Vegetarianism Made E-Z (Recipes and Stuff - NO debate allowed here!)

[Monica]

heres a website with a ton of info

Yes, that's a great site for info on raw vegan!

Here's how my vegetarian journey unfolded:

I was a typical junk food junkie, but had health problems, so got into alternative health at age 21. I gave up junk food and red meat for about a year, and then read 2 books that totally blew my mind: Survival into the 21st Century and The Essene Gospel of Peace Book 1 (attributed to Jesus).

I made a very drastic shift from a 'no red meat' diet to raw vegan, virtually overnight! This turned out to be a little too much too soon, not because I wasn't ready for it, but because I lacked the information to do it properly. We didn't have internet back in 1981! There were only a handful of books on the subject of raw vegan, and very few good recipes. It just wasn't practical.

I had that taste of raw vegan and I loved it! I felt vibrant, energized and even high; a natural high on life! But due to the lack of support, I later settled into a middle-of-the-road vegetarian diet for many years.

During those years, my husband and I would typically eat thusly:

Breakfast: Granola with soymilk (I no longer recommend soymilk, but there are nut milk and rice milks that are much better.) or a typical egg dish sans the bacon...or potato and egg tacos.

Lunch and Dinner: We'd take tofu salad sandwiches to work with us. Or we'd make cheese or tofu enchiladas and take leftovers to work, and heat them in the microwave. Or chinese stir-fry with fired tofu, rice and veggies. Or we'd eat the cheese enchiladas, rice and beans at a local Mexican restaurant...while pretending it didn't have lard. (We weren't purists whe it came to Mexican food - it would have been way more difficult because options were very limited back then.) Italian restaurants always had tomato-y or cheesy pastas to choose from. And of course there was always the old standby: Cheese pizza!

Lunch is a lot easier now. Back then we didn't have veggie burgers. But now most burger places have veggie burgers.

At home I'd cook enchiladas, lasagne, stir-fry, veggie burgers, falafel in pita bread, tempeh cutlets, or soups like miso-tempeh and lentil.

We ate really good during those years!

When I was pregnant, I added raw goat's milk and had eggs a bit more often, but other than that made no changes. Snacks were trail mix, raw nuts, etc. I actually didn't eat very much fruit in those days, though I did do a lot of juicing. (carrot, celery, beet, etc.)

Over the years, I leaned more towards vegan most of the time, but was never strict about it. I just felt healthier and didn't have the mucousy sinus stuff going on, when I avoided cheese.

My diet is a lot different now. Typically, for breakfast I have a smoothie made from almond milk (soaked almonds, hemp hearts, honey, vanilla and a pinch of Celtic salt), more hemp hearts, mild greens like lettuce or spinach, and fruit.

Lunch is typically a savory veggie stew of some sort, with an avocado or soaked, dried walnuts, or rice-almond bread with tahnini or coconut butter. Sometimes I'll do potatoes, baked or sauted, as a side to my veggie stew. and a big glass of fresh veggie juice (whatever greens I have in the garden, + carrot + cucumber usually). Sometimes I cook some rice and make sushi rolls (nori seaweed + rice + tofu + cucumber or whatever other veggies I feel like, + miso). Sometimes we have leftover rice and beans, but mostly the others in the family eat that. I am finding it too heavy these days. I just feel better when I eat raw, than when I eat cooked. Going vegetarian was, for me, a clear decision marked by instant action, but going raw vegan is more gradual and natural. Probably because I don't feel as strongly about it. It's not a conviction. It's just something I want to do.

Dinner and weekend meals, these days, are more experimental, being that we're exploring the world of delicious raw vegan entrees! A whole new world is opening up to me, and I feel much more energized when I eat raw. I'm learning how to make raw breads and crackers, and even raw potato chips! Pasta made from zucchini...that actually has a really nice al dente texture! With slightly warmed tomato sauce made from all raw ingredients. My next planned attempt is raw nut cheese that actually has the consistency of cheese! Amazing!

What I'm noticing, too, is that raw foods have such an amazing burst of flavor! Have they always tasted like this? Or do they taste different to me now? I think, as Pickle said, as we detoxify, our taste buds change. I am astounded at how I feel so many different flavors, on different areas of my tongue, when I eat a raw veggie stew! (The veggie stew has many variations, and it has become a standby for me, as I get educated on other delicious raw vegan foods.)

So rather than feeling deprived, I'm finding the raw vegan diet to be very exciting! so many new foods to try! I'm enjoying it.

I've heard of some people who switched from heavy meat-based to raw vegan overnight, because they were sick, and they later reported profound changes in their health and outlooks on life. I can relate, because 30 years ago, I did that too, though I didn't stick with it.

For my family and me, this is just the way we live. There are 4 of us in the house, and we're all vegetarians, we're all into juicing, and we're all leaning towards raw vegan, though we're in varying stages of that. It's kinda interesting how the others seem to be going in that direction on their own. I haven't stuck with it consistently, so I wasn't exactly an example to them. It just seems to be the direction we're all going in.

Anyway, for those who might be curious, this is what meals are like in a vegetarian household.