Category: James’s Kitchen

My decision to go vegan happened suddenly and without any prior consideration, thoughts, or plans to do so. The evening of November 28, 2017, I was scrolling through Netflix looking for something new and interesting to watch. Bored and tired of watching the same stuff we usually watched, I came across the documentary What The Health. I had never heard of it and had no idea what it was about. Instead of critiquing, discussing the details of the documentary, or providing a review, I’ll simply say the film piqued my curiosity enough that I decided to start a vegan diet the very next day.

I’ve never been keen on the idea of dieting and typically favor more of an “everything in moderation” approach. As someone who is 6’2” tall and who has consistently weighed over 250 pounds (as high as 306 at one point) for the past 25 years, I understand what it’s like to struggle with diet and weight. The older I get the more I find myself thinking about the potential for, and the increased likelihood of, negative health effects of carrying so much weight into the later years of my life. This, combined with the fact that I’ve been taking medication for acid reflux for nearly ten years now, has made me consider different approaches for the way I treat my body.

It’s funny how differently we think the older we get. When I was young I threw all caution to the wind and frankly, felt invincible. I ate, drank, and pretty much did whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, with little thought to how it might effect my well-being. Now that I’m 46, that’s no longer the case. I try to watch what I eat and drink and generally speaking, how my body feels and responds to different types of stimuli whether it be food, drink, sleep, the environment, workouts (or lack thereof), stress, medication, etc. I’ve also become much more aware of any aches, pains, or changes my body might experience from one day to the next. This is definitely different from the person I was in my 20s and early 30s.

I honestly feel like I know how to eat healthy, lose weight, and keep it off. I’ve actually done it before on a couple of occasions. Twice in the past ten years, I got my weight down to 251 pounds (losing over 40 pounds) and kept it there for a short while. Both times, I did it through exercise, a “healthy” diet, and by adhering to the principle of “everything in moderation”. It felt good knowing I could really do it and that I could repeat it if needed. The idea that I needed to do it again is very frustrating because I know I should have worked harder at maintaining my lower weight instead of allowing myself to gain it all back again.

My motivation for switching to a vegan diet two months ago was not weight loss (at least not primarily). It was mostly to see how it would make me feel and what effects it might have on me. My rationale was, Hell, I’ve never tried it before so what do I have to lose? Besides, after watching the documentary What The Health and hearing about all of the health benefits it could have and in such a short time (as little as two weeks for some people), I felt like I had to at least try it.

After the initial shock and disappointment of realizing how many items we had in the refrigerator that I could no longer eat, I decided to fully embrace the switch to vegan and make the most of it. I threw out anything I knew would have only been consumed by me and for the first couple of days did what I could to create meals from items already in the house considered vegan. It was a rough start but I made it work. After a couple of days, I made my first vegan grocery shopping trip to Wegmans. Even though I had a grocery list, I found myself wandering around Wegmans out of curiosity to see what vegan options were available. To my delight, there were a lot more options than I imagined. After getting everything on my list (and many more), I left with a grocery bill well-north of $200.

My first few meals were basic and mostly cereal with almond or soy milk, rice, beans, salad, fruit, vegetables, and some sort of spread on bread. They were much different than what I was used to eating. I found myself craving cheese, eggs, milk, and meat for the first few days. I started buying vegan sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and tofu to replace my cravings for meat. I also found several replacement options for yogurt, milk, and cheese. I began researching nutrients I might no longer be getting because of the switch to a vegan diet. The little amount of research I did made me aware of things like how to get enough potassium and how to get vitamin B into my diet. I’ve also started to get more creative with my meals. I make stir fry about twice a month with tofu and it’s absolutely delicious. Typically, I alway try to have the following items on hand or readily available: tofu, rice, beans, oats (for overnight oats), avocados, blueberries, bananas, whole grain breads and tortillas, vegan sausages and burgers, vegan yogurt, almond and cashew milk, coffee, nutritional yeast flakes, salsa, hot sauce, adobo seasoning, ingredients for salads, nuts, dried apricots, peanut butter, and a variety of jams, preserves, and spreads.

Aside from my new diet, I make a trip to the Vitamin Shoppe about once every two months to stock up on a few supplements and pea protein. Yes, pea protein. I used to use whey proteins but after the transition to vegan I switched to using pea protein. The supplements I use on a daily basis are a once daily men’s multivitamin, omega 3 fish oil, alpha-lipoic acid, glucosamine and chondroitin, ginkgo biloba, and ubiquinol CoQ-10. For the first time in years, I feel like my diet, combined with these supplements, is actually making me feel better and much healthier.

Other changes I’ve noticed are more regular and easier bowel movements (the first week feels similar to a cleanse), more consistent energy levels, a return to having vivid dreams every night (after having very few dreams over the past several years), no more feeling bloated, too full, and uncomfortable after meals, a feeling of enhanced strength during workouts and throughout the day in general, less soreness after workouts, and an improved sense of well-being in general knowing that I’m now providing my body the nutrients it needs to fully maximize my potential.

Several people have asked me if I’ve noticed a difference since going vegan. My answer is always, “Oh my gosh yes, but it’s hard to explain.” Of course, they always want to know what that means. It means I feel light instead of heavy, energetic instead of sluggish, and healthy and like someone has taken a brush and started cleaning out all the crap I’ve accumulated in my body throughout my life. My clothes are starting to fit better, I feel stronger, younger, and overall healthier. I feel cleaner on the inside (try explaining that to someone). I now look forward to sleeping at night and specifically the recent return to lucid dreaming. I’m always amazed when I wake up and can remember my dreams now. I seriously can’t remember the last time I dreamed as an adult before going vegan. I love knowing I can eat as much as I want now without feeling that heavy and lethargic feeling I used to experience regularly after meals laden with animal products. It’s been quite a remarkable experience really.

I allowed myself to splurge the week between Christmas and New Years and quickly realized how terrible I felt after eating animal products for such an extended period of time. As soon as I returned to my vegan diet, I once again felt a noticeable return of all the positive feelings I experienced the first time I started the diet. It was as if I was once again proving to myself that the vegan diet actually does work for me and that I really could feel and experience the difference. Since then, I have allowed myself to cheat from time to time but only for one or two meals a week. Typically, my splurge meal is Sunday evening dinner at my in-laws. My father-in-law loves to cook nearly as much as I do and he never disappoints as he always has a large chunk of animal flesh of some sort prepared either on the grill or in a roasting pan.

After two months of eating mostly vegan and feeling the way I do now, I’m certain I will continue eating vegan (at least 95%) for the rest of my life while at the same time allowing myself to splurge from time to time. While it may not be considered truly vegan by some, I’ve finally found a diet that actually works for me and makes me feel the way I’ve always imagined a healthy diet should.

Who knew a boring night in November could turn into a potentially, life-changing experience? So… thanks Netflix and the documentary What The Health for sparking just enough curiosity in me.

James

Ingredients: fresh basil, garlic, toasted pine nuts, parmesan cheese, sea salt, pepper (opt), and extra virgin olive oil.

I usually make fresh, homemade pesto about twice a year. I make a fairly large batch, divide it into small containers, and freeze all of them except for the one I’m currently using. This way, I alway have pesto on hand when I want it. There’s something about fresh, homemade pesto that’s just like the jingle for Pringles, “Once you pop, you can’t stop.” Once I taste fresh pesto, I simply can’t get enough of it and I find myself attempting to come up with creative ways to eat it with all of my meals. The unmistakable smell and flavor of basil, combined with the warm welcome of toasted pine nuts, the spicy tang of garlic, the one-of-a-kind nutty flavor of parmesan cheese, and the richness of good olive oil with just the right amount of sea salt, are exactly what makes pesto so damn irresistible.

James

Ingredients: extra virgin olive oil, onion, red pepper, garlic, cherry tomatoes, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, heavy cream, whole grain penne, porcini mushrooms, parmesan cheese, and chopped parsley or basil.

Today was the day I finally used the tiny package of dehydrated porcini mushrooms that has scowled at me every time I opened the door to my pantry over the past few months. I’m so glad I did. I was worried they might have gone bad but they turned out to be anything but. This was the first time I’d ever used whole, dehydrated mushrooms for anything. I had bought them almost as a novelty item since I couldn’t find porcini powder and thought there must be something I could use them for. Immediately upon opening the puffed-up, air-filled package they came in, my nose was overwhelmed by their pungent, sweet, and earthy aroma. Expecting them to be stale, I was shocked at how good they smelled and felt irritated that I had to rehydrate them for 30-60 minutes before I could even try one. The wait time was more than enough for me to bring the penne to al dente and to prep the other ingredients. After sweating the hell out of the onions and peppers in olive oil, I added the minced garlic, the cherry tomatoes, and the pepper flakes. A few more minutes in, I poured in the heavy cream and watched it take on the reddish hues of the peppers, tomatoes, and red pepper flakes. It was mouthwatering. Once the porcini mushrooms passed the 30 minute mark, I drained, rinsed, and dried them. Next, I lightly sautéed them in clarified butter. I can’t begin to describe how amazing my kitchen smelled at this point. It was as if the porcini mushrooms had awakened from a state of hibernation and were returning to life again. I added the mushrooms to the cream and veggies allowing the mixture to fully absorb the wonderful porcini flavor. After several minutes, I added the pasta. I served the dish topped with some freshly grated parmesan and chopped parsley. This was by far the best, and most flavorful, pasta dish I had ever made and it was all thanks to the tiny bag of dehydrated porcini mushrooms that sat neglected in my pantry for months.

James

When the craving for eggs benedict comes, there’s no resisting it…

Anyone who really knows me knows I love eggs.  I could eat eggs every day and with every meal in some form or another.  Eggs have always been a staple of my diet.  Whether scrambled, fried, over easy, hard boiled, soft boiled, poached, etc., I can’t remember a single time when I turned down, or was disappointed with, the opportunity to eat eggs. My love for eggs comes from growing up on a farm in southern Kentucky where we raised chickens, geese, and sometimes ducks, for both eggs and meat.  Not only did we raise them, we also grew attached to them as they were an integral part of our farm family.  As part of our morning chores before school, I remember raiding the chicken coops where we would gather fresh, warm, and colorful eggs.  These were not the white and perfectly sized eggs that most people are familiar with.  These were real deal, honest-to-goodness, farm eggs.  Rarely white, they came in a variety of brown earth-tones, oftentimes speckled, and typically had remnants of Mother Nature’s residue still on them.  This daily and delicate egg-gathering ritual wasn’t without its hazards as there was inevitably a couple of young, strutting roosters that thought they’d come of age on any given morning and would try to flog us out of the coop.  Then there were the hens…  while most of the them were cooperative during our egg-swiping rounds, there was the constant threat from some of the cutest and seemingly most innocent-looking hens that would let you get your hand right up and into their nests while pretending to be asleep, before launching a vicious surprise attack at it as if your hand was an egg-eating snake.  Those hens were the ones I secretly hoped would soon find their way onto the darkly stained tree stump in front of the barn where the thin end of Señor Hatchet patiently awaited his next victim.  To this day, the eggs we harvested back on the farm when I was a boy, are far and away the best eggs I’ve ever eaten.  Simply put, nothing beats the rich flavor of fresh farm eggs.

A couple of weeks ago, while in the middle of poaching upwards of 75 eggs for brunch and holding them in ice water while waiting for service, a kitchen passerby noticed the large plastic lexan filled with dozens of jellyfish-like, white globs suspended beneath the icy surface and asked, “What’s that mess?”  After I told him they were poached eggs for brunch, he proceeded to tell me how he didn’t like eggs, had never liked them, and didn’t understand how people could eat them.  A little surprised initially, I immediately went on the offensive on behalf of eggs explaining their flexibility of uses and how I could and would eat them anytime and anyplace.  Shortly after he left the kitchen, I wondered why I felt so compelled to defend the egg with such vigor.  I felt offended, as if he had said something about a member of my family.  I also  felt sorry for him because I couldn’t imagine life without the constant and comforting presence of eggs.  Clearly, he had no idea what he was missing out on, and I was certain he had never experienced the irresistible, silky-smooth, golden yolk of a perfectly poached egg intermixed with rich, handmade, buttery-lemony hollandaise sauce, complete with a tinge of cayenne, resting tantalizingly atop a warm, salty, sweet, slice of Canadian bacon and toasted English muffin.  Clearly, he had no idea…

After spending the last year in culinary school where we used eggs practically every day and in everything from one end of the culinary spectrum to the other, such as sauces, appetizers, salads, quiche, main entrées, doughs, crusts, custards, desserts, etc., I came away with a renewed appreciation for them.  With that said, there comes a time, about twice a year, when I get an intense craving for eggs benedict.  It’s probably a good thing it only happens twice a year because my cholesterol could stand to be lowered some as it is.  I’ve always enjoyed eggs benedict, but after learning to make real hollandaise in culinary school, I have a whole new level of respect for the dish.  Now that I can make it myself, I’m hesitant to order it at some restaurants for fear of being disappointed.  It’s not the easiest or quickest thing to make, but it’s well worth the time and effort when done right.  For the past few days I’ve been craving it and it finally came to a head this morning when I opened the refrigerator and realized I was out of milk and that my normal, convenient options for breakfast were no longer options. What I did have plenty of though… was eggs.  Presented with the opportunity to practice my hollandaise-making skills while at the same time satisfying my craving for eggs benedict, how could I resist?  Several hundred, delicious calories later, my craving was satisfied.  At least for the moment, because I’m certain that just like clockwork and within a few months time, my craving for eggs benedict will return, and when that happens well, there’s simply no resisting the power of the almighty egg.

James