leaning in/becoming a vegan family

If you're a more recent reader of this blog, you probably don't know this, but I used to be vegan.  Hardcore "I don't even eat honey or consume any animal products whatsoever" vegan.  

(Example posts here, here, and here.)  

I went straight from eating chicken, beef, milk, cheese to eating none of those things at all, and I LOVED it.  No transition through vegetarian -> pescatarian -> vegan, straight from omnivore to vegan.  Being vegan became a huge part of my identity, and it was something I thought I would continue for my entire life.  I ate that way for nearly 3 years.  However, it was hard.  I had little support from anyone in my immediate circle besides my husband (who still continued to eat meat outside the home) and after two years of it, I altered my diet to include seafood, dairy, and eggs.  WHICH IS FINE!  I'm not criticizing anyone's decisions.  At first, I was really feeling physically the same and only minimally including animal products in my diet again.

Until I got pregnant.  And then was nursing.  And now am eating as an example to my daughter, and not a very good one.  I'm not a person who has a naturally fast metabolism, but using my body to grow and nourish another human has made me into the type of skinny-fat girls I used to be so jealous of.  At the risk of sounding annoying, I'm going to say it: right now, at this stage in my physical life, I can eat whatever I want and not gain weight.  And I don't exercise.  

Annoying, right?  But not good!  

Yes, in the grand scheme of things, I'm pretty active.  I chase a mobile 10 month old around the majority of each day.  My diet, though, sadly has become flooded with a LOT of sugar, a LOT of quick fix meals, pizza, and more junk food than I'd like to admit to eating.

It's a problem, because I'm an example of "how to eat" to this tiny human of mine, and the majority of her nutrition comes to her through my milk.**  Not only do I not want to encourage her to eat food that isn't good for her, I don't want to teach her to eat food that isn't kind.  If I'm being honest with myself  - REALLY honest - I know that dairy IS NOT KIND.  Meat IS NOT KIND.  Eggs ARE NOT KIND*.  

I know these things, and for a couple of years have operated under a way of eating that does not line up with my ideological values.  It has weighed heavy on my heart for that long.  So as Claire approaches the age of understanding these things in a real way, it's time for me to set the example, the way I know I should.  This past Easter Sunday, the front page of the Huffington Post highlighted the Federal Report from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee stating that a vegan diet is what is best for the planet and what is best for our health.  I knew this, but perhaps not everyone in America did.  When Darrell showed it to me (he's an avid Huff Po reader) and gave me this "maybe we can try again?" look, I decided to take him up on the opportunity to give it a second shot.  I started pulling out my old vegan cookbooks.  I flipped back through Veganist.  I started thinking to myself that maybe I could do this again.  

It's been five days, and I've started phasing in better choices; steel cut oatmeal for breakfast, a burrito bowl with no sour cream or cheese at lunch, dark chocolate covered banana slices for a snack.  Here's what I had forgotten about being vegan: it forces you to make better choices.  There was cake in my office Monday, but since it had eggs in it, it was out.  There were a bowl of M&M's within my reach this afternoon, but they have milk so they're a no go!  

I'm posting this because I plan to keep you guys posted on our family path back to veganism.  I'll share recipes, maybe a random "what we ate today," how I'm feeding Claire, and how it's going!  Mostly, I want to keep us accountable.  And if you have any suggestions, please share!! Or if you think I'm insane, you can share that too.  I hope though, at least I can convince some of you to fit in a few more veggies and a little less meat with every post.  

*A note on eggs - i personally have no issue when them, if you own hens and are keeping them humanely on your property and collecting their naturally laid eggs.  I don't think they're unhealthy when consumed in moderation, but it is important to note that one egg contains the entire dietary recommendation of cholesterol per day.  We plan to continue to eat the eggs Darrell's grandparents' hens lay, when they're naturally laying.  Otherwise, we will refrain from consuming products containing eggs.   

**A note on BREASTFEEDING - I believe that a breastfed child (even a child receiving donor milk) falls well within the spectrum of "vegan." A mother's milk is the naturally intended diet of human babies.  Here is a short and excellent blog post that explains this further. 

this toddler explains why i don't eat animals better than i ever could

Coconut Curry Stew with Grilled Tofu

I'm somewhat of an obsessive cooking nerd, so whenever I stumble upon a recipe I want to make, it gets filed into an obscenely large database (yeah...I have a recipe database*) that is easily searchable.  This is super handy for me when I have no idea what I want to cook - I can just look in my fridge, type in the best looking ingredients I have on hand, and come up with 2 or 3 things I could make for dinner that night.  In addition to just searching ingredients/courses/etc, I've also marked a few of the recipes with the tag "Darrell" just in case he's looking particularly annoyed at having had soup (my favorite food) or salad for dinner for the past four nights.  These "Darrell" tagged recipes are kind of special - my man will eat almost anything, but his favorites are few and far between.  So when this one got the mark last night I felt it was basically my duty to share it with you.  

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Coconut Curry Stew with Grilled Tofu

adapted to serve more portions and be a bit spicier from this recipe, from Nat the Fat Rat

MINCED GARLIC - 3 CLOVES

2 TBSP OLIVE OIL

WHOLE CHOPPED YELLOW ONION

6 REDSKIN POTATOES, QUARTERED

4 CELERY STALKS, CHOPPED

MIXED BAG OF SNOW PEAS, BROCCOLI, AND CARROTS (ABOUT 2 CUPS, I BOUGHT MINE FROM TARGET, YOU COULD ALSO USE ONE OF THOSE FROZEN BAGS OF ASIAN VEGETABLES)

1 CUP VEGETABLE STOCK/BROTH

YELLOW CURRY - AKA THE POWDER KIND FROM THE GROCERY STORE

2 CANS LITE COCONUT MILK

1 CUP FROZEN PEAS

EXTRA FIRM TOFU

1 TBSP SESAME OIL

2 TBSP SOY SAUCE

1 TBSP RICE WINE VINEGAR

1 TBSP HOT CHILI PASTE - SRIRACHA IS FINE!

Step 1: Press your tofu.  This is important - gets the moisture out so that it will sear nicely.  Slice the tofu lengthwise (so that it's thinner) and layer the two pieces between two kitchen towels.  Stack 3-4 heavy cookbooks on top and let hang out for about 20 minutes.

Step 2: Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a big soup pot, add garlic and onion.  Sautee until the onion is translucent.  Heat your indoor grill or grill pan to high heat/sear.

Step 3: Add all the rest of your vegetables.  Season with as much salt, pepper as you'd like and about 2 TBSP of curry.  Honestly, I'd go for three.

Step 4: Add 1 cup of vegetable stock.  Sautee veggies until potatoes are softened - they don't need to be mushy like they would for mashed potatoes, just sort of "al dente."  While this is going on...

Step 5: Season & grill your tofu with the sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and chili sauce.  Stir it all up, and dump on the grill with the marinade.  Cook until browned on the outside.

Step 6: Add 2 cans coconut milk.  Taste for seasoning - add more salt, pepper, or curry powder as needed.  Bring to a low boil, then simmer for about 5 minutes.

Step 7: Add grilled tofu and serve!  You can serve it with brown rice, but I thought it was super filling without and my version of this made about 5 (grown up) servings.  We topped the final product with a drizzle of more sriracha.  

*PS - I LOVE my Bento database.  It is not an expensive program (about $50) and you can use it to organize WAY more than just recipes.  The recipe template is included and I wouldn't change a thing about it - you can add a picture, the number of calories per serving, the course, and like I said above every ingredient/word you add to the recipe becomes instantly searchable.  You can even search by cook time, i.e. a favorite recipe that takes less than 30 minutes.  You can read all about Bento and download it HERE.  

roasted garlic butter mushrooms

I don't have a whole lot to say other than this was awesome.  I had some mushrooms and everything else to make it, and it sounded delicious.  Bonus: the leftover crusty french bread I had from tasting it for my wedding dinner was perfect for sopping up the butter sauce at the bottom of the pan.  I highly recommend you make this inexpensive, delicious, and vegan optional side dish/pasta topping stat.

You'll need:


1 pound white mushrooms
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter or Earth Balance vegan buttery spread, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

First, halve the larger mushrooms:

Side note, make sure you have some of this in the house.  I realize this is completely irrelevant to the recipe, but I had one while I was cooking made with almond milk, and it tastes identical to the store bought version minus about 150 calories.  

Second, mix up the capers, garlic cloves, and vegetable oil, and toss the mushrooms in the mixture.  Top with chunks of the butter or Earth Balance.  I used Earth Balance and it was a great substitute.  

Last, throw those babies in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.  

They should come out looking browned & bubbly.  

Like I said before, I recommend serving them with some crusty french bread, and I also had some spaghetti squash with San Marzano sauce, and a few drops of ricotta salata.  Best lunch ever!

I adapted the recipe from Smitten Kitchen's version here, if you're into parsley and creminis!