7.12.10: A New Take on Balanced Eating

I dabble in vegan cooking.  I just thought you should know, in case you don’t already.  I’m not fully there, and I can’t say definitively whether or not I’ll ever take that plunge; I have a love affair with cheese, and I just can’t foresee myself breaking that relationship off anytime soon.  Admittedly, I don’t even eat all that much cheese, since my digestive system goes on strike if I so much as contemplate anything too laden with it.  But other than cheese, my diet these days is rather vegan.

Consequently, I can’t help but be thrilled by receiving a good vegan cookbook to review.  The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook is clearly right up my alley.  It’s vegan in every sense of the word, but I love that the emphasis is on eating a well-balanced, whole foods diet, rather than creating poor substitutions of everyone’s meat-filled favorites.  Admittedly, there are some good veggie burger recipes in here, but that’s nothing to call me a hypocrite over.  Nope, most of these recipes are better, more refined versions of the meals I try to cook myself from scratch: lots of veggies, some whole grains, and a solid source of protein.

Another thing I love about this book is that the author, Neal Barnard, MD, is promoting a vegan diet for scientifically sound reasons—reasons that are thoroughly explained in the first few chapters.  Many pro-vegan books try to force the idea down people’s throats, which is all well and good for people who are already inclined toward a meat-free future, but the shock value can have little, or even the opposite effect, on those who are still straddling the fence.  Barnard explains precisely why eating this way can help you lose weight and get your health problems under control; his reasoning even had me, the devoted cheese-lover, nodding along and contemplating a cheddar-free future, albeit only briefly.  The testimonials certainly don’t hurt either, even if the cynic in me can’t help but wonder if they’re really true or not.  (They probably are.)

So on to the recipes!  The bulk of them are organized according to what meal they’d best be served as.  And let me tell you, as soon as I started reading this book, I got out my little pad of sticky flags, so that I could begin marking the recipes I wanted to try.  There’s a number of breakfast ones I’m interested in, such as Vanilla French Toast, made with tofu in place of eggs; I find I’m more receptive to the idea of French toast, which I’ve always abhorred until now, when it doesn’t actually require eggs to make.  I’ve already tried Blueberry Pancakes.  I’ve made many vegan pancakes in my day (due to never having eggs on hand, because I can’t stand them), and the ones from this book were the fluffiest ever to come off my griddle.  I didn’t make the syrup, since I didn’t have enough blueberries, but the pancakes were amazing, even considering that I used whole-wheat flour in place of all-purpose!

There’s a number of other recipes I’d dearly like to try.  Minty Black Bean, Jicama, and Cucumber Salad sounds fantastic, as do all of the various pizza and pasta recipes included here.  A few of the recipes included seemed like fate to me, as though the universe had conceived of giving me a recipe for Black-Eyed Pea and Brown Rice Pilaf with Browned Onions just a few days after my CSA sent me a huge bag of dried black-eyed peas and filled half of my weekly box with fresh uncured onions.  This recipe was destiny for me, and it turned out amazing when I made it.

The last recipe I’m including here, Pan-Grilled Tofu Steaks with Spiced Tomato Sauce, was made on a night when we had company, and all agreed it was absolutely delicious.  This, despite all of the modifications I made to the recipe, because I’m generally not capable of following a recipe exactly these days.  I used dried herbs.  I did not crush my tomatoes; for that matter, I used a standard 15.5-ounce can, so I didn’t even have the full amount required by the recipe.  I didn’t use Tabasco sauce, because I’m currently out, but substituted a different spicy chili sauce.  It’s a delightfully flexible recipe and one that I intend to remember again in the future.

So let The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook serve as a reminder to you all that cooking vegan does not have to be a daunting idea!  This book is full of good meal ideas that are healthy, delicious, and remarkably simple to make.  Consider giving it a try!

Blueberry Pancakes

Makes 2 servings and ½ cup syrup

• ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ⅔ cup plus 1 tablespoon soy milk
• ½ cup fresh blueberries
• Vegetable oil cooking spray

Blueberry syrup (optional):

• ½ cup fresh blueberries
• 4 tablespoons maple syrup

1. Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in a metal bowl.  Add the soy milk to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.  Stir in the blueberries.
2. Spray a skillet with cooking spray and warm over medium heat.
3. Using a ⅓-cup measuring cup, pour the batter into the skillet.  When the top bubbles and is mostly firm, flip pancakes over, and cook for another 1 to 1½ minutes.  Repeat with the rest of the batter, fi you are not able to fit all four pancakes into the same skillet.
4. To make blueberry syrup, if using: In a small pot, combine the blueberries and syrup and stir occasionally over medium heat.  Be sure to stir so syrup does not burn.  As blueberries soften, press them down with something flat, like a spatula, until most of them mash into the syrup.  Cook syrup for another minute, remove from heat, and let cool.  Serve on top of the pancakes.

Black-Eyed Pea and Brown Rice Pilaf with Browned Onions

Makes 4 servings

• 1½ cups long-grain brown rice, rinsed
• 1½ cups vegetable broth
• 2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 (15-ounce) can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed, or 2 cups frozen black-eyed peas, thawed
• Sea salt to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 drops Tabasco sauce

1. Bring rice and 3 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan.  Cover, lower heat, and simmer for about 45 minutes, until the water has been absorbed and the rice is cooked.  Set aside.
2. Heat ½ cup broth in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes.  Add another ½ cup broth and continue to cook and stir for 10 minutes.  Add remaining ½ cup broth and continue to stir for another 10 minutes, until onions are browned and soft.
3. Add black-eyed peas to onions and season with salt, black pepper, and Tabasco sauce.  Serve over rice.

Pan-Grilled Tofu Steaks with Spiced Tomato Sauce

Makes 4 servings

• ¼ cup vegetable broth
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ cup finely chopped onion
• ⅓ cup chopped carrot
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 cups canned whole tomatoes, with liquid, coarsely crushed
• Pinch of sugar
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
• Kosher or sea salt to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 1 (16-ounce) package extra-firm tofu, drained and cut lengthwise into 4 slices

1. Heat broth in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Add garlic, onion, and carrot and sauté for about 5 minutes.  Add crushed red pepper and sauté for 1 minute.
2. Ad tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Add sugar, lower heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add parsley, basil, salt, and black pepper.  Set aside and keep warm.
3. Heat another skillet coated with cooking spray.  Add tofu and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes per side until lightly browned.  Serve tofu with sauce.

Holly Scudero lives in Woodland, California, with her husband and cat.  She has been writing for SBR/SFBR since December 2008.  She works full time in financial services, but still comes home every day to cook exciting vegetarian meals.  When not reading, writing book reviews, writing other things, or talking about written things, Holly spends her time cooking, knitting, playing video games, or listening to music.  She spends a good deal of time in the East Bay Area, where family and friends are, and a few weeks every summer volunteering at Two Sentinels Camp.