Emily in Parade's Healthy Lifestyle Mag

Yes, she IS addicted to her Blackberry...like REALLY addicted.

Good question, Rob, and my answer is a resounding NO. I don't want to drink or eat animal products, so I don't want something that even comes close to it. Same goes for the genetically engineered meat they are producing in labs. No. Thank. You.

Meegs82 wrote:Yes, she IS addicted to her Blackberry...like REALLY addicted.

lol @ the Blackberry addiction. I swear I've never seen the bonus to phone/pda texting but then I can chat online for hours so maybe it's the small keyboards? I've got big hands and thick fingers so even typing on my netbook is a chore somtimes, and while my laptop has a "full-size" keyboard I miss my old IBM click-board. Those things were built to stop a bullet and my hands had room to spread out. Anyway...

Good question, Rob, and my answer is a resounding NO. I don't want to drink or eat animal products, so I don't want something that even comes close to it. Same goes for the genetically engineered meat they are producing in labs. No. Thank. You.

I sort of expected that answer since I was talking about something that's created in a lab and entirely processed, I was curious though. i'm not sure I'd drink it either - I may be carniverous but the thought of "lab grown" meat just seems...yuk. That's about the only way to describe it. Still wish there was something other than soymilk out there. I cant stand rice milk and almond milk is okay but it's not the same. Now that I think about it, how in the hell do they make vegan cheese? They've actually got some good ones now that have a decent flavor and consistency, and the melt well too. If they can make a good cheese, why not milk? Okay, enough tangents for me. lol

RM

I agree with everyone else, the pink dress is awesome!

And as you said, it's all chemicals, which is totally counterintuitive, IMO (like you said, too ).

As for the cheese, most of it is still produced naturally with products like soy, rice, and almond (although the almond cheese I've seen isn't entirely vegan, it still has casein, a milk protein). I'm not really a big fan of vegan cheese except when I use it to cook, then I can't even tell the difference. You can't really just have a slice of cheese if you want a snack, it just doesn't taste the same. At least the ones I've tried. If anyone has any suggestions, PLEASE let me know!

As far as milk, I like soymilk the best, but vanilla almond is good, too. When Emily told me she couldn't tolerate soy, I blurted out "what do you eat?" which I'm sure she gets sick of hearing 'cuz I certainly do! She likes seitan, although she said she doesn't usually eat much gluten (which seitan is totally made out of). It would be rough for me to be intolerant to soy since I drink tons of soymilk and eat tons of tofu! I'd have to speed dial Emily and ask her how she does it.

Oh, and cashews are also used to make "cheese." I made a tasty cheez sauce for Thanksgiving with cashews, tofu, soymilk, and vegan butter. Delish!

Meegs82 wrote:As for the cheese, most of it is still produced naturally with products like soy, rice, and almond (although the almond cheese I've seen isn't entirely vegan, it still has casein, a milk protein). I'm not really a big fan of vegan cheese except when I use it to cook, then I can't even tell the difference. You can't really just have a slice of cheese if you want a snack, it just doesn't taste the same. At least the ones I've tried. If anyone has any suggestions, PLEASE let me know!

Oh, I should have clarified re:cheese, so far I've only used it in cooking. I've got a few family members that are lactose intolerant an my gf is a cafeteria veggie so she only rarely eats meat, but FYH makes some soy cheeses that are pretty good to cook with, but nothing compared to Teese cheese. We have to order Teese special but I've always got some of their mozzarella and cheddar on hand and though I haven't tried them the gf has said they really aren't that bad for snacking on, and I know they cook up even better.

As far as milk, I like soymilk the best, but vanilla almond is good, too. When Emily told me she couldn't tolerate soy, I blurted out "what do you eat?" which I'm sure she gets sick of hearing 'cuz I certainly do! She likes seitan, although she said she doesn't usually eat much gluten (which seitan is totally made out of). It would be rough for me to be intolerant to soy since I drink tons of soymilk and eat tons of tofu! I'd have to speed dial Emily and ask her how she does it.

Tofu is tricky. I can eat it if I cook it the way I like it - I do a mean seven veggie stir fry with extra-firm tofu, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic, other than that if I'm going to eat it we're eating Japanese, and there's this place that makes a Kyushu style tonkatsu that comes with your choice of either the traditional pork cutlet, seitan or tofu. They do them in a rich gravy that's just to die for, it's made from a broth of braised vegetables, sesame oil, and miso thickened with toasted rice flour, and it's the only time I've had a really 'savory' veggie dish. I normally get the pork but I've had the seitan and I'll be the first to admit I could eat that anytime instead of a burger and fries and not miss a thing. Hey, call Em and see what she's doing, the three of us could have lunch!


RM

I hear ya about tofu and I am REALLY bad at cooking it. I usually get mine when we go out to eat (which is quite often). I used to HATE tofu, but if you get it cooked just right, it's fab! I've only had seitan once (I can't eat too much gluten) and it was okay. Have you heard of tempeh? Not a huge fan, but then again, I've only ever had tempeh "bacon" strips, which tasted like bacon and therefore was disgusting to me. You might like it, Rob! That's another thing, I don't really understand "mock" meats. I don't WANT to eat meat, so why would I want to eat something that TASTES like meat? The only way I like it is fried. Soy chicken parmesan=to die for.

I know a great place in the Valley (Em recommended it). Lemme call her and you can catch a flight and meet us there, say tomorrow? 7pm?

Oh, and that dish you described is literally making me salivate. <insert insanely hungry emoticon here>

I agree they do need a better soy/milk substitute. I've been allergic to milk since I was little and was raised on soy. I'm used to the taste but now I'm becoming intolerant like Emily. Almond milk is okay...and rice milk seriously refuses to work right in coffee. Especially when whipped. ick. I also tried to make pancakes with rice and they were way too runny.

Soy is in SO MANY things. Even things that don't list it. I cut down on it but haven't cut it out completely. I'm really not sure how you survive as a vegan who can't eat soy. Obviously you can....but wow. It's probably easier in LA too. Philly sucks for vegan/veg friendly things. Zooey is allergic to gluten/milk/eggs I didn't know emily cut down on gluten too. Although..it's probably smart since her sister can't eat it anyway. Anyone know if zooey is vegan too? Emily said at one point her sister was "sort of" a vegetarian but that was a long time ago.

Meegs82 wrote:I hear ya about tofu and I am REALLY bad at cooking it. I usually get mine when we go out to eat (which is quite often). I used to HATE tofu, but if you get it cooked just right, it's fab! I've only had seitan once (I can't eat too much gluten) and it was okay. Have you heard of tempeh? Not a huge fan, but then again, I've only ever had tempeh "bacon" strips, which tasted like bacon and therefore was disgusting to me. You might like it, Rob! That's another thing, I don't really understand "mock" meats. I don't WANT to eat meat, so why would I want to eat something that TASTES like meat? The only way I like it is fried. Soy chicken parmesan=to die for.

Tofu is frustrating to work with IMO because it takes patience to learn how to cook and actual skill in cooking - the second I got, the first I lack utterly, so it's almost a miracle that I even figured out how to stir fry with it. It's a shame you can't eat too much gluten because I love seitan - as a carnivore it's actually saying something when you find a vegan dish that satisfies the 'meat' craving, and properly prepared seitan does that in spades. It's awesomeness for me when I go into veggie mode, which will happen soon I'm sure.

Oh, and LOL at the whole "mock" meat thing. See you're probably a natural vegan, I imagine Em is too. You don't like meat, you don't want to eat meat, so meat-like things and mock animal products aren't really appealing to you. For a lot of vegetarians, but I'm guessing fewer vegans, they love the taste of meat but don't want to eat it, either for healt or political reasons, so mock meat affords them the chance to go veg and not miss the meat. Then there's that special group that are "vegetarians except..." Lord they're a hoot. I've got a cousin who will wax rhapsodic on the benefits of the vegan life style, goes out of her way to buy animal friendly clothing and what not, but you can catch her two or three times a week at the local McD's chowing down on a Big Mac. No irony there.

I know a great place in the Valley (Em recommended it). Lemme call her and you can catch a flight and meet us there, say tomorrow? 7pm?

Don't tease, I'll be there.

RM

Meegs82 wrote:Oh, and that dish you described is literally making me salivate. <insert insanely hungry emoticon here>

Tell you what, get me that lunch with Em and I'll talk to Ted (owner of Ted & Teiko's) and get his recipe for you. Gluten aside I'd recommend the seitan cutlet, it's firmer and holds up better in the gravy, but I bet you could used extra-firm tofu, pop it in the freezer for 5 min before battering it, pop it in again before frying and come out with something nice and hearty that would do just as well. Damn you're right, I'm hungry for it right now too, that and big side order of tempura vegetables. If you've never had tempura fried asparagus you don't know how good it can be! Man I'm dying now, and there's no way we can get in tonight before Bones. ARG!!!

RM

Oh, free tip - even if you know the owner? Walking stiltedly through a Japanese restaurant growling "Gozirrah!" is really only funny as long as the wife doesn't see you. Man Teiko was pissed.

tinkrella wrote:I agree they do need a better soy/milk substitute. I've been allergic to milk since I was little and was raised on soy. I'm used to the taste but now I'm becoming intolerant like Emily. Almond milk is okay...and rice milk seriously refuses to work right in coffee. Especially when whipped. ick. I also tried to make pancakes with rice and they were way too runny.

Soy is in SO MANY things. Even things that don't list it. I cut down on it but haven't cut it out completely. I'm really not sure how you survive as a vegan who can't eat soy. Obviously you can....but wow. It's probably easier in LA too. Philly sucks for vegan/veg friendly things. Zooey is allergic to gluten/milk/eggs I didn't know emily cut down on gluten too. Although..it's probably smart since her sister can't eat it anyway. Anyone know if zooey is vegan too? Emily said at one point her sister was "sort of" a vegetarian but that was a long time ago.

Yup, soy is everywhere. I'm kinda worried that I too will develop an intolerance to it at some point. It is MUCH MUCH MUCH easier to do the vegan/no soy thing in L.A. and I envy Emily for that. Another reason among many that I want to move back there. My town has ZERO vegetarian restaurants, let alone vegan ones. I'm able to find vegan dishes at a few places, but I really love the vegan restaurants and all the grocery stores in L.A. It's Vegan Heaven!

Anywho, I'm pretty sure Zooey is NOT a vegan, but I can imagine that she eats some of the same things as Emily simply because it's been a part of her sister's lifestyle for so long that it's bound to have rubbed off on her a little. I think Emily doesn't eat a lot of gluten 'cuz there are MUCH healthier options. We talked about quinoa, which barely anyone has heard of. It's basically a wonder food (protein, iron, vitamins, calcium) and it is good made with salty or sweet dishes. AMAZING! That's the thing, gluten just isn't that healthy, so when you have access to so much more (like in L.A.), there's really no reason to eat it in the first place.

Rob, good point about the mock meat thing. I love veggie burgers, don't get me wrong, but when there are complete meals on a menu that are EXACT ripoffs of REAL meat dishes? Forget it. Grosses me out. The only exception is fried, like I mentioned. But I hear ya that a lot of people still enjoy the taste of meat, but don't want to eat the real thing for whatever reasons. I get that. It's just not me, so ya, I guess I'm a "natural vegan." I've always wondered how Emily feels about mock meat. I know she likes seitan, but it'd be interesting to know if she enjoys full mock meat meals or if she's more "natural." Does anyone know?

Thanks for the cooking tips! Too bad I can't cook. Wanna just ship the dish to me in like a cooler? 'Cuz it seriously sounds amazing.

I'll stop teasing I AM actually going to that restaurant next Friday. Best. Food. Ever.