Vegan Pizza, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

I haven't done a vegan food blog in a while so I turned my lunch into a photo shoot. Pizza shell, garlic pasta sauce, carrots, tomatoes, onions, squash, zucchini, broccoli, and cheese-like shreds made without dairy. It was a one-man show but, I did need some help in chopping the broccoli into small pieces.........



.....so I called on a couple lumberjack friends to assist.



This guy didn't do very much work but........



....since he was rockin' the north-woods-flannel-shirt look, I'm glad he stopped by to help.

Whole Food, Plant-based Eating, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Whole food, plant-based eating has been shown to be the best and healthiest diet for humans.  Not to mention the benefits to the animals and the planet.  I repeat: whole food, plant-based eating has been shown to be the best and healthiest diet for humans.

If you'd like to read more about that rather provocative opening statement, see "The China Study," a book by Cornell University professor T. Colin Campbell based on a comprehensive nutrition study conducted over a 20-year period jointly by the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, Cornell University, and the University of Oxford. The book itself has sold more than one million copies since its publication in 2006 and is one of the most popular publications on nutrition in the world.

In a nutshell, it questions and then scientifically upends the current belief in the animal-protein-based diet currently embraced by the Western world.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand: here's a whole food, plant-based pizza. Start with a thin whole wheat crust (store-bought or made from scratch), brushed with olive oil and tomato garlic sauce, ground basil and oregano, a layer of ground-beef-like-crumbles (store-bought, made with soy and other vegetable protein sources), zucchini, squash, green beans, and not-cheese (a mozzarella-like product made with vegetable sources). Bake for 9 minutes, top with avocado or guacamole and eat. Tasty and healthy! And no sentient creature died in the making.



What could be better?

Vegan Food, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Here is another installment in my occasional series on "what do vegans eat?" In this case, a whole wheat pizza crust brushed with olive oil, topped with tomato sauce, mild spices, peppers and onions, tomatoes, broccoli, corn, carrots, spinach, non-dairy mozzarella-like shreds, and always..........



....lots of avocado. Yum!



Another dish on another day was julienne zucchini and yellow squash, tomatoes - both sundried and grape, sweet potato, pine nuts, all splashed with lime juice arranged on a bed of lettuce. (And of course, avocado).



For dessert, raspberries with coconut whipped cream and pine nuts. More yum!  And the flowers?......



.... are chamomile - not actually food but, good for making tea.

The website "Veggieful" had a recent article about some of the science behind the vegan diet. Please check it out at this link.

It is possible to eat very well without participating in the wholesale and unsustainable world-wide slaughter of animals.

A Vegan Thanksgiving, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Thanksgiving in the United States was originally celebrated as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. Nowadays, it usually involves a big meal with a cooked turkey as the centerpiece.

In our home, we choose not to eat animals or animal products - turkeys included. We believe it's healthier for us, the planet, and certainly the animals! The above image is our main course for Thanksgiving Dinner - the big log-looking thing in the dish is a Hazelnut Cranberry Roast.



We had never tried this one before and I must say, it was a great improvement over other products we've tried over the years.  It has a great texture and taste and made a great focal point for the dinner. (And a good conversation piece for our non-vegan guests).



Accompaniments included roasted vegetables - potatoes, asparagus, red peppers, cauliflower, and....



....a quinoa-based salad with carrots, garbanzo beans, avocado, and corn among other veggies.




And the leftovers the next day were the best!

Many of you have asked about my vegan posts - some with the classic question, "how do you get enough protein without eating meat and dairy?"  The following link contains a very well written answer: http://www.forksoverknives.com/slaying-protein-myth/

Spoiler alert: the following is my lecture about being vegan. Stop now if you don't want to learn more.

Being a vegan is not a club where you get a gold star for joining. And I'm not trying to be a salesman for a vegan diet or otherwise sell some product or widget. Rather, I am trying to make a positive contribution to the world by spreading information. Simply put, a vegan diet is healthier for us humans, for the animals we don't kill to eat, and for the planet that we don't harm to support inhumane and destructive animal farming.

Raising and slaughtering billions of animals is not a sustainable path for our planet. It is not okay to support the wholesale slaughter of billions of living and feeling creatures because we like the taste of their cooked (or raw) flesh. It just isn't right. It's not right that we keep them in horrible conditions in factory farms that additionally create excrement-laden runoff that damages water and other ecosystems both locally and downstream in the watershed.

The photos above show good wholesome food that didn't involve caged, abused, farmed, and slaughtered animals. I like that feeling, I like that idea as a way of life, I like what it portends for a planet that seeks to be its best self.

There's a reason that many humans like to eat so much food - it tastes good and we like that. Eating is one of life's greatest pleasures. But we need to THINK more about what we eat.

You'll never be able to experience the benefits of a vegan diet if you don't "get" the whole idea about the connection between the suffering and death of animals for food and the core awareness of who and what we are as humans on this planet.

Farming and killing billions of animals is not okay - especially for the millions of people who profess to be "animal lovers."

People once believed the earth was flat.

People once believed the sun revolved around the earth.

People once believed that mistreating, killing, and eating animals was a good idea.

Vegan Food, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

This is another post in my occasional series about what do vegans eat?

This dish includes whole wheat rotini pasta, with steamed broccoli, zucchini, tomatoes, snap peas, green peas, roasted corn, tomato and garlic pasta sauce, topped with cheese-like vegan shreds and roasted pine nuts. Yum!

Vegan Food, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

This is another post in my occasional series about what do vegans eat?  

In this case, it's a vegan version of the classic hamburger.  Whole wheat bread/bun, lettuce, sliced tomatoes, a vegan burger-style patty, topped with red peppers and garlic with cheese-like vegan shreds. Accompaniments include avocado and blueberries. Yum! All I need is some sweet potato fries to go with it!

It is not difficult to enjoy a vegan diet. More and more stores offer more and more vegan products with each passing year as more and more people decide they want to improve their own health and well-being, the health and well-being of animals, and the health and well-being of our planet.

Vegan Food, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Here's another post in my occasional series about "what do vegans eat?" The answer is: almost anything and everything that doesn't involve animals and animal products. And no, I didn't eat the flowers.

The particular salad contains: lettuce, spinach, tomatoes marinated with garlic and onions, roasted peppers, marinated artichokes, pine nuts, cashews, avocados, cheese-like shreds (made from plants rather than milk), olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

And of course, no animals were harmed in the making of this meal!

Note: images made with cellphone.

Vegan Lunch, Associazione Culturale Gioia di Vivere, San Macario, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy

Amy arranged for her photo tour group to attend and photograph a traditional Italian dinner but, it was also non-traditional in that it was an all-vegan dinner. 

The menu board.

Great tasting and healthful food in a country that loves good food is a great combination.

The vegan chef preparing one of the courses.

Vegetable Gathering, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

These vegetables are enjoying some late afternoon winter sunshine before becoming part of another delicious vegan meal. (The zoom-burst effect was added in post-processing - it's not practically possible to manually zoom-burst my point-and-shoot camera). 

Vegan Pizza, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

This is another post in my occasional series about "what do vegans eat?" Simply put, everything except animals and animal products. 

For this meal, I started with a cornmeal crust pizza shell, spread a layer of tomato/pasta sauce, added some Italian herbs/spices, red pepper flakes, black beans, green peas, scallions, a veggie patty cut into cubes, and vegan "cheese" (a cheese-like product made from tapioca and arrowroot).

After baking at 425, I added sliced tomatoes, avocado chunks, and chopped spinach.

Of course, I realize this isn't a very "normal" pizza. (A man I used to work with called it sacrilege when I put avocado on pizza - only three-cheese and pepperoni are acceptable in his world). This was more of a situation where I opened the fridge and said, what's left in here that I can throw together and call a pizza?  The answer as you've probably guessed is - pretty much anything without animals! 

For more posts about what this vegan eats, type "Vegan Food" in the search box in the right side column of this bog.

Boston Vegetarian Society 19th Annual Food Festival, Roxbury Crossing, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

This giant cow welcomes visitors to the recent 19th Annual Boston Vegetarian Society's (BVS) Food Festival held at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Roxbury Crossing. The BVS, founded in 1986, exists to help people, animals, and the environment by promoting the vegetarian way of life.

I have attended this free event multiple times over the years and it is always buzzing with thousands of eager attendees.  Visitors can sample free food offered by many of the vendors, learn about vegetarian and vegan lifestyles, and/or attend lectures from well known speakers.  The free speakers present on the hour throughout both afternoons of the festival. It's a great event to wander around, talk to folks, and see and feel what a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle is all about.

The meeting rooms are jammed to capacity for the speakers during the two-day event.

Pictured above signing one of his books is T. Colin Campbell, PhD, author of the best-selling book, "The China Study." He is a Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University. That book, "The China Study," for me personally, more than any other book I read, clearly articulated the validity and rationality of the vegan life choice.  It really resonated and remains as "the foundation" for my vegan journey in life. Simply put, I do not want nor need to kill animals for my sustenance. Seated at right is Evelyn Kimber, the president of the Boston Vegetarian Society.

Just outside the entrance to the venue, this band provided live entertainment. Pretty clever - a completely self-contained performance vehicle - stage, power, audio - all inside a completely mobile pick-up truck that stopped at the curb, set up, and started making music.

As I was leaving, I captured this image of a woman skateboarding by the entrance to the festival. I like the motion, subtly captured by the few strands of hair by her ear being blown horizontal as she speeds by me. 

Vegan Chopped Salad

Here's another post in my occasional series about, "what do vegans eat?"  This dish contains farro (a nutty flavored ancient grain), yellow tomatoes, cilantro, mint, scallions, black-eyed peas, carrots, finely diced tomato and onion salsa, shredded spinach, a taste of pineapple salsa, all on a warm corn tortilla.  Half an avocado diced was the final topping. Enjoying healthful and tasty food does not require the killing and eating of animals.

Vegan Pizzas, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Here's another post in my occasional series about "what do vegans eat?"  Here I have a corn crust pizza shell, with tomato/pasta sauce and herbs/spices, chopped spinach, sweet potato, broccoli, zucchini, asparagus, red pepper flakes, and vegan "cheese" ready to go into the oven. The flower was just to make it prettier and "artsy" for this portrait, I didn't eat it.

A side salad of sliced tomatoes and guacamole was a worthy accompaniment.

And just a few days later, another one - this time, asparagus was the main vegetable, with added squash, zucchini, and spinach, and the usual vegan "cheese" and herbs/spices - (all the flowers had withered by then). 

Guacamole can be topically applied to each bite. There aren't many foods on the planet that I can't add guac to - it is, after all, now and always, Guac-O'clock.

Guacamole Update, Puerto Aventuras, Quintana Roo, Riviera Maya, Mexico

The above represents the fixings for three large batches of guacamole: 27 avocados, 6 jalapeños, 6 small tomatoes, 2 red onions, 3 limes, 1 bunch of cilantro, and salt.  The purchase price was 275 pesos  or approximately $21 USD.  When I return home I intend to price out the same quantity and quality and see what it costs in Massachusetts. It will be a lot more than $21 USD.

The end result sure is tasty though. Cumulatively, the count now stands at 331 avos between 1/1/14 and 2/19/14, usually the cost was in the 30-50 cents each range.

I am going to miss all this fresh produce when I return home to winter in the cold Northeast United States. Of course, we do have modern supermarkets with fresh food delivered all the time but, it's just not the same.

Guacamole, Puerto Aventuras, Quintana Roo, Riviera Maya, Mexico

In 26 days, we have purchased and consumed 183 avocados for guacamole.  Yes, we like guacamole - and with avos here in Mexico costing anywhere from 25-50 cents each (USD), we are making the most of the great deal. (At home, they cost $1.00- $2.00 (USD) each depending on the season).  Note: we have had visitors and house guests so it's not like I ate it all myself.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack, guac is always a great food choice for us. Seven ingredients - avos, jalapeños, onion, tomato, lime, cilantro, and salt.

Guacamole makes an excellent companion to bean, rice, and salsa tacos with a side of julienne veggies. I bet you'd like a bite right now even if you are not a vegan.

Guacamole: A Vegan Treat

An astute observer of guacamole making will recognize 5 of the 7 ingredients in the photo above. (Missing is salt and cilantro). I tried using a soft focus effect on the photo but frankly, it just looks a bit blurry to me. Avocado count is at 56 in just the first week here, although they are sold by kilo weight, breaking it down per unit, the price has ranged from 30-50 cents US each depending on where they were purchased. Sure beats the range of 1-2 dollars US each we must pay in Massachusetts.

In my obsessive-compulsive method of guacamole making, the supporting cast (jalapeño, tomato, lime, salt, red onion, and cilantro),  has been chopped, diced and mixed thoroughly into a bowl to get to know each other and form a spiritual and magical bond of flavors.  The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. 

Meanwhile, the stars of the performance, the avocados, sit patiently waiting to join their supporting cast to make the orchestra complete.  Ah, guacamole.... my love.... my life.......your creamy smoothness and fiery bite so excite my palate...... you, my Mexican lover......ahhhhhhhhhhhh. 

Okay, yes, I have gone a bit too far - I'll stop now. I must go to the local farmer's market and buy more!

What Do Vegans Eat for Thanksgiving? Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

This post is another in my occasional series about, "what do vegans eat?" Specifically, for this Thanksgiving. I don't speak for all vegans but, I eat pretty much the same thing I eat throughout the year - healthful, mostly unprocessed food that doesn't involve the killing or exploiting of animals. Ever notice how pistachios look like little tiny papayas?

Fresh finger foods like pistachios and grapes are good for starters.

Roasted red peppers in olive oil and garlic either spread on bread or dipped with chips make great appetizers.

And the old stand-by, cranberry sauce - for dipping and/or serving with the main course.

The main course requires flatware which also makes a great photographic subject.

This year's main dish began with sauteing all these beans, greens, and veggies, then the dish was covered in a whole wheat biscuit crust and baked. (Thanks as always to chef Amy).

And for dessert, to accompany the obligatory pumpkin pie, this turkey wandered by in the yard.  Of course since he was made of milk chocolate (not vegan) and not made of dark chocolate (possibly vegan), we let him pass unharmed....yeah, sure we did. Happy Thanksgiving to all regardless of whether your culture celebrates this holiday - we all have much for which to be thankful!