Veg Mamas Tribal Roll Call and Veg Support: July Thread

[memory maker]

Well I thought I would start a July thread for us, hope thats ok with everyone. My dad had his heart worked on yesterday and had one blockage that was 99.9% blocked. It was lucky that he didnt have a heart attack. They were able to balloon it out so they didnt have to do bypass, which was also lucky. They are changing some of the ways that they are eating now because of this. My dad has high cholesterol too, so that doesnt help. I brought some of my vegetarian books down for my mom to look at while we waited and explained about good and bad fats. I think they are going to choose a lot more non-meat meals. My mom said they went to someones house and had a casserole made with soymeat (hamburger like) and said it was really good. I dont think she thinks Im as crazy as she once did for going veggie.

[isosmom]

s for you and your family Carey. Sounds like he caught that right in time. It's so good for your mom to listen to you, my mom has health problems I could write a freakin novel about and she just won't listen to me about how to heal with food. So sad, just watching her injest all those pills and eat like s**t and feel lousy half the time. Hope all goes well. And oh, thanks for starting the new thread, always reminds me my rent is due

[Amandzia]

Mamacarey, I'm glad for your parents. My dad to had to have a stint put in an artery last year. They've cleaned up there eating a lot since then and he's walking every day now. Unfortunately mom won't and she's still smoking. Ugh.
We're going over there on the fourth for a barbeque, and luckily they are very nice about making vegi burgers and keeping meat out of various foods that don't need it. At mom's house the meat looks like meat and you don't have to ask. At mil's house it could be lurking anywhere- salads, soups, dips, you name it.

[root*children]

aagh... clogged milk duct (duck?). Feeling like sh... I've got a question that I've been meaning to ask you oh-so-knowledgable vegans...
So does anyone know where paraffin wax comes from? I always assumed it was a plant/chemi sort of thing, no? IS is at all related to beeswax?

[guestmama9924]

: SO! Is EVERYONE looking fwd to those 4th of July carni-ques?
Luckily, I have plenty of veggie burgers and portabellos should the need arrise.

ITA with just buying something ready made for company. Sometimes I will just pick up a pkg of organic/free range chick breasts for dh to grill for company. Organic makes me feel ethically better, grilling keeps it outa my kitchen

[tricia80]

Hi ladies

ahh another month passed... wow this year is going by quickly...

[PikkuMyy]

Parrafin is derived from coal. We'd like to have a veggie-B-Q but we don't have any friends to invite

Maybe I'll scrounge some up somewhere. I just made a new friend and she's a veggie.

[PikkuMyy]

My omnivore FIL's vegan shepherd's pie recipie

Hi Y'all - I'm going to share this with everyone but it is specially for isosmom.

Vegan Shepherd's Pie

Two options - seitan or soy

Ingredients:

1 large yellow onion - chopped
big handful of baby carrots (or small regular carrots) - sliced
handful mushrooms (optional - I've never used them) - sliced
handful of chopped parsley
1 C veggie stock or 1 C hot water with veggie bullion cube
salt/pepper/cayenne/vegan Worsteshire sauce to taste
2 packages either Yves Ground Round or Chicken style seitan (chopped into tiny pieces)
olive oil
large glass or ceramic dish for the oven
a few tablespoons of flour (for thickening, it doesn't really matter what kind)
a whole bunch of russet potatoes - cubed


Procedure:

Put pot of water to boil for potatoes. Boil until soft, drain in colander with a bit of cold water poured on to prevent further cooking. Mash as you like (olive oil, Earth Balance, butter, soy milk, etc.) I usually use a lot of Earth Balance, a little soymilk, and some salt and pepper.

While the water is boiling, saute onion, mushroom, baby carrots, and parsley in oil until carrots are semi-cooked. Add "meat" and cook for several minutes, stirring so that it browns. Add flour and stir until blended, then add veggie stock and stir. Cook on low until thick. (Use this time to mash the potatoes!)

Add spices to taste (I usually use several shakes of Worsteshire sauce). Put in dish, topped with potatoes. Heat in oven (it doesn't really matter what temperature) for about 10 minutes, then pop under broiler to brown top of mashed potatoes (put a little bit of butter or margerine on them before doing this).

Serve to a very happy family or friends!

It's pretty easy to alter this depending on how many people you'll be serving. For DH and I, we made this exact recipie and had enough for dinner and lunch the next day. (FYI - DH was a GREEDY PIG that night and ate way too much. It would easily serve 4 people and have some left over.)

Enjoy!

[PikkuMyy]

Three in a row! Go me!

Has anyone seen Tracie lately (AKA PeacefulVegan)?

I hadn't noticed any posts from her so I was just wondering...

[isosmom]

Thanks Pikku.
I'm going to 2 barbques this weekend, but it should be good. One's more like a cocktail party, go me! The kids are gonna be with my parents, big night out for me and dh
I think we've lost quite a few in the switch from FYT to GE.

[Rainbow]

plugged duct here to.... getting worse instead of better I'm sure it was from being so busy during the move that we didn't nurse as much.

What protein options for breakfast are there besides oatmeal? I'm getting board of it....

We're not doing anything for the holiday weekend... I'm not feeling very patriotic these days and really we've never done anything for it, so why start now? We're just gonna enjoy our time together as a family- do some shopping.

[isosmom]

So you've completed the move Rainbow? Congrats. I feel soooooo happy to be out of my mom's house, and dh is so so so so so so happy How about nut butter sammies for brekkie? I always eat a high fiber cereal myself, always trying to go all out and make a tofu scramble or something, but never have the time, dd wants to eat as soon as she wakes up.

[PikkuMyy]

If you are taking the time to make oatmeal, you could be having french toast! I posted my recipie a while back but here it is again:

1 container Mori-Nu silken tofu - the soft kind for sauces
1/2 C soymilk or mixture of soy and rice
cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla (or use vanilla soymilk)
Maple Syrup (of course!)

Blend all together until smooth, dip thick slices of bread on each side, and fry in pretty hot oil (I use organic Canola.) Depending on how many slices you eat, this can have a LOT of protein, from both bread and tofu.

This recipie usually makes enough for DH and I to have two breakfasts of 3 slices each, plus some left over - which I sometimes have for dessert or a 3rd breakfast.

We also often have toast with almond butter for breakfast. With 2 slices of whole wheat toast and our Organic Woodstock Farms AB (only $6 a pound), you get 13g of protein (4 for each slice, 5 for AB).

I'm feeling very patriotic lately (for country, not gov't) so we're going to see Farenheit 9/11 this weekend. I figure the best thing we can do for our country is to be more informed, right?

[rainbowmoon]

hi mamas.thought I'd join this thread for support and yummy ideas! I'm currently struggling with my diet due to an illness I had a few months back (pancreatitis/gallbladder issues). basically I've lost my appetite and when I am hungry I tend to go for boring stuff latley like oatmeal,yogurt or toast...yum,right?..problem is I love to cook and bake so at least my family is currently well fed! lol! (my DH grandma loves when I visit as I'm always taking her treats)

to you mamacarey..I hope your dad makes a speedy recovery!
my mom has high cholesterol too so I can relate to trying to get a family member to make changes (or at least educate them when they ask). maybe you could make a few veggie meals for your parents and share the recipes? (every single time I make my family something they hem and haw and then eat it and rave,then go home with the recipe, it's so funny..)

btw garlic and green tea are supposedly good for reducing cholesterol!

so I've been veggie for 10 years and vegan of and on for the last 5. currently I'm on dairy as I got way to addicted to eating it again when I was preggers. I am trying to phase it out again but it's so hard when I am hungry for so few things these days!

I would love to exchange more recipes with you mamas! those already posted look great!

I'm especially looking for light dinners without soy analogs or breads...

oh and heres some of my recipes for some yummy salsas staright from my southwestern kitchen!! (you can use them on veggie wraps, pitas, as a dip for sandwhiches and with chips, over rice,whatever really!)

~mango Salsa~

4 mangos chopped
1-2 tomatoes chopped
1 red/yellow onion (depending on your taste) chopped
1 bunch of cilantro minced
juice from 3-5 limes (again depending on your taste)

combine all ingredients, cover and refrigerate for an hour or so to combine flavors.


~yummy mexican style salsa~

6-8 roma tomatoes, chopped
1-2 yellow onions chopped
lime juice to taste
1 cloves garlic minced
1 bunch cilantro minced
2 avacadoes chopped

combine and serve! yum! (you can also put all ingredients in the food processor to make it quicker)

[callmemama]

Rainbowmom, you're recipes look tasty Please tell me how to chop cilantro! Do you pick every little leaf off the stem first? I've made a couple of new recipes lately with cilantro and picking the leaves off takes as much time as everything else! Thanks!

[isosmom]

Originally Posted by callmemama

Rainbowmom, you're recipes look tasty Please tell me how to chop cilantro! Do you pick every little leaf off the stem first? I've made a couple of new recipes lately with cilantro and picking the leaves off takes as much time as everything else! Thanks!

I know you didn't ask me, but cilantro is one of those herbs whose stem is tasty, so just go ahead and chop it up with everything else. I go for the rustic look when I cook

[root*children]

When I worked in a tex-mex resteraunt and was the salsa-maker, I always chopped about half-way down the stem. If you picked off every stem, you'd be in the kitchen all day!

[PikkuMyy]

Originally Posted by dready*mama

When I worked in a tex-mex resteraunt and was the salsa-maker, I always chopped about half-way down the stem. If you picked off every stem, you'd be in the kitchen all day!

Hear hear! When DH and I make tacos (about once a week), I'm in charge of making the fixings. I always used to pick off each leaf and it would take so long. The last time we made them, the genius of a man said "Why don't you just chop it up?" DUH!!! So I cut halfway up the stem and chopped the rest. So easy! And when it's chopped up it also stays in the taco much better than it does when whole.

Mamacarey - I also hope your dad gets better soon. My dad also struggles with cholesterol as well as high blood pressure and a hypothyroid. (He's really fat because of it - just in his stomach. Wierd!) So he eats a mostly-vegetarian diet partly because of it, and partly because he's really poor and on assistance. As far as I know, he's much healthier now.

Rainbow - another protein idea. Tonight we decided to get a little and bought a container of pumpkin butter instead of our usual almond butter. It's a bit more expensive, and a lot more oily so you have to stir it up really well but it tasted really good on crackers and toast and besides having 5g of protein a serving, also has tons of Omega oils, which DH usually takes in capsule form not only for the Omegas but they also help men's prostates, which he has problems with. We thought it might make for an interesting hummus, and also be an easy way of making our pumpkinseed pesto, which sometimes we're kind of lazy to do.

[rainbowmoon]

yum pumpkin butter

rainbow- do you like soy yogurt? it has tons of protein (up to 14 grams I believe in some brands)..just top with some granola. easy to clean up too!

btw the easiest way to chop cilantro is to stick it in the food processor..or I usually use a sharp butcher knife to mince it up.

so I have insomnia and am scouring the web for recipes that appeal to me as I've actually been hungry today! :LOL

here's one my DH invented that's super easy..

~stuffed pizzas~

1 loaf italian bread
1/2 c.sun dried tomatoes, chopped
1 small jar/can artichoke hearts packed in water, drained and chopped
1 c. mozerella cheese/ cheese subsitute/ nutritional yeast (though it's also really good with no cheese at all if you're vegan!)
1/2 c. mushrooms, chopped
1- 1 1/2 c. pizza sauce
1 bunch each fresh oregano & basil, minced

*you can add pretty much whatever you like to this recipe*

preheat oven to 350 and cut off the top of the bread and hollow out the center crumbling up bread crumbs into a bowl..add remaining ingredients and mix well. spoon back into the bread (tp w/ cheese, cheese subsitute or nutritional yeast)and bake for 20 min or so until heated through..hope you enjoy if you try this!

will post more soon!

[callmemama]

Thanks for all the tips on chopping cilantro! I might continue to use it now :LOL