Q&A

I just found this comment on a past post, and I was so excited!! So I am answering it now even though swore I would go to bed. Writes Natalie,

"As far as going vegan goes, i think i am most concerned about how much money i will spend on groceries each month and how many hours per week i will spend cooking. i was wondering if maybe you could write a post about that?"

So there are a few answers to this question:
1. you may be buying more produce, but meat and cheese is pretty expensive and by cutting that out you could actually save quite a bit of money...grains are cheap. make sure you buy produce in season to get the best deals.

2. being vegan doesn't mean you have to change your eating habits completely, if you eat taco bell cause its cheap, order a bean burrito (they don't use lard) sans cheese and ask them to throw some lettuce and tomatoes in there. You can find something to eat at almost every restaurant, just be creative and ask questions...plus the vegetarian options are always a few bucks less than everything else

3. it may seem like a lot upfront as you try to stock your fridge and pantry with vegan staples, but eventually you will have most things you need at home and your weekly grocery bill will be low

4. don't feel like you have to follow every vegan recipe exactly. this is difficult to do at first because the recipes may be foreign to you but rarely do i have all the ingredients required, just whip something together with what you have. If you come across an ingredient that you question if it is worth buying/ keeping stock of, ask me and I will tell you my input.

Here is a quick list of good starter staples:
Nutritional Yeast
Non-dairy milk (almond or hemp recently, but soy is good too...everyone has their own preference, try a bunch)
tofu/ tempeh/ beans
vegan margarine/ olive oil

V&M 3- Stewardship

first i want to say I am disappointed by the number of responses to my proposed contest. this means either:
1) only Amanda reads my blog
2) only Amanda will admit she reads my blog
3) only Amanda has any real interest in trying teff....i love you manda!
one week to posts your comments!

So moving past the word of wisdom I would like discuss the issue of stewardship. When Adam left the garden of Eden, he became a steward over the whole Earth, this stewardship did not imply control or dominance, but rather care and responsibility. Hugh Nibley wrote a great article entitled "Man's dominion" here are some excerpts, though I encourage you to read the whole thing.

Man's dominion is a call to service, not a license to exterminate. It is precisely because men now prey upon each other and shed the blood and waste the flesh of other creatures without need that "the world lieth in sin"

we are answerable for them: "The Lord will not judge a single animal for its treatment of man, but He will adjudge the souls of men towards their beasts in this world, for men have a special place."

"Always keep in view," Brigham Young exhorts us, "that the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms—the earth and its fulness—will all, except the children of men, abide their creation—the law by which they were made, and will receive their exaltation."²⁸ We are all going to move together into the eternities, and even now look forward to "heaven, the paradise of God, the happiness of man, and of beasts, and of creeping things, and of the fowls of the air; that which is spiritual being in the likeness of that which is temporal; . . . the spirit of man in the likeness of his person, as also the spirit of the beast, and every other creature which God has created" (D&C 77:2). What an admonition to proceed with reverence and care! It is only because the Latter-day Saints are ignorant of these things, according to President Young, that God has not already cursed them for their brutal and callous treatment of God's other creatures.

And there's more from other leaders:

"Blood shall not be shed, only for meat, to save your lives; and the blood of every beast will I require at your hands" (JST Gen. 9:11).

"I exhorted the brethren not to kill a serpent, bird, or an animal of any kind during our journey unless it became necessary in order to preserve ourselves from hunger" (Joseph Smith)
"Kindness to the whole animal creation and especially to all domestic animals is not only a virtue that should be developed, but is the absolute duty of mankind ... It as an unrighteous thing to treat any animal cruelly" (Joseph F. Smith)

President Joseph F. Smith said, "We are a part of life and should study carefully our relationship to it. We should be in sympathy with it, and not allow our prejudices to create a desire for its destruction. The unnecessary destruction of life begets a spirit of destruction which grows within the soul. It lives by what it feeds upon and robs man of the love that he should have for the works of God. It hardens the heart of man... The unnecessary destruction of life is a distinct spiritual loss to the human family. Men cannot worship the Creator and look with careless indifference upon his creation. The love of all life helps man to the enjoyment of a better life. ...Love of nature is akin to the love of God, the two are inseparable." (Juvenile Instructor, April 1918, p. 182-3)

Now you may say, I eat chicken nuggies, I buy my meat the supermercado, I don't hunt, so how do my habits reflect unrighteous dominion? Your actions might not, but your dollars do. If you have any interest in knowing what happens to the animals you eat, you may watch the video below. If you are prone to vomiting, watch on an empty stomach. Hey, its narrated by Alec Baldwin!

Is this treating God's creations with respect and righteous dominion?

teff

Taking a break from the passionate Veganism and Mormonism posts, I would like to share with you our new grain discovery...teff! If you have heard of teff, bravo, if not I would like to introduce you. Teff is a staple grain of ethiopia, and is the smallest grain in the world, which makes it one of the healthiest because it is made of mostly the bran and the germ. It has a deeper flavor and an interesting consistency when cooked (slighty sticky).

apparently you can make pancakes with it, breakfast cereal, and many other things, but I just prepare it the same way I do quinoa. Boil it with sauteed vegetables and herbs until the water is absorbed (3c. water to 1 c. teff).

So now that you have become acquainted with the grain, I would like you to try it. But because you may be apprehensive to rush out and buy some, and in order to encourgae more blog participation I will be giving some away. Here's how to win:

Post a comment below, about anything...your thoughts on my blog, on other grains, on veganism in general. Next week I will select a person at random and mail you some teff of your own (must live in the US).

V&M 2- health continued..

Still on the topic of health, and word of wisdom, here are some other references:

John A. Widtsoe, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, wrote in a book on the Word of Wisdom, "It was shown in the history of plant science that plants contain all the necessary food substances: proteins, fats, starches and the carbohydrates, minerals...water [and] vitamins. The Great builder of the earth provided well for the physical needs of His children. Countless varieties of edible plants, vegetables, cereals, fruits and nuts are yielded by Mother Nature for man's daily food. If one uses meat it must be used sparingly and in winter or famine only.... They who wish to be well and gain the promised reward stated in the Word of Wisdom must obey all of the law, not just part of it as suits their whim or their appetite, or their notion of its meaning." (The Word of Wisdom, a Modern Interpretation, 1950)

President David O. McKay said, "Too many members move along the lines of least resistance and yield to a craving appetite developed by disobedience to the Word of Wisdom of God, thus depriving themselves of spiritual as well as physical strength... Neither the Church nor the world at large can hear too much about the Word of Wisdom." (Improvement Era, 1953, p. 376)

"Elder Benson, "To a significant degree, we are an overfed and undernourished nation digging an early grave with our teeth, and lacking the energy that could be ours.... We need a generation of young people who, as Daniel, eat in a more healthy manner than to fare on the 'kings meat' ---and whose countenances show it." (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson pp. 476-7) His reference, of course, is to the biblical Daniel who, as a student in the Babylonian royal court, opted for simple vegetarian food and whose superior health quickly became visible to others. See Daniel, Chapter 1 in the Old Testament or the wonderful account in Antiquities of the Jews by Josephus, Book 10, Chapter 10, verses 1-2 for details." -quoted from JimCatano

I want to be very clear that I do think vegetarianism is requisite for salvation, I am not writing these installments to persuade you, or make you feel guilty. I am not on the offensive, but rather defensive. After hearing about Rachel's encounter, I asked the vegan missionary in our area if he faced challenges, he said that in almost every area he has served he has received harsh criticism from other missionaries, to the point of being told he was disobeying the commandments of God. A friend of mine, upon hearing I was vegan, said he wanted to give me some church talks that would show me this was a wrong way to live. I will no longer sit back and have my religious conviction challenged. I also want to make clear that the behavior of these 'criticizers' is not representative of the Church as a whole, it just demonstrates the varying perspective of individuals within the church

V&M installment 1-word of wisdom

Before I begin with these installments I have to recognize Bob for giving me a good jumping off point. Much of the first few installments will based on scriptures and quotations that he has already noted, I will just expound.

I will start with the word Word of Wisdom:
"Flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly; And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine" (D&C 89:12-13 aka Word of Wisdom, emphasis added).

God has provided animals for our use, yes, but we are not in famine..look around, we (in America) actually have an overabundance of food. Therefore we should refrain, or at the very least use sparingly (not have it be the focal point of every single meal).

And for the record, if I was starving, I would have no problem feeding myself and family meat.

after biting my tongue...

I have refrained from discussing veganism in conjunction with my religious beliefs (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) because I believe everyone has the right to eat as they choose, and it is not my place to interpret doctrine. With that said, 71% of voters (out of 7) and a portion of Rachel's email has prompted me (not a spiritual prompting) to speak on this matter.
Rachel, my sister in law, who is serving a mission in Argentina wrote this today:

"i got hasseled for being a vegetarian again by the elders, scriptures came out, fingers were pointed, modern revelation misquoted... it was great. I clearly can't be one now, but less meat consumption is suggested in the scriptures. save the vacas."

clearly hermana gilman has taken this reproach in jest; however, I am irritated that the other missionaries would 'doctrinally' reprimand her personal decision to abstain from meat. so, you want to play that game? i will share with you how i can justify my eating habits with my spiritual teachings. this will be done in installments, as this blog post would be painfully long if i tried to squeeze it in all in.... stay tuned.

and as for the missionaries and their judgements, i will leave you with a message from Roman 14 verse 3:
Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
(I will talk more on this chapter later)

happy earth day!!!

to celebrate i ate all raw!

Breakfast: apple
Lunch: zucchini pasta with sundried tomato and pine nut sauce
Snack: homemade sprouted rye bread (with wayyy too many caraway seeds) with honey and raw almond butter, raw carob bite
Dinner: a mix of raw salads from Sundance Market
Dessert: orange

I have been making zucchini pasta quite frequently, it is so easy and filling. Here is a rough method, add or subtract anything you like (try to use organic):

Ingredients (for one):
Pasta:
1 large or 2 small zucchini

Sauce:
sundried tomatoes
olive oil
raw pine nuts
basil, oregano, etc.
salt/pepper

Shred zucchini into pasta like strands (i just use a peeler). In a small food processor combine all the saucey ingredients. Mix everything together....simple!


Sprouted Rye Bread
raw rye berries, soaked and sprouted a few days
caraway seeds

in a food processor mix the two, add some water until moist, but easily shapeable. Mold into a small loaf, dehydrate about 20 hours.

caution: my rye bread tasted really really strong, maybe less caraway seeds will help, or sprout the rye a for a shorter amount of time.

vegan diary day 1

breakfast: half a banana (we running late to church and split a banana in the car)
lunch: i made raw sushi. for the 'rice' i used left over almond pulp from the milk i made last night and sprouted wild rice (which actually isn't rice at all)
dan made polenta with sauteed onions, mushrooms, spinach and bell peppers (same veggies i used in my sushi)...we shared.
snack: some granola with my almond milk...soooo good! olives, hummus
dinner: soup (method below)

I call this a method and not a recipe because i literally just threw everything in there...
parsnips, carrots, celery, canned tomatoes, onion, kale, lentils, split peas, wild rice (mistook them for the lentils at first), salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, vegetable stock (everything organic).

Ratatouille and Almond Milk

Tonight's dinner was fantastic, I wish I had brought my camera, so beautiful and delicious. We talked for a while with Eric, the owner, he used to own Sparks restaurant in San Francisco (a high end vegetarian restaurant) but moved to Eugene when he became a father. Eugene is a tough place to have a higher end restaurant, not a lot of money here, so go eat there you'll love it. I can't wait though, Eric told me his new passion is raw food and is working on some raw desserts and more raw entrees...I'm still on my raw kick.

Speaking of raw...tonight I finally made fresh raw almond milk. I had been apprehensive about making it because we don't own a vitamix, but I found a recipe that calls for only an everyday blender.

Raw Vanilla Almond Milk

1 cup soaked almonds
3 cups water
1 vanilla bean, seeds scooped out
3-5 soft pitted dates (or soak hard dates in water for 1/2 hour) or
other sweetener to taste such as honey or stevia

To make raw almond milk blend the soaked almonds with the water until smooth. Then strain the mixture through a sprout bag, cheesecloth, or strainer into a big bowl. Save the almond pulp in a container and put in the refrigerator for later use.

Put the almond milk back into the blender carafe and blend in the vanilla seeds and dates or other sweetener until smooth. This milk will last in the refrigerator for about 3-5 days. Shake well before using.

So one thing about soaking almonds: It's great to soak your almonds even if you aren't making milk. The skins of almonds, and most other nuts have enzyme inhibitors. This means that your body has to use its own enzymes to digest them (same premise as cooked food...cooking foods kills their natural enzymes meaning you have to use yours).

To soak almonds:
put raw almonds in a bowl, fill with water. let soak for 24hours, keep in water. You should change the water about once a day.

That's it...super easy. They are great too, they plump up.

I still dream about...

David Bann.

One of the best vegetarian restaurants i have ever had the pleasure of dining at. I would tell you all to go immediately, but its in Edinburgh, Scotland. Which adds to its fantasticness. Imagine wandering around Europe trying to find good vegan food (we actually fared quite well, minus the lentil soup in Paris that was cream based-sick for 2weeks), and happening upon this little gem in Scotland. The food is very gourmet, not unlike Milenium or Greens in San Francisco, but the prices are insanely low in comparison. The closest thing we have here in Eugene is Rataouille, where we will be eating tonight.

Vegan Mac and Cheese

I think I may be slightly wheat intolerant, I had small allergic reactions to something and ever since I started eating mostly raw my symptoms have disappeared. Until....

We had the missionaries over (one who was vegan!) and they requested vegan mac and cheese. I avoid the processed cheese, so the recipe is below. I have posted this recipe on my other blog, but will repeat here because it's just delicious.

From Vegan Yum Yum:

Mac and Cheeze
Serves 2-3

1/3 Cup Earth Balance Margarine
1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
2 1/2 Tbs Low Sodium Tamari or Soy Sauce
1 Tbs Lemon Juice, fresh
1 Tbs Sweet/White/Mellow Miso
1 Tbs Tahini
1 Tbs Tomato Paste (not sauce!)
1 1/4 Cup Soy Milk
1/3 Cup Nutritional Yeast
1 Pinch Salt
Black Pepper, to taste

Begin by heating a sauce pan and adding the earth balance. Once melted, add flour and whisk vigorously until a smooth paste forms, called a roux. Be careful not to add flour to a pan that is very hot, or your roux will be lumpy and you’ll need to start over. If you mix in the flour as soon as the margarine is melted and you should avoid any problems.

To this paste, add tamari, lemon, miso, tahini, and tomato paste and whisk until well incorporated. The mixture should still be paste-like. Then slowly pour in the soymilk, whisking constantly, until it is completely incorporated. Add the yeast and mix well. Cook the mixture until it thickens, whisking often. This should take approximately 5 minutes, but it’s flexible. Add salt and pepper to taste.

The only alteration I made to this recipe was adding some Paprika.

So with the wheat allergy, there could obviously be a number of factors; but I have been reading a lot about wheat and have decided that it should be generally avoided. I won't eliminate wheat completely because then I couldn't reintroduce it, but I am definitely going to minimize it.

Advice for going vegan

#1 don't run out of food!

this may sound obvious, but it is very important when you are first starting to change your diet. if you let your pantry run dry, in a state of extreme hunger you will resort to what you know is easy and accessible....most likely a meat/ dairy solution.
i learned this lesson tonight. i have been about 95% raw this past week, the 5% consisted of rice cakes and a bite of dan's vegan waffle. tonight though, when faced with an empty fridge and limited time dan and i went to a mexican restaurant and got veggie burritos, with a vegan brownie for dessert. its an easy trap to fall into, but this leads me into my next mention of advice....

#2 don't be hard on yourself!
maybe this should be number 1, it is perhaps the most important. don't set too many limitations, and if you mess up or given into cravings, don't get frustrated. this will most likely cause you to give up all together.
so for instance, tonight i say to myself too bad you couldn't keep it up longer, i felt great all week and now i feel tired and heavy... so all the more reason to start back up again tomorrow.

Raw coconut fudge

I don't remember exactly how I made this, I adapted a few recipes, but here is the general gist

raw carob powder, raw almond butter, shredded coconut, vanilla extract....uhh i think thats it. if you like carob they are very delicious and satisfying. just half of one would satisfy sweet cravings.

raw pad thai!

noodles of squash, zucchini, and bean sprouts
sauce of raw almond butter, chopped almonds, braggs, paprika, orange juice

raw crepes!

It is general conference weekend, normally I make vegan crepes, but in an attempt to eat more raw food I made raw crepes! I adapted the recipe from Alissa Cohen's book "Living on Live Food"

You will need a dehydrator and food processor for this recipe.
Note: anything in brackets is my adaption
for the crepes
5-6 bananas
[cinnamon]
-blended until smooth, spread onto teflex dehydrator sheet, dehydrate for 10- 14 hours (I prepared these last night)
- when finished cut into crepe like slices

filling
1/2 c. [almonds]
1/2 c. [walnuts]
[1/2 apple]
juice of 1 large lemon
[3] tsp. honey
2 tsp. bragg liquid aminos (this is kind of like a soy sauce or tamari, but better)
1tsp. vanilla
2 tsp water
-blend everything together, spread on 1/2 of crepe and fold crepe on itself

strawberry syrup
1c. strawberries
1 tbs. honey
-blend everything together, and smother on top.

some food!

For dinner Dan and I had a homemade pizza and a vegan caesar salad.

Pizza is the easiest dinner. We get the fresh prepared, uncooked dough from Trader Joes, smother it in tomato sauce and top it with whatever left over veggies we have lying around. Tonight we used kale, mushroom, and bell pepper. For those who want a more cheesy pizza you can get non-dairy cheeses, but we usually use crumbled tofu mixed with nutritional yeast and some other spices.

For the caesar I used crispy romaine lettuce. Toasted some Ezekiel bread and seasoned it with olive oil, italian herbs, and paprika for croutons and the dressing recipe that I adapted is as follows:

• 1/2 c. vegainaise (sounds gross, its actually good- and before i went vegan i hated mayonaise)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
• 1/2 Meyer lemon, juiced
• 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Pepper to taste