Sweet (Secretly Bean-y) Spreads

Yes, you read that right: Sweet. Bean. Spreads.

I recently read Vegan for Life, an overview of vegan nutrition written by two registered dietitians.  It was a tremendously helpful book, and one of the most important messages I took from it was that I'm probably not getting enough protein!

Image via TheVeganRD.com.

But, to be fair, I suspect that I wasn't getting enough before I went vegan, either--as someone who ate very little meat, few beans, and a scattering of dairy products, how could I? But now I know that the daily protein recommendation for women is around 45 grams (more if you're more active) and that my default vegan diet was leaving me as many as 10 grams short per day.

Moreover, the Vegan for Life authors recommended getting most of one's protein through legumes like peanuts, peas, and beans. Peanut butter? Oh, yeah, check! Peas? Sure, I can add those to a lot of dishes--check! Beans? Ummmm, that's harder. I get sick of beans--beans on salads, beans in pasta sauce, beans on tortillas, beans in curries and soups, beans for every meal, beans in and coming out of my ears!

Image from ABCNews.go.com's nice little article about vegetarian protein sources.  (Well, it's nice until they include beef. But I'll take it.)

So what to do? Well, I bought some protein powder for smoothies, learned how to make seitan (more on that later!), and started thinking of ways to sneak beans into my diet.

Thus began my new love affair with bean-based sweet dips and spreads. It sounds weird, I know, but with a good food processor and a can of beans--particularly the miraculously creamy great northern/navy bean--you can get the creamy, rich texture so often associated with butter-based frosting. And you get it with much less fat and more iron and protein than frosting can give!

Fudge dip! (These little containers never last very long . . .)

First, I tried the fudge dip found in Everyday Happy Herbivore (which is pretty much my favorite cook book ever). This stuff is incredibly tasty when spread on a whole wheat tortilla, multigrain bread, or a rice cake. AND it's low-calorie (less than 50 per serving, according to my calorie counter). AND it's full of protein. AND it satisfies my crazy chocolate addiction.

Mmmm, freshly processed goodness. Don't forget to lick the bowl!

Two notes on this recipe: 1) In my opinion, using navy beans is absolutely vital. The cannellini bean version is okay, but the navy beans are much smoother and have a milder flavor. 2) I always make the variation that includes peanut butter. Yeah, it adds fat, but just a tablespoon or two contributes a lot of richness and helps you get away with using less sugar!

More recently, I tried this chocolate chip cookie dough dip from Chocolate Covered Katie because . . . Wait, does anyone really need an excuse to eat raw cookie dough? That's pretty much a gimme.

Cookie dough dip! (Or raw vegan cookie dough. Or whatever you have to call it to make it okay for yourself.)

The brown sugar is really what makes cookie dough taste like cookie dough, and the same is true for this dip! I would definitely use brown sugar as your sweetener if you have it on hand. Also, this is a very forgiving recipe because it doesn't have to be baked, so feel free to make it to taste. And while it's not exactly low-calorie (my version clocked in at over 65 calories per tablespoon), I could still justify walking around my apartment licking it off the spoon as an after-dinner treat!

It's okay on bread, better on rice cakes, and best when eaten alone!

The moral of this story is that I still love beans, but sometimes I like my beans to be seen but not tasted.

Also, you can never trust a vegan: we will hide beans (or kale or quinoa) in everything.

Getting Started: Vegan Breakfast Tips

 

I love breakfast. When I was little, my mom never let me out the door without eating something, and I still can't get away with skipping it. It was also the very first meal that I started doing vegan last summer. Here are some quick, easy steps to get you started veganizing your breakfasts:

I don't have nearly enough brain power to take pictures of my breakfasts in the morning, but the Garden of Vegan tumblr has some beautiful breakfast food photography! Check it out!

1. Start small: Buy some non-dairy milk. Non-dairy milk is probably the least intimating, easiest way to start thinking vegan. Because let's face it: skim milk tastes kind of crappy anyway, and it's always expiring, and you're always running out, and you have to recycle all those plastic bottles but not the caps, and ugh, I'm over it. On the other hand, Tetra-packed almond milk, coconut milk, and soy milk are easy to find at your local grocery store, easy to stock up on, and relatively tasty. None of it tastes like "real" milk, but it does taste good, especially sweetened soy milk (though my favorite is unsweetened almond). That first bite of cereal might leave your palate a bit confused, but if you give yourself a week to get used to it, I promise that you won't even think about dairy milk--I know I haven't missed it! 
2. Start reading your labels. When you're waiting for your coffee to brew in the morning, take a minute read your cereal and bread labels. It should be pretty baffling; the lists of ingredients in most processed foods are long and mostly incomprehensible, and there's almost always whey, milk, or even eggs lurking somewhere in there. Don't throw this stuff out--enjoy it until it's gone, but take a few minutes the next time you're at the grocery store to read the labels on what you're buying. Is there something there that's vegan, comparable in price, and similar to what you already eat? Try it! I'm particularly fond of Nature's Path Organic Flax Plus Multibran Flakes, which are certified vegan and quite tasty when topped with almond milk, chopped walnuts, and dried banana chips. 
3. Think about lasting power. My main complaint about going vegan is that, unless I pay a lot of attention to protein, I'm hungry every two hours. Breakfast is a great time to eat hearty grains and nuts to get you through to noon. I try to eat a very hefty breakfast--around 400 calories and packed with as much protein; fiber; and omega-3 fats from flax seed, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds as I can handle.
4. Know what you need. If you have an hour every morning to make and consume a delicious, hot, gourmet breakfast, then you really don't need to read this post. But if you're like everyone else in the world, your mornings are rushed and you're probably shooting lasers out of your eyeballs because of how much you hate mornings. (Anyone else? Just me? Okay then.) Be gentle on yourself by working with your habits. Are you a grab and go sort of person? Then make granola bars on the weekends or buy pre-made cereal, granola bars, and dried fruit. Do you have five minutes to throw something together? Then plan on making some oatmeal or a smoothie while you're waiting for your coffee to brew.
5. Add it up. Store-bought vegan foods are often "health" foods, by which I mean that they're all moral and bland and fiber-y and sad tasting. In those cases, supplement it until you love it. Lackluster cereal? Top it with a teaspoon of honey and sunflower seeds. Has your pita gone stale in the fridge? Use a heavy hand with the Earth Balance and your favorite jam. Are you an inveterate oatmeal hater? You just haven't found the right toppings yet! Try dried fruit, nuts, agave nectar, and cinnamon until you're happy again. 

Here are some of my favorite vegan breakfast components: 

1. Peanut butter. Just . . . peanut butter. Forget its connotation with school lunches: peanut butter is delicious. It has always been one of those foods that I could eat a whole jar of with a spoon and still kind of want some more, so veganism has been a great excuse to add it to just about every meal. It's full of protein and is deeply satisfying because of its high fat content. I eat a lot of peanut butter on toast, bagels, and oatmeal. There are five different varieties in my pantry right now, and I kind of wish there were more!
2. Bread and bagels: you don't have to give them up! I promise you a post about baking easy vegan bread and pitas soon! But, in the meantime, many grocery stores with health food freezer sections do carry some very delicious vegan breads, and while vegan bagels are uncommon in grocery stores, Panera actually has a few vegan varieties you can stock up on. (Including everything bagels--my favorite!)
3. Oatmeal: do it old school. I grew up on (deliciously) sugary packets of Quaker instant oatmeal, but I never found them tasty or filling enough to keep my interest as an adult. Moreover, they're also packed with whey and dried milk and about a bajillion other processed ingredients. But plain quick oats cooked in the microwave with non-dairy milk is incredibly filling and full of protein and fiber. And seasoned with a dash of salt, honey or agave nectar, peanut butter, walnuts, ground flax seed, cinnamon, and cardamom, it's pretty damn delicious. Not to mention cheap! 
4. Get that vegan a smoothie. Vegans love smoothies. Vegan bloggers are the queens of smoothiedom. Not only are vegan smoothies delicious and shockingly versatile (I kid you not: you can make vegan smoothies with frozen peas that actually taste like chocolate milkshakes!), but, if you use the right kind of ingredients, they stick with you and are packed with the protein and fiber needed to keep you full.  And you can sneak a half scoop of vegan protein powder into them with very little work.
5. Want to get fancy? Google it! Vegan waffles and pancakes and granola bars oh my! Based on what I've seen online, there's very little you can't do with vegan breakfast baking. I haven't gotten too into this yet, but I prefer my breakfasts to be plain and hearty--anything too sweet or complicated will unsettle my stomach. But go to town! Google will show you the way!

Note: Yes, I did just post a Jack Johnson song on my blog. No, I am not ashamed. It's cheesy and wonderful and there's a ukulele and I love it.  ;)

Ingredient Profile: Chickpeas

I am not exaggerating when I say that I feel romantically toward chickpeas.

Image from all-creatures.org, which has a lovely write-up of chickpeas and their nutritional content. 

For a long time, my only experience with the common garbanzo bean was seeing their strange, lumpy, beige-ness staring at me from salad bars. I thought they looked like pelleted cellulite, and I was not into it.

The first time I felt my heart flutter at the sight of a chickpea was when I discovered Indian food in college. Chana masala (chickpeas in a curried tomato sauce) and chole saag (chickpeas in a rich spinach sauce) are perhaps the best tasting foods in the world, and you can make a lot of curried dishes with chickpeas at home that are simple, filling, and voluminous. (Spicy chickpeas and dill is a personal favorite.) 

I've also included chickpeas in vegetarian chili and spicy African stews with great success. And in a pinch, they perform admirably as part of an Italian-style pasta dish when sauteed with veggies in a little bit of oil until their skins begin to burst; just throw some vegan tomato sauce on top and add to a whole grain pasta of your choice. 

Oddly enough, Bush's really are the best canned chickpeas I've tried, thought most organic brands are equally delicious. 

Furthermore, chickpeas are great on top of a quick salad or even as a snack; I have definitely been known to scoop out a half cup so I can eat them plain with my fingers. They’re slightly nutty and salty straight from the can, with a tender, crumbly texture. They’re capable of taking a backseat to strong spicy flavors, the tangy freshness of tomatoes, or the acidity of vinegar or Dijon. Basically, they’re like a really fantastic character actor, capable of stepping up and stealing a scene when you need them to, or hanging back and supporting your other flavors in their Oscar-bid roles.

More than anything else in my kitchen, chickpeas are my go-to vegan protein of choice, full of protein and iron, satisfying and adaptable.

Perhaps such a ubiquitous food doesn't need an ode, but isn't that the whole point of a blog like this? To simultaneously celebrate and be grateful for those foods that make living the life we’d like to live possible?

Chickpeas are my Meryl Strep, and I will always give them all of my newbie vegan awards.

Image from Thinkprogress.org. Yayyy Meryl!