What Vegans Can't Eat....

Recently I saw this article pop up on Yahoo titled "10 foods that vegan's can't eat."
I am not a vegan.  I have considered becoming vegan many times but I enjoy cooking seafood,  I still use butter and eat the occasional egg.  I gradually try to eliminate more and more food items.   I've only purchased eggs once since the beginning of December (I used to purchase eggs everytime I went to the grocery).  I have also eliminated marshmallows from my life for the past few months. 

Marshmallows are one of those light fluffy treats that really don't have a lot of flavor.  Yet, I never imagined they were made from animal products.

 For those of you that don't know- marshmallows are made with gelatin, which is produced by boiling the bones, skin and tendons of animals.  Other food items made with Gelatin include the obvious, Jell-O and many different gummy candies.

I remember being younger and hearing someone say, "you know marshmallows are made from horses?"  I thought they were just teasing me for not eating meat.  Believe me, growing up in a small country town full of fast food and nothing else- it was NOT cool to eat healthy.  You learn to ignore all of the negative comments regarding your own healthy eating habits.
But marshmallows made from horses? Too sad.

I do believe I live in the horse capitol of the world, Kentucky.  Anything such as marshmallows (made from horses) is now removed from my diet.

I was reminded a few months ago while reading  a vegan blog that was selling vegan marshmallows.  You can actually purchase the vegan marshmallows on different sites including Chicago Soydairy.  They call their marshmallows "Dandies" which contain soy and are gluten free.



Dandies- Image from chicagosoydairy.com



I have been eliminating meat from my diet for about 16 years - yet I still have a long way to go to become Vegan.  I will also need a bigger pocketbook to pay for all of the substituitions.  As much as I love to cook- it get's pricey purchasing things such as vegetarian cheese, milk, meat substitutes, soups and now marshmallows. 



Vegetable Corn Chowder



Vegetable Corn Chowder- cheap, easy, fresh, colorful and great for leftovers!
I found this recipe in my Easy Vegetarian Cookbook.  This is a fun recipe to play with because you can add your own touch.  This recipe is very simple and easy to prepare. 


Easy Vegetarian Cookbook

If your like me and like some flavor  you can kick it up with some more diced pepper.  After two trips to Meijjer on Sunday (forgot garlic the 1st time) I couldn't go back for extra pepppers.  Instead, I added Cayenne Pepper,  2 spoons of fat free sour cream, used almond milk instead of milk, added 1 extra cup of vegetable broth, added 1/2 cup of potatoes and 2 extra cloves of garlic.  The recipe calls for 3 cans of corn kernels.  I thought the consistency turned out perfect! I was a little worried about substituting milk with almond milk but you really couldn't tell the difference.  I am proud to say both of my roommates ate left over soup last night and seemed to enjoy it! :) 

                                                                                       

                                                                                   

                                                                                            

                                                                                      

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

   2 tablespoons fat free sour cream

1 Red Onion (diced)

1 Red Bell Pepper- (seeded & diced)

3 cups of broccoli

3 tablespoons of flour

2 potatoes (peeled & diced)

4 Garlic Cloves(chopped)

3 tablespoons of flour

 Salt & Pepper

many dashes of cayenne red pepper

2 1/2 - 3 cups Organic Vegetable Stock

3 1/2 cups Almond Milk (your choice)

3 cans Corn Kernels (reduced sodium)

1 cup shredded  cheddar cheese

3 tablespoons of flour



 Make things simple by chopping up all of your ingredients before you start cooking.



I love Red Bell Peppers!

Dice your onion, red bell pepper and potatoes. Crush and chop your garlic cloves.  Set corn and Brocoli aside.

Heat vegetable oil in pan and add  the onion, red bell pepper, potatoes and garlic. Cook on low heat for 3-5 minutes. 

Add the flour and let cook for 1 minute.  Add the milk and vegetable stock gradually to mixture.

Add broccoli and corn to the soup.  Season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil then simmer for about 25 minutes.

Add sour cream to soup within last 5 minutes of cooking.  Then stir in remaining portion of cheese to within the last minute of cook time.  Serve with crackers or tortilla chips.  Top soup with cheese.   Optional topping - dollop of fat free sour cream. 



Dinner is served