Yum!

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN CENTRAL STANDARD TIME

V is the symbol for ‘vegan’ on restaurant menus. I am hawk-like in scanning for it. You see, I eat a V diet now.  

I had always been a person who disliked eating animals and creatures. Especially when they were recognizable to me or staring at me from the plate. My imagination and dark humor always created thought bubbles spewing “help me” from the poor subject. I still ate them. Guilt is something you justify when food is so delicious.

I did not think being V was a nutritional lifestyle option being brainwashed for decades that I needed milk and meat to be healthy (thanks to the politics of food lobbyists). So I ate and cooked a typical Western diet. I always felt better though after eating vegetables. Red meat felt like a brick in my body. Bread bloated me. And cheese…well, you know what cheese does. After eating a meal, I felt exhausted. That’s not normal I have found out.

In June of 2017, I was told by my doctor that I needed to go on statins as my cholesterol was not acceptable anymore. (Both my Mother and Father had high cholesterol, and my Dad ended up with heart disease. I clearly have a genetic pre-disposition). But I had known several people who were permanently harmed by statins. I had read the book “The Great Cholesterol Myth” by Jonny Bowden and Stephen Sinatra. So, there was no way in hell I was going to take them. My doctor was all uppity about it.

After researching about the most powerful drug of all, food, I became convinced that inflammation from dairy and meat products were the worst culprit for me. So, I went vegan. (More about a Vegan diet here.)

It has been a major success for me. By eating a plant-based diet, avoiding processed foods, controlling sugar, and doing cardio exercise, I have successfully lowered my cholesterol by 50 points and altered the ratio of good to bad cholesterol to the normal range. (My doctor was silent at my follow up visit.)

Some things I’ve learned…

1.       Vegans can still be unhealthy eaters. Sugar is vegan! And sugar is loaded with calories-I was once eating a vegan carrot cake, only to look at the label and see it was over 900 calories a slice! French fried are vegan! What? Also, I personally keep soy, meat substitutes and processed foods to a minimum as I do not think they’re ultimately healthy either.  (That includes Impossible Burgers, BK fans.)

2.       Vegans eat more often!  It was hard to get used to eating so much, but I had to. Eating lighter more frequently is better for your metabolism, and the calories in plant based foods are generally much less.  And goodbye, Food Comas! It just doesn’t happen because your body digests and handles a vegan diet more efficiently.

3.       Vegans are helping animals and the environment. Livestock and their food source (which is vegan by the way) take up 40% of the US alone, and it’s the main reason the Amazon forest is being cut down. Cattle Ranching-Amazon Forest.

4.       This way of eating doesn’t cost more as so many people like to profess. My food bills are the same. But I think my medical bills will go down!

5.       Being V is growing in popularity, so even eating out is easier now as most restaurants make accommodations for, or have entire dishes for the V eater.

Now, I know you’re preparing your holiday feasts at this time of year. I am only entreating you to consider serving a dish or two for your V family and friends! I’ve included three simple, yummy recipes that are V but all can enjoy. They’re vegan versions of classics…Cream of Mushroom Soup, Green Bean Casserole, and Lyonnaise Potatoes. 

The vegans in your life will love you.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb. of cremini mushrooms-sliced

5 oz shiitake mushrooms-sliced

6-8 cloves of garlic-minced

1 large yellow onion-chopped

3 cups of unsweetened Almond or Oat Milk

2 cups of vegetable stock or broth

½ teaspoon of fresh ginger-ground

The juice of 1 lemon

Salt and Pepper to taste (I love fresh ground peppercorns and Pink Himalayan Salt)

To make:

1.       Put the sliced mushrooms, garlic, onion, milk, and vegetable broth in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Lower to Medium heat for about 10 minutes

2.       Pour this mixture in batches into a regular blender or food processor. TIP: do not use all of the liquid generated, and do not over blend-keep soup chunky. You can add thickener (corn starch) to the remaining broth for gravy!

3.       Pour the blended soup into your serving bowl, and stir in the ginger, lemon juice and salt & pepper

4.       OPTION-top with green onions, chives, or even dots of a hot sauce, like Sriracha

NOTE: You can also use this soup to make the following classic holiday recipe, instead of buying canned soup that is high in sodium.

Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

Cream of Mushroom Soup (above recipe or buy 2 cans of vegan Mushroom soup)

1 large (32oz) bag of cut, frozen green beans

1 container of French Fried Onions

To make:

1.       Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

2.       Steam the green beans in a large pot until they are soft

3.       Put them in a large glass casserole dish (9x12), mixing in 2/3 of the can of fried onions, and cream of mushroom soup to cover generously (you will have extra if using the above recipe vs cans!)

4.       Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25 minutes

5.       Add the remaining fried onions, and bake 5 minutes more

6.       Serve in the casserole dish.

Vegan Lyonnaise Potatoes

5 medium red potatoes, sliced

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 tablespoons of Olive Oil

2 ¼ cups of unsweetened Almond or Oat Milk

A generous tablespoon of Corn Starch or Flour

2 tablespoons of Nutritional Yeast (super healthy, it has a nuttiness to it and is a thickener)

1 cube of Vegetable Stock

Salt and Pepper to taste

To make:

1.       Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2.       Slice the potato using a mandolin so the slices are uniformly thin

3.       Put the Olive Oil in a saucepan, and add the chopped onions, let cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes until see through

4.       In a medium bowl, mix the milk and corn starch together until it’s dissolved.

5.       Transfer this mixture to a pan adding-in the nutritional yeast, vegetable stock cube and salt & pepper. Bring this to a boil, and then whisk slowly as liquid continues to thicken.

6.       Put the potatoes in a medium glass casserole dish, pour the mixture over it, and top with the cooked onions & garlic.

7.       Bake at 350 for 40 minutes covered, and then remove the cover and cook for another 15 minutes.

8.       Top with parsley and serve hot!

I hope you try these out and have a V Happy Holiday!

Rainee Denham