Life of a Vegetarian

Halloween Jack-O-Lantern

2010-11-01T13:43:00.000-07:00

It's such a waste to carve a pumpkin for Halloween and then discard it in the trash. Instead of toasting the pumpkin seeds last night, I gave them to my son who loves his grandma's garden, and he will be planting them.

Next, I had thrown out the jack-o-lantern this mornng and as I thought about all the hard work I put into MAKING its scary face last night, I decided to fetch it from the garbage where the fruit flies had already begun to eat at it, and I buried it. It took me no longer than 3 minutes to dig a hole in the backyard, and to drop the pumpkin in. You can fill the pumpkin with the dirt and then put the "lid" on and cover that with dirt as well. It will degrade and fertilize the dirt with vegetation rather than cow feces.

How's that for GREEN!?

Rice Dream Supreme: Vanilla Gingersnap

2010-08-06T00:38:00.000-07:00

This stuff is GOOD. It's the texture of a cheesecake. Althought it's Vanilla Gingersnap flavor, it tastes like a Pumpkin Pie cheesecake to me.

My stomach was hurting from my FRIED zucchini today. What better way to soothe my stomach than with GINGERsnaps and something COLD.

Fried Zucchini

2010-08-05T19:07:00.000-07:00

I saw what I thought was a cucumber in the refrigerator. I was thankful that my omnivore husband thought of me. He was looking through the fridge for "something" to eat while I was making oatmeal this morning and said, "My coworker grew this zucchini in his garden." I was like, "OH, it's a ZUCCHINI!"

I don't know much to do with cucumbers other than slicing them up and eating them raw. So, it was awesome to think of a zucchini since most of the time you ear of it being cooked. I decided to make fried zucchini for an afternoon appetizer.

The zucchini was about a foot and a half long, and the slices were from the size of a halfdollar (toward the stem) and about the size of a McDonald's cheeseburger patty at the bottom.

Before with the stem cut off.

After.

Lettuce Wraps

2010-07-30T17:37:00.000-07:00

I have decided to try something new. When I was an omnivore, I ate Korean bogogi in lettuce (that's the traditional way to eat them).

Well, I have invested in 2 packages of Yves Lettuce Wraps and a package of Romain Lettuce hearts to wrap my "meat" in.

It was absolutely delicious to me. My kids were not so fond of them. They are used to the "real" wraps, so this was different. It tastes NOTHING like bogogi. It has a ground-beef texture, bits of carrot shreds in it.

Dessert was followed by 2 Lemon Cookies by the Tru-Blu company, also vegan friendly.

Where I get my Protein and How to Snack on Sweets

2010-07-22T23:05:00.000-07:00

One of the 2 main comments or questions I get is about where I get my protein and how I can go without sweets.

PROTEIN
I get my protein by eating trail mix, protein bars, peas, green beans, nuts and seeds. I'm sure some of the veggies I eat have some sort of protein in them, but the main protein comes from the above. They can even come in the form of soygurt (soy yogurt) as that is made from the soy bean.

To get the actual benefits from vegetables as protein, you have to have carbs in the form of wheat, rice, oats, crackers, potatoes, etc. It has something to do with an enzyme we make called Amino Acids. I think the mixture of say, rice and peas creates a protein sufficient enough to live from. Whereas, if you ate peas alone, you would not have very much protein. If you ate rice alone, you'd have basically empty calories in the form of carbs.
There's a chart here on how to eat a Vegan diet and get sufficent protein.

SWEETS
I am and always will be a junk-food junkie. Instead of a candy bar, I will eat trail mix that contain dark chocolate, cranberries and/or raisins. It's just enough sweet to keep me satisfied. There's also kettle corn which is a concoction of popcorn, salt and sugar. Cracker Jack doesn't have real caramel on it which contains milk; it's caramel is made of corn syrup. I also eat fruit. Instead of soda, I buy sparkling grape juice or sparkling apple cider. It's healthier and contains the sugars I crave. I also like altoids (all flavors).

So, there you have it. It's a very simple explanation.

PS
Check foods to see if it contains SOY LECITHIN. That's a guarantee that it is vegan. If it says "Lecithin" only, it may be derived from animals.

Pineapple Burn!

2010-07-08T03:37:00.000-07:00

I have been eating pineapple since I was about 5 years old - from the can, fresh in my salad, and Dole's canned juice. My mother used to buy cans of chopped or sliced pineapple for me till I was pretty much pineappled out.

Having become vegetarian I have been eating more fruit (obviously), but about 12 hours ago, I had pineapple.

My lunch consisted of:
-Hummus, Lettuce, Cucumber, Bell Pepper and Carrots in a burrito wrap.
-Strawbery Soygurt
-A mixed fruit drink consisting of Spirulina, Kiwi, Pineapple, Apple, Banana and some other stuff.
-A bowl of chopped pineapples

I noticed as I was eating the pineapple that my mouth was beginning to burn. I had wondered if I had bitten into a bad chunk as I have eaten a bad piece of orange before and a similar sensation occurred. It was a stinging sensation on the sides of my tongue. It was the only time that has ever happened.

Naturally, I wanted to cool my mouth out with a cold drink and therefore I began to drink my Mixed Fruit Juice which also consisted of pineapple and that seemed to burn my mouth. So, I tried plain drinking water, and that did NOT burn. When I ate trail mix containing raisins, my mouth began to burn again. I did not associate it with the raisins but I did associate with the pineapple and perhaps sweetness touching my tongue? It was awful.

Now, 12 hours later, here I am with a stomach-ache like indigestion. Not cool.

Come to find out, that pineapple contains an enzyme called Bromelain which will cause a stinging or numbing effect in the mouth. Supposedly the core of a pineapple is where the enzyme is, but I ate chunks with no core. I don't like the harsh flesh of a pineapple core. I'm wondering if you feel sting in your mouth from pineapple if that's actually an allergic reaction?

I once was able to drink lots of milk, but if I were to drink cow's milk now, I'd be all kinds of sick as I have become lactose intolerant over the years as far as drinking milk. Cheeses and yogurts I seem to do fine with (however I've also cut as much milk out of my diet as possible since July 1st).

Vegetarian Enchiladas

2010-05-27T18:56:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I made my family 3 different kinds of vegetarian Enchiladas. This was all made from scratch, minus the Enchilada sauce and Tortillas that I bought pre-made. All 20 enchiladas consisted of refried beans and the tortillas were whole wheat tortillas.

One set of Enchiladas were 3 different cheeses: Mozzarella, Feta and Cheddar.
Second set of Enchiladas were: Cheddar and Feta
Third were: Mozzarella

The first and second set were topped with Cheddar and black olives.
The third was topped with Mozzarella and black olives.

I thought they came out great.

First the beans are added to the whole wheat tortilla.

Second, I coated the beans with the cheeses of my choice. These are cheddar and basil-tomato feta.

Third, I fold the ends of the stuffing in till the ends meet. Then I take the open ends and roll them till I have mini-burritos.

After I've done the "burritos" this is how it looks in the pan.

I, then, apply the enchilada sauce. The kind I use is mild. It's enough spice but not so hot that it's offensive.

Next, I sprinkle cheese over the top. The reason why one set of Enchiladas is coated in Mozarella is because I have a son who hates "orange cheese."

I sprinkle sliced black olives over the top to garnish...plus we all like olives.

After 20 minutes in the oven covered, and then another 10 uncovered, this is how the enchiladas look.

Topped with a dollop of sour cream, this is how we eat it at our house.