Nutritional Yeast

Since becoming a vegan I have discovered nutritional yeast. This is very delicious. Frequently it is used as a cheese substitute. The delicious flavor of this product is not reflected in it's name even though it is very nutritious. This product is low in fat and makes a great source of protein. You can add the yellow colored flakes or powder to many dishes for an enhanced eating experience. One of my favorite ways to use nutritional yeast is to combine it with Mexican seasonings, oil, and stir fried vegetables. Mexican food frequently uses cheese. It is nice to find a way to simulate these flavors in a vegan friendly manner.

Nutritional yeast is not available at most grocery stores. I purchase mine at the local food co-op or Bulk Barn. There are some brands which add vitamin B12. A vegan diet typically lacks this vitamin. If you buy the Red Star label of nutritional yeast you will be able to get this vitamin into your diet. 

Nutritional yeast can be added to many dishes. You can sprinkle it on popcorn or add it to scrambled tofu to increase the flavor. There is a Parmesan substitute which can be made from nutritional yeast. Merely grind it together with almonds in your food processor.  

Creative Smoothie Ideas

When making a smoothie soy milk might not always be available. I have a solution which works for me. Soy milk is not always inexpensive to have in our kitchens. Simplifying our diets and moving away from soy milk has many purposes. Soy is a controversial subject. It increases estrogen production in our bodies which can lead to certain types of cancer. Soy is also something many people are allergic to. It is not healthy to consume too much soy milk. I want to consume less soy milk merely because it is higher in calories than other choices. 

When I started out as a vegan I made smoothies with soy milk or other dairy alternatives all the time. Now I am a lot more creative and vary my morning nutritional boost in various ways. Tea is one way to get into herbalism. We can boost our health by drinking herbal teas. Mixing tea with our smoothies can make it healthier. You can tailor your smoothie to handle whatever health issues you are currently going through. 

I have been making large quantities of smoothies in the mornings. This fills me up so I will not feel hungry throughout the day. These blended beverages are a great way to get more fruit in your diet. The less sweetener and sugar added the better. I have been adding an Asian cereal product to my smoothies over the past couple of weeks. This mix is something I received as a gift. It is a yam and black sesame cereal powder for health. It is meant to be added to boiling water. I have been using it in my smoothies instead. This is has reduced the need for any sweetener. 

In my kitchen I have very little space. With rent being high in Toronto my apartment is very compact. I try to keep the dishes in my kitchen to a minimum few. When I make loose leaf tea I merely throw the leaves into a big plastic pitcher. I will boil the water in my tea kettle. Then I strain it out into the cup. The tea will become very dark which is the way I like it. 

Around the corner from my apartment is King West in Parkdale. I shop at a fruit stand which is managed by an Asian family. They have big baskets in their reduced section for only $1. This is one way I can get lots of vegetables in my diet. I buy baskets of bananas which are ripe and throw them into the freezer. There are also big baskets of berries for sale for only $1. These go into the freezer as well. Eating healthy need not be very expensive. 

This morning I mixed my yam and black sesame cereal mix with bananas and blackberries which came out of my freezer. It is easy to load the freezer up with these items for only $10. These groceries can last a couple of weeks I used leftover tea as a base. Last night I made some strawberry coconut puerh tea. I poured a full pitcher of boiling water which couldn't be finished last night. This morning I used this tea for my smoothie. It turned out wonderfully well. I hope this gives you some ideas which will help you be more creative with blended beverages. 

Plum Tomatoes In Apple Cider Vinegar

Today I was cooking something very simple in my kitchen. My Holy Guardian Angel has had me consuming lots of tomatoes over the past month. One of the benefits of cooking with a heavenly creature is that they have a perspective on what your body needs. They are able to tailor your diet to suit what is happening inside your body. People who are not occultists are not able to cook with this kind of x-ray vision. My Holy Guardian Angel has been feeding me tomatoes for a couple of different reasons. Summer is here. Tomatoes contain lycopene which is a nutrient allowing the skin to withstand more sunlight. Tomatoes contain plenty of antioxidants. This helps lower the risk of cancer. 

This dish did not take a lot of ingredients. The flavor is very simple. It is good for somebody who is trying to lose weight. We have used a large quantity of apple cider vinegar. My food has been doused in this ingredient over the past few weeks. It has a very strong flavor which takes a bit of getting used to. It is not something which is excessively indulgent, but it is great for the body. Many people consume apple cider vinegar to reduce cellulite. Part of eating a vegan diet is learning how to appreciate the simple flavors of vegetables. 

Ingredients

• 1 Cup of Canola Oil or whatever is available
• 20 Plum Tomatoes cut in half
• 2 Onions into 4 pieces
• 10 Mushrooms cut in half
• 1 Tablespoon of Crushed Red Chili Peppers
• 1 Head of Garlic
• 1 Cup of Apple Cider Vinegar

1. Pour oil into the skillet and let it heat up.
2. Put onions into the heated oil.
3. Saute onions for 5 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes.
5. Allow the tomatoes and onions to simmer for about a half hour. 
6. Strain the tomato mixture so the liquids will be reduced.
7. Put the mixture back into the skillet.
8. Allow the mixture to simmer for another 10 minutes.
9. Add mushrooms, apple cider vinegar, and crushed red chili peppers.
10. Let this simmer for another 10 minutes.
11. Add whole garlic cloves which have been peeled. 
12. Cook for another 10 minutes.
13. Serve!

This dish was very healthful. I hope you enjoy trying it out. I ate it accompanied with a large glass of water. The vinegar flavor needs to be diluted as you eat.

Grilled Coconut – This Fijian Treat Is Simple To Make

For vegans having a barbeque is more of a challenge. Meat is the essential barbeque food. Summer is a perfect time to enjoy outdoor cooking. There are a wide variety of meat alternatives on the market to consume. The following link gives us another excellent idea. In Fiji there is a custom of consuming grilled coconuts. If you are like me you may be suspicious of processed foods. I do love many of the meat alternatives, but I try to consume them sparingly. Many vegetables can be cooked on the barbeque. Grilling a coconut on the barbeque is a great way to celebrate summer weather.



Here is a link to the article I found online:

Grilled Coconut – This Fijian Treat Is Simple To Make

Gary L. Francione: The Abolitionist Approach to Animal Rights

Spinach Health Benefits

Spinach is rich in calcium. This makes it a great food choice for a vegan diet. It helps strengthen the bones. There are many other vitamins in spinach which make it a great food choice. I prefer eating spinach to lettuce. I often replace lettuce with spinach in sandwiches and salads. Lettuce doesn't have as many nutrients as spinach does. 

Spinach is rich in folic acid, vitamin K, and iron. Iron is important for vegans. I often cook in an iron skillet. With meat out of your diet it is important to find other sources of iron. Spinach is also high in vitamin C, fiber, and carotenoids. It contains lutein and bioflavanoids. All these nutrients help prevent cancer and heart disease. Flavanoids are a good brain food. They strengthen the mind and help prevent memory loss. 

Spinach is also wonderful for eye health. The high content of lutein helps with preventable blindness. Lutein is very good for your eyes. A diet rich in spinach might reduce the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration. I have a history of macular degeneration on one side of my family. I have 2 elderly great aunts who are both in their 90s. They both suffer from macular degeneration. I know my 96 year old aunt often complains about missing reading. If we can prevent eye disease our lives will be more enriched when we are elderly people.

Grapeseed Oil

Grapeseed Oil has a very light texture. This is a good oil to choose when you want the oil to not contribute to the flavor of your dish. This oil is fairly neutral. It is high in polyunsaturated fat. This is a good kind of fat. It is a very good oil if you want to lose weight. This oil is commonly used in skin care. It is excellent for children and people who have sensitive skin.

Avocado Oil

Recently I purchased Avocado Oil for cooking. This was a couple months back. Avocado Oil can also be used as a base oil for work with essential oils. This oil is very healing for dehydrated skin. The best Avocado Oil is dark green. It should be very aromatic. A small amount can go a long way. This oil contains protein, Vitamin A, and Vitamin B. This makes it an ideal oil for vegan cooking. A vegan diet has reduced protein. Avocado Oil is one source where protein may be found. 

Vegan Brussel Sprouts In Almond Butter Sauce

This is a recipe which I just updated on Squidoo. I added more health information about Brussels Sprouts and Almond Butter. This is a very delicious recipe.  Vegan Brussel Sprouts In Almond Butter

Sesame King Tahini

This product review is something I wrote for Squidoo today. Ever since I became vegan I have been trying out many different foods. Some of my favorite foods are Lebanese dishes like falafel and hummus. This tahini is a brand I recently purchased on Queen West here in Parkdale in Toronto, Canada. I like this store a lot and tend to buy groceries there. It is on my way home from work. It is convenient for me to pick up things on the way. This product review will show you a link where you can purchase the same brand on Amazon.  



Sesame King Tahini

Sauteed Bell Peppers In Raspberry Vinaigrette

This is a brand new recipe which my Holy Guardian Angel dictated to me after I returned home from the gym today. I was in the mood for something light and simple. I have had too many meals which were coated in tahini or peanut sauce over the past couple of weeks. This recipe is very light and low in calories. This makes a great dish
for a person on a diet to consume. I have forever been trying to take some weight off. This has been very difficult for an unusual reason which none of you will understand. I have been having negative energy disrupt my entire life. This energy has interfered with me attending the gym. For this reason I have had to remove everybody from my Facebook. I have started a brand new life free of people who don't want me to do well. They can no longer read my status updates. I no longer have to psychically perceive them crying every time I have something positive happen to me. This is what I wanted to make possible in my life.

The following recipe is located at a website called Squidoo. I have been using Squidoo to create various recipes which have not been posted on this blog. These recipes are posted on an online magazine called GoodVeg. I haven't been able to make duplicate posts of everything. There is only so much time in a day. I am currently engaged in a very intense juggling contest with myself competing against myself. That would be a lot of juggling. 

Sauteed Bell Peppers In Raspberry Vinaigrette

Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes

Over the summer I had been out for a walk. This was when I was contemplating becoming a vegan. I live in downtown Toronto. There was a house around the corner where someone was throwing away some books. This was a box of free books sitting on somebody's lawn. I like to peek into these kinds of boxes to see if there is anything I want. There was one book I wanted. It is my first vegan cookbook. It is not a cookbook at all. It is a zine which was produced on a low budget. It is called 'Vegan Freegan'. There are some people who will eat dairy and egg if they didn't pay for it. I don't subscribe to this philosophy, but I might drink coffee if it has cream in it already. This is the only time I have knowingly consumed dairy since I have started my vegan lifestyle.

This recipe is adapted from a recipe in this zine. I decided to make it a little bit more interesting. I added lemon juice and poppy seeds to the ingredients. I invented a new way of preparing this recipe. I hope you enjoy it.

1 Cup of Whole Wheat Flour
2 Teaspoons of Baking Powder
A Pinch of Salt
2 Bananas
1 Cup of Vanilla Soy Milk
1 Tablespoon of Stevia
Juice of 4 Lemons
2 Tablespoons of Poppy Seeds

I combined all of the ingredients without distinguishing between wet and dry. This turned out okay for me. The first pancake I made was too large. It ended up getting burned. What I did was wash the frying pan out and start all over again.

The best way to cook these is to use plenty of olive oil. I used a tablespoon to measure out how much I needed for a pancake. I made these quite small. It is easier that way to flip them and prevent them from crumbling.

Here are some links to items to make these pancakes:

Bob's Red Mill, Organic, Whole Wheat Flour, 48 oz (1.35 kg)

Rumford Baking Powder Canisters -- 8.1 oz

Celtic Sea Salt®, Light Grey, By The Grain & Salt Society, Coarse Ground, 1 lb

ZenSoy Soy-On-The-Go Soymilk, Vanilla, 8.25-Ounce Aseptic Packages (Pack of 15)

Stevia Raw Sweetener, 100 Count, 3.5 Ounce Whole Black Poppy Seeds 2 lb

Thai Style Mushrooms

Today I have been cooking a Thai influenced dish. This is very simple to make.

Here are the ingredients:

1 Pound of Mushrooms
2 Red Onions, Quartered
5 Garlic Cloves cut into 4 pieces
2 Tablespoons Powdered Coconut
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
3 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
4 Slices of Canned Pineapple, cut into 8 pieces
2 Tablespoons of Honey

Some people do not feel that honey is vegan. You may switch this ingredient for another one. I often use Xyla as a sweetener, but it is quite expensive. It usually costs $10 for a bag which is medium sized. I heated the coconut oil and onions. Then I started adding mushrooms which I cut in half along with the garlic. Then I added soy sauce and the rest of the ingredients. I cooked this in a cast iron frying pan. 

Universal Housewares Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron 3 Piece Skillet Set

Fasting For Spring Equinox

I am currently in Montreal for an art exhibition. I have been staying here for the past 3 nights. Tomorrow morning I return to Toronto. I have been fasting for the Spring Equinox. For 3 years in a row I have conducted a fast before the start of the solar year. I will tell you about my experiences as they occur. I have stopped eating solid foods as of lunch yesterday. I am still consuming liquids. Coffee is still being consumed, though many people would think this is a bad idea. I am addicted to coffee and don`t want to give it up.

My last meal of the solar year was some pasta I found here at the backpackers hostel I am currently staying in. I was hungry and didn`t want to spend any money. There was a package of alphabet letter shaped pasta which I cooked on the stove.

I didn`t add very much to this meal. I merely poured some oil on it. I don`t know what kind of oil it was. It was in a clear plastic bottle here at this hostel. There were some spices in the kitchen, but none which would have worked with pasta. I added a bit of black pepper and it tasted  very good like this. The previous day I had added onion salt. This did not work at all. The salt was overpowering and I had to throw it away. I am staying at a hostel on Mackay Street called Auberge L`Àpero. It is only $19 a night and includes breakfast. This is very vegan friendly environment. They have boxes of cereal with soy milk to eat. There are also several loaves of bread set out with peanut butter and jam.

In this traveler`s hostel there is free tea and coffee all day. It is instant coffee, but I will drink it anyway. I like saving money when I travel.

Sauteed Kale

My Holy Guardian Angel instructed me to create this dish today. It is a very delicious meal which is very nutritious. I went over to the food bank here in Parkdale in the west end of Toronto. There aren't a lot of offerings for a vegan with a low income. They always act very unhelpful in some ways. I don't let it frustrate me. I feel that my health is very important. Many people with a low income receive too many foods which are high in starch. I am trying to eliminate this from my diet as well as sugar.

There were lots of types of chocolate to choose from. There was a lemon pie filling. I passed these things up along with all of the cookies. I didn't take any pasta or even tomato sauce. I left the cans of soup there. The lady didn't take me all the way to the end. There was a bit of a hassle about getting the decaf coffee. I was a little bit frustrated because I had not taken very much. I wanted to speed through to see what bread they had.

The lady giving out bread was a lot nicer. She understood wanting to cut out eggs from my diet. She went out of her way to find a loaf of bread which was made from spelt. I got a bag of vegetable which was used in this dish. I used up most of what I got. There was a bunch of kale, 2 plum tomatoes, and a small zucchini. This food bank does offer vegetables, which is more than I can say for most of them.

I created this dish with recycled olive oil. 1 other item I received at the food bank was a small bag of french fries. I cooked these for lunch in olive oil. Oil from french fries can be reused.

Ingredients
1 bunch of kale
2 plum tomatoes
1 small zucchini
1 bulb of garlic
5 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of flax seed
olive oil

Directions
1. Peel garlic. Leave the cloves whole.
2. Cut kale leaves in half after rinsing.
3. Cut plum tomatoes into 8 pieces.
4. Cut zucchini into spears.
5. Heat olive oil on medium heat.
6. Add all of the vegetables.
7. Add flax seed.
8. Add soy sauce.
9. Saute until kale leaves are tender and then serve.

Mushrooms and Sunflower Seeds in Soy Sauce

Today my Holy Guardian Angel dictated another vegan recipe to me. It was prepared in a cast iron frying pan on my hot plate. I live in a small bachelor apartment. My space is limited. I only have 3 pots and pans. Today I prepared the following recipe. I have been a vegan for 1 month and 4 days. I have been hoping to live a healthier lifestyle. My Holy Guardian Angel has been helping me with this goal. I have been following my Holy Guardian Angel's instructions when I cook these dishes.

This dish takes a few simple ingredients:

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 Avocado
1 Package of Mushrooms
3 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons of Xyla or Sugar
1/4 Cup of Sunflower Seeds
1 Teaspoon of Cayenne
1/2 Teaspoon of Crushed Red Chili


The preparation is very simple. I will list out the steps.

1. Heat olive oil in the frying pan. While the oil heats up cut the mushrooms into 2. Put the mushrooms into the frying pan and stir.

2. Cut the avocado into 2. Squeeze out the insides into the frying pan. Add the soy sauce and Xyla. You may use sugar if that is what you have on hand. I use Xyla because it is a healthier option. Stir until everything is evenly distributed.

3. Add the sunflower seeds, cayenne, and crushed red chili.

4. Cook until the mushrooms are slightly tender.

5. Serve.

This meal serves 1 person. You might use it as a side dish. Then it would serve 4 people.

Today I won a purple star on a website called Squidoo.com. The link below will lead you to the recipe which won this quality reward.

 Vegan Lentil Stew


Xyla is a sugar substitute with 1 third the calories of regular sugar. My dentist recommends it. It is the only sugar alternative which helps prevent cavities. It strengthens the enamel of your teeth.