California Dreamin'

Home in CA

After six months of being vegan, I was about to embark on my first vacation – a week-long stay in California with Jason’s family. I had become at ease with my new diet, but that was as long as I stayed within the suburban sprawl of Kansas City and had access to my backyard garden, local farmers’ market, and stocked pantry. I was uncertain as to whether or not I would have to abandon my new lifestyle in order to survive. I should also mention that four months ago, my vegan partner-in-crime saw a BBQ sandwich he could not resist, and hasn't looked back since. While Jason was daydreaming about the authentic Mexican food (tacos al pastor anyone?) and seafood that would soon fill his belly, I was on my own, anxiety growing.

On our return flight home, I contemplated the experience.  I learned that it is possible, realistic, and even easy to maintain a vegan diet while traveling. Here are a few tips to help you get through your first trip.

1. Carry snacks – Airports are unpredictable, and so is traffic in LA. If the combination of being hungry and waiting makes you cranky, I recommend keeping some healthy vegan snacks with you at all times. Granola bars and trail mix can be a major life saver.

We carried fresh coconut with us on our return flight home. Such a great snack!

2. Stay with accommodating hosts – Jason’s mom and brother are long time vegetarians, so I knew there would be an abundance of veggies at the house. Jason’s mom adjusted recipes to make them vegan-friendly and made sure I had more than enough to eat all week. Each morning we woke up to two pots of chai tea being warmed on the stove – one with dairy milk for the family, and one with soy milk just for me. Talk about hospitality!

3. Don’t sweat the small stuff – It’s easy to not order meat at a restaurant, but it can be challenging to know what other animal products are used in the preparation of your food – butter, dairy, and things like fish sauce in Thai food and Worcestershire sauce can be found more places than you would imagine. Don’t obsess over it, it will cause more stress than it’s worth. Order your veggie burger, eat the bun (that may contain dairy), and enjoy yourself!

Delicious Indian food! All vegan except for the white sauce in the top pic.

4. Make Yelp your best friend – This app is a must. You can search for places to dine based on your current location. Interested in eating at a Mexican joint that also serves vegan dishes? Mexican can be a challenge as lard and chicken stock are typically used in the preparation of rice and beans. Use Yelp and search with keywords Mexican Vegan. Your resulting list will include all restaurants with reviews and dishes that mention vegan options. Thanks to Yelp, we happened upon the best street tacos in LA.

Vegan tacos - potato, mushroom, veggie

5. Splurge – Vacation means letting yourself indulge in whatever you find pleasurable. Sleeping in, a little extra wine, and lots of dessert! Let’s be honest, I’m not about “being good” when I’m on vacay. And being vegan is not a reason to resist fun and indulgences. Use Yelp to help you find some vegan delicacies. My guilty pleasures were chocolate-ginger cookies (courtesy of Aunt J), In-N-Out French fries, fried samosas, and bubble tea. 

Taro and coconut bubble tea x 3

Would not be a trip to CA without stopping at In-N-Out. Only fries for me!

A Vegan Roll Date Night

Growing up in the Midwest, I couldn't get any farther from an ocean if I tried. Because of my landlocked upbringing, my exposure to seafood was somewhat limited. I discovered sushi rolls by accident one night in college. A group of friends and I went to a Japanese restaurant with the sole purpose of consuming half-priced sake bombs (you know - sake, sake, sake BOMB!). This chance encounter was the beginning of a very sweet love affair with these delectable rolls. Since then, I have tried every type of roll under the sun - eel, squid, octopus, salmon roe, sea urchin, you name it.

You know what I find really irritating? If you order a veggie sushi roll at a restaurant, it costs just as much as one with seafood in it. That really irks me. So, Jason and I decided to make our own at home - what a fun date night!

Can you tell which ones Jason rolled? :)

Sushi Sticky Rice

Step 1: Pour 2 cups of brown basmati rice into a rice cooker with 2 cups of water.

Step 2: Microwave 2 tbsp rice vinegar + 1 tbsp sugar + 1 tsp salt for 30 seconds.

Step 3: Pour vinegar mixture over warm cooked rice.

Step 4: Let rice cool.

Assemble Your Rolls

Nori (seaweed). Rice. Toasted sesame seeds. Avocado. Tofu. Cucumber. Carrots. Bean spouts. Soy sauce. Wasabi. Pickled ginger.

Turned out better than any restaurant version of veggie sushi I've had.

The Berry Patch

Last weekend the weather in the Midwest was unseasonably cool. Our normal triple digits had been replaced by a crisp 72 degrees. As I walked outside in the morning I thought, this must be some sort of summer miracle! A perfect day to go blueberry picking!

We finally made it to the patch after a hilarious 40 minute scenic detour. I take full credit for getting us lost. I opted to guess how we should get there instead of using my phone to determine our route. It's a blessing and a curse that we are both navigationally challenged. While we generally struggle to find our way to new places, the discovery that we are WAY off course is typically met with mutual laughter. I swear, if Jason and I lived in the pre-GPS world, we would never have survived.

The Berry Patch

The picking was decent (not as good as last year), and we managed to walk away with one bucket-full between the two of us. Upon returning home, I baked a blueberry pie - the filling was vegan but the crust was Pillsbury, which is not. I had contemplated a vegan crust, but couldn't find a recipe that called for ingredients I had on hand. Most called for weird types of flour and who knows what else. So if you've got a good/easy vegan pie recipe, let me know. I didn't end up eating the pie, instead I also made a vegan blueberry crumble.

For the Filling: Mix berries with a squeeze of lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and flour.

For the Topping: Mix together oats, brown sugar, flour, vegan butter.

Assemble: Put berry mixture in ramekins.

Continue Assembly: Pour topping over berries.

Bake: 425 degree oven (cooked mine in the toaster oven) for 20 minutes until the filling is bubbling and the top browns.

Presentation: While it's warm, top with your favorite vegan ice cream.

Enjoy!

Restaurant Review: Füd

813 W. 17th Street. Kansas City. MO. 64108.

Since becoming vegan, Jason and I have cooked most of our meals at home. I knew Kansas City had some veg restaurants, but frankly, I thought they were going to be really weird. Even though I've been vegan for almost four months now, the picture in my head was that they would be "stereotypical vegan." You know, the menu is comprised solely of tofu, everything is really mushy, has no flavor, and comes with a side of grass and other unappealing foliage. I should have known better. 

Despite this horrible image I had in my head, Saturday night we headed to Füd. This local vegan dining establishment focuses on organic food, sustainable practices, and having the lowest possible carbon footprint. So all in all, you can feel really good about eating at Füd. On a sidenote, they only accept cash and checks, glad we saw that before leaving the house.

Now let's talk about the food. I was shocked to find such a diverse menu with a plethora of different options. I settled on the Rainbow Salad from the Living Fresh Food portion of the menu. A living rainbow of greens, avocado, apple, carrot, squash, cucumber, bell pepper, parmesan seed, nuts and house dressing. This was, hands down, the best salad I've had in my entire life (Jason agreed). I'm not sure what they put in their house dressing, but they should bottle and sell it. Vegan or not, you can't go wrong with this for a meal.

Rainbow Salad

Jason ordered the Jack Reuben from the Hot Fresh Food portion of the menu. Panini style jack fruit spiced and stacked with garlic sweed cheese, thrillanaise, and sauerkraut on rye. If you're like me, you're thinking...what is thrillanaise...and sweed cheese...? The menu is sprinkled with these words that are probably not in Webster's dictionary. But don't worry or focus on that too much. I don't know what they mean either. All you need to know is that it's a reuben sandwich. And it's good.

Jack Reuben

Although we were sufficiently full, we pushed on and ordered dessert: cashew soft serve ice cream sundae topped with raw chocolate sauce, raw superfood caramel sauce, goji berries, cacao nibs, blueberries, and pecans. I'm telling you right now, I would go back to Füd for the dessert alone, it was that good. Just looking at the picture of the sundae is making my mouth water. Everyone. Must. Try. This.

Cashew Ice Cream Sundae

So in summation, we had an incredible dinner experience and Füd far exceeded our expectations. I highly encourage everyone to give this restaurant a try, I think you'll walk away full and completely satisfied.

The Adventure Continues...

Hi everyone, I apologize for the hiatus. Life has been pretty busy over the last month. I left my company of six years and am on a new adventure! I'm working in an entirely different industry which is proving to be challenging yet exhilarating. I'm surrounded by people who are passionate about what we do, and I feel completely re-energized. I’m thrilled to be part of such an incredible organization. Thanks to my dream team for inspiring me to take a risk and make a change (Jason, DRob, Chrissy, and Abby)! Dare to Dream is right!

Starting at a new job while being vegan for only a short time had me a little nervous. What if there’s a welcome lunch? What if it’s at KFC? What if they order in pizza? Am I going to have to sit there awkwardly and not eat anything? Very quickly upon my arrival, my questions were answered and my fears calmed. I tipped the scale. With me in the group, the vegetarians outnumber the meat eaters! I no longer have to worry about team outings, events, etc. There are always several delicious and healthy veg-friendly options.

My second week on the job, my team had a Western Indian food day (several of my co-workers are from India). They brought in something called missal for us to enjoy. And enjoy it I did!!!

Traditionally, missal is served as a snack. It consists of lentils cooked in aromatic spices, then layered with chopped onion, tomato, cilantro, chutney, roasted peanuts, and what Jason and I call “Indian crunch.” To me, it seems like the perfect Super Bowl party or potluck food. How easy to keep the lentils in the crock pot then let everyone assemble it in their bowl like chili. I’ll have to get the recipe.

Speaking of recipes, G and J Indian recipes coming soon! And they’re legit.

A New Adventure

I've never considered myself to be an adventurous person. I have lived my entire life within a five mile radius (probably less than five miles, but I don't want to sound too lame here). The friends I have today are the same friends I ran around with as a kid. I have not traveled overseas or taken part in anything (extremely) risky. My life has always been made up of routine and traditions, certainly a fine (and very safe) way to live.

Over the past year, the word adventure has slowly crept into my vocabulary. I have tried new things on my own and created a bucket list. Some of this can probably be attributed to Jason's influence. I mean, the guy backpacked alone through India, Nepal, Germany, etc. just for fun. But I have to say, the latest and greatest adventure has been going vegan! I never imagined that starting a new diet would feel like such an invigorating journey. There is so much to learn about different foods, cooking techniques, health benefits, and other cultures. 

This weekend, we made stops at our local farmers' market, the oriental market, the Indian store, and Costco (bulk produce for our juicing needs). We picked up some ingredients for a new recipe based off of a noodle recipe we found online. Here's our version:

Udon noodles

Broccolini

Red onion

Shiitake mushrooms

Carrots

A bit of oil

1 inch chopped ginger

Thai chilies (to taste)

3 cloves garlic

2 cups vegetable broth, mixed with 2 teaspoons corn starch

2 teaspoons Chinese five spice

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 cup light coconut milk

Toasted sesame seeds

Sriracha (to taste)

-NOODLES: Cook dry Udon noodles according to package instructions. The instructions on our package were in Japanese, so we guessed about 5-7 minutes.

-VEG: Preheat pan over medium high heat. Throw in veggies and a little water. Cover with lid and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring a few times and adding more water if the veg starts to stick and burn. Veg will turn vibrant in color and should retain some crunch. When done, remove from pan and set aside.

-SAUCE: Add a small amount of oil to pan. Add ginger, chilies, and garlic. Cook for 30 seconds. Add vegetable broth/corn starch mix, Chinese five spice, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil and cook for a few minutes to thicken. Turn heat to low, add coconut milk.

-FINAL ASSEMBLY: Add noodles and veggies to pan. Mix with sauce and heat through. Top with toasted sesame seeds and Sriracha and you're ready to go! Trust me, you won't miss the meat!