The End of Year One

As 2015 draws to a close I've been pondering this vegetarian journey I've been on and I have to say it's been a good thing for me - I feel better having eliminated meat products from my diet, I've lost a few pounds and I feel like I have more energy. With the exception of Dan's coconut and almond crusted tilapia (which I'll be having on New Year's Day) and the famous garlic and onion turkey burgers I haven't missed eating meat so for the most part I'll continue the vegetarian lifestyle (and blogging too). 

What I've learned along the way:

• People who don't understand your food choices can be annoyed by them and they may try to thwart your efforts, convince you that you're wrong or behave rudely. I think this is the thing that surprised me the most although it probably shouldn't. I've spent a good part of my existence not eating products derived from a cow and have encountered a broad range of responses, from deciding I was too picky, to being accused of wanting attention, to being told "A little won't hurt me"  - thanks but no thanks - please understand that it's an allergy issue not a vanity issue. 

• I don't understand why my food choices are a concern to others? I've not asked anyone to conform to my lifestyle, I'm willing to bring my own food (and often do) to events, I've not asked anyone to purchase special food for me or change their way of cooking - yet it still seems to be a point of contention; go figure.

• Many restaurants that tout themselves as "vegetarian friendly" think that means cheese (as a replacement for meat) and ice berg lettuce and sometimes even those who support you - just want you to order that salad so they can get dinner and move on. In the same way carnivores want something tasty - I want something tasty that happens to be vegetarian, not something that you've simply removed the meat from - altering a dish and truly having vegetarian options are not the same thing.

• With the exception of a very few brands, most "fake meat" products taste like fake meat and should be avoided at all costs.

• Healthy cooking takes time, plan accordingly.

• Read labels if you can't pronounce or have no clue what ingredients are in something you shouldn't eat it - put it back on the shelf

• Experimentation is fun! Try one new food each week, if you don't like it don't eat it again it's not the end of the world. When Dan and I first met he told me he didn't like brussels sprouts or squash, turns out he'd only been exposed to pureed squash and boiled brussels sprouts - no wonder he didn't like them. Say hello to the oven and roasting - he's now a huge fan of both and regularly asks me to make them.

• Tempeh over tofu - while I like and will eat both, I prefer the texture and nuttiness of tempeh.

• Take a vegetarian cooking class or two (or four). I've learned so many new recipes by taking community ed and un-cooking classes at the local raw food restaurant, many are now my go to favorites.

• Vegetarians and Vegans need protein be sure to include beans and other sources of protein on a daily basis - protein is important but it doesn't have to come from an animal.

Thanks to those of you who have supported me, followed & shared my blog, shared recipes with me and tried my veggie creations - it's been a great journey and I hope you'll continue to follow my blog.

Wishing everyone a Happy and Safe New Year - see you in 2016!

A Different Perspective - Dan's View of AVFOY

Ann's movement to a vegetarian diet for a year has made me a healthier eater. However, unlike Ann, I am not a strict vegetarian. I still enjoy fish and brats (I do love brats). So I guess I am a technically a Pescaterian-Bratatarian?

My primary concern about pure vegetarian diets is that they sometimes lack good protein. Although I love mock duck and tofu, Ann is not a huge fan.  She will eat tofu if I prepare it in a specific way, other than that we have to be creative.

One of my findings is that black beans are a great source of protein. We've also explored high-protein grains like Freekeh [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freekeh] and quinoa and played around with alternative vegetarian/vegan products with mixed success.

When it gets cold in November and December we like to make soups. Ann makes a fabulous Forest Mushroom soup. So I modified her Mushroom soup recipe based on things we had available. Something you should know about me is that I love onions and I hardly ever follow a recipe. I often lookup various recipes and look for patterns (yes, design patterns I'm an architect geek by trade), but I like every dish to be different.

We had a large amount of dried mushrooms in our pantry and I wanted to use them up. We get them at a local Oriental grocery store, and as Ann has mentioned, they are much less expensive then at the traditional grocery stores. I put them in the crock pot in the morning thinking they would be soft by suppertime. I was wrong! They were still hard as a rock and rubbery; especially the stems. I tried to cut the large parts up and put them back into the crock pot. Yet even the small parts were tough after another hour. So I finally had to put the mushrooms in our Ninja blender and grind them all up into very small parts.

I then added two large onions (sautéd in olive oil until golden) and a cup of Freekeh.  I put the Freekeh and ground mushroom on the stove and let them boil for about 1/2 hour.  Then I added two cans of black beans (high protein) and put everything back into the crock pot for another hour.  I added a bit of salt and pepper and some cumin and that was about it.  I like to serve the soup with a good artisan bread (from Costco) and a bit of cheese (Brie is my favorite).

Ann's one comment was that she thought the soup lacked color, which I totally agree with.  She suggested adding carrots, which most of my other soups do have. Next time I would grid the mushrooms stems up in the Ninja blender before soaking. Rubbery mushrooms really are not a good texture.

Thanks for supporting Ann's blog - and thanks to Ann for letting me guest post this week. 

- Dan