Mmmm.... dinner.

I just made the absolute best dinner, and it reminds me of how wonderfully accessible New York is in terms of going vegan. The Whole Foods in Union Square is now selling awesome pre-packaged tempeh in different kinds of marinade (two different companies are putting out this new kind of "ready made" tempeh). It's so delicious and easy to cook, because all you need to do is add a little bit of oil and allow the tempeh to brown- done. Tonight, I added an indian coconut sauce and some lemon juice, threw in some baby spinach, and the whole thing came together so well. I also made another new favorite of mine this year- polenta (just sliced it up, threw it over some oil, and let it brown on both sides), and I roasted some asparagus in the oven with a little lemon juice on top. I am a happy girl.

It was raining like crazy today and cold too, and when the weather is like this, I'm always reminded of my favorite time of year- the days between Thanksgiving and New Year's (specifically: the week leading up to Christmas). I've been indulging in some holiday tunes on my Ipod (I'm also listening on the computer now- what a dork I am), and just letting myself dream about holidays past. Last year was great, because it was my first Christmas/Birthday eating vegan, and I was so new to the whole process. Now that I've been going six months strong, I've learned so much more about how to cook, what foods work with my lifestyle, and even better, how to make delicious food that gets people who aren't vegan talking. I can't wait to cook up some amazing new holiday dishes- hey, I may even actually make a tofurky style roast this year! This holiday season will also be another first- it will be my first holiday married to Steve. Man, that's crazy to even type here. I can't believe the whole thing is less than seven months away. Smiles and tears abound.

Two of the things I love most about Steve are his abilities to support and encourage. Steve, while not a vegetarian or vegan himself, has been open to every single food I've experimented with, and he never makes fun of my new methods of eating. He eats vegan dinners with me 4-5 times during a normal week and loves to help cook tofu, tempeh, and the like in completely different ways. It's funny to think about- I used to HATE tempeh. With a passion. Steve and I tried to make it early on (around November or so) and we didn't know what we were doing. It came out bland and not at all what tempeh has the ability to be. But Steve reworked some things, and a few months ago made one of the best dinners I've ever had- terryaki tempeh. I couldn't believe I was eating the same food I loathed a few months prior. But that's Steve- he's super creative and always believes in finding ways to help.

As I listen to Johnny Mathis singing "White Christmas" on a rainy day in April, I am so thankful to have the support system I do, as well as the strength within me to continue eating vegan. Tonight's dinner remains proof that cooking and eating vegan does not have to be a tiring task- in fact, it's pretty fun. Sometimes I forget how much fun this lifestyle can be, especially when I'm in other places that aren't as accommodating. Thankfully, I can rest assured that while I live in New York, I can eat and cook easily as a vegan. And hopefully the rest of the country (and world) will catch on. Hey, a girl can dream, right?

Wonderful News

As a continuation from last week, I am 3 pounds lighter and going strong from Weight Watchers! It was tough last week, because I had a crazy weekend and ate out a lot, so I didn't lose any extra weight, but knowing that has kicked my butt into high gear, and now I'm trying to really eat well and exercise a little bit every day.

But that wasn't the good news... here it is (drum roll please):

I have been chosen to be a Campaign Intern for the Farm Sanctuary this summer! This company is my absolute favorite animal rights organization, and I am thrilled to get to try my hand at activism. It's been a slow year so far for acting (my usual passion), so to have this change of pace will be quite refreshing. I cannot wait to blog more about this experience in the months to come!

And I leave you with this quote, just because:

"I slept and dreamt that life was joy,

I awoke and saw that life was service

I acted and behold, service was joy." (Rabindranath Tagor)

And as a P.S.: I am very happy to have read a quite enlightening NY Times article, so I've added the link here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/opinion/09kristof.html.

I hope everyone has a beautiful spring day wherever they are!

Weight Watchers: A Vegan Journey

It's definitely been a while since my last post, which I shall attribute to the crazy amount of wedding planning I've been doing with Steve. So far, we are well ahead of the game (we even put a deposit down on a vegan wedding cake!). Which allows me to talk about my new topic- being on Weight Watchers as a vegan.

Why am I on Weight Watchers, you might be wondering? Well, it seems eating vegetarian and vegan does not always equal a skinny butt, like most would assume. This past year, I have been introduced to so many new foods and flavors, and my mom gave me a HUGE food processor for Christmas, which has led to countless vegan baking sessions. The result of all this yummy food goodness? I've gained seven pounds. Yep.

So, after the tears and laughter and disbelief- have I really gained this weight? Seriously??- I got real and did what any 25 year-old Vegan with no money for a gym would do- I joined Weight Watchers Online, of course. :)

Well, it's been a little over a week, and I've already shed 2 pounds on the plan! I haven't felt deprived or hungry from it- in fact, it's caused me to eat more than before. The trick is that most vegetables on the plan are only a "zero point" food, which means you can basically eat unlimited amounts of them and be okay. So, the food I've been filling myself up with more are veggies, fruits, and smaller portions of the things I love.

(By the way, The WW system is based on a point system, where you find out the point of each food by calculating it's calories, fat, and fiber. At my current weight, I'm allotted 22 points each day, with 35 "flex points" to use at any time during the week. Also, if I exercise, I can exchange "activity points" for food points. It's all a bit complex at first, but once you get a hang of it, it's a breeze.)

My favorite discovery has been that I was cooking with wayyyyy too much oil when I made dinners. Every meal began with either frying up tofu or tempeh in a pan with a lot of oil. It's definitely tasty that way, but on Weight Watchers, it equals many, many points. As a result, I've been having to get creative with how I cook. Instead of just layering the bottom of the pan with oil, I measure out a small amount. The food has tasted just as yummy, and since I'm not deprived, I have no desire to overeat. It's great.

The extra nice thing is the vegetarian message board on the WW website. While there is no vegan message board (yet), I've discovered many vegans on the boards talking- it's allowed me to feel relaxed in knowing that even someone with a vegan lifestyle can commit to a weight loss plan that's universal. I love it.

So, we shall see where this leads me (hopefully a few pounds lighter and a bit more toned from doing my awesome pilates video each week). For now, I've just finished a lovely breakfast of toast with jam, apple slices, and tea with soymilk (5 points).

Oh, and as a fun P.S.- kissing, dancing, laughing, walking, thinking, typing a new blog, bubble baths, hugging, and reading really interesting articles about veganism? All zero points. Awesome.

An Overwhelming Notion

On Wednesday, I was in the middle of my day, when a sense of sadness came upon me.

I couldn't remember how it began, but it permeated my day, so much so that I was having trouble relating to my work or anything else for that matter. I know that at some point in the morning, I was in deep thought about veganism and the world, and that over time, I began to obsess over the notion that while some people are changing, there are so many more who either don't know or don't care to change their habits in support of a better world for animals and the environment. What started out as a seed of thought ("I wish more people considered vegetarianism and veganism") spiraled into something much more time-consuming: the idea that I could not be the one to make all the people in the world change. So much suffering is going on at this very moment, and I am sometimes powerless to stop it. I cannot control the fact that animals are severely abused every minute of every day and killed for purposes I no longer understand. I began to feel so helpless and even hopeless about the whole situation.

I talked to my brother about this later in the evening, and he totally understood my predicament. He said that it's very normal to occassionally have overwhelming thoughts like I was having, and that a sense of not being able to control the situation can be very scary.

My brother's words comforted me immensely, and I was able to at least get through the rest of my day. But these thoughts have not completely left me. They may never leave me- as with anything one is truly passionate about, a worldly injustice is a never-ending thing. You can try to do what you can with what you have, but at some point, you have to let go and realize you cannot control it all. You can try to sign petitions, talk to friends, and put videos up on your website, but some people will still turn a blind eye to the horrors of this world. I did for a long time before I was forced to realize that if I love animals (and I do), I could no longer continue to pretend they weren't suffering just so I could have a full belly.

I feel like two years ago I woke up to a new world when I decided to become vegetarian. And in the past nearly 5 months since going vegan, my world has opened up even more. The toughest part about opening yourself up is that you let in both the good and the bad in this world. You have to, or otherwise nothing will change. That doesn't mean you can't continue to fight for good with a sense of positivity and hope- believe me, I'm usually a poster-child for positivity. It simply means that it's okay to have moments where you just feel overwhelmed, and even wiped out by it all.

In the recent VegNews March/April issue, a person sends in a concern to columnist Rory Freedman (co-writer of Skinny Bitch). After listing every single effort they've made to make this world a better place, they add: "This is going to sound terrible, but I am tired of being such a good person all the time. When I first went vegetarian, I did not know it was going to lead to all this. I feel like walking away from it all."

I love how Rory answers this person's concern- here's what she writes in response:

Can I get an amen? I imagine that everyone reading your gripe will be nodding his or her head in agreement. I remember when life was simple: I ate fast food (meat and all), threw the garbage out of the window of my car (literally), and thought nothing of driving three blocks when I could have (and should have) walked. I had no clue, no conscience, no aspirations- I was perfectly happy taking without thinking and stomping all over the planet. So, I know that I get it when I say that living consciously on this planet can be exhausting- both physically and mentally. And I know that I understand that the last thing you want to hear is how "it's the right thing to do," or that "it's people like you who have do to it or no one will," or "it's not so bad doing all of those things." Eff that- being a good person can suck! But at the very least, you can take solace in knowing that you're not alone in your occasional resentment.

Rory goes on to talk about a friend of hers who used to be like Rory- wasteful and self-centered about her actions toward this planet. She goes on to say that after holding in the desire to speak to her friend about her behavior, she finally tells her how wasteful she's really being. And once she talks to her friend, her friend begins to understand and wants to make changes. Rory ends her column with this:

Yeah, being a good person can be a pain in the ass at times. But fortunately- for yourself, for the animals, and for the environment- it's not something you will likely be able to turn off any time soon.

I like to think that my desire to help the animals of this world will never turn off, but I also hope against all else that I will eventually live in a world that cares more about this issue. I really and truly do have hope that people will begin to open their eyes and realize that they have so much power just by picking up their fork to eat. It's that simple- and yet, it is quite an overhwelming notion.

Reasons to Smile Today

1. After lots of talks and a few months of trying it out, my sister has finally decided to go completely vegetarian.

2. I just received my March/April issue of VegNews. :) (http://www.vegnews.com/- check it out- it's an amazing magazine.)

3. It just hit me- Steve, the always compassionate omnivore, eats meals with me 4-5 times a week. That means, he eats vegan at least 3-4 times a week. And that's a very good thing.

4. My best friend just bought her first half-gallon of soymilk.

5. Tonight, I've decided to create a delicious new dinner- pasta with tempeh, asparagus, and peas in a lemon basil garlic sauce. Mmmm....

6. My wedding site has agreed to give Steve and me a vegetarian wedding.

7. My kitties were all waiting at home for me, purring and ready to give and receive some serious love.

8. Not only do I have my basic food needs met, but I have the freedom and opportunity to really get creative with cooking vegan.

9. I just cheered up my babysitting kids (who also happen to be very picky eaters) by telling them the story of how I grew to love tofu.

10. I'm beginning to see change all around me that gives me hope that someday, not too far away from now, we will have a more compassionate world when it comes to animals.

Peanut Butter Tofu

I have finally made an original dish that has become a staple in the Lindsay/Steve household, simply because it's a tasty winner all around: Peanut Butter Tofu. I made up this dish last week when I was in the mood to make two different kinds of tofu: tofu terryaki and... something else. But where to start? I opened my fridge, and there it was- a peanut butter jar calling out my name. So, I experimented with it, and both Steve and I were super pleased with the results, so much so that I decided to make it again last night. It has a total comfort food feel, and anyone who is new to tofu should give this recipe a whirl, especially if you happen to love peanut butter as much as I do. Here's what I did:

With a single package of "Extra Firm" tofu, I press it (You can press your own tofu by taking it out of it's water and packaging, slicing the block widthwise into 3 or 4 smaller blocks and spreading them out on a flat surface, and then placing either a clean dish towel or a few layers of paper towels on top, and then placing something really heavy over the whole thing- like a big cast iron skillet or something. This process helps press the water out of the tofu, so that your tofu doesn't become a sloppy mess in the pan. You can do this for anywhere between 10 and 30 minutes.), then chop it up into really tiny bite sized cubes. I then cook the cubes in a medium sized, oiled up pan (I use Extra-Virgin Olive Oil or Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil), until the the tofu is browned lightly all around. I then add about two or three heaping spoonfuls of Vegan margarine (I use the Earth Balance Brand- it's Non-hydrogenated), two or three heaping spoonfuls of peanut butter (I prefer All Natural Creamy, but use whatever kind you like), and then a splash of soy sauce and a sprinkle of salt. If I'm feeling fancy, I'll add a teaspoonful or two of terryaki or ginger sauce to it. Once I've added all the ingredients to the pan of tofu cubes, I stir, stir, stir. It'll take a little while, so I keep it over medium heat, and after a while, the peanut butter will melt into the tofu, as well as everything else. Once distributed and mixed well, I let the tofu stay in the pan on medium heat for a few more minutes, to allow the sauce to really thicken and stick to the tofu.

I wish I had a picture of this fun dish (no digital camera= a very sad Vegan), but I've attached a picture of peanut butter and a picture of tofu, just because it goes with the whole theme... yeah, I already know I'm a dork. It's cool.

Enjoy!!