Crazy for Memes

Juicy

For Christmas we got a juicer.  My husband had been wanting one for a very long time, he was pretty much convinced that it would change his life.  Like, that serious.  So when we opened that box with the juicer inside, he was...well, like a KID at Christmas.  Update: It's now June.  I am not a big fan of the juicer, personally.  My biggest problem is that I just don't understand why we need to even have juice.  I prefer to eat my fruit whole, honestly.  And drink water or tea.  I felt like we had to have a LOT of fruit to get a wee little bit of juice.  What the heck, juicer!?!?  And the kids hated it.  Like, they genuinely would rather have water than the "weird" juice that Mommy made.  Sigh!  Ok, so picky kids and thrifty mom aside, if you watched the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead like I did, you can kind of see how the juicing lifestyle would be a life saver for those who are currently eating themselves to death.  For us, it just didn't fly.  Plus, juicers are hard to clean and kind of messy.  You be the judge.  In my PERSONAL opinion, you would be wise to borrow one and try it for a couple weeks before investing the money.  I am not knocking what could be a potentially very healthy choice, but it is quite a commitment if you want it to "change your life".  PS: Guess who has NOT made any juice as of yet?  Husband.  Nuff said.

Pierogies Done Fast

 I used to LOVE pierogies when I was a teenager.  My brother, sister and I would make a whole box and just eat that for dinner on any given night, especially when we were in a hurry.  I wanted to make a vegan version for my own family, but all the recipes that I saw were a bit...ummm....complicated.  Ain't nobody got time for that!  So I mulled this one over and decided that if I could just make the dough, then I could fill the pierogies with instant mashed potatoes and then boil them.  This was very effective and turned out to be pretty quick and easy.  Here is the dough recipe that I used followed by my own assembly instructions: 
Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus flour for dusting the work surface
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sunflower oil
• 1 cup water
• Box of instant mashed potatoes
• Optional: Diced onions, nutritional yeast

Preparation:

1. Combine flour, salt, oil and water in large bowl, and mix until dough forms a ball. If dough is dry, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until moist. If dough is sticky, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it's smooth.
2. On a floured work surface, knead dough 3 or 4 minutes or until elastic. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 
3. Make a pot of instant mashed potatoes, maybe about 4 servings.  You can dice up onions and add them if you want.  You could even mix in a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor.  Let the potatoes cool before using.
4. Roll out the dough flat and cut into circles that are maybe 8 inches in diameter.  It depends on how big you want them.  I will leave that up to you.  Put a dollop of potatoes in the middle of each circle and fold the edges around the potatoes so that it looks like a semi-circle.  Pinch the edges together so they stick.  Once you have finished making the pierogies, put them in a pot to boil for about 3 minutes.  When they float they are done, but be careful because they don't always float.  That might be a myth even, I am not convinced.
5. You can serve them with vegan sour cream or even salsa or marinara.  Get creative, they are good with pretty much anything.  Some people fry them in oil once they are cooked through.  Before you fry them, you can actually freeze them and they keep for 3-6 months. 

Get the kids to help, it'd be hard to mess this one up!

When the moon hits your eye like a big...

Pizza Pie!  My family and I went on vacation to South Carolina, USA this year and we discovered a groovy new place to eat...Mellow Mushroom Pizza!  We checked out the menu online and were really excited to see tempeh, tofu, seitan, and Daiya cheeses on the "create your own pizza" list!  Woah, it was like my kids had died and gone to pizza heaven.  ANY cheese or protein could be substituted for something vegan.  They also can make salads, calzones, hoagies, and even have appetizers that cater to veg needs.  As you can see by the photo, my kids were so happy and we ate there more than once during our stay!  If you are living or traveling in the USA, there are many locations, especially on the East coast.  Check out Mellow Mushroom's website to see if there is a location near you and to view the menu.  If you aren't near a Mellow Mushroom, you can always gather ingredients at your local grocery and make your own :-)  Sometimes, your own is simply the best!

Sleepover Solutions

Mobs of kids take over my living room.

So my kids are at the age where sleepovers have become pretty common.  Sometimes they are even last minute, which would drive any parent over the edge, but when you have a vegan kid, it poses a whole new set of problems.  I always make sure that I know the families where my kids are spending the night.  I have actually refused to let my kids spend the night somewhere because I didn't know them very well.  I know, I'm totally uncool...but I'm OK with that!!  Anyhow, because I know the families, they are usually aware of the fact that my kids have dietary restrictions.  Pretty often, they are kind enough to buy things like veggie burgers or Oreo cookies to have on hand.  Typically, though, I send an "overnight survival pack".  In addition to the sleeping bag and change of clothes, I pack something for them to eat for dinner, something for them to have in place of birthday cake if needed, and something to eat for breakfast.  And I always make sure well ahead of time that they know that I intend to send stuff.  I have NEVER gotten any grief from the host family...ever.  And if I did, I would really question who my kids were hanging out with.  I think having an emergency food backup is a great idea for ANY vegan on the go, cause you just never know what is going to happen.  Life is frustrating enough...don't tackle it hungry :-)

Big Fat Vegan Radio

I have posted about podcasts before, but not since the inception of my new favorite, Big Fat Vegan Radio!  I have been listening to this podcast since the summer, and not only is it informational, but it is so so SOO funny.  The hosts are Laura Yaz (entertainment writer and former stand-up comedian) and Ben Strothman (AKA Honey LaBronx, The Vegan Drag Queen).  Laura and Ben have a great thing going, for sure.  Some vegan podcasts can be a little dry, but this one will keep you listening because they speak to each other with the warmth and humor of old friends, and I always feel like I am sitting down with some good vegan friends who just want to talk.  I often listen to BFVR while I am cooking.  And let me tell you, after a long day of wrangling elementary school children, they are the perfect comic relief!  I LOVE their reviews and interviews as well.  Now, as far as kids are concerned, this might not be one that you would want you kids to listen to.  It is not explicit, but it is not really kid-friendly either.  Listen to a few episodes before you play it around children.  As always, you know your kids best.  To find out more about BFVR, click here.  And enjoy!

Apple Dumplings

 My husband's grandmother has always lived on a farm.  Her cooking is simple but filling.  I have posted her pot pie recipe before.  Last winter she shared a recipe with us that I am in LOVE with!  It is very easy to veganize.  Pillsbury crescent rolls are vegan already (check the label!), but I buy the store brand.  Then of course I substitute regular butter with Earth Balance vegan butter, which is available most places, even WalMart.  It is mouth-watering and was a great addition to my holiday table!

Veggie Awards Flash!

I LOVE VegNews Magazine!  I love it so much that I begged my local grocery to carry it for two years and they finally started carrying it a year ago.  For over five years I have waited in anticipation of VegNews' yearly Veggie Awards...the best of the year for the Veg world.  You must pick up a copy or subscribe for the full details (so worth it), but here are some of the highlights from the 2012 awards, as voted for by VegNews Readers!

Person of the Year: The Vegan Athlete (Many were profiled in the article)
Restaurant of the Year:  Vedge in Philadelphia
Product of the Year:  Victoria Vegan Sauces
Company of the Year: VEGA (like, the vitamins)
NonProfit of the Year: Humane Society of the US
Book of the Year:  The Lucky Ones by Jenny Brown
 There was also a section of the Veggie Awards dedicated to highlighting some of the newest vegan celebrities on the scene, which I found interesting!  New to the vegan list this year are:
Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor
Anne Hathaway
Scarlett Johansson
Mischa Barton
Michelle Pfeiffer
Larry Hagman (of Dallas fame!)
Rosie O'Donnell
Chaka Khan

Time Flies!

I cannot believe it, but this month marks our FIVE year anniversary as vegans!  I guess five years in kid years is a long time...my two don't remember being omnivores.  My youngest was breast fed for a year, and when we went vegan he was only two, so this lifestyle is pretty embedded in him.  It's certainly not always easy, and we do miss out on what the "Joneses" are doing every once in a while (although we have never been too concerned with what the Joneses are doing...they don't look like they are having any fun and they are always a little grouchy), but it's just such a part of now that I cannot imagine living any other way!  Everyone benefits!  Let's put this into perspective with a handy-dandy statistic (from Vegan Heights):

Water saved in one year by being vegan - 1,400,000 gallons

Water saved by 4 people being vegan for 5 years - 280,000,000 gallons

Shocked?

Paula Deen, stuffing her face.

It has recently come out in the news that Paula Deen, the Queen of Southern Cooking (whom I have dubbed the Master of the Lard) has Type 2 Diabetes.  I cannot say that I am surprised that she has the disease, she probably eats her own deep fried macaroni and cheese.  But I am disappointed that rather than take advantage of this to promote a healthier diet and lifestyle, she has teamed up with a pharmaceutical company to push drugs. C'mon Paula, get real.  My only hope is that people take a lesson from this and choose to better their own lives because she is a bad example and a terrible role model.  My guess is that many will just use her as an excuse as to why they "can eat whatever they want".  Only time will tell.  For more information, try this link to DiabetesMine.

Guest Post: Women's Image

Here is something new at Vegan Family Values: a guest post!  This was written by my husband, Mike Neese, in response to an unfortunate post that we viewed via FaceBook. 
When seen as a joke in passing, I can see the humor, but when the implication is taken seriously this becomes propaganda.

 

 Jokes aside, justifying an argument based on one example is fruitless. Second using women’s beauty as a metric to validate a point of view is not just stupid, but insulting. I mention this only because I have seen this same picture comparison for women as liberal, conservative, republican, and democrat. To that end not only is it offensive and propaganda, but exploitative, and sends the message to women that they are both ugly for what they believe, and that their attractiveness is more important than their beliefs. Third this is an unfair comparison, using cherry picked photographs to “prove” a point; using an airbrushed glamor image of one and a candid/real image of the other.
 I suppose I could start posting actual research on the benefits of veganism to individual health, like the evidence shows:
Vegans have lower total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides, while having about the same HDL cholesterol as Lacto-Ovo and Non-Veg.
Vegans have lower rates of high blood pressure than Lacto-Ovo and Non-Veg.
Vegans have a lower BMI and body fat percentage than Lacto-Ovo and Non-Veg. People who have been vegan for more than 5 years have the lowest BMI of all diet groups studied here.

Or the many other interesting things found here at Vegan Health but my guess is if you are taking life style advice from anonymous picture posting on the internet I should just post pictures of ugly people for you to laugh at, clearly this is acceptable behavior.
My apologies for the rant, but these images irk me on two levels, first propaganda (which is basically a form of lying) and second the exploitation/degradation of women.  Honestly people have enough of a hard time making informed choices without funny lies floating around, and women have a hard enough time battling self image issues with current media standards without having their belief system tied into the mix.
Food for thought:

Vegan (and healthy)

Not vegan (clearly this road goes both ways)