Wednesday, February 25, 2009

vegan 'til six--start

I'm excited to finally be starting my little "vegan 'til six" project--(although in our house it might be more like "vegan 'til five" on some nights, because we do try to eat early). Thanks for your vegan bread suggestions. I found a whole grain bread that doesn't appear to have any milk/eggs/honey in it, and I'm not getting any more technical with it than that. It's for Faith, anyway. I'll be going the brown rice/whole grains route at lunch.

So, over the weekend I made up a big pot of beans. This was my first attempt in quite awhile at making dried beans. I chose the soak-them-overnight method. And I didn't salt them until the end. Other than that, I just threw in some minced garlic and a bay leaf at the beginning. I think they're quite good for a first attempt. They're perfectly tender, but some are split. I honestly don't know how to prevent that, but on the other hand it doesn't really matter for my lunches. I also made a big pot of brown rice using the Angry Chicken method. So along with the beans and rice I'm taking fresh salsa and a half an avocado, some nuts and fruit for my snack, and just a bit of dried pineapple and glazed walnuts for my dessert (I'm dessert obsessed . . . we'll see if this feels like cheating and if so, I'll ditch it . . . I think it's okay). For breakfast I'll eat oatmeal. The big problem right now is the milk for my coffee. I previewed soy milk in my coffee yesterday and it was yucky. Any suggestions?
I think it's going to be fun and "cleansing." Good luck to you, if you're playing along.

15 comments:

Joy said...

We are vegetarians with low milk/egg consumption. The coffee is hard; I'd say try rice/almond/hemp/oat milk and see if there's one you like. As for the dried beans, add a strip of kombu for extra minerals and a savoriness that makes the beans delish! Good luck in your endeavor! :)

PS. Your nature table looks great!

Anonymous said...

When I was nursing my little one I drank vanilla soy milk and was delicious. You might want to try that.

Jen said...

I prefer almond milk over soy. I would give that a try. I make beans in my crockpot (at least twice a week) and freeze them in "can size" portions to use in recipes or eat on salads or with rice. That way I don't feel like I have to get through the whole batch before making a different variety... I almost always have chickpeas, black beans and pinto beans in my freezer!

Jessica said...

I've been making a slow transition to vegan until 6 (my house it's like 4:30 or so dinner time). I switched to unsweetened vanilla soy milk, which is rather yummy- I enjoy the hint of vanilla without the sugar. I hope this might help.

Our Green Nest said...

Awesome - sounds like a wonderful lunch! We're black coffee drinkers around here but I would try organic hemp or almond milk and then maybe coconut milk. You have to be careful with processed almond/hemp/oat etc. milks b/c they often have unwanted ingredients (even the organic ones)...you can always make your own weekly almond milk! YUM!

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to let you know i've decided to watch less TV for Lent. I wasn't going to give up anything, but you spurred me on and inspired me to give it a try!

Anonymous said...

i am so intrigued. can't wait to follow along on your lent journey-

Anonymous said...

I'm not vegan, but we have a milk allergy in our house and so drink almond milk. We tried all sorts of alternatives first, and almond is the closest thing to real milk. I even bake with it and can't tell any difference.

Anonymous said...

I'd love to hear if you feel any different after doing this. Good luck!

The Lowry Family said...

I am pretty sure the brand "coffeemate" makes a non dairy creamer that has all sorts of flavors. I have no idea what it is though? but...i am pretty sure it is non dairy. I am doing the vegan for lent as well! Thanks for the info about the rice. I'm gonna try that too.

Lisa said...

I'm giving up sweets- cake, candy, cookies, pastries. NOT coffee, not even vanilla lattes.

I just checked my Coffeemate for you, it has "less than 2% sodium caseinate (a milk derivitive)** ** Not a source of lactose."

I think that's the only source of dairy.

Anonymous said...

There are also soy creamers (for coffee) in different flavors at the store. I have tried the vanilla soy creamer and it was pretty good with my coffe.
Although I'm not doing vegan till six now, I am being more aware of how to increase plant foods in my diet and thanks for the inspiration (:

Elfin Goddess said...

Hey! Beans are a huge part of Indian cooking. Here's how I cook them (esp chick peas and kidney beans)- Soak the beans over night or at least 8 hours. To cook, put into pr. cooker with water covering little more than the top of beans, add salt to taste. Cover lid of pr. cooker.....heat on high, wait for 3 whistles. Turn off heat. Let the pr. cooker release pressure on its own.
The beans get done well and dont split. If they're not done to your liking, put the lid back on and give it another couple of whistles. Hope this helps :)
Our Lenten plan- Im totally off alcoholic drinks, meats just once a week, giving up worrying :) and deliberately focusing on gratitude!

Elfin Goddess said...

Oh and after the beans get done, we make a gravy- heat oil, add onion + ginger + garlic paste, saute. Add pureed tomatoes. Throw in some powder spice- turmeric, chilli, cumin, Garam masala. Add the cooked beans with the watet. Boil, taste for salt. Serve with steamed rice :)

Amanda said...

Hmmm...I switched to soy milk, even in my coffee. But I tend to think soy is super sweet so I use the regular Silk, not the vanilla Silk. Makes all the difference! Good luck!