No Thanks

This is my third holiday season as a vegan and I can't wait for it be over. I can't stand the holidays anyway, but attending family dinners and such makes them even more annoying. Last Thanksgiving, I ate Chinese food in Iceland. The one before that, I was at a friends and I was left hungry. I'm not saying that everybody should modify their eating habits to include vegans in their annual feasts, but I just get sick of sitting around watching everybody stuff their face while I nibble on bread. Also, there's a reason people only eat turkey on the holidays: because they think they have to. Nobody really likes it or knows how to cook it. Why bother killing something that you don't even enjoy?

This Thanksgiving I was actually home sick. I ate two bananas and an avocado all day. I did end up cooking a meal at my parents house on Saturday though. I found a recipe for a "Cajun cornbread casserole" that I modified because I rarely follow recipes. I also hate celery, so I left that out. Celery is pretty much the only vegan food I won't eat. A gallon of peanut butter would not make it more appetizing to me.

Anyway, here is a nasty messy picture of my casserole's sloppy goodness:



To make this, I soaked a cup each of dried kidney beans and chickpeas overnight, and then boiled them the next day. I then sauteed two red bell peppers, a large yellow onion, and a buttload of garlic. I added the juice from a can of diced tomatoes and a couple of heaping spoonfuls of Cajun seasoning and let that cook and thicken up. I chopped the canned tomatoes up before adding them, and then I stirred in the beans. For the cornbread topping, I mixed 2 cups of corn meal, a tablespoon of baking powder, 1.5 cups of soy milk, and half a cup of applesauce.

This meal was around 80% organic and cost me $4 to make a huge pan of it. That includes $2 spent on bell peppers. This once again proves that you can eat healthy, well-rounded organic vegan meals very cheaply. There was at least 8 hearty servings in this dish also. I will definitely be making it again, especially if I see bell peppers on sale.

Simply Vegan

I have been extremely busy lately! Mostly just being awesome, but I have been traveling and visiting with family and such. And being broke. There is one good thing about being a broke vegan though: it forces you to be creative with simple, inexpensive ingredients. Whoever started that inconvenient little rumor about eating vegan/healthy being expensive is full of crap. It's not more expensive. It's probably cheaper. For one thing, I save money by buying a lot of ingredients in bulk. I also have no health problems and haven't been to the doctor in years.

For a light dinner, I have been enjoying delicious homemade protein shakes that are easy to make and packed with nutrition. I have been lazy with my camera so some of these were taken with my phone.

Exhibit A:



Coconut milk banana peanut butter maple syrup hemp protein smoothie.

Exhibit B:


Almond milk banana chocolate cherry pea protein smoothie (with bonus metal horns!!)

I have also been sprouting some new things...


Like this crazy jar full of broccoli sprouts. These things were super slow. They spent almost a whole week doing nothing. Then one evening I went out to the bars with some friends and crashed in town for the night and the next morning BAM! Sprout city! Trying to get these out of the jar was like pulling apart a cotton ball. Moral of the story...when the vegan is away, the sprouts will play. I later saw a tiny pack of broccoli sprouts in the grocery store for $2.79! I was probably sitting on $15-20 worth of sprouts that cost me about $.50 and some patience to produce.

Another accomplishment I made was feeding a carnivorous male an entirely vegan meal, and having him not only enjoy it, but get full! Blasphemy! I promised that I would not reveal his name though. It was a pretty sexy plate of food, packed full of protein and delicious veggies.



Clockwise from the top left corner: Forbidden black rice salad, lentil salad (my own recipe that I will post later), cucumbers and carrot sticks, chipotle humus, and some gluten-free crackers in the middle. What's not to love??

I also made an unusual and delicious find at Sam's Club: kiwi berries.



They didn't really come with a detailed description.



They were about the size of a grape, but inside...



...they were delicious little kiwis! They were sweeter than regular kiwis, and were super munchable because you could eat the peeling. If you can find these anywhere, I definitely recommend giving them a try. Warning: they are addictive!

I have been making flax crackers lately also, and I am planning on experimenting with some more flavors. I will also be adding some product reviews in the near future.