Vegan,Veggie, and Raw!

TurkeyLurkey said:

Yes... It had to be done.

Raw - Nothing cooked.
Vegan - No animal products. No eggs, honey, milk, cheese.. etc.
Vegetarian - No animal flesh, but eggs, cheese, milk etc.. is ok. (ovo-lacto)
Semi-Vegetarian - Minimal poultry/fish.

There is also..
Whole foods philosophy - foods in their natural form, unprocessed.

Any recipes? Any great cook books?

The cook book I am currently using is semi-vegetarian..
Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home, by The Moosewood Collective

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Where's the beef?

Well, I am a vegetarian when I feel like it, so I am not a vegetarian. But I eat a lot of vegetarian food. I go for months eating only vegetarian, and I get tired of it and start eating omnivorous again.To explain further, I think I am a "seasonal" vegetarian. When the veggies are on the vine, I am chomping away, canning, being "veggie-minded."

Now, as far as grilling out, I especially like grilled vegetable sub sandwiches, with or without cheese.

You basically cut peppers, onions, eggplant, zucchini, and grill, as well as get some nice char lines on a nice baguette or sub roll, or even Italian bread.
Use cold tomato, sprouts, shredded lettuce, and some good dressing. Also smash an avocado or use guacamole spread, oh, and cheese if you wish. You can also use hummus, or make a spread from the eggplant. I tend to think of it as a dressing, a smashed veggie, a roasted veggie, cheese and some fresh veggies.

To put the sandwich together, just spread the spreads, put down the roasted veggies, cheese, then top with your cold toppings (sprouts, tomato). You can get very artistic and different. I like roast colored peppers and onions on avocado dip with provolone, and a splash of Italian, with sprouts and toppings. When you have your masterpiece made, if it is a large piece of bread, like the Italian, then cut it into edible slices. Caveat: some breads are a bit too chewy for this. If they are too chewy, the sandwich tends to fall apart.

The great thing is that you can have several of these sandwiches and none will be the same. They are great for smörgåsbord or a light brunch, and you can do them on the stove as well as on a grill.

The great thing about eating veggie is that you don't get all bent out of shape if there is no meat around. To me, a plate of potatoes is as good a meal as a hamburger. (I am a freak for hash browns, rice, and beans).

I also love Aloo Gobi, which is a wonderful Indian dish made with potatoes and cauliflower. I think if anyone should ask what my favorite meal would be it would be a toss up between a Spanish Omelet and Aloo Gobi.

I have a few veg cookbooks. I generally go for ethnic cookbooks. Italian, Spanish, Indian, and Oriental cookbooks usually have a nice selection of non-meat dishes. Often I just take a side dish and use that as the centerpiece of the meal.

Veg is good for weight loss but only if you tone down the use of oils and dairy. The only real problem is it takes the body a while to eat so much fiber. I've been eating like this for many years, so a bowl of beans does not effect me as much as it would someone who eats beans on a limited basis.

I had been under the impression that if you were a vegan all you'd eat is raw veggies. After all, what is was there!? Boring.

Some months ago I had a vegan stay with me and I did some research on what she could eat. I was bowled over. I found some vegan recipes that knocked off everyone's socks. In fact, I thought about making one of the recipes a standard breakfast.

It's good to broaden one's horizons!

I'm definitely coming back to this thread when I have some time.

I'm a lacto-ovo-pesco vegetarian. How's that for a mouthful? I eat dairy, eggs, and fish on occasion. But I mostly stick to veggies, grains, and legumes. I've been eating like this for close to 20 years and I have tons of tips and recipes.

I'll be back!

One of my favorite summer vegetarian foods: roasted red peppers with sprouted wheat bread. Very simple to make:

Roasted peppers:

Eight bright red peppers (organic, if you can find them) -- wash and dry them, then plop them on a grill or a cast iron skillet on your stove top. A nonstick skillet will work too. No oil!

Roast them on all sides (and the bottom) until the skin either starts to blacken or puffs up.

Remove when done, and place them in a sealed container for five minutes. Peel the skin off and discard (into your composter?).

Place the peppers in a container, sprinkle with sea salt, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Top with fresh basil leaves. Seal, refrigerate for two hours.


Sprouted wheat bread

Soak two cups of washed organic whole wheat overnight. Use spring or filtered water for the soaking (you can drink the soak water in the morning for breakfast -- great nutrients there -- or you can use it to rinse your face or hair).

Dump the drained soaked wheat on a clean cotton towel and tie the corners together. Hang it above your sink to sprout for 24 hours (sprinkle the bundle with spring water half-way through).

Dump sprouting wheat in food processor (can also crush it with mortar and pestle), sprinkle in half a teaspoon of sea salt and 1/4 cup of spring water. Set the food processor on chop for 1 minute.

Scoop the wheat mixture into two baking pans oiled with extra virgin olive oil (or simply form it into two oblong shapes on a baking sheet). Place in a warmed oven (heat turned off) for two hours to 'ferment'. Take it out and preheat the oven for 10 minutes at 175 degrees celsius (medium). Bake for 60 minutes at 175 (medium). Take out and let it cool for 30 minutes.


Slice bread into thick 1/2 inch slices. Serve with two roasted red peppers. Don't forget to scoop all the red pepper juices with your bread, yum!

Saritams8 said:

I'm definitely coming back to this thread when I have some time.

I'm a lacto-ovo-pesco vegetarian. How's that for a mouthful? I eat dairy, eggs, and fish on occasion. But I mostly stick to veggies, grains, and legumes. I've been eating like this for close to 20 years and I have tons of tips and recipes.

I'll be back!

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Me too! "lacto-ovo-pesco". And, I will be back to share recipes later.

GARLICKY SALSA

(Warning: all participants must... participate: garlic breath for 2 days!)

Take a whole garlic head (organic preferred) and soak it in spring water for 10 minutes.

Place it on your grill on its flat bottom, cover with stainless steel bowl. Grill until done (about 45-60 minutes depending on temperature). It is done when it feels soft (when squeezed).

Meanwhile, wash and dry about 2 pounds of small red ripe tomatoes (italian oblong tomatoes are best, but any tasty ones will work). Place on grill and cover. Let cook for 15-20 minutes, tuning once or twice.

Dice some shallots to taste (green onions are great too). Chop a handful of fresh parsley, and (optional), half as much fresh coriander.

Slice roasted / grilled tomatoes and mix with diced shallots, parsley, coriander and (squeezed) roasted garlic. Add sea salt and fresh squeezed lemon juice to taste.

Serve with... anything you like: organic corn chips, organic potato chips, roasted red peppers, roasted aubergine (eggplant), roasted / baked potatoes.

This is a recipe I came up with for one of my vegan friends. I do make my own vegetable broth when I make this dish, because I feel my broth has more flavor than the canned varieties.

Warning: I haven't kitchen tested this recipe, but I'm pretty sure the measurements are correct. I'll kitchen test it next week and make adjustments, if needed.

GRILLED THAI VEGETABLE CURRY​

The Vegetables:

4 – medium sized zucchini, halved and cut into 3-inch segments
10 – Thai eggplant, halved (You may substitute 2 medium sized Japanese eggplant, halved and cut into 3-inch segments)
2 – medium sized leeks, cut into 3-inch segments
3 – medium sized carrots, halved and cut into 3-inch segments
12 – Asparagus spears, cut into 3-inch segments
2 - tablespoons Olive oil
1 – teaspoons minced garlic
Salt/Pepper


Combine all vegetable in a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and then season liberally with salt and pepper. Stir to coat. Grill vegetables until well marked on a hot BBQ or stovetop grill pan. Set aside. (You may oven roast the vegetables in a hot oven, 425F, for approximately 15 minutes or until nicely browned and exuding some juices.)

The Curry:

1- tablespoon Peanut oil (you may substitute Olive or any other vegetable oil.)
2- small gloves of garlic, minced
4 – Thai bird’s eye chilies or one Jalapeno chili, minced. (Optional.)
2 – tablespoons Thai red curry paste (found in the International/Asian aisle of most grocery stores or at Asian markets.)
1 – tablespoon Palm sugar (found in Asian markets. You may substitute light brown sugar.)
2 – tablespoons Nam Pla/Thai fish sauce (Found in most grocery stores or in Asian markets.)
1 – cup canned, unsweeten coconut milk, shaken before opening to combine the thick and thin milks.
2 – 14.5 cans vegetable broth
4 – Kaffir lime leaves (Also called curry leaves. Found at Asian markets or online. There is no substitute for these leaves and they are the basis of that particular curry flavor in Thai curries.) Optional.
1/3 cup – Cilantro, roughly chopped, including stems
1 – 8 ounce container of O’Brien, grape or cherry tomatoes

Suggested condiments to be sprinkled on top of curry:

Chopped, fresh cilantro
Crushed dry fried or unsalted dry roasted peanuts
Asian fried crispy onion (Found in some Asian markets or online.)
Limes wedges

Heat oil in a 3 quart pot until just starting to smoke, add garlic and optional chilies and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add curry paste and stir fry for one minute. Add Palm sugar/brown sugar, nam pla and stir fry for 30 seconds. Pour in coconut milk and vegetable broth, and stir to combine. Add Kaffir lime leaves and cilantro, increase heat and bring sauce to the boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add grilled/roasted vegetables to curry sauce, including any juices that have accumulated in the pan, increase heat, and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are just cooked through, approximately 5-10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and cook until tomatoes begin to soften, approximately 1-2 minutes.

Serve with steamed Thai Jasmine rice and condiments.

I'm vegan, and I adore Vegan with a Vengeance and Veganomicon for cookbooks. They have some fantastic recipes, and not too difficult. Vive le Vegan! is also pretty good; the peanut butter cookies are to die for, especially with added chocolate chips.

No recipes to share at the moment, though, just the cookbook recommendations. And veganism is totally more than raw veggies, as pointed out. It's delicious--this from the girl who used to be so picky she'd eat chicken, carrots, macaroni and cheese, and little else.

Back in my twenties, I was a social meat eater. Meaning I'd eat meat in social situations but didn't cook it myself. Not a standard moniker, but it gets the point across.

I'm not a vegetarian/vegan/whatever now, nor can I be - I need my animal protein more than most people (genetic defect) - but I do go through periods, like right now, where the thought of eating certain types of animal proteins makes me quite nauseous. No idea why.

TurkeyLurkey said:

Me three! Woohoo! Lets have a LOPV party! I'll bring the fajita black bean burritos!

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Fajita black bean burritos sound great. Woohoo! To the LOPV's!

I'm not a vegetarian, but my mom is, which means I ate like one but was not forbidden meat when we ate out. Anyway I never felt I was missing anything because I was essentially raised on Dr. McDougall cookbooks. Here's his website, keyed into the page with all the cookbooks. They have a wide range of stuff from simple to complex, but it's all super healthy and yummy.

http://www.drmcdougall.com/store_books.html

(Actually I should mention that he and his wife are now friends of my parents - my dad randomly met him windsurfing one day and realize who he was. McDougall is a bit of a fanatic about his food, but is otherwise a nice dude. )

Two stories I thought were funny, I have to share... First I decided to go veggie in February, by the time I got to April i was sick to my stomach almost everyday and finally got so sick over one weekend I made an appointment with a gastrointestinal doctor..
I went thru a battery of tests when the doc finally asked: "have you changed your eating habits lately". I told him about my healty new diet and he practicall bust out laughing,,, He said, "I want you to go home and cook up a big steak, eat it and call me tommorrow. So I did and , I felt great, within 24 hours my stomach was back to normal and all was good.. When I called him he told me that since I had my gallbladder taken outI would be best to include some meat in my diet because veggies as great as they are for you will just gas you up like no tommorrow if you're not eating something to slow digestion.... So much for a healthy diet....

The second thing which almost made drive off the road was something I heard on the Dennis Miller Radio show... They were Joking about how if a earthquake hit California that it could be hard to get food into the State and people might resort to cannablism, Except in Hollywood where the cannibals would make a point of only eating VEGANS.... I almost died i laughed so hard.....

Sarita said:

I'm definitely coming back to this thread when I have some time.

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So, I'm a big fat liar! Let me start with a cook book recommendation: 1001 Vegetarian Recipes by Carol Gelles. This is a fantastic cook book with great variations and perfect for a "starter" vegetarian. She explains the proteins and how to get them, gives ideas for parties and entertaining, but not in an off putting way that you generally see in cookbooks. I loved this when it was given to me 11 years ago, and I have cherished every meal from it. Wonderful bread recipes, too. Her dense and chewy grain bread is my favorite of all time.

Next up, soup!

This looks like an interesting resource for vegan recipes:

http://vegweb.com

I'm a vegetarian, except when it deprives me of food.

Kashmiri-Style Kidney Beans with Turnips

This thread got me thinking about vegetarian meals, then I remembered I had some fresh turnips.
A little Google search, and voila!
I can't wait to try this.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Kashmiri-Style-Kidney-Beans-with-Turnips/Detail.aspx

• 2 turnips, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
• 1 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri garam masala

1. Place turnips into a saucepan with the water and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the turnip is soft, about 5 minutes. Once tender, stir in the kidney beans, and cook 5 minutes more.
2. Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the cumin and fennel, and cook until the spices toast and become fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the onion, and cook until it turns golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the minced ginger and garlic, cook and stir for 30 seconds, then add the tomatoes and salt, and continue cooking until the mixture turns pasty. Finally, stir in the paprika, turmeric, ground ginger, and 2 tablespoons water; cook 2 minutes more.
3. Add the tomato mixture to the turnips, and simmer 10 minutes. Season with garam masala before serving.

Don Allen said:

Two stories I thought were funny, I have to share... First I decided to go veggie in February, by the time I got to April i was sick to my stomach almost everyday and finally got so sick over one weekend I made an appointment with a gastrointestinal doctor..
I went thru a battery of tests when the doc finally asked: "have you changed your eating habits lately". I told him about my healty new diet and he practicall bust out laughing,,, He said, "I want you to go home and cook up a big steak, eat it and call me tommorrow. So I did and , I felt great, within 24 hours my stomach was back to normal and all was good.. When I called him he told me that since I had my gallbladder taken outI would be best to include some meat in my diet because veggies as great as they are for you will just gas you up like no tommorrow if you're not eating something to slow digestion.... So much for a healthy diet....

The second thing which almost made drive off the road was something I heard on the Dennis Miller Radio show... They were Joking about how if a earthquake hit California that it could be hard to get food into the State and people might resort to cannablism, Except in Hollywood where the cannibals would make a point of only eating VEGANS.... I almost died i laughed so hard.....

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I'm secretly convinced that the community at Wolf Creek (not kidding about the name) are a cannibal cult. Hardly any of them are vegan, but they always try to fatten us up. (I am kidding about that).

I am not a medical professional so I can't address the reaction you had to being vegetarian for a few weeks.

I will say, however, that there is a period of adjustment to any new diet, as well as a new set of dietary considerations. Most new vegetarians don't eat the right foods, or the optimal amount. The body itself grows accustomed to habit and tends to resist deviation. In your case, a gall bladder issue obviously called for a professional nutritionist as well as a physician. You may not be able to physically handle the adjustment at all.

On the other hand, just because meat fixed the problem doesn't mean it wouldn't have also been fixed through other nutritional remedies. A different doctor might have pursued this, and been right or wrong. As noted, I am not in a position to say.

Nevertheless, it is unfair to dismiss the many proven health benefits of vegetarianism, especially in a recipe thread intended for people who eat this food. Quite a lot of us are demonstrably healthier in many ways.

I don't do it for health, and actually am not that into health. But I am fairly fit despite 14 hours a day in front of a screen, have no known health issues, and enjoy life far better than I did seven years ago.

Something to think about. I respect your effort though, and I wish you well with whatever makes you feel the best.

Here's a quick protein secret. If you want to have "cream" soups, or just make a soup creamy, you can take a bit of the broth and toss it in a blender/processer with 1/2 a block of really soft tofu. It creams the soup and it's really good for you. You might have to balance out the salt/pepper to compensate for the slight sweetness of the tofu. You can also puree your soup and throw the tofu in then. I do this all the time and seriously, no one has ever been able to tell it's tofu. You can also make a pretty wicked mushroom stroganoff with tofu. Oh and chocolate mousse. Yum!!

My biggest problem with sticking to a vegetarian diet is that I know not what to fix! I could easily do without meat altogether. In fact, I often go weeks without eating any at all because I just don't care for it much except once in a while. I'm perusing this thread to see what I can learn!

The biggest thing that I learned in my different attempts to be strictly vegetarian was that I really hate substitute "meats". If I don't want meat, I just don't want meat--I don't want something that attempts to be like meat. LOL!! The best recipes I have tried are simply veggie recipes that aren't trying to mimic the taste and texture of meat.

Favorites thus far:

Red beans and rice
Homemade veggie soup
Cheese pizza
Lasagna with nothing but sauce, noodles and cheese
Veggie sammiches
Any type of soup beans, but no limas please
Grilled tofu with this awesome Asian sauce that I have never been able to make. (got this in a restaurant in Virginia Beach.)
Macaroni and cheese

Mom used to have what she called a "relish tray" on the table with every meal in the summer. She'd have baby corn, carrots, cucumbers, pepper rings, tomatoes and all sorts of other things drizzled with some concoction of vinegar and herbs. I can remember many meals when that was all I ate.

I don't know what others think of PETA, but I got a vegetarian starter kit from them about a year ago, and it had lots of good info. They also have vegan recipes on their website.