My 10th month VEGANniversary

It's been 10 months since I became vegan; I can't believe how time flies. The only things I have really missed out on are deep dish pizza and good ol' cheese. But, I have to say that my substitutions for most everything are pretty rocking.Soy milk and soy yogurt are mainstays, but I have been easing off the soy, in an effort to be more balanced. I have enjoyed many nut and rice-based milks and creams; I am especially thrilled to have discovered Mimic Creme, including a whipped cream version and a coffee creamer. Lean plant-based meats like Gardein have allowed me to create quick healthy meals, when I don't have time for a drawn-out dinner production. I've also come to love vegan cheese.
In the short time I have been vegan, Diaya cheese has become somewhat mainstream. You can find it on frozen vegan pizzas, at a number of vegan pizza chains and in several grocery stores, including Sunflower Farmer's Market. Teese cheese, made by Chicago Soy Dairy, is rumored to be coming out with frozen Teese mozzarella cheese sticks. We were lucky enough to try them in Chicago, at the Chicago Diner, and they are just like the real deal! Gardein has been popping up everywhere, including many major chain restaurants like Yardhouse and test-markets for Chipotle. So many of my friends have been contacting me when they see vegan products I might like and the people around me have been super supportive about my veganism.
I am pretty impressed that I haven't wavered, even once, since my vegan journey began. Early on, I did get fooled by a few non-vegan products, like non-dairy creamer and rice cheese, but unless the restaurants where I order vegan food have been serving me animal-based meals, I have been rock solid vegan. I look forward to continuing my vegan journey and sharing my food adventures with whoever wants to listen. Happy VEGANniversay to me (I just googled 'veganniversary' and apparently many people before me have used the word...I thought I was so clever! ;)

Vegan seitan parmigiana recipe

We are definitely on a seitan kick lately. It's like we have been trying to replace chicken in our normal every day meals. If there was a chicken recipe I used to love, my goal has been to use seitan as a replacement for the chieken. I do need to find other meat/protein alternatives because I have gained 2 pounds in the 3 weeks we've been vegan. This probably has to do with my sweet treat baking and my overall carbohydrate consumption. I do have to admit that my calorie intake has gone up because I am not eating "diet" foods. My soy yogurt has twice the calories of my old dairy light yogurt. My Ezekiel bread has more calories than my old light bread. And so on. I really had my heart set on making my vegan lifestyle *easy*. But, the truth is that it isn't easy. You have to pay so much more attention to basic nutrition.
I have become interested in raw recipes and hope to incorporate raw meals into our new lifestyle. I also have the goal of eating more vegetables and finding ways to try new foods.

Mock chicken (seitan) Parmigiana recipe:
Modified from a Vegan Dad recipe

We only needed enough for 2 pieces of "chicken" seitan, so we used 1/3 of all ingredients listed

Seitan Parmigiana

INGREDIENTS

- 6 pieces of "chicken" seitan, cooled

- 1 cup soymilk (we used silk vanilla soy milk)

- 1 tsp lemon juice

- 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (vwegan variety)

- 1/2 c nutritional yeast

- 1/2 tsp each salt, parsley, oregano

- oil for frying (we used very little oil)

- 1 jar spaghetti sauce

- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast

- 6 mozarella Tofutti slices (we used Teese mozzarella)

- cooked spaghetti (we omitted the spaghetti in favor of steamed brocolli)

METHOD:

1. In a medium bowl, mix lemon juice into soymilk. Stir and let thicken.

2. In a large bowl, mix bread crumbs, nutritional yeast, salt, and spices.

3. Dip a piece of seitan in the soymilk, then roll in the breadcrumbs. Repeat with all pieces of seitan. When all pieces are done, dip seitan back in the soymilk, then into the breadcrumbs to "double bread" the seitan. (Always keep one hand dry so that the bread crumbs do not clump)

4. Fry in oil on medium heat until golden brown.

5. Pour oil out of pan. Let pan cool a bit. Add spaghetti sauce into the saucepan. Stir in nutritional yeast. When bubbling, place seitan pieces in the sauce and top with a slice of cheese. Turn down heat and cover. Serve when cheese has melted.

TIP: Putting the seitan back in the sauce kind of sogs the breading. If that is not the texture you are going for, put the cheese on the seitan and place under the broiler for a few mins to melt the cheese.

Grocery adventures

Shopping for groceries is an entirely new experience, when you are so used to buying processed foods. I used to breeze through the grocery store in 10 minutes, as I would buy the same foods every week.
I am proud to say that I have 21 days without drinking Diet Coke and processed foods no longer have a place in my kitchen. Part of the fun of becoming vegan is trying new things. For anyone who knows me, you know I don't often try new things. I have to admit that I am liking almost everything vegan I try.

We bought Teese Cheese Mozzarella at Green this week. We tried the Teese Cheese on a homemade flatbread pizza. YUM. Tastes just like Green's pizza. This vegan cheese blows Diaya out of the water....way out of the water.

We bought some amazing raw treats this week at Whole Foods. The Pure Organic raw fruit and nut bars are very tasty. I couldn't believe they were raw and certified organic. Pure heaven.

 
We also bought some vegan cheesecake from www.earthcafetogo.com at Whole Foods. OMG. Tastes just like the real thing-HOW?! Matt and I thought it was pricy at $5.99 a slice, but totally worth a splurge.

I had no idea that a lot of wine is processed using animal products.  I am sure there is a long list of vegan wines, but it was nice that Whole Foods was featuring Stellar Organics. I bought a lovely vegan-friendly Merlot.

This week, we plan to make some oat burgers, crockpot mock-chicken taco chili, citrus scones, mock chicken parm, and some other new-to-us vegan recipes.

Busy week=Green Vegetarian take-out

We didn't have the luxury of free time this week to prepare new vegan recipes, due to hectic schedules and lack of preparation. We did eat Green Vegetarian 2 times this week (pure vegan bliss).

www.greenvegetarian.com

I am on a quest for a vegan pizza recipe that tastes so much like the real thing, you would never guess it was vegan. All I need is Green's recipe for their Greenza pizza. The super thin crust: yum. The teese cheese: super yum. The pesto: heaven. The tomatoes: tasty. Green carries the teese cheese, so we bought some to try out on our next homemade pizza adventure. I just need to find a good flatbread/super thin crust vegan recipe and I think I will be in vegan heaven.

Matt got the Orecciette Pasta with no-harm chicken parm. I tried some of the no harm chicken parm and it tasted just like the real thing! I don't know how it is done, but WOW! (He ate it so quick, I didn't even get a picture of it!)

The green hummus is very flavorful and the pita chips are a naughty companion.

Green....I think I love you.