Barnouin - Skinny Bitch Try Me Vegan Weekend: A HarperOne Select

Skinny Bitch
Try Me Vegan Weekend

A HarperOne Select

Kim Barnouin

Contents

M aybe youre not ready to make the plunge yet. You saw some animal cruelty documentary that got you thinking, but you want to take things slow if youre going to give up filet mignon and bacon. You used to like the movie Babe, but although youre not bawling your eyes out over it, now you do tend to tear up.

Its perfectly okay if you want to inch your way into a new way of eatingeverybodys doing it. The movement started with meatless Mondays, and naturally the next logical step in this vegan ish evolution is the weekend vegan. This is usually someone who doesnt mind experimenting on the weekend, but wants to avoid the weekday guilt when there are more important things to worry about like deadlines and shuttling your little monsters to soccer practice. Some of you will eventually make the full transition, but the rest of you may feel totally comfortable lessening your meat intake and thereby lowering your environmental impact. Hey, nobodys judging except all your close friends, who secretly love to see you fail so why not give it a shot, right?

To get you started, I created a healthy Skinny Bitch menu that will help alleviate some of the pressures of being a clueless plant eater for at least one weekend:

Friday

Dinner: Crock Pot Shepherds Pie, with veggie broth, mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, celery, herbs, and ground seitan, tempeh, or lentils. Serve with a side garden salad.

Saturday

Breakfast: Blueberry Pancakes with 100 percent pure maple syrup and soy sausage links. Serve with a cup of green tea and cantaloupe slices.

Lunch: Burrito: Whole-grain tortilla filled with black beans, diced tomatoes, diced avocado, cooked scrambled tofu with taco seasoning, shredded vegan cheddar cheese, and a dab of soy sour cream. Serve with a side of fresh berries.

Dinner: Pepperoni veggie pizza, with homemade dough, Muir Glen Organic Pizza Sauce, Lightlife Smart Deli Pepperoni slices, shredded mozzarella cheese, sliced mushrooms, and chopped onions. Serve with a side garden salad.

Sunday

Breakfast: Breakfast bowl made of oatmeal with almond milk (or any milk substitute), a splash of brown rice syrup, sunflower seeds, sliced strawberries and banana cream on top (freeze banana slices in a zip-top bag overnight; in the morning blend frozen banana slices in a food processor until creamy).

Lunch: Coconut curry tempeh and brown rice veggie bowl made with Turtle Island Foods Coconut Curry Tempeh Strips, Uncle Bens Whole Grain Fast and Natural Instant Brown Rice, and sauted veggies of your choice topped with Mikes Organic Curry Love Sauce.

Dinner: Cajun Seitan Gumbo, made with Soyrizo sausage, vegan chicken, canned tomatoes, veggie broth, onions, veggies, cumin, and chili powder. Serve on a bed of brown rice with a side garden salad.

Weekend Snacks

Avoid the urge to succumb to carnivorous temptations by keeping snacks in close proximity. Here are a few things I like to keep stocked in my purse and in the pantry to use as quick fixes in between meals:

Cornbread muffins

Banana nut bread

Seasonal fruit salad

Trail mix

Energy bars

Hot cereal to go: Dr. McDougalls hot cereal cups

Whole-grain English muffins with sliced tomato, sliced avocado, and shredded vegan cheese (just heat in the broiler or oven until warm)

Unbuttered popcorn lightly sprayed with Braggs Liquid Amino Acids

Chips and salsa (or guacamole)

Whole-grain pretzels

Soy, coconut, or rice milk yogurt with sliced fruit

Nachos with soy cheese

So Delicious Coconut Yogurt Smoothie

Crackers with slices of vegan cheese

Pirates Booty, Veggie

Original Tings Corn Sticks

Soy milk drink boxes, vanilla or chocolate

Applesauce

ZenSoy organic soy pudding

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich

Hummus with raw veggies and pita bread

Dr. McDougalls baked ramen noodles soup cups

Soy jerky

Flavored firm tofu in smoked BBQ, teriyaki, or pineapple teriyaki sauce, cut into cubes

Whole-grain bagels with Earth Balance butter, peanut butter, and bananas

Graham crackers

Baked potato with steamed veggies and Earth Balance butter

Oven-roasted rosemary sweet potato fries

Pita chips

Baked chickpeas with cinnamon and sugar

Sliced avocado and tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and sea salt

Avocado and black-bean salsa with tortilla chips

Celery with peanut butter

Fat Fact Were getting bigger. Today, more than 7.3 million Americans are vegetarians and 1 million are vegans. Thanks to us, the number of land animals killed and eaten for food decreased by 300 million between 2008 and 2009.

My Vegan Rolodex: A Few of My Favorite Plant-Based Recipes

With nearly ten years under my belt as a vegan, I have meatless and dairy-free recipes coming out of my ass. But there are a few dozen I keep within a close distance for any and all occasions. Some are simple. Some are not for the faint of heart. And some are just to cheer me up when I want to strangle someone. Whatever makes them particularly special, they earn their own category in my recipe Rolodex.

Blueberry and Lemon Cream Parfait

Easy to prepare, light, and refreshing. This parfait is a divine treat, but who says you cant have dessert for breakfast? Not me.

Yield: 4 servings

6 ounces soy or rice milk vanilla yogurt

4 ounces cream cheese alternative (Tofutti or Follow Your Heart brand)

1 teaspoon raw agave nectar (or maple syrup)

1 teaspoon lemon zest, freshly grated

1 teaspoon ground flax or chia seeds

3 cups fresh blueberries

In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt, cream cheese, and agave nectar. Beat on high speed with an electric mixer until the mixture is light and creamy. Stir in the lemon zest and the seeds. Layer the cream and blueberries in tall cups or dessert dishes. Eat immediately, or cover and refrigerate.

Pizza Dough

I love to see the look on peoples faces when I tell them I still eat pizza. They just cant understand how thats even possible. Well, its more than possible, and yes, its delicious. You can add any topping, and thanks to a new influx of vegan cheeses, you get an ooey, gooey, cheesy pizza. This dough recipe can be used for making calzones or potpies as well.

Yield: 8 slices

1 cup warm water

teaspoon active dry yeast

teaspoon evaporated cane sugar

teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 cups unbleached white pastry flour

1 cup unbleached whole-wheat flour

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the water, yeast, and sugar and let sit until the mixture begins to bubble, about 5 minutes. Add the salt and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the yeast mixture. Slowly add the pastry flour. When the dough starts to thicken, use your hands to mix in the wheat flour and knead until smooth. Place the dough in a large oven-safe bowl that has been lightly oiled and cover with plastic wrap.

Set the dough in the oven (not turned on) until doubled in size, about an hour. When the dough has expanded, place on a floured cutting board or a flat surface and roll out the dough to desired size or shape. Transfer the dough to an oiled baking sheet. Top with desired ingredients and bake 15 or 20 minutes.

Toppings:

Muir Glen or Eden Organic pizza sauce

Shredded mozzarella vegan cheese (try Daiya or Follow Your Heart)

Your choice of veggies: sliced mushrooms, onions, olives, green peppers, arugula, artichokes, tomatoes, or pineapple

Vegan pepperoni slices

Chopped vegan Italian sausage