rabbit food' is more appropriate as goats eat anything!  Welcome to eatforspeed, a space in which I hope to reach out to fellow vegans, aspiring vegetarian/vegans, atheletes looking to improve via nutrition, or anyone who is just really excited about food!

A short disclaimer - I am neither a nutritionist or a doctor, the recommendations and suggestions I give are purely based on my own findings.  Every one of us has our own 'science lab', and we have to keep experimenting and practicing until we find what's best for us!  I'm not particularly against eating meat, but have found that for me a plant-based diet is the most healthy and conscientious lifestyle.

If you are interested in the training/running portion of my blog, check out myrunnershi.blogspot.com.  I've tried to limit this one to only food-related things!  After completing my last race this weekend, I've decided to hold myself more accountable for putting healthy fuel into my body.  Each day (or realistically, several times a week), I hope to have some yummy food ideas to share and possibly reviews of some neat new products that I've tried.  Let's get started!

Veggie Peanut Butter Soup

Today for dinner I made a nice combination of African Peanut Soup and veggie stir fry.  In a future post I'll give you the REAL peanut butter soup, but for now this is a quick, easy, protein and nutrition-packed meal.

Olive Oil

Onions

Garlic

Tomatoes

Peanut Butter

Other veggies (I used many peppers)

Water

Turmeric

Paprika

Salt/Pepper

Nutritional Yeast

Cumin

Red Pepper

1. In a large pan, add a few tablespoons of oil (I use olive, your choice!)  First, add the garlic and onions and shallow fry until the onions are clear.

2.  Add in your other veggies, chopped and peeled as necessary into bite size pieces.  Leave on medium/low heat so that the veggies become softer ~10 min (carrots/potatoes may need to be pre-boiled if you choose these).

3. Add 2-3 tomatoes, continue to heat on low.  While the veggies are cooking, start adding your spices listed above.  Experiment as you like - nutritional yeast is the one that I'm sure to include as it is important for B12 in a vegan diet!

4. One the tomatoes have softened and you have something of a chunky sauce consistency, add about 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and a cup or two of water.  Stir and cook over low heat until the soup becomes thick and creamy.  Enjoy!

Give it a try, let me know what you think!  Eat happy :).