Tracy started coming to the Vegan Cookbook Club in early 2019. Below is a condensed interview with her about the club. And here’s her recipe for <Lentil Tomato Spinach Soup with Cumin and Coriander>.
Why are you a vegan?
It started with a health scare, which led me on an adventurous, exhaustive, and expensive modern medical journey with possible diagnoses ranging from cancer and sever allergies to Lyme disease. I didn’t have a diagnosis six months out with $13,000 in copays. I decided to see what I could do to discover the cause and curtail the symptoms myself. It started with an elimination diet which led to a dramatic discovery of wheat sensitivity. I felt better than I had in years. I also noted I felt good eating “healthy.” I eliminated gluten and found myself eating mainly plant-based with a small and increasingly smaller amount of meat, dairy and sweeteners. I attended the Mount Royal Vegan Cookbook Club and received the knowledge and support to explore and then eventually adopt a completely vegan diet.
I was eventually medically diagnosed but feel strongly that I personally made the most difference on the outcome of my illness. And while I originally adopted this whole food, plant-based diet for my health, along the way I committed to the vegan mantra to not harm the animals or participate in any sort of consumption from animal agriculture or products. I am also mindful about consumption in general and try to live a sustainable, minimalist’s life. When I go out into the community, I take my bamboo utensil pack and reusable coffee cup. I don’t want a lot of things collecting in my house, so I use library books and review recipes or other information online.
What’s your advice to someone trying to eat more plant-based?
Not to get overwhelmed and make it too complicated. Start with the
basics. Look at recipes you already know and adapt them. For example,
when my husband and I make spaghetti, I make sauce from scratch and I saute his hamburger in a separate pan, but the base recipe is the same. So when I have spaghetti, I have tomato sauce with mushrooms and sauteed peppers and onions and garlic and rosemary from the garden. And he has his spaghetti, which is just as delicious and wonderful with the ground beef. And so it doesn’t have to be this complicated journey where you have to take out multiple cookbooks necessarily at the beginning.
And from there I always suggest, I’m a big fan of a weekly menu plan, it just works so great for our family. It’s just my husband and me. You can build your grocery list every week the same. We change it seasonally – we say what are you hungry for? what’s different? what should we have? In the summer I grill portabella mushroom and my husband will have a steak or hamburger and that will be BBQ night. Or in the winter,
Wednesday night is soup night, because usually that would be a church night when our kids were growing up and we’d want something simple and easy. So I will make a soup, for example, chicken noodle, but I will start it as the vegan version and then add chicken to his soup. So my advice is don’t make it too complicated. Develop your core recipes or consider doing a weekly menu plan. I would say also be gentle and loving with yourself.
Also, you’re going to need time to adjust. There’s different energy levels and different amounts of energy you get from different types of food as a vegan. And at first, nothing’s going to happen that’s going to be bad for you as far as medically. But I think you’re going to need to adjust to those energy dips and realize you’re going to eat more quantity of vegetables and grains than you would have been eating when
you were not on a plant-based diet.
And then free yourself, not incessant snacking or snacking on junk food, but make sure you have your go-to plan for when you’re hungry. And have a list of things that are healthy and well-balanced to your daily diet, and provide you that extra boost of energy you need at that time between meals. I like things that are crunchy and satisfying – like carrot sticks and homemade hummus, apples with peanut butter, sometimes a handful of almonds, an orange, rarely packaged goods, but sometimes when we’re away from home a granola bar or a kind bar – those kind of things. But close to home maybe some healthy crackers. Popcorn too. Crunchy and delicious. I just put a teaspoon of coconut oil in a kettle and make my own and then add salt. Some vegans with health conditions with their heart are steering totally clear – are on SOS – no salt oil or sugar – but with my conditions I don’t have to worry about that and as long as you’re not eating exuberant amounts, its okay to have as a treat once in a while.
What topics have you enjoyed at the Cookbook Club?
Traveling as a vegan. My first few times traveling – that was a challenge – making sure I had enough food. And learning how much food you can bring through the TSA checkpoints was cool. I had a lot of good stuff in my backpack in for in the plane and our destination. I didn’t realize you could. And where to find vegan restaurants using Happy Cow. And it was fun to come home from trips and share places we’ve
found – vegan and vegetarian restaurants in different cities, with the groups.
I think as well the topic of being a vegan and living in a household where you’re the only vegan – how you do that. I started being completely vegan on a trip to Florida. I had to take care of my dad down there. He had to have major surgery, and I was with him for three weeks. On my birthday, December 2, 2018, I decided that I was going to become vegan. I came home and prepared everyone – I just found a way to say it, and I made sure all the people knew how much I love them and food is love, and its ok, that we can still have commonality, and sit at the table together in community, and that have that specialness. And this is a hard line of things I can’t eat, but these are all the vast number of things I can eat.
And its actually pretty neat to see who becomes your champions, who really are your supporters. And the different ways people come alongside. Friends, my mother-in-law has been spectacular. She’s always researching new recipes for me and other people that have a hard time. But its ok. It’s a hard line for me. I don’t sometimes enjoy meat. Or sometimes have butter. We’re all still learning with some in my circle. But for the most part everyone’s been great and its been an easy transition once that hard line was established.
Also, the treatment of animals – I think that the topic is one of the deeper topics of being vegan. I will say my family and I banter back and forth, and sometimes I’ve
made comments like “are you really gonna eat Wilbur?” or they make a comment
about my chickpea whatever. It’s more of a playful banter – I’m not a preachy person, and don’t want to antagonize people.
But I clearly remember when I was a child, and my parents were telling me that
chicken was a little chicken – like where does the meat come from? I was horrified. Or the steak my aunt Jojo made – the steak was medium rare and it was just swimming in blood. And I was just like where does this come from? And I wonder if part of me always thought, this isn’t right. And even going to the zoo now, I couldn’t go to the zoo. And my daughter says, but mom, when I have a child are you not going to bring her or him to the zoo? And I said, well, I think we’ll just walk outside, and we’ll see the deer and the birds and the animals living as they should in nature.
Any cookbook recommendations?
I do enjoy cookbooks in general. I think I got myself a little overwhelmed at the beginning – there are just so many different cultures and types of food you can make vegan, you could go crazy. And I thought, I just need to make my favorites.
Through the vegan cookbook club we’ll pass recipes around and things we’ve done. Online resources are incredible these days and there are lots of great vegan Youtubers. They do wonderful how-tos. And I really enjoy doing that as well. So I get my inspiration from a variety of sources. I’ve always loved to cook and explore.
Vegan Cookbook Club 