Vegan Living: The Next Step

Support. I intend to join a vegan support group because the next step for me is to progress, ultimately, to a vegan lifestyle and I want to be well-informed and connected.

Let Us Drink Vegan

Here are a few drinks that can be enjoyed by everyone. For obvious reasons, I use organic ingredients for all drinks. Enjoy! Healthy. This is a cleansing drink that taste good and will make you feel good. "Clean Sweep" (Makes 1 about 14 ounces) 1 celery stick 11oz carrots (about 5) 5oz green grapes parsley (several large sprigs) Step 1. Push the celery and carrots through juicer, then add the parsley sprigs and then add the grapes. Juice until throughly combined. Step 2. Slice 1/2 carrot and celery into strips Step 3. Pour juice into glass(es) and serve with celery and carrot sticks as stirrers. Vital. When you lack engergy this drink is a guaranteed pick me up. "Veggie Boost" (Makes 16 ounces) 3 tomatoes 1 fresh red or green chilli pepper 9oz carrots (about 3) 1 orange (juiced) crushed ice (to serve) Step 1. Quarter the tomatoes and chop the pepper (if you want a milder juice, remove the seeds before chopping). Step 2. Scrub the carrots and push through the juicer, then follow with the tomatoes and peper. Add the orange juice and stir well to mix. Step 3. Fill two 8oz glasses with crushed ice, pour the juice over and serve.

Vegan Living: By-Products

Exploring whether to discontinue the traditional Western way of eating often leads to examining Eastern philosophies that ultimately lead to examining yoga, meditation, and alternative medicine.

I have found that yoga, meditation, and a holistic lifestyle have allowed me to experience a balanced life free of illness, despite my chronic conditions.

Today's Tip: Energy Booster

When I need a boost in my "get-along," I add one tablespoon of unsulfured blackstrap molasses to 1 cup of hot water. I've been drinking this beverage, instead of coffee, for years; it may take a little while to get use to the taste, but it is worth it. Blackstrap molasses is a rich source of calcium, iron, potassium, and magnesium. Try it!

On Today's Menu - Dinner

What I choose to prepare for dinner depends largely on what time I will actually eat. Before grad school, I'd try to eat no later than 8:00pm, and meals eaten after 8-8:30pm would be as light as possible. Being in grad school while trying to maintain my usual routine has been very challenging, if not impossible. For dinner today I prepared whole wheat spaghetti casserole with baby herb salad.

Pasta Casserole:
This recipe will serve 4
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Baking time: 20 minutes

4 medium size Roma tomatoes, chopped
8 ounces of tomato sauce
8 ounces of whole black olives, pitted
1/2 medium size onion, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced (optional)
pinch of cayeene pepper
1/2 pound pasta (Penne is my usual choice)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Plass ingredients except pasta in a pan and cook over low to medium heat, until onions are a little soft. Cook pasta for 10 minutes, or according to package directions. Mix the sauce and pasta together and place ina a casserole dish. Bake covered for 20 minutes.

Today for Lunch --

I don't eat much for breakfast; I usually make a smoothie or my high fiber mixture. I try to eat lunch everyday; today I had a sandwich. But before I became a grad student, lunch was usually the biggest meal of the day for me, and any other time, I would have also had a salad and/or soup.

Avocado and Tomato Sandwich

2 slices of pumpernickel bread
1/2 avocado, sliced
1/2 tomato, sliced
1 slice of red onion
a handful of baby spinach
1 tbsp soy mayonnaise

Kitchen Equipment - The Essentials

Juciers:
I have two, the Champion and Jack LaLanne’s Power Juicer. The Champion is a centrifugal juicer that extracts a great amount of juice, leaving very dry pulp, and its durable. I' bought mine in 1985. The Power Juicer has a different blade, which extracts less juice, but its wide-mounth design is very convienient.

Blender:
Blenders are perfect for mixing any and everything! It is a must have tool for blending smoothies, but is also great for blending gravies, sauces, and salad dressings. I use blenders daily, and have not had much success at not having to replace one after about 7 years. I've been using the Cuisinart SmartPower blender for about three years now -- it think it may surpass the 7-year mark.

Cast-Iron Skillet
I was born in Alabama and lived there the first 8 years of my life. My kitchen without a cast-iron skillet would be sacrilegious .

Coffee Grinder
I don't drink coffee, but I use the grinder to grind nuts and flaxseeds.

Cutlery:
Because I have to chop and dice a lot of the raw foods that are common to vegan and vegetarian eating, a vegetable cleaver, sharpener and cutting board are essential. I've found that carbon steel or high-quality stainless-steel are best. Carbon steel knives are more durable and are easier to sharpen.

Food Processor:
I like to chop and dice by hand, but I have a small food processor because it saves time when chopping a large amount of fruit or vegetables.

Stainless-Steel Steamer:
There are 2 common varieties of vegetable steamer: a portable steaming tray that folds up and a corn pot, which is a pot within a pot; the inner pot has holds that allows the steam through.