Wedding Fare

Photo booth madness!

 A few months ago, my cousin got married, and we are all so happy for her and her new husband, who we all like very much!  The wedding was one of the most lovely I have ever been to...but we were of course a little worried about the food situation.  My brother and his wife are also vegan and vegetarian (respectively), so they was a nice little crew of us who were waiting with baited breath to see what would be on the menu.  We were ASTOUNDED when it came time to eat and there were options for us!  I think I actually cried a little.  There was a stuffed squash and noodle and veggie dish that was amazing.  On the buffet there were grilled (like, really fresh and grilled, not just overheated) summer vegetables, hummus and pita bread, and even a mashed potato bar with a separate bowl of mashed potatoes just for us!  And to top that all off...the caterer made VEGAN CUPCAKES for us.  I am pretty sure it was the same recipe that I use from Isa's book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World.  They were yummy, we were all full and so happy, and the wedding was like a dream.  Because we were not hungry, we were able to dance all night and really enjoy ourselves too!  The catering company is called Chef by Design Catering Company in Virginia Beach, VA.  I HIGHLY recommend them, I was very impressed!    Additionally, my general suggestion is to NOT be afraid to speak up about your dietary needs when you RSVP for a wedding or similar event, because you might just be pleasantly surprised (or in my case...mind-blown!).

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 :-)

Lovely Puerto Rico

 I just got back from a wonderful trip to Puerto Rico to celebrate my sister's birthday...it was amazing and, of course, sweltering!  I loved it!  I cannot stand cold weather and snow, so I had the time of my life just baking.  I also ate some very good food.  I have the Happy Cow app on my iPhone, so I did some searches for some good places to eat!  The following is a photo diary of some of my culinary experiences while staying in San Juan, PR.  If you might be traveling to Puerto Rico in the future or are thinking of finding a place to vacation, check out the choices at Happy Cow.

The first thing I did was go to the grocery store, the Super Maxx.  NO JOKE this was the freezer section.  I decided that since there was an enourmous selection of vegan foods at the grocery (in addition to countless ethnic and local foods), I want to move to Puerto Rico.  That and, did I mention it's HOT?

We ate at a wonderful restaurant call the Cafe Berlin in Old San Juan.  I had the vegetarian "steak" with vegetables and it was so filling and delicious.  They had a LOT of vegan/veg choices on the menu, and if we had been there for longer, I would have tried to make it to the brunch.  Also, a little old man serenaded me with his guitar.  Bonus points.

At the Super Maxx, I bought a can of vegan "skallops".  I was curious, so I thought that I would take them home.  Well, they never made it home because one night we were so tired that we ate at the hotel restaurant.  I did not want to eat hummus again (yes, you can have too much of a good thing), so I went out on a limb and brought the waiter the can of "skallops" and asked him if he could do something with it.  This is what I got.  It was amazing.  Thank you Hosteria Del Mar!

For my sister's birthday, we ate at a lovely eatery called The Garden.  I had the curried tofu with jasmine rice.  It was so good, I am so glad that there are so many places that I can eat at in Puerto Rico.  Almost too many...I am seriously going to have to hit the gym hard this week.

Sidenote: There are some places that you should never eat.  This is one of them.  If you see a string of roadside "cafe's" that have their food sitting out and basically look shady, go to Subway of Burger King.  Your stomach will thank you.

Read Your Labels!

I am a busy mom and a full-time teacher...I love to cook and do it regularly, but it absolutely thrills me when I find a product that is yummy and makes me proud to serve it to my family.  That's why I read labels!  It's like a treasure hunt at the grocery store, and I typically find what I am looking for.  For example, recently I started craving cinnamon rolls.  Made a batch from scratch...took forever.  I felt good about it but I cannot do that frequently, I just do not have time.  So I kept thinking that there MUST be something at the grocery store...I was right!  After reading the labels for several different brands of easy bake cinnamon rolls, I found that the store brand was exactly what I was looking for.  You see, many of the everyday products that people eat are, in fact, vegan and they do not even realize it.  Potato chips, oreos, pastas, you name it.  So I read a LOT of labels, and it does take time.  But that's OK, because finding those products that are quick and easy but good for my ethics saves me time in the long run.  I love it when I can whip up a hot and wholesome meal...after working all day, picking up the kids from swim training, and squeaking home around 5:30 pm.  Just be careful, when you are reading those labels, there are a few key words you want to avoid that a lot of people do not usually recognize: sugar, rennet, lard, sodium, bha, caffeine, caramel, carrageenan, calcium disodium, lactic acid, maltol dextrin, modified food starch, mono-and diglycercides, monosodium glutamate(msg), nitrites, polysorbate, propyl gallate, red dye 40, saccharin, aspartame, & GUMS-arabic,cellulose,xanthan gums.

Gluten-Free Vegan?

Gluten-free vegan chocolate chip pancakes.

Being vegan is more challenging than the average American diet...it's more challenging than just shoving whatever looks good into your mouth!  You have to put some thought into what you are going to eat, how it is going to be prepared, when you are going to eat, and even why you are going to eat it.  After any major change to your life, though, you get used to it and it is no big deal anymore.  That is what happened to my vegan family.  We have been vegan for almost 5 years now, and it is really just second nature...we know what we are doing, haha!  So I was in the nice groove at home, I knew exactly what I wanted to get at the grocery unless I was trying a new recipe here and there, and life was good, smooth sailing.
Now, insert daughter with stomach/digestive problems.  We had already given up milk because of a lactose intolerance (we gave up dairy before we even gave up meat or eggs!)...what's a mom to do?  I made a doctor's appointment, but that is still weeks away.  Something that seemed to help a lot of people with stomach issues is a gluten-free (GF) diet.  RED FLAGS: we eat a LOT of wheat products...even gluten just by itself (seitan, beautiful seitan!).  But I felt like I HAD to try something before the doctor.  I did some research and found that my little vegan's symptoms were very similar to those exhibited by those with a wheat intolerance.  So I decided to try it for a week, and the results were undeniable.  She said that after a few days, her constant stomach aches and gas were gone...that was enough for me, but she looked less bloated as well.  So it has been 2 weeks and she is doing great, although you can tell right away if she accidentally eats something with wheat in it!
So WHAT, you may ask, are you possibly giving that child to eat that is vegan AND GF?  Well, it is not as hard as I though it would be, although her choices have been significantly reduced.  We have a great local grocery that has several sections of GF products from crackers and cereal to pasta and bread.  If we have stir fry and noodles, she has stir-fry with rice.  If we have tacos with Boca grounds, I might make her some separate filling with rice or Textured Soy Protein.  On a typical day she eats corn chex and fruit for breakfast, has PB&J on tapioca-flour bread, potato chips, and apples for lunch, and for dinner we substitute a lot.  It just takes a little extra thinking, but it is worth it in the end.  A happy kid means a happy mom, gluten-free vegan or not!

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.