Happy new year, everyone: I'm writing this post to tell you guys that I've decided to leave Howl to Be Vegan behind in 2017 because I think my goal of showing the affordability and diversity of vegan food has been accomplished.
I hope you've learned that vegans eat more than salads. I don't even know the last time I ate a salad. There's so much edible plant foods the majority of the population haven't eaten tried. This is a great quote from Eating Animals, which I mention below: "Americans choose to eat less than .25% of the known edible food on the planet." Hopefully through this series you've been introduced to more foods like bottle gourd and colocasia gigantea, and hopefully I've dispelled the myth that eating vegan is costly. Yes, you can get a burger for $1 at McDonald's, but you can also get rice, potatoes, and beans for dirt cheap when you divide the costs per meal. Gary Yourofsky explains it perfectly in this video: https://youtu.be/7PR64HGJoyk?t=40s (except I actually liked the taste of McDonald's). I'm paraphrasing, but "The same shit [but vegan] can be found at Taco Bell."
I'm also ending the series for selfish reasons because recording and documenting what I eat isn't really my forte. There are people who love doing this, but I'm not one of them. Nevertheless, you can continue keeping track of my restaurant reviews on my Yelp: https://chanhong.yelp.com.
Additionally, once you know a few recipes, you can start repeating the same ones over and over again, which is totally fine. You should eat what you like, so ultimately it comes down to your preferences. One of Jenn Im's weight loss tips is to find the "healthy foods" you like and stick with it: you don't have to eat brussel sprouts if you don't like them. There are so many other vegetables for you to try. For example, I learned last year that I'm not really a fan of butternut squash unless they're pureed into a ravioli or something lol
If you want to continue hearing about my vegan experience, I have a playlist on Youtube called "My Vegan Journey," which I update with my own videos and videos from others that have helped me on my "vegan journey." There are so many great Youtubers you can learn from. One of my favorites right now is That Vegan Couple. They do a lot of response videos, and they're honestly so sassy: I love it.
Additionally, there are so many amazing vegan cookbooks, documentaries, and books you can use as resources. I recently received Chloe's Kitchen as a Christmas gift and watched What the Health and Forks Over Knives. If you find What the Health to be sensationalist, then I suggest Forks Over Knives. They're both available on Netflix. Some books I've read but haven't advertised on my social include Proteinaholic, Eating Animals, and How Not to Die. I didn't publicize them because I weren't big fans of them, but you might enjoy them. The one book I do recommend is The China Study, which I did post about on my Instagram, so make sure you follow me @justcallmechl_oe to see the latest.
This is not the end of my "vegan activism" if you want to call it that-it's just not very practical for me to record everything I eat - good and bad (because vegan food like all foods has the good and the bad). I like to enjoy my food in the moment and not think about how I want to present it to my followers - just because I didn't record it, doesn't mean it wasn't delicious. I have hope that you will find vegan food accessible, affordable, and enjoyable without my continued guidance, but if you need that extra push, follow my sister @luus_thebeef if you haven't already done so. Trust me, she's so much better at this than I am.
Sunday, January 7, 2018
Thursday, December 14, 2017
Howl to Be Vegan: Thanksgiving & Exams
Hi everyone, it's been a while. Immediately after Thanksgiving, I had exams so I haven't had a chance to update this blog, but without further ado, here is the menu for our very first vegan Thanksgiving:
Wow! listing things is nice. Most of the ingredients we got from our mom. As a result, we have't spent more than $20 (individually) on groceries in a long time.
Appetizer #1:
Daikon radish, celery, carrot, cilantro, lime, and apple cider vinegar salad
Chef: My mom
Appetizer #2:
Chả lụa chay
Chef: My aunt's mom
Soup:
Carrot, beet, daikon radish, chayote, tofu, and noodle vegetable soup
Chef: My mom
Main Course:
Bánh hỏi with Thug Kitchen's citrus marinade tofu, fresh herbs, cucumber, and soy sauce
Chef: My mom and sister
Dessert:
Raspberry oatmeal squares & cupcakes from Frostings in Richmond
Chef: My sister
Cupcakes courtesy of my aunt and uncle
Leftovers & Meals Since Thanksgiving (not including fruit, although I will mention clementines because they're in season)
Because of exams, I wasn't able to cook any besides guacamole and carrot cake cookies from Thug Kitchen for a potluck this past weekend and braised melon (with tofu my sister fried) two days ago so everything listed is courtesy of my sister, mom, or grandma.
- A lot of strawberry toast crunch cereal with almond milk and seaweed and rice
- 1 leftover ramen packet
- Stir-fried broccoli with rice
- Chicken noodle soup with Beyond Meat chicken (my sister also made this before Thanksgiving because we were both feeling sick)
- Spaghetti squash with tomato sauce, mushrooms, onions, and parsley (more like a snack)
- Sweet potato, green bean, and tofu curry with rice
- Roasted red wine potatoes and Korean potato salad sandwiches
- Broccoli cheddar soup with rice
- Wild rice with acorn squash and kale (acorn squash is more buttery than butternut squash)
- Rotini with pasta sauce, wine, and almond milk
- Lentil, tomato, onion, and corn nachos with leftover guac
- French toast with blackberry compote
- Japchae noodles with veggies
- Vegetable noodle soup
- Clementines
- Homemade hot chocolate
Wow! listing things is nice. Most of the ingredients we got from our mom. As a result, we have't spent more than $20 (individually) on groceries in a long time.
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Halloween BTS
My outfit inspiration came from Ari's performance at A Concert for Charlottesville, which I had the pleasure of attending. It was my second time seeing her perform this year. I had a grey sports bra, so that was easy to imitate. Replicating her signature ponytail was not as easy. My arms got tired from trying to lift my hair up as high as possible, and in the end, it just fell into a regular ponytail. I would have needed extensions to get the hair exactly right. For the makeup, I tried to follow a video tutorial with the makeup I had. You can't even see my eyeshadow in the final black and white image, which is actually good because I did not have a red-brown eyeshadow like the Youtuber or Ari. I think the most important part was the winged liner and full lashes, which I think I nailed given my supplies.
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| Outfit inspo |
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| I kind of look like a boxer, but check out the makeup. |
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Howl to Be Vegan XI: Pre-Thanksgiving
For the last few days before the studies and before I was able to go grocery shopping and cook, I ate fermented bean curd, rice, and cucumbers to sustain myself during dinner (the cucumbers were 2/$1 at Kroger. I also bought bananas to eat with oatmeal and sustain myself during breakfast). The rice was still soft even though I had made it who knows how long ago #amazing.
On Saturday, I made vegan brownies for a Vegan Potluck hosted by various vegan-affiliated groups on grounds. The potluck was at such an odd-time: 2-4 p.m., so it was during the UVA-MIA game in which we were leading. As a result, after I brought the brownies and grabbed a plate of food, I snuck out. No one noticed. The food was okay, and we ended up losing. My favorite dish was a pecan pie. I had to eat bean curd again because the plate was not enough to serve as my lunch and dinner.
Sunday consisted of another potluck: my cousin and her roommate's. For this one, I made mashed cauliflower and potatoes. My sister had extra parsley from her vegan meatloaf dish, which she made for the potluck, so I added it to the mashed potatoes for extra flavor. Someone else also made mashed potatoes even though they didn't indicate so on the spreadsheet, so I still have leftovers :P I have made this recipe before so I knew it was good (same with the brownies). The only thing I could eat at the potluck was my mashed potatoes, my sister's meatloaf, some green beans, and cranberry sauce. I also ate two pieces of yeast bread before realizing yeast bread contains butter and eggs. It was really sad. I was hungry at the end the night. How to not overeat over Thanksgiving: go vegan. P.S. The meatloaf is a little on the sweet side.
Let's talk about the Bow Ties first. I actually used a 12 oz. box of bow ties because they don't sell 16 oz. boxes at my Kroger. That was $1. The butternut squash was $1/lb, and the frozen peas were also $1. I replaced the half-and-half/light cream with almond milk ($2.79 for a half gallon) and actually ended up pureeing the butternut squash because after tasting it, I remembered I don't like butternut squash. I used enough milk and vegetable broth (from my sister's meatloaf) so that it would blend. For the fresh sage leaves, I used ground sage, which my sister had just bought for her meatloaf, and last but not least, I excluded the parmesan.
For the Stovetop Chili, I followed the recipe verbatim, except my sister added her leftover tomato paste from the meatloaf to it yesterday. Before my sister added the paste, it was a lot liquid-y than I expected, but it tastes fine with rice. Although my sister thinks both dishes are bland. She made some cornbread to go along with it too, so add cornmeal to the list of pantry items now gone. Anyways, here are some prices for the chili recipe:
Onion: $~2 for a 5lb bag
Chili powder: $1 Kroger brand
Cumin: super cheap at Aldi (we bought it when we went home)
Coriander: $2
Jalapeno: I put it in the green bean bag and forgot to take it out to ring it up oops but it was pretty cheap regardless.
Whole tomatoes: <$1/can (I think it was $0.89, but I'm not sure because I threw away the receipt forgetting about this blog).
Green beans: $1.29/lb so less than $1 for 1/2 pound
Sweet potatoes: $0.38/lb!!!!!
Black beans: again <$1/can
In total, I spent ~$25 for everything I cooked this weekend. I only had to buy sugar for the brownies, and the potatoes were $2.50 for a 3lb bag. The cauliflower was the most expensive thing at $2.99 a head. This should feed me for at least a week maybe more considering how my mom is coming up for Thanksgiving later this week and cooking for us. My sister thought it was illogical that I made so much food given this fact, but hey, a girl's got to eat. I do have to say that the cold season (aka nothing can grow anymore) is making it very hard for me to eat fruit (I only bought three oranges from my grocery trip), but hopefully my mom can find some good fruit at Aldi and bring it up here.
Bonus: my sister made cranberry muffins from the cranberries my cousin used as a garnish for her party punch. She used walnuts, which she bought for her meatloaf, instead of pecans, applesauce instead of a flax egg, and orange juice instead of a freshly squeezed orange. This is what we had in our pantry (the applesauce is also from our mom).
I also broke the no-spending rule enforced in my last post by buying a hoodie at TJMaxx, but that's another story you can see on my Youtube channel. It was only $10, but I justified it as a birthday gift to myself, which means I'm not buying liquid eyeliner anymore aka my original gift to myself.
Anyways, enjoy the pictures below (yes, this blog actually includes photos for once) and have a Happy Thanksgiving!
I'm saving a turkey's life for this and all Thanksgivings.
Howl to Be Vegan X
bitter melon - an update from my last post - my mom braised it with sweet soy sauce this time, and it was so good compared to regular soy sauce! the sweetness really balances out the bitterness
guac - mom gave us four avocados - I used one of them for avocado and toast and the rest for guacamole. I also used the tomatoes and a lime she gave us. the only thing I bought was a red onion and the chips. I highly recommend Santitas Tortilla Chips - they're only $2 and made with three simple ingredients: corn, oil, and salt. other tortilla chip brands like Tostitos have milk in them, which is ridiculous! (wow, Frito-Lay actually owns both Santitas and Tostitos)
mac and cheese - while grocery shopping, I stumbled upon Annie's Vegan Mac & Cheese, so naturally I had to have it. it wasn't worth it. I ended up using it like rice and eating the bitter melon with it. I also had it with some guac, so basically it was good as a base not as a solo dish.
busboys & poets - for my sister's birthday, we went to nova/dc to see Alton Brown Live and dinner at my favorite vegan restaurant. unfortunately, busboys also serves meat, but their vegan selection is so good, I keep coming back (I've been there more than 10 times and have introduced all my friends to it). what's funny is I didn't have a good first impression of busboys because the vegan crab cake made me sick (it's since been removed from the menu...), but the second time I had it (ironically with my sister), I was hooked. I had the vegan beef sliders made with lentils and soy protein (I believe). It was decent (I've had it before). they didn't put enough mayo on the patty so it was a little dry, but I fixed it with mustard and ketchup. I recommended the vegan tuna sandwich for my sister. The meal, which also included a side of sweet potato chips for my sliders and sweet potato fries for my sister, a mixed drink, a coffee, and a dessert only cost $54.52 with tip, which is not bad at all considering I once spent $40 on a meal at another vegan restaurant that I won't recommend.
Read Chanhong L.'s review of Busboys and Poets - Shirlington on Yelp
After going HAM on all these restaurant meals (see previous posts), I realized that my bank account was drained (I have horrible foresight), so I decided I wasn't going to spend any money until my birthday (more on that in the next post). As a result, I couldn't spend any money on food, so we had to use whatever we had at home to sustain ourselves for the next week or so. Here's what we made:
curried/cumin potatoes - poBAEtoes - what more do I have to say? they're cheap, versatile, and tasty. they can also be supplemented with rice for a more calorie dense meal aka you won't feel hungry after eating this dish. my sister used cumin powder instead of cumin seed, but it was fine. she also added tomatoes and lentils to the recipe.
pesto - mom gave us more herbs, so my sister made pesto again. she used the last of the walnuts in the last pesto batch, but she just replaced it with sunflower seeds and peanuts from my pantry, and it tasted the same to me. we ate it with penne. I also made the bow tie dish again because of leftover tomatoes.
gnocchi - "best gnocchi i ever had" - drake; my sister replaced the cashews with almond milk and peanuts aka what we had in our pantry #poBAEtoes
free pizza - midici opened in charlottesville and gave away free margherita pizzas; the 50 minute wait was worth it because we would have starved otherwise. because the margherita pizza has cheese on it, they let me substitute pineapple. I would never pay for the pizza though: it was mediocre and needed the extra toppings e.g. garlic, salt, pepper, etc. the restaurant provides on the side. the ambiance is 10/10 though.
pesto pizza - my sister and I were actually going to go to Midici again for a Yelp Elite event, but we were over it after the free pizza + there's only one option for me so it's not worth the time especially when I had homework and a UVA basketball game was on; my sister did make her pesto pizza again though. She used kale, mushrooms, my leftover red onion from the guacamole, and a grocery store tomato (aka not one from our dad's garden because we ate them all) as toppings. I'm pretty sure these are the same toppings from the last pesto pizza she made. she over salted the first pizza, but the second one was good.
black bean burger - the same night my sister made the pesto pizza, I cheated and spent money at an on-campus cafe except it was money I already spent i.e. I used my student card, which had money I previously deposited into it to buy a textbook. i stayed up really late the previous night doing homework and was really stressed, so I figured I would treat myself and treat myself I did: I added veganaise to the buns, and it was the most gluttonous black bean burger I ever ate. I had chest pains after eating it + along with the side of fries. the meal was only $6 too.
hummus - lastly, I made the hummus in my first "Howl to Be Vegan" post because I had leftover chips from the guacamole and cannellini beans lying around for this exact moment. i didn't have an actual lemon, but I used lemon juice from the fridge and adjusted the taste with peanut butter, a lot of garlic, and other spices. after I ran out of tortilla chips, I finished the hummus with my roommate's leftover pretzel chips.
I also had about four ramen and cereal dinners during this time period, so our pantry is pretty wiped out at this point. Updates are coming in the next post.
Edit: I totally forgot that I got pho at Vu Noodles, arguably the only Vietnamese restaurant and one of the few vegetarian/vegan-only restaurants in town.
guac - mom gave us four avocados - I used one of them for avocado and toast and the rest for guacamole. I also used the tomatoes and a lime she gave us. the only thing I bought was a red onion and the chips. I highly recommend Santitas Tortilla Chips - they're only $2 and made with three simple ingredients: corn, oil, and salt. other tortilla chip brands like Tostitos have milk in them, which is ridiculous! (wow, Frito-Lay actually owns both Santitas and Tostitos)
mac and cheese - while grocery shopping, I stumbled upon Annie's Vegan Mac & Cheese, so naturally I had to have it. it wasn't worth it. I ended up using it like rice and eating the bitter melon with it. I also had it with some guac, so basically it was good as a base not as a solo dish.
busboys & poets - for my sister's birthday, we went to nova/dc to see Alton Brown Live and dinner at my favorite vegan restaurant. unfortunately, busboys also serves meat, but their vegan selection is so good, I keep coming back (I've been there more than 10 times and have introduced all my friends to it). what's funny is I didn't have a good first impression of busboys because the vegan crab cake made me sick (it's since been removed from the menu...), but the second time I had it (ironically with my sister), I was hooked. I had the vegan beef sliders made with lentils and soy protein (I believe). It was decent (I've had it before). they didn't put enough mayo on the patty so it was a little dry, but I fixed it with mustard and ketchup. I recommended the vegan tuna sandwich for my sister. The meal, which also included a side of sweet potato chips for my sliders and sweet potato fries for my sister, a mixed drink, a coffee, and a dessert only cost $54.52 with tip, which is not bad at all considering I once spent $40 on a meal at another vegan restaurant that I won't recommend.
Read Chanhong L.'s review of Busboys and Poets - Shirlington on Yelp
After going HAM on all these restaurant meals (see previous posts), I realized that my bank account was drained (I have horrible foresight), so I decided I wasn't going to spend any money until my birthday (more on that in the next post). As a result, I couldn't spend any money on food, so we had to use whatever we had at home to sustain ourselves for the next week or so. Here's what we made:
curried/cumin potatoes - poBAEtoes - what more do I have to say? they're cheap, versatile, and tasty. they can also be supplemented with rice for a more calorie dense meal aka you won't feel hungry after eating this dish. my sister used cumin powder instead of cumin seed, but it was fine. she also added tomatoes and lentils to the recipe.
pesto - mom gave us more herbs, so my sister made pesto again. she used the last of the walnuts in the last pesto batch, but she just replaced it with sunflower seeds and peanuts from my pantry, and it tasted the same to me. we ate it with penne. I also made the bow tie dish again because of leftover tomatoes.
gnocchi - "best gnocchi i ever had" - drake; my sister replaced the cashews with almond milk and peanuts aka what we had in our pantry #poBAEtoes
free pizza - midici opened in charlottesville and gave away free margherita pizzas; the 50 minute wait was worth it because we would have starved otherwise. because the margherita pizza has cheese on it, they let me substitute pineapple. I would never pay for the pizza though: it was mediocre and needed the extra toppings e.g. garlic, salt, pepper, etc. the restaurant provides on the side. the ambiance is 10/10 though.
pesto pizza - my sister and I were actually going to go to Midici again for a Yelp Elite event, but we were over it after the free pizza + there's only one option for me so it's not worth the time especially when I had homework and a UVA basketball game was on; my sister did make her pesto pizza again though. She used kale, mushrooms, my leftover red onion from the guacamole, and a grocery store tomato (aka not one from our dad's garden because we ate them all) as toppings. I'm pretty sure these are the same toppings from the last pesto pizza she made. she over salted the first pizza, but the second one was good.
black bean burger - the same night my sister made the pesto pizza, I cheated and spent money at an on-campus cafe except it was money I already spent i.e. I used my student card, which had money I previously deposited into it to buy a textbook. i stayed up really late the previous night doing homework and was really stressed, so I figured I would treat myself and treat myself I did: I added veganaise to the buns, and it was the most gluttonous black bean burger I ever ate. I had chest pains after eating it + along with the side of fries. the meal was only $6 too.
hummus - lastly, I made the hummus in my first "Howl to Be Vegan" post because I had leftover chips from the guacamole and cannellini beans lying around for this exact moment. i didn't have an actual lemon, but I used lemon juice from the fridge and adjusted the taste with peanut butter, a lot of garlic, and other spices. after I ran out of tortilla chips, I finished the hummus with my roommate's leftover pretzel chips.
I also had about four ramen and cereal dinners during this time period, so our pantry is pretty wiped out at this point. Updates are coming in the next post.
Edit: I totally forgot that I got pho at Vu Noodles, arguably the only Vietnamese restaurant and one of the few vegetarian/vegan-only restaurants in town.
Monday, October 30, 2017
Howl To Be Vegan Part IX
First, I forgot to include some home-cooked meals my sister made in my previous posts.
september 27 ravioli
october 12 quinoa burger
Next, here is the food I've been eating since my last post.
october 18 fettucine alfredo
october 21 chili and cornbread
october 21 mom sent with my aunt, braised bitter melon, gourd, and tofu, which I ate with rice for the week
october 22 taste of china with the uncle and sister
Read Chanhong L.'s review of Taste of China on Yelp
october 26 mellow mushroom with the sister for trivia night
Read Chanhong L.'s review of Mellow Mushroom on Yelp
october 27 roots with Sari!
september 27 ravioli
- Good but super doughy because we don't have a pasta roller-my sister gave up trying to make the ravioli and just made dough balls with sauce
- My sister actually wrote a blog post about her experience! Check it out here: http://chanhedathepoet.blogspot.com/2017/10/butternut-squash-ravioli-recipe.html
- This was more of a snack than a meal.
- The onion to potato ratio was off, so the pancake was super onion-y but nothing ketchup couldn't fix!
october 12 quinoa burger
- I don't think I'm a fan of quinoa, but any burger is good with mayo spread on a toasted bun and tomatoes.
Next, here is the food I've been eating since my last post.
october 18 fettucine alfredo
- Once again courtesy of my sister
- Pasta is cheap and cauliflower and plant-based milk makes stuff creamy.
october 21 chili and cornbread
- Hearty without the meat
- The last thing my sister cooked
- I got mad at her because she forgot to buy chili powder, and I was like "How can you make chili without chili powder?!" Her rebuttal was "Chili powder is just a blend of spices, and we have most of those spices." As a result, she replaced the chili powder with the same amount of cayenne pepper. As you can guess, it came out really spicy, but she added more tomato paste, and it was all good (although it kind of tasted better spicy).
- The cornbread was really bitter by itself because she added 1 tablespoon instead of 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, but it was fine with the chili.
october 21 mom sent with my aunt, braised bitter melon, gourd, and tofu, which I ate with rice for the week
october 22 taste of china with the uncle and sister
Read Chanhong L.'s review of Taste of China on Yelp
october 26 mellow mushroom with the sister for trivia night
Read Chanhong L.'s review of Mellow Mushroom on Yelp
october 27 roots with Sari!
- I got The Southern as is this time.
- It was super yummy as always.
- Not vegan-friendly but we went for my parents' birthdays
- Mom also brought canh chua with okra, bac ha, mong toi (see below), and tofu; stir-fried tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, and fried tofu; and braised bitter melon and fried tofu (I apologize for the inconsistent use of Vietnamese accents in this blog)
- I yelled at her for always including tofu, and she said all you have to do is use your words and tell me, which was valid. She also said she saved it for me when she could have eaten it herself or not buy it at all and that my dad likes it too AKA giving me tofu is a sacrifice she makes for me. My American ass just wants her to ask me if I want the tofu. I can never be a Vietnamese mom, but that's a different story.
october 30
- no class today so I boiled some mồng tơi from my dad's garden and ate it with ramen for dinner because it's too bland for me to eat it alone
- I also made a soup with some Chinese flowering cabbage or cai ngot (sweet lettuce) from my dad's garden - this will be eaten with rice (as always)
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