Six Months Vegan!

Today marks our six month anniversary of going vegan. I know it isn't a terribly long time, but it's something both Ian and I are very proud of. I also want to say, in case I haven't on this blog: going vegan was a very easy transition.

Six months ago Ian and I decided to not purchase anything that supported the industry of enslaving or killing animals. We both thought it would be difficult and that many things would be hard to give up. Admittedly our process was gradual in that we did finish using non-vegan items we'd purchased beforehand, such as cheese and butter.

In celebrating this landmark, I want to go back and talk a little more about what our transition was like, and what helped and motivated us, and what challenged us as fledgling vegans.

Transitioning to Veganism

 

Getting Excited About New Recipes: Both of us love to cook, although I'm typically the one in the kitchen at the end of the day whipping up our meals. Part of the adventure I loved about becoming a vegan was learning new ways to prepare old favorites like eggplant, mushrooms, and tofu, and exploring new ways of approaching food, like making cashew cream or using nutritional yeast to add a cheese-like 'pop' to a sauce or dish.

For me, getting on pinterest to find fun recipes and reading through new cookbooks was essential. I would have been much more reluctant to take our commitment to veganism seriously had I not had exciting new recipes to look forward to making and eating. Much like finding an exercise that you love helps you actually get moving, exploring fun and interesting recipes and foods helps you get excited about being a vegan.

Finding Replacements that Work for You: Ian and I didn't struggle with craving meats and dairy items as much as I thought we would. That said, we haven't found a cheese alternative that we love, and we both still drool a little when we pass the gyro cart on our street corner. (However, looking at the hunk of meat that is roasting is a little revolting, and that sensation overrides the positive smell).

I found the book The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman to be a great place to start with finding good replacements for our comfort food. We would have had a difficult time with the changes had we not had some honest-to-goodness comfort food available for meals. For us, this manifested primarily in Soyriso for Trader Joes, sauteed with grated potatoes, salsa verde, and a pinch of nutritional yeast, crammed into tortillas with some fresh greens. Maybe I'll blog about this later - it's seriously yummy and actually decently not-too-bad for you.

When I'm really wanting eggs, I make scrambled tofu.

When I find myself looking longingly at the pastry case at Starbucks or Oren's, waiting for my coffee, I go home and bake up something fabulous that I know is good for my body and the planet.

When I'm craving a cold treat, I grab sorbet or coconut milk ice cream from the corner store. I am also excited to try making frozen banana ice cream this week - yum!.

Locating Weaknesses: This is one of the trickier parts of becoming a vegan; it's hard to know in advance what is likely to trigger a relapse in commitment or positive eating changes. For us, it came down to several things:

• Eating Out: We love to cook, but when we've had a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Ian and I tend to get take out or eat out. While we've cut back to about once a week, it was imperative that we found vegan options for our time in Ann Arbor, and then when we moved back to New York City. 

• No Time to Cook: We keep about 1-2 meals worth of easy dinners (no more than 15-20 minutes in preparation) in the fridge/freezer at all times.

• Thinking, Why am I vegan again? Like many convictions, sometimes we need to remind ourselves why we're doing the more difficult thing when everyone else doesn't seem to care. When we first moved back to New York, I sometimes found myself walking past old favorite haunts, like the two bakeries I used to love on Amsterdam Avenue, angry that I couldn't pick up treats any more and trying to remember why veganism mattered at all. To counter-act this and keep myself fervent about veganism and my food choices, I listen to vegan podcasts. My favorites are Vegetarian Food for Thought by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau (currently my favorite vegan cookbook author) and Vegan Solutions for a Sustainable Environment (though this one rarely updates, there are some real gems here!). Some other popular podcasts I'm looking forward to trying are So You Want to be a Vegan and Vegan Cooking with Love. I've also watched this fantastic talk by Gary Yourofsky several times.Haven't seen it? You should.

At the end of six months we are happy to be vegans. We are happy to be doing our part for animals, our bodies, and the environment.

Recipe: Green Chile Stew

Image from American Potager

I made my very first Green Chile Stew yesterday afternoon. I wrote all about the history of green chile stew on This, That, and the Other, but I wanted to post my recipe here for anyone and everyone interested in this fine New Mexican comfort food.

When Ian came home from work and tasted the stew, simmering on the stove, he walked into the bedroom where I was nursing Felicity, and told me the taste of it actually choked him up (and not, I think, because it was too spicy, though this soup is hella hot). I write this to a) show how awesome I am, and b) to exemplify that this is an authentic tasting New Mexican recipe, even though I'm super-pale and hail from Minnesota.

That said, I absolutely cannot tolerate the heat of this soup. I am a baby and load it down with vegan "sour cream" and tortilla chips, which is delicious. This revokes my status as an honorary New Mexican, and for that, I apologize.

Green Chile Stew

If you want the real deal, you need to use green chiles from Hatch, New Mexico. You can buy them online and get them shipped to you by the pound - raw, roasted and peeled, or frozen. Ian states that, "Under great duress you could use canned green chiles." You would need approximately 30-35 ounces to make this soup rock. For instructions on roasting green chiles at home, see this link. 

A meat substitute is completely optional - the stew will taste great without it - but it does add a little something and gives it a more authentic feeling. I used Beefless Tips from Gardein (found in the frozen section of our local Whole Foods), which I browned and sliced before adding towards the end of the cooking time, but vegan chorizo would be good (I strongly recommend Trader Joes), or even 1/2 cup of TVP/TSP.

Ingredients

Roughly 1.5-2 lbs New Mexican green chiles, roasted, peeled, and diced (seeds included, my lovelies!) (see note above)
3 Tablespoons oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced/crushed garlic
4 large red potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1-2 carrots, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (optional)
4 cups vegetable broth ("beef" flavored, if possible)
meat substitute of your choice (optional but recommended)

Directions

Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium heat, swirling to coat the bottom completely. Add the onions and a good pinch or two of salt, stirring them to evenly coat in the oil. Continue to cook over medium heat for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are very soft and starting to caramelize. If they are browning too quickly, reduce the heat a bit. Add garlic, and cook for 1-2 more minutes, until fragrant.

Add the potatoes and carrots. Bring heat back to medium if you reduced it before. Cook for about five minutes, just to give the veggies a quick brown. Pour in the broth and add the green chiles, stirring everything. Keep over medium heat until the stew reaches a nice simmer. Then reduce heat to low, and cover.

Let the soup simmer for a good hour or two, stirring occasionally to avoid burning/sticking. The potatoes and carrots (if you're using them) should be falling apart and really thickening the stew. If you want, take a hand-held masher and give three or four good mashes to the pot. You want lots of potato chunks, but the stew should also be thick and lovely.

Towards the end of your cooking time, say 20 minutes before you want to serve, add your meat substitute, if you're using one. Stir to incorporate, and continue to simmer over low heat. If you feel the stew is a little too thick at this point, feel free to add a little more broth, or some water.

Five minutes before serving, take the stew off of the heat, and allow to rest. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with your favorite vegan sour cream (if you're wimpy like me), and some fine tortilla chips.


Serves 6-8, about 250-300 calories and 8 grams of protein before added meat replacement, sour cream, and chips. High in fiber, potassium, and Vitamins A and C.

The Ultimate Vegan Baking Cheat-Sheet

As found on MindBodyGreen: