Featured Foodie- The belly of a vegan!

We are ending this week with our " Featured Foodie" Kassandra Ortega who is a vegetarian turned vegan, deranged animal lover and supporter of most things positive! Funny enough when i first met Kassandra (Kassie to her friends) in college some years back i knew four things for sure about her, 1 she was always a good time, 2 She is the ultimate animals rights lover, 3 she can talk politics with such passion and most times dramatic insights and 4 she would NOT under any circumstances eat anything that lived and had parents..lol one of my first run ins with this sassy and very in touch with her self personality was at a Superbowl party that i had thrown and she attended. The food was amazing and we had a spread that only a true foodie could understand and enjoy, When Kassie arrived at the party  being the foodie that she is went straight to the food  table and started loudly saying, " I can't eat this, i can't eat this and wouldn't dare eat that". she explained that she was vegetarian which almost sent the whole party in an uproar. Needless to say we all walked away educated about animal rights, the ideology behind being vegetarian and what we decided to do what that information was our business. I recently got in touch with Kassie thanks to some of our readers who had emailed questions about being Vegetarian and Vegan during our month of unprocessed living. I figured who better to answer a few of your questions!

1. How long have you been on a plant-based diet and what caused you to choose this lifestyle?

6 years ago, I watched a documentary called Earthlings (you can watch it for free here: Earthlings.com). It’s an award-winning film about the suffering of animals for food, fashion, entertainment, and medical research. From that day on, I stopped supporting the meat industry. A year ago, I watched another award-winning film, Forks Over Knives (catch it on Netflix or Hulu right now!), that examines a theory that all of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, and even reversed, by dismissing ALL animal-derived foods from our diet. This began my soul search to eliminating dairy products and moving towards a plant-based diet. I have been running on plants for 5 months and absolutely loving it!

2. There is so much criticism around eating plant-based vs. animal-based diets, and how they affect the human body. Have you felt any major positive or negative differences? 

When I stopped eating animal flesh and continued to consume dairy products, I had peace of mind thinking that I wasn't supporting a cruel industry, but I didn't notice a physical positive change in my body. I was slightly heavier in weight than I wanted to be and I didn't have anybody confidence. After 5 months of dropping dairy and becoming plant-based, I lost 15 lbs. solely by diet, my facial blemishes are clearing up and I am starting to enjoy the natural taste of real whole foods. Before becoming plant-based, processed foods were 80% of my diet. It’s amazing how quickly the human body adjusts to change. I can now bite into a raw red pepper and my taste buds go wild

3. Do you crave meat and dairy?

Never. I know what goes on with the meat and dairy industry and I have made the connection that animal products are carcasses and secretions. It disgusts me, so I never desire those products. Those who adopt a plant-diet for health will find this part far more difficult, especially with cheese. Cheese contains 1/10 of the chemical that makes morphine addictive, so our brain receives a false sense of pleasure when it is consumed. I suggest making an effort to slowly wean it out of a diet. Have cheese only 4 times a week, then 3, then 1, then never. After a month or two of rejecting cheese, it is very unlikely the cravings will come back, especially after eating more whole healthier foods.

4. Many people have the notion that all vegans are animal advocates. Is this true?

It is never fair to generalize or stereotype a group of people, especially if it’s a stereotype based only on what one decides to eat, or not eat. Funny enough, I am passionate animal rights advocate. I will stand in the blazing California sun for 4+ hours to hand 1,000 college students a Vegan Outreach booklet and educate about the horrors of the meat and dairy industry and what it does to the human body. But that is not true of everyone who chooses a plant-based diet. Many vegans and vegetarians are regular, everyday folks who may not care about animals and adopted the lifestyle for the copious amount of health reasons. Even if all vegans happened to be animal’s rights advocates, it would be for good reason (watch Earthlings for the good reasons).

5. What is the difficulty level of finding good, quality meals that are conductive to your lifestyle?

On a scale of 1-10 (1 being the easiest and 10 being the hardest) of how difficult it is to find plant-based recipes based around any lifestyle, I would say: 0. Yep. 0. It is so easy to find a delicious vegan recipe in the world we live in today. Plant-based diets are now extremely popular and new plant-based cookbooks and websites are popping up all over! Specific plant-diet blogs that I recommend are Fat Free Vegan (blog.fatfreevegan.com) or Cheap & Simple Vegan (cheapandsimpleveganrecipes.com). Even general recipe sites like All Recipes (allrecipes.com) and Super Cook (supercook.com) have search tools for specific diets. Its insane how many resources are out there that are free and that are easy access to us!

6. What advice can you share to those who are interested in adopting a plant-based diet?

Do your research. Watch documentaries, read books, listen to speakers... do anything you can to continually educate yourself about our food system. Let's just say that our current mainstream food system is not designed for the best interest of the consumer. Keep learning and keep empowering.

Don't feel pressured by others. There are still people out there who haven't made the connection and consider a healthy meal to be a slab of chicken sided with a cheese and ranch dressing salad. Remember, you are the ONLY PERSON who can take control of your own body, prevent disease, cancers and reach optimum health. Don't allow others to pressure you, or make you feel like what you are doing is wrong. It may not be the most popular diet, but you are not alone in the plant-diet revolution.

7. What is one of your favorite recipes?

I will provide two for you all! Dinner and desert.

Southwestern Stuffed Butternut Squash

You'll Need:

1 butternut squash

1 cup of cooked black beans (canned or fresh)

¾ of an onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, diced

½ can green chiles

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon chili powder

Vegan cheese

Cilantro, salsa, avocado (optional)

teaspoon salt

Directions

-Preheat oven to 375 F.

Halve and seed your squash, and then hollow out each side just enough to form a shallow boat. Brush a baking sheet with some olive oil and also brush your squash with a little olive oil (both sides).

Roast in the oven for about 30-40 minutes, flesh-side down, or until the flesh is soft when you pierce it with a fork (if you leave the skin on, it may need to roast longer).

Meanwhile, sauté onions and garlic in a pan for about 3 minutes. Add bell peppers, chiles, and spices, and sauté another 5 minutes or so. Add beans and stir. Saute a few minutes longer and remove from heat.

Remove squash from oven and stuff with filling. Top with some vegan cheese and return to oven for about 5-10 minutes. 

Chewy Coconut Bliss Bars

What You Need

2 cups flour

1½ sticks Earth Balance

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt

3 egg replacers (I used Ener-G)

1½ cups of vegan chocolate chips

1 cup of shredded coconut

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9×13 glass dish well and set aside (you could also line with parchment paper or greased foil)

Mix together the Earth Balance, egg replacers, brown sugar and vanilla in a bowl.

Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine, and then stir in coconut and chocolate chips.

Pour in the baking dish and bake for about 25 minutes (oven times may vary).

Pictures derived from www.cheapandsimpleveganrecipes.com

Stay Plant Strong,

- Kassy Ortega

Kassy Ortega has a Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration & Marketing from Central Penn College in Summerdale, Pennsylvania. She has done work under The Humane Society of the United States in D.C. and Vegan Outreach, Southern California. She currently is working under People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals as a traveling campus outreach crew member. Kassy resides in Temecula, California with her fiancee, Josh, a Sergeant in the USMC, and adopted fur-baby, Paco. Feel free to email with any questions here: Kassy.Ortega@gmail.com

Foodie Digest- Thank You!

We wanted to take the time out and send a special thanks to our fellow foodies that joined along with our month of unprocessed living. We had over 223 people actually participating through Facebook, Twitter and emailing. Messages that takes on the attitude that we want to see in people, a change in how we eat, which is a direct change in how we live. Our mission as supporters of a healthier lifestyle must never be jolted or diminished by our profession as caterers. We want them to work hand and hand. We understand and recognize that there is a great gap in the world of business versus social and moral responsibility. We are very much dedicated to making up that gap, dedicated to devoting ourselves to our work and business but also to the people whom we service because there is a great deal of work that needs to be done. We thank you for the awesome recipes, feedback and encouragment. Let's become more of the foodies that we all desire to be, one plate at a time!

Natural Gourmet Foodie Team!