Good morning; afternoon; and evening friends and fans! Vegan or not to vegan, that is the question! In the last three years or so since I've made several dishes from 'Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker' by Robin Robertson and '125 Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes' by Judith Finlayson. Yet, my favorite recipe(s) to date are Spicy Black Beans and Rice with Mangoes from Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker and Rigatoni and Cheese from '125 Vegetarian Slow Cooker' At the end of the day, going vegetarian or vegan doesn't sound very appetizing to most people because people have this general idea that you're going to still feel hungry once when you've eaten a vegan/vegetarian meal and I'm certain that it's not true but don't be fooled because never judge a book by its cover (or knock the idea of vegan/vegetarian food) by assuming that you'd still "feel" hungry. However, go around asking friends or family if they're a vegan or vegetarian and ask them on several different occasions to prepare you some vegan meals. Yes, I realize there are people who are skeptical when it comes to eating vegan and the idea of going vegan sounds much healthier than eating meats. If I ever go vegan, I am going to miss eating ice cream or unless if vegan ice cream exist and if no vegan ice-cream exists then I'm sure I could survive life without any dairy based product such as ice cream or yogurt or being able to eat cereal or anything with dairy for that matter! I want to eat junk food without much guilt on what type of junk food I put into my body and come to think of it, I should try the vegan cheesecake. But however, my personal reason on why I would go vegan are for health reasons and no, I do not have diabetes or heart disease or anything of that nature (thank you very much for asking) but I want to feel healthier than I already am! That's my personal decision on why I would go vegan.“I think that veganism is totally great choice with incredible benefits, but I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect other people to be vegan. You can proselytize all you want, but being vegan is a pretty intense choice for a lot of people.” ~ Adam Conover
If you're planning on checking out vegetarian restaurants in the New York City area, check out Maoz Vegetarian (I've been to Maoz on 7th Avenue and another location on Union Square East) and their Vegan Rice Pudding is awesome (if you're a Rice Pudding fan)! Their orange juice is totally fresh and their soups aren't bad either. I've had Maoz's Hummus, Egg & Eggplant (sandwich) on whole wheat pita and it's pretty filling! I have also tried their Split Pea soup and carrot soup, not bad. My next vegan dish I plan on trying is Vegan Shawarma from Maoz Vegetarian and I'm going to search for vegan/vegetarian restaurants here in New York. It's going to be a challenge to search for any vegan/vegetarian restaurants here in the New York City area and I know of a vegetarian restaurant in the Jamaica section of Queens on 164th Street right off Hillside Avenue. I plan on trying Annam Brahma Restaurant when time permits. There is always Google search and I'm sure there'll be plenty of vegan restaurants here in Queens and Manhattan. I'm a semi-vegetarian, meaning, I still eat meat but not all meats (I'll still eat chicken and some fish if it's in a form of sushi) and I'll still have ice cream, milk or yogurt. The only exception that I'll make when it comes to pork are Roast Pork buns from TaiPan Bakery and Chinese styled spare ribs! I consider myself more of a Pollotarian, meaning that I'm a "semi-vegetarian" but I'll eat certain meats and more information is on Vegetarian Nation on the different types of vegetarian diets out there.
“I’ve never followed a vegan or vegetarian diet in the past, but I think I could do it. It would not be easy. I have worked with nutritionists who have said a vegan diet is not necessarily all positive for your health, because you need nutrients you only find in meats. I believe in a balanced diet.” ~ Joel Robuchon
I was scrolling down on my Facebook page and came across a post from z100 on 24 Junk Foods That Are Accidentally Vegan, many of them I was very surprised because I've never thought of any of them being "Vegan" friendly. One item that got me very surprised was Red Bull because I drink Red Bull and I'm a Red Bull fiend but I honestly do need to lay off on energy drinks in general or I would end up with diabetes if I am not careful. I'm not sure if this is relatable to the topic/subject of Vegan or Not to Vegan! In some weird way, I suppose this is somewhat relatable to the subject mater of vegan or being in your own bubble of where you're a semi vegetarian or vegan but then still consume [certain] meats and dairy products. Anyway, some of the items listed in the "vegan" list I'm a fan of, such as the Oreos and once in the blue, the Swedish Fish and the Sour Patch [candies]. Yet, I would have never second guessed that these 2 junk foods are accidentally vegan and nor would it have crossed my mind at all! Yet, who knew that your favorite guilty pleasure for these junk foods are vegan friendly!
“It takes a little work to be a vegan, but now it’s really possible to have tasty stuff and it’s better for you. I say the best test is to go as far as you can and see how you feel. Personally, I feel great.” ~ Grace Slick
I have been hearing about raw vegan meals and I honestly don't know much about raw vegan but I would be willing to try The Fully Challenge and The 21 Day Vegan Cleanse Challenge. In contrast, I haven't read many articles on the risks of doing the whole raw vegan diet and I've found one article on Reality Check: 5 Risks of Raw Vegan Diet. I haven't found many vegan cookbooks or even cookbooks on raw vegan at the public libraries. One of the few vegan cookbooks I've seen at the library was '1,000 Vegan Recipes' by Robin Robertson and it's one of the few books I plan on borrowing from the library in the near future. Another book I've seen at Barnes and Noble was 'PETA's Vegan College Cookbook' by PETA. I've seen cookbooks on raw vegan and as of now, I wish I could "swear" by raw vegan but I can't because I honestly haven't tried raw vegan meals. Once when I've read up on raw vegan and have more of an understanding what raw vegan is then I'll give it a try for about a month or so. I'm not afraid to try raw vegan (meaning, would I be able to find raw vegan friendly restaurants when I'm not home, for example, vacation, out on a date, out with friends, etc.)? I'm concerned that if I were to go on dates and there aren't many vegan friendly restaurants out there but I suppose you'd have to know where to go. Where can I go for more information on raw vegan other than Google?
Jennifer
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