Lazy Vegan lunchbox

Lest you wonder how it is that I can be both so lazy as well as eat a protein packed, plant-based, diet as such a busy girl on the run, I'll tell you: I pack my lunch, and lots of other stuff.

Today's lunch also includes a late breakfast (aka mid morning snack, since I was too full on the other half of it to finish it).

Nothing in here required more than 30 seconds of preparation.

The contents: one orange, one Odwalla protein bar, raw fig porridge, tomato-mint bulgur soup, and there's a Primal Strip underneath. Breakfast, lunch, pre-gym snacks, and extras in case I'm hungry. Easy. Lazy, even.

Lazy veganist lunch

I made for myself a yummy dish for my lunch today consisting of only 4 ingredients: shirataki noodles, one raw yellow pepper, red curry powder, and defatted peanut powder (before you turn your nose up, this stuff is natural, delicious, low in fat and higher in protein than regular peanut butter - not all refined things are bad, IMO).

Took about 30 seconds to prep, and contains about 100 calories for more food than I can eat.

Tossing in a piece of fruit, a flax pita, and a high-energy snack for pre-gym (I can list my favorites another time), this contributes to a fruit-and-veg dense, totally plant-based, satisfying eating day. (so no criticisms that my lunch is only 100 calories, ok?)

And how often can most of us say that we had a "satisfying eating day?" Just sayin...

More importantly, this is delicious, filling, high in fiber, very low in fat (about 1.5 grams in the whole serving, which is around 2.5 cups of food), contains around 9 grams of protein (not bad for a dish that is under 100 calories!), and 1 grams of sugars.

This lead to my considering further what to call the upcoming cookbook... How might you feel about "Lazy Vegan" as a title? Would you buy that book?

Grtfl-1

A friend of mine posted a license plate today as her facebook image: GRTFL-1.

Happy thanksgiving.

This is the first year that I've hosted this fete, and I have had a lot of mixed feelings about it. I do prefer the idea of a holiday without racial, ethnic, political, religious, or other ideology that has evolved to just be simple: We are Americans, We are thankful.

But this also becomes such an ugly display of vices in our country, and I'm hoping to succeed at refocusing my own energies in a positive manner in spite of this. Billions of dollars spent on sport, pre-Black-Friday sales, unity-in-gluttony! For me, that means a healthy but still yummy meal, and focusing on my amazing husband, wacked-out-but-lovable family, and the greatest circle of friends a gal could ask for.

It is challenging to feel truly grateful, I think, for most of us... Let alone to express that sentiment in a genuine, uncontrived, honest, and straightforward way. I strongly suspect that this is the reason for all of the distraction for so many of us: parades, football, pigging out, excessive drinking.

As a "foodie" person, I have been carefully considering the real meaning and value of many Thanksgiving buzzwords: turkey (rejected for many reasons), pumpkin (yum), grateful (ideally), bounty (sounds good except for paper towel), stuffed (I prefer to avoid it).

I'd love to challenge you, dear reader (since you are probably my friend) to not eat to excess and instead feel charitable today. Thanks, and Giving. Today I'm giving thanks for my place on the planet, the people around me, mindfulness, and choice.

WWFD: basic-idea bibimbap

I was hungry.

I was cold.

When I have that grey-day feeling, I really crave a dish that I get a local sushi hotspot, Ok-dol Bibimbap. It is white rice served in a super-hot stone pot, topped with an array of warm seasoned vegetables, as well as fresh cool veggies and pickles, served alongside a warming rich sesame-and-chili red sauce. Oftentimes, fish or meat and an egg are in the mix - I want that savory warmingness, minus the life-depleting animal proteins. So, what’s a lazy, hungry, plant-based-diet-eating gal to do? I was exhausted, so Bibimbap got the nearly-instant vegan kitchen treatment, and I just kind of made it from stuff in the pantry and fridge.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

The shocker?

It was wicked delicious!

I’m writing this down before I forget how I did it. If you improve on this, definitely let me know! All of this is approximate, probably wrong, and might not work for you.

With caveats aside, here're the deets:

The plan:

make the rice.

While it is cooking, make the veggies.

Make them one-at-a-time in the same skillet to minimize dishes.

Meanwhile, invent the sauce.

Heat and glaze tofu.

Then layer into a serving bowl with the rice on the bottom, and neat little piles of each component on top, sauce on the side.

RICE:

The best method to cooking plain rice, I swear, is the traditional Japanese method. I learned this from the book Kansha by Elizabeth Andoh. Measure out a cup of white rice, and put it in a medium-sized bowl. completely cover with water, and swoosh it around, rubbing it in small handfuls in your palm. strain off the now-starchy water, and repeat a few times until it is mostly clear. I know that most Japanese-style American rice says it is pre-washed, but do not believe this. Drain, and put the rice into a pot or saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Add 1.25 cups of fresh water, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Try not to peek - just listen. Then lower the heat and simmer-cook for another 5-7 minutes until nearly all of the water is absorbed - the sound will change. If you must, open at this point, increase the heat to high, and rapidly give a few tosses to remove any excess water - this should take no more than thirty seconds. Alternatively, just increase the heat to high, wiggle the pot a bit for 30 seconds (like Jiffy-pop), then turn the heat off. Set the pot aside, still tightly covered, for ten minutes. Your rice will be perfect. When ready to serve, use a flat spatula or paddle-like device to cut into the mass without squashing the grains and fluff it a few times. for this dish, I folded in some sesame seeds, too.

VEGGIES:

I made carrots, spinach, and mushrooms since that is what I had.

CHOP STUFF UP: I also prepped (into a tiny mince) some scallion and about 5 cloves of garlic.

The mushrooms were very thinly sliced, I sliced the carrots lengthwise into long thin strips.

the spinach was pre-washed baby spinach and I did nothing whatsoever to it.

I made the mushrooms first, figuring the leftover liquids in the pan would lend an earthy savoriness to the next batch-o-veg.

BASICS: into a nonstick skillet, I dropped a bit (maybe a teaspoon, maybe less) of dark sesame oil, then the rinsed and sliced mushrooms, added a small pinch of salt, and cooked them until they were softened. I added tiny splashes of water until they started to lose their own to prevent sticking. I deglazed the skillet with about a tablespoon of sake, and let it burn off. Then I pulled the mushrooms out of the pain and set aside.

next, I cooked about a tablespoon of the garlic until it was fragrant but NOT browned (garlic shouldn’t brown, it is bitter that way), then tossed in the carrots. similarly, to control sticking without adding more fat, I added teaspoons of water as needed until the carrots were halfway softened (I like my veggies pretty crisp), then to finish I dropped in a generous pinch of sesame seeds, a half teaspoon of Agave nectar, tossed to coat, and removed the carrots from the skillet.

Next, I made the spinach. This is so easy, “they” should take away your stove if you can’t make it. I threw in another microsplash of sesame oil, and some garlic. Once the garlic was cooking, I added in three large handfuls of baby spinach. This will wilt down to nearly nothing speedily, so keep stirring. The pan was deglazed with a small splash of rice wine vinegar, and I added a bit of salt to taste. The spinach was set aside.

While all that was cooking, I made the sauce. Now, real Korean grandmas, don’t gang up on me. I know this is a bastardization, but I prefer to see it as hunger-induced fridge-ingenuity. ok?

SAUCE: I squirted some ketchup (I used Whole Foods organic ketchup, which is apparently gluten-free? This isn’t an issue for me, but just in case it is for you, read the labels) into a small bowl. To this, I added Sriracha to taste (I used a lot, you might prefer less), the remaining raw garlic, and small volumes of both the sesame oil and some agave nectar. I’d guess the proportions were 3 T of ketchup, 1 T of sriracha, a teaspoon of very finely minced garlic, a teaspoon of dark sesame oil, and a teaspoon of Agave. But this is all a guess. keep stirring and tasting. yum.

TOFU: I had some “savory flavored” firm pre-marinated tofu in the fridge. I cut it up into 1 cm cubes, ish. This went into the skillet used for the veggies and was heated through, with small additions of water to prevent sticking. It tasted bland. So I added in some of the scallion, some soy sauce, and a generous plop of the fake bibimbap sauce, and glazed them nicely, cooking the sauce down to a thin film of sticky spicy lacquered goodness.

TO ASSEMBLE: place rice in the bottom of a large bowl. Artfully arrange the vegetables in tidy plops on top. Add the tofu, also in a neat pile. Toss some of the remaining raw scallion over the center, and serve with the sauce on the side.

notes/ideas: The technique of “water frying” as it is called in some south Asian cooking traditions permits a LOT less oil to be used. In this recipe, the sesame oil is used predominantly for its flavor, which is strong and aromatic. To my nose, bibimbap is really typified by a savory intense mix of sesame, salt, vinegar, sugar, chili and garlic that I find so irresistible in many Korean dishes. This could be made with an alternative grain (brown rice, quinoa), the rice could be a little caramelized (like a paella) to be truer to the stone pot kind (YUM), but I was too hungry. Just cook up piles of whatever vegetables you have on hand and season each thematically but separately. I also think a pickled ingredient or two, and something fresh and cold would add more flavor and texture. Ideally, I should have sought more of a balance of sweet/savory/bitter-roasted/sour/spicy in the toppings to yield a more harmonious dish. But for fridge-pantry roulette, this totally hit the spot and was cooked very speedily.

let me know if you can fix it?

Vive La Republique! (or, WWFD on Bastille Day)

Just a quick thought today after a conversation with my husband -

neither of us remotely misses eating meat.

This came up after a Bastille Day dinner - where we made vegan crepes. I'll tell you how to do it yourself below. I think I'll be reusing this as an easy weeknight dinner, since it was easy, fast, and we could each prep our own dinner and kind of graze on it, flexibly, until we were sated.

Fillings (this was refrigerator potluck, as you might imagine, since if you know me you'll know that I don't use recipes and I don't plan meals, yet we eat nicely!) were culled from

1) a bag of pre-cooked, pre-seasoned chickpeas in a cumin-and-ginger sauce (this is the Trader Joe's version of Tasty Bite, same manufacturer - kosher, vegan, and ok-tasting alone) to which I added a cube of Dorot frozen cilantro and tossed it in the nuker (why do we call it that?)

and

2) about 2 cups of frozen organic chard, some leftover artichoke hearts, and some leftover "vegan feta" that I made from tofu and has been marinating in my fridge, a smidge of soymilk to thicken, a pinch of salt, a packet of True Lemon (henceforth to be dubbed "the greatest lazy person's seasoning", or glps for short) and 3 Dorot garlic cubes - all tossed in a saucepan and heated until hot.

for a sidedish I made speedy tasty cauliflower inspired by my friend, Kelly Reine (but mine is lazier than her method): one bag of frozen organic cauliflower florets, tossed frozen into a medium saute pan. To this I added about a teaspoon of cheap olive oil (there is no need to cook with anything fancy), and let them get warm and slightly browned. Then I added 2 finely minced jalepenos (ribs and seeds removed) and let them bask in the heat for a few moments, then added about a half tablespoon of capers and their juice, toss. To finish: toss in another teaspoon of oil, and about 1/4 cup of panko crumbs. toss and toss until it is all lightly coated brown and good. Then to finish: one packet of "glps", salt and pepper to taste.

Finally, to eat: get your crepe pan hot, spritz with a touch of cooking spray, make a fresh crepe, fill will the filling of your choice,

et apres,

mange-toi!

So, you want to make a vegan crepe, eh?

Crepes without eggs may be an offense to some (and probably to the French as a whole), but as an exercise in veganism, I wanted to prove it could be done. Since I was feeling earthy-crunchy, these were whole wheat and not sweetened, since I was planning them only for savory use.

Here's the way:

3 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer + 4 tablespoons water
1 cup whole what flour
1 1/2 cups nondairy milk (I used plain soy)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used melted Earth Balance stick)
about a teaspoon of salt (you can use less if you're not into salt, I am, but whatever)

6 drops of Stevia extract (this is highly variable in potency, so I suggest using tiny amounts and adjusting to your own taste. For a crispier browner crepe and if you aren't into minimizing your carbs, evaporated cane juice or sugar could be used here)

nonstick spray


1. whisk egg replacer and water. pour in about half of the soy milk, and whisk together. then add the flour all at once, whisk like a banshee.

2. Mix in the remaining milk, and whisk until lumps are gone. Add vegetable oil and seasonings. (Next step takes some practice, but then it will be awesome)

3. Spray pan with some non-stick type spray, heat at medium to low. Ladle batter into pan. and rapidly spread the batter either by tilting the pan or by using the ladle or a spatula. this requires some practice. you may need to add some water to adjust your batter thickness to achieve the desired result.

4. Let it cook for about 2 minutes, then pry around the edges with a spatula. then with two hands shake it a little so it comes loose, and flip it. Cook the other side for another minute or two, and serve.

why avoid meat?

For some reason, that I do not know, today three different people (a friend, my sister, and my dad) all asked me about my reasons for not eating meat.

This is not a culinary diatribe today, just some interesting ideas.

Why avoid meat? It is rational. As a physician, I feel that a vegan diet is probably a significant reducer of risk in terms of all-cause mortality. I don't really care about animals, but commercial meat farming is so insane that there i no way that an ethical human should eat it. But that's just me. But I care about my carbon footprint.

Read on kids...

The Hunger Argument

Number of people worldwide who will die as a result of malnutrition this year: 20 million
Number of people who could be adequately fed using land freed if Americans reduced their intake of meat by 10%: 100 million
Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by people:20
Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock:80
Percentage of oats grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 95
Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90
How frequently a child dies as a result of malnutrition: every 2.3 seconds
Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on an acre: 40,000
Pounds of beef produced on an acre: 250
Percentage of U.S. farmland devoted to beef production: 56
Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce a pound of edible flesh from feedlot beef: 16

The Environmental Argument

Cause of global warming: greenhouse effect
Primary cause of greenhouse effect: carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels
Fossil fuels needed to produce meat-centered diet vs. a meat-free diet: 3 times more
Percentage of U.S. topsoil lost to date: 75
Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly related to livestock raising: 85
Number of acres of U.S. forest cleared for cropland to produce meat-centered diet: 260 million
Amount of meat imported to U.S. annually from Central and South America: 300,000,000 pounds
Percentage of Central American children under the age of five who are undernourished: 75
Area of tropical rainforest consumed in every quarter-pound of rainforest beef: 55 square feet
Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests for meat grazing and other uses:1,000 per year

The Cancer Argument

Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat daily compared to less than once a week: 3.8 times
For women who eat eggs daily compared to once a week: 2.8 times
For women who eat butter and cheese 2-4 times a week: 3.25 times
Increased risk of fatal ovarian cancer for women who eat eggs 3 or more times a week vs. less than once a week: 3 times
Increased risk of fatal prostate cancer for men who consume meat, cheese, eggs and milk daily vs. sparingly or not at all: 3.6 times.

The Cholesterol Argument

Number of U.S. medical schools: 125
Number requiring a course in nutrition: 30
Nutrition training received by average U.S. physician during four years in medical school: 2.5 hours
Most common cause of death in the U.S.: heart attack
How frequently a heart attack kills in the U.S.: every 45 seconds
Average U.S. man's risk of death from heart attack: 50 percent
Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat: 15 percent
Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat, dairy or eggs: 4 percent
Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of meat, dairy and eggs by 10 percent: 9 percent
Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption by 50 percent: 45 percent
Amount you reduce risk if you eliminate meat, dairy and eggs from your diet: 90 percent
Average cholesterol level of people eating meat-centered-diet: 210 mg/dl
Chance of dying from heart disease if you are male and your blood cholesterol level is 210 mg/dl: greater than 50 percent

The Natural Resources Argument

User of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the U.S.: livestock production
Amount of water used in production of the average cow: sufficient to float a destroyer
Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of wheat: 25
Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of California beef: 5,000
Years the world's known oil reserves would last if every human ate a meat-centered diet: 13
Years they would last if human beings no longer ate meat: 260
Calories of fossil fuel expended to get 1 calorie of protein from beef: 78
To get 1 calorie of protein from soybeans: 2
Percentage of all raw materials (base products of farming, forestry and mining, including fossil fuels) consumed by U.S. that is devoted to the production of livestock: 33
Percentage of all raw materials consumed by the U.S. needed to produce a complete vegetarian diet: 2

The Antibiotic Argument

Percentage of U.S. antibiotics fed to livestock: 55
Percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1960: 13
Percentage resistant in 1988: 91
Response of European Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: ban
Response of U.S. meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: full and complete support

The Pesticide Argument

Common belief: U.S. Department of Agriculture protects our health through meat inspection
Reality: fewer than 1 out of every 250,000 slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues
Percentage of U.S. mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 99
Percentage of U.S. vegetarian mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 8
Contamination of breast milk, due to chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides in animal products, found in meat-eating mothers vs. non-meat eating mothers: 35 times higher
Amount of Dieldrin ingested by the average breast-fed American infant: 9 times the permissible level

The Ethical Argument

Number of animals killed for meat per hour in the U.S.: 660,000
Occupation with highest turnover rate in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker
Occupation with highest rate of on-the-job-injury in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker

The Survival Argument

Athlete to win Ironman Triathlon more than twice: Dave Scott (6 time winner)
Food choice of Dave Scott: Vegetarian
Largest meat eater that ever lived: Tyrannosaurus Rex (Where is he today?)

Source = "Diet For A New America" by John Robbins

Seitanism is Simple, you can do it yer damned self!

I feel that I have made a good case for seitan.

Seitan is good.

Seitan is soy free (if you make it that way)

Seitan is cheap if you make it yourself (costing about 1/5th of the price of mass-produced chicken for the same dose of lean protein). But I had been previously really frustrated that the seitan I made myself at home was always a little spongy- textured and more chewy than I might prefer.

So I would buy it. But that gets expensive (still cheaper than chicken, but by vegan home dining standards... and frankly, I'd rather spend my dahluhs on gorgeous produce), and wastes lots of packaging (not all of which can even be recycled), as well as use of fuel, and contributes to a degree of globalization of my food supply that can be more-avoided.

The trick is this: you have to make it right. Just like all good and simple things, the trick is technique. If you don't believe me, I invite you to try to eat broccoli my mother has prepared on a holiday. just broccoli, salt, and water - should be simple and perfect - but it is a mushy, ghastly, sulfuric mess. Technique, rather than posh ingredients, is sometimes all the difference.

I like to do this in my electric pressure cooker. But if your kitchen hasn't adopted this new-school means to an old-school method, no worries - here's a recipe for the typical stovetop.

This will taste kinda chickenish. If you want it "duck" ish - make the same thing, but use mushroom broth (I know, sounds weird, but the earthiness to me is more ducky/marrow-y) and season with five spice powder. Or come up with your own way. If you figure out how to make one that tastes like a good piece of fish (but remains vegan) please tell!

Meanwhile:

I'm using a 1:2:2 ratio. That is really the whole recipe. This is easy to remember.

1 part other stuff (more on that in a moment)

2 parts vital wheat gluten (I have had the best results using the Bob's Red Mill brand, ymmv)

2 parts tasty liquid

for the aforementioned other stuff: anything that'll bind water, intercalate itself between the particles of wheat gluten to loosen the strands a bit, and add flavor is the idea. Stuff like corn meal, pulverized oatmeal, soya powder, breadcrumbs, whole wheat flour, chickpea flour, tapioca flour/starch, potato flakes (or "spuds" as my sister and I call them), you-name-it. For this iteration, I divided my "other stuff" into thirds: one third flavored breadcrumbs, one third whole wheat flour, and one third whole soya flour (not defatted). All that said, you could just add the same volume of wheat gluten and make it plain, but it winds up a bit spongier.

so, 1:2:2 - an easy start would be 3/4 cup (volume not weight) of other stuff, 1.5 cu of wheat gluten.

mix together the dry stuff

then add 1.5 cu of any tasty, alcohol-free, lowfat liquid of your choice. I used 1 cube of Rapunzel brand vegetable bouillon in 1.5 cu of warmish water. (p.s. Rapunzel vegan bouillon is delicious and tastes very chicken-broth-y. You use what you like). Add it all at once, and mix it all together until you have a uniform dough.

here's the technique part: in a bowl (since the dough can be a bit wet at first, and you do not want to add flour or anything on a board), knead it by mashing the heel of your hand into the ball so it climbs up the side of the bowl a bit, then flip the upper, displaced dough down onto the doughball, and repeat. flip the whole thing over from time to time. knead for five to ten minutes. that is not a typo. just do it while you watch Justin Bieber's hair grow or something.

then walk away for about 10-20 minutes.

go back, knead again for another few minutes (like three) as you work the dough into a large sausage-shape. try to not taper the edges.

set the log-o-wheaty-goodness on a cutting board, and slice it using a very sharp knife into similar-volume pieces (about 2 fluid oz. each) and then gently stretch/smash each once into a cutlet/slice-of-bread shape and set aside.

meanwhile, get about 4 cups of a tasty liquid (or water, I just made more boullion) simmering in a big pot.

once it is boiling, turn it down and gently drop in, one at a time, stirring gently in between, all of the cutlets.

cover, and gently simmer for about a half hour, stirring occasionally just to prevent sticking.

viola - Seitan.

you can use it right away as is. you can dice it up and treat it like a ground meat. You can mist it in a tiny bit of olive oil, roll through a field of lovely breadcrumbs, and brown in a skillet (making a very convincing, better-than-chicken cutlet)... you could shred it and add some celery, tiny green grapes, and vegenaise for the best tasting chicken salad you ever ate (which, incidentally, contains no chicken) and pop it in a sandwich. I've made piccata. Last night, it was doused with some tomato sauce, covered with Daiya vegan cheese, popped in the "nukuh" for one minute and (poof) - parm-style goodness in under 2 minutes! It can be shaped or formed into other things - like a turkey-breast shape (try poultry seasoning and rolling some sage in) and then sliced... or any other idea you have.

Seitan is more flexible than Johnny Weir. And that guy is awesome.

to store - let it cool to room temp, then store in the container of your choice with some of the cooking broth to keep it moist.

Did you try this? Did it suck? Have a question or idea? Let me know. oh, and if you know how to make Chinese style wheat-meat sausage (which I know is fattier, I don't care, and I love it) - spill the beans! (or gluten, as the case may be).