New Post on LifelongVegan.org

Check out my son's updated illustration on his vegan blog. He discusses animal testing. He also updated his About Me page.

Why Vegans Are Skinny and Weak

A new Lifelong Vegan post written by my son on “Why vegans are skinny and weak.” Truth or misconception? Read to find out! (Hint: They're not.)

New Lifelong Vegan Blog Starting Up

Pragmatic Vegan

Discussing everything you need to be healthy, fit and well as a vegan for life

Check out my son's new vegan blog and ask him some questions. He likes researching the answers and has been making quite a study of the vegan diet. His first post is about some supplements to add to an all-vegan diet for those who are hoping to make a long-term commitment.

Vegan Quick Tomato Soup

Ever feel nostalgic for childhood comfort foods? Maybe a little tomato soup like your mom used to make from a can? Except maybe there's junk in the soup can you'd rather avoid. How about a quick vegan tomato soup you can make to mimic it? Serve with oyster crackers for the full deal.

Ingredients
1 small can organic tomato paste
1/4 teaspoons of garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano
1 teaspoon tamari (or vegan soup stock concentrate)
Sprinkle of black or red pepper
Squirt of agave syrup (sweetener)
1 cup unsweetened soy or other plant milk
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon olive oil (optional)

Method
In a pot, empty a can of organic tomato paste. Add garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, tamari, pepper, and agave. Stir in soy milk, then water. Heat, pour in bowl, add oyster crackers. Enjoy!

Vegan Chestnut Coconut Cream

Before I forget what I did, here is a yummy vegan cream made with chestnuts and coconut milk. Usually I make whipped cream with Morinu tofu. Yesterday we had picked six quarts of organic strawberries at my friend's long, straw-mulched patches bordered with rhubarb, so all I needed to do was make the shortcake and cream.

Tonight I made a shortcake, and then went to get the box of aseptic silken tofu. What? No tofu? How to make cream? I spied a 5.3-ounce packet of ready-to-use organic roasted peeled chestnuts. Hmmm. I wondered how they would blend up with a 15-ounce can of coconut milk. Very nicely, I am happy to report. Think of this as a nut cream and the tan color won't make you wish for a bright-white whipped cream.

Vegan Pineapple Upside Down Cakelets

It occurred to me that the organic canned pineapple rings would fit into the bottoms of a shallow, wider muffin tin I own, so I decided to make VEGAN PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKELETS. There were only eight holes in the tin, so I got a small bread tin ready for any extra. It turns out there were ten slices in the can, which fit into the two tins just right.

This recipe is usually made in a rectangular glass dish, but it can easily be made in any baking dish. It would probably even work in narrow-bottomed muffin tins, with the pineapple rings curved. One son asked why I didn’t make them more often, so I think they liked them.

Vegan Burritos

There’s not always time for an elaborate vegan meal. There are some fallback easy-to-cook nutritious vegan foods to fill the belly. Burritos are one of them. I had to work all day (from home), so I started soaking some white beans early in the day. They hadn’t gotten bigger after a few hours, so I heated them and let them soak some more. Then I poured off the water and added fresh water. I put them on the back of the stove to simmer for a few hours. 

 

Another way to do this, if you couldn’t check on them during the day to stir them and add more water because you work outside the home would be to use a slow cooker — to have your beans hot and ready when you return, after soaking them overnight. Use your instapot or pressure cooker if you have one. Or, of course, open and heat a can of beans!

Ingredients

1 package whole wheat tortillas

1 can white or pinto beans, seasoned

2 cups cooked kale and onions, stir-fried

3 tblsp. gomasio

Chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado — 2 small ones of each

Creamy miso dressing to taste

Rice — optional

Method

I stir-fried some kale and onions. I dry-roasted some sesame seeds and salt to make gomasio. I chopped up some tomatoes, cucumbers, and avocado. I heated whole wheat tortillas in the toaster oven until they were soft. None of this took very long. I added seasoning to the white beans (see previous post recipe for white bean soup). 

 

I assembled my burrito, adding a dollop of Creamy Miso Dressing (see previous post recipe) on top of the beans, kale and onions, tomato and avocado. I sprinkled it with gomasio. I took a picture. I called the boys to come and make their own. They heated up some rice and added that to their burritos, as they wanted an even more hearty meal. We all ate and were happy. Healthy vegan meals can be made without a lot of effort.