We Love Brunch!

 Sundays are the perfect day for a good, hearty brunch.  If there is one word that I use a lot on the blog, it is "hearty"...I like to be full.  DO NOT believe what they tell you...vegans are not all a bunch of skinny waifs that only eat lettuce.  Read all posts here at Vegan Family Values and you will see that!  What is our mission?  To be kind to the Earth, the animals, and ourselves.  It's that simple.  And it is VERY doable.  Like this fantastic brunch that you have to make.  Make a good tofu scramble....get creative.  Crumble your tofu, add vegetables.  We did frozen spinach, onions, bell peppers, peas, and some broccoli.  You know you can add whatever you want.  The important thing is to add the following: nutritional yeast, turmeric, salt, pepper, and garlic.  OK, the garlic is optional, haha.  Make some toast, put Earth Balance vegan butter on it, and then COVER it with Bush's vegetarian baked beans.  Perfection!  Also fry up some potatoes with onions (we love onions) and salt and pepper.  My husband wanted me to post a picture of his brunch, which requires taking all the same stuff and making a sandwich.  He will eat anything if it is on a sandwich.  Serve with a cup of coffee and some juice.  Eat this around 10:00 and you will be full till dinner :) 

Veganism Hits "On Point"

Recently I took notice of a feature on the NPR program "On Point".  Host Tom Ashbrook looks at the increasing trend of veganism in America and the fact that it is becoming more and more mainstream.  What a concept!  I listened to the program three times, and while I did not necessarily agree with everything that I heard, I think that it is amazing that being vegan is not as obscure as it used to be.  And I think that I have proven through this blog that it does not have to be extreme at all!!!!  I would not say that I am extreme.  As a matter of fact, I still think that eating dead bodies and enjoying it is extreme.  Mr. Ashbrook mentions in the introduction that ,"... things change, and suddenly vegans and veganism seem to be everywhere. Some Americans going all the way.  Some toe-dipping. It’s a remarkable moment, a remarkable shift."  PLEASE take a few minutes to listen to this interview, and let me know what you think!  You can email me at jocelynshaffer@hotmail.com!
Here is the interview:
Vegans Take America

Chili Pot

Woah baby, it's COLD outside!  Wherever you are in the world, veganism is a super choice.  In this part of the world, right now, it's cold.  Like, really cold.  When I lived in New Zealand, it never got this cold.  But now that I live in Northern Virginia in the US, the winters are mighty frozen.  One of my favorite meals to put together on a cold winter day is a large pot of chili.  Homemade chili is delicious, hot, and one of the most filling meals I have ever had.  I have tried many different recipes, and my own is my favorite!  Try playing around with it, it is fun to experiment.

Anti-Winter Chili

2 cups of sauteed bell peppers and onions

1 16 ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes

2 packages of Tempeh

1 can each of black beans, red kidney beans, and white beans

1 package of mild chili seasoning mix 

olive oil

  First, put a little olive oil into a pan and saute your onions and peppers...DO NOT limit yourself to just onions and peppers though!  Sometimes I throw in whatever leftover frozen vegetables I have in the freezer.  They are all good, especially mushrooms.  Leftover hash browns are also good! 

  Then, put all the beans, undrained, into a big pot.  Don't over-think it, just use a big pot.  I use the liquid from the beans instead of water because it is thicker and my husband likes a hearty chili.  Pour about half the liquid from the tomatoes in and cut each tomato into 2-3 pieces.  Put 'em in the pot.  Crumble the tempeh and add that to the pot along with the sauteed veggies.  Stir really well and then add the chili seasoning.  The prep time on this meal is SUPER fast and the results are amazing.  I like to cook a pot of elbow macaroni to go with it.  Put about a half cup of macaroni in the bottom of the bowl and then cover it with chili.  You can also serve this with some choice vegan cornbread.  I use Jiffy cornbread mix and veganize it with EnerG Egg replacer.  It is very, very good!

Warm Wishes

 We hope that you had a wonderful holiday season and wish you a happy new year, wherever you are!

Interview: Vegan Nutritionist

While I was at the Green Festival in Washington D.C., I had the pleasure of interviewing Mark E. Rifkin, MS, RD, LDN.  He is a vegan nutritionist at Preventative Nutrition Services, which provides in-home and other nutrition services to the Baltimore-Metro area.  He gave me some sound advice for vegans, the same advice that he gives to his clients.  One of the most important tips was to plan meals ahead of time and cook on the weekends.  I mentioned that I never seemed to have time to cook whole foods during the week and on busy nights I often will rely on veggie burgers, stir-fry, or spaghetti.  While these things are fine, we can optimize our nutrition by cooking larger portions of whole foods on the weekends and then freezing or storing them for meals throughout the week.  Collard greens, tofu, beans, and other grains should store well and it will save a lot of time to prepare them in advance.  One grain the Mark recommended highly was Barley, which has way more fiber and protein than brown rice.  Another tip that most vegans have heard is to take that Vitamin B12.  I mentioned that I am always tired on weeknights!  Well, I am super-busy (c'mon, who isn't?) but cooking ahead and making sure vitamin levels are in-check is really important for energy levels!  Take a multi-vitamin, your body will thank you in the long run.  Also, get more iron (read: eat beans and spinach!) and be sure you are getting plenty of vitamin C along with that to aid iron absorption.  Finally, those kids will always wear you out, whether you are a parent, caregiver, teacher, or ALL OF THE ABOVE!  Kids likes change frequently, so keep trying new dishes several times before you completely rule them out.  My kids do that all the time.  They will refuse to eat something the first 3-4 times I try it, but then something will change and they all of a sudden cannot get enough.  If you are in the Baltimore Metro area and would be interested in Mark Rifkin's services, email him at preventative_nutrition@verizon.net.