Vegan Safe Space

[Changing4Best]

There have been folks who have suggested to me that going vegan would cure me of these Lyme Disease flare-ups I have every few months. I would, except for the facts that our local grocery store has a poor supply of the things I think I would need and cooking has never been one of my better arts. I never have tried to get a vegan cookbook though.

The fried tofu sounds so good though! I wish I had a better command of my kitchen.

 

[Friday]

@Changing4Best ... keep in mind that super simple things, like a PB&J sandwich on wonderbread, and straight up boiled rice&beans, and pasta w/marinara or even hunts tomato sauce from a can? Are all vegan.

Being vegan doesn’t have to be complicated.

*wonderbread goes back and forth on being vegan or not. It currently specifies that it’s glycerides and other additives plant sourced.

 

[Sideways]

cooking has never been one of my better arts.

I can cook, but I'm not much of a fan of cooking. Plus I'm on a super tight budget, so I can't go out and buy a tonne of different ingredients for each meal.

I'm finding that the VeganEasy 30 day challenge I signed up for is what has made the switch possible. It's done the meal planning for me. A few of the recipes so far have been too long, but others have been super easy.

Having the meals already planned, all that has been required by me is being prepared to try something new at pretty much every meal! Which I think is what the point of their meals is anyway - to introduce you to some of the vegan essentials that you wouldn't already use.

An alternative might be to do a slow transition. My motivation for switching (I was already vegetarian) was to stop using products with dairy in them. Because the dairy industry upsets me so much. As an alternative idea for transitioning, start with just one meal a day perhaps - breakfast for example, and make that a daily vegan meal.

I joined a couple of local vegan groups on FB (filtered out the scary, negative and stoopid ones), and they're a constant source of info, inspiration and motivation:)

 

[Changing4Best]

My other problem is that my stove is not level. Adding to that is the fact that our maintenance man is just about good for nothing where I rent.

None the less, I probably should start with the one meal a day, thanks for the idea.

 

[Tornadic Thoughts]

The aquafaba is the liquid after the beans have been cooked, from what I understand, not what they soak in prior to cooking. They say you can use the canned liquid after you drain it, too, but I always drain and then rinse the beans really well to reduce the sodium content, so I don't really want to use that.

I tried the liquid off of the dried chickpeas I cooked, but didn't have much luck. It never thickened up. I also didn't/don't have much patience, so I'm sure that played a big part. If someone has had luck with it, please share!

I LOVE the cauliflower wings, too, @whiteraven ! I also like to roast cauliflower with dijon/date sauce/dressing that I make. It's amazing. I sometimes slice the cauliflower into "steaks" and sometimes leave it whole and it looks like a brain. lol

Here's the dijon/date sauce I make, but I add more water in place of the oil:

Creamy Date Dijon Dressing (Vegan, Paleo)

This is the recipe that first got me interested in making cauliflower that way:

Dijon Roasted Cauliflower Recipe

Cauliflower's also good as a rice substitute. I really dig the Spanish "rice" version (I use extra veggie broth in place of the oil and sometimes add broccoli to green it up a bit):

Cauliflower Spanish Rice - Wholesomelicious

 

[Sideways]

They say you can use the canned liquid after you drain it, too, but I always drain and then rinse the beans really well to reduce the sodium content, so I don't really want to use that.

I've been reading up on bloating and farting issues :rolleyes: and I'm thinking tossing the liquid canned beans come in is a smart thing to do. Apparently waaaay too strong for our guts to handle. Rinse beans, then rinse them again?

 

[Tornadic Thoughts]

LOL...yeah...I often wondered if I could propel myself through a swimming pool at the speed of light after certain meals, @Sideways . ? It was quite an adjustment in the beginning, for sure.

I learned it isn't a great idea to eat fruit after eating other food groups due to the fruit digesting much faster, creating a back-up. I always remind myself by saying, "Beep-beep! Fastest cars first." lol

The art of food combining that best supports our digestive processes was pretty eye-opening, too. Yet another level of "WTF, why hasn't anyone ever told/taught me this shit before" moment.

 

[whiteraven]

The aquafaba is the liquid after the beans have been cooked, from what I understand, not what they soak in prior to cooking. They say you can use the canned liquid after you drain it, too, but I always drain and then rinse the beans really well to reduce the sodium content, so I don't really want to use that.

I tried the liquid off of the dried chickpeas I cooked, but didn't have much luck. It never thickened up. I also didn't/don't have much patience, so I'm sure that played a big part. If someone has had luck with it, please share!

I LOVE the cauliflower wings, too, @whiteraven ! I also like to roast cauliflower with dijon/date sauce/dressing that I make. It's amazing. I sometimes slice the cauliflower into "steaks" and sometimes leave it whole and it looks like a brain. lol

Here's the dijon/date sauce I make, but I add more water in place of the oil:

Creamy Date Dijon Dressing (Vegan, Paleo)

This is the recipe that first got me interested in making cauliflower that way:

Dijon Roasted Cauliflower Recipe

Cauliflower's also good as a rice substitute. I really dig the Spanish "rice" version (I use extra veggie broth in place of the oil and sometimes add broccoli to green it up a bit):

Cauliflower Spanish Rice - Wholesomelicious

Oh wow. Thanks for the links!

 

[Friday]

I tried the liquid off of the dried chickpeas I cooked, but didn't have much luck. It never thickened up. I also didn't/don't have much patience, so I'm sure that played a big part. If someone has had luck with it, please share!

The canned liquid works amazing. Can even make “meringues” with it. As well as angel food cake, lady fingers, all kinds of airy/delish... plus the absolute best egg substitute I’ve found for any kind of baking or cooking that needs some “stick together darn it!!!” Waaaaaaay better than flax eggs.

In order to get the same kind of thing from dried/fresh beans? You’d have to can them, yourself. Just like making jam... the high heat & vacuuming process in canning is pulling out the proteins from the beans that the aquafaba is made from. Without that double reaction (heat altering the proteins +vacuum concentrating them)... you’re just not going to get the same result.

What I’m curious about, but haven’t tried, yet... is “what would happen IF?” I either canned aquafaba itself (what WILL more heat+vacuum do to the already altered proteins???)... or canned already pulled aquafaba with new beans. In theory, the denser the proteins? The richer the foam as the proteins bond with air. (Why chickpeas/garbanzo beans work so well is that they’re so porous that the canning process pulls out waaaaay more proteins from them than from denser beans. But whilst porous, they’re still sturdy. Unlike cannelini beans and other softies, who are contaminating the protein bath with sugars and solids. Like getting yolk in your whites, it just doesn’t beat up right.) ...Which also makes me wonder about tipping in a pinch of rice flour or wheat flour. Albumin/egg-white are complete protein chains. Aquafaba isnt. So, again in theory, complete protein chains maaaaaay bond even more like egg white, than incomplete protein chains. So it’s a double/triple experiment... that I’ll get around to... eventually.
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Also don’t forget the Creme de tartre (Potassium bitartrate). It’s aquafaba’s little blue pill ;) Stiffer faster & longer.

I've been reading up on bloating and farting issues :rolleyes: and I'm thinking tossing the liquid canned beans come in is a smart thing to do. Apparently waaaay too strong for our guts to handle. Rinse beans, then rinse them again?

There’s also enzymes you can take (beano is the most popular brand) until your body starts producing enough of your own, to handle the increase.

 

[Teasel]

Just had my first chia pudding. It's great! I'll be having it a lot I reckon.

 

[Changing4Best]

Q. What oil would taste good with a warm breakfast cereal like Cream of Wheat. I have been having it with Land O Lakes butter with olive oil and sea salt. I plan to use just plain olive oil and sea salt this morning, but I think some variety would help. One thing our grocery store does have is a great selection of oils.

 

[Friday]

I usually use EarthBalance Soy Free Vegan Buttery Spread in most places I used to use butter.

MELT is another great vegan margarine oil blend, but it’s very very heavy on the coconut flavor. Which can be nice or annoying. It’s saltier than EarthBalance, which is also nice / more like salted butter... but super duper coconutty.

Unlike regular margarines, both of these reeeeeally need to be kept in the fridge. They’ll keep halfway to forever chilled, but go moldy very quickly (within a day or two) on the counter.

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I‘ve always used corn oil (sweet, thick, & dark) for baking cakes... because it’s richer than butter & keeps cakes moist and wowza even uncovered a week later, whilst lighter oils and butter start getting dry and stale after a few days. If I were looking to use a single oil on a grain cereal? This would probably be my go-to. But I grew up on plain salted corn grits, so I eat cream of wheat & steel cut oats the same way... with just a pinch of salt / no butter... or with honey, brown sugar, or molasses if I’m looking for sweet.