Friday, January 30, 2015

Football, Vegan Snacks, and Irregular Tacos

So, apparently this Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday! Disclaimer- I could not care less about the game, or the commercials. I guess as a former Seattleite, I will say go Hawks, but that's it. What I do care about is the massive amounts of people getting together, and eating snacky, sporty food. This is a great chance to sneak some vegan treats in, and maybe get people to give vegan food a second chance.
Earth Balance has really nailed the snack food department, in my humble opinion. You could easily pour a bowl of their cheddar style crackers (like a vegan cheese it) into a bowl, and I guarantee people would love them! Same with their cheddar, and sour cream and onion chips. If you have some dips in mind, these chips are kettle cooked, so they are sturdy. Beanfield's makes some amazing chips as well. My personal fave is their ranch flavor. I almost always have to buy a bag when I'm at the Co-op. They also have a plain flavor that would be great with some guacamole, salsa, or vegan Queso dip.
Something I've made for my meatier friends in the past that has always been a crowd pleaser is tacos, made with Beyond Meat crumbles. There are other brands, I thing gardein makes crumbles, I think there's a company called Smart life, there are several types, just make sure they are vegan, as some like Morningstar are not.. Anyway, just cook the grounds in a little oil, add whatever taco seasonings you like, and set up a taco bar. I have had MANY a meateater tell me that they never ever would have known that what they ate was not a "regular taco"! So make a big batch of irregular tacos, and prepare to shock some people!
I'm not saying to overwhelm people with vegan food, but I feel like there are so many great vegan foods out there that many people would never try, because as a non-vegan, they probably don't even know it exists! And maybe they try something, realize it's vegan, and delicious, and not loaded with ten million weird chemicals, and cruelty free to boot? It might make a shift in some people's thinking.
They might seek that product out the next time they shop, and they might be much more open to trying other vegan foods, and meals in the future.
Vegan or not, we all want delicious, satisfying foods. For many reasons, vegan food has a bad rap. A bad rap that is slowly improving, but we still have so far to go. We're talking years and years of wheatgrass and spirulina, and tofu jokes. For years the mindset has been vegan food is bland, boring, and way too much brown and green, and that vegans are humorless, weak little hippies. It's up to us to keep tearing down that wall, and showing people that we are strong, our food is bold, tasty, and satisfying, and if it's salt and fat you crave, well, we've got that covered in a great, compassionate way. I want a win for the animals on Super Bowl!!
I wanted to end with my Yogi teabag quote. It's a good one. " Uplift everybody, and uplift yourself" Sometimes these quotes are just so relevant, you know?

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