Vegan Cooking & Cookbooks discussion

Here's a spot to chat! After all those great introductions I had so many questions so we can talk here and I won't clog up the intro thread.

Monica, are a Toronto native or did you just live here for a while? At Noah's did you ever eat in the little cafe on the side where they sold macrobiotic food? I used to know the couple that ran that about 20 years ago but I've forgotten their names.

Lee, You beat me to it by 1 minute. ;-)

Yes, we want to have a place for "digressions" and off (cookbooks) topic chatting.

Lee - I am from Minnesota but went to grad school at U of T in 1996-1997. I lived on Markham street, just down the road from Noahs...I used to eat at the cafe all the time! I actually went vegan the day I moved to Toronto (a goal I had set for myself). I had so much fun exploring veganism there...even 15 years ago Toronto seemed to be leaps and bounds above everywhere else. I love the TVA and the food fair is THE BEST.

Wow, that's so neat! I lived on St. George Street but it was a few years earlier but Noah's was a hang-out for me too. I went to the food fair this year for the first time. It was CRAZY! I can't believe how crowded and busy it was.

I seem to always be left with the same two vegetables at the back of my fridge every week and it's very often cabbage and cauliflower. Maybe I keep buying them because I think I should be eating more of those particular veggies. Does anyone else have this problem?

I'm now sitting here once again, combing through my recipe books looking for appealing cabbage or cauliflower recipes!

I love cauliflower in my curry recipes, Lee! Edited to add: Also makes a good creamy soup!

I sometimes end up with rotting produce but it's due to poorly organizing my refrigerator. I don't have bins. I should buy some portable ones.

For me, sometimes I want variety so I buy a bunch of vegetables and fruits and then realize that, unless I want to overeat, I have too much produce in the house.

Cauliflower soup is a good idea. I usually make broccoli but a change would be nice. I think we buy too much produce as well and I often forget about those two big items down on the bottom shelf at the back. Lately, I have tried roasting the cauliflower with a little balsamic vinegar and oil. That's pretty tasty!

Caulipots in Appetite for Reduction! Or for anyone who doesn't have the book, boil some potatoes and cauliflower, mash them together, and add seasonings and whatever else you like to add to mashed potatoes. I've made them twice - once mashed with a fork which left little chunks of everything, which is good if you really like cauliflower and the other time pureed in a food processor, which is good if you'd rather feel like you're eating just mashed potatoes and not potatoes and cauliflower. There were still a few chunks here and there but not like there were with mashing by hand.

Continuing the conversation from the intro thread...

Lisa wrote: "Lindsey, I also have been losing weight and need to lose much more also. I've had weight issues my entire life, but was doing really well until I hurt my knees nearly 7 years ago and stopped being able to exercise. Then, I gained a ton of weight. Since October 24th (my vegan anniversary, 16 years) I've been losing the weight I gained. ..."

I'm so sorry about your knees, Lisa! I know just how frustrating that is to need to lose weight but then know that you're missing out on half of the weight loss equation. I've had foot issues for almost two years, and it's really prevented me from getting as much exercise as I would like. I hit my max. weight Sept. 2009, and I've been losing very SLOWLY since then. There's only so much a food addict like me can do through diet, but I finally decided to try something I've never tried in my almost 20 years of dieting attempts: cutting out sweets, processed food (besides tofu, tempeh, seitan, plant milks, and condiments), and oil (1-2 teaspoons in a recipe is OK) until I get to my goal weight or pretty close to it. I've never cut myself off and have always tried to find a way to moderate my intake of rich foods and desserts. So far, so good. My only regret is having to limit which cookbooks I use :P

Lee wrote: And last but not least Lindsey! Lately, I have been on a similar journey and have cut out sugar from my diet in an effort to feel better and lose some weight. I can't wait to chat with you more about that.

Lee, that is a huge step cutting out sugar! Do you think you'll ever allow some back in your diet at a later time or did you decide to do that for good? I hope it's working out nicely for you so far!


Also, I just wanted to say that I absolutely love this group!!

Lindsey wrote: "Caulipots in Appetite for Reduction! Or for anyone who doesn't have the book, boil some potatoes and cauliflower, mash them together, and add seasonings and whatever else you like to add to mashed potatoes"

Lindsey, Oh, that recipe does look good; I have that book.

There's a vegan fast food place across the bay from me that has mashed poatoes-cauliflower with mushroom gravy. The one time I was there they were out so I didn't get to try their version. I had a black bean (homemade) burger southwest style with salsa and avocado and then some baked sweet potato fries. I definitely want to return there! Nature's Express in Berkeley: http://natures-express.com/menu/berke... (ETA: Just checked their menu and no longer see the mashed veggies, but I am hungry for a bunch of their food!)

Also, I just wanted to say that I absolutely love this group!!

Lindsey, I'm so happy. Me too! I hope everyone will enjoy it.

Lindsey wrote: "I'm so sorry about your knees, Lisa! I know just how frustrating that is to need to lose weight but then know that you're missing out on half of the weight loss equation."

Thanks. Yes, it's a challenge.

I'm glad you seem to be doing well, Lindsey. Slowly is fine! I hope your feet get better! Being able to exercise more would make it easier, and more fun too.

Lindsey, it has been a huge step and one I'd never thought I'd take as a sugar addict. My body really feels better without it even though I often still get that after dinner sweet craving. I sometimes eat raisins to satisfy that feeling. I also really enjoy baking and am still on the hunt for some healthier recipes so my family can continue to enjoy the occasional cake, cookies, muffins etc.

I'm glad you love the group already! As my daughter would say, "that makes my heart smile".

Some members here may have interest in casting their votes for this Goodreads' Listopia list, or simply viewing votes cast: Best Vegan Cookbooks:

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/11...

Lisa wrote: "Some members here may have interest in casting their votes for this Goodreads' Listopia list, or simply viewing votes cast: Best Vegan Cookbooks:

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/11......"

Cool, thanks! I voted :-)

Hope this is the right place to post this here. I wanted to share, as well as seek some advice too.

I just had my three month check up--blood panel work--and as hard as I have been trying to help my diabetes through a Vegan diet, I didn't seem to make any progress :( :(

However, to my absolute shock, my cholesterol number did a HUGE nosedive. Yay! I'd been fighting against the triglyceride numbers especially and had been taking krill oil to help (just to finish off the bottle, which was about a week and a half into my new diet). My previous trigs had been at 308 and now they were at 216--still high but he's confident that it'll keep going down. My cholesterol level had been at 218 and it dropped to 143. I don't remember the previous LDL level, but again it was much lower he told me. He said I didn't need krill oil or even flaxseed oil with as well as I am doing.

Sadly, when I asked him how I could get my diabetes numbers down, he told me that I should really be eating meat; even made mention to the Adkins diet. However, he didn't push the issue one bit, seemed quite impressed with me for this accomplishment. Funny, when he was mentioning meat, I went "yuck" at one point and it made my tummy queasy to imagine eating the stuff he listed that would be good for me to eat *laugh*

Also, my potassium was a little low so he wants me to take a supplement. Question, is there a food besides banana that would be good to help with the potassium?

I also asked about rice, and basically, even barley isn't all that good for me either as a diabetic, so this week, I even cut out rice (which I LOVE). I managed to dramatically cut back on french fries (the frozen ones from the store that you bake in the oven)--I don't eat the fast food ones now. For the last 3 days I didn't even eat any of the yummy Newman O's (oreo cookies). The doctor mentioned using stuff like Truvia and Stevia (since I'm allergic to Splenda). I don't drink herbal teas much, which would be the only thing I'd use Stevia in.

As I see Lee mention being a sugar addict--any words of advice to help me get past this point? Mentally, the diabetes gets me down a lot and I know I should be so happy about the cholesterol, but I feel horrible about the blood sugar having even gone up one point since last time. *sigh* If I exercised after eating, would that help at all? I'm so desperate to get the diabetes into check because I know I will feel better and it will be much better for my body since I ain't getting any younger.

Sorry for the long post.

Keri ★TX wrote: "Hope this is the right place to post this here. I wanted to share, as well as seek some advice too.

I just had my three month check up--blood panel work--and as hard as I have been trying to help..."

Keri,

There are tons of yummy foods rich in potassium.Papaya is very high in potassium and Swiss Chard, potatoes, winter squash, lima beans, and spinach are very good too. I have to add extra potassium in my diet as well.

2 sites that list these and the actual numbers are: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/potassium-rich-foods-list-of-foods-high-in-potassium.html and http://www.thepotassiumrichfoods.com/.

I get the packets of stevia at Trader Joe's and use 2 packets for a quart of red lavender iced tea and it's a great way to get some sweet without the side effects of sugar and caffeine. I've found that the sweetness varies alot between brands.

I hope this helps and congrats on your cholesterol numbers!

Keri,

Keeping a healthy weight, eating a whole foods vegan diet, and exercise should help a lot with blood sugar levels and diabetes.

As Kathy mentions above, many plant foods are good sources of potassium.

Ginny, a wonderful vegan R.D., is a member if this group. If she sees your post, I hope she'll have time to comment.

There are genetic and health issue/medication issue components regarding diabetes, and absorption of nutrients.

I can't seem to do ANYTHING to get my vitamin D levels up to a healthy level, for instance, although I'm still trying. I need to get blood work in August and I'll test for vitamin D yet again, to see if yet another new regimen is making enough of a difference.

ETA: I have a friend who was able to go off/or cut in half (?) her diabetes medication when she went from a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet to a raw vegan diet. Everybody is different but a whole foods vegan diet (whole grains - brown rice included!-, beans, soy, nuts, vegetables, fruit), not too many calories, a healthy weight, and regular exercise should do the trick for most people.

Oh, and everybody, this general chit chat thread is fine for all topics, but also feel free to add any subject threads you'd like for this off topic chat folder. We can have multiple threads in this folder.

Keri, do you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes?

If it's type-2, and if you're overweight, then the key is to aim for a gradual weight reduction since that helps a lot with diabetes. Many people do really well on a vegan diet that includes lots of beans, whole grains and vegetables, with moderate amounts of nuts and other foods that are good sources of monounsaturated fats. Along with exercise, it's sometimes all you really need to do to get your diabetes under control. And you are clearly on the right track already given the changes in your cholesterol and triglycerides.

Even if you have type-1 diabetes, there is no reason why you can't eat a vegan diet.

I would ask your doctor to refer you to a dietitian and have him or her help you plan a vegan diet that helps to control diabetes. There is no reason why anyone with diabetes needs to eat meat!

Keri,

I'm glad you are getting lots of good advice and encouragement. All I want to add is that my best strategy for not eating sugar is actually not having it in the house! I don't buy ANY packaged cookies, baked goods (except whole grain bread and pasta), candy, chocolate etc. because if it's here, I WILL FIND IT in a moment of weakness and eat it. I do not rely on my will power because that doesn't work for me. The first few weeks when I craved something sweet I made myself a cup of tea without sweetener and portioned out some raisins in a little bowl with a few almonds or nuts and that was my dessert. I have to watch how many I eat though because they can pack quite a punch in the calorie department. I find that exercising every day helps too. Sometimes when I crave sweets I brush my teeth. I have started to crave different kinds of snacks now like celery and carrots with hummus and dill pickles. I don't know if any of this helps but we can talk about the sugar stuff some more any time!

Keri ★TX wrote: "Sadly, when I asked him how I could get my diabetes numbers down, he told me that I should really be eating meat; even made mention to the Atkins diet. "

Your doctor should be aware that meat and dairy actually spike your insulin levels more than a lot of traditional "starchy" plant-based foods. But sadly, most doctors only spend a week or two on human nutrition in all their years in medical school. Dr. McDougall covers this topic on his website in significant detail, including reference to relevant studies, which should help put your mind at ease about needing any meat in your diet:

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2006n...

Hope that helps.

What Mark said re M.D.s: I've always known more about nutrition that any of my doctors, and I'm not a professional. Years ago (older doctors) used to get 3 hours of training in nutrition during their 4 years of education. It's only slightly better now. I trust R.D.s For me, most specifically Ginny Messina, Jack Norris, and a few other vegan R.D.s There are several.

vrg.org also has this link about diabetes: http://www.vrg.org/journal/diabetes.htm

and pcrm.org has this come up on their search:
http://pcrm.org/pcrmSearch.cfm

And, thank you so much to Ginny for replying!

Keri!!!

Please put everything else down and read this book cover to cover! Including the yummy recipes at the end!

Dr. Neal Barnard's Book on Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes Without Drugs

As you will learn from the book, a vegan diet that focuses on whole grains like barley and brown rice, or quinoa, oatmeal, and fresh fruits and vegetables, and even sweet potatoes ... is very healthy for diabetics.

BIG HUG,
Rachel

Hi, Rachel! I'm so happy that you've joined us! The group finally let you join: Hooray!

Please feel free to introduce yourself in this thread:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...

and participate wherever and whenever you'd like.

Keri,

In case you want some of the info in an audio version, for your long drives in East Texas (yes, I did look at your profile!) ...

http://www.archive.org/details/KirkHa....


http://www.amazon.com/Tackling-Diabet...

I looked for the actual book in audio version, but haven't found it. Looks like Amazon has it ... Kindle, hardcover, and paperback. Less than $9.00.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594...

Sorry I didn't respond until now. Had a nice busy weekend and got some time with hubby with him being off work this weekend (don't see him at all during the week).

First of all, thank you for all the very support words and advice given. I was very surprised by this and thankful too. I will be checking out the links as the week goes on and continue reading up and educating myself.

Ginny, I am a type 2 diabetic, taking 2 Metformin 500mg twice a day. I am overweight, and it looks like I lost about 5 pounds from this diet--I have to give some credit for it to my Sketchers as well, since I haven't managed to get into an exercise regime yet. Walking is almost impossible due to nerve problems in my right leg (meralgia paresthetica)--I'm hoping I can ride a new bike I got, starting tomorrow (Monday). It's kinda like that inability that Lisa has been dealing with her knees :( I really can empathize. I will see how I can do on my own for the next month or so before checking in with my doctor and seeking out a dietician. With my school schedule so crazy/busy/whacky, I'm not sure what I could manage to have time to do with one, plus I would also need to see what my insurance covers too. Things should slow down in May *crossed fingers* and definitely by mid-June, when I graduate. Again, thank you so much, Ginny, for your post and advice!

Lee, that is actually a great idea regarding tackling the sugar issue. So simple *laugh* I should have thought of that. I'm going to see if my husband can keep his Oreo's out of my sight at least, since that package tends to get me salivating and thinking about my own Newman O's. I decided that I am going to start this "no-sugar" aspect of my Vegan diet on Monday. So I'll be having him also hide my Newman O's so I won't be tempted. I haven't actually wanted to eat candy since I'm not a very big fan of dark chocolate luckily. I may try to eat some cranberries, since I like them far more over raisins, or even some grapes (not too many either) with some nuts. I actually have found I like eating no-salt cashews :) I used to have a horrible problem with salt, but lately, I have managed to cut it down so much that I am not missing it any more and finding some things yucky because they seem too salty. Thank you for the advice. :)

Rachel, thank you so much for the book/audiobook links. I will be checking those out and seeing what I might be able to find locally or if I can get it on Amazon.

Lisa, thank you so much for creating this group. I'm glad I have found a group where I feel comfortable enough to discuss this and the folks here are soooooo supportive of each other.

Once more, apologies for the very long post. I tend to be wordy and try so hard to be brief. I hope I managed to address everyone who posted, but I'm getting tired and it's getting late.

Lisa, I did find a cookbook, while I was out at a local bookstore this weekend, which you had recommended to me--Vegan Lunch Box: 130 Amazing, Animal-free Lunches Kids and Grown-ups Will Love!. I wanted to check some of the other posts here before going to bed. So I'm going to look through the Vegan Lunch Box book shortly.

I also bought the paperback version of Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet this weekend while I was out. It was the book that helped me decide to go Vegan.

Keri,

Not sure if you saw from my post, but Dr. Neal Barnard's book, which is about how to prevent and/or treat diabetes with a vegan diet, is available for less than $9.00 at amazon. Of course it would be better if you can support your local bookstore, if you find it there. But if you want something quick and dirty, YES, amazon has it on stock.

I have purchased 3 copies of this book already (am always finding new people to share it with) ... all of them were hardcover ... and there were about $25 a piece, plus shipping ... but I bought them from PCRM directly. So, I'm very excited to learn I can get this book for less than 9 dollars now. Wow!

-Rachel

Keri ★TX wrote: "Lisa, thank you so much for creating this group."

Yes, Lee and I have found we make a great team.

Lee & I created the group together, we're a team and equal mods. (I just wanted to make sure everyone know it was both of us, and not just me who created this group!!!

And as is usual for Lee, she's a wonderful mod! We had so much fun setting up this group. So far, the group has been a great support and fun for us, so we hope others will also benefit from and enjoy being here.

Keri, I'm so glad you feel comfortable here (and I certainly empathize with your challenges as well!) It sounds as though you're doing quite a bit to improve your health, and it's wonderful that you are planning to do even more.

Re your post 26, Keri, I hope you find some good things in the book Vegan Lunch Box: 130 Amazing, Animal-free Lunches Kids and Grown-ups Will Love! book, and know that most cookbooks have at least some recipes good for "on the go." And, I loved Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet book. She also has an interactive web site/blog where anyone can join as a member and participate in discussion threads on the forum there. And she usually has some recipes on the site: http://www.thekindlife.com/

Best wishes with going sugar-free today, Keri! :-)

Keri, I hope hiding the Newman O's works for you because I know that wouldn't work for me. Seriously, if I know there are any kind of treats in the house I will hunt them down when a craving comes upon me.
I hope you will find some easy and healthy things to make to take with you to work/classes. Good luck and keep talking to us if you need anything!

Thank you, Kathryn. I am glad for the support :)

Lee, actually, I'm not too bad once things are hidden. I can have a short term memory on some things like that *lol*

I did download a sample for Dr. Bernard's book for my iPad (on Kindle app) and glanced through it before class. I plan to be getting a copy as soon as possible.

Back to class now....so far today has been a good day for me.

Thank you all again for all the encouragement. :)

Good for you Keri! You're a stronger woman than I am.

Hi, Everybody. Just fyi: New books are always being added to our group's bookshelves. Check them out! We have some new gluten free, restaurant, family friendly, etc. cookbooks shelved just in the last few hours.

Lisa wrote: "Hi, Everybody. Just fyi: New books are always being added to our group's bookshelves. Check them out! We have some new gluten free, restaurant, family friendly, etc. cookbooks shelved just in the l..."

Oooo, THANKS! :-)

Lee wrote: "I seem to always be left with the same two vegetables at the back of my fridge every week and it's very often cabbage and cauliflower. Maybe I keep buying them because I think I should be eating m..."

May have been previously mentioned, but cauliflower is always useful in Caulipots - Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

That Caulipots recipe does look delicious, and kid friendly too!

I am definitely going to try the Caulipots recipe since I just got a hold of that book!

Do report back that you've tried each and every variation ;>

Will do!

So, I have a few bunches of fresh spinach in my fridge that I need to use up pronto and I'm looking for some kind of soup or stew recipe that can incorporate a ton of spinach and taste great. Does anyone have any ideas? I usually cook spinach by sauteing it but I want to do something different this time.

I'm not where I can look at my cookbooks. (I will later if nobody has chimed in.) But, look at this:

http://www.google.com/search?q=vegan+...

Lee wrote: "Does anyone have any ideas?"

Lee, Did you find something? I recently read a cookbook for spinach soup that said "when you have a lot of spinach to use up" but it must have been a library book because I'm not finding it. I know if you add a bunch of spinach the last few minutes of cooking that it's good in soups, and when cooked loses much of its volume.

Hi Lisa,

I haven't done anything about the spinach yet but will have to deal with it tonight. I didn't find any recipes for spinach soup in my cookbooks but I'll check the google search you suggested above. Thanks!

Yes definitely a soup :) yummm I just made up some the other night after googling it

Haha, I still haven't made the spinach soup yet but I have more bunches of spinach in my fridge so I'll have to give it a try.

I just found out about this new documentary called Planeat. Hopefully there will be a screening near me at some point. There is a trailer on the website and list of screenings available if anyone wants to check it out.

http://planeat.tv/the-film

Lee, the curried spinach cous cous from is to die for! I make it regularly and keep it handy for quick lunches.

Thanks Selah! I bet I could make that with quinoa which I always have around instead of couscous.

ehehehe - I remember the first time I made quinoa and thought it tasted soapy. THEN I found out I'm supposed to rinse it first!!!

Yes, it does taste a bit funky without a good rinse. I'm sure I did that more than once before I figured it out!