Vegan Diet Guy

A lot of omnivores, and even many vegetarians, think vegan cooking is hard, but in reality, it’s no more difficult than non-vegan cooking. Getting into the mindset where you are ready for a plants-based, vegan diet is the most challenging. If you’ve landed on this page, you are obviously headed in the right direction.

Spaghetti alla Puttanesca is one of those old standby recipes that I hadn’t touched since becoming vegan, that is–until my sister served a delectable anchovy-less rendition for New Year’s dinner. And, like so many other dishes I couldn’t fathom eating again (due to the elimination of a supposedly “core ingredient”), I am now rediscovering it. (more…)

On my last visit to the States, despite shopping for 2 weeks for vegan ingredients and kitchen gadgets not available in Japan, there was one thing I neglected to buy. As a frequent baker, I was excited to try out the innovative baking pans from Baker’s Edge, and was torn between whether to purchase their Edge brownie pan or the Simple lasagna pan.

For those who don’t know, the Edge brownie pan is designed so that every piece of brownie has at least two edges (since many people prefer eating the corners of conventional brownies), and the Simple lasagna pan is designed to make lasagna that is crispy around the edges, evenly cooked, and doesn’t lose its shape when sliced.

According to Baker’s Edge, besides being 50% larger than the brownie pan, their lasagna pan is designed especially for standard-size box noodles, and has a nonstick coating for foods high in protein (i.e. meat and cheese). On the other hand, the Edge brownie pan’s nonstick coating is made for foods high in sugar.  Another big difference is the lasagna pan has “hard-anodization” for strength, and larger handles.

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Veganomicon, simply the best cookbook to transform you from meat-eating to a 100% plant diet, has inspired my cooking for over 3 years. Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero’s earlier  books, “Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World” and “Vegan With A Vengeance” have amassed devoted followers, too, and I always wondered if I wasn’t missing out.

Actually, I never understood the hoopla over Vegan Cupcakes, because I gave up consuming animal products primarily for improving my health, and most vegan confectionaries–while better ethically and environmentally–are not necessarily healthier than non-vegan ones.

Generally speaking, vegan versions of non-vegan recipes merely substitute animal fat (butter, eggs) with equal amounts of plant-derived fat (oil) and vegan sweeteners for sugar. Many people don’t realize that  some vegan dishes are even less healthy than the original because they are prepared with excess oil (often fried) and salt, artificial coloring and flavor enhancers.

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Joe Stepaniak’s “Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook” was among the first cookbooks I bought after deciding to adopt a vegan diet 3 years ago. For those not familiar with the term “uncheese”,  Stepaniak uses it to describe rich-tasting spreads, dips, sauces and blocks produced with dairy-free whole foods (primarily beans, nuts, or grains).

Cheese lovers be forewarned: you may be in for some disappointment if you’re expecting tofu to taste like Feta cheese or chickpeas like Havarti. The book’s introduction even acknowledges that “uncheeses are not going to be like dairy cheeses, so please adjust your expectations accordingly. ”

Unfortunately I skipped Stepaniak’s well-intentioned introduction and plowed in to the recipes, attempting  Tofu Ricotta, Chick Cheez, Swizz Cheez, Buffalo Mostarella, Brie, Betta Feta, White Bean Boursin, Monterey Jack and Port Wine uncheeses.  And while all were tasty (my favorite is the sharp Chick Cheez spread–made from Garbanzo Beans) they left me somewhat disillusioned and wondering whether I could actually live without real cheese.

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Being away from home can make business travel and vacation challenging and stressful for anyone who’s trying to eat healthily. This is particularly so for new vegans who are still trying to adjust to a diet without animal products but may have fewer alternatives than usual.

However, given the fact that business travel is often necessary for our jobs, and most people enjoy going somewhere new for vacation–at least occasionally–how does the vegan or aspiring vegan deal with eating away from home?

Below are some tips for business and vacation situations:

1. Business travel–Eat as much healthy (whole-grain, low-fat and minimal refined sugar) vegan foods you can at those meals where you have the most control over the venue. For me that’s breakfast, because lunch and dinner are often spent with colleagues or clients, and you’re less likely to have a say over the restaurant chosen or the menu.

Breakfast buffets at hotels are quite vegan-friendly, and as a result they are probably the safest places to eat while away from home (provided you don’t give in to temptation to eat 80 percent of the food that is non-vegan!). (more…)

Isa Chandra Moskowitz has made a liar out of me. Not long ago, I wrote that Moskowitz’ “Veganomicon” was the last cookbook you needed to buy, and now she comes out with “Vegan Brunch”. Blame it on her vegan Italian Feast Sausage recipe.

You see, growing up in an Italian-American family, I was used to eating pasta with tomato-meat sauce for Sunday dinners and other special occasions. Meat usually included meatballs, spareribs, and sausages. Living on myown as an adult, special dinners had always consisted of meat of some sort, if not cheese, and more likely both! As a result, it seemed Sunday dinners would never be the same after becoming vegan. Now, 3 years later, I’ve discovered there are hundreds of other delectable and healthy meals worthy of Sunday and any other day. But when I’m feeling nostalgic, pasta with a “meaty” tomato sauce is the ultimate comfort food.

You may ask, why bother making your own vegan sausages, when there are already meatless sausages appearing on the shelves in major grocery stores? I think that’s great news, and without a doubt, vegan sausages are preferable to meat sausages, but reading the ingredients and the nutritional data, I’m not sure all meatless sausages are actually healthy, or good for your diet. If you like to know what’s in your food, like me, why not try making your own vegan sausages? (more…)

I’ve blogged numerous times about how The China Study was the single biggest motivating factor in my adopting a vegan diet. However, at least equally important is “Veganomicon,” the book that has sustained me through the transition and has become a fixture in my kitchen.

Veganomicon, which bills itself (rightly so) as the Ultimate Vegan Cookbook, is the product of Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, who also wrote “Vegan with a Vengeance” and “Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World”. The pair also created the PostPunkKitchen (theppk.com) vegan recipe website, where you can find some teaser recipes from the Veganomicon book.

My partner and I have tried about 40 of the dishes in Veganomicon, some several times, and our copy of Veganomicon (covered with numerous post-it notes and splatters of various sauces) is never far from our sides or minds. (more…)

Since many of the special occasions in our lives are closely associated with eating particular foods, the older we are, the harder it is to contemplate adopting a vegan diet, out of concern it will no longer be possible to celebrate holidays and other significant events with family and friends.

In my case (growing up in an Italian-American family), Easter was always associated with ham; Thanksgiving, Turkey (with sausage stuffing); Christmas Eve, a variety of seafoods; Christmas Day, pasta dishes (containing  ricotta cheese, mozzarella, and parmegiano cheeses); New Years meant pork roast, etc; Not to mention countless extended family Sunday dinners of macaroni and meat sauce, chicken, roast beef, racks of lamb, etc.

On these special occasions, there were often antipasto or hors d’ouevres consisting of cheeses and dried meats, such as pepperoni. For dessert, cheesecake, layer cake, or ice cream served with whipped cream.  More recently, living on my own, I also  enjoyed preparing many foods outside my own ethnic background, such as Greek dishes like moussaka (containing bechamel sauce), or spanakopita (containing feta cheese). (more…)

Before becoming vegan, I used my my gas barbeque grill year-round. At least once a week (regardless of weather) you would find me barbequeing chicken with garlic and herbs, and on other days lamb, pork, steak, fish or other seafood as well. Often I would barbeque vegetables (i.e corn on the cob or potatoes) alongside the meat main course, but after becoming vegan, I almost thought about getting rid of my grill.  It was as though it was not worth firing up the grill just for barbequeing vegetables. Or perhaps it was out of fear that I might be tempted to barbeque meat again?

Fortunately, I kept my grill around as it’s perfectly suited for roasting large quantities of bell peppers needed in roast pepper salad antipasto.  During my transition period from meat-eating, it took me over 2 years to use up one tank of gas (so long between refills, in fact, my LP gas company had gone out of business!).

Now, however, in my 3rd year of following a vegan diet, I enjoy eating barbequed vegetables as much as I ever did any expensive cut of meat, fish or chicken. Although you can eat a lot more vegetables barbequed than raw, you’ll still find vegetables are much cheaper than meat in comparison.

Last weekend,  I enjoyed one of the best barbeques, if not one of the best meals in my life, period. We feasted on barbequed corn, zucchini, eggplant, pumpkin squash, mushrooms, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, tofu, and Italian bread. Although my hosts are not vegans, and could easily have cooked some meat for themselves, none of them seemed to miss meat.

There was practically no preparation, and no fancy marinades were needed: just slice the vegetables (not too thin, to avoid drying them out) and brush lightly with olive oil to prevent them from sticking to the grill (or use a non-stick grill pan).   And, as it is with indoor vegan cooking, cleaning up afterward is much easier than for meat.

So, if you are a BBQ lover, don’t fear that becoming vegan means the end of barbeque parties. It may take a while (as long as 3-4 years if you’re in your 40′s like me) to change your habits before you can accept vegetables, rather than meat,  as the main dish. But, if you stick with a vegan diet, you will surely be able to find the same enjoyment eating BBQed veggies as you formerly did eating steaks, burgers, chops and chicken.