Aside from "veganism" and all the pressure that the label contains, this week it was driven home to me how incredibly cheap it is to eat like this:)
So, for those of you looking for a quick budget boost? Try this menu for a week...
Red Beans and Rice Monday (see "$108.25 for the Holidays")
Tofu Calamari and Quinoa Sushi Tuesday (see "Grapes and our Black Widow Spider, and "Homemade Sushi and Toasted Sesame Oil"
Chicken Nugget and Asian bean salad Wednesday (below)
Indian Butter Chickpea Thursday (see "Indian Butter Chickpeas"
Pizza Friday (below)
Dinner out date night Saturday (see 52.8% on Meat, Dairy and Eggs??)
Tortilla Lasagna Sunday Dinner (below)
President's choice makes a fabulous "chicken" nugget with no chicken. I make an amazing (patented) wing sauce with Earth Balance, hot sauce and dijon mustard all whisked together. Served it tonight for dinner.
Leftover rice, some steamed broccoli and leftover black beans made a great asian salad. Dressing was toasted sesame oil, orange flax oil, tamari, soy sauce, lemon and hoisin sauce. YUM!!!!!
Pizza dough doesn't have to have eggs in it! Try yeast, flour, salt and olive oil!!! Top with homemade tomato sauce, lots of veggies and even some vegan mozzarella. I have to admit, I tried this cheese like a two year old tries spinach - full pucker face and everything! And, I am shocked to say.... it is yummy, and smells and tastes like a wetter mozzarella! It even melts!
Tortillas layered with tostitos salsa (a bit of evoo and veg stock on the bottom so it doesn't stick) a tortilla, a layer of black beans, a tortilla, a layer of red pepper, a tortilla, a layer of salsa and stock, a tortilla, a layer of vegan mozzarellla, a tortilla, and a final layer of evoo and salsa are Y U M M Y!!!
Served alongside an avocado/garlic/lime/green onion mash (aka, Guacamole) and you have yourself one delicious Sunday fiesta!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
52.8% on Meat, Dairy and Eggs??
Premise #1. Our family does not eat a lot of meat when we are at home. At least 3 meals a week at our place were already vegetarian before I began this vegan experiment.
Premise #2. On days when we did include meat, we would only consume a 4 oz portion of meat eggs or dairy per person as a part of our regular routine. It would consume no more than 1/4 of the plate.
Premise #3. The majority of my food purchases were not packaged ingredients, and rather healthy building blocks for home-cooked meals.
Premise #4. 18 months ago, I really eliminated any family reliance on packaged foods (from pre-made lasagna, to premade pizza, to any style of pre-packaged dinner). This reduced my grocery bill from approx $300 per week in half, to about $150.
Premise #5. In spite of the price reduction in premise 4, I was already paying premium prices for meat and dairy and eggs. I would rely on thigh meat (cheaper than breasts), whole chickens (making stock and stretching it for several days) and buying the smallest cuts of meat in the case. Ie: if there were packages costing $15.37, $12.49 and $11.12, I would buy the cheapest one possible knowing that I probably wouldn't even know the difference once I got it home.
Why am I telling you this??
Because, in light of all of this carefullness, I am shocked to learn that a full 52.8% of my food budget was going to things that I no longer eat on a vegan diet.
That means a huge portion of my already meat-limited food budget will go back into my disposable income!!!
Since our family likes to eat at restaurants (almost as entertainment) I grabbed four similar receipts. Foia, Swiss Chalet, Chanosos and The Keg.
In restaurants, it is almost impossible to avoid all the value-added cost that meat based food costs. At our most recent family meal, the average entree cost $24.50. Bill's and my veg option was 9. 64% less!
Our family's budget divides into home meals, lunch meals in restaurants, and entertainment meals for a date or a treat. They all roughly works out to about $350 per week on food, and I have a feeling that is extraordinarily conservative. When I entertain, that figure is much much higher. When we celebrate meals with family (baby nights, Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, etc) those figures just do not hold up... (there was nothing like that in September or October...so the figures were bare bones).
How shocking would it be to literally add more than half of our food funds back into our lives, and keep them out of our bodies and arteries?
During this challenge, everyone is asking us how long we plan to "do this".
I can not ignore the fact that we feel better, have added time into our day, have dramatically slimmed, and (if we keep it up most of the time) have very likely cut our risks of cancer, heart problems and stroke. Also, we have virtually no food safety concerns (other than deadly spiders in our food, but I digress...)
What if we can add thousands of dollars back too?
Talk about an investment in the future.
Premise #2. On days when we did include meat, we would only consume a 4 oz portion of meat eggs or dairy per person as a part of our regular routine. It would consume no more than 1/4 of the plate.
Premise #3. The majority of my food purchases were not packaged ingredients, and rather healthy building blocks for home-cooked meals.
Premise #4. 18 months ago, I really eliminated any family reliance on packaged foods (from pre-made lasagna, to premade pizza, to any style of pre-packaged dinner). This reduced my grocery bill from approx $300 per week in half, to about $150.
Premise #5. In spite of the price reduction in premise 4, I was already paying premium prices for meat and dairy and eggs. I would rely on thigh meat (cheaper than breasts), whole chickens (making stock and stretching it for several days) and buying the smallest cuts of meat in the case. Ie: if there were packages costing $15.37, $12.49 and $11.12, I would buy the cheapest one possible knowing that I probably wouldn't even know the difference once I got it home.
Why am I telling you this??
Because, in light of all of this carefullness, I am shocked to learn that a full 52.8% of my food budget was going to things that I no longer eat on a vegan diet.
That means a huge portion of my already meat-limited food budget will go back into my disposable income!!!
Since our family likes to eat at restaurants (almost as entertainment) I grabbed four similar receipts. Foia, Swiss Chalet, Chanosos and The Keg.
In restaurants, it is almost impossible to avoid all the value-added cost that meat based food costs. At our most recent family meal, the average entree cost $24.50. Bill's and my veg option was 9. 64% less!
Our family's budget divides into home meals, lunch meals in restaurants, and entertainment meals for a date or a treat. They all roughly works out to about $350 per week on food, and I have a feeling that is extraordinarily conservative. When I entertain, that figure is much much higher. When we celebrate meals with family (baby nights, Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, etc) those figures just do not hold up... (there was nothing like that in September or October...so the figures were bare bones).
How shocking would it be to literally add more than half of our food funds back into our lives, and keep them out of our bodies and arteries?
During this challenge, everyone is asking us how long we plan to "do this".
I can not ignore the fact that we feel better, have added time into our day, have dramatically slimmed, and (if we keep it up most of the time) have very likely cut our risks of cancer, heart problems and stroke. Also, we have virtually no food safety concerns (other than deadly spiders in our food, but I digress...)
What if we can add thousands of dollars back too?
Talk about an investment in the future.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
McMonkeys and Eating like a Primate
Here's some food for thought that my newly-animal free brain cells are chewing on:
The ONLY animals that experience obesity are domestic humans (and our dogs and cats!).
Did you just chuckle? Sample this thought:
Can you even picture a morbidly obese monkey at the zoo with a remote control in their hand and a bag of cheetos in the other, lounging around on a couch with neon orange "cheese" crumbs resting on the top of their enlarged belly? It's ridiculous, right?
Can you picture a 46 year old human doing this? Of course!
Am I being too silly now? Picture this:
What if we gave that same monkey $20 to walk through the same zoo to look for a meal. "Food" from every single food stall to choose from.
He wouldn't buy anything! He'd go around forraging, looking for real food like vegetables, grains, seeds, nuts, and fruit. And (even though he isn't wearing pants) he probably wouldn't eat until his belt was tight either.
I am quite certain he wouldn't stop at the cow, pig or chicken exhibit, carve one up and grill part of that animal either. He'd just live and let live.
And we consider ourselves evolved?
Final monkey thought? The writer of this blog evolved from primates, and so did you!
Consider eating like one.
The ONLY animals that experience obesity are domestic humans (and our dogs and cats!).
Did you just chuckle? Sample this thought:
Can you even picture a morbidly obese monkey at the zoo with a remote control in their hand and a bag of cheetos in the other, lounging around on a couch with neon orange "cheese" crumbs resting on the top of their enlarged belly? It's ridiculous, right?
Can you picture a 46 year old human doing this? Of course!
Am I being too silly now? Picture this:
What if we gave that same monkey $20 to walk through the same zoo to look for a meal. "Food" from every single food stall to choose from.
He wouldn't buy anything! He'd go around forraging, looking for real food like vegetables, grains, seeds, nuts, and fruit. And (even though he isn't wearing pants) he probably wouldn't eat until his belt was tight either.
I am quite certain he wouldn't stop at the cow, pig or chicken exhibit, carve one up and grill part of that animal either. He'd just live and let live.
And we consider ourselves evolved?
Final monkey thought? The writer of this blog evolved from primates, and so did you!
Consider eating like one.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Indian Butter Chickpeas
My vegan experiment has led me to the rediscovery of the most delicious, voluminous and satisfying food that even I am surprised.
I've discovered a substance called "cashew cream" - from Tal Ronnen's cookbook "The Conscious Cook". It is incredibly easy and well worth any effort. After soaking raw cashews overnight, you puree the slippery, cold bits with a bit of water into a fatty, delicious CREAM! Seriously - it is divine and STARTLINGLY dairy-free.
I love finding "cream" in the nuttiest places!
So many observations to share...
1. Any inches gained through my crazy beginning to the fall are gone. I have never ever ever been slimmer, except when I was 17, and I lost 6 pounds the first week. I can see my muscles under my skin, more than any results I saw in intense boot camps.
2. I am devouring delicious food in huge quantities, and can not wait for my next meals. They are teeming with flavour, and more colour than even I am used to. The flavours are really full, and intense - not boring at all!
3. My skin has absolutely no need for moisturizer any more. It has never ever felt more supple, and doesn't really feel like my face! Absolutely no trace of blemishes or stress.
4. My grocery bill went up initially, since I purchased a few vegan staples like coconut oil (which smells like a tropical vacation and tastes even better), Vegenaise (which is fabulously reminiscent of my fave, Hellmanns, without the eggs) and Earth Balance (which tastes and melts and spreads just like butter). I know what everyone is getting from me for Christmas in their stockings... Coconut oil is great in cookies.
5. My grocery bills are about to be cut by about 75%. Vegetables, beans and whole grains are incredibly cheap it turns out! Can you imagine adding another 10 GRAND to your life per year, just through your food choices? I'm planning another vacation with the savings.
6. I feel incredible, and my energy level is really balanced! I sleep really well, and wake up rested.
7. I am really feeling less stressed. I have changed absolutely nothing else in my life, and work and life are as busy as ever. I can only attribute the change to the fact that there are no frustrated, stressed or scared animal molecules hanging out in my body any more.
Tonight's dinner was Indian Butter Chickpeas.
One can of organic chickpeas,
One glug of homemade roasted tomato sauce
One clove of chopped garlic
One chopped shallot
Two tablespoons cashew cream
1 tsp Tandoori spice
Hot sauce to taste,
Served over Quinoa (in the rice cooker!!)and chopped green onions on top.
Veganism rocks.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Homemade Sushi and Toasted Sesame Oil
If I have one piece of advice tonight, it is that people need to invest in their children's tastebuds.
Of course, we are 9 days post-Halloween. 9 days of sugar comas. 9 days of crap, that I not only have allowed my son to eat, but actually handed out to other people's kids at the door!
Tomorrow (I have a 10 day rule for consumption of Halloween candy), I will get rid of whatever junk is left, but my son beat me to it.
After picking him up from school, he wanted to make sushi tonight, as our dinner. I had to pull off the regular route home from his after-school care to get Nori (and he found it in the store before I did!). I went upstairs to change, and found the ingredients removed from the fridge, and spread all over the counter. He has such a knack for knowing what would and should go in, the photo is posted, below.
We made Quinoa, I grilled a portobello, sliced an avocado, and rolled away.
It wasn't the best sushi - I had mine in a bowl, because I am not a fan of Nori - but it was deep, rich, and looked really cool.
Toasted sesame oil seems to be the favourite now with Harrison - very macrobiotic with the depth of the upcoming winter - with soy, tamari and mushroom. We added avocado for fat, green and creaminess.
Even he was craving something healthier than crap chocolate, refined sugar, and transfatty sludge. I am quite sure that sushi cravings are the polar opposite of these, and it couldn't have come one day too soon. His tastebuds are maturing - beyond those of a glucose-needing toddler, and into a healthy transitioning young person.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
GRAPES and our BLACK WIDOW SPIDER
I'm trying to divert my mind with some discipline tonight, as to where things could have gone, and just focus on the fact that everything has worked out OK, and everyone in the house is fine.
I'm fine - the guys are fine, and the fridge has been reviewed by the super-awesome Don from pest control.
It's hard not to think things like "this vegan experiment could have killed me, or Harrison, or Bill". Or, as my dad said "the evening could have been tragic".
One of the hardest parts of my divorce was having to kill my own spiders? I've often joked about this, but it's true. I'm arachnophobic.
Not the best thing to be when a black widow spider kicks your upper lip after falling off the grape you're about to put into your mouth. Four grapes, to be exact, in my hand, scooped out of the collander after a great restaurant-inspired vegan appetizer.
Harrison wanted to go to Foia tonight for Calamari. I loved the idea, until I remembered that this month, I'm a vegan. But I had tofu in the fridge and the thought of re-creating a calamari-like dish inspired me. I "breaded" the tofu strips with crushed potato chips, after dipping them in a combo of dijon, soy sauce and olive oil. I crisped them in coconut oil on all four sides, and served them with a dipping sauce of fresh garlic, green onions, olive oil, dijon, lemon juice and some toasted sesame oil. Writing this paragraph is the most calm I have felt all night, since it is about making something delicious - through adding flavour.
During the prep, I thought I would blog about depth of flavour. I thought I would blog about the fact that chicken (or tofu) really doesn't have an independent flavour, and what we can DO to it can make it great. I thought I would be blogging about blank canvasses.
Instead, I am really upset that I could have been taken out by my quest for a fresh fruit prompted by the very same vegan experiment.
Bill joked that it was ironic that if I hadn't been buying so much fresh produce, and rather had been relying on processed, McCrap, that this probably wouldn't have happened. I am sure I wouldn't have just tossed into the garbage (quite gladly!) ANY fresh produce which was in my fridge. The expensive green onions. The gorgeous Essex County "chef's mix" fresh mushrooms. The expensive organic celery.
And the crisp green grapes that were her home for a while, and in my home since Sunday. I packed a bag of grapes for Harrison's lunch this morning, and put the collander on the counter, grabbed a bunch, and put it back. Realized Bill needed a snack, grabbed another bunch (recall struggling with the stem) and put it back again. I probably threw out $30 worth of produce because of what was living in my fridge.
Yep - I'm one of those people who have had a black widow spider crawl out of their grapes. She wiggled across my lip, enough for me to drop the other three grapes. As she fell to the floor, my mind raced.
A spider.
On a grape. Wait-a-minute! It couldn't possibly be a black widow spider, one of the very reasons I stopped buying grapes in the first place? (They're from such foreign locales, loaded with spiders!)
No - not in my home, seriously. I grab a plastic mis-en-place bowl, and put it right over her. Then, I go to the web.
SPIDERS IN GRAPES.
Immediately, the black widow spider stories pop up. I'm on the phone with 911 when she says "are you sure it's a black widow?" and I'm not. The website indicates you can tell a female black widow spider by the red hourglass shape on the belly. The belly? It's facing the floor, darn it!! And just as she says it...the new visitor to our house tries to crawl up the bowl, and there it is.
The red hourglass.
I've stopped hyperventilating now. I've called the supermarket, the pest control guy has the spider and is freezing the body. I called the provincial pest control office to "report" it.
Having said that, I will never ever buy grapes again.
Monday, November 2, 2009
My November Vegan Experiment
I should have known better.
I gave Bill a humerous book on healthy eating that I thought he could check out in his very few minutes of down time every so often. It contained, inter alia, scathing accounts of dairy products, egg production, and horiffic accounts of factory meat production - more than anyone would ever care to know. Next thing I know, we're vegans. I should have known!
The source concludes that vegan eating is THE only way to fly. You can imagine, for someone in love with butter and cheese, that this is not my favourite news. I can do without meat quite easily - and did, for years. I love a great steak every so often, although it is increasingly important to me to purchase meat that was raised and fed properly, and humanely exited from the planet.
Vegan eating is going to be literally and completely different. No butter. No cheese??? I won't even be able to re-read my own blog this month. But, in closing one door (even for a while) my goal is to force myself to find alternatives.
I remember reading that fish don't have feelings. They don't have a cerebral cortex, so somehow eating them seems less cruel. If it can't ever feel sadness, or know its own name, it must be OK to eat? I've learned that fish are often teeming with mercury from the water, and fed on mercury-laden fish. (Tuna and Salmon are huge creatures, who feed on lots of small creatures to reach their ultimate weight, so "you are what you eat" is important to them, too) See "Remy's Law", October. The fact that farmed salmon are fed things that would never occur in their natural diet (like corn) as well as given a dose of food dye to make their flesh look "pink" was enough to turn me off of that, too.
I used to think that shellfish and mollusks were a completely feeling-free choice too. Until Sally and Jerry (the trained conchs at the Conch farm in the Turks and Caicos Islands) rolled out of their shells to give Harrison a look, and to do a few tricks!??!! Anything that can do tricks, and has a name shouldn't be delicious.
More than ever before, the sheer act of eating is a landmine of challenges.
E-Coli. Suffering. Factories. Antibiotics. Profit margins. Hormones. Cancer.
It seems that over the past 50 years we have taken the sheer joy out of eating, and replaced it with other stuff that is just not good.
So - the vegan experiment!
We are going to skip all animal products for the month. No eggs, butter, milk, meat or fish. And it is going to be HARD for me.
But, like any challenge, it offers insight and possibility.
This morning, instead of an egg sandwich, I browned some tofu in a bit of coconut oil, added some hot sauce, and nesled it on some bread smeared with dijon mustard. It was "exceed-my-expectations" fantastic. Harrison's nose led him to the kitchen where he promptly took a bite, declared that it had the same texture and consistency of egg, and walked off with it! When he returned, he asked "Could tonight be tofu night?"
Cool kid.
He totally deserves the best possible fuel for that adorable growing mind. The 30 days in November will be dedicated to healthy eating, research regarding my own habits in the kitchen, and striving for the healthiest fats, carbohydrates and proteins combinations that can exist in a busy family kitchen.
Tonight is Monday, so my Red Beans and Rice consisted of the tomato vegetable soup from last night used to steep a cup of red lentils until thick. Lentils smell like chicken soup when they are cooking, and that surprises me! Red beans and green onions are rounding out the pot. It is a gorgeous dish with a lovely, homemade smell. I've been reading a book on the couch as it simmers.
I survived the day with almond milk in my coffee (and there is NO WAY ON THIS GREEN EARTH that I am going to give up coffee). I had a veggie sandwich at work, a peanut butter and banana sandwich for a snack and a V8. I feel impossibly energized.
I gave Bill a humerous book on healthy eating that I thought he could check out in his very few minutes of down time every so often. It contained, inter alia, scathing accounts of dairy products, egg production, and horiffic accounts of factory meat production - more than anyone would ever care to know. Next thing I know, we're vegans. I should have known!
The source concludes that vegan eating is THE only way to fly. You can imagine, for someone in love with butter and cheese, that this is not my favourite news. I can do without meat quite easily - and did, for years. I love a great steak every so often, although it is increasingly important to me to purchase meat that was raised and fed properly, and humanely exited from the planet.
Vegan eating is going to be literally and completely different. No butter. No cheese??? I won't even be able to re-read my own blog this month. But, in closing one door (even for a while) my goal is to force myself to find alternatives.
I remember reading that fish don't have feelings. They don't have a cerebral cortex, so somehow eating them seems less cruel. If it can't ever feel sadness, or know its own name, it must be OK to eat? I've learned that fish are often teeming with mercury from the water, and fed on mercury-laden fish. (Tuna and Salmon are huge creatures, who feed on lots of small creatures to reach their ultimate weight, so "you are what you eat" is important to them, too) See "Remy's Law", October. The fact that farmed salmon are fed things that would never occur in their natural diet (like corn) as well as given a dose of food dye to make their flesh look "pink" was enough to turn me off of that, too.
I used to think that shellfish and mollusks were a completely feeling-free choice too. Until Sally and Jerry (the trained conchs at the Conch farm in the Turks and Caicos Islands) rolled out of their shells to give Harrison a look, and to do a few tricks!??!! Anything that can do tricks, and has a name shouldn't be delicious.
More than ever before, the sheer act of eating is a landmine of challenges.
E-Coli. Suffering. Factories. Antibiotics. Profit margins. Hormones. Cancer.
It seems that over the past 50 years we have taken the sheer joy out of eating, and replaced it with other stuff that is just not good.
So - the vegan experiment!
We are going to skip all animal products for the month. No eggs, butter, milk, meat or fish. And it is going to be HARD for me.
But, like any challenge, it offers insight and possibility.
This morning, instead of an egg sandwich, I browned some tofu in a bit of coconut oil, added some hot sauce, and nesled it on some bread smeared with dijon mustard. It was "exceed-my-expectations" fantastic. Harrison's nose led him to the kitchen where he promptly took a bite, declared that it had the same texture and consistency of egg, and walked off with it! When he returned, he asked "Could tonight be tofu night?"
Cool kid.
He totally deserves the best possible fuel for that adorable growing mind. The 30 days in November will be dedicated to healthy eating, research regarding my own habits in the kitchen, and striving for the healthiest fats, carbohydrates and proteins combinations that can exist in a busy family kitchen.
Tonight is Monday, so my Red Beans and Rice consisted of the tomato vegetable soup from last night used to steep a cup of red lentils until thick. Lentils smell like chicken soup when they are cooking, and that surprises me! Red beans and green onions are rounding out the pot. It is a gorgeous dish with a lovely, homemade smell. I've been reading a book on the couch as it simmers.
I survived the day with almond milk in my coffee (and there is NO WAY ON THIS GREEN EARTH that I am going to give up coffee). I had a veggie sandwich at work, a peanut butter and banana sandwich for a snack and a V8. I feel impossibly energized.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)