Please Tell Me You Like Veges

When you're on a vegan diet, you really need to like vegetables.  If you don't, then you're going to be one of those very pale, pasty-lookin' people who really isn't healthy ~ what a friend once called, "a mac n' cheese" vegetarian.

Some people don't care for some vegetables because of the way they've been served in the past.  I get this.  My mom liked her asparagus boiled to within a molecule of its existence.  By the time she was done "cooking" it, all the nutritional value of the stuff was in the water she'd boiled it in.  In fact, my brothers used to drink the asparagus water, so they got the goodness.  What my mom and dad got was limp, soggy green worms, call it the vegetable.  I tried it once.  I didn't try asparagus again until well into adulthood.  It had been grilled with garlic, and I really liked it.  I`ve been cooking it that way ever since and very much enjoying it.

So, sometimes it isn`t the vegetable that`s the problem, it`s the way it`s been presented to us.  My fave way of having veges, is raw.  This is a simple, delicious and healthy way to enjoy veges, especially with hummus.  Ok... here we go again.  I`ll bet you`ve tried store-bought hummus and didn`t care for it.  I get it.  I thought it was a little like dipping my veges into toothpaste.  But you know, it`s easy to make your own.  I have given the recipe for hummus in another post, but I just want to remind people that you can use any nut or seed butter in it that you like.  (Store-bought is almost always made with tahinni, which is sesame seed butter.)  I use Sunbutter, or sunflower seed butter.  I like the flavour and helps me create the creamy hummus that I enjoy.  So remember, you can do any variation on the theme that you like ~ whatever flavour you like (my fave is lemon/dill), whatever consistency you like.  When you are the creator, you can make it they way you like it. :)

Often I make myself a brown rice (gluten-free) pasta to go with a medley of veges and a lettuce leaf filled with hummus for my lunch.  Today I made a sandwich.  This was an idea my daughter came up with, and it's a good one. 

First grill up some mushroom slices.  Portabello mushroom slices are great for this, but today I used crimini mushrooms.  Also throw in some rings of onion.  Cook them the way you like them... from lightly sauteed to crispy.  I prefer them more on the crispy side. 

We use Food for Life brown rice, gluten-free, vegan bread.  Thaw it in the microwave for best results .. to the desired softness. Spread some hummus on each slice.  (No kidding... it works great as a condiment.)  Cover the bread with the mushroom slices and add the onion.  Put on the lid.  Serve with a green salad, or with a medley of raw veges with some hummus for dipping, or with some brown rice pasta salad.  (This is made with veganaise of your choice along with some g-free dijon mustard and suitable seasonings.  I like rosemary and/ or basil, McCormick's garlic powder, salt and pepper. Make it they way YOU like it.)

Just another idea for eating a healthy, yummy plant-based diet. 

I'll give my recipe for hummus again here, for ease of use:

1 can organic chick peas

1 generous dollop sunflower seed butter

at least 2 tbsp. lemon juice (some lemon zest is nice too if desired)

several dill fronds or many shakes of dried dill weed

fresh basil and parsley leaves  (dried is exceptable if you don't have fresh)

salt and pepper to taste (pssst... use lots, and use real salt, not table salt, and coarse ground pepper)

2 or 3 good-sized cloves of garlic

Place all in food processor and whhrrrrrr.... adding water as necessary to get it to the desired consistency.

Give it a try.  Don't be afraid to experiment and make things the way you like them.  I went kicking and screaming into this vegan diet, but the fact is, I have never eaten so well.  A plant based diet is a great way to lower cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, and your weight.  This is not a fad.  It's the way to good health.