Vegan Momma

When it comes to eating I’ll try any fruit or vegetable at least once no matter how strange and different it might look following this practice I’ve sampled numerous vegetables, and fruits, and I can easily go weeks without eating the same types of foods.

Comfort Foods
There are other times when I wrap those familiar taste around me like a comfortable afghan and cling onto them for weeks, savoring the flavors of my favorite vegetables and fruits that I love can be inspirational and I’ll spend weeks creating various recipes. Aiyana, my daughter,is the official taste tester and usually is happy with any new creation I serve.

Aiyana is five years old and has eaten a large variety of vegetables and fruits. Her snacks consist of some type of fruit or veggie. She’s at the point now where that is what she reaches for when she is hungry. It’s what she knows, and she views it as normal. In fact, that was normal before people started reaching for processed foods. I wanted to instill healthy eating habits in her from birth.

Beans and things
We haven’t had beans in weeks, and I’ve decided to make them today so last night I soaked one cup of pink beans (also known as Habichuelas Rosadas or chili beans.) Although you cannot tell this from the photo I shot this morning I was rewarded with three cups of soaked beans. Preparing dried beans take more time than purchasing canned beans, but it’s worth it. The flavor is miles ahead of the canned variety. At the moment, I’m not sure what I’ll be creating, but it will be something simple, nutritious, and delicious. Hopefully I’ll snap a photo before it is gobbled up and I’ll be sure to post the recipe on The Raw & The Cooked later this week.

There are three ways I prepare my beans: soak, stovetop cooking, and pressure cooking. I’ll be doing a writeup about it later on The Raw and The Cooked.

The Raw and the Cooked
While I was away on vacation one of my relatives asked me about my cooking website. “Opal, he said, I’ve checked out your recipe website none of your recipes contain meat. Why don’t you just call it a vegan website? I said, At times, people avoid what they don’t know. Most of my readers for that site aren’t vegan, let alone vegetarian, the majority of the trackbacks I receive come from “regular websites.”

I’ve encountered many people that see “vegan ” and automatically assume that the food cannot be good. A lot of people find their way to the website because they want to clean up their eating habits because they have made unhealthy choices. I’ve encountered many vegetarians and vegans that fall into that category also. You can be unhealthy as a vegetarian or vegan it all comes down to the choices you choose to make.

Can you be unhealthy as a vegetarian/vegan?
As I alreasdy mentioned above you can be unhealthy as a vegetarian or vegan (an you’ll hear me mentioning that often on a variety of my websites.) I do that mainly because some people automatically assume that they will be healthy if they are vegetarian or vegan. That’s inaccurate, it comes down to the choices you make. Animal free diets high processed foods, meat analogues, sugar, excessive consumption of eggs, dairy products, breads, etc., and low in vegetables can be harmful also. I’ve met a few people that said they were sick as a vegetarian or vegan however in all the cases I’ve personally seen it had a lot to do with the type of foods they were consuming.

I can’t do it aka self-fulfilling prophecy
I’ve met many people that tell me they can’t make a change, or they’ll say I could never become (vegetarian, vegan, raw foodist, etc.) I reply (with a smile) that with that outlook you won’t be able to make the change because you have told your mind that it cannot be done. You have to change your attitude. You can accomplish your health goals, but you might need some assistance. Our minds are powerful they can work for us or against us.

An excellent website…
Gary of Animal Writings has an excellent series focused on people who want to reduce their consumption of meat it’s called To Meat-Eaters: Easy Ways to Reduce Meat Consumption While Retaining Your Comfort Foods, My only regret is that they aren’t linked to the proceeding post however you can easily navigate to find all the articles in that series. Come on Gary, make it into an Ebook! Gary has recently started a series titled Getting Used to New Foods. One of my favorite statements on this subject was…

Does this scenario sound familiar?

I once saw someone refuse a raffle prize of “vegan dark chocolates.” Her reason? “I’m not vegan.”

Okay…Why the irrational, and sometimes over the top reactions?

A full exploration would require many posts and lots of discussion. So here are the first two explanations that come to mind:

One of the many things I like about Gary is his compassionate approach when writing about Veganism. I’ve encountered vegans that made me not want to associate with them because their attitudes about those who weren’t were appalling. Way to send a negative message about vegans, because we know some people will automatically assume that we are all like that, pfft! Trust me we aren’t.

Future projects
The Raw and the Cooked is one of the websites I’m putting back into circulation. I have a lot of plans for it. I recently wrote about dusting off a few projects on my freelance writing website.

Something I think about
I find it amazing that people devote so much energy into researching various products and services they purchase for themselves or others, but they don’t put that energy into learning more about the foods they choose to consume and the effect it can have on their bodies both now and in the future. I know that is one of the reasons I started actively following up on my food consumption. I’m constantly looking for ways I can improve my overall lifestyle.

[tags]vegan, cooking, The Raw and the Cooked, freelance writing[/tags]

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We grilled outside today, actually I didn’t grill until after 6:00 this evening, which is highly unusual for me but I thought about kabobs and how I hadn’t had them in years I decided to put some on the grill. I had vegetables marinating since this morning. I asked my daughter would she like to cook on the grill.

Naturally, she was all excited until I told her we were making kabobs. “I don’t like kabobs,” she said. I laughed and said, “Aiyana, you’ve never even had kabobs before, so how do you know you won’t like them?” As we were skewering the veggies on the bamboo sticks she snuck a few in her mouth and said, “I like kabobs. Mommy!”

The grilling went well. Aiyana gobbled down the loaded veggie kabobs. We talked her initial reaction to kabobs. I told her; Aiyana you will miss out on a lot of things if you form an opinion about something before you even try it. You like the kabobs, right? Yes, mommy! Well, I said, think about that the next time you form an opinion about something that is “new or strange” give it a chance than make a decision. It’s only fair, ok? Aiyana said, Ok, mommy! I’ll remember. She continued, I really like the kabobs even though I said I didn’t like them at first. She giggled and said, “Silly Aiyana!”

Throughout life, you’ll encounter people like that. They have no clue about something, but they’ll form an inaccurate opinion about it without giving it a fair chance. You can miss out on so many if you let your prejudices hold you back. I determined early in life that I would not do that, and I do my best not to fall into that trap in doing so I’d miss out on many things.
[tags]vegan cuisine, kabobs, grilling[/tags]

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This morning my daughter and I are having watermelon for breakfast. Not only is it a great thirst quencher it also an excellent source of vitamin C, Vitamin A, and many more valuable nutrients.

Did you know the pinker the watermelon is the better? Why is that? Pink watermelon is an excellent source of a valuable antioxidant called carotenoid. What is it? This potent antixodant travels through our body neutralizing free radicals. It doesn’t stop there carotenoid is also able to oxidize cholesterol which is very good. When cholesterol sticks to blood can lead to heart attacks, strokes, increase the severity of asthma attacks by causing the airways to shut down and close.

Don’t forget the seeds! Yes, watermelon seeds are actually good for you. Not only are they an excellent source of protein. They are also a good source of essential and non essential amino acids. Magnesium, calcium, potassium, iron, phosphorous, zinc, and many other nutrients can be found in the watermelon seed. Watermelon is also a natural laxative.

Yesterday I grilled squash, tomatoes, and yellow onions that I had picked from my garden. (I wrote about it briefly at The Raw & The Cooked, Check out Summer Grilling: Vegan Cuisine I need to update with a recipe) I marinated them in a tangy sauce that I had made with balsamic vinegar, freshly squeezed oranges and lime, freshly ground peppercorns, and a tiny amount of agave nectar. The grilled veggies were a hit.

Over the years, I’ve noticed something extremely important the healthier I eat the fewer cravings I have for foods that aren’t good for me. It’s true, many critics have discussed food cravings and why we have them. Many have suggested that what our bodies is actually craving is a nutrient that are body needs. They go on to say that when people are hungry they reach for foods that aren’t the healthiest choice which does nothing to solve the need replacing the nutrient that is needed. In a few hours, the body is starving for that nutrient(s) and again we respond but with an unhealthy “food”. It’s a vicious cycle.

What would I love to make today? Some type of curry however I’m out of curry powder so I’ll be ordering mine from one of my favorite spice stores.

A few people I know think that is odd that I actually know what I’m eating, I tell them I think it’s strange that they don’t. Why would I not want to know what’s going into my body? What I consume directly affects my health. If the bad things that people consume had an instant reaction on their health (asthma, obesity, stroke, cancer, diabetes, heart attacks, high cholesterol, diabetes, colds, depression, etc.) I imagine not as many would continue to eat them.

Question: What are you eating today?

[tags]healthy, nutrition, whole foods, vegetables, vegan, The Raw and the Cooked, watermelon[/tags]

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I made this dish earlier today. This meal can be served for any meal. It’s a low fat, healthy, and delicious. I call it easy vegan cuisine. Guess what? You don’t have to be vegan or vegetarian to eat it. It’s simple, nutritious, and delicious.

What was in it? zucchini squash, cherry tomatoes, and one yellow onion. They all came from my garden. A quick meal that was ready in less than five minutes. I’ll post the simple recipe, along with pictures of the produce, on my vegan recipe website. The recipe should be posted by tomorrow afternoon.

We usually eat fruit for breakfast, but I thought this was a nice change. Smoothies were naturally on the list and yes it was another green smoothie. Our smoothie contained apple juice, kale, peaches, bananas, and strawberries. It was delicious.

I recently added a new client (I occasionally refer to myself as their eating coach) we are working together on her eating habits. She isn’t overweight and is “healthy” by Western standards but she feels that she should be making healthier choices. She’s unsure if she wants to go veggie. I assured her that she can be healthy without being veggie it’s all about the choices she makes. She also wants to cut back on her alcohol consumption. Consuming too much can actually weaken your immune system, is damaging to your heart, liver, vision, many other health related problems.

We’ve had some interesting discussions by email and phone. I make sure that I emphasize that making changes in your eating lifestyle can be challenging. For many it will be best to take baby steps, giving themselves time to make the transition. Being knowledgeable about the foods you are consuming along, and seeing the direct results of the benefits of eating healthier can be extremely helpful. Also learning how easy it is to maintain a healthy eating lifestyle can people the confidence they’ll need to continue. As I tell people I won’t always be around to help a person forever it’s how you perform after I’m gone.

It’s a busy day in the vegan momma household I’m knocking out a few articles and getting ready for vacation. We will be leaving out early Monday morning we’ll be returning the following the following Sunday.

Question: What’s on your menu today?

[tags]vegan cuisine, vegan cooking, vegan recipes, green smoothies[/tags]

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A few days ago I noticed a change in my traffic on Vegan Momma. I really don’t pay too much attention to my website traffic anymore. Occasionally I do check to see what brings people to my website but the numbers I really don’t look at it anymore.

Anyway after I noticed the increase in traffic I decide to log onto the admin panel at Vegan Momma to see what could possibly cause the increase it appears that a few prominent veggie blogs linked to me over the past few days which might explain the traffic increase. Now that I think about it I have been writing about health and veganism a lot more lately.

I really don’t think about being Vegan unless someone asks me about it, or I’m writing about it. I don’t find my lifestyle “strange” or “hard”. I imagine that has a lot to do with the fact that I’ve been vegetarian since 1992. I’ve been through the annoying stage where I was trying to find things I could eat. The funny thing is I had plenty of food choices however in the beginning I was making it too hard on myself.

You know what? My food choices aren’t an issue unless I go to a restaurant that isn’t Vegan friendly. That rarely happens since I prefer to make my own meals; however, when I do eat out I usually choose Caribbean, Indian, or Asian cuisine. It’s what I love, and I usually have plenty of choices to select.

One of the main reasons I created The Raw and The Cooked was because I wanted to show how simple, nutritious, and delicious it can be to live as a whole food vegan. Yes, you’ll find whole food vegan recipes here on vegan Momma but most of them will now be featured at The Raw and The Cooked.
There are a lot of veggie food websites out there many of them I like I also came across several foods that although vegan wasn’t exactly the healthiest of choices. Those websites features plenty of meat analogues, pasta rich, lots of bread products, and low on veggies.

Some of you might have heard of the Standard American Diet (high in processed foods low in nutritional value) well guess what you can also have the Standard Vegetarian (or Vegan) diet and be unhealthy also. It’s all about making healthy choices.

[tags]vegan, recipe, nutrition, vegan momma, the raw and the cooked[/tags]

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