my vegan year

New Home

2010-01-23T12:55:00.001Z

I'm moving this blog to myveganyear.tumblr.com

Blogger is just terrible with uploading pictures and yeah.
I just prefer Tumblr.

Bad News

2010-01-22T19:05:00.002Z

On the vegan cheese front.

Sheese - Cheedar Style with Chives.
Tastes like vomit.

It's such a shame.
This is just my opinion so by all means try it for yourself, you might love it!
but to me, it just really really tastes like sick, and I doubt I'll buy any other Sheese products in future.
Sorry Sheese!

I plan to investigate Cheesly further when I get home

So, I had a little mid life crisis

2010-01-21T15:40:00.003Z

..and now I'm back :)
I've decided to drop out of uni (again) and become a working woman (cue dolly parton music) which means while I'm jobhunting I'll have loads of time to actually, you know, post on this blog.

I've been living mostly on stir-fries and bean chilli, but I have some amazing vegan treats to share with the world :)

Sainsburys Vegetarian Spaghetti Bolegnase in a tin.
This little beauty is delicious, conveniant and only 69p
Staying at an omnivores house and don't know what you're gona eat? pop this baby in your bag. It's really filling.

Sainsburys Blueberry Wheats Cereal
I first had these at my friend Amy's house. She's been vegan for a while now, and I probably wouldn't be if it wasn't for her. Anyway, they're just really really good. Like bite-size shedded wheat with fruit inside. Also available are Apicot wheats (my other favorite), raisin wheats and cranberry wheats.

New Covent Garden Food Company Soup
I am eating this as I type. It is delicious. Really kind of 'warming' if that makes sense? Anyway, some of their soups contain milk, so check before buying, but this flavour is currently on offer for £1 in co-op. Try it if you get a chance.

And finally, a bad review :o
I didn't really know what to expect with vegan cheese, and I need to explore a little more with what's available. But I must say, the Cheezly Super Melting Mozzarella Style is not good. It tastes like watery bread. Don't waste you money.

Courgette, Leek and Tofu Stir Fry

2010-01-06T22:41:00.003Z

nom nom nom

I marinated the tofu in some toasted sesame oil and thai sweet chili sauce for a few minutes before frying to give it a nice oriental flavour, then seasoned the whole lot with soy sauce and toasted sesame seeds.

Sushi

2010-01-06T15:46:00.003Z

Fish are friends, not food.
And I hate that some people still don't realise that Sushi doesn't have to contain fish!
In fact, it doesn't need to contain anything you don't like - just nori, rice, and whatever filling you fancy! :)

I used red pepper, grated carrot, and spring onion for mine, purely because that's what was in the fridge. Other good veg would be chives, julienned cucumber, avocado, broccoli, cooked courgette, or anything else you can arrange in long strips.

Rather than bore you with a long 'How-To' guide, here's a good youtube tutorial on the kind of rolls I've made. I made Maki, which are the regular rolls you'll see in tesco.

Well, it's day 5

2010-01-05T22:00:00.002Z

And so far I've had a few failures, a few success', and a few helping hands.

First up I'd like to thank Charly Roberts and Verity Hunt-Shepard from the Vegan Society for sending me loads of super-useful information :)
I've ordered my copy of the Animal Free Shopper from Amazon, and my lovely friend Tinna bought me Vegan with a Vengeance for christmas :)
I also found a wonderful and incredily useful book called the Vegan Cook's Bible which outlines the nutritional content of almost any ingredient you might use.
I think of these books as my toolkit for an exciting culinary journey, and would reccomend them to anyone else considering giving Veganism a go.

Now, back to me. I have a confession to make. A mere few hours into day one I mindlessly munched on a few Lebchuchen (a kind of german biscuit) before realising - I HAVEN'T READ THE PACKET!! As fate would have it, the biscuits were, of course, not vegan. But rather than give up on the first day, I just learned a lesson sooner rather than later.

I have since realised that almost every snack I crave has, for some reason, had milk powder added to it. And when I say every snack, I mean crisps.

My name is Jade and I am a crisp addict.

On the upside - Texas BBQ flavour pringles, Chilli flavour sunbites, and salted pretzels are all vegan-friendly and delicious. :)

As far as cooking goes, I haven't had a chance to get too experimental yet as I'm still at home with the (omnivore) parents, and pretty much eat what they eat, but without the meat or sauce (so it's been potatos and salad pretty much every night so far).
I have, however, had a foray into sushi-making, and will post a photo (and how-to giudelines) for those bad boys later or tomorow.

Apologies for this slow burning beginning, but all should be moving a bit quicker next week when I'm back in my own kitchen :)

Why isn't this Vegan??

2009-12-29T00:54:00.004Z

There are a few things that could so easily be egg and dairy-free. But they're not. This grinds my gears. If I had the time, I'd write to all these companies suggesting animal-free alternative ingredients, but as it stands I'll probably do Cauldron and Co-Op (because they're wonderfully ethical companies who might actually listen) and then just stop there.

Cauldron sundried tomato pate (not sure about the other flavours)
Co-op swiss-style muesli (and most other mueslis, surprisingly enough. For some reason, they contain milk powder)
Wine (all co-op wines are veggie and vegan. Pretty much all other mainstream wines are fined using Isinglass, made from fish.)
Quorn products, and other meat alternative products (why would you alienate half of your target audience by throwing egg into the mix??)
McDonalds Veggie Burger (I can understand why this isn't vegan, but for the love of god, why isn't it vegetarian?!? Yeah, it's fucked up right.)

In wonderful news of the opposite kind - it seems that Birds custard powder IS Vegan - yay! :)

Dairy Christmas

2009-12-29T00:08:00.002Z

So, I've had my last Dairy Christmas, and I have to say, I don't think I'll miss it. The chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate (which I don't really like anyway), the cheese and crackers after dinner (cheese makes me feel a bit sick), the stodgy desserts with cream and custard... I'd much rather have a nice fruit salad and save my arteries, thanks.

Unexpectedly, I've found that my ex-veggie mother is actually not very vegan friendly. She is a shining example of the the things you shouldn't do if you want to live past 45. She does no exercise. None. At all. She smokes 40 marlboro a day, eats no breakfast or lunch, binges in the evening on cakes, biscuits and sweets, and drinks at least two bottles of wine every evening and into the early hours as she talks enthusiastically to our 4 dogs and repeatedly tells me and my sister to 'find a man and get knocked up'.

With good intentions, she bought a huge pile of Quorn goods for me and my sister to feast on over the holidays, but hardly any vegetables. It is only then that I realised how veg-less my life was before I moved out on my own. Dinner here is meat + carbs (Or Quorn + carbs, for me). I'd forgotten what life is like without a good stock of courgettes and broccoli. This is the kind of family who count potatoes as one of their five a day...

(She also tutted at my reasons for the change, stating that animal cruelty is a 'myth' started by PETA to steal our money.. Yeah, that's my mum. Lets not even get started on my Grandad, who got very angry at me proclaimimg that prawns ARE an animal, and that I refuse to eat them.)

Luckily I have an amazing sister and friends, who gave me awesome presents including a cute bento box, vegan chocolate, and the awesome cookbook 'Vegan with a Vengeance' - which I would reccomend to any other would-be-vegans like myself.

I feel ready for the change, and have been living on a mostly vegan diet for the last while anyway. I just need to switch my Quorn to Redwoods (and use more tofu and experiment with Seitan) and get myself some Quinoa, Soba or rice noodles (for my beloved stir-fries) and maybe some cheesly, although tbh I don't really like cheese.

It bodes well for me that I have an obsession with vegetables - in fact I've never met one I didn't like. So this SHOULD be easy. I have a vegan friend who hates most vegetables. She can't stand the sight of a courgette. So if she can do it, anyone can.

And I am anyone.

And funnily enough, so are you :)

Parsnip Sweetcorn and Tomato soup

2009-12-09T13:27:00.003Z

I made this soup the other day just by throwing some leftover pasta sauce in a pan with some leftover veg and adding water. It turned out delicious and I added some short spaghetti to make it super-filling. A proper winter warmer soup.

(for some reason I can't upload pictures at the moment but I will add them later)

You will need:

* pasta sauce (about half a mug) - I use 'Dolmio extra winter vegetable bolegnese sauce'
* Parsnips (2 or 3 big, or about 5 small)
* Sweetcorn (3 - 4 tablespoons full)
* Spaghetti or small pasta
* Fresh Basil or other herbs to taste

First chop your parsnips into small (about 1" cubes) chunks of fairly equal size.

Throw these into a pint and a half of boiling water in a large pan on the hob.

Tear spaghetti into short lengths, or use other small pasta, and add to pan.

When the parsnips feel tender add the pasta sauce and sweetcorn. The pasta should start to absorb the water, making a thicker consistency.

Put the lid on the pan and simmer for ten minutes or until pasta is soft and ready to eat.

Serve with mini garlic bruscettas (will put recipe up in a minute) and fresh basil leaves.

Enjoy :)

(again, blogger isn't really working at the moment so will format this later)

My New Years Resolution

2009-12-07T00:18:00.000Z

Most people give something up for new years, cigarettes or alcohol for instance, but few carry it through the year. As someone who already happens to be a non-smoking vegetarian, and only a moderate social drinker, at first I thought I'd go for the classic 'Go to the gym more often', then came the idea of giving veganism a go.
It's a move I've been considering for some time. I don't particularly enjoy dairy foods, especially when I think about where they come from (and the methods used in its production) and mainly live on soy products in place of my meat and dairy.
I do, however, have a few vices:

Quorn
Cheesestrings
Mozzarella
Quavers
Pesto

This is to name but a few. The list of dairy items I consume mostly consists of junk food, and eating cheese always makes me feel a little sick afterward. So it makes sense from all points of view to just bite the bullet and cut it out completely.

Unfortunately, I happen to be an incredibly lazy person, and the only way I ever get anything done is by getting other people to nag me. So, I came up with the idea of this blog to stop me straying.

Every day in 2010 I will post what I eat.

This idea is twofold:

It will pressure me to make a healthy balanced delicious vegan meal every day, because I know I have to post it to the public.
Some people may find this blog and offer recipes/tips/encouragement.
Some people may find this blog and get recipes/tips/encouragement for themselves.

And hopefully, if all goes to plan, it will help show how easy it is to live on a healthy balanced delicious vegan diet :)

The main blog won't start until 1st January 2010. but there will be a few posts before then .

Please follow, leave comments and share :)