I am tired. That’s a statement about physically feeling a dearth of energy at the end of each and every day. Likely it’s due to trying to cram as much as I can into a 24-hour span. Having a new job and also working at another part-time gig, while taking a class at USM probably has something to do with feeling “wrung-out.” Continue reading
Tag Archives: Veganism
Thai for Lunch
Life will always try to make you run, even if your preference is for a steady trot. I say this, but much of our stress I think, is self-inflicted. Put your phone down, get off Facebook and Twitter, and you’ll be in a better state of mind.
My own life’s rhythms ebb and flow. For public schools, this is vacation week, so no sub assignments to consider. I’m tutoring at night because the private school nearby where I work has a different calendar than the one followed by their public counterparts.
While no fill-ins as a guest educator, I do have two articles I’m on deadline for. I continue writing for National Oil & Lube News. If you’ve never read any of my work for them, the February cover feature is mine, highlighting how no industry is immune from the reach of Donald Trump’s tentacles and tariffs.
Because I’m out during what are post-dinner hours for most people, I prefer not to have the standard American dinner, traditionally the largest meal of the day. For me, for much of my work week, I’ll whip-up something at lunch that is really my dinner. I make enough so that I leave a meal for Mary when she makes it home from work, or one of her after-labor fitness classes.
I don’t know where my culinary skills fall on any kind of continuum. I know my way around the kitchen, am quite capable of dicing and chopping, and I’ve mastered some of the basics of food preparation. I’m sure in our culture of fast food, or if you’re a foodie—eating most of your meals at a restaurant where the food is overprices and in my estimation—often underwhelming, then food prep might be foreign to you. Then, factor in the continued avoidance by many in the culinary world of moving away from meat to more plant-based meals, and cooking at home is almost always preferable to paying someone else to feed me.
Pad Thai for Two (maybe three or four)
Today’s Thai for Two packet presented an option that was fairly simple in terms of assembly. I had to soak my rice noodles for 25 minutes, so there was a time commitment involved. However, while my noodles were setting up, I diced my scallions, mushrooms, and then, timed my stir-fry requirement so that when the noodles were done soaking, all I had to do was add them, stir them around with the packet of Pad Thai Sauce (which was enclosed) and “voila!” I had dinner. I even steamed some broccoli because I love it and cruciferous vegetables are a good thing.
Cooking is cool.
Left Coast Tacos
In a perfect world—which for me right now would be one without excruciating (at times) back pain—plant-based foods would be ubiquitous. But alas, I live in Maine, where snout-to-tail cooking and meat necklaces abound. Don’t get me wrong, Maine has some great food, it’s just not the greatest place to be a plant-based vegan.
I love tacos. I’ve even managed to develop a couple of my own versions that don’t rely upon meat fillings. One is made with tempeh, the other with a plant-based crumble that’s readily available in most Maine supermarkets (including Shaw’s and Hannaford’s).
Vegan tacos are the bomb! (The Minimalist Baker)
The reason why I’m talking tacos this morning is entirely due to the New York Times’ California Today newsletter that I’m signed up for and receive weekdays. As California goes, so goes the nation.
When we were out in Los Angeles in 2017, you could throw a rock and pretty much hit a vegan eatery in most parts of town. Some of them were absolutely amazing. In a city of 10 million people, economies of scale are a big factor in food options and variety. Instead of menus with minimal options nearly invisible due to burgers, chicken, and fish, you have chefs like this one, transforming native foods from her home country of El Salvador, offering more than 40 ethnically-authentic dishes. Continue reading
Conned by Casein
We are living in the age of the con. Our president serves as our “con-artist-in-chief,” a tour guide of sorts in the art of deception.
One thing I should have learned in life—but I still seem to require regular reminders—is that if something becomes popular, everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon and extract their own element of profit. Nowhere is this more evident than in food.
As someone who has lost (and gained) significant amounts of weight on my mesomorphic frame, I’ve yo-yoed back and forth on the scale. I’ve also been on all manner of wacky diets—like the time I was pounding protein in the form of bacon and steak, with very few vegetables or fruit items. It’s only been the last few years where I’ve focused on eating healthier foods, while eliminating as much processed junk as possible.
In the fall of 2016, just prior to Mark leaving on his final walk, I decided to become a plant-based vegan. I have no regrets about that choice, and I’m glad Mark knew his mom and dad had become healthier humans prior to his death. Continue reading
The Unbearable Whiteness of Lasagna
Becoming a plant-based vegan offered another connection point between Mark and his dad. We had baseball and sports (for much of our relationship), books and writing, and then, just prior to his leaving on his walk, I decided I’d see if I could go two weeks without consuming dairy or animal-based food products (namely meat). During his trip, we kept a dialogue going about plant-based eating and associated food-related topics.
This re-ordering of diet and food might seem drastic. It really wasn’t. I just stopped eating some foods–eggs, cheese, yogurt, and meat. I replaced them with mainly plants—fruits and vegetable that I already liked and was eating. A new attentiveness ensued, searching for meals and recipes that fit with that.
In August when the three of us were together in Omaha, Yelp directed us across the city to a nondescript eatery in a converted gas station. I found out later that the chef was none other than vegan cook and cookbook goddess, Isa Chandra Moskowitz. The food on the menu was amazing. “So this is veganism,” I thought at the time. Afterwards, it made sense to seek out her books.
Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook is a book written with Terry Hope Romero for people like me (and Mary); those coming to veganism who want to learn to cook vegan, and not rely on others to cook for them. The authors bring their unique, DIY-informed approach to food, billing it as “the essential guide to mastering the art of vegan cooking.”
Vegan cooking 101
12 Things
Americans love their bulleted lists. As if there really are “three steps to success,” or you actually can make $100,000 and never change out of your PJs in the morning.
Yet, there are steps that you can take that may deliver positive impacts on health, offering up benefits now, and as you get older. Eating right has its perks.
Six weeks ago, I decided to see if I could take a sabbatical from meat and dairy. I blogged about this nearly three weeks ago. Since then, I’ve been trying to set a few things straight relative to the depressing election of 2016. A lot of good that did.
So back to health and what we eat. Dr. Michael Greger, along with writer Gene Stone, published How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease. It could also have been subtitled, “The Medical and Scientific Reasons to Adopt a Whole Food, Plant-based Diet.” Both subtitles lend the book sound overly scientific and textbook-ish air. How Not to Die is far from either category. It’s a primer for anyone considering adopting a diet centered on whole foods and plants, with plenty of data, but also many humorous anecdotes from Greger’s own life. I’ve found it invaluable in getting started and immersed in a brand new way of living. Continue reading
Plant Power
When you begin questioning the systems that make up a country whose very foundation is a bedrock of lies and half-truths, the challenge becomes—how far do I go in disavowing falsehood? It’s easy to backtrack on a handful of things, but in a capitalist economy, most people have little choice but to sell their labor to employers and kowtow to the powers that be.
Back in August, we went out to Omaha. I wrote about Mary’s participation in the USA Triathlon National Championships held there. It was a hectic but fun six days.
Mark met us on his way back across the country.
On Saturday night, we decided to go out to dinner as a family like we’ve done countless times before. Mark’s been embracing a plant-based eating program for more than a year. I suppose we could have taken him to a steak restaurant and made him eat salad while we chowed down on top sirloin, but doing that seemed like a shitty thing to do to a son who has consistently shown up in support of his parents and their various endeavors, be it book signings or triathlons, not to mention extended-family gatherings. Plus, I like vegetables, too.
Yelp is an app that’s rarely led me astray. When I checked out vegan restaurants in Omaha, a place called Modern Love sounded pretty funky and cool. I called, made a reservation for three, and plotted the night’s plan. Continue reading