Picked up these three glorious items last night at Chez Alex, a cute little bakery located at 72 Ralph Avenue (Brooklyn, NY). I walked in no more than five minutes till close so I was super appreciative I was able to partake in these goodies. What you’re looking at is a jar of strawberry-basil lemonade ($3, jar included– which I am super stoked on), vegan chocolate cake ($4), and a vegan peanut butter cookie ($1.50). All of which were amazing and I am so so so glad to have discovered this gem which is only six short blocks away from me ❤ Both the cake itself and frosting had perfect consistencies and melted in my mouth with every bite, and the cookie was a very close runner up being not crumbly but not overly moist. Can’t wait to make a trip back for more!
Sweet Potato Mac & “Cheese”
I found an excellent recipe online for this dish, after being inspired by a similar version someone brought to the Friendsgiving dinner I attended. I’ve always loved mac & cheese, so this was one of the dishes I had been missing the most from my pre-vegan way of life.
recipe
Here’s how I followed the recipe: I used a box of organic large whole wheat shells (Whole Foods), unsweetened almond milk, and (accidentally) bought the wrong sweet potato, so my final product did not obtain the color of the noodles in the colorful kitchen’s photos. I chose a white sweet potato (such as an heirloom or Hannah) vs. a more yam-like, orange sweet potato (like the jewel, Japanese, or garnet). I believe the lighter sweet potatoes such as the one I chose take slightly longer to cook in the oven, and have an overall less “sweet” flavor. If I were to make this dish again I would opt for the orange sweet potato, but enjoyed my version regardless! The remainder of the recipe I followed as written. As you can see, this recipe leaves you with A LOT of vegan goodness, so be prepared to share or feast on leftovers for the coming days (I chose the latter). Enjoy!
PB&J smoothie
The second thing I made in my NutriBullet, and have already since made multiple times. The first time I had a PB&J smoothie was nearly four years ago and I fell in love, being an avid consumer of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. Over time I’ve slowly edited down my own version to be healthier while retaining it’s irresistible qualities. I think I’ve nearly perfected it, but there’s always room for improvement.
In the handled-cup (roughly 12-14 ounces at the “do not fill” line), I added, in order–
• a small handful of spinach (~1/3 cup)
• ~1/3 cup frozen blueberries
• ~1/3 cup frozen strawberries
• one medium ripe banana
• ~2 tablespoons peanut butter
• ~2 tablespoons uncooked rolled oats
• ~6 ounces unsweetened almond milk
If you are confused by my abundant use of tildes, they are my way of expressing that these are roughly estimated quantities. I rarely measure amounts of ingredients while cooking, nor do I often follow quantities when using recipes. I find it more fun this way, you can always add a little more of something else to achieve what you’re looking for. All I can say is you can never put too much peanut butter in this smoothie. The oats add a nice touch to the thickness and give it more of a bite. I start with less almond milk than I think I’ll need, because I want this smoothie to be more like a thick creamy milkshake– which it in all honesty tastes better than if it were one. You can also add raspberries or mangos! Enjoy.
Welcome to the family, Nutribullet!
For a while now I’ve mulled over the thought of ordering one of these bad boys. The almost immediate act of the blender my coworker gifted me being rendered inoperative, in addition to the bestowal of an Amazon gift card from my bosses were reasons enough to seal the deal. In just two short days this wonderful contraption was mine, so firsts things first– hummus! I followed a great recipe I found online after searching for “hummus in the blender”–
tahini recipe
http://www.inspiredtaste.net/26901/easy-tahini-recipe/
(I had to add a little extra olive oil here, but eventually achieved the desired consistency)
… now, I made a few tweaks to this recipe (which I do a lot), so here is exactly what I did. I used canned chickpeas (organic, Trader Joe’s brand) saving the liquid from one can, four cloves of garlic, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, and added a few shakes of white pepper & oregano in place of the paprika– mainly because I did not have any. The remainder of the recipe I followed as written. I blended for roughly 45 seconds to 1 minute, intermittently taking the top off and stirring to improve the consistency. Once the hummus was thoroughly mixed and creamy, I put half into a tupperware and added some sun-dried tomatoes (~1/4 cup) and extra olive oil (~1 tbsp) to the remainder and blended that until the tomatoes had completely been dispersed. And there you have it!
an introduction…
I’ve always held the importance of clean, healthy eating closely, although sometimes not as close as I should have. Until I was five years old my parents raised me strictly vegetarian until I was offered some home cooked barbecue at a friend’s birthday party. Shortly after that my parents adopted a carnivorous lifestyle as well and it was all downhill from there. My mother (aka my role model), has always been an amazing figure in the kitchen. Whether she be cooking vegan, plant based meals, or cooking multiple kinds of meat at the same time with a cheese plate occupying the dining room table. This being said, I knew how to appreciate a good meal and have always been fond of cooking for myself and others. I always ate remotely healthy, but also had my fair share of poor eating habits. Examples being; trips to the candy store, strategizing how much my handful of change could get me off the dollar menu at McDonald’s, or eating a whole pizza in one sitting. I attempted vegetarianism again at the age of eleven, but that lasted no longer than a few months.
Around the age of seventeen (2011) I cut soda out of my diet, realizing the nature of how unnecessary it was to be contaminating my body with high fructose corn syrup and other such chemicals. Although this didn’t stop my love of fast food and other internally rotting habits, it was the first step in my now forever-changed lifestyle. Shortly following this turning point, I cut fast food out of my diet completely, cold turkey. Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Subway, etc, were no longer words I associated myself with. Although these were “restaurants” I frequented surely every week, sometimes daily, I quickly released all ties of desire to them and eventually grew disgusted by their existence. The poor quality of ingredients, their tempting marketing techniques, what they stood for, I could no longer see any good in what they were doing for our planet. Aside from these changes, I hadn’t made all too much progress in my diet in the following few years.
In the spring of 2014, I endured a very hazardous car accident at which I fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a ditch. Exiting the totaled vehicle with no more than a few cuts and bruises, I was feeling very lucky to be alive and took a hard look at the status of my life. I started eating (somewhat) healthier, at this point I had started buying only organic groceries, adding more fruits and vegetables to my diet, and assessing the ingredients of any factory produced items I was purchasing. Since this accident left me without proper transportation, I dusted off my old yellow Schwinn and found a new way of getting around town. After a few months, my father and I both decided it was time for a more functional upgrade, and I fell in love with a black single-speed Torker. Around this time, I began to notice how I had dropped roughly forty pounds since the last time I weighed myself (not that I had any idea when that could have been), going from around 230lbs to no more than 195. This being a combination of both a change in my eating habits, yet more so attributed from biking almost everyday (*keeping in mind before my accident I was getting almost zero exercise). I was happy with the progress I had made, but was motivated to go further. I started lifting weights and doing small at-home workout regimens (which I would later abandon out of laziness).
Towards the end of the year (2014), I quit smoking cigarettes, which I’d had a constant on again off again affair with since middle school. To this day, I have had no more than an accidental puff off a spliff which I had thought to contain no tobacco. Over the last year I have seen a tremendous increase in my own self confidence, getting proper exercise and eating good foods. I thought there could be nothing wrong with any aspects of my lifestyle, but then I looked closer.
In August, I moved to Brooklyn — New York City (something I honestly had never imagined for myself). It’s more or less of a known thing that NYC is brimming with $1 pizza, greasy Chinese food, and hot dog carts on every corner (or questionable Halal fare depending on your location). Not much of this attracted me upon my arrival, except I was quite a fan of the drunken slice of ‘za after a late night out. Something I was both nervous and excited to discover was the prospect of grocery shopping in NYC. Everything scared me to an extent in my initial few weeks of being a Brooklyn resident; riding the subway, walking the streets, especially attempting to find places that sold my favorite foods. On my first day, I walked to a local “organic” grocery store I had found on yelp, which wasn’t too far from my friends’ apartment. When I got there, I quickly took notice to how expensive everything was, but also that there were only a handful of actual organic produce items. For a store that claimed to be “organic” I found it strange the majority of their vegetables were actually conventional. Later that week I came to the realization that Trader Joe’s existed nationwide, and started doing all my shopping there. It was cheap, easy, and I could get essentially everything that I was looking for. This mainly consisted of cheeses, salami, and other dairy-induced products. I then spread my grocery endeavors to the artisanal mecca we hate to love, aka Whole Foods, which would only prove to be a nightmare for myself and my wallet. After being around healthier alternatives and a more wide-spread selection of wholesome fruits and veggies, I became inspired to incorporate more nutritious clean meals into my agenda. Around this time, a good friend who had recently gone vegan (a previous vegetarian) started to inform me of the importance and benefits of her new found lifestyle. She discouraged my consumption of cow milk and inspired me to switch over to soy and almond instead, which I did almost immediately. We watched multiple documentaries such as Vegucated, Cowspiracy, Food Inc., etc., (many more of which are on my to-watch list). After absorbing all of this information to the best of my abilities, as well as seeing the cruelty and mistreatment of animals that was happening, I felt yet another change taking place. I cringed at the sight of meat, feeling remorse and sadness for all the animals that had suffered to provide me with food on the table. Learning that milk does not actually “build strong bones” but that dairy in general is not a legitimate source of protein for the human body. I quickly cut many things from my diet, including salami, mac & cheese, and the milk I put in my morning coffee. My first all vegan grocery shop took place roughly six weeks ago; where in place of meat, cheese, and eggs, I purchased things like almond milk, coconut oil, hummus, and tofu (in addition to a bag full of apples, bananas, and greens. Keep in mind, all of these foods I started buying have always been an important staple in my diet, at least over the last three or four years, but instead of simply purchasing them in addition to other groceries, they became the bulk of what I was eating. I started preparing lunches for myself to take to work, such as multi-colored quinoa with red peppers, kale, cherry tomatoes, and hummus. It will become apparent how much I love eating/making food in bowls; salads, rice bowls, soups, tofu scrambles, etc. For breakfast, I always have apple slices (sometimes with peanut butter, my favorite combination), a banana, a clif bar (this also became a very notable staple in my diet, and is one I am trying to work it’s way out of), and sometimes granola with dairy-free milk or “yogurt”. Since my job keeps me primarily on the go, I bring all this stuff with me, meaning whatever I take has to be able to sit out for hours at a time. The key factor in this being so plausible is the lack of dairy/quickly-perishable components in my lunches. Following these new additions to my routine, I have even discovered several local food co-ops in my area, supporting local businesses holding a huge importance to me. These changes I was adapting to meant not only shifting the selections I made at the grocery store, but it made a huge impact on what I could eat while I was out. Brunch has always been a very, very important part of my life. I mean who doesn’t love eggs benedict? While there are some amazing places to eat purely vegan in the city (names of which I will surely mention later), it still proves to be a challenge to eat out with friends who don’t share a similar lifestyle. Having to customize and substitute items on the menu can be a challenge sometimes, but it can be done! I’ve taken to new extremes the lengths at which I scrutinize nutrition facts and ingredient lists. You would be surprised at how easily eggs and milk can sneak their way into certain processed foods, but also a lot of store-bought goodies do not contain traces of dairy— this is an important thing to look out for.
With all this being said, this transition has been for the most part smooth and simple, but has taken time. I am very proud of the bridges I’ve crossed to end up where I am now; content with the changes I’ve made, and loving myself and my body. From weighing 235lbs in the beginning of 2014, I am ending 2015 weighing a comfortable 175lbs. At this point, I can only strive to do more— getting myself into the gym being the next step, as well as becoming more involved in issues surrounding the meat/farming industry and dairy production/consumption. It never hurts to educated a friend, neighbor, or coworker on ways that switching to a vegan lifestyle can benefit not only you personally, but can make a change for a better world. Stay tuned for recipes, yummy vegan hot-spots, and more! Thanks for listening.
thebushwickvegan 