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Adventures in Veganizing
Posted by Lisa Towell at 6:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
When I went vegetarian in 1995, I figured I would need just a few months to finish the job and go vegan. After all, my whole motivation to go vegetarian in the first place was to reduce animal suffering, and some of the very worst abuses are endured by dairy cows and egg-laying hens. But 11 years went by, and I still wasn’t ready to take the cheese, butter, and eggs off my plate–I just loved the taste of them. Then in 2006 I attended a catered PETA event, and on the way home afterwards I said to my husband, “You know, that wasn’t just the best weekend of vegan food I ever had, that was some of the best food, period!” I had been so focused on what I would be giving up that I had lost sight of what I would gain: delicious meals and the satisfaction of preventing animal suffering.
So we both decided to try a vegan diet. Our first order of business was breakfast. My parents are British, which means that I come from a long line of people with great respect for a proper breakfast–a bowl of cereal just won’t do! What was I going to butter my toast with? Yes, jam or a hummus spread would undoubtedly be healthier, but dammit, I wanted real toast. When I discovered the marvelous Earth Balance Buttery Spread, I was so happy I nearly cried. It tastes like butter, it has no trans fats, you can sauté and bake with it, and it’s widely available.
The toast problem solved, I was ready to veganize other breakfast classics like pancakes, scones, and “eggs” Benedict. The VegCooking.com Web site is a gold mine of tasty recipes, and we found some great breakfast options in these vegan cookbooks too: Vegan With a Vengeance and Cooking With PETA.
Converting our favorite dinner recipes to vegan was much easier than I expected. Milk or cream needed for a sauce? Soy milk and soy creamer work great. Creamy dip? Start with some Veganaise and you can’t go wrong.
My fears about having to give up pizza were soon laid to rest. Follow Your Heart’s “Vegan Gourmet” Mozzarella cheese will actually melt (unlike many vegan cheeses), so it’s a great pizza topper. And pizza without any cheese is surprisingly yummy, especially when you heap on the caramelized onions, artichokes, and roasted bell peppers.
Faux meats are now widely available, and we did many taste tests to identify our favorites. Morningstar Farms makes “Meal Starters” Chik’n Strips, which make a great chicken substitute in everything from stir-fries to chicken Caesar salad. My husband swears by Gardenburger Riblets. (”It’s all about the barbeque sauce,” he says.) We always keep some vegan burgers in the freezer for a quick lunch, and vegan ground “beef” is great for tacos. Try out some different brands–some will work for you and some won’t, but with so many faux meats available, you’re sure to find something you enjoy.
Vegan baking can be tricky, since eggs can’t be replaced as simply as milk or butter can. I found that many vegan cookie recipes start with ingredients like applesauce or canola oil to produce healthy, low-fat cookies. Nothing wrong with that, but when I break out the measuring cups, I want to end up with some hard-hitting, high-fat baked goods that will make people sing the “Hallelujah” chorus. The Joy of Vegan Baking is packed full of that kind of recipe, and I love serving those cookies to friends who think “vegan baking” is an oxymoron. And don’t forget that you can eat all the raw vegan cookie dough you want without worrying about salmonella!
Overall, our diet is tastier–and healthier–than it was before we veganized. I’m making more meals from scratch and learning new ways to cook our favorite vegetables and grains. But nothing beats the knowledge that every meal we eat is cruelty-free.
Check out this list of vegan substitutes.
I’d love to hear in the comments about your own adventures in veganizing.
Posted to Home & Garden | Posted to Tags: vegan, vegetarian
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Sara says...
February 26th, 2009, 4:16 pm
Lisa, your article is very encouraging. I am not a vegetarian, nor a vegan, but I have been vastly reducing the intake of meat, just simply because I like the taste of tofu and vegetables much more. For me, the most important thing is to maintain a healthy diet and reduce intake of sugar, carb and fat. After reading your article, I think I will give a try to some of your great suggestions! Oh, and thanks for introducing the Earth Balance Buttery Spread, you bet I am going to try that!
Dee says...
February 27th, 2009, 3:00 pm
Nutritional yeast…yummy and great for cheesiness!
Lisa Piquette says...
February 27th, 2009, 4:25 pm
I am vegan/vegetarian and it has been easy and difficult. It’s the easiest thing in the world when I am at home with a stocked kitchen of vegan friendly, and usually pre-made food (amy’s, morningstar, tofutti, soy delicious..really that is all I need in life..oh and the Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spread!) I have found vegan cheese, vegan sour cream, vegan cream cheese and love all. But when I’m out and about life is ten thousand times harder. I want to kiss the people who own a bagel store that sells whole wheat everything bagels and tofu veggie cream cheese…I could live off of that. My own cooking…even pre-vegan…not so good. Its really hard to convince my carnivore boyfriend that the food I’m eating is so amazing when it only comes out ok when I make it. I made a vegan birthday cake for a cake and it collapsed into itself..and the vegan frosting I made was running off the cake…it’s definitely been an adventure. It’s incredibly worth it, I don’t miss a single bite of meat…and if it used to have a family I don’t want to eat it anyway. Dairy is so much harder than meat to avoid because it is in so much widely available food. Soy milk is available at supermarkets, but not at most convenience stores or the food cart in my building at work. I’m hoping that more people will realize how wonderful vegan food is so that one day all that other stuff is the substitute product…the unhealthy immoral substitute…
Jennifer Schmitz says...
February 27th, 2009, 5:36 pm
I too, was surprised at how easy it was to make the transition! I had been vegetarian for over 6 years and was just dragging my feet before I went through with cutting out the rest of the torturous products I thought I was addicted to. I thought it was going to be so difficult to live without cheese, but my cravings are so easily satisfied with vegan cheese! My favorite are the vegan slices, they make the best grilled cheeses! It is so much easier than you think, and it feels so great knowing you can eat great food without hurting any animals!
P.S. Tofutti cream cheese and sour cream are amazing as well! They make everything vegan! You just have to look
Margaret says...
February 28th, 2009, 2:04 am
Being a vegetarian for the twenty years has been easy but I never thought I could give up cheese and chocolate, so that held me back from going vegan, until I tried the vegan alternatives. Yummy! Vegan for a couple of years now!!
Heather says...
March 2nd, 2009, 2:51 pm
I’ve been vegan for four months and have lost 20 lbs effortlessly b/c of it! My reason for going vegan is for the animals but the much needed weightloss is a bonus for sure! For those of you out there that are just veg once you go vegan for a month you don’t miss the dairy and you feel so good knowing all your food is cruelty free! “Meet your Meat” and “Earthlings” gave me the inspiration to make the switch but the book “Skinny Bitch” changed my life regarding diet!! I am not disiplined at all either. Totally self indulgent beleive me! But vegan- no prob. Putting meat or by products in my body just grosses me out now. It really is equivelent to eating a friend! Good luck to anyone makeing the switch. Let’s start a revolution people!! Peace.
Jen-X says...
March 2nd, 2009, 3:52 pm
Great article and very encouraging. I have been vegan for only 6 months (after being vegetarian for 3 years), but I have found it to be pretty easy for the most part. Tofutti cream cheese is great to add to refried beans (warmed up) for a great appetizer dip. And it’s awesome in twice-baked potatoes (with soy creamer and Earth Balance). My hubs couldn’t tell the difference and said they were delicious.