Vegan...

Hey guys!
As most of you know, this week was the definitive week of me turning a vegan. Now, let me be clear about this; coming from a meat eater who likes a burger king occasionally and sometimes has a hard time saying no to chicken and home comfort cooking, this is going to prove a pretty big deal for me. Especially when the longer I keep this up for, the more people will have to know, including friends and family which is great. But if you're Caribbean, people have a way of saying: "Oh, you're a vegetarian/vegan?? Right.... I see.... but you can still eat chicken? OK, Lamb? NOTHING???! How is that going to work?" and truly, they have a good case. Caribbean traditional food is largely meat based, but you can incorporate fish dishes as well, but then again Rastafarians are mostly strict vegetarians so I guess there's a way around it somewhere.
Being on twitter allowed me to see the horrors that took place recently at the Conklin dairy farm in Ohio, where a secret video on youtube showed absolutely horrendous treatment of cows by sad, pathetic excuses for men. It's truly shocking to watch and the only explanation is they're not man enough to deal with their issues with others, and instead choose to express their hatred of their world on poor, harmless cows, some of them just babies, where they hold them by the mouth and beat them until they vomit or moan out in protest. Although something has managed to be done, it's not enough, and while it hasn't happened in the UK yet [I'm sure our best loved cooks would have something to say about that, Jamie ad Hugh?] we can't close ourselves off to the issues surrounding this travesty in the US. The best course of action is advised to adopt a vegan diet, and therefore completely cutting off the financial support that Conklin farm recieves from meat and dairy produce.
Now, my take is that whilst I'm a vegan in my own home, sometimes it's harder when out in a social scene or public place as they just don't have any vegan options on the menu, and you just can't cut yourself off completely from eating, so in these instances I'll be happy to go veggie if asking about an alternative doesn't work!
So, for anyone interested, here's what i've been up to in trying to change my food habits of a lifetime...
I usually shop in Tesco or Sainsbury's local, and if I had the budget, would be more than happy to explore vegan farmer's markets, whole foods, and an organic shop called Earth, a small organic store based in North London. I also go to Holland and Barrett a lot, as one of my favouite things to snack on are North Valley Granola Bars, so i pick these up along with some nuts, tofu, vegan cheese, and 'tofurkey.' I'm trying to find this particular kind of vegan cheese called Daiya, it may only be available in the US, OK, make that LA!! So if you notice it around anywhere, please hollah!
Breakfast is usually toast, porridge, or a smoothie. I love making berry smoothies [strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, goji berry] so they're always pretty awesome with some greek natural yoghurt.
Snacks are raw almonds, raw cashews, pecans, walnuts, brazil nuts, and wasabi peas. [I love them, but if I'm honest they tend to give you bad wind so maybe only snack on them when you're alone watching TV in the house and nobody is near you.]
Soya Milk / Skimmed Milk - I use Alpro Original for some stuff, but can't have it in tea, coffee, or my cereal just yet. I also drink litres of green tea throughout the day as it flushes you out. Normal green tea is fine, but I prefer the Twinings range so you can get bursts of flavour within your green tea such as hints of jasmine and cranberry, therefore satiating your need for sugar.

For lunch - 3 bean soups are great alongside large salads, or an innocent veg pot usually hits the spot. M&S do great stuff - rice, lentils and auborgines, edamame and soy beans, and rainbow salads including butternut squash, pumpkin seeds, and a tortilla!! If you're doing a home cooked salad, you can also add some cilantro, guacamole and salsa for an extra kick.
Houmous is also fantastic, with crudite, pretty much anything. i can scoop it with my fingers if i'm being really disgusting. However, you can also buy low fat houmous, or Tahini, which is exactly the same as Houmous, just low fat, and actually with a lot more flavour to it. My friend's mum makes a great version and it goes with anything. Tzaziki is also cool to have as well.

For dinner - it's a lentil bake, cous cous and falafel, or a big chilli with rice. I use quorn mince, and to season I use all purpose seasoning, salt, pepper, crushed chilli flakes, smoked paprika, and cumin. I also add kidney beans, tomato pureee, harissa paste, and either black beans or black bean sauce - all you need is a tiny amount for a little bit of added taste. Preferable to use black beans - otherwise check the label. Then add the basmati rice - and stir and simmer until done.
Fresh salad is also a yes yes! Everyone knows what to add to a salad - just throw the lettuce in and add whatever you like to make things a party. finish with some basil, parsley or some cilantro again with salt, pepper, and a glug of olive oil to taste.
Drinks - I'm a tea/coffee ADDICT. so when i'm not pouring gallons of that down my throat, I try and drink green tea and water as much as I can. I'm also an alcohol ADDICT. My poison is white wine or vodka, so when I'm not pouring gallons of that down my throat as well, I normally try and have tequila, gin, or if its non alcohol, vegetable based juices. My mum does an amazing carrot, apple, celery and ginger drink that is the BEST THING EVER. Must ask her to do it sometime.
For Dessert - hmmmm - not a huge dessert fan. I'm going to go with fruit - try kiwis, raspberries.... all the good stuff.... however, I'm also a big fan of crumbles and pies - apple crumble, rhubarb crumble.... YUM. At the moment, if you're in the mood to cook, I would go for Cherry and Plum crumble - although keep in mind, you're probably going to have to do it veggie style as opposed to vegan.
OK, good night my sweet ones!! [Actually it's morning now.]