Vegans Eat More Than Just Salad!

I have been eating a vegan diet for about 1 1/2 years and I have been meat free for 3 1/2 years. Whenever the subject of food comes up and I mention my diet to anyone they are either impressed or confused as to how in the hell I am so big if I'm not eating meat. The ones who are confused sometimes ask "how are you still alive without eating meat?" or "how do I get protein?". Whatever their reaction, they both seem to have the impression that the only things I eat are salads, fruits, nuts, and side dishes. That is so not the case. I enjoy just as much of a variety of food now as I did when I ate meat. As a matter of fact, I eat with more variety now because eating a meat free diet forces you to expand your taste in foods because the Standard American Diet is severely lacking in satisfying options for people who don't eat meat products. Here are some pictures of a few vegan dishes I made:


Couscous, baby portabella mushrooms, tomato, & spinach in a spicy peanut & curry sauce, roasted red bell pepper hummus, homemade pita chips, and fresh cherries to finish it off.









Marinara sauce with zucchini, yellow squash, & spinach over fried eggplant & whole wheat spaghetti.








Pineapple banana sorbet made with sparkling mineral water inside of tart shells. Garnished with fresh strawberries and dark chocolate & amaretto sauce. It usually looks better than this, but I was in a rush.





Groundnut stew also known as African yam & peanut stew. Sweet potatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, tomatoes, okra, & peanuts in a spicy peanut sauce over couscous and served with collard greens that were marinated over night in a proprietary blend of citrus juices, herbs, & spices and then cooked slightly in olive & sesame oil to remove the chill.








I was getting fed up going back and forth between the greens and the stew. They both tasted so good I just said fuck it and mixed them together. Also, it is very aggravating trying to eat hot couscous with a fork so I put the fork down and dug in with my bare hands. I felt like I was back in Benin. ;-)