Can these people read my mind?

I was sitting at the kitchen table yesterday, looking at all of the quilt squares I had cut out. Somehow I ended up needing 9 more squares. Just 9 measly 5" squares of fabric to complete the quilt. I was irritated. 

My mom told me that she sent me a package, but I had no idea that it was going to be so awesome. She sent me a ton of awesome stuff! I have to share what she sent me and brag on my mom a bit! 

On the upper left, you can see that she sent me some tea accessories that I grew up with. Major nostalgia. 

My rotary cutter is dull and frustrating, so here's a new one. She didn't know that I needed a new one. My quilting square is too small to cut the diagonal straight on my squares, so here's a longer one. She didn't know about that either. 

I wanted my next quilt to be a hexagon quilt, so naturally here are some pages for making sturdy templates. She didn't know I needed that. 

One of my main fabrics in my quilt is a batik. Here are some more batik fabrics to help me finish my quilt. I'm pretty sure that the bottom right one will be perfect.

She also included two quilting magazines. They have patterns and templates, which are awesome. 

Thanks for reading my mind, mom! This was the perfect selection of items to keep my quilting going. You rock! 

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

And the "Husband of the Year" award goes to....

We ordered a web cam. Hit me up if you want to Skype with us...now with video! When the box came, I ripped it open, expecting just the webcam. Well, that's not all that was in there. 

First, let's rewind a bit. I am a good present guesser. Husband HATES it when I guess his presents, and I must say that I have pretty good accuracy with my guesses. It bums him out. 

So, this time he didn't even tell me I was getting a present, and I was SUPER surprised! 

It was a cookbook that I have been lusting after for a while now, Vegannonicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. 

Best part: he randomly picked it! He didn't know that I was crushing on it. 

Isa and Terry are behind the briefly lived public access TV show about vegan cooking, titled Post Punk Kitchen. That show launched an amazing website, www.theppk.com, which has tons of amazing recipes and forums. If you follow me on pinterest, know that 99.99 percent of vegan recipes I pin are from this lovely site. 

 I spend one rainy, cold, cloudy afternoon looking through it and marking recipes that made my mouth water. As you can see, there were a lot! 

I am so excited to share with you the awesome things that are inside! It's a great cookbook for anyone wanting to eat healthier, or decrease the animal products they are consuming. 

Last night I used two ideas to make a simple delicious dinner of steamed kale with sesame salt on top of brown rice with a tahini-miso sauce. Yum. 

If you are looking for a cookbook to help you eat less animal products, check this out. I recommend it for anyone!

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

'Lenta Corn Bread

I had a problem. I really wanted cornbread to go with some leftover green chile, but all I had was polenta sized cornmeal. I don't take NO easily, so I googled the method and then made my own version. It turned out great. So great that it was almost better than regular cornbread. If you want something different, you should try this. Here's the scoop:

Southwest Polenta Corn Bread

3 cups polenta
3 cups boiling water, divided
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 tbsp oil
1 cup milk alternative of choice
1 tbsp ground flax seed
3 tbsp water for flax seed
2 tsp baking powder
3-4 dried chiles (I had California chilies, which are Anaheim chiles and pretty mild)
1-2 Jalapenos, diced 
1 heaping tsp garlic salt
1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp chipolte hot sauce, optional  

In a small heat-proof bowl, soak dried chiles in 1 cup boiling water. Pour the remaining 2 cups boiling water over the polenta in a large heat-proof bowl. Add maple syrup and oil. Stir to combine, and let sit 40 minutes. 

In the meantime, grind the flax seeds in a mortar and pestle or grinder. This will be the egg substitute in the bread. Mix with 2 tbsp water and set aside. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Add the diced jalapenos to the polenta. With kitchen shears, shred the dried soaked chiles into the polenta. Stir to combine.

 Add the milk, baking powder, garlic salt, chili powder, and hot sauce. 

Pour into well greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until top is just browned. 

Eat. This didn't need any butter or honey or anything!

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

White Bean and Kale Magic

Alright, so I wasn't planning on posting this dish on the blog. But OH MY GOSH you guys, this turned out so good. I need to share the recipe, just know that there are no progress shots along the way. 

I cooked a bunch of beans yesterday, one variety being great northern beans. Vegans + beans = match made in dietary heaven. I soaked them overnight, then boiled them in fresh (unsalted) water for about 30ish minutes, scraping off the foam that formed on top. That's how you basically cook any bean, ever. You can use canned beans in this recipe, but make sure to rinse them well to get the goo off. 

Here's the recipe: 

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 of a medium yellow onion, chopped
1/2 of a medium red onion, chopped
1/2 bunch of italian parsley, chopped
3 large cloves of garlic, diced
juice of 1-2 lemons
3 cups great northern beans, cooked
3 cups kale, chopped
1 tbsp herbs de provence (or poultry herb blend)
1 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup raw walnuts, chopped
3 cups cooked grain (could use farro, rice, barley, or bulgur--I used bulgur)
1/4 cup bread crumbs
fresh ground pepper
salt

In a big pot over medium heat, saute both varieties of onion in olive oil, then add the garlic and parsley. Let that cook for about 30.3556 seconds. Then add the lemon juice, beans, herbs de provence, and kale. Stir to combine, then add the vegetable stock and sun dried tomatoes. Let the kale cook in the vegetable stock until just tender, and add in the cooked grain and raw walnuts. If your grains were cold, stir until heated through. Season with lots of pepper and minimal salt, to taste. Top with breadcrumbs right before serving. 

Try this dish, it's an absolute stunner. It's perfect for a cold winter's night, as it is warm and comforting yet still fresh. 

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

Operation Quilt

I've always wanted to make a quilt. I love to cuddle with a finished quilt, and I think that sewing small pieces together precisely is much easier than sewing big pieces without error. So, since my motto during my year off has been "do it now, while you have time!", I'm totes making one. 

It's going to be a full size quilt, in a chevron pattern made up of triangles. Here's what the pattern will look like: 



My quilt will have lots of patterns (Mixing patterns gives me great joy!) and a different color scheme of brown, yellow, and blues. Some patterns were from my fabric stash, which really kept the cost down. This project allowed me to use up a TON of fabric that I have been holding on to. Yet another reason to quilt. 
Here are the fabrics I have selected for the quilt: 

First step is to cut squares. A lot of squares. I spent most of yesterday afternoon cutting precise 5" squares. 

I still have more to cut, then they get sewed diagonally and cut into triangles. Here's my lame awesome paint diagram: 

Of course you know I'll keep you updated! There's a lot of work to be done but I'm loving this project. 

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

New Year Refresh

I've been working on organizing and cleaning our home lately, as the new year has me thinking about freshening up our home. 

One place that was driving me crazy was the TV area. It had dangling cords, video games and movies everywhere, and generally looked cluttered. This past weekend the Husband just happened to go to town on the video game situation, and magically fit all of the games and movies into concealed storage around the den. That was a big problem solved. All I had to do was mess with the accessories, which is my favorite part! 

Here's what it looked like before any work was done: 

And here's the after: 

I changed the order of the candles on top, and traded the plant to be on the left (closer to the window). Then I put the speaker on top of the unit, stuck video game controllers in the army truck, cleaned up the massive pile of catalogs on the right, and tied back the cords hanging around the fireplace. I kept the shelves very simple, and tried to balance the pictures and accessories on either side. My favorite part is always messing with the accessories, you've just gotta mess with it until it feels right. I also traded out the big ottoman for the small one that came with the sofa. I don't know if we'll keep it here, but I need to do some work on the other one before it comes back. 

I hope that this post inspires you to tackle an area of your space that is bothering you. It feels so good to re-imagine a space that you see everyday. Change is good! 

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

Quick Vegan Meals

Although I have mentioned that cooking vegan food can take a bit longer, I have developed some recipes for those nights that are pressed for time. It is possible to eat quickly as a vegan without sacrificing nutrition by resorting to packaged foods. These meals are not super "vegany" and I totally think anyone would enjoy them--vegan or not. 

 Here are my top 5 favorite quick vegan food ideas.

1. Rice and Bean Bowl
I take brown rice (either cook in advance or buy the microwaveable pouches) and black beans (canned or dried ones that you cooked). I stick the beans and rice in a bowl and microwave. Then I add red onion, cilantro, avocado, and  lots of hot sauce. This is my absolute favorite quick meal. 

2. Real Ramen
Saute garlic, onion, ginger, and a chopped jalapeno in a bit of olive oil. Add vegetable broth, which will be the base of the ramen. Take some noodles (either buckwheat soba, asian udon noodles, or regular spaghetti) and simmer them in the vegetable broth mix until tender. Add some veggies to the ramen, like kale, mushrooms, or green onions. Top with a squirt of sesame seed oil. 

3. Super Simple Italian Pasta
Saute garlic and onion in a pan, add one can of diced tomatoes (bonus points if fire roasted!). Salt and pepper to taste. Add plenty of fresh basil and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Toss with cooked penne.  

4. Hearty Salad
Take a cooked and cooled grain (farro, barley, quinoa, brown rice) and place in the bottom of a bowl. Top with kale or spinach, nuts of your choice, seeds (I like sunflower seeds for this), green onions, avocado, pomegranate seeds, and dressing of your choice. I usually do maple-miso dressing, which is miso paste (check to make sure it doesn't have fish stock in it), maple syrup, flax seed oil, and water to balance. 

5. Quinoa Fried Rice
Cook quinoa until tender. In another pan, saute garlic, onions, and ginger. Then add shredded cabbage, broccoli, and mushrooms (whatever veg you want!) and cook until just tender. Add the quinoa and season with sesame seed oil, soy sauce, sriracha, and a splash of rice wine vinegar. Top with sesame seeds. 

I hope that these easy meals inspire you to try some vegan recipes for yourself! Anything is possible with some easy planning and creativity! 

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

Hey Hot Stuff!

Yesterday I mentioned my new addiction to hot sauce. It's been less than a week since I bought the two bottles (not small ones either) and they are halfway gone. Hot sauce is not the cheapest thing out there. Sure it's cheap by the bottle, but there's not a whole lot in there. It's about three dollars at the grocery store for a five ounce bottle. At the rate I am going through it, this could get expensive fast. We are cheap around these parts. 

My personal favorite is the Cholula Chipolte sauce. 



It's not too hot, but smoky and delish. 

We generally think that doing something yourself makes it inherently better. I set out, with that philosophy in mind, to create my own version of this hot sauce. Another benefit I am anticipating is a cleaner product with nothing that I don't recognize on the ingredient list. 

I use chipolte peppers in adobo sauce in mexican dishes all the time, so that's what I looked to while brainstorming. 
I can get a 7oz can for $1.77 at the grocery store. I procured two of them and set off on my journey. 

In case you didn't know, chipolte peppers are just jalapenos that have been smoke dried. 

The ingredients on the cholula bottle include peppers, vinegar, and brown sugar. That's what I focused on while making my version. 

I added both cans of the chipolte peppers in adobo to my food processor. You could also use a blender if that's what you have on hand. 

Then throw in about a 1/4 cup of brown sugar. I estimate this to cost about 6 cents. With the $1.77x2 for the peppers, we are at $3.60 total. 

Start blending while slowly adding 1 cup vinegar and 3/4 cup of water. Vinegar is $3 for two gallons at my local costco. I calculated that to be roughly 9 cents. 

Now we're at $3.69, a bit more
 than the cost of a new bottle of Cholula. 

Taste and adjust to your liking. I ended up adding about 1/2 cup more water to thin it so it was easily poured. 

So, does it taste like the Cholula? 
It's better. No, really. It tastes more smoky and is a gorgeous color. 

It also made 20 whole ounces. 

So, I made four bottles of sauce for the cost of maybe 1.25 cholula bottles. I think my hot sauce addiction can continue without fear of bankruptcy. 
I look forward to making more varieties of hot sauce and sharing the results with you! 

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

Fortnight Vegan: Gains and Losses

We've been vegan for two weeks now, and I thought you might like an update about how we are feeling. 

Here's what we've gained: 

Energy
I have more energy than I have had in a loooong time. (like childhood) Unless I specifically make sure to get out the extra energy before bedtime, I end up taking longer to go to sleep. When I fall asleep, I sleep deep. I am not running around like when I was teaching, so naturally there's less energy expended. 

Creativity
I am having a blast cooking. It's fun to use different ingredients, feel great about what I am serving, and explore tastes that I am not used to. You can cook so many different things with plants, it's incredible. 

A Hot Sauce Addiction
Yeah, can't explain that. I made some Chipolte-ish rice and bean bowls--which are now my absolute favorite thing to  eat--and hot sauce went on that....and everything since then. Husband is threatening to take it away. 

A Clear Head
This is one of the things that you don't notice right away, but I am starting to pick up on it. There's no fog after eating, no crash after eating that makes me cranky. I didn't realize that something was wrong, but something clearly was. 

An Appetite
I'm so hungry all the time. I think that my body is digging what I'm giving it. This food also digests easier, which equals earlier hunger. Also, I don't have to worry about going back for seconds. For example, yesterday I made a vegan lasagna. Where once I wouldn't have gone back for seconds due to the cheese, meat, etc, I now can go back as much as I like, since it's packed with veggies. 

What We've Lost: 


Cravings
I expected to be insanely ravenous for cheese or meat. Not the case. This diet is not restricting at all. The only "mmmmmm" moment I have had was when we were walking out of Home Depot and the hot dog cart smelled so good. I might have to pick up some veggie dogs soon to squash that craving. Good thing there's an alternative for almost everything out there. I don't feel like I'm denying myself at all. 

Weight
I've lost weight....while eating the most volume I have ever eaten. I can get used to that. 

Food Safety Concerns
This is minor, but I noticed how nice it is to not worry about where you put that raw chicken, and remembering to wash your hands immediately.

Spontaneity
This is not true for every vegan (some vegans do more packaged vegan food), but I have noticed that the meals take a little longer. I am fixing that by prepping a bunch of one ingredient, then eating off that for a while. Another thought is that eating out is harder. We don't generally eat out at all, but sometimes it is nice. Luckily we live in Portland where the vegan foods cascade down from the mountain tops like a soy avalanche. But going to a conventional restaurant is harder, and we have to check out the menu in advance online. If that's the only negative that I have right now, it seems worth it to me! 

Obviously I'm not an expert, so don't take my observations about my family as medical advice. All I know is that we're having a blast, and we're only two weeks in to the three month challenge. 

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

Curb Alert!

I like projects. I like free projects even more. Naturally, I like to scope out the free pickings that I sometimes see on the curb. Husband and I spotted this dresser a couple nights ago, hopped out to inspect it, and shoved it in the car. 

It's a solid piece, with nice vintage lines. But all that paint, ugh. The gunky drawer liners, ew. Icky clunky drawer pulls. But we can rebuild her. 

I can either go paint, or stain/oil finish.
 I could also combine paint and stain like this:
 

Lets be honest, my curb girl's clunky lines are never going to look this stylish and mid century chic, but a girl can dream. 

It will really depend on what the wood looks like under the paint. In my wildest dreams it will be some gorgeous rosewood or something and I will just rub some tung oil on it and call it a day. First step will be stripping all that paint off, pronto. 

Buuuuuut hold up. It's cold here right now and the paint stripper I bought calls for higher temps. I will be waiting, patiently waiting, for it to warm up a bit. 

Don't worry, I will be taking you with me on this journey from curb reject to (hopefully) fabulous! 

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

Vitamin K

I have a cold, so I'm taking it easy. In an effort to eat some veggies instead of all the brown rice that I have been eating (It's the only thing that sounds good!) I made some kale chips. I cannot resist anything with a nice crunch, no matter how sick I am. And kale chips are so good, and so easy. 

You'll find a bazillion recipes on the interwebs for them, but this is how I have made them for a year or so now. I like them nutty and a bit spicy....just like my men. That's a knee slapper right there!

The key is having kale that is very very dry. I buy pre-washed and dried kale for this reason. So much easier. 

This recipe is easily altered, just know that you need an oil and seasonings. If you have liquid seasonings (like lemon juice or something) it will take a bit longer in the oven. You can make them as fancy with the seasonings that you like, but I like simplicity. 


I use: 
2 tbsp sesame seed oil
1 tsp garlic chili sauce
dash of salt   
1/4 lb kale, washed and dried completely

Preheat your oven to 450. Mix up the oil, chili sauce, and salt. Put the kale in a big bowl and pour the mix over it. You might want to pick the stems out of the kale, but I like them. 
Toss to combine, massaging the kale just a little bit while you whisper sweet nothings. 

Spread out into an even layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, turn the baking sheet around and bake for another two minutes. Keep going in 2 minute intervals until you have the crisp chips you desire. In my oven it takes about 9 minutes. 
 There is a fine line between done and burnt. You are aiming for dark green with brown edges. Once you are at that stage, pull them and get them off the pan. Eat them. Then thank me. You are welcome. 

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

5 Steps to Being a Better Cook

Cooking your own meals is a great way to stretch your budget, increase confidence, and have fun. If you find it intimidating--as many people do--here are my five steps to gain confidence in the kitchen! 

1. Believe you can do it! 
If you eat something in a restaurant that you adore, think about how you could make it yourself. Believe me, there are very little things at a restaurant that you cannot make at home. If you have no idea how to make it, at least think of the flavors in your mouth and how they compliment one another. Then, look online to find a recipe to recreate it. 

Real life example: Back in my meat eating days, I liked some chick-fil-a once in a while. (Oregon doesn't have chick-fil-a and I'm no longer interested in going there--for multiple reasons) With the help of the internet, I created a sandwich that we think is just as good, and cheaper!

2. Walk before you run!
Use a recipe the first time, the second time, and until you feel super confident. One of the most enjoyable things is finally freeing yourself from a recipe and then making some alterations that end up still working. It also helps you to identify amounts of ingredients that are appropriate. You can apply that knowledge to other dishes. 
On the same note, I think making the same dish three times until it's perfection is more beneficial than skipping around from dish to dish. You are able to master techniques then move on, applying the techniques to the next recipe. 

Real life example: I had no problem making lots of things without a recipe, but now I am back to using lots of recipes while I am learning how to cook vegan food! It's a whole new world! 

3. Practice the minutia! 
Do you know how to fold, whip, dice, and julienne? Knowing the motions and routines of cooking help it eventually become second nature. There are tons of videos on you tube to help increase your knowledge. 

Real life example: The first time I made a souffle, I watched about a million videos on how to fold in egg whites. It's a crucial part of the recipe, and I wanted to get it right. It worked. 

4. Stick to a theme. 
This suggestion is best if you are concerned about lots of ingredients that you only use once, or the cost of trying lots of recipes. Personally, I recommend Asian food as a good starter theme. It seems super complicated (It's not!) and it is a great confidence booster once you master it. The ingredients are used in many other dishes, which saves on cost. Also, Asian food is a great way to use many techniques. You will learn great knife skills, how to stir fry, saute, fry, make a soup, balance flavors, and make a number of delicious sauces. 

Real life example: I have a fridge full of Asian ingredients, and I never am at a loss of something to make. I have sesame seed oil, soy sauce, miso, chili garlic sauce, rice vinegar, teriyaki sauce, fish sauce (well, not anymore), lots of veggies, rice, wonton wrappers, and noodles. You can get these ingredients for super cheap at an Asian grocery store. 

5. Enjoy the ride!
Something doesn't work? You burn something? No big deal! The key is to not get discouraged, but rather to think about what you could do differently next time. You may need a different recipe, tool, or ingredient. Cooking takes a while to master, so be patient and keep trying! 

Real life example: I am working on the perfect veggie patty. It must stay together, be super nutritious, and be tasty. It is a hard thing to achieve but I keep trying! 

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

Muffin Man

We are really enjoying being vegan, but one thing we have struggled with is breakfast. Since we are not big tofu eaters, we ruled out tofu scrambles (except for special occasions). 
That does leave a myriad of other options, including breakfast burritos, peanut butter toast, oatmeal, and muffins. 

We (meaning the husband) love muffins. So I researched how to make some delicious vegan muffins, and here's what I came up with. The recipe is based off of a couple of recipes I found online, and I have altered it enough to call it my own. The trick is to leave the flour and milk out overnight to soften the flour. It makes for a really light muffin.  

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups milk alternative of choice (I used coconut)
 1 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp oil of choice (I used olive oil)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup frozen berries, thawed (juices and all)
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup walnut pieces

Mix together the flour, milk, and vinegar. Leave on counter overnight. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix to combine. Don't worry if it looks grey (I was a little freaked out...), mine baked to a nice blueberry shade. 

Pour into an oiled muffin tin, fill 2/3 of the way. Mine made about 18 muffins. 

Bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes. 

Serve with some vegan butter. YUM. 

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

Grocery Time!

We went shopping a couple days ago to really kick off the vegan challenge. Here's what my list looked like: 

miso paste

earth balance soy free buttery spread

earth balance vegan mayo—check to see that it’s soy free

Lots of veggies—free for all!

Fruits

Craisins

pomegranate

Ener G egg replacer 

Cashews

walnuts

Almonds

Sunflower seeds

A couple of blocks shelf stable tofu

Vegetable base

Ezekiel bread

Pasta

Tahini

Wheat germ

Sublingual B12 supplement—look for Deva vegan B12 with folic acid and B6. Methylcobalamin Natural factors, superior source.

Flax seed oil—check for high lignin

Chia seeds

Sprouting seeds

I just copied and pasted from word. Typos, random italics, cryptic notes and all.

We ended up going to FOUR grocery stores. Yeah, that's not going to happen all the time, but I wanted to build up my vegan pantry stock from a couple stores. When I'm out of something, I can just swing by.

We went to an awesome Asian grocery store (It's the size of a regular grocery store!), New Seasons (like Whole Foods), Trader Joe's (Think small awesome health food store), and my standby Winco. 

Here's what we actually purchased: 

And at TJ's the next day (it was closed on New Years)

Trader Joe's has the best looking packaging ever!

We noticed throughout the shopping experience how simple it was for us to grocery shop now. There are basically two sections to shop in now, produce and bulk. I like the bulk selection at Winco and buy a lot there. I just grabbed veggies that looked great, some bulk staples like lentils, nuts, spices, and we were good to go. 

I also noticed how much room in my budget there was for things that I couldn't normally buy. I bought unusual mushrooms, mangoes, fun root veggies--basically whatever I wanted in the produce section. It was totally awesome and it made it super fun to cook with those ingredients later. 

I didn't take a before of our fridge, but I took an after! 

Looking pretty fly there fridge!

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland. 

Vegan Challenge!

Announcement Time. Starting 1/1/13, Husband and I are doing a three month vegan challenge. Yes, I am going vegan for three months. I will then re-evaluate and determine if this lifestyle is for me. When in Portland, do as the Portlandians do?

You probably have some questions, and I will do my best to anticipate them. I also wanted to just share some of the interesting things that I have found during my research. It was so educational for me to write this post, and I think that learning about other lifestyles--even if they don't jive with
 you--is such a beneficial thing! Hopefully you agree!

  Here's the scoop: 

Why are you going vegan? 

What it boils down to is that I can't figure out why I'm not already vegan. I have a lot of time to think about the person that I want to be while staying at home, and I think that the vegan lifestyle fits with the person I have always been. It's a lot harder to stop and think about a life decision while working nonstop. Thankfully, I have had the opportunity to spend this time aligning who I am with who I have always wanted to be. 

But really, why?
Initially, I was intrigued by the health benefits and started researching. It is truly amazing what a plant based diet (I will be Vegan, which is ALL plant) can achieve, as many doctors today will tell you. We can truly reduce or eliminate MANY diseases in our society with a plant based diet. I have had digestion problems off and on for a while, and I am interested in what this diet holds for me. I'm only on this earth for a short time, and I want my life with my husband to be as long and healthy as possible. I believe this is my route to that. 

Some information on the health benefits can be found in 
this documentary
this documentary
this documentary
this documentary

All available on Netflix instant stream in the full version. 

What about a peer reviewed study with some serious science? 
Well, since I like my knowledge to be easily digestible and in video form, I found this video for you. His sources are all peer reviewed articles from the last year. 

Next, I started thinking about the animal welfare issue. I personally have had deep compassionate feelings toward all animals from a young age. Everyone that knows me closely would verify this. This is not true for everyone. The treatment that all food animals receive currently is absolutely unacceptable to me. My thought process is that we know animals feel pain and understand the difference between a hitting and a petting hand. They also know humans can provide both. It's up to humans to be the smarter, better species and do the right thing. I won't link to such videos that depict the condition of animals right now, all over the world, but if you are interested you can easily find them on the internet. 

Lastly, I think about the effect of animal product consumption on the planet. I won't talk about this a lot, but  it is interesting to think that one pound of beef takes five pounds of grains to grow, and then that grain needs to be grown with lots of water, harvested, and shipped to the location of the beef. How many people can those grains feed? It has made me reflect even deeper about how I can help the Earth. 

But your nutrients?
Honestly, this is the part I am the least stressed about. Here's what nutrients you might be wondering about. 

Protein
We already eat a lot of Quinoa, which is a complete protein. 
We love tofu, although I will try to keep my soy intake low. 
Beans are a staple in my diet. 
I drink a vegan (not initially on purpose) pea protein shake after the gym 3+ times a week.
We love lentils in Indian food and soups. 
Even certain vegetables have protein. For example, calorie for calorie, broccoli has more protein than a steak. Obviously, I'm not going to eat enough broccoli in one sitting to equal the calories in a steak, but you see the idea that vegetables can have protein as well. 

Calcium
Leafy greens for the win. Covered. 

Iron
Chickpeas are great. 
Beans of all types will be a staple. 

B12
Once upon a time, we pulled up our veggies from the Earth and ate them. This dirt on our veggies is the where B12 was found. Nowadays, I don't like the taste  of dirt and I bet you don't either. 
So, I will be chowing down on some nutritional yeast, which is a great B12 source and a parmesan sub. 
My coconut derived milk substitute is B12 fortified. 
I will mostly likely buy supplements, but your body stores a lot of B12 for future use, so I'm not going to be deficient starting day one. 

Omega 3
I will be ingesting flax oil daily in my salad dressings and by the tablespoon. 

Vitamin D
This being the Northwest, I already take a D supplement. 

All in all, I feel like my vegan diet will be more planned and balanced than my current diet! 

Why not just be a vegetarian?
I have been mostly cutting out dairy for about 2 years now due to digestion. I love eggs so much, but I have ethical issues with them and I can do without. 
So vegan is the natural next step. 

But you love cooking!
We already eat at least 4 meatless meals around these parts a week. I promise that life will not be all salads. That would NOT fly with husband. I am intrigued about how my cooking will change. 
What I am not going to do is mimic my diet now with lots of vegan subs like soy meats. You get the most benefits from non processed whole vegetables. 
I am super excited about cooking vegan food and I will share lots of recipes with you on de blog! 

So Sheridan, you are throwing away all your leather shoes?
In short, no. I am still working out where I stand on this issue. Am I going to buy leather shoes new? Probably not. Will I thrift a leather purse? Possibly. Will I wear the leather shoes I already own? Yes. 

Think of money as a vote. If I buy leather shoes at a store and spend my vote that way, it might encourage them to buy more leather products for the store. If I get a leather purse at goodwill, will it encourage them to get more leather in? No, because they don't control who donates what. If I throw out my own shoes that I already have, that's just crazy.  



If you STILL want more information, (Geez, have I created a monster??) this site is great. 
http://www.vegankit.com/

It has some more animal welfare information, lots of food information, health information, basically it's got it all. 

Bottom line, do what you like with your diet. One of the greatest choices we have on this earth is what we put in our mouths! 
Please leave a comment with any questions you might have. I enjoy thinking about the things I need to consider while trying out this crazy life. 

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland.