How to make tofu

Ok, here is a whole lot of info on making Tufu, Soy Milk and Okara ...

http://www.justhungry.com/milking-soy-bean-part-1-soy-milk#comment-15654 

the blog has a ton of other great recipies

http://yobachan.blogspot.com/

VeganDad's Seitan Lunch meat

Morning Everyone,  I made VeganDad's Lunchmeat.. pretty nice,  will try the "Turkey" version next time.  

I analized the recipe to get a Weight Watchers point value (5 points for 4oz's)  and it a very good nutritional source..  I have included the resulting graphics..   And you can do the same thing by going to NutritionData.com  which is linked at the bottom of my pages..

Pretty cool !

As far as the Sodium is concerned, I'd probably dump the Teaspoon, this recipe makes nearly 2 pounds of Seitan. the Missing tsp wont be noticed, 44% of your soudum in take is too much! I think the Soy will be enough sodium. 

I would still take my daily vitamins.. but not bad....

Five Reasons to Be a Vegetarian: Jane Velez-Mitchell….. The wrong way to send a message.

Five Reasons to Be a Vegetarian: Jane Velez-Mitchell….. The wrong way to send a message.

Jane Velez-Mitchell is the host of "ISSUES with Jane Velez-Mitchell on CNN,"  and her anti-meat-attitude is the reason why most Omnivores look at the Veggie heads like they are all whack Jobs, with their MEAT IS BAD song of sorrow..  Well, probably not the only reason but go with me here… 

If the Vegan crew took a bit of advice from a historical Rabbi, Hillel the Elder, they’d get more done. Hillel said “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbors.”, so if the PETA\Vegan team took a more introspective approach to their cause, they would find people more apt to listen to them.    

The Vegan\PETA folk certainly don’t like it when the Meaters call them Whack Jobs, Fuzzy Bunny Lovers (really though, who doesn’t love a cute fuzzy bunny?) among other names,   Meaters don’t like it when you attack their food!  What they love.  Case in point,   Jane Velez-Mitchell said on a CNN interview today (10/01/10): "I would much rather devour a piece of well-seasoned squash than a slice of an animal’s rotting carcass.”  Really  ???, I know that I don’t eat rotting meat, but when you tell me I do, because you don’t eat meat, then your well articulated, well meaning words to save the world turn in to Blaa Blaa Blaa with a more irritating tone than Charlie Brown’s teacher..  Period, no argument.  You became a whack job.  You insulted me.

A Non-Meatie  telling a Meater  not to eat meat because it’s bad is akin to a preacher telling me sex involving non-missionary position is evil and I am a Hell bound sinner getting ready to take a endless molten sulfur bath as soon as I “arrive” .    Not that I am invalidating anyone’s religious beliefs and moral constructs,( veggie or religious)  but if you want me to fall in line with your line of thinking, you got to sell it to me, not force it with gross comparisons and hyperbole!

“Well FlexitarianDad, we don’t like it when they call us names and trash our life style.”   Well kind soul, they aren’t trying to convert you, they could care less if you started grazing in the front yard and wearing dried fungus textiles with hemp suspenders.  You’re the sales person, the representative, you have to bend to your target audience, you have to schmooze, not beat up.

What’s a shame is she makes some points that should be considered, even if you don’t wholly agree.

We are fat, as Americans we head the parade of jiggles and dimples, reducing our consumption of meats and dairy would not be a bad thing at all, some would even benefit greater by going pure all out Veggie, but Ms. Mitchell seems to put the whole fat issue down to meat.  We are also lazy, sedentary  couch slugs,  more interested in the TV or Xbox than our health, all the while eating our mega processed foods  and high fructose corn syrup ( Corn chips fried in veg oil with a can of coke for a drink are just as unhealthy as Mitchell’s rotting beef carcass, yet no meat in those) .

She loses the Non Veggie again in this little conversation….

3. Tim Love says: "Imagine a restaurant full of preachy vegetarians. Enough said. I’m kidding, of course. Some of my best friends are vegetarians, but even they have a tendency to be a little on the holier-than-thou side. If I want to eat meat, let me eat it in peace. Nobody is forcing you to be a vegetarian, so why are you trying to force us?"

Jane Velez-Mitchell says: "I challenge the idea that anyone can eat meat 'in peace.' It’s a contradiction in terms. How can you talk about peace if your plate is swimming in blood? 

Author's Note: (I like my steak this way actually! And I eat tar tar once in a while.)

Like I have stated in earlier posts, I have no moral dilemma eating a pig, a cow, and “GASP” veal. I truly believe all animals were putt on this earth to be eaten by something or someone, .. So trying to make me feel guilty is far from genius.  And I am very pro Veggie, a real sympathizer for the cause and her argument turns in to the Charlie Brown “Waaa waaaa waaaa  waa wa waa waa”  for me

 Restated, her augment looks like this to the meaties.    "I challenge the idea that anyone can eat meat 'in peace.' It’s a contrablab blab in terms. How bla  blab la bla b la   blabb blab la.. bla  Blood?

Her very good points become lost on the ears of the very people she is trying to convince, at this point she is preaching only to the choir.  A useless Endeavour if you ask me. 

Keeping to the facts, and tossing the drama, shock and hyperbole is the only way to actually educate people.  Stay away from claims of its unnatural, and other such improvable tidbits, Case in point ……she states that humans make their kids like meat after they force the kids to eat it even when they “Naturally” reject it..  Well I don’t know about you, but I raised 4 kids and if I did not make my kids eat everything they”naturally rejected”   they would be eating only potato chips and chicken nuggets.  So according to that logic, eating greens and fruits would be un-natural to eat too. 

So to my Vegan and Vegetarian brothers and sisters, evangelize with facts and peaceful demeanor and not with aggressive and over the top “Facts” and “examples”.  You just end up yapping to yourselves rather than advancing your cause.

I plan to lead and teach through example.  Enlighten through the palette and encourage with demonstration.  Conversion will come naturally if the person so desires at that point.  

Sudden change will not happen, . 

 “Put the frog in cold water and turn up the heat really really slow..”

If you were wondering , yes, Ms. Mitchell is a Vegan and has been for the last decade.
I will tell you this, I will do more to enlighten people to the vegetarian way that she will with all her celebrity and her TV show, as I sit amongst the heathens and break bread with the sinners.

To read the story at CNN go to  http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2010/09/30/55-tv-host-jane-velez-mitchell/?hpt=Mid

Vegetarian Tofu Chili

POINTS® Value:    7
Servings:  6
Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Ingredients
 3 Tbsp olive oil   
  1 pound(s) extra firm tofu, crumbled   
  1 cup(s) onion(s), finely diced   
  1 item(s) bell pepper(s), diced   
 1 clove(s) garlic clove(s), minced   
  1 cup(s) mushroom(s), Diced   
 3 Tbsp chili powder   
 1 tsp table salt, to taste   
 1 tsp black pepper, to taste   
 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper   
 1/4 tsp McCormick Ground cumin   
  14 oz canned tomato sauce   
  28 oz Contadina Diced Tomatoes, 1 can with liquid   
  28 oz Goya Pinto beans, drained   
 3 Tbsp sugar   

Instructions
In a large pot, sautee the tofu in the vegetable oil over medium high heat for about 3 minutes. Add the onions, green pepper, garlic, mushroms, chili powder, salt and pepper, cayenne and cumin. Cook until veggies are just barely tender, about 5 minutes.
Add the tomato sauce, whole or diced tomatoes, beans and sugar. Bring to a slow simmer. Cover and allow to cook for at least 45 minutes. Enjoy!

flexitarian??? HU?

Ok So I call myself a Flexitarian, What is it?  Well I guess we should delve into what all the other “Veg-somethings” are first, then we can look at me.. 

Let me add at this point, that I am using a description of the following social /political / life styles; they may not be perfect, but are my attempt if to be fair and close to an acceptable description.

Veganism:

Let start off with the Vegans, as I tend to see them as the most, umm …Militant?, dedicated?, committed?, to a life of sustenance without the use of any animal products. 

According to Wikipedia®……..

·         “Vegans endeavor not to use or consume animal products of any kind, the most common reasons for becoming a vegan are human health, ethical commitment or moral conviction concerning animal rights or welfare, the environment, and spiritual or religious concerns. ^.Of particular concern to many vegans are the practices involved in factory farming and animal testing, and the intensive use of land and other resources for animal farming.”

I would look at vegans as people, who have made not just a healthy choice, but a whole life style,that includes environmental, ethical, moral, and health commitments.

I am not sure all Vegans are Peta members, but I would certainly bet all Peta Members are Vegans.  Btw, what do you call Peta Members? Peta-Phyles? Petapeeps? Peta-ers?   Help me here!

Vegans must get all there high quality proteins from sources other than animal. So I would guess they are the most motivated in creating some really tasty, nutritional dishes. And man, are there!

Then the there are the Vegetarians, this is a diverse group.. They have many “flavors”..

Vegetarianism:

Again, I refer to Wikipedia® for a description, there are a few. 

There are Ovo-lacto vegetarianism,  Ovo vegetarianism, Lacto vegetarianism , and Sattvic diet, the first three are somewhat self explanatory.

1.       An ovo-lacto vegetarian (or lacto-ovo vegetarian) is a vegetarian who does not eat animal flesh of any kind, but is willing to consume dairy and egg products.

2.       Ovo vegetarianism is a type of vegetarianism which allows for the consumption of eggs; unlike lacto-ovo vegetarianism, no dairy products are permitted. Those who practice ovo vegetarianism are called ovo-vegetarians or "eggetarians." "Ovo" (pronounced) comes from the Latin word for egg.

3.       A lacto vegetarian (sometimes referred to as a lactarian) diet is a vegetarian diet which includes dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, cream, and kefir, but excludes eggs. The origin of "lacto" is the Latin word for milk [lac, lactis]. Cheeses which include animal rennet and yogurts which contain gelatin are also avoided.

And then there is the Sattvic Vegetarian.  I never heard of it, and Wikipedia is asking for citations, so take this with a grain of salt or a slice of bologna.

·         A sattvic diet also referred to as a yoga diet or sentient diet is a diet based on foods which, according to Jainism, Ayurveda and Yoga, are strong in the sattva guna, and lead to clarity and equanimity of mind while also being beneficial to the body.

Such foods include water, fruit, cereal, bread, most vegetables, beans, nuts, grains, milk and milk derivatives (cheese, butter, ghee, cream, yogurt), and honey.

So then there is me…     Technically I guess I am an Omnivore, (Cats and T-Rex’s are Carnivores as they eat little if any vegetative matter in the wild and T-Rex probably ate people according to the Creationist crew) as I don’t remove meats , dairies and eggs from my diet, although I seriously limit them when I am trying hard to change my eating habits.

Again I will refer to Wikipedia, who calls my ilk, Semi-Vegetarians, and defines a Flexitarian as “Semi-vegetarianism, a term used to describe diets that are not vegetarian, but include less meat than typical diets. The term has no precise or widely accepted definition, but is generally defined as the avoidance of red meat or generally following a vegetarian diet, but eating meat occasionally. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with "flexitarianism””

Semi-vegetarian and flexitarian have been dubbed "problematic" and "diametrically opposed to vegetarianism by critics. Of which there are many I am sure.  This is an emotional issue with many people and can become almost a religious like matter.

I am simply having fun and really don’t care if it is opposed to somebody’s dietary dogma.

So that is a Flexitarian,  still one of the dirty, morally corrupt animal flesh/organ eaters, but not as bad as some of my friends that think I am weird for eating tofu, Seitan and other such meat analogs.(Some of them call themselves carnivores, wonder what T-Rex thinks of that!)      

Why would you need an alternative to beef!

My Daughter’s Facebook postings contained a discussion about a vegetarian dish and one of her friends asked, “Why would you need an alternative to beef!? LOL”   and you know what? That is a great question, why?  Because something like a gazillion people are omnivores and the other 3 dozen people are non meat eaters..   

We don’t know why, because there are not enough people telling us why in a NONE “my way is better than yours” sort of way.  Just bring up Vegetarianism in a discussion and you will get some really well defined resistance.  WHAT, no way, I am a meat eater, a Carnivore! You can’t ask me to walk around eating grass and sticks!    We are resistant to change and look at things we are not used to with suspicion. (Wasn’t that Gandhi guy a vegetarian?  Worshiped cows or something? , freaky veggie heads!!!!!, gimme my beer dam it! )   

But why do we want to substitute our fleshy indulgences?   

Apparently my daughter is trying to cook healthier because her mother has some mega incredible Cholesterol level and needs to correct this situation, just like we all would if diagnoses with such a medical condition.  Medicine alone will not correct this issue, so we need to curb our intake of foods that contribute to high cholesterol.  Reducing your intake is particularly important if you are a person who genetically produces more cholesterol than you take in, reducing your intake is a must to get your levels under control.

Veggie dishes are good, but how many times are you going to eat beans and rice?  You’ll get bored, meat analogs (fake meat) help you get your high quality protein, will help satisfy you and allows you to make most of the dished you already love with no cholesterol and less fat. And any fat that is there will likely be the good kind!  Think Olive oil and the rest!  (What! there’s good fat!!!!! OMG!!!)   See my Chili recipe on my Fouth post.

Usage is important.  You would not use squishy Tofu when trying to make a Shish kabob,   would you?  Or Seitan, (wheat meat) in a dish that calls for ground chicken, nope. It would be gross..   Properly prepared meat analogs should be used to fit the appropriate dish. It’s not unlike cooking conventionally; you use the appropriate ingredients for the appropriate dishes.

In reducing your Beef intake, you increase you health benefits, by using meat analogs in other dishes, you expand your tastes and rely on the meats less for satisfaction and gain peace of mind knowing you ate a little healthier.   Eat like this and you may not have to deal with high cholesterol and then you will never have to worry about being told “You can’t eat that Steak or Hamburger”   when you do have real meat.  The alternative is dealing with the high levels and never eating meat without the worry of contributing to your own heart attack.  

FACEBOOK Ramblings

·          So I made curried rice with mixed vegetables and mushrooms stuffed in some roasted green peppers -- definitely a delicious alternative to beef!

·          We must be the best chef's in Marlton

·          Rite? Iron Chef Marlton go

·          Why would you need an alternative to beef!? LOL

·          I'm a Flexitarian :p

·          So I see. I am a devout meat eater, but I have dabbled in and enjoy on occasion a few (very few) vegetarian (but never vegan, eew) dishes... namely falafel and morning star burritos... so what does that make me?

·          I think just a regular carnivore. I think vegetarian dishes are super good though.

Hello World

I am Keith, a father of four kids, 2 girls and 2 boys, and with a few years behind me, I picked up a few souvenir pounds along the way . I am an adventure eater,  I get absolute pleasure from eating good food, and it shows.  But I have learned that Good food does not have to be bad for you. 

I choose the term Flexitarian when a Co-worker used it to describe a life style I started to form (right Jessica? J ) ,  I became about 90% vegetarian, out of health concerns, but could not commit to a Vegetarian life style , as great as some of the Seitan / tofo / fake meat dishes I have made were, none compare to a good (Real) steak, burger, sausage, chicken, buffalo, rabbit, duck,  etc…  and I will enjoy them from time to time.  That is not to say Vegetarianism is wrong, or Veganism in not honorable,  it is just not for me, I agree on a lot of the healthy aspects of these life styles and hope to continue to learn from them.    

I will publish recipes I find and alter, and link to others, I will blog about  how I get my family and friends to try them.  And hopefully get a few more people eating a little more healthy in the long run.   Hopefully others will discover their Flexitarian tendencies and  share in this blog!

I will accept comments, but please don’t try to convert me. Respect my choice, as I respect yours.  I love meat, and don’t have moral issues eating it.  If you have a moral dilemma, it’s yours , not mine.   Call me Middle of the Road, call me an Omnivore, just don’t call me late for dinner!! 

Thank you for taking the time to read this an I hope you enjoy !

PS, V e g a n D a d inspired me, and I love his blog!   Here is to Healthy living!