Recipe - Potato Leek Soup

In my youth I worked washing dishes at a high end Inn.  The chef made this potato leek soup and I tell you I could have eaten it very day for years!  It was outrageously good!  Here is a recipe for my vegan version.

What we need:
1 - leek stalk
3 - medium size potatoes
1 - 1 1/2 tablespoon smart balance buttery spread
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup original flavored soy milk
White pepper and sea salt to taste

Cut up leeks in 1" rounds and add them to a 4 quart pan.  I do not use the outer really green part but do use all of the hearts.  Fill pan 3/4 full with cool water and let leeks soak.  Separate leeks to allow any trapped sand to escape.  Sand will fall to the bottom of the pan.  Allow to soak for a good 10 minutes. Scoop out leeks with slotted spoon in to strainer and rinse again with cool water.  Allow to drain.  Melt Smart Balance buttery spread in separate 4 quart saucepan and add leeks.  Add leeks and cook until they sweat on med-high heat for a few minutes.  Reduce heat and let leeks cook until tender (15 minutes-ish) stirring occasionally.  Peel and cut up potatoes in to 1/2" squares.  When leeks are tender add vegetable broth and potatoes.  Increase heat to a boil then reduce to medium and cover.  Gently simmer until potatoes are tender.  Remove from heat and puree the mix with an immersion blender.  If you don't have one of these gadgets I highly suggest getting one!  They rock!  Stir in soy milk, sprinkle with fresh chives adjust seasoning to taste.
Can be served hot or chill it down and try it cold too!    

No one would know you didn't use heavy cream or real butter!

Enjoy!
Thanks for visiting!
Until next time,
Kel

High Energy Foods - Don't leave home without them!

At times during the day we may hit a slump, get sluggish, need a pickup or a pre or post workout food that is packed with energy to kick our mojo in gear!  Here is a partial list of some real winners:
(Maybe you can comment some others I missed!!)
Sprouts - Good source of protein and fiber
Broccoli -
Asparagus -
Spinach - and other leafy greens
Almonds / Walnuts - Tree nuts are awesome energy sources
Peanuts - love 'em!
Peanut butter - love it!
Soy nuts - protein & Omega-3's
Beans - Just about one of the best things ever
Lentils - see above
Seeds - sunflower, quinoa, and pumpkin
Watermelon - Love this fruit, water, potassium and just down right refreshing!
Berries - a handful goes a long way!
Bananas - under rated in my opinion
My #1 pick is good old fashioned WATER - dont underestimate it!!

What did I miss?  Leave a comment!

Thanks for visiting!
Until next time,
Kel

Recipe - Kel's Garlic Hummus Tomato and Cucumber Sandwich

I thought of this little beauty and I eat it all the time.  It's been done before, actually now that I think about it the Barenaked Ladies had it 100% correct in their song "Its all been done"!
I love cucumber and tomato sandwiches.  I used to enjoy them regularly and slather the bread with mayo so I came up with this simple fix to use the garlic hummus in place of the mayo.

What we need:
1/2 cucumber
1 roma tomato
2 slices whole grain bread (vegan)
garlic lovers hummus

Pretty easy stuff, spread hummus on each slice of bread.  Peel cucumber and cut in to slices long ways, lay slices on one piece of bread, slice roma tomato put slices on other side of bread, marry the two halves!

I like the garlic hummus, it adds some kick to the sandwich but there are many varieties of flavored hummus so for variety change it up a bit.  Living in the desert this sandwich is so refreshing and cool, its awesome!  I eat at least one a week!

Enjoy!

Thanks for visiting,
Until next time
Kel

Falling off the vegan wagon

Ok, so here's the scoop.  It happens.  Especially to those of us who have been die hard carnivores for 40 years.  Occasionally you might "fall off the vegan wagon".  It might be because you didn't check the labels close enough, or you added an ingredient simply because you weren't thinking - and this can happen easily in a household where you have a mix of eaters, or simply, like myself, by choice.

In my town there are a LOT of weekend happenings.  One of these is a BBQ event.  I attended with full intentions of eating meat.  (please, pull back the spears and poisoned darts aimed at me - I try my best to live my life as a vegan 99.999% of the time and please be patient - I'm NEW!)  As stated in my very first blog post, the smell of BBQ get's me going!  Anyway, here is what I experienced.

I almost made it through the entire event and just left empty handed but on my way out I ordered some pulled pork.  I took it home, I ate it.  I paid.  The next two days I was lethargic, didn't feel quite right, and was just blah.  Looking back on it now it wasn't worth it and I probably wouldn't do it again.  One of my vegan heros is Kathy Feston.  One of her statements is, and I quote, "I believe in progress, not perfection!"  I read one of her books and I encourage you to do the same or you can learn more here.  She is another inspiration for sure!

So I fell off the wagon, did the earth stop?  No it didn't.  Would I do it again?  Time will tell, but I am quite aware that the changes I am making are making a difference in my health, my life, the environment and the world.  If you are a new vegan and slip, don't discourage, don't beat yourself up, stay positive!

Thanks for visiting the blog!

Until next time,
Kel               

Recipe - Annie's Manicotti (vegan)

This recipe by far is my favorite we have came up with, so far!  These babies are packed with serious goodness and are out of this world with flavor!

What we need:
2 package 12oz firm tofu
3 seeded and diced roma tomatos
1 box manicotti shells 8oz (14 shells)
1/2 cup chopped italian parsley
salt and pepper to taste - (in filling)
4 teaspoon minced garlic
2 package frozen chopped spinach (thawed)
4 tablespoons lemon juice
Bakers piping bag (to fill manicotti shells) or take a Ziploc bag and cut a corner off the non zip part.
1 jar vegan spaghetti sauce (I make my own and will blog the recipe soon)
2 - 9" x 13" baking pans
1/2 cup Daiya mozzarella style shreds (vegan cheese substitute)

Prepare manicotti shells according to box directions.  While pasta is cooking cube up the tofu.  Add cubes to food processor with lemon juice, garlic and half of the parsley.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Process until ricotta cheese type consistency.  If it is not smooth enough add a little bit of lemon juice at a time.  Crumble and fold spinach in to the tofu mixture.  Coat the bottom of the baking dishes with a few spoonfuls of sauce to prevent shells from sticking.  Put filling in the piping or Ziploc bag and pipe tofu spinach filling in to each shell.  Don't over stuff them just a nice even layer inside.  Lay the filled manicotti shells in the baking dish in one single layer.  Spoon sauce over the manicotti.  Top with tomatos, remaining chopped parsley and Daiya mozzarella shreds.  Bake at 350-375 for 30-35 minutes until bubbly.  Turn up the heat to 425-450 bake an additional 10 minutes.          

We came up with this recipe one day while taking a short road trip.  I was curious if there was a cottage or ricotta cheese vegan substitute and my wife tweaked a tofu recipe to create it.  It's a dynamite substitue and works extremely well in this recipe.  I am positive it would work just as well in a lasagne!

Buon Appetito!
Kel

Robert Cheeke - Vegan bodybuilder

Theres some misconceptions and confusion about how vegans apear weak, non muscular, thin, etc and these are misconceptions.  I dont think Woody Harrelson (longtime Vegan) looks like any of these things.  Neither does a gentleman by the name of Robert Cheeke.

Mr. Cheeke was raised on a farm and at a young age decided to give up meat.  He has gone on to be recognized as one of the top and most popular vegan athletes.  Mr. Cheeke is also a vegan body builder and has won competitions for his hard work!
To learn more about Mr. Cheeke and see his full bio please visit his website

In my little quest of life changes I was afraid of loosing some of the muscle I have "earned" over the years of my meat rich life by going vegan.  I honestly was wondering how on earth I would be able to ever regain the 17" biceps I once had at the last peak in my physical prime which was in my 30's.  In the last 10-12 years I have put considerable strain on my body.  Twice I have dropped considerable amounts of weight and twice I have put it back on plus.

At the pinnacle of my weight roller coaster (December 2010) I was damn near 300 pounds on a 5'-9" frame.  I was smoking a pack and a half a day and drinking upwards of a 12 pack a night.  Good times!!  I felt miserable.  I looked miserable.  I was lethargic, lazy, tired and cranky most if not all of the time.  Thats when the changes started.   Click here to see my earlier blog post of my evolution of change.

Woody Harrelson and Robert Cheeke are both inspirations to me.  Now that I have made the decision to live a vegan lifestyle, I need to incorporate more exercise and some weight training in to it to "button up" my body and to continue to lead a more healthy lifestyle!

Thanks for visiting the blog!
Until next time,
Kel        

Recipe - Vegan Chick'n Scallopini pasta with Alfredo sauce

So I am making this recipe up (with a little help from the internet) as I go.  I am blogging on it as I make it for the first time so hopefully it comes out as good as I expect!

What we need for this is the following:
1 package Gardein Chick'n Scallopini
1 box whole grain pasta of your choice
For Alfredo sauce:
2 tablespoons smart balance buttery spread
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups unsweetened soy milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon veggie broth powder
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast (can be found at Whole Foods, Sunflower market etc.)
2 tablespoons minced garlic

Start water for pasta.  Prepare Gardein Chick'n Scallopini per package directions.  When cooked let stand and begin to cook pasta.  Prepare pasta per package directions.  When cool enough to do so cut up Chick'n in to bite size pieces.

For the Alfredo sauce:
Melt Smart Balance buttery spread in saucepan.  Mix in flour and cook like you would to make a roux.  Add garlic and cook for one minute or so.  Don't burn the garlic!  Add soy milk and stir until thickened.  Remove from heat.  Stir in salt, broth powder and nutritional yeast.
To "color" the dish up add some broccoli too!
To serve you can mix it all together and plate it that way garnished with chopped parsley or plate pasta topped with Chick'n chunks and then topped with the Alfredo sauce.  Garnish with chopped parsley.
Recipe makes 4-8 servings.  Enjoy!

Now that I have finished cooking this for the first time I am pretty impressed at how well it came out.  The sauce is hearty, very tasty and really good with the pasta and Chick'n.  If you try this recipe out and "tweak it" please leave comments or suggestions!

Thanks for visiting the blog!
Until next time,
Kel

Protein - sources for vegans

There is a lot of belief that the vegetarian or vegan lifestyle lacks sufficient sources of quality proteins.  If this were true I would have never tried to switch.  As a protein lover, (yeah, its true I still love the thought of a nice piece of salmon or a filet mignon and NUTS my absolute favorite) and I was what might some consider a protein junkie in my past, I had concerns of getting enough protein in my diet as a vegan.  That is until I looked around at the sources of proteins available for vegetarians and vegans.  Here is a small partial list of protein vegan sources:
cooked soybeans, lentils, all beans, chick peas, hummus, peas, spinach, broccoli, all nuts, okra, asparagus, cauliflower, sweet corn, soy milk, tomatos, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, sweet potato, rice, oatmeal, cornmeal,  dried apricots, prunes, raisins, avocado, apples, whole wheat breads, nut butters, potato and the list continues.

The real trick is to vary your diet so your getting quality protein from many sources.  Just like the meat eating world doesn't eat steak only to get their protein vegans shouldn't rely on just tofu for protein!  According to what graph you read the number varies on how much protein you should eat everyday.  Body builders tend to live by the adage of eating 1 to 1 1/2 grams of protein per pound of their body weight but your normal person does not require that amount.  Nor is that much protein considered healthy to most studies I have read.  Somewhere in the neighborhood of 40-60 grams a day is probably pretty normal.  Again it depends on your individual needs, age, sex, weight etc etc.

I dug up some articles about a few vegan bodybuilders and will be sharing in future posts.  Its quite possible to be a vegan or vegetarian body builder and these people are proof positive!  So in closing here it is without a doubt pure misleading to think a vegetarian or vegan diet / lifestyle doesn't provide one with enough protein.  Vary your diet, eat a combination of protein rich vegan foods every day and you will get plenty of protein!!

Thanks for visiting the blog,
Until next time!
Kel          
  

Recipe - K&A's Kick A** Vegan Tacos

I LOVE tacos, always have always will.  So here is our take on a vegan taco recipe we enjoy often.  The first time I had these I didn't think I would like them at all.  I fell in LOVE with them with the first bite.  The black beans are a perfect substitue for meat.  If you prefer you can substitute vegan meat substitute crumbles but I love these things the way they are!  I hope you do too!
We choose to make our own taco seasoning with spices at home.  Most store bought taco seasoning packages contain partially hydrogenated oils and / or milk - dairy products.  Plus you can adjust the seasoning to fit your taste perfectly.

K & A's KICK A** VEGAN TACOS
White hard or soft corn taco shells (12 pack) - (we look to find the ones with no hydrogenated oils)
2 cans or 1- 30 oz can black beans - rinsed
1 can vegetarian refried beans
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
couple shakes of red pepper flake
salt & pepper
1/2 large onion
whole large tomato
1 bag of broccoli slaw - found in the vegetable section of your grocery store (this stuff is AWESOME!)
Daiya dairy free cheese style shreds - For those who want cheese - (usually found at stores like Whole Foods & The Sunflower Market)
salsa of your choice

Rinse black beans in colander. Add black beans to 2 quart pan, add water and spices.  Simmer on low to low medium heat for 10-20 minutes.  (Adjust seasonings to your individual tastes)  The longer you slow simmer the more flavor will come out.  In a separate pan heat up vegetarian refried beans.  Cut up tomato and onion in cubes.  Heat shells or soft tacos according to package directions.
Spoon refried beans, beans, cheese substitute (if wanted) in shell.  Add onions, tomatos, broccoli slaw and top with salsa - enjoy!!

Personally I am not fond of the cheese substitute on my tacos.  I added it to this recipe because there are people who want cheese on tacos.  For me I enjoy the tacos more without it at all.

Water - H2 whoa!

Water, its whats for dinner!  Truthfully I never have been much of a water drinker, that is up until recently.  I suppose I figured I got all the water I needed from the coffee and beer I drank every day.  What I have realized is that water is the single one thing that can help you lose and keep weight off and beer, definitely is not!  Water helps flush out your system and helps keep your body tuned up and running properly.  Currently I drink lots of water every day, up to a gallon or more, and I'm still a big coffee drinker too.  Living in the desert requires a little more water consumption then normal!  Very important to stay hydrated, most of the US population is under hydrated, by choice.  What I mean is we as a society don't consume enough water to keep us properly hydrated, thats the choice.

I learned a few facts about water that pretty much astounded me.  There seems to be growing concerns worldwide with our clean water supply.  One fact that I still can't wrap my mind around is the amount of water that is required to produce one pound of meat.  The number?  2400 gallons, wow!  I drink about a gallon of water a day, or 365 gallons a year.  That would be 6.57 years of me drinking a gallon of water a day to equal the 2400 gallons required to produce 1 pound of meat!  Now in all fairness it requires roughly 300 gallons of water a day to support a vegan diet.  On the same scale the 2400 gallons it takes for one pound of meat would support a pure vegan diet for 8 days.  Just for kicks and comparison the average meat eating diet requires 4000 gallons of water per day.

Another astonishing fact is HALF of the water used in the United States goes to raising animals for food.             By looking at the US Census population clock it states there are over 310,000,000 people in the US.  Statistics estimate that 1% of the US population is Vegan.  So for the math let's just say there are 300,000,000 people on a meat based diet in the US.  Now I am not going to do the true calculations here because it is simply mind boggling, but just imagine if all the US population didn't eat meat for one just day how much of a water savings that would be for just one single day!  Its a staggering number of 900 billion gallons or something like that.  That is a lot of water!  For comparison, Lake Sunapee, the 5th largest lake in New Hampshire is said to hold 900 billion gallons of water.  Click to find out more on Lake Sunapee http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Sunapee 

In one year on a vegan based diet I will save 1,350,500 gallons of water all by myself!  Assuming I live another 50 years ( that is kind of my goal) that will equate to somewhere in the neighborhood of 67,525,000 (67 million+) gallons of water I will have saved over the rest of my vegan life.  Add my wife in to the mix and we have a total of 135,050,000 (135 million+!) gallons of water saved!  That will hopefully help our grandchildren and their grandchildren to have clean water too!

Thanks for visiting my blog!
Until next time,
Kel      

The Evolution of Change

So the 40 Year Old Vegan.  Hmmm.  As a genuine 100% meat loving human I thought I would struggle with this change in my lifestyle and it would be so difficult it wouldn't last a week or two.  Honestly it has been really easy with very minor struggles.  The biggest thing I struggle with is the smell of a bar-b-que!!  That smell is still one of the "happy" smells I associate so much in my life with.  There is no doubt the sweet smells of a summer BBQ smoke tickling my nostrils make my mind weak and my stomach smile!

So this change didn't come to me in a dream, or as a thought while I was reading about slaughterhouses, nor did I wake up one day and say "Hell, today I'm going to adopt the Vegan lifestyle.  No it was nothing like that at all, it was a simple suggestion from my loving wife and some random discussions about how I thought slaughterhouses of today were somehow "humane" in the killing and treatment of animals.  My Son and wife both shed some "wisdom" on me in this department.  It didn't take many web searches for me to find all the information I ever wanted to know about slaughterhouses - but this I will chat about more in later posts, let me see if I can stick to the subject today!  My Wife and I had discussed Vegan-ism before and it would always end the same way with me adamantly spewing something like, "Are you kidding??  I'm not giving up meat and trying to live off vegetables!  I'm a MAN therefore I shall eat meat!"  Somehow in my brain, (actually I don't think this thought process is that uncommon in males) the association of eating meat products made you more of a man, in short a testosterone driven way to reach the pinnacle of machoism!  I am sure that stems from my upbringing and ancestors who actually had to hunt, kill and do what it took to feed their family.  Today all we have to do is walk in any grocery chain to find a plethora of food choices.  Thankfully I do not have to wander around the 120 degree desert looking for something to bring home for my woman to cook up for us.  This is good on many levels, like first there isn't much I would consider "tasty" to eat in the desert (some cactus is tasty though!) and second it would be heavily frowned upon if I dispatched, gutted and dragged home a coyote, burro, scorpion or rattlesnake for the family's stew pot!

This whole journey for me began in December of 2010 when I, (the one you could see walking around with a cigarette telling everyone how they are really not that bad for you) was still smoking a pack and a half a day.  This "habit" had followed me from my youth, remembering correctly I had my first one at the age of 15, albeit like Bill Clinton I didn't inhale!  However that soon followed and my addiction was born.  My initial reason for quitting was money driven.  Grasp this, a pack and a half a day smoking habit is roughly 10 packs a week.  Multiply that by 52 weeks is 520 packs a year.  At roughly $5.00 per pack is $2600 per year.  So that was the reason I made my first life change at 41 years old, it wasn't because I was killing myself, it wasn't that I wanted to be healthier it was all about the money.  That was step one.

The next step for me was a change my wife made.  She had been talking about Weight Watchers for a long while.  How it had worked for her and how she would like to try again so we could both lose some weight.  It took some convincing and I agreed that it would be good for us both.  So we began the task of counting points and making smart food choices.  I'll be damned but it worked!  We both started losing weight and dropping pounds!  It wasn't that difficult either however there is a point where I think everyone plateaus and we both were staring to.  During this time I was still drinking (pretty heavily) so I once again, in January of 2011, I made a money driven decision - if I quit drinking it would save us considerable money and I would continue to lose weight by diminishing the added calories beer provided me daily.

The next step for us was the exploration of a Vegan lifestyle.  How did I make the decision to try this lifestyle?  It was simple really, my wife wanted to give it a try and I have learned the hard way that I need to support her like she does me and my half-baked ideas - 100% and fully!  I really think she was near faint when I told her I would do it!  Why not?  What have I got to lose?  If it doesn't work then we will figure something else out.  Isn't that how life works anyway?  You try stuff, if it doesn't work you figure out another route to take.  I will admit without a shadow of a doubt it has been one of the best decisions I have made.  I enjoy it, I don't miss the things I thought I would and I feel better then I have in many, many years and the bonus is I don't have to count anything I eat, I don't have to feel guilty for eating things and I can still eat whatever I want.  At the end of the day its my choice and I have to live with it.

This blog is a trial and error thing for me.  I want to write about this journey, I want to share information, facts, fiction and my experiences with the changes I have made, the reasons why and the outcomes.  I want to share recipes that are successes, ones that are epic failures and eventually help people who are struggling with weight issues or food problems.  Love or hate the idea and/or blog I hope you read it, I hope you enjoy it and I hope I, as the 40 Year Old Vegan can keep you entertained and coming back for more!!
Until then, thanks for visiting and I hope to see you next time!
Kel