Vegan vs. Paleo

Since beginning the paleo-vegan diet with Rachel, which took a lot of wearing me down on her part, I have been learning the benefits of being paleo, and comparing them to the benefits of being vegan. When I went vegan two years ago, it was for all the reasons people go vegan: compassion for animals, my health, and the health of the planet.  I learned about these reasons while listening to my favorite podcast, Citizen Radio.  I can go into the details of my choice elsewhere, but when I went vegan, I started taking vitamins and iron to avoid the usual pitfalls that people warn vegans about.  I followed recipes that I found online and through friends on Facebook.  In the beginning, I may not have been getting all the protein I needed.  I haven't really proselytized veganism to anyone (maybe some family members) unless they have asked. They don't usually ask why I'm vegan - they ask things like:

1. where do you get your protein?
2. what do you eat?
3. can vegan babies drink their mother's breast milk?
4. so what if the farmer who raises your vegetables eats meat - can you eat those veggies knowing that they wouldn't be here but for the meat that fed the farmer?

There's a podcast dedicated to the paleo diet...The Dr. Rob (Maki) Show.  It's billed in the description as dealing with weight loss.  I listened to an episode in which they Dr. Rob  argued the paleo diet over vegan - I'd say lifestyle, but - diet.  His conceding point was that both diets ideally call for eating whole foods, and so both are a pretty good option because whole (unprocessed) foods are a better option.  I agree - although I was used to eating things like seitan, tofu, pakora, store-bought veggie burgers, etc. until we began the paleo vegan diet.  Things like seitan and tofu, in addition to being processed, have ingredients not allowed on the paleo diet.

Dr. Rob repeatedly stated that you had to find your own diet that works for you, and the drive behind the choice was directly related to which diet would help you lose weight.  To his credit, that seems to be the audience he targets - those concerned with losing weight.  He noted several times that people who crave protein would like the paleo diet, and that the vegan diet (as promoted especially by Forks over Knives) was too high in carbs to help anyone lose weight.

As Rachel has shown me the way of whole food paleo veganism, I've realized there doesn't need to be a choice between the paleo and the vegan diet.  An important concept regardless of your diet is to "vary" your food choices to keep your body, um, guessing, I guess.  But in saying "crave protein," Dr. Rob repeatedly clarified and said, "I mean, crave animal protein."  I will go into how to get your protein as a vegan in another post.  But suffice it to say, as just this one source demonstrates, you can get plenty of protein in the vegan lifestyle, and not get the cholesterol that is in meat, not kill animals, not harm the environment, and not get fat on carbs.

Bottom line is, as I said above, I went vegan for several reasons - and any one of those reasons would be sufficient.  Actually, I'd like to just say to people, "Because I said so," but that wouldn't be polite.  Now excuse me while I go fix a paleo-vegan dish I am adapting from Forks Over Knives - just have to sub the kidney beans with pistachios and we're all set!

Vegan Veggie Layer Bake Lasagna- Yummm

Vegan spinach burger on spouted grain bread; V
With leftover spinach and peanut sauce or leftover mashed yams I make "burgers" out of the ingredients by just adding almond meal or quinoa flour until the mixture is firm but sticky.  Grease a pan and bake or fry the patties- make them about the size of a burger- and enjoy them on bread or with a lettuce wrap!  A good choice for the next day's lunch.

Veggie layer bake; V, GF, P 
This is a crowd pleaser; being vegan, gluten-free and paleo it can satisfy nutritional preferences and is large enough for four or so hungry appetites.  I use eggplant, sweet potato, tomato and red pepper- all sliced into long, thin (but wide) strips as the "noodle" layers and as filler: grated cabbage, parsnips, spinach and leek leaves.  Layer as show below with a bit of olive oil on each layer as well as basil, Italian seasoning and black pepper.  Cook at 400 for about 40 minutes with tin foil and then 20 without.  We covered it with soy-free, gluten-free vegan cheese but you could just use nutritional yeast for a nutty, cheesy flavor.  Cool, cut and enjoy!

Fine Young Coconuts

We found out how to get into those coconuts that are at the store.  The ones that have the brown shell shaved off and it just looks like a big bowl with a pointy top.  This guy is holding one.

We asked a lady here how she does it.  She apparently had a technique all worked out.

1. Tap three holes (2 for air and one for draining) in it with a hammer and a screwdriver.

2. Drain the water.  Chill it and it tastes great plain, and is great for you.  Surely there are recipes that call for it...

3. Double bag the coconut, take it outside to some concrete, and bash it a few times.

4. Split it and spoon out the flesh.  We eat it plain but it's good on sorbet and of course probably great in recipes.  Look here's a paleo site with some ideas!

While we don't feel the need for the tool demonstrated in this clip, there is a nice visual of what the young coconut's meat looks like when you extract it.

10 Vegan Paleo Do's and Dont's

From http://www.paleoeffect.com/paleo-quick-guide/ I have taken the paleo do's and dont's and added a few extra tips of our own based on readings.  There is conflicting information on quinoa being a seed (not a grain, so paleo) but also an irritant to the lining of the gut (so not such a great thing to eat?).  We are not strict vegan-paleo and use quinoa and occasionally legumes.  We eat all vegetables but white potatoes and all fruits, even though high-sugar fruits should be consumed minimally.  Here is what to eat, and eat as much as you need to be healthy.

1. Eat vegetables!!  Frozen, fresh, baked, steamed...  as much as you would like to fill up on.  
2. Plenty of fruit :)
3. Almost no starches.  No rice, white potatoes, bread...  We do eat sprouted breads if we have to.
4. No grains.  No corn, rye, wheat, barley, hominy... 
5. No legumes :(  No beans, peas, chickpeas or green beans (coffee beans and vanilla beans are ok as they are not legumes, they are seeds from a fruit).
6. Go nutty.  All the nuts you would like- remember that a peanut is a legume, not a nut.
7. Lots of water, some fruit juices- no pop or sugar drinks- but coffee and tea are ok.  Almond, coconut, and hemp milk are great too!
8. Oils are all right!  "Good oils to use (and use them plenty) include coconut, palm, avocado, sesame, grapeseed (also great for cooking without the flavor of coconut) and olive oil. Avoid corn, cottonseed, peanut, soybean, rice bran, and wheat germ oils."
9. Make food from scratch, use whole foods and avoid boxed or bagged meals.  Don't use sugar or add salt but DO use seasonings.
10. You can keep drinking alcohol.  Don't overdo it, but you don't have to cut it from your diet.  Drink cider or sorghum beers and red and white wines.  Gin and tequila are ok too.

Vegan and the 9 Essential Amino Acids

Food of the day- super delicious raw tacos!  All the veggies you want with a cabbage wrap and nut-based "meat".

Today I want to go over some basics on the topic of complete proteins for vegans.

I want to mention that a lot of my data on vitamins and nutrition comes from a very helpful website and that if you are curious to find out more, you should check them out!  Also, for general health-related questions eatright.org is great.

Marc and I have been trying to see how we can best get our required 9 amino acids that we must consume from our diets.  It isn't a question of protein it's a question of amino acids- which make up a protein.  It is also important to have enough vitamin C for iron absorption and vitamin B-12 (nutritional yeast is a good source).

Of the amino acids that our body doesn't make, lysine is the most difficult to find and right now we have supplements and soy-rice shakes that we are enhancing our diet with in order to get the nutrition we need.  A lot of people may ask how we get our protein from plant sources but really I think our diet is much healthier than the average American omnivore.  We never eat fast food, we bike, do yoga and go on walks, we pay attention to nutrition labels, we keep away from added preservatives and we cook from scratch 90% of the time.  So I would ask, if you are a meat eater, are you getting your daily 5 colors of vegetables, eating raw enough, consuming whole grain foods and plenty of fruits? I don't care what you eat and I am happy to talk about vegan or vegetarian nutrition, but there is no need for negativity if someone goes meat-free. 

It is tough though, and it isn't impossible as a vegan but it is easier if you are vegetarian.  In fact, after cooking vegan for over a year, I think about how easy being a vegetarian seems now!  The good old days ;)
Here is a list of the essential amino acids that our bodies need from our diet as found on

1. Leucine-BCAA Branched chain amino, tissue repair after surgery, muscle mass, blood sugar (diabetics), stress, HGH Human growth hormone, protein synthesis, bone, skin, weight loss and blood hemoglobin. 
2. Isoleucine-BCAA branched chain amino, mental disorders, tissue rebuild after surgery, energy, muscle, endurance and blood hemoglobin.
3. Valine-BCAA branched chain amino, mental, emotional disorders, glycogen production, alcohol and drug recovery.
4. Lysine- Absorbes+conserves calcium, bones, concentration, fertility, Herpes (HSV), cholesterol, hormones, enzymes, Triglycerides, immune system, skin, collagen and migraines.
5. Methionine-Schizophrenia, Parkinsons, heavy metals, collagen, antioxidant, pancreatitus, endometriosis, liver fat, estrogen, Arthritis, hair, skin, nails and depression. 
6. Phenylalanine-Chronic pain, endorphins, alcohol and drug recovery, menstral cramps, migraines, Parkinsons, melanoma, Vitiligo and tumors.
7. Threonine-Tooth enamel, protein balance, immune system, collagen, skin, blood sugar (diabetics), thymus gland, nervous system, stress, bones, wound healing, Parkinsons, and Multiple Schlerosis.
8. Tryptophan-Nerves, anxiety, mental depression, sleep, insomnia, migraines, fibromyalgia, niacin (B3) production and nicotine withdrawl.
9. Histidine-Repair tissue, stomach gastric juices, digestion, nerves, ulcers, heavy metals, red + white blood cells, blood pressure and sexual functioning.

Here is another great site to look at while we are on the topic of amino acids: 

Go to the bottom of the page and enter your weight into the chart to see what food you would need to meet your daily intake of protein.

Gluten-free Paleo Vegan Day 1

This is what we had for dinner this evening:  Spicy nut spinach with cauliflower "cous cous"!

To make it you need the following: cauliflower, spinach, red pepper, a nut butter (we used sunflower), olive oil, garlic, liquid aminos, watercress (optional), roma tomatoes and lemon juice.  Also, a cocktail for while you are cooking :)

In an oiled frying pan cook the diced yellow onion for a few minutes and add minced garlic, about 5 cloves (we use too much garlic!  Wait, is that possible?).  Once those are well-browned throw in four small chopped roma tomatoes, add 1 chopped red pepper and 2 Tbsp lemon juice, let simmer.  Cook the cauliflower in a pressure cooker on high for 3 minutes or steam in a pot until soft like rice or cous cous.  Spice cauliflower with curry or cumin.  In a separate pan add 1/2 inch of water and steam 1/2 bag of spinach leaves until they are soft.  Add 4 heaping Tbsp of nut butter and 1 tsp liquid aminos (watercress as well if you have access).  When those are well mixed, throw in the onion/tomato mixture from the frying pan and stir.  It should be creamy- if you need to thicken it, add quinoa flour and if you need more moisture, I add almond or coconut milk.  Serve as a fabulous supper dish- one of our faves.

Frozen strawberry almond cream.  Just blend your favorite frozen or fresh strawberries (two cups) to one cup of almond or coconut yogurt and put in the freezer.  Add lime zinger or coconut flesh shreds.

Changing the Vegan Ideal Meal

Since my husband and I have been living together we have been cooking with vegan ingredients.  He was vegan when we met and I have adopted the lifestyle for the most part.  We do use honey in some of our food but more often use agave.  After eating soyburgers and tofu, pasta and processed "cheese" I started to notice I was feeling as though I had less energy, was consuming too many calories and eating foods that weren't nutrient dense.  I revamped our grocery list to have more whole foods and fewer processed foods (with the exception of condiments, which I am not ready to give up - but we check carefully for ingredients containing animals, artificial flavors and coloring, and we do not get anything with corn syrup/high fructose corn syrup)... it looks like this:

Ø  Condiments

Ketchup               Mustard                 Dill Pickles           Curry         Coffee           Seaweed paper

Hot Sauce            Spices                   Tomato Sauce       Vinegar                Soy/Dumpling Sauce

Salsa                     Agave                   Wasabi                 Nutritional Yeast

Ø  “Dairy”

Almond Milk       Coconut Milk      Coconut “Butter”       Almond or coconut Yogurt

Ø  Fruits                                                                                Juice

Apples                  Frozen Berries                                  Orange

Oranges               Grapes/Raisins                                   Apple                   

Bananas              

Ø  Vegetables

Kale                     Cabbage               Carrots                 Squash                 Asparagus

Spinach                Cuke                     Beets                    Mushroom          Zucchini

Broccoli               Onion                   Garlic                    Brussels Sprouts

Avocado              Tomato                Eggplant                Cauliflower           Leeks

Sweet Potato       Yam

Ø  Proteins

Nuts/Seeds         Quinoa                 Tahini                   Nut Butter           Hemp

Ø  Carbohydrates/Starches

Japanese buckwheat noodles       Quinoa Pasta

Ø  Supplements                                                                 Ethnic /cooking styles

Probiotics, Enzymes, Multivitamin                                  Japanese     Mediterranean                 

(B-12, Vitamin C, Iron)                                                                    Indian            Mexican      




I know that we need to eat enough foods that have the 9 amino acids our body does not make... as it turns out it isn't really about proteins but rather the building blocks of a protein- amino acids.  Our body can make only some, the other 9 we need from our diet.  Tofu and quinoa are both great examples of a vegan protein source although high in carbohydrates as well.

Gluten Free Vegan and Paleo Vegan Dishes

Since starting to eat more healthy and vegan I have looked into what constitutes empty calories and unhealthy carbohydrates (yes, even for the vegan!).  I am also learning how to tweak recipes to be gluten-free (GF), always vegan (V), and on occasion, paleo (P).  I am currently trying to reduce legume and grain consumption and concentrate on whole vegetable, fruit and nut dishes.  I am posting recipes that I have tried in the past year and will be adding more vegan paleo dishes in the coming weeks.  Happy Eating!

Almond Christmas cookies with quinoa flour: GF, V

Summer Salad: GF, V, P
This is a super easy dish that is healthy and really filling.  You will just need to compile and toss the following ingredients for a fresh summer salad:
Organic baby spinach, ripe tomatoes, one half ripe avocado, bean sprouts, walnuts, carrots, cranberries...  add some organic peppers for extra antioxidants!

Stuffed portabella with sliced oranges and quartered persimmon: GF, V
I love portabella mushrooms and locally we can get a giant box for about five dollars from the mushroom facotry.  Marc cooked these from a recipe but here are more simple instructions:
Set oven to 375 and spray a pan with olive oil, de-stem the mushrooms and wash
Make your favorite stuffing- I like 1/2 cup quinoa flour mixed with 4 tbs. nutritional yeast, a dash of liquid aminos, and 1/2 canned pumpkin.  Flip the mushroom caps top down, stuff them and season to taste.  Bake for 35 minutes checking to make sure the mushrooms do not burn.

Banana split: GF, V, P
This is so easy to do!  You need 1/2 cup chia seeds, 1/2 can coconut cream (slightly frozen), carob powder, bananas, strawberries and the coconut milk from the can.
Just separate the coconut cream from the milk and place in freezer.  Mix the milk with the chia seeds and place in the fridge.  Wait about 4 hours from the chia to expand like tapioca and then top the chia/coconut milk with strawberries, banana, the frozen coconut cream and carob powder- really good!

Roasted brussel sprouts: GF, V, P
If you have a cast iron grill you can get some summer grill flavor in the winter months!  I started by oiling the pan and adding halved brussel sprouts with liquid aminos and garlic powder.  Cook them on medium to get the grill lines and then add a little water and lower the temperature to cook the sprouts slowly.  When they are almost done, add your thinner vegetable strips (red pepper and onion here) for flavor and allow the water (if any is left) to evaporate.

Colorful coleslaw: GF, V, P
One of my favorites and packed with vitamins and antioxidants, this take about 10 minutes of prep and does contain some soy so it is not strict paleo.  The ingredients you will need to chop up are: 1/3 red cabbage, 1 apple, 2 celery stalks, 1/2 red pepper, few carrots.  Just chop your ingredients and add a splash of lemon and some veganese mayo.  Top with cracked pepper and chill before serving.

Stuffed butternut squash: GF, V, P
Set your oven to 400, split and de-seed a butternut squash and place flesh-down in about 1-2 inches of water in a glass or metal pan.  You will bake these for about 35-45 minutes depending on how soft you want the flesh to be.  I usually cook them for 35 and stick the squash in the microwave it it needs further cooking.  Scoop the squash meat out to allow for stuffing and fill with your choice.  I used a  olive oil-garlic-spinach mixture with  red pepper flakes and fresh, raw walnuts.

Simple sweet potato pancake: GF, V, P
The paleo diet includes most vegetables but dissuades the dieter from eating white potatoes; however, I used yams and sweet potatoes to make a potato pancake as a brunch food.  Just bake 3 potatoes (Japanese yams or sweet potatoes) on 400 for about one hour, cube and mash (I leave the skins on) and add the following: 2 Tbs. coconut butter, 1 cup almond milk, 1/8 cup nutritional yeast and dill and pepper to taste.  You can eat the mashed potatoes or have leftovers to make into patties.  Fry on medium in a pan after adding quinoa flower to solidify the mixture.  Eat as a pancake or burger!

Falafel and spicy spinach with hommus: GF, V
The falafels take a while to prepare and cook so you may want to use a mix.  They also use a lot of oil, but are great when you feel like something greasy to eat :)
To make the falafels from scratch, add 1 can of chickpeas with 1 medium chopped onion, 1 tsp corriander and 1 tsp cumin, a bulb of garlic (I love garlic so this may be a bit much!), black pepper and 3 Tbs quinoa flour.  Combine in a blender/food processor and form into patties.
Cook in a deep fryer or a frying pan with plenty of oil and press on to a cloth when you remove them.  They won't take more a a few minutes on each side to cook and will turn golden or light brown.
Add chopped vegetable salad, hummus and spicy red pepper brazed spinach for a tasty meal!

Veggie fajita mix: GF, V, P

 Before...

 After!
Spicy fajitas with guacamole: GF, V, P
I often will make a veggie fajita when I have a bunch of veggies and want to clear out some space in the fridge.  The purple snap peas are technically not paleo, belonging to the legume family, but I am not strict about paleo- it is best to always have a variety.
My suggestions are to use a cabbage or lettuce leave as the taco "shell"- here I have a tortilla made out of almond meal/flour but the green leaves are much easier to use and I like the added crunch.  Here again I have used the cast iron pan to grill the peppers, spring onions, sweet potato slices, zucchini and tomato.  The black beans are also not paleo but you don't have to have them for a good fajita!  Whip up some guac or salsa to go with and have some tequila :)  My guacamole recipe is as follows:
2 ripe avocadoes mashed, 1 small yellow onion minced, 3 Tbs of lemon or lime juice, 5 garlic cloves minced, 4 small roma tomatoes diced and 1/2 tsp cumin, black pepper to taste, a splash of liquid aminos.

Super-stuffed, quartered butternut squash: GF, V, P
For this winter dish, just cook the butternut squash as mentioned in a recipe above and when it is finished fill it with the following:
Yellow or red quinoa cooked in a pressure or rice cooker with one veggie bouillon cube.  Diced tomatoes and cracked pepper.  A great side dish high in vitamin A and amino acids for a complete protein.

Sloppy flatbread pizza: GF, V
Pizza is something that is highly individualized but for all of the following I have used Red Mill Gluten-free crust with No-Egg egg substitute and olive oil.  The topping and crust thickness vary but one simple rule to follow is to bake the crust first until it really is almost done.  When you then spread the tomato preserves or sauce over the crust make sure you focus on the edges and not the center, you don't want to end up with a soggy middle!
If you don't happen to have soy cheese you can use tofu, which I have done in the above photo.  I dry the tofu out a bit with a cheesecloth and then slice it, place in a bowl with olive oil, basil, Italian seasoning to taste and crush the ingredients together with tomato paste into a topping.  Add your tomato preserves and sauce, then your mushrooms, peppers, pineapple, zucchini, etc... and cover with the tofu mixture.  Add nutritional yeast and salt to taste, red chili pepper and other such items.  Cook for 30 more minutes at 375, keeping an eye on the crust to see it doesn't burn.

Asparagus and "pepperoni" pizza: GF, V
Here I have prepared the crust in advance and then added tomato paste, soy pepperoni, asparagus stems and soy-free cheese.  My favorite :)

Taco pizza: GF, V
This pizza follows the above method but is more spicy with onions, peppers, tortilla chips, soy-free cheese, Tabasco and black beans.

Green and yellow vegetable curry: GF, V, P
Curry with rice (sub cauliflower for paleo) is a great dish because you can pick yellow, red or green.  I think both the red and green are quite spicy but in different ways so you will want to give all a try at some point.  The meal above was made in essentially the same way with similar vegetables but different spices.  It is easiest to always start with onions frying in a pan, add garlic, add some coconut milk and curry spice of choice.  I simmer these ingredients while I boil the vegetables.
For the yellow curry I would suggest sweet potato, cabbage, yellow onion, garlic, carrot, bamboo shoots, basil leaves and pineapple.  For the green, which is more spicy and my favorite- purple cabbage, white onion, garlic, spinach and basil leaves, yam, Indian peas, okra.
When all of your vegetables are just about cooked as well as you want them, pour the spice/onion/garlic/coconut milk into the vegetable mixture and let that simmer.  I always end up having to put in more olive oil and curry spice at the end because I don't estimate well on how many vegetables I will end up having.  This is a fabulous dish for leftovers!
If you are subbing cauliflower for rice, just cook the cauliflower in a pressure cooker on high for 3 minutes or steam it until it is soft like cous cous.

Vegetable sushi: GF, V
Sushi can take a while as far as prep time goes but you can make extra for the next day.  I always cook my sushi rice in a rice cooker and then while it is still hot and sticky I add rice vinegar (to taste), mix it, and set it in the fridge to cool.  It takes a while for it to be manageably cool enough to work with your fingers.
While you wait for the rice to cool, slice up some avocado, cucumber, cooked sweet potato, carrot, celery- always cut it thinner then you think you will need.  Keep some sesame seeds handy to sprinkle on top and gluten free soy sauce and wasabi for dipping.
When the rice is cool, fill a bowl with warm salt water (for your hands in between rolls) and lay out sheets of seaweed nearby.  Place one sheet on a cutting board and add some rice (don't be skimpy) then place vegetables about 1/3 of the way up the roll on the rice.  Roll the rice/veggies/seaweed paper towards yourself, always pulling it tight to make a clean roll.  When you have all the rolls you want, use a serrated knife to make sushi pieces.  Keep the knife clean and dip it in the water (as you did with your hands) in between uses.
Chill a bit and enjoy!

 More Mexican flavor: V

Taco salad mix: GF, V
I would just add that you can have a good paleo taco salad if you want to roast asparagus, spring onions and broccoli, cut up avocado, slice and simmer mushrooms and onions and garlic in coconut butter, make homemade salsa and spread it on a bed of lettuce.  I will have to add our raw taco cashew meat to the recipes later...

Mini fajitas with avocado and roasted spring onion: GF, V
Use lettuce or cabbage wraps to go paleo as well!

Strawberry shortcake: V
This dish is delicious and not the most healthy of my choices, but I think a fine dessert here and there is absolutely deserved!  With this I just follow the Bisquick recipe for shortcake and use No Egg egg substitute and almond milk.  The strawberries are fresh and I added coconut sugar on top.  You can use coconut milk and agave to really sweeten up the dessert.  It's almost like eating a vegan strawberry pancake in a bowl :)

 Autumn harvest lunch: GF, V, P
Marc is a great cook when it comes to soup.  He follows recipes and I just make stuff up...  Overall I would say he does better than I do with outcomes!  Here we just had steamed asparagus and veggie soup.  The potatoes are delicious when you use new potatoes coated in olive oil and rosemary and placed in the oven at 375 (on a greased pan) to cook for about 30 minutes.  The skin should get crunchy and you can add more seasonings if you lose any in the oven.  The pumpkin dumplings are made by mixing 1 can of pumpkin flesh with 2 No Egg egg subs, 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, 1/4 cup quinoa flour and 3 Tbs coconut butter.  1/4 tsp baking powder can be added as well.  Just massage the mixture and drop Tbs by Tbs into a pot of boiling water, leaving for roughly 10 minutes- then strain and season to make either spicy or sweet!

Baked acorn squash with quinoa: GF, V, P
Acorn squash can be baked the same way butternut is, by flipping the squash and placing it in a pan with 1 to 2 inches of water and baking for about 30 minutes on 400 (varies by oven).  After it is almost completely baked, pull the squash out and dump the water.  Set the squash upright in a glass pan and stuff with pre-cooked quinoa.  I add fresh craisins, nuts, apple pieces, tomato and garlic for a sweet-savory taste.  Spray olive oil on top or mix it in and then place the pan back in the oven for another 20-30 minutes at 350.