Monday, March 23, 2009

Conclusion post for the Vegan

In conclusion I have decided several things:

1) Veganism excludes a lot of foods I normally use in my daily diet (and I don't think I'd like to continue eating like this, though I will continue to eliminate 90% of dairy and meat from my diet, I just feel better that way), but is one of the healthiest lifestyles one can live, IF DONE PROPERLY.

2) Living a local vegan lifestyle is impossible. You'll never get the proper amount of protein and nutrients to stay healthy. The U.S., particularly the Shreveport /Bossier City area, just doesn't produce the neccessary dietary supplements that other countries use almost daily. Tofu and soy products are the main ones though, please, someone correct me if I'm wrong. Yes, I did break the local foods rule of this project a couple times. Hunger is a very strong incentive. I think that there could be a very strong local foods market in this area, we just decided to do this project at the wrong time of the year. With fresh vegetables and soy and tofu additions to one's diet, I beleive that one can live a relatively local diet. And that's a belief I plan to try out this spring.

3) The general public view of veganism is negative. I even had one person ask me: "Are you trying to kill yourself?" (and no, it wasn't Monique). I had the most trouble finding vegan options in restaurants, at school, in prepared food stores; basically anywhere that I didn't cook for myself. People just don't understand--nor do they try to--veganism. The idea has so many negative connotations that attach veganism to "liberal, elitist, animal saving, crazy people" (one of my personal friends-who is a kind and understanding person, once he realised that I wasn't going to die from starvation. No, the quote from my earlier post wasn't from him).

So, I think that education is the key for vegans everywhere. If people understood the ideas and practicalities behind veganism, I think that there would be a lot more options in town. The same goes for local foods. This is difficult for a nation ruled by fast food though.

It's so much easier, faster and cheaper (in the short run) to go to the nearest fast food joint than to cook one's own meal, but I beleive that we are slowly changing our view on food based on the health issues that have cropped up all over the nation, and beyond. Fast food is not the answer, otherwise why would they be introducing lo-cal optiond to their menus?

Information is key. Options are really great too!

*Until this spring,
Jen, the-not-so-exerimental-vegan-anymore-but-still-continuing-some-of-the-ideas.

Veganism, day 3 and onward

So, by day 3 I had established a rythm. Oatmeal for breakfast, leftovers for lunch and cook dinner when I got home in the evening. It worked pretty well. The snags I encountered happened at work and at school. I had to make sure and pack my own lunches to make it through the day.

The cafeteria at school is less than adequate for a vegan diet (sorry, I wasn't going to eat french fries and a plain salad, no dressing, for lunch) and finding a vegan meal at a restaurant that isn't geared towards vegans is next to impossible. My boyfriend did take me out to eat over the weekend and that was fairly sucessful, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't local. I'll talk more about that in my conclusion post.

Some restaurants in Shreveport that have vegan options on the menu :
Albasha's
Dahn's
Yeero Yeero
El Compadre
* Did you notice that all the restaurants are International foods? Yeah, so did I.

Here are the meals that I used throughout the week:

Black-Eyed Peas and Green Beans over Rice
Cajun Spicy Rice and pan-seared Tofu with Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Red Beans and Rice (no sausage, of course)
Instant Oatmeal (duh, duh duh)
Yellow Curry with pan-fried Tofu and Veggies
Hummos (we ate a lot of this, my roommate has an excellent recipe)

Sunday, March 22, 2009

A Meatatarian Conclusion

Thursday night I was invited out with some friends and in the name of science I decided to find out if I could keep to the parameters of the Eco experiment. Going to the bar pretty much killed this experiment. I found no local drinks and afterwards when we went to IHOP the waitress gave me a crazy look when I asked her about the origins of certain foods. Needless to say, if one wants to live on local foods then the best bet involves buying some land and growing your own. As for meats, well, hunting licenses and the butcher's shop are probably the best bet, after all, no one seems to know where the food comes from.

The lack of care over where food originated is kind of scary. Of course, this lack of concern seems bred into the population of grocery shoppers, myself included.

On another note, while I firmly believe Wally World is evil, I am satisfied that the next time I run out of tea I can drive over the bridge and make my two AM purchases.

That's it, I'm out!

The Grocery List!!!!

When Jen and I went to her neighborhood Albertsons we made a brand name list of acceptable brands. The list is as follows:

Blue Runner: Louisiana
Ranch Style Beans: Fort Worth, TX
Wolf Chili: Dallas, TX
The Allens: Arkansas
Trappey's: Arkansas
Rotel: Dallas, TX
Tony's: New Orleans, LA.
Zatarains: New Orleans, LA.
Bayou Magic Red Beans: Shreveport, LA.
South Louisiana Cooking: Broussard, LA.
Rex: New Orleans, LA.
Water Maid (rice): Houston, TX.
Mahatma (rice): Houston, TX.
Rice Select Couscous: Alvin, TX.
Monjouni's: Shreveport, LA.
Carvicos: Arkansas
Pace Picante Sauce: Harris, TX.
Jumex: San Antonio, TX.
Tyson (bacon): Arkansas
Richard's Sausage: Broussard, LA.
Down Home Brand Sausage: Stonewall, LA.
Mrs. Baird's (bread): TX
Steakhouse Potatoes: Houston, TX.
Adam's Spices: Gonzales, TX.
Louana: Opelousas, LA.
Pioneer Brand (bisquick): San Antonio, TX.
Luzianne (tea): New Orleans, LA.
Community (coffee): Baton Rouge, LA.

A few brands we were interested in (or will not comprimise on in the future):
Bigelow (tea): Connecticut
Lipton (tea): New Jersey
Classico (Spaghetti Sauce): Pennslyvania
Clausen's Kosher Dill Pickles: Woodstock, IL.
Uncle Ben's: CA.
Rice-A-Roni: IL.
Top Ramen and other noodles: IL or CA (we can't remember).

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Meatatarian From Monday to Thursday: I Hope I Don't Starve


PieWorks is within walking distance of Centenary. The muffeletto is mostly made in S/BC...the bread is made in the store--though there's no telling where the flour comes from--and the olive mix is made by a local company--once again, where the olives come from is not known...so 5 stars for walking distance and no stars for the ambiguity!

It has become apparently clear to me that Jen and I are participating in an experiment regarding gathering foodstuffs which may actually have been easier for ancient hunter-gatherers. Hell, the ancients didn't have to question the false advertisements on labels because their meat and veggies weren't labeled! They knew without doubt where the meat/veggies came from having hunted and gathered the foodstuffs themselves.

The grocery store nearest to my house is about two miles away, however, I'm not walking over the Shreveport-Barksdale Bridge to get there...because it is unsafe. Which leaves the Family Dollar store (about a half a block from my house) as the nearest place within walking distance. Their limited lunch meat section has meats which fall into the * or ** range, thus, not acceptable. I ended up biting the bullet and killing two birds by going to the Krogers (3-4 miles from home). I rationalize the drive to Krogers in that I had to pay a bill and could pick up some of those much needed food items. In their deli I found one brand that is made in Baton Rouge (two different meats!). Cajun Pride: cajun roast beef and cajun turkey! I also found the Eddy brand of all beef sausage is made in Texas.

With these meats in tow and a load of other errands, I headed for the house. Unfortunately, I forgot to grab some of the Luzianne Ice tea (made in Louisiana), so, I was very tempted to drive to Wally World at 2 am Monday when I realized we were out of tea. However, I maintained control and didn't cave into the desire. Instead, I scrounged around the kitchen until I located a brand of tea that was hidden away for emergency purposes. I figure this counts!

Honestly, the conscious effort is more complex than I thought it would be. Especially, when placed in a situation where you must ask someone about where the foodstuffs came from. As a society we really are oblivious! What I find really amazing is unless it's crawfish, it's not really "from" Louisiana!

Until next time!
Oh, eventually we will post the list of foods and respective locations! Keep watching as the saga unfolds!






Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Day 1 and 2 of local veganism

Day 1:

Creamer...includes milk deratives.

toast...includes milk derivatives.

Used the creamer, had coffee for breakfast, ate edamame and couscous for lunch and dinner.

Note to reader: If you ever go vegan, make sure you check out EVERYTHING before you go to use it. I took a few things for granted.

I also didn't get a chance to cook Sun. like I wanted to.

Day 2:

I was better prepared today. I didn't A) assume powdered creamer didn't contain milk b/c I had bought a milk-free creamer, and B) woke up on time

Time is key to a vegan lifestyle. You MUST have time to cook your own food because, frankly, the rest of the world doesn't understand.

Will have black-eyed peas, string beans and rice for supper. I may add tofu, we'll see how the beans turn out first.

p.s. instant oatmeal is a great breakfast and snack food.
p.p.s. if you havn't noticed by now, coffee is my addiction of choice. It's a must-have.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Meatatarian: Food Recon at Jen's Local Albertson's

Sunday night Jen and I walked from her apartment to the nearby Albertson's and continued in our last minute local food recon. In the hour we were there I think we managed to make it through three isles, all that checking labels is time consuming. After placing a few of our finds into those little plastic baskets which get too heavy too fast, we opted for a shopping cart, and perused the fruits and vegetables area. We noticed a trend of false advertisement in that the signs read "Product of USA," but the stickers on the food read, "Product of Mexico."

Another problem we noticed with many of the labels is they have distribution locations which are not necessarily the same as the area where the food was grown. We decided, while checking label after label, that if the distribution area was the only location given, then we would have to make a judgement call based on the proximity of the distribution center to S/BC.

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of Eco Adventures: Meat Vs. Veggies!!!

Oh, BTW we will be posting a list of food brands and their respective locations in future blogs.

Peace out, YO!

P.S. The damn Meatatarian ate at Pie Works today...but I'll qualify that comment later with pictures and a discussion of why Pie Works food is within the parameters of this experiment!

Sunday, March 8, 2009

I R Vegan

Hello World!

My name is Jenn and I currently live a mostly vegetarian lifestyle. I have always been interested in veganism (though I don't think I could live without milk and egg products) and have decided to give it a try. I feel healthier and more energetic when I eliminate high protein foods, such as red meat, from my diet. I'm looking forward to finding out how veganism affects me!

Monique and I are both trying to use only local (which will be defined later) foods in order to explore the availability of locally harvested foods. In this way we can help cut down food transportation emissions and simultaneously support our local community.

Until next time!

Friday, March 6, 2009

Meatatarian

I, Monique, representing Meatatarians everywhere, would like to eat healthier, while continuing in my carnivorous ways. What can I say? I like meat, hell, I love meat. As a meatatarian who understands the hazards of feed lots, meat processing plants, and the need for supporting "Mom & Pop," I recognize that continuing to support large chain stores is part of the problem regarding excess, waste, and greed. I also recognize their will be cost differences between grocery shopping in large chain stores and local stores.

In a future post, my partner in crime and arch-nemesis, Jen (the experimental vegan) and I will list the rules. We will also include information on where we acquire our food stuffs and the costs of said acquisitions.