food goals!
I noticed there are a few weight loss/get-in-shape threads going, but I didn't see anything about other food-related goals, so being the dork I am, I made a thread for them. :)
here are mine:
-start sprouting things! and figure out good ways to eat the sprouts.
-make granola, and fruit & nut bars
-eat more raw foods
-buy more things according to seasonality
-bake more bread!!!
-actually try tempeh
-keep my herb pot from dying like it did last fall when I brought it inside... :/
-add chocolate mint to my potted food plant collection, and dry it to make tea..mmm
EDIT: i forgot a couple:
-learn to make Dim Sum buns!!! MMMM
-actually try to like mushrooms
-emulate the chocolate tofu cheesecake they make at the Cornerstone...it can't be that hard.
also, longer term: start growing more of my own food. like, potatoes in a potato bag, and other things to that effect. (already have 2 strawberry plants!)
I hope other people contribute to this...I can't be the only one with nerdy food goals. :P
![Dim Sum buns!!!](http://"http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.yenscateringfares.com/Images%255CItemImages%255CBAO.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.yenscateringfares.com/featureditem.asp&h=262&w=318&sz=6&hl=en&start=20&um=1&tbnid=aJ6PP-zKkYub4M:&tbnh=97&tbnw=118&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddim%2Bsum%2Bbao%26start%3D18%26ndsp%3D18%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GB:official%26sa%3DN){kind=link}
Go fufu! See, once you internalize where everything comes from, it becomes more easy to avoid certain things. It's just like, ick, no thanks.
Good job so far!
I have another one. I'd like to be completely vegan in less than a year. I have a good start! I have had meat once in the past two months (and thought it was nasty), Have not purchased milk or eggs in 2 months (although we have bought cheese and items with eggs/milk in them), and today I ate almost enitrely vegan. (my store bought pizza crust had milk). I think I can do it =-) I'm liking cheese a little less everyday!. Earlier my hubby suggested going out for malts... and I remembered the pus... and was like..mmmm....no thanks.... and he lost his appetite as well, lol.
;)b ;)b ;)b You know we're here for you! Have you watched Earthlings? I have some great book recommendations as well, if you are interested!
:)
No i haven't seen that yet.... also, what are some of those books? I love reading :)>>>
No i haven't seen that yet.... also, what are some of those books? I love reading :)>>>
Ok, well here's the link to the video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1282796533661048967
It's very emotional...but I think very necessary.
The books I've read and loved: The Vegan Sourcebook, Being Vegan, Why Animals Matter, The China Study. Being Vegan might not be the best FIRST book to read....just b/c it doesn't have as man facts...but it's still very good. The Sourcebook might be a good first read.
Ones that I'm working on currently thanks to inspiration from many of you folks here! ;)b AND am getting much better at doing:
...Eat more leafy greens
...Eat more raw
...Compost the scraps!
...Cut back on junk like sugary cereal and alcohol
A few others I need to start doing:
...make decent whole wheat bread on a regular basis
...make yummy, fluffy, homemade naan
...make Indian food like Planet Bombay in Atlanta (seriously, my Indian dishes are weak)
...remember to eat when I'm hungry
...make MY eating and nutrition the primary goal of my cooking, and NOT to impress others or do it strictly as a hobby or profession
...be able to eat what I make and not feel guilty about it (I feel ya, Laurabs. :-\ don't give up, lady, you can reach your goals AND count on us to keep cheering you on)
I'll add a few more of my own goals later, but I will say that replacing canned beans with dry isn't hard at all once you get in the habit....and once you have to cut your food budget waaay back, and find that dry beans (esp. in bulk) are a tiny fraction of the cost of canned ones. Just soak 'em for however long, then boil 'em (don't add salt until they're cooked!) and BAM! tons o' beans for the next week or so.
I'm so glad I found this thread! Yay!!!
I just started this summer my own garden at the community garden, so i guess i already accomplished one of my goals...
-Figure out new ways to "hide" veggies in meals (i have 2 kids under 3)
-Drink more water, i'm too obsessed with coffee
-Make my own snaks, like granola bars, etc.
-Not let myself give into peer pressure (newly vegetarian, with a non-supportive boyfriend), stick to my guns and keep eating veg*n.
-Attempt making bread
-Find out where I can get tempeh and try it.
Tempeh is like tofu, right?
And most of all, switch to whole wheat/whole grain pasta, flour, rice, ect.
I find reading all your posts very inspiring. I could even add more goals, but i dont want to write a whole chapter about food goals I didnt even know i had until i read everyone elses, LOL.
I'm so glad I found this thread! Yay!!!
I just started this summer my own garden at the community garden, so i guess i already accomplished one of my goals...
-Figure out new ways to "hide" veggies in meals (i have 2 kids under 3)
-Drink more water, i'm too obsessed with coffee
-Make my own snaks, like granola bars, etc.
-Not let myself give into peer pressure (newly vegetarian, with a non-supportive boyfriend), stick to my guns and keep eating veg*n.
-Attempt making bread
-Find out where I can get tempeh and try it.
Tempeh is like tofu, right?
And most of all, switch to whole wheat/whole grain pasta, flour, rice, ect.
I find reading all your posts very inspiring. I could even add more goals, but i dont want to write a whole chapter about food goals I didnt even know i had until i read everyone elses, LOL.
Well, check out the bread recipes on here, they're SUPER easy. I myself have become a pro at the Outrageously Big and Easy... or whatever it's called. And about hiding veggies, grate them. A nurse I used to work w/ grated carrots and zucchini into pasta sauce when she made spaghetti. Her kids never knew...
My food goals:
To afford enough of it to include mostly fresh produce
Cut way back on sugar. I only buy stuff with added sugar if its cane sugar not just "sugar" and absolutely no high fructose corn syrup or any of the "hidden" sugars. Unless I'm under a lot *and I mean A LOT of pressure or stess than I'll binge or even have a diet soda. No more of that. My sugar rants could go on for days
No white stuff. White pasta mainly. I don't even think it tastes good, it's just cheap
Go raw
make more seitan
Cook more....A lot more
Bake
Eat more alfalfa
Buy as organic as possible all the time
Pinkerbelle: I do hide cooked veggies in my spaghetti sauce that exact way. But unless they are eating something containing spag. sauce, they find it and pick it out... little buggars! Thanks for the bread tip though, i'll go check out the recipes right now!
Can someone tell me what seitan is? I feel like an idiot for even asking, but since i'm pretty new at this whole veg*n thing... Is it a protein? Sort of like tofu?
Pinkerbelle: I do hide cooked veggies in my spaghetti sauce that exact way. But unless they are eating something containing spag. sauce, they find it and pick it out... little buggars! Thanks for the bread tip though, i'll go check out the recipes right now!
Can someone tell me what seitan is? I feel like an idiot for even asking, but since i'm pretty new at this whole veg*n thing... Is it a protein? Sort of like tofu?
Simply put seitan is "wheat gluten", which I think is what you get when you take the starch out of flour. It's a protein food, low fat and caloires. It started as a food in Asian, but American vegetarians have adapted it to American food.
Here's a good link at how Americans use it. http://vegetarian.about.com/od/glossary/g/Seitan.htm
Here's a wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_gluten_(food)
One more good site: http://www.mitoku.com/products/seitan/healthbenefits.html
oh, goodness. Earthlings was one of the most disturbing things I've seen, ever. I don't think it was really necessary to encourage me to be vegan...I found Peaceable Kingdom more personal and more bearable (and thus probably more effective - Earthlings was like a 2 hour peta video, not exactly my thing). I know you can't ignore all the stuff that Earthlings touches on - but still...some people find it hard to rid their minds of such images.
Yes, it's very, very painful, but it's truth. It's 95 minutes.
My goals are...
1. Don't let veggies go bad in the fridge.
YES! I just had to ditch a whole cantaloupe and I felt SO wasteful!
related: Be better about preparing certain foods fresh from the market so I will be more likely to actually eat them (e.g, cutting up melons)
related: Be better about preparing certain foods fresh from the market so I will be more likely to actually eat them (e.g, cutting up melons)
Yeah, this is a good one. I try to do this now b/c it really does help. I wash and chop all of my lettuces and greens..and sometimes do carrots b/c I had some that went bad really quickly. I think it all lasts longer when it's chopped too.
I have another one. I'd like to be completely vegan in less than a year. I have a good start! I have had meat once in the past two months (and thought it was nasty), Have not purchased milk or eggs in 2 months (although we have bought cheese and items with eggs/milk in them), and today I ate almost enitrely vegan. (my store bought pizza crust had milk). I think I can do it =-) I'm liking cheese a little less everyday!. Earlier my hubby suggested going out for malts... and I remembered the pus... and was like..mmmm....no thanks.... and he lost his appetite as well, lol.
;)b ;)b ;)b You know we're here for you! Have you watched Earthlings? I have some great book recommendations as well, if you are interested!
:)
Skinny Bitch did it for me personally. You could always read Slaughter House, although I never could. Way to disturbing for me.
No i haven't seen that yet.... also, what are some of those books? I love reading :)>>>
related: Be better about preparing certain foods fresh from the market so I will be more likely to actually eat them (e.g, cutting up melons)
Yeah, this is a good one. I try to do this now b/c it really does help. I wash and chop all of my lettuces and greens..and sometimes do carrots b/c I had some that went bad really quickly. I think it all lasts longer when it's chopped too.
Oh, yes. I try to do this when I come home with a big produce haul: I'll soak the kale/spinach/whatever greens in the sink with diluted veggie wash, along with carrots, celery and other cold-stored veggies.....I lay them out to dry on a towel on the counter, then I'll trim the stems/roots/ribs right away and put them in a bag for Compost Broth.
Other stuff like tomatoes, onions (not refrigerated), peppers and zucchini don't get chopped until they're ready to use, b/c those always seem to hold up better when they're kept intact.
OH, and to those wanting to make homemade granola/cereal bars:
Try modifying an oatmeal cookie recipe and add things you like into the mix....you can simply press the dough into an oiled cake pan or cookie sheet with sides, bake, then cut.
I use the Best Oat Cookies that Ever Existed and reduce the sugar, replace it with peanut butter and/or molasses, replace some of the flour with soy powder, and mix in nuts, seeds, and/or dried fruit bits.
it's all about finding the right balance of wet vs. dry, or ratios of flour : sugar : fat. Sugar can be replaced with other wet-ish sweeteners, fat can be in the form of oil, flax "egg" mixture, margarine, or nut butters, and the flour or dry stuff can be SO many things. A little experimentation with recipes can be so rewarding...just halve or quarter the recipes to make smaller batches in case you're afraid of wasting a lot of ingredients.
CW, I'm so gonna try that. Thanks for the recipe idea.
And thanks A-Punk! I read your food blog and thanks to your desription of tortilla making, I am that much closer to making perfect homemade flour tortillas! Now, if only I could figure out how to make them perfectly round...
Pinkerbelle: I do hide cooked veggies in my spaghetti sauce that exact way. But unless they are eating something containing spag. sauce, they find it and pick it out... little buggars! Thanks for the bread tip though, i'll go check out the recipes right now!
Can someone tell me what seitan is? I feel like an idiot for even asking, but since i'm pretty new at this whole veg*n thing... Is it a protein? Sort of like tofu?
Simply put seitan is "wheat gluten", which I think is what you get when you take the starch out of flour. It's a protein food, low fat and caloires. It started as a food in Asian, but American vegetarians have adapted it to American food.
Here's a good link at how Americans use it. http://vegetarian.about.com/od/glossary/g/Seitan.htm
Here's a wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_gluten_(food)
One more good site: http://www.mitoku.com/products/seitan/healthbenefits.html
Thank you for clearing it up for me, I erally didnt have a clue. I'll be sure to check out those links!
On my way...I bought granola ingredients today, and cheesecloth for my sprout jars!
You should try this recipe: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=22103.0 compliments of moi. It's kinda like a granola bar and really, really easy.
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