My ABC's of food

There is a fun "ABC's of food" survey going around the internet. I found this one on Stephanie's blog (The little vegan baker). I changed some of the questions, but most of them were the original questions. Enjoy! I hope to see more of these surveys on my favorites blogs.

A is for Avocado: How do you like yours prepared?

I love Guacamole! In burritos, sandwiches, with chips or just by itself. I also like avocado sandwiches made with hummus, tomatoes and avocado, and seasoned with salt and pepper. And I add avocado to my Dirty Rice recipe.

B is for Bread: Regardless of nutrition, what is your favorite type?

I am a big fan of bread! The best white bread that I have ever had was in Hungary and Slovakia. My favorite rye bread comes from Czech Republic. I love white Italian and French breads that are not very nutritious, but they taste very good and are quite versatile in recipes. I love making my Apple Bread pudding with white bread. I also enjoy the healthy, wholegrain and sprouted breads with tons of seeds and different grains.

C is for Chocolate: What is your favorite kind currently?

Lately, I have been addicted to Go Max Go chocolate bars that are basically vegan versions of non-vegan brand name classics such as Snickers and Milky Way. My favorite is Twilight. I also enjoy Whole Foods brand “Dark chocolate with coconut” often.

D is for Donuts: You might not currently eat them, but what kind do you fancy?

My pre-vegan favorite used to be jelly donuts. I haven’t had a chance to try very many vegan donuts but the ones I tried I loved. They are made by Nutrilicious company and I get them online. Sometimes they also have them at Whole Foods, or at least they have the donut holes occasionally that are great too. I am going to buy a donut baking pan and I will try to make my own vegan donuts.

E is for Eggs: How would you like yours prepared?

I do not eat eggs, I haven’t had an egg in almost 5 years now. As a child I loved eggs sunny side up and semi-soft hard-boiled. I make a killer tofu scramble that tastes, looks and smells like scrambled eggs.

The egg industry is very cruel and vegetarians who eat eggs take a part in this horrible industry where male chicks are thrown, dropped and ground-up alive. Watch this video by Mercy for Animals to see how the egg industry really works.

F is for Falafel: Yay or nay?

Definitely YES! I love Middle Eastern food! If you eat falafel anywhere in the world odds are it will be vegan. I have had falafel in Germany, Czech Republic and USA. I make my own falafel at home and enjoy it with lemon-dill tofu sauce, or tahini sauce.

Falafel and hummus in Prague last year.

G is for Groceries: Where do you purchase yours?

Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Kroger and Publix.

H: is for Hot Beverages: What is your favorite hot drink?

I love hot fruit tea! I have a huge collection of teas from here and from Czech Republic (my mom often sends me fruit tea from Czech Republic). I cannot drink coffee anymore so I enjoy herbal coffee alternatives such as Teeccino and Pero (American version of Caro) with a splash of almond milk. You can read my story about how I kicked my caffeine habit here.

My Pero "coffee"

I is for Ice Cream: Pick a favorite flavor and add a fun topping.

I love all Purely Decadent’s Ice Creams-especially Cherry Nirvana. I also enjoy vanilla and strawberry ice cream with bananas, strawberries, pineapple, canned peaches and chocolate syrup.

J is for Jams or Jellies: Do you eat them? If so, what kind and flavor?

I grew up on bread, butter and jam open-faced sandwiches for breakfast. I still enjoy jams, sometimes on a warm toast, sometimes on a regular bread. The best are homemade jams from Czech Republic, but here I buy Whole Foods strawberry jam and imported black currant, red currant and gooseberry jams. I am not a big fan of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, I never was and I do not think that I ever will be.

Czech style breakfast: bread with vegan butter and berry jam, and Pero "coffee" with almond milk.

K is for Kashi: Name your favorite Kashi product?

Tuscan Veggie Bake

L is for Lunch: What was yours today?

Stuffed bell peppers (with rice, Gimme Lean Beef-fake ground beef, garlic, onions, Bulgarian spices) and Czech style tomato sauce. Peach mousse (blended silken tofu with canned peaches) and pineapple juice.

M is for microwave: What is your favorite microwave meal/snack?

I try to avoid microwave. I only use it to melt chocolate chips, prepare popcorn and occasionally prepare frozen entrée. I reheat my leftovers on the stove.

N is for nutrients: Do you like carbs, fats, or proteins best?

I wish I could say protein, but carbs win. I am trying to cut back on carbs but being a carboholic it isn’t so easy……..

O is for oil: What kind do you like to use?

For cooking canola oil, olive oil, and toasted sesame oil.

For nutritional support I take Total Omega Vegan Swirl by Barlean’s that is made with organic flax oil, borage oil and DHA algal oil.

P is for protein: How do you get yours?

From everything that I eat: variety of beans, lentils, peas, grains (quinoa is the best since it contains all essential amino acids making it a complete protein), tofu, tempeh, soy products, nuts (and nut butters), seeds, veggies, fruits and other foods that contain amino acids.

Q is for Quaker: How do you like your oats?

Blended into a smoothie with banana, almond milk, agave nectar and cinnamon.

R is for roasting: What is your favorite thing to roast?

Potatoes :-)

S is for sandwich: What’s your favorite kind?

That’s is a hard decision. I love Czech style open-faced sandwiches made with vegan potato salad, Tofurky deli slices and a pickle. I also love mock tuna sandwiches and tempeh bacon, lettuce, tomato and vegan mayo sandwiches.

Popular Czech open-faced sandwiches

T is for travel: How do you handle eating while traveling?

I do not travel that much so I do not have to worry about it. However, when I go on a road trip I take sandwiches, hummus, pita bread, veggies, vegan jerky, granola bars and cookies.

I can easily eat at Subway restaurant, Moe’s and Taco Bell. I do not have a problem finding vegan options at most restaurants, or I ask for something off the menu.

Happy Cow website is a vegetarian/vegan restaurant guide with restaurants from all over the world. I love Loving Hut, they have vegan restaurants all over the world. I have to be careful on the plane since my last experience with their “vegan” meals was not very good. First I found a small fly in my salad and that ruined my appetite for the rest of it. The margarine that was given to me contained milk ingredients and the granola bar had honey. Thankfully, I brought tons of vegan granola bars, vegan jerky and candy bars with me.

Loving Hut Vegan restaurant in Prague (one of three locations in Prague)

U is for unique: What are some of the unique foods that you like?

I enjoy black currant tea that my husband hates. He says that it smells like a cat pee :-)

I like toast with vegan butter and Marmite.

I love pickles as a side dish to most foods.

I like chocolate covered pretzels and popcorn drizzled with chocolate.

I like porcini mushroom pizza with truffle oil.

I miss red currants, black currants, gooseberries and fresh porcini mushrooms. They are impossible to find in Atlanta. The porcini that they sell here are imported old and funky looking, and they want $49.99 a pound for them! I used to get my fresh porcini mushrooms from the forest when I lived in Czech Republic.

V is for vitamins: What kind do you take?

I take a multivitamin, probiotics, Omega 3-6-9 fatty acids, extra B12, magnesium drink, plus kelp supplement for iodine.

W is for Wiener Schnitzel: Do you ever recreate this traditional Czech food?

Yeah! I found a vegan version (Boca Original Chik’n patties) that is probably the closet thing to the Wiener Schnitzel in taste and texture that I remember from my pre-vegan days. The trick is to fry it in oil and then squeeze some fresh lemon over it. I love eating it with Czech vegan potato salad.

This is my veganized Christmas dinner that I also like to eat during the year :-)

Loving Hut in Prague makes the best Wiener Schnitzel with mashed potatoes. It is almost scary how realistic it tastes!

The best Wiener Schnitzels at Loving Hut in Prague.

X is XRAY: If we xrayed your belly right now, what food would we see?

Probably still some lunch, and raw broccoli marinated in lemon juice, sea salt and olive oil. And sprouted multigrain bread with vegan butter. And Green Smoothie (pineapple juice, mango and spinach).

Y is for Youth: What foods remind you of your childhood?

Apple strudel, Wiener Schnitzel and potato salad, mashed potatoes, goulash with bread dumplings, spaghetti with ketchup and shredded cheese (yes, you read it correctly-ketchup, not a tomato sauce….), various baked potato and pasta dishes (with layers of cheese, sausages and hardboiled eggs), Langosch, Kolache, apple-bread pudding, soups before every lunch, cucumber salad, sweet bread dumplings filled with fruit, pasta with poppy seeds and sugar, open-faced mini sandwiches with potato salad, porcini mushrooms, red currants, black currants, gooseberries, raspberries, blackberries……….the list would never end :-) I try to veganize most of my childhood favorite foods, especially when I feel homesick.

My recipe for veganized version of goulash and bread dumplings.

Z is for Zucchini: How do you prepare it?

Grilled or as a part of Ratatouille or Ragout dishes. Also breaded and fried sometimes.

Zucchini, eggplant, chickpeas, tomato, lemon and parsley ragout.