DAY 9
Fast, Cheap, AND Easy!
GOAL FOR THE DAY Make a vegan meal that’s fast, cheap, and easy (and delicious, too!)
I’m not sure if fast, cheap, and easy sounds good or bad, but the reality is, sometimes, that’s just how we need it. And, honestly, most vegans cook this way, at least the ones I know. Sure, we buy those fancy cookbooks from time to time, and even scroll through the vegan food blogs ogling the screen-lick worthy photos, and drool a bit—OK, drool a lot. But hey, when it’s time to get in the kitchen, and get cookin’, most of us want it stat! None of this agar-agar or xanthan gum stuff; twenty-eight years of being vegan, and I haven’t used them once. No pricey pine nuts in every sauce, and if goji berries are the main ingredient, at a whopping twenty-five bucks a pound, it’s just not happening. No spending hours injecting an oblong slab of tofu with yellow goo to recreate a poached egg. Put that idea in your sixth-grade “How to Build a Volcano” box, and head on down to easy street. Vegans, more often than not, just want fresh, delicious, affordable food that we can make in a jiff, and today, you’re going to see just how easy it is.
OK, let’s hop to it!
1. First, know that you likely won’t have to waste a lot of time thinking about protein. Ah, good ole’ protein. We’ve got to have it so our cells can build and repair our skin, bones, and muscles, as well as keep our immune system working well. If we were to look into a high-powered microscope, we’d see that protein is composed of beautifully structured amino acids, so beautiful that they even make T-shirts and posters of the stained images. Our body makes some amino acids on its own, but others, called essential amino acids, we have to go out and get. Here’s the great news, though: there’s a heck of a lot of protein in plants and you can get all of your amino acids from them, even the essential ones. I don’t know who started the rumor that you could only get protein from animal products, but sheesh, it’s one of those old wives’ tales that really needs to be put to rest. Heck, even watermelon has protein. The next time you’re driving around in the countryside and see a big, strong, and muscular bull, just put your index finger to the side of your chin and ask yourself, “Where does he get his protein?” Yep—from plants. Today you’re going to figure out how much protein you need, and then we’ll take a look at where you can find it.
Adults need about .36 grams of protein per pound that they weigh.1 I’m very petite and weigh about 98 pounds so I need approximately 35.28 grams of protein per day (.36 g x 98 lbs = 35.28). That being said, I’ve never counted out my daily protein intake, other than for one nutrition class assignment. Why? Because I eat enough protein without giving it any thought. You likely will, too, but just to make things easy, I’m listing a bunch of protein-packed plants for you. Peruse the list and jot down what you like in your journal so that when you go to the market, you can pick up a few of them. But rest assured, you really don’t need to worry about getting enough protein if you’re eating a nice variety of plant foods; as I mentioned earlier, most Americans eat almost twice the amount of protein they need.2 Protein that your body doesn’t use turns into sugar, then fat, not to mention it can be hard on the kidneys. Your kidneys are stuck with the task of ridding your body of all of the protein waste by passing nitrogen out through your urine. That’s why veterinarians often switch older kitties with kidney problems to a low-protein diet, and doctors encourage those with failing kidneys to eat food low in protein, too.3 We need protein, but getting enough of it shouldn’t be a concern. Leave the obsessive worrying to others. It gives them something to do. We’re here to relax, eat good food, and have fun! Here’s a list of a few good plant-based proteins you might want to copy and keep handy when you go to the market, though, just to set your mind at ease:
GRAINS
Quinoa (1 cup cooked) = 8 grams
Brown Rice (1 cup cooked) = 5 grams
Oats (1 cup dry) = 6 grams
BEANS
Black Beans (1 cup cooked) = 15 grams
Kidney Beans (1 cup cooked) = 16 grams
Lentils (1 cup cooked) = 18 grams
NUTS
Almond Butter (2 tablespoons) = 8 grams
Peanut Butter (2 tablespoons) = 8 grams
Cashews (1 ounce) = 5 grams
SEEDS
Flaxseeds (2 tablespoons) = 4 grams
Sesame Seeds (2 tablespoons) = 3 grams
Hemp Seeds (2 tablespoons) = 7 grams
VEGETABLES
Spinach (1 cup cooked) = 5 grams
Peas (1 cup frozen, boiled, and drained) = 8 grams
Portobello Mushrooms (1 cup grilled) = 5 grams
2. Adopt some smart vegan shopping strategies that are healthy and will save you money.
Healthy vegan food begins with your shopping cart, so don’t put the junk in your trunk. Once it’s home, it’s a million times more difficult to avoid eating. Trust me, I know. Yesterday my husband asked if I wanted him to bring home a box of vegan cookies from the store, and I said “No, thank you. If you buy them, I’ll eat them.” And today, I’m sitting here gobbling up a bag of raw almonds, bananas, and dates. Mission accomplished. For today, at least.
Shop when you’re full to avoid impulse buys, and be especially wary of snacks at the checkout stand.
Try to shop around the perimeter of the store, or at least go there first. Most of the unhealthy, overly processed products are in the middle of the grocery store.
Look high and low on the shelves for healthier fare as most of the unhealthy products are strategically positioned at eye level. You’ll be surprised at what you’ll find, especially in the cereal section. There’s actually a lot of healthy whole grain cereals in mainstream supermarkets, they just get swallowed up by all of the psychedelic boxes of “Cholesterol Crunch” and “Obesity O’s.”
Bring a healthy, well-thought-out shopping list and try to stick to it. If you add more food to the list once you’re at the store, just make sure it’s healthy.
If you’re really craving sweets, buy fresh or dried fruit instead. When I want a vegan donut, I pout around the house for about ten minutes (because we don’t have them in the house anymore) and then I eat a sweet banana or crisp apple and I’m completely satiated. A handful of cashews or a spoonful of nut butter with a few vegan dark chocolate chips on top works well, too! In the summertime, try frozen grapes. Yum!
Don’t get discouraged if the produce seems to be expensive. I’m lucky to live in California where fresh fruits and veggies are abundant all year. But if you can’t find fresh produce at a good price, head over to the freezer section. The fruits and veggies will likely be cheaper, and just as healthy, or healthier. Produce begins to lose its nutrients as soon as it’s harvested, but frozen fruits and veggies are usually flash-frozen upon picking, sealing in all of their vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Whereas the fresh produce may have traveled over a thousand miles to get to you, and who knows how many moons it has been on the road. Frozen produce often gets a bad rap, but it’s actually healthy, and generally less expensive.
If you get the urge to buy a bunch of highly processed vegan foods like cupcakes and cookies, instead of buying them, or any prepackaged mixes, buy all of the individual ingredients you need to make them. That way you can still have treats once in a while, but because you’ll have to work for them, you’ll eat them far less, and your homemade treats will likely be healthier, too.
Use coupons! I’ve seen—and used—online coupons for free Beyond Meat Strips and Crumbles, free Sweet Earth Benevolent Bacon, and free Dave’s Killer Bread. Yes, absolutely free! Consider creating an e-mail account just for vegan food, and then sign up for newsletters and promotions from as many vegan food companies as you like. This way you’ll always know when there’s a good deal for an item, but you won’t flood your primary e-mail account. Other food and beverage companies that often have great coupons and promotions for vegan products include Gardein, Earthbound Farms, Jamba Juice, Silk, Lightlife, Amy’s Organic, Follow Your Heart, So Delicious Dairy Free, Nasoya Tofu, Go Veggie, Field Roast, and Bob’s Red Mill. Just google the company name and the word coupons and you’ll find them. You might be able to print out the coupon immediately, or you may need to subscribe to a newsletter, but that’s OK; you’ve got your dedicated vegan food e-mail account for it!
Stack Coupons! Most stores accept both the manufacturers’ coupon as well as the store’s coupon. For example, Whole Foods Market has their own monthly coupon booklet that you can pick up at the customer service counter, as well as a coupon app. They always have at least a few coupons for vegan food and you can stack those discounts on top of the manufacturers’ coupons you bring from home. Target often has vegan food and beverage coupons on their website, too. You’ll really feel like you’ve hit the jackpot if you find an item that’s on sale, and then use two stacked coupons. It happens!
Check to see if your grocery store has any unique promotions. Sprouts Markets, for example, always has great sales, but on Wednesdays they honor the sale prices from the past week, as well as the current week. You won’t get a “double” discount on anything, but you’ll have twice as many sale items to choose from, and that rocks!
Check out the Dollar Store and Dollar Tree. There are thousands of locations across the country! I’ve found so many vegan items at these stores. Peanut butter, oats, vegan mayo, canned coconut milk, soy milk, almond milk, pasta, pasta sauce, dried beans, vegetable samosas, veggie burgers, frozen berries, and at only one buck each. Can’t beat that!
Big Lots often has great deals on Bob’s Red Mill items, such as a 24-ounce bag of whole flaxseeds for three bucks, or the 13 Bean Soup Mix for four dollars. Big
Lots is also where we usually score our bargain Bob’s Red Mill Organic 7 Grain Pancake and Waffle Mix. It’s currently $8.37 on Amazon, $4.69 online at Bob’s Red Mill, and only $3.70 at Big Lots. Did someone say pancakes? (Spoiler Alert: There’s a pancake recipe coming up here!)
3. Know that if you must have vegan junk food during your transition, it exists. Oh boy, does it exist.
I don’t eat the products in the list that follows, and I don’t think you should either. Ever. And that’s an “ever” with fifty r’s at the end. My brain doesn’t even register them as “food” anymore. There are so many reasons to avoid them that I could fill up an entire book telling you why, but today I’m not here to pester you about junk food. Just remember, a whole foods plant-based diet is the way to go, and there are many delicious and healthy options to choose from. But the reality is, if you’re used to eating a lot of junk food, as most Americans are, it can be difficult to transition to a healthy plant-based diet overnight. I don’t think anyone would disagree with that. So if you’re about to lose your willpower and grab some crappy “junk food,” it’s better to munch on Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos (vegan) instead of the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos (dairy), or pick up a box of Swedish Fish (vegan) over those colorful Gummy Bears (gelatin). But please, just use these as a temporary crutch in the case of a dire emergency. They’re not healthy. We’re making the world a happier, healthier place, and that includes you, too. As I’ve said before, don’t get sick on me, chickadee. I need you!
I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S VEGAN
Brach’s Mandarin Orange Slices
Cap’n Crunch Original Flavor
Cracker Jack
Dum Dums Lollypops
Duncan Hines Cake Mixes (Classic Carrot, Moist Deluxe Butter Golden, Classic Yellow, Dark Chocolate Fudge, Devil’s Food, Fudge Marble, German Chocolate, Red Velvet, Swiss chocolate, Coconut Supreme, Lemon Supreme, Pineapple Supreme, and Strawberry Supreme—just swap out the eggs when you’re making the batter)
Duncan Hines Creamy Home-Style Frosting (classic vanilla and chocolate)
Famous Amos Chocolate Sandwich Cookies (Chocolate, Oatmeal Macaroon, Peanut Butter, and Vanilla)
Fritos (Original and BBQ)
Hubba Bubba Bubble Gum
Jell-O Cook & Serve Pudding & Pie Filling (lemon, chocolate, vanilla, pistachio, banana cream—just use a plant milk in place of dairy milk)
Jolly Ranchers Hard Candy
Keebler Vienna Fingers
Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts (unfrosted strawberry, unfrosted blueberry, unfrosted brown sugar—the frosted ones contain gelatin)
Nabisco Lorna Doone Shortbread
Nabisco Teddy Grahams (Chocolate and Cinnamon)
Nutter Butter Cookies
Oreos (original)
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
Red Vines
Ritz crackers
Sara Lee Oven Fresh Apple Pie (watch out, the Oven Fresh Dutch Apple Pie contains dairy and eggs)
Smarties (USA only)
Sour Patch Kids
Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos
Swedish Fish
Twizzlers
Zotz
I am putting my “health advocate” hat back on now. Whew! Compiling that list for you was painful, but I know for some of you, it will help keep you on track to “Veganville.” Some folks need baby steps, and I get that. You’re not just going vegan, you’re staying vegan, so have faith in the process, folks. If you need a box of Cracker Jack as you’re starting off, have at it. And you can have the toy surprise, too!
4. Now, it’s time to get cooking! Here are a few fast and delicious meal ideas to get you started. If you’ve already made one during an earlier section, pick another one you like, or create your own!
MY VEGAN SMOOTHIE
I love breakfast smoothies, and enjoy them three or four times a week. I use a blender that also serves as the cup, so cleanup is a snap. There are a ton of recipes online, as well as in many cookbooks dedicated to the art of smoothies, but the gist of making one just involves three things: the liquid, the produce, and the optional extra nutrients. Here’s what I usually put in mine:
Liquid —> 1 to 1½ cups almond milk (any plant-based milk will do)
Produce —> 1 large ripe banana
Produce —> 1 handful frozen blueberries
Extra Nutrient —> 1 heaping tablespoon peanut butter (any nut butter will do)
Extra Nutrient —> 1 tablespoon freshly ground flaxseeds
YOUR VEGAN SMOOTHIE
Don’t feel like you have to stick with almond milk, there’s all of those delicious plant milks we talked about in Day 4: Let’s Get Nutty! You can also use any juice you like, or even coconut water. As for the produce, just toss in what’s handy. I often add additional fruit, based on whatever I picked up at the farmers’ market that week, or whatever was on sale at the grocery store. It’s easy to toss in greens, too—just remember to remove the chunky stalks if you don’t have a high-speed blender (I nibble on the stalks while I’m making my smoothie). If you’re new to adding greens, consider starting slow with a few fresh baby spinach leaves, then you can work your way up toward the heartier greens like collards or kale. Vegan NFL player David Carter adds cannellini beans to his smoothies; now that sounds … interesting! If you prefer a tropical smoothie, think of the produce you’d find on an island: pineapples, bananas, coconuts, mangos, etc., and give those a whirl. Occasionally, I just want pure sweetness, so I skip the citrus and greens altogether and just blend up bananas, chocolate almond milk, and peanut butter—decadent and satisfying. And there’s always cha cha cha chia seeds, or pitted dates if you want a natural sugar boost!
SERVES 1
If you can spare five minutes the night before, this breakfast is ready upon waking up in the morning. You might already be familiar with this as “muesli,” a popular breakfast in Germany and Switzerland. Muesli isn’t a trendy new vegan dish, but a meal that was created over one hundred years ago by Swiss doctor Maximilian Bircher-Benner, who believed that his patients would heal better if they enjoyed a diet rich in raw fruit, vegetables, and nuts. What? No bacon and eggs? Smart man.
1 cup uncooked rolled oats
¾ cup vanilla almond milk
Fresh blueberries
1. Put 1 cup of uncooked oats in a sealable jar or bowl and mix in the almond milk. Refrigerate overnight.
2. In the morning add the blueberries, and enjoy!
YOUR OVERNIGHT OATS: Blueberries are my favorite, but you can add bananas or strawberries, depending on what’s in season. Nuts and seeds make for a nice addition, too. You can even drizzle a little bit of maple or agave syrup on top, if you need a little extra sweetness.
Most of us vegans aren’t sitting at home flipping through cookbooks looking for something to create for breakfast. We have places to go, people to meet, and animals to cuddle. Or we oversleep and just don’t have the time. OK fine, a lot of us are simply lazy when it comes to breakfast. There, I said it. Enter, toast! I love lightly toasted bread with avocado, freshly ground black pepper, and a dash of sea salt. If I’m in the mood for something sweeter, I pile on the almond butter or peanut butter, with organic strawberry jam instead. I buy jumbo jars of it at Costco for a great price.
YOUR BREAKFAST TOAST: You can top off your toast with vegan butter, vegan cream cheese, fruit preserves, or even hummus. Sliced bananas with your favorite nut butter on toast is a great on-the-go breakfast, too. Or, as I mentioned, my favorite, the “wait until I’m ripe, wait, wait, wait, wait, ready, TOO LATE!” fruit: the avocado.
My Sandwich
My favorite? Avocado sandwiches! I add vegan mayonnaise, whole grain mustard, a slice of red onion and lettuce. I use one of the three breads on the next page, or make an open-faced sandwich with fresh vegan bread. I used to leave the crust behind, but now I eat about 80 percent of it, and give what’s left to my husband. I’m improving.
YOUR SANDWICH: Everything that you considered for your toast at breakfast is an option for a yummy vegan sandwich, too. There’s also lots of vegan deli meat substitutes and cheeses. And if you have a George Foreman grill, or something similar, it’s easy to whip up a vegan grilled cheese or panini, or make a BLT using one of the vegan bacons we talked about on here. You don’t need much guidance here. Just take 5 minutes and whip one up!
If you’re thinking it’s not the topping, but the bread itself that’s hard to find, think again. Here are a few of my favorite vegan breads:
Eureka! Seeds the Day Organic Bread: This bread is packed with lots of seeds—pumpkin, sunflower, flax, sesame, and poppy. And it has a hint of sweetness from a little bit of organic cane sugar and molasses. I’ve found it at Target, Nob Hill Foods, Grocery Outlet, Save Mart, and a local health food store. Visit eurekabread.com, click on Find a Store, enter your zip code, and it will pull up all the stores where Eureka bread was delivered within the past three days.4 That’s nifty! Eureka makes six varieties of vegan bread, and they’re all made without artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, or high-fructose corn syrup.
Alvarado Street Bakery’s organic Sprouted Wheat Bread: What’s cool about Alvarado’s is that it’s not only tasty, its creation is rather unique. Instead of using flour, Alvarado Street Bakery soaks whole, organic wheat berries in filtered water, waits for them to sprout, then drains the water, and grinds up the sprouts into dough. The sprouted wheat bread is made with dates and raisins, too. There are several vegan options from Alvarado Street Bakery, including flaxseed bread and sprouted barley, all of which are certified non-GMO and produced in a solar-powered facility. Cool!
Dave’s Killer Bread: There’s quite a background story here: One in three of the company’s employees is a convicted felon, and that’s intentional. Even Dave Dahl, the creator of the bread himself, spent fifteen “long and lonely” years behind bars.4 The company believes in second chances for folks who have been on the wrong side of the law, and wants to prevent recidivism and change the way society looks at folks once they’re released.5 Dave’s Killer Bread catapulted from selling one hundred loaves of bread at a Portland farmers’ market ten years ago to being sold to Flower Foods, Inc. in 2015 for $275 million, cash. Now that’s a big pile of dough! I was worried that Flower Foods, maker of the infamous über-processed white Wonder Bread, would change Dave’s recipe, but they reassured me with their reply, “We love what you love! DKB will keep using the same recipes for loaves with organic, non-GMO grains and seeds,” so fingers crossed! Dave’s Killer Bread is expanding throughout the country, and in Canada, too. There are lots of vegan, GMO-free varieties, packed with healthy seeds, whole grains, and sweetened with organic fruit juice and molasses. And if you’re missing the super soft texture of good ole’ Wonder Bread, check out their White Bread Done Right. You can find loaves of Dave’s Killer Bread in mainstream supermarkets and double packs at Costco.
My Salad
I usually like baby spinach leaf salads the best, but I’m on an organic romaine kick at the moment. I chop up the leaves and usually add organic tomatoes, avocado, onions, and mushrooms, and whatever else looks good from my farmers’ market haul. If I’m extra hungry, I open a can of black beans, rinse, and toss a few spoonfuls on top. I drizzle it with dressing that I make myself, or a few splashes of balsamic vinegar with freshly ground black pepper. A few of my favorite store-bought vegan dressings are Trader Joe’s Asian Style Spicy Vinaigrette and Trader Joe’s Goddess Dressing, and several from Follow Your Heart, including High Omega Vegan Ranch and Vegan Thousand Island.
YOUR SALAD: Toss in all the fresh fruits, veggies, grains, seeds, and beans that you enjoy. Everything from olives and artichoke hearts to oranges and strawberries taste good in a salad. Dried cranberries, dates, and raisins also taste good. The more colorful, the better! Then add the dressing of your choice. Easy peasy.
MAKES ABOUT ⅓ CUP
1 heaping tablespoon whole grain mustard (I like the mustard with seeds and sea salt, but you can use any you like)
1 tablespoon brown sugar (agave or maple syrup works well, too, if you prefer)
3 tablespoons olive oil (any oil you enjoy will do)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (rice vinegar also tastes good)
3 pinches dried basil (squish it up between your fingers as you add it to release the oils)
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Mix all the ingredient together in a bowl until the sugar has dissolved and everything is well blended.
YOUR DRESSING
You can buy dressings or you can use recipes, but there’s a certain satisfaction that comes along with creating one yourself. When someone tells you how yummy your food is (and they will!) you can tell them, “It’s just a little something I whipped up myself,” which feels pretty darn good. Also, you never know when you’ll be short on supplies, so by learning how to work with what’s on hand, you’ll be ready in a pinch.
If you want to keep things simple, just squeeze half of a fresh lemon on your salad, or drizzle a bit of balsamic vinegar. Want more flavor? No problem! It’s easy to make your own dressings to tantalize your newbie vegan taste buds. The key is to combine flavors that excite four key palate areas of your mouth, plus seasoning, which is exactly what I did when I made my salad dressing. I couldn’t figure out why it was so well received until I took apart the elements, and sure enough, there they were: Tart (vinegar and mustard), Creamy/Fatty (Olive Oil), Salty (the sea salt in the mustard), Sweet (brown sugar), plus basil and freshly ground black pepper for spiciness.
Here are some suggestions for making your own salad dressings. Enjoy the freedom to experiment with amounts, and taste as you go. The flavor combinations are endless! And remember, you can drizzle your delectable creation on a heck of a lot more than salads. Once you find a few combos you like, try topping your potatoes, stir-fries, rice, and whatever else your heart desires with the dressings you like best. You can use them for marinades, too! What you make in the kitchen will likely be tastier and healthier, than anything you can buy in the store. Besides, cooking is fun!
Tart + Creamy/Fatty + Salty + Sweet + herbs and spices = Your Yummy Dressing!
Pick at least one from each section:
TART
VINEGAR: Vinegar is simply the next step, after wine. With a little bit of oxygen and bacteria, wine becomes very acidic, thus the name vin (French for “wine”) aigre (French for “sour”). Anything that can be made into wine can be made into vinegar—that’s why there are hundreds of varieties, going all the way back to the Babylonians in 4000 BCE who made vinegar from date wine, raisin wine, and even beer.6 I enjoy making marinades and dressings with balsamic vinegar or rice vinegar, but apple cider vinegar and sherry vinegar are great options, too. There’s even pineapple, cherry, and coconut vinegars!
FRESH CITRUS: Just squeeze the juice of a fresh lemon, lime, grapefruit, kumquat, orange, tangerine, or pomelo into your dressing or marinade and you’ll get a nice tart kick.
MUSTARD: I love seeded mustard aka whole grain mustard, but no need to limit yourself to what makes me happy. There’s so many to choose from, including yellow mustard, spicy brown mustard, German mustard, Chinese hot mustard, and the one we always had in the kitchen growing up (and I still do), good old English dry mustard. You can find Colman’s English Mustard in a little yellow tin with red writing. One of my favorites! Beware, though; it’s strong.
WINE: I’m not a big fan of drinking wine, although I do love vineyards and grapes, so count me in for any wine tours! Wine does make for a nice tart addition to a salad dressing or marinade, though. Check out Day 14: Excuse Me, Waiter … for a few vegan wine options, one of which is Charles Shaw Red Wine, fondly known as Trader Joe’s Two Buck (and a half) Chuck. If you want a slightly sweeter taste, you can “reduce” wine by slowly simmering it with a little bit of sugar, which will make it thick like a syrup. This reduces the water and acidity while increasing the flavor, color, and sweetness—perfect for marinades. Sounds fancy, but it’s easy.
CREAMY/FATTY
AVOCADO: I just can’t get enough of avocados, which you’ve probably gathered by now. They make any meal better, in my opinion. If you want creamy, go for the bumpy Haas variety if possible, as the smooth Florida avocados can sometimes be watery.
TOFU: Some folks like to blend up silken tofu to make a creamy dressing. Just toss it into your food processor or blender with the other ingredients. Done.
NUTS AND SEEDS: You can either soak a few nuts overnight, drain, and toss into the blender, or go straight for a nut or seed butter. Tahini, which is made from sesame seeds, and peanut butter are two of my favorites when it comes to dressings and marinades.
OILS: So many to choose from! Some of my favorites include olive oil, and sesame seed oil. I usually go easy on the oils, though, and try to add a little more of everything else. And when I do use them, I try to use unrefined, non-GMO oils. As cooking oil expert and author, Lisa Howard, points out, the ingredients in refined cooking oils have been “cleaned, crushed, steamed, pressed with high friction heat, extracted with solvent, distilled, bleached, deodorized, and steamed again.”7 Although they can be more pricey, I think you’ll like the taste of unrefined oils better, too. They’re pressed and bottled quickly, which seals in the flavor. Any vegetable oil is better than a tub of lard, though, even a bottle of canola or corn oil, so just use whatever you have on hand. We’re keeping things real, folks; trust in the process.
SALTY
OLIVES AND CAPERS: Olive trees can live for over one thousand years, and have been harvested for over eight thousand. I always keep a jar of their yummy fruit in my refrigerator. The color of olives is indicative of their ripeness. Green olives are picked at the start of the season, and black ones at the end. Kalamata olives are by far my favorite, and when I’m in the mood for a bag of chips, I just nibble on a few olives, and it usually squashes my need for salty junk food. I think they’re perfect for seasoning dressings and marinades, too. If you’re not sure which variety you like, consider getting a few of each at an olive bar, which you can often find at supermarkets, including many Whole Foods Market locations. Capers, which are simply the little green, unopened flower buds of the caper bush, are a great addition, too.
SEAWEED: As you know, I don’t like seaweed (it smells and tastes so fishy!), but if you do, sprinkle a few flakes of kelp or nori into that dressing or marinade.
MISO: This Japanese fermented soybean paste is one of those unsung heroes that usually goes unnoticed tucked away in the refrigerator section at the grocery store. You’ll find several varieties ranging from light (sweeter) to dark (saltier), but in Japan they have as many varieties as we have cheese!8 Added bonus: If you’re trying to ditch chicken noodle soup, just put a little spoonful of miso in a mug of hot water and you’ll have a tasty soothing broth without hurting any birds.
SWEET
FRUIT: Everything from dried apricots and dates to raspberries and raisins can be used to give your dressings and marinades a little sweetness. My friend Amy saves the tops of her strawberries when she makes her morning smoothie, then tosses them into white vinegar and lets them sit for a couple of days to make her strawberry vinaigrette; resourceful and delicious!
MAPLE SYRUP, COCONUT PALM SUGAR, DATE SUGAR, BROWN SUGAR, MOLASSES, ETC.: There are so many types of sugars to choose from these days! I prefer sugars that are less refined, such as organic brown sugar and maple syrup, because they have more flavor than white sugar, and since they’re less processed, they have slightly more minerals. Whichever sugar you choose, just try not to eat too much of it. Easier said than done, I know. I love sweets.
SEASONINGS
I usually like basil, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper in most of my salad dressings. But the variety of spices you can use are too numerous to list, so toss in what you love, and enjoy!
Tofu and Grits
I asked the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine’s in-house registered dietician, Susan Levin, what she likes to eat that can be prepared in 5 minutes or less. Susan’s response? Tofu and Grits! I love grits, although I make them sweet (with almond milk and maple syrup), which I’ve heard is a big no-no in the South. Whoops. Here’s how Susan makes grits, the savory way:
1 cup polenta (yellow grits)
3 cups water
1 block prebaked tofu
“If you grew up where I did, polenta is a fancy way of saying grits. But no matter what you call it, it’s easy to prepare and delicious. Boil 3 cups of water, add the polenta, turn down to low, and stir regularly. Within a minute or so, you’ll have a nice consistency. Chop your baked tofu and plop it on top (bake or sauté your own if you have more time). Spice as you desire! Add some Tabasco or sriracha sauce if you like some kick.”
—SUSAN LEVIN, MS, RD
If times are tough and you need help maintaining your vegan lifestyle, here are a few places and programs that can lend a helping hand:
Vegan Food and Public Assistance Programs
I’ll never forget the time a disheartened My Vegan Journal reader wrote to me that she was doing her very best to transition to becoming vegan, but was down on her luck, and out of money. It was during the holiday season, and she went to her local food bank where they gave her a big, heavy box of food. When she got home she opened the box and found a dead turkey inside. She wrote to tell me that although she had no money, and barely any food, instead of eating the bird, she buried the turkey in her backyard, and gave him a respectful and loving funeral service. Her pocketbook was empty, but her heart was warm and full.
For most, myself included, life is a roller coaster of ups and downs and there’s no telling what tomorrow brings. The “Great Recession” of 2008 was a chilly reminder of this, as so many saw a lifetime of savings and steady career advances vanish overnight. Thankfully, there are several public services and non-profit organizations that can help those in need when it comes to eating healthy vegan food. If you, or a friend, are ever in need, check out the services on the following pages. Remember, you don’t need money to be vegan; you just need the will to be kind. How awesome is that?
WIC (Women, Infants, and Children)
The WIC program is designed to help pregnant women and infants who are low income and nutritionally at risk. The program also covers women who are breast-feeding (up to the infant’s first birthday), non-breast-feeding postpartum women (up to 6 months), and children up to their fifth birthday. WIC serves 53 percent of all infants born in the United States, so it’s good to know that there’s an array of vegan food that qualifies under the federal guidelines.9 The availability can vary from state to state, and from year to year, so be sure to check your local WIC office to see what’s available in your area.
CONTACT: http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/contacts
SNAP Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly the “Food Stamp Program”) SNAP is a federal aid program that provides food-purchasing assistance to over 46 million Americans who are low income or who have no income. If you qualify for SNAP, you’ll be provided with an EBT card that you can use to buy a huge variety of vegan foods, including fruits, vegetables, cereals, grains, seeds, nuts, legumes, and bread, as well as food-producing seeds and plants for your garden. SNAP even has a section on the list of federally approved items entitled “vegan food,” the specifics of which can be clarified with your local SNAP office. Be sure to ask about their Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP), too, so you can enjoy free locally grown fresh fruits, veggies, and herbs.
CONTACT:
State SNAP phone numbers: www.fns.usda.gov/snap/state-informationhotline-numbers
To find out if you’re eligible for SNAP: www.snap-step1.usda.gov
VEGAN FOOD AVAILABLE THROUGH WIC:
Tofu
Soy-based beverage (flavored and unflavored)
Any fruit and/or vegetable juice or juice blends
Peanut butter (creamy or chunky, regular or reduced fat, salted or unsalted)
Any type of mature dry beans, peas, or lentils, such as black beans, blackeyed peas, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), Great Northern beans, white beans (navy and pea beans), kidney beans, mature lima beans (“butter beans”), fava and mung beans, pinto beans, soybeans, split peas, lentils, and refried beans. Those with limited cooking facilities are eligible for baked beans.
Fresh fruits and vegetables (states must offer WIC-eligible fresh fruits and vegetables and must allow organic forms of these items; canned, frozen, and/or dried fruits and vegetables are offered at the state agency’s option)
Any plain, dry infant cereal (e.g., rice, barley, mixed grain)
Infant food fruits and vegetables
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT PROVIDE VEGAN FOOD
Food Not Bombs
Food Not Bombs is a volunteer-run organization on a mission to end world hunger by providing free vegetarian and vegan food to everyone, without restriction, including those who are “rich or poor, stoned or sober.” They promote the benefits of a vegan diet, and never cook with animal products, but occasionally distribute donated food that has dairy in it, so always be sure to ask. Food Not Bombs was the first to provide food to the 9/11 responders in New York, and among the first to offer food to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.10 I remember seeing their friendly volunteers dish up a big pot of hearty vegan stew in Berkeley, California, in the late ‘80s, and most recently, in front of a post office in Santa Cruz. Food Not Bombs has thousands of chapters located throughout the world. Good folks doing good work. I like that.
CONTACT:
To see if there’s a Food Not Bombs near you, visit: foodnotbombs.net/new_site/ or call the Hunger Hotline: 1-800-844-1136.
Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank
The Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank was created by fellow vegan Matt Noble in January 2015. Though the name says “vegetarian” they’re “committed to providing all vegan-friendly food” of which at least 50 percent is fresh, whole foods. Past offerings have included rice, oatmeal, whole wheat spaghetti, tomato sauce, tofu, dried chickpeas, lentils, soy milk, granola bars, and a vast selection of fresh produce. Sounds good! The volunteer-run organization distributes food once a month at 270 Gerarrd Street East.
CONTACT:
For more information, visit the Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank website: http://tvfb.ca/about/
Additional Options
Many community colleges and churches have free food banks or pantries, some of which offer a nice selection of organic produce, so do a little search on the Internet and make a few calls and see what’s available in your community. You can also visit the Feeding America website to see if there’s a food bank near you—hopefully they’ll have lots of plant-based food to help you make your transition to a vegan diet a healthy one! http://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank
□ Did you find coupons for yummy vegan food?
□ Did you select a tasty vegan bread?
□ Did you create your own recipe for a marinade or dressing combining tart, sweet, creamy/fatty, and salty, with herbs and spices?
□ Did you try making overnight oats, a smoothie, or another quick breakfast?
Thought FOR THE Day
Ralph Horner was an employee at a meatpacking plant in Colorado. One night while at work, his hair and sleeve got caught on a piece of machinery. The fabric twisted around his neck and mouth, strangling him under the conveyor belt. He never made it home to his wife and kids. Sadly, it’s no surprise; meatpacking is 2½ times more dangerous than any other industry in the United States. Rapid moving saws, blenders, pumps, knives, chains, and toxic chemicals cause everything from lacerations and lung cancer to muscular disorders and meningitis. When you’re vegan, you’re not only helping animals, you’re decreasing the demand for factory farmworkers, which helps keep people safe, too.