Vegan in January

January 6, 2010

Hi all, I am returning to this list after an absence. I have been vegetarian for

over 15 years, and I've been on step 7 of SARP for four years or so. In 2008 I

quit my job and moved 500 miles with my partner so I could attend graduate

school (I'm halfway through!), and I dropped off this e-list as part of my

" simplifying " during a hectic time.

My program has remained steady, and since I am on break for the month of

January, I decided I had the time and interest in going vegan for a month. I

feel I rely too much on cheese and dairy for protein, and committing to a vegan

diet for a month will help me try new recipes and tune into how my body feels.

So far I feel great, but that probably also has a lot to do with getting more

sleep and being less stressed (because I am not in the middle of the semester)!

:-)

I've been having lentils and quinoa for breakfast, which is going great.

Breakfast was my greatest worry starting out, but I really enjoy the richness of

the lentils, and I also like having a hot breakfast. I make the lentils and

quinoa in advance and just pop them in the microwave. Salt and pepper is all it

needs.

For lunch today I made a hash with shredded potatoes, leeks, and black beans,

seasoned with some paprika, soy sauce, and vinegar. It turned out pretty tasty.

Dinner will probably be veggie burgers.

So that's me! I just wanted to introduce myself and say hi. I'd love to hear

what kinds of things people are eating, particularly if you have good vegan

recipes to share.

Cheers,

Sharon

January 7, 2010

Hi Sharon, welcome back! I don't eat vegan a whole lot, I find it hard to get

all the protein I need with just plant sources--well technically I can eat

enough beans/lentils etc to get the protein I need, but my stomach doesn't like

it LOL. I do enjoy a good stirfry, though, using tofu or soy meats with lots of

veggies, stir fried in olive oil, garlic, and ginger, and then tossed with

toasted sesame oil at the end. I eat it on brown rice. It's one of my favorite

quick meals.

Heather

There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle.

The other is as though everything is a miracle.

--Albert Einstein

________________________________

Sharon Wylie <swylie2002

Wed, January 6, 2010 4:06:37 PM

Vegan in January

Hi all, I am returning to this list after an absence. I have been vegetarian for

over 15 years, and I've been on step 7 of SARP for four years or so. In 2008 I

quit my job and moved 500 miles with my partner so I could attend graduate

school (I'm halfway through!), and I dropped off this e-list as part of my

" simplifying " during a hectic time.

My program has remained steady, and since I am on break for the month of

January, I decided I had the time and interest in going vegan for a month. I

feel I rely too much on cheese and dairy for protein, and committing to a vegan

diet for a month will help me try new recipes and tune into how my body feels.

So far I feel great, but that probably also has a lot to do with getting more

sleep and being less stressed (because I am not in the middle of the semester)!

:-)

I've been having lentils and quinoa for breakfast, which is going great.

Breakfast was my greatest worry starting out, but I really enjoy the richness of

the lentils, and I also like having a hot breakfast. I make the lentils and

quinoa in advance and just pop them in the microwave. Salt and pepper is all it

needs.

For lunch today I made a hash with shredded potatoes, leeks, and black beans,

seasoned with some paprika, soy sauce, and vinegar. It turned out pretty tasty.

Dinner will probably be veggie burgers.

So that's me! I just wanted to introduce myself and say hi. I'd love to hear

what kinds of things people are eating, particularly if you have good vegan

recipes to share.

Cheers,

Sharon

January 7, 2010

Hi Sharon,

Glad to hear your voice. Sounds like things are working for you. I'm on the

same page as Heather, can't quite get enough protein on the vegan path, I'm over

200#'s, It's fun for me to try for a week or so, but thats about it for my

body.

There are so many good recipes stay connected, as lots of them are shared.

Kathleens Cookbook has some good recipes in it.

Happy 2010.

Bob

January 8, 2010

Hi, Sharon! I too am on a semester schedule, and I totally get how things slide

when it gets hectic. (I'm ABD, and it's been almost five months since my

proposal was approved. I better get crackin'!)

Thanks for the description of your vegan explorations. I would love to go vegan

in theory, but in practice I think it would be very difficult for me to give up

dairy and eggs. (Of course, I used to wonder how to cook without meat, and

that's not a problem at all now.) That said, I know there's a LOT of info out

there that says it's healthier to live without either.

Perhaps I also have to get over my inner resistance to canned beans, but the

thought of planning, soaking, cooking, preparing, and storing of beans and

legumes--let's call it " bean management " --seems like more than I have time for

most of the time. I'm wondering how you manage that? I know lentils and peas

don't take that long to cook, but last time I made veggie chili, for example, I

had the crockpot on for two days before the kidney beans stopped crunching (and

that was with boiling and then soaking them beforehand overnight!)

I guess it's the juxtaposition of beans and time (planning, soaking, etc) that

gets me. Of course, any such shift requires gathering info and then acting

differently, so I should probably stop using the excuse that it's too hard to do

unless I have a month or so off too. :-) Dani

January 8, 2010

Hi Dani

A pressure cooker is a wonderful thing for speeding up the cooking of beans.

I haven't used mine in a while, but it can reduce cooking times to as little

as ten minutes, depending on the bean. You could cook up a whole bag's

worth of beans in one go, and then freeze in convenient-sized portions,

ready to be added to crockpot meals etc. I haven't tried this yet, but

apparently the trick to stopping them going mushy in the freezer is to rinse

in cold water after they're cooked, sprinkle with salt and leave for 5

minutes, then rinse and pack into freezer containers.

HTH

Jenny

_____

On Behalf Of Daneryl Weber

08 January 2010 16:43

RE: Vegan in January

Hi, Sharon! I too am on a semester schedule, and I totally get how things

slide when it gets hectic. (I'm ABD, and it's been almost five months since

my proposal was approved. I better get crackin'!)

Thanks for the description of your vegan explorations. I would love to go

vegan in theory, but in practice I think it would be very difficult for me

to give up dairy and eggs. (Of course, I used to wonder how to cook without

meat, and that's not a problem at all now.) That said, I know there's a LOT

of info out there that says it's healthier to live without either.

Perhaps I also have to get over my inner resistance to canned beans, but the

thought of planning, soaking, cooking, preparing, and storing of beans and

legumes--let's call it " bean management " --seems like more than I have time

for most of the time. I'm wondering how you manage that? I know lentils

and peas don't take that long to cook, but last time I made veggie chili,

for example, I had the crockpot on for two days before the kidney beans

stopped crunching (and that was with boiling and then soaking them

beforehand overnight!)

I guess it's the juxtaposition of beans and time (planning, soaking, etc)

that gets me. Of course, any such shift requires gathering info and then

acting differently, so I should probably stop using the excuse that it's too

hard to do unless I have a month or so off too. :-) Dani

January 8, 2010

LOL Dani-- " bean management. " That's such a funny term.

I am a lazy beaner, cans and local homemade soups, and once

in a while homemade soup.

JoEllen

, Daneryl Weber <daneryl23 wrote:

>

> Hi, Sharon! I too am on a semester schedule, and I totally get how things

slide when it gets hectic. (I'm ABD, and it's been almost five months since my

proposal was approved. I better get crackin'!)

> Thanks for the description of your vegan explorations. I would love to go

vegan in theory, but in practice I think it would be very difficult for me to

give up dairy and eggs. (Of course, I used to wonder how to cook without meat,

and that's not a problem at all now.) That said, I know there's a LOT of info

out there that says it's healthier to live without either.

> Perhaps I also have to get over my inner resistance to canned beans, but the

thought of planning, soaking, cooking, preparing, and storing of beans and

legumes--let's call it " bean management " --seems like more than I have time for

most of the time. I'm wondering how you manage that? I know lentils and peas

don't take that long to cook, but last time I made veggie chili, for example, I

had the crockpot on for two days before the kidney beans stopped crunching (and

that was with boiling and then soaking them beforehand overnight!)

> I guess it's the juxtaposition of beans and time (planning, soaking, etc) that

gets me. Of course, any such shift requires gathering info and then acting

differently, so I should probably stop using the excuse that it's too hard to do

unless I have a month or so off too. :-) Dani

>

January 8, 2010

hi Sharon

I love lentils & my nephew is vegan!

When I was veggie first time round I ate a lot of cheese & mayo. And chips &

fries of course. But I wasn't that bothered about protein then of course.

I'm not completely veggie but what I have is largely vegan I guess.

You have mentioned a lot of the things I like to cook - soya mince chilli is a

favourite.

I also like stir fry with soya shapes.

I often sprout beans & lentils & make a spicey tomatoey stew. Lightly cooked so

it's all a little crunchy. Lovely!

I recently made nut loaf. It was retrotastic! And another top standby of mine

that also freezes well is tempeh. I roast it with garlic, red onions, after

swishing about in some pumpkin or olive oil & a dash of balsamic vinegar.

Mel

, Sharon Wylie <swylie2002 wrote:

>

> Hi all, I am returning to this list after an absence. I have been vegetarian

for over 15 years, and I've been on step 7 of SARP for four years or so. In 2008

I quit my job and moved 500 miles with my partner so I could attend graduate

school (I'm halfway through!), and I dropped off this e-list as part of my

" simplifying " during a hectic time.

>

> My program has remained steady, and since I am on break for the month of

January, I decided I had the time and interest in going vegan for a month. I

feel I rely too much on cheese and dairy for protein, and committing to a vegan

diet for a month will help me try new recipes and tune into how my body feels.

So far I feel great, but that probably also has a lot to do with getting more

sleep and being less stressed (because I am not in the middle of the semester)!

:-)

>

> I've been having lentils and quinoa for breakfast, which is going great.

Breakfast was my greatest worry starting out, but I really enjoy the richness of

the lentils, and I also like having a hot breakfast. I make the lentils and

quinoa in advance and just pop them in the microwave. Salt and pepper is all it

needs.

>

> For lunch today I made a hash with shredded potatoes, leeks, and black beans,

seasoned with some paprika, soy sauce, and vinegar. It turned out pretty tasty.

>

> Dinner will probably be veggie burgers.

>

> So that's me! I just wanted to introduce myself and say hi. I'd love to hear

what kinds of things people are eating, particularly if you have good vegan

recipes to share.

>

> Cheers,

> Sharon

>

January 8, 2010

Dani

I manage my beans & actually [thinking about it] I don't use tinned, but I think

that was because of cost originally.

I find them easy. I work out when I can cook them, & then I plan backwards to

when they need to be soaked, bought, etc.

A couple of weeks ago I made a version of baked beans using pinto beans. I

didn't even know they were what goes into baked beans, just that they looked

like it!

After boiling briskly for 10 minutes, the rest was a supervised simmer with the

addition of some tomatoes, herbs, & spices.

On the other hand, you can avoid all that!

Chick peas from tins are very acceptable I find.