Hi, I am Lee, Vegan Dad, Wellness Chef, Runner and Lover of Nature. Mindfully existing and sharing perspective on the topics of
health, food,compassion,community, and more.
So I found this big green cabbage that has been hanging out in my fridge for a while.
Finally, today was the day: I’m going to cook it up. So I sliced it in 1 inch thick wedges, put it in a roasting pan and added gold potatoes, carrots, parsnips, yellow onion, and garlic.
All chopped in bite-size pieces. Then I mixed together some avocado oil, veggie stock, liquid smoke, cumin, turmeric, Italian seasoning, Tamari sauce, tahini sauce, maple syrup, chili powder, salt and pepper, and poured it over the Veggies. I then roasted it all for 2 hours at 400 degrees.
Wow!! I got an extremely flavorful, healthy, vegan comfort food! So good.
Remember, look in your fridge–so many ingredients hanging around just waiting for you! Create, your tastes buds will be happy, and so will everyone who eats your creation!
One thing about eating like a vegan is that you have to be prepared. It is much easier to eat healthier when you have your delicious food prepared ahead of time. I’m always thinking ahead about what I want to eat, especially planning something Vegan for my lunch at work.
Simple Ingredients
Like you, I’m busy, so I try to get my meal preparation done as fast as possible, without giving up taste or health. Here is a quick way I prepare a healthy, vegetable-filled lunch. I use my rice cooker with a steamer basket inside.
In these pictures, I use quinoa, but you can use any type of rice instead if you’d prefer that (although quinoa has some extra protein!). For veggies, I have Brussels sprouts, broccoli, yellow squash, and zucchini, but you can really use any vegetables you want.
Add one cup of quinoa (or rice) and two cups of water to your steamer.
Add the vegetables in the steamer basket, above the quinoa or rice
Turn it on and let everything cook, the veggies until soft and the quinoa or rice until all of the water is gone.
When the veggies are done, I toss them with some nutritional yeast, tamari sauce, pepper, turmeric, and some hot sauce, if you’re feeling spicy. Put your veggies over your quinoa, and boom…a quick, healthy lunch with enough leftovers to use for dinner time.
To spice up your leftovers, sauté some onion, garlic, and peppers in a little oil (I like avocado oil because of its higher burn point). Add your leftovers, some veggie stock, and tamari sauce.
You can add any thing you have in your fridge..Cooking should be fun, so experiment with spices, ingredients, flavors…don’t be intimidated, taste and keep adding until it’s right—you never know the deliciousness you have within you!
Enjoy! And please share some of the healthy, easy meals you come up with!
September 5, 2017 is when I started this gastric, life-affirming, planet-saving journey.
It makes so much sense that what you put into your body has a direct correlation to your health, either positively or negatively. My family has a history of heart disease, and most of my siblings, including myself, were on cholesterol medicine. There was my goal: bring my cholesterol numbers down so I could stop taking the medicine. It took me six months, but I did it! I also had as much or more energy, lost weight, and felt pretty good that no animals were flowing through my system, even if I do have a lot less choices now when I shop or eat out
Beyond personal health, I started thinking about the planet. Eating plant-based is much more sustainable, and you can feed a lot more people with an acre of vegetables than an acre of livestock feed. Not to mention the methane gas from all those farting cows. Also, tell me this, have you ever met a right-wing Vegan? I don’t think so.
I know about the self righteous Vegan stereotypes…me, I love omnivores too! I just think overall healthy eating is good for you, and even eating Vegan once in a while is good for the planet.
Being a Vegan is a choice for my well-being as well as the planet’s, and for a lot of those fellow animals living their lives too. I feel great and I intend to keep moving, keep adventuring, and keep smiling every precious day.
What now? It feels great to be Plant Based. I want to make it easier and more attractive for people to incorporate some plant-based eating into their lives. I want to affect change in the places we eat, to bring knowledge and plant-based healthier options to restaurants and markets, reminding them that many times, the Vegan decides where the group goes to eat. I want to continue living every moment, by and always making the right choice for my health and the planet.
I have never been overly religious. I believe in God, the universe, some higher power that presents possibilities to us in different ways, and we have to be awoke enough to see them and have the faith and courage to take action. I feel culturally Jewish, but more spiritually Buddhist.
The High Holidays this year for me were very personal and a time of reflection on where I am and where I want to go. I strive to be awake, do what fills me up with joy, follow my passions, face my fears, and let the people I love know it, through my actions and words. I will be a positive influence in my community and the world, take care of myself physically, mentally, and spiritually, so that I have the strength to be able to care for others. Kindness and gratitude will carry me through my life.
I spent both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kipper doing what has truly become one of my life’s passions, solo hiking up a mountain with a beautiful view on top. The combination of the strenuous effort to reach your goal, while having to be awake and mindful (so you don’t get lost or fall off!) is a good metaphor for life. The beauty of the journey through the forest, up the rocks, to the summit feels to me like healing for my soul. The breathtaking views, the air, the sweat, and the touch of the sun and wind make me feel so much closer to the Universe. Our crazy world is so far away, and all that exists is the all encompassing beauty of The Natural World. I feel that one day, when it’s my time, on a mountain I will be, and you will know…I was happy.
You are such a special and sweet person even Alzheimer’s cannot dim your love for others and the way everyone in your life (even people you just meet) are drawn to you and your natural sweetness and joy. You’re the best!
It’s funny, I always thought my Dad was in charge, but I was wrong: it was a beautiful loving partnership. Growing up my Mom was always there, walking us home from school, making some lunch, putting our meat n potatoes in the table.
My Dad worked a lot, owning his own bakery and deli with his brother (which is a whole other story, about anger, frustration, and resentment), but to me my Mom was there to embarrass me. “My handsome boy…”she would say when introducing me sometimes. I had pretty low self esteem growing up, and my Mom was the only one I could talk to if I was feeling down, or hurt, or not like the ideal I thought I should be. She was sensitive, loving, smart, fiercely loyal, and always would embrace our friends as hers. So many of my friends and neighbors could feel her warmth and wisdom as she listened, and usually gave some type of sage advice (all the while laying on her couch).
She always was accepting, loving, and she worked so hard to keep our family together .We are all reaping the benefits now of her efforts to keep all of us kids so close. If my mom had something to say, she would say it–not in a bad way, but one where you would listen. She also sent a lot of letters; she could express her discontent (or happiness!) with you through writing beautifully.
She did not keep a totally, organized, strict household (we had our Aunt Syd for that). She let us play football in the den, leave our rooms a mess, and break all the garage windows playing basketball..but we sure ate good, and she was always there. A smiling, positive, influence, accepting life as it is, but always making the best of it no matter the situation.
My mom loved us all so much. You could feel it through everything she did. She accepted us, even when she disagreed with us…but the love never wavered.
After college, I moved to California for ten years, For ten years every conversation had the same ending: “when ya coming back?”, which is funny to think about as my own kids are now spreading out. My Mom was is also the most incredible grandma. She loves those Kids as much as her own. Moving back from California and by sheer luck (or the universe) moving next door to her and my Dad was the most beautiful part of my life.
Such a connection was built, such love was fostered and grown, my kids had two houses, (three after my divorce). It was so beautiful. And went both ways.. It’s the kind of feelings and love…that is just going to keep growing and continue to be passed on from generation to generation. That’s what love and family is.
Stand up For Injustice. Be aware…Call out Racism We are all human beings …No one better than another… Read about this ..imagine your son, brother , or friend….
Smokey Maple TempehPlant-based “Just Egg” with peppers, onions, garlic, and black salt (for that real eggy flavor)Family recipe breakfast potatoes
Probably one of the things I miss from back in my non-vegan days (or as I call them my dark ages 🙂) is a hearty, filling, yes, egg-filled breakfast. In my past I have owned a restaurant and served up many a tasty egg dish…I was missing it until I discovered this Just Egg product, made from Mung Bean Protein Isolate. I’m a believer…and the black salt (also called Kala Namak) gives it that extra egg flavor. Check out https://www.ju.st/en-us/products/consumer/egg for more info, usually you can find it at the grocery store. The black salt is available on line or usually at an Asian market.
The Vegan Dad MOVEment 