Vegan Diet Advisor

Joe Stepaniak’s “Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook” was among the first cookbooks I bought after deciding to adopt a vegan diet 3 years ago. For those not familiar with the term “uncheese”,  Stepaniak uses it to describe rich-tasting spreads, dips, sauces and blocks produced with dairy-free whole foods (primarily beans, nuts, or grains).

Cheese lovers be forewarned: you may be in for some disappointment if you’re expecting tofu to taste like Feta cheese or chickpeas like Havarti. The book’s introduction even acknowledges that “uncheeses are not going to be like dairy cheeses, so please adjust your expectations accordingly. ”

Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook

Unfortunately I skipped Stepaniak’s well-intentioned introduction and plowed in to the recipes, attempting  Tofu Ricotta, Chick Cheez, Swizz Cheez, Buffalo Mostarella, Brie, Betta Feta, White Bean Boursin, Monterey Jack and Port Wine uncheeses.  And while all were tasty (my favorite is the sharp Chick Cheez spread–made from Garbanzo Beans) they left me somewhat disillusioned and wondering whether I could actually live without real cheese.

As a result of my initial experience, “The Uncheese Cookbook” sat dormant on my shelf for some time. Little did I realize that I would come back to Stepaniak’s book later (many times), finding it had improved with age.  Its most valuable lesson is that it introduces unfamiliar ingredients, and uses them as well as more commonplace items–including raw nuts–in groundbreaking fashion.

For example, I had never heard of nutritional yeast, an ingredient employed in many of the book’s recipes. Nutritional yeast is a rich source of vitamins and minerals that has a pungent cheesy taste, too. I later learned that Stepaniak is considered an aficionado on the subject, having authored “The Nutritional Yeast Cookbook.”

Among other new ingredients (and somewhat challenging to obtain) were agar and kuzu (both plant-based thickening agents used in place of gelatin), and umeboshi  plum paste, used for adding saltiness. Chickpea flour (a.k.a. Chana Besan) while common in Indian cuisine, is also employed in many uncheese dishes.

The introduction to Uncheese Cookbook provides a detailed and useful reference to all the aforementioned ingredients as well as others. It also contains a well-documented background of how the dairy industry has influenced the evolution of the American diet (echoing T. Scott Campbell’s “The China Study”), and provides detailed nutritional data on the benefits of  non-dairy sources of calcium, protein, fat, and carbohydrates vs. dairy products.

Moving on to the recipes, I found many of the “Uncheese Dishes” to be superb. Among my favorites are:

• Chocolate Almond Cheeze Cake (p170*) with Granola Nut Crust–Everyone who’s tasted it are astounded it tastes more delicious than real cheesecake, without using eggs or dairy products (maple syrup is the secret).

• “Besto Pesto” (which imperceptibly substitutes cheese with miso)–How can a vegan diet be considered sacrifice when you can still enjoy a dish of linguine with Genevose pesto sauce?

• Chickpea Flour Pizza (p128), eaten alongside vegetable curries–It takes all of about 5 minutes to prepare, so it’s very convenient, too!

• Beannaise (p150)–Used as mayonnaise substitute within other recipes, and also by itself, as a dip for vegetables or salad dressing.

*Note: page numbers refer to the 10th edition of the book.

Other recipes I would recommend include: Parmezano Sprinkles (p50), Eggplant Parmagiano Stew (p80), Spinach-Tofu Manicotti (p117), and Zucchini Chedda Soup (p77).

Upon re-perusing “The Uncheese Cookbook”, there are still many dishes I plan to sample, including: Classic Quiche (p102), Lemon Teasecake (p169)-the “Key Lime” variation, Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce (p63), Hot Spinach-Artichoke Dip (p49), and Curried Cauliflower Cheez Soup (p76).

Other features of the book I liked are the charts of nutritional values for each of the recipes, and the listings of food allergens (gluten, soy, nuts, corn). On the other hand, the book contains only 4 pages of photographs, and certainly could benefit from more.

If you already own “The Uncheese Cookbook” but haven’t picked it up for a while, I suggest it’s worth another look. If you don’t, please get a hold of a copy and try its innovative and healthy recipes based on plant-based ingredients. Just remember to put aside your expectations of dairy-cheese taste, and you won’t be disappointed.

I’ve blogged numerous times about how The China Study was the single biggest motivating factor in my adopting a vegan diet. However, at least equally important is “Veganomicon,” the book that has sustained me through the transition and has become a fixture in my kitchen.

Veganomicon, which bills itself (rightly so) as the Ultimate Vegan Cookbook, is the product of Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, who also wrote “Vegan with a Vengeance” and “Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World”. The pair also created the PostPunkKitchen (theppk.com) vegan recipe website, where you can find some teaser recipes from the Veganomicon book.

My partner and I have tried about 40 of the dishes in Veganomicon, some several times, and our copy of Veganomicon (covered with numerous post-it notes and splatters of various sauces) is never far from our sides or minds.

One of my goals was to attempt all of the 250 recipes in the book. However, we’ve enjoyed the recipes we’ve tried so much (our favorite being “Baja-Style Grilled Tempeh Tacos”), it’s difficult to find reasons to try new ones.

Among our many other favorite recipes are:

• Chickpea Cutlets (p133)
• Escarole with Beans (p107)
• Spicy Tempeh with Brocolli and Rotelle (p191)
• Spicy Peanut and Eggplant Soup (p147)
• Eggplant-Potato Moussaka with Pine Nut Cream (p164)

And for those of you with a sweet tooth:

• Almond-Anise Biscotti (p240)
• Fig Smushed-Anise-Almond Cookies (P235)
• Banana-Date Scones (p224)

True to the authors’ claim, many of the recipes in the book can be prepared with ingredients in your pantry or found at the local grocery store. There are also main dishes and deserts that are more elaborate and time-consuming but well worth the trouble, as you and your non-vegan family/friends will not feel they’re missing anything.

Fortunately for me, I discovered Veganomicon shortly after finishing The China Study, or I may have died from malnutrition, if not boredom, first. I believe both books are required reading for anyone interested in giving up their animal-based diet for one based on plants. It sounds trite to say, but Veganomicon may really be the last cookbook you’ll ever buy!

Since I became vegan within the past 3 years, I have become an enthusiastic advocate of a vegetarian diet. As a result, I was disappointed to learn from the Vegetarian Resource Group’s 2009 survey that the vegetarian needle has hardly moved in the past 6 years. In fact, there has been little increase in U.S. vegetarianism from a statistical standpoint in 20 years. VRG poll responses indicated that 3% of adults were vegetarian, and about 1/3 of those could be classified as vegan (eating no animal products).

Unlike many vegans who became vegan for reasons of ethics or animal rights, my main reason for becoming vegan was to maintain and improve health. The China Study revealed that eating a plant-based diet was the best way to reduce risks for the top causes of premature death, namely cancer, heart disease, diabetes, mis-medication, and hospitalization. Because my work was extremely stressful, and there was history of heart disease and cancer in my family, I felt it almost inevitable I would fall ill, too.  While there is no guarantee I can avoid that fate, adopting a plant-based diet has given me a greater sense of control over my future.

As I’ve described in previous posts, getting to the point of maintaining a vegan diet (and considering myself vegan) took time. I was deeply attached to many foods, whether from my Italian-American upbringing (i.e. meats and cheeses) and also from having lived in Japan for two decades (sukiyaki, sushi, etc). The hardest part of a vegan diet is difficulty of eating with others and eating at restaurants.

In order to avoid eating animal products (and unhealthy products in general), you usually need to prepare and eat more food at home and carry it with you, as well. I recognize the time and trouble (varies depending on the type of work you do, i.e. sales) it takes to maintain a vegan diet is an obstacle for many who would like to become healthier, too. Eating at home is healthy, but I understand it is not always practical, and some people may feel socially isolated as well.

That’s why I was somewhat disappointed in the results of the latest VRG survey. If there were more vegetarians and vegans to attract marketers, there would be social support for busy and socially active people to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle, encouraging more people to become vegetarian or vegan.  It would be a virtual cycle.

I believe many people are turned off by ethical connotations of the word “veganism”. This must be the case, because there are so few vegans (perhaps less than 2% of U.S. adults according to a 2003 poll!), and I can’t think of any good reason, unless it’s that people are just accustomed to eating animals?

On my site, a vegan diet simply refers to a diet that is free of animal protein, including meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy products.  When I say becoming vegan, I mean adopting a plant-based diet. Nothing more.

Once you decide to adopt a vegan diet, at least three-fourths of the supermarket floor space, and 99% of restaurants (including much of your favorite all-you-can-eat buffet) are off-limits! That was a depressing realization when I first began practicing a vegan diet a few years ago.

It’s not that hard to adopt a vegan diet, and nor do you have to  be 100% faithful to benefit from one. For me it was a gradual, not an overnight, process to give up eating animal products. But–when you become vegan for health reasons–you don’t have to feel guilty for the occasional and sometimes unavoidable lapse of meat-eating.

In fact, the most challenging part of becoming vegan is how to deal with eating out, and dining with family, friends, and colleagues. Therefore, as it is when developing any new habits, it’s helpful to find like-minded people who are also interested in reducing their intake of animal products, too. But don’t despair if you can’t think of anyone now!

Trust me. I was a HUGE meat eater. I couldn’t have imagined giving up grilled steaks and rack of lamb with mint sauce and veal shanks cooked in wine…or garlic and herb crusted chicken. But eating a vegan diet doesn’t require you to feel you are sacrificing the pleasure of eating. You can have your (vegan) cake and eat it too.

It takes time, but your tastes will adapt, and you will not crave or miss animal products, because there are infinite possibilities for delicious vegan meals and snacks. Just follow some of the links on this site, or Google “vegan recipes” for yourself. Don’t expect to change  overnight, just believe you can achieve whatever you want if you want it bad enough.

For those of you who read this far but forgot why you should consider becoming a vegan: Strong evidence suggests that eating animal products is not good, and is probably more than a little bad for your health. To see for yourself, I highly recommend (again) you read The China Study.

If you have been concerned about the current state of your health, or worry about falling ill in the future due to a medical condition that runs in your family, you are certainly not alone. But you don’t have to resign yourself to poor health, because research proves that diet plays a much more significant role than genetics in predicting health.

Although I was brought up eating a large variety of vegetables, until 3 years ago (at 43), I was also an avid consumer of animal products–especially meats, cheese and dairy products–and would not have dreamed of adopting a 100 percent plant-based diet, much less singing its praises. That all changed when I read The China Study.

According to the book’s author, T. Colin Campbell, PhD., there are major health benefits to be gained by reducing the percentage of animal-based foods from the 20-30 percent average for most Americans to under 10 percent, or better yet, zero percent. This means the large majority, 95 percent of US adults who eat animal products regularly, will have to alter your eating habits, as I did.

But almost everyone who gives up eating animal products say they feel healthier, energetic, and younger, and wonder why they waited so long. My own cholesterol and body fat dropped notably within a month or two after reducing my intake of animal products, after years of trying but never succeeding to reduce it by regular exercise alone.

I have since lost 15 pounds and have had to purchase new clothes (it’s much more fun buying smaller clothes than bigger). I had to get all new cookbooks and learn how to cook all over again, too. Fortunately, there are endless resources on the internet to assist with meatless cooking. Please check out some of the links on this site for ideas.