Pre-vegans will often inquire how we live without one thing or another whether it’s cheese, fish, eggs or steak. Pre-vegans often think of our lifestyle being one of suppression, deprival and denial. I’ll admit that I was,on occasion, in that camp as I made my transition to a plant-powered lifestyle. As I read more blogs and books and tried new recipes, I quickly realized that the vegan lifestyle is liberating in so many ways with limitless food options that fuel my active lifestyle.
Two of the last things I adapted on a regular basis were pizza and pasta. I could crush a supreme pizza or a platter of chicken parm with the best of them. However the more immersed I became with vegan dining the more I released these old staples from my carnivoristic days could be adapted in creative ways that were extremely healthy and tasty.
Once my taste buds changed veggies seemed to take on a unexpected sweetness and my pizzas were loaded with different combinations, no cheese and a variety of sauces. One of our faves is pictured with a simple kale pesto providing the base. One of the great things about vegan pizza is you can employ the kitchen sink approach using as many or as few of the veggies you have on hand. On this particular night, this included eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, asparagus, artichokes and nutritional yeast. No cheese needed as the copious flavors are aplenty.
Pasta dishes have long been a staple of my life with work, travel, training, etc. With bulk cooking a necessity these days, this is another simple option that has endless options. In recent months, we have ditched the traditional canned sauces as they are loaded with so much extra sugar. At the same time, we have been buying a few pounds of cherry tomatoes a week. We throw them in a casserole dish with some garlic and spices and have a healthy complement to many dishes. In this pasta, the tomatoes are the base of the sauce along with the black olives, portobello mushrooms, Tofurkey Italian Sausage and kale. With some vegan parm as a garnish this dish, prepared in bulk, is a few meals at minimum.