Veganomicon

Paul made fun of me tonight for settling down in front of the fire with a (cook) book. Doesn't everyone read cookbooks at night? It's funny. When I first got into cooking, about 2 years ago, I was thrilled to find so many delicious recipes on line. Now, with over 10 vegan cookbooks on my counter that I use daily, I have really found my favorite cookbook authors. Isa and Dreena are my favorites, hands down. Isa appeals to me with her Jewish wit and NY City references. Dreena makes me smile with stories of her two young daughters and homey "let your children help in the kitchen" feel. Both create fantastic food!
A small group of us from our Birth Class (I know, a bizarre way to meet people but we've been friend for almost 6 years now!) get together monthly for dinner and chatting. We had a little gift exchange in December and Nathalie graced me with the most amazing cookbook to hit the presses in years. Veganomicon is the end-all be-all of Isa's style. VwaV is my favorite cookbook of hers, but this huge tome has so many other amazing dishes too. I would have put myself on the 50+ waiting list at the library to eventually get my hands on this ultimate cookbook, but it's all mine! The only problem with Isa's recipes is that she uses many non-local ingredients, because she is in NY and has ready access to them. But some of them, many many of them, will grace our table this year. Mmm.

the only way to cook with kids

This idea comes to mothers everywhere courtesy of Vicki at Vegan Vice. I tried this out today while Nava's Spring Vegetable Soup (Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons) simmered on the stove. Sam and I were busy whipping up our favorite spelt biscuits (VeganLunchBox) and I needed to keep Mae occupied (she is a terror around flour!) Ted was watching Star Wars but got sucked into the fun of scooping and pouring. Sam stayed on task and helped me cut the biscuits. It was a yummy, comforting dinner for a cold and rainy evening.

a vegan market!

Look what I found on Happy Cow! I can't believe THREE LITTLE FIGS is in the same complex as Paul's office. The kids and I had a FABULOUS exciting field trip after pickup today. Not only were there vegan marshmallows, but a plethora of vegan faux meats and Sheese (something I've been wanting to try; they had samples; it rocks) as well as a Tofutti brand of pizza, which if Ted would like it, would make birthday parties a lot easier for everyone. I also scored some vegan M&Ms and the kids got to pick a treat too. YUM. Very exciting to have such a local source of vegan stuff. Wild Oats and Whole Foods have quite a lot of these products, but not the wide variety that 3LF boasts (more than 5 varieties of faux meats & cheese, namely). I also appreciated the samples they fixed up just for me to taste before I bought. Very nice people. They told me about a pizza place on Broadway that has a gluten-free, dairy-free pizza (perfect for Ted!) and a smoothie place that uses soy ice cream to make really delicious smoothies and ice cream concoctions. Mmmm. I like this place and will make a trip there when I need to stock up.

Eggs!

I got a email from Wendy this afternoon. She found eggs! Even as I aspire to be vegan, Mae's protein needs are turning into a true concern and I was THRILLED to learn that local farms offer eggs for sale from their happy chickens. Did you know farm-raised chickens lay all colors of eggs? Brown, black, purple, pastels....I estimated that we would go through about 1 dozen a week (Mae has one every morning (7) + challah french toast on Saturdays (3) + Ted's waffles (2). She picked up a dozen today and I'll pick them up tomorrow. They are $3.50 for a dozen. I'm way excited. I still plan to cook vegan in most recipes, but I'm happy to put eggs in for the kids, especially without guilt. Next week it'll be my turn to go to the farm to get the eggs for us, and I'm looking forward to seeing the chickens myself. She said they look about as happy as chickens can look! I love Boulder.

Yum

A while back, I tried my hand at a homemade seitan recipe in which you boil the loaf to doneness. It was ok, but the texture was squishy. I recently stumbled upon blogger after blogger raving about their own tweakings of this baked seitan recipe. Well! This was easy, easy, easy and REALLY GOOD. The texture is much firmer and it's a keeper. Now I'll just tinker with the seasoning too. This is so good!

Pineapple?

This week's box will include a whole pineapple! Cool! I was excited to see beets and kale and plan to make another batch of the delicious Beet, Barley & Black Soybean Soup with Pumpernickel Croutons from VwaV. I LOVED this soup. Paul didn't, so I think I'll do it on Wednesday (his soccer day) and freeze the rest. YUM.

Bananas
Bartlett Pears
Red Delicious Apples
Strawberries
Carrots
Spinach
Kiwi
Kiwi
Roma Tomatoes
Yellow Onions
Red Kale
Pineapple
Spinach
Red Beets w/ tops

Meals:
Beet, Barley & Black Soybean Soup w/ Pumpernickel Croutons p58 VwaV
Tomato Dal w/Spinach p129 Veg Slow Cooker

We are really going to enjoy the fruit this week! Yum yum!

cookies

Just wanted to point out that I have found a fabulous vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe. It's from Vive! and the cookies are much better than the disasters from VwaV. I even used spelt flour (just to see how it would work) and they were delish. I also liked that it only made a dozen, rather than 2-3 dozen. Since I usually end up eating them all anyway, this at least produced fewer! We also shared with our neighbors. YUM.

Strawberries!!!!!

I couldn't believe what was in our box next week! Strawberries!! And I could even sub in some more in place of more of those weird mangoes! Woo hoo! Bring on the spring!

Haas Avocado
Strawberries
Danjou Pears
Carrots
Cameo Apples
Roma Tomatoes
Russet Potatoes
Spaghetti Squash
Yellow Onions
Bananas
Strawberries
Green Chard
Red Bell Peppers
Red Butter Lettuce

I admit I was pretty disappointed that there was no spinach, in the box or to add on. We've become pretty accustomed to our steamed spinach with a dash of balsamic vinegar. SOOO good. The Farmer's Market starts in ONE WEEK! Next Saturday we have the chavurah, but it's a seder and in the afternoon, so I hope to go to the Farmer's Market in Boulder and just soak in the fresh, local produce! I have to see when the produce from our co-op becomes available too, so I can either "hold" or downgrade our box. This is such a fun time of year.

Meals:
Tofu Lettuce Wraps (Paul requested a repeat of this one!)
Pizza sauce p130 VwaV (freeze some and use some)
Sunny Southwestern Squash Pizza p104 Vive!
Garlicky Kale w/collards instead p120 VwaV
Miso-Curry Roasted Potatoes p68 Vive!

soy milk & waffles

Well, we did it. We broke down and bought a Soyabella Soymilk Maker and I made our first batch last night. I flavored it with vanilla (+ sugar & salt, per the recipe that came with it) and we tried it this morning in our coffee and atop oatmeal. Mae had hers straight up and Sam had chocolate Quik in his. The verdict? Paul thought it was fine...the slightly grainy texture was more off-putting than the flavor. I found it way too sweet. Mae wouldn't drink it and Sam was only happy with it in hot chocolate. Not a huge hit, but we'll get there. I'm going to try different variations of adding barley or rice to cut the beany flavor and see if I can strain it some while pouring it out. The average price ends up being about $.10 per quart, vs the $3+ we've been spending at the store. Cleaning the head unit is a bit of a chore, but nothing too terrible.

And in frugal news, Ted and I went to our local thrift store today and found a $5 Waffle Iron. I've been looking into buying a new waffle iron for a while. Ted loves waffles and would eat 2-4 every morning if I let him. That can get expensive. That and the wheat issue (wheat-free waffles are even more expensive) made me want to make them from scratch. I've made them in the past and while it is a bit of a pain to clean up after, the process is easy and quick. Ours had died about 6 months ago and they are expensive!! So I was thrilled to find this model. I tried it out tonight and it made 4 batches (16 small squares) perfectly. Woo hoo!

Kugels & Knishes for Pesach! *Update*

Next week's box looks perfect for Pesach!

Broccoli (1.00 - ea.)
Spinach (1.00 - ea.)
Bananas (5.00 - ea.)
Grapefruit (2.00 - ea.)
Kiwi (4.00 - ea.)
Jewel Yams (2.00 - lb)
Collards (1.00 - ea.)
Yukon Potatoes (1.00 - lb)
Atulfo Mango (3.00 - ea.)
Navel Oranges (6.00 - ea.)
Carrots with Tops (1.00 - ea.)
Leeks (1.00 - lb)
Broccoli (1.00 - ea.)
Yellow Onions (1.00 - lb)
Yukon Potatoes (2 lbs-added to order)

Here are the meals:
Garlicky Kale w/ Tahini Dressing (w/ Collards instead) p120 VwaV
Cauliflower-Leek Kugel w/ Almond-Herb Crust (w/ Broccoli instead) p94 VwaV
Knish Madness p76 VwaV (Sweet Potato, Potato & Spinach-Potato)
Curried Tempeh-Mango Salad Sammiches p100 VwaV

I'm psyched to use all recipes from VwaV. And they are very Passover-oriented so we will be eating kosher this year! Yum.

• Garlicky Kale (with collards instead) was really good. I love sliced garlic and I think it makes it less overwhelming while still tasting the garlic. Yum. The collards worked nicely in its place, although I boiled them for 25 minutes before sauteeing. I skipped the Tahini dressing and just did the garlic. It was great. 4 stars.
• Curried Tempeh-Mango Salad (sans sammiches) was good but I think these 'special' mangoes are also less sweet than the standard variety. This was yummy but had a little too much 'bite' to them. Still good though. 1 star, unless I have a bunch of 'regular' mangoes to use up. I plan to use the others in a guacamole recipe I saw a while back.
• Broccoli-Leek Kugel was not so good. Perhaps the cauliflower is really the key. I also used dried herbs instead of fresh. It was WAY to dill-y for me. But, not bad and I always enjoy adding a new Pesach meal to my repertoire. 2 stars.
  

Crazy Tuesday

Yesterday was a busy day. Paul dropped Sam & Mae off at our friend Lisa's for the morning. I took Ted to OT at 9:15, followed by another acupressure class, a quick lunch at Einstein's (with Tofutti not-cream cheese), then soccer at 2. While he played soccer I met with his nutritionalist who looked over the results from the bloodwork. Turns out he is also 'sensative' to gluten. Not 'allergic' because the numbers were low (3.8) but they should have been not even detectable (other results were >0.1). So, we are going to try to lighten up on the gluten. She is very down-to-earth and said to not go crazy on it, to focus on the dairy right now. But when it's convienent, sub in something different for the carbs. This weekend I plan to make some waffles or pancakes for him. I'll freeze a bunch for the week. I'll even put chocolate chips in-that will make them a sure success! I'm also going to try baking a loaf of spelt bread and see if he'll eat that for his sandwiches.
Last night was our monthly Girls Night Out, with moms I've known for 5 years now. They are such a great group of women. We went to the Dushanbe Teahouse (I'd never been for dinner) and it was excellent. Yummy Indian-esque selections. And they had more vegetarian entrees than anywhere I've ever been. It was actually hard for me to make a choice!! That made for a late night though and I'm beat today.
In typical fashion, I still hadn't fixed two of the dishes planned for last week, so when I realized this week's box was on the doorstep today, I decided to fix BOTH meals now to get them cooked and make room for the new! So, tonight will be the Acorn Squash with Tomato Salad and tomorrow's Eggplant & Potato Curry from VwaV is already prepared and in the slow cooker pot in the fridge, ready to be heated slowly and make my house smell delicious all day tomorrow! I love spurts of energy.

April 7!

The Boulder Farmer's Market opens on Saturday, April 7. I can hardly wait. This means that we'll be able to start collecting our share from our co-op as well as other yummies that are LOCAL and FRESH. Woo hoo....I am ready for Spring. Ted and I chose some different varieties of tomato seeds and are ready to plant them in egg cartons over Spring Break. The last 2 years have been really hard on tomatoes here in Colorado, because it's been so terribly hot and dry. Hopefully all the moisture this winter will make for a wetter Spring and Summer. I remember the summers of '99 and '00 when we had tomatoes coming out of our ears. It was nuts! This year I hope to do some jarring (of some sort-not sure what I really mean) so we can have fresh tomato soup for next winter. Mmm. We also got a packet of strawberry seeds. We planted strawberries in a big planter one year and got a small harvest. Again, hoping it was due to the rain. We all love berries so much that it would be wonderful to have them just outside the door. I am really looking forward to berry season at the markets this summer. I've really missed them this long winter, although thanks to Paul's dad I am in the habit of adding frozen blueberries to my oatmeal in the morning. Not quite the same though... Ted also really wanted broccoli, baby and regular carrots and spinach (?!) so we got a small packet of those too, so we'll see how well our little garden will hold up next winter!

wish list

Soymilk Maker
Juicer

Bummer. I have a wish list and my birthday is in January. Maybe an anniversary present, in July? These sound fun.

more beets (Week 7) *Update*

This week looks good!

Yellow Onions (1.00 - lb)
Broccoli (1.00 - ea.)
Bunched Beets (1.00 - ea.)
Red Kale (1.00 - ea.)
Spinach (1.00 - ea.)
Haas Avocado (1.00 - ea.)
Bananas (5.00 - ea.)
Fuji Apples (6.00 - ea.)
Grapefruit (2.00 - ea.)
Valencia Oranges (6.00 - ea.)
Carrots (1.00 - lb)
Spinach (1.00 - ea.)
Yukon Gold Potatoes (3.00 - lb)
Kiwi (2.00 - ea.)

Here are the meals:

Beet, Barley & Black Soybean Soup w/ Pumpernickel Croutons p58 VwaV
Potato-Edamame Samosas (filling) p80 VwaV
Miso-Curry Roasted Potatoes p68 Vive! (side)
Garlicky Kale w/ Tahini Dressing p120 VwaV (side)

I need to get to the Indian market this week for 3 things. Asafoetida (hing powder) is root resin used in many of VwaV's Indian dishes. We also need tomato chutney (called for in the Samosas although I didn't miss it last time) as well as the standard mango chutney I love. It's kind of strange to have it so warm out yet still be cooking wintery dishes. But I'm enjoying the seasonal thing...it's fun. This has been such a good decision. We have 2 more months before we switch over to our co-op. That should be fun too.

• Beet, Barley & Black Soybean Soup was sooooo good! Paul isn't much of a beets fan, so he didn't love it, but I sure did. The pumpernickel croutons were a scrumdeliumptious addition. This was easy and very Russian. Next time I will add some kale or collards to the soup-it could have used something green. 4 stars.
• Potato-Edamame Samosa Filling was great as usual. I didn't have an onion though and the smell of carrots with mustard seeds doesn't smell very good. Next time I will be sure to have an onion or not fix it. Still tasted fine though. I plan to add some okara to a portion I saved and make burgers from them. Mmm. Only 2 stars without the onion.
  
• Miso-Curry Roasted Potatoes were fabulous!! They were really good and I'll make these again for sure. I love easy, toss 'em in the oven recipes. YUM. 5 stars.
• I ended up being lazy and just steaming the kale and tossing it into the leftover Russian soup. I really was craving greens in the soup and didn't feel up to creating the official side dish. Plus we're having it with collards in the next box anyway.
  

going with the flow this week *Update*

This week at Door to Door, I decided to stick with the box as much as possible. Armed with my 3 favorite cookbooks and my computer, I found recipes to match what was in the box. I only subbed out lettuce (for another acorn squash), green onions (for yellow) and Red Delicious Apples (for Fuji-Ted's favorite).

Here's what's in the box next week:

Item: Quantity:
Acorn Squash 1.00 ea.
Broccoli 1.00 ea.
Green Chard 1.00 ea.
Acorn Squash 1.00 ea.
Celery 1.00 ea.
Cucumbers 1.00 lb
Eggplant 1.00 ea.
Yellow Onions 1.00 lb
Tomatoes 3.00 ea.
Bananas 5.00 ea.
Bartlett Pears 6.00 ea.
Kiwi 3.00 ea.
Fuji Apples 4.00 ea.
Valencia Oranges 6.00 ea.

Yum. Here are our menus:

Laura's Acorn Squash with Apple-Tempeh Stuffing
Eggplant & Potato Curry p79 Veg Slow Cooker
Red Beans & Greens p128 Veg Slow Cooker
Cucumber Salad
Tomato Salad with Balsamic Vinegar

You can tell spring is in the air because I actually am craving salad! I'm very excited to try the acorn squash dish. It sounds yummy and a possible contender for the Quorn Loaf's place of honor at Thanksgiving. I was sad that VwaV didn't have ANY squash, eggplant or cucumber ideas that sounded at all appealing. I'm bummed. But I will make her Tempeh crumbles for the acorn squash, so that will be interesting.

Last week was tough; Wednesday's box appeared on the roughest day of the week, the day after Ted's party, and everything was in chaos, both emotionally and physically (the house was a wreck). I didn't have the energy to cook and I was really worried about the produce. But happily, by Thursday I was craving a healthy meal and was able to steam up some spinach with balsamic vinegar and raisins and quickly throw together the sweet potato curry and save myself from a possible downward spiral into produce disaster. Phew! I guess it's like laundry: you can't fall off the wagon forever. Just start another load (or meal) tomorrow.

This week I am also working on two "uncheese" recipes for Grilled Cheese sandwiches for Ted. He is a big grilled cheese lover. It's funny; I had bought The UnCheese Cookbook (twice, actually!) months ago after getting into Vegan Lunch Box. I think it's going to come in so handy with the dairy issue! I'll let you know how they taste. Both use roasted red peppers and cashews, so those must be 'cheesey' in some way.

• Red Beans & Greens was surprisingly good! I think the addition of liquid smoke really gave it the smoky flavor it needed. This was really yummy. It didn't smell very good when it started cooking this morning, and it had 2 onions and lots of celery (both yucks for me) so I didn't expect to like it. 4 stars.
• Acorn Squash w/ Apple-Tempeh Stuffing was FABULOUS. I had the time so I let it bake the full 2 hours and the squash was sooo tender. This rocks and will DEFINATELY take the place of our fake turkey. YUM. The sausage crumbles from VwaV were a nice addition too-I think it might have been rather bland without them and the tart apples. 5 stars.
• Cucumber Salad was ok. I grew up enjoying cucmber sandwiches: mini pumpernickel bread slices with a dab of mayo topped with sliced cucumbers and a sprinke of celery salt. This was trying to be like that, but it was too mayo-y (or perhaps the vegan mayo is too strong) and I should have just stuck with sliced cucmbers with celery salt. No stars. Won't do it again.
• Eggplant & Potato Curry was ok, but not amazing. After the wonderful curry form VwaV this one was kind of bland. But it was great because it was a slow cooker one, so I prepared everything the night before and just put it on Low in the morning. So, 3 stars. I'll do it again if I need a hearty meal after a busy day and I have a ton of potatoes to use!
• Tomato Salad-blah, way way WAY too much balsamic. Perhaps because it marinated overnight rather than just 2 hours. Next time I'll make sure to eat them the same night I prepare them. Bummer. 1 star but probably my fault.
  

Mikey likes it!

We tried Tofutti brand cream cheese out on Ted today and he liked it! He LOVES bagels, so I'm psyched. He's not into soy milk yet, but we're working on it. We had our first "you can't eat the pizza because it has cheese on it" today. He weathered it well, dipping plain pizza crust into marinara cheerfully.

Breakfast Ice Cream

Dairy - shmairy! Ted's birthday breakfast:

1 Banana
1 C. Frozen Blueberries
1 C. Frozen Strawberries
1 Tsp. Vanilla

Thanks to Gaia for the recipe.

Cow's Milk

Milk. Ted is allergic to cow's milk. Not sensative, not intolerant...allergic! What the...(as Alex would say.) Our pediatrician was amazed, since he hasn't had any *ahem* signs of a dairy allergy. This is an obvious direct link to his asthma, since dairy creates more mucus anyway. If it is possible to take him off his daily Pulmicort, I am all for it. We were leaning that way anyway. Trust a woo-hoo Boulder nutritionalist to suggest this test. I love Boulder. Bring on the soy! (Happily, he is not even mildly sensative to gluten or soy-whew! Those would have been tough.)

I thought the following was interesting. I've put the symptoms that Ted has in bold.

What are the symptoms of a dairy allergy?
The symptoms of a dairy allergy can manifest themselves in the skin, the digestive system or the respiratory system. Skin reactions may include an itchy red rash, hives, eczema, allergic "shiners" (black eyes), and swelling of lips, mouth, tongue, face or throat. Digestive system reactions might include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, gas, bloating or abdominal cramps. Respiratory system reactions include a runny nose, sneezing, watery or itchy eyes, nasal congestion, wheezing, shortness of breath or coughing, and even anaphylactic shock. Some children may show reddish ear lobes or a glazed look in their eyes. Additional symptoms attributed to a milk allergy include bed-wetting, lethargy and inattentiveness.

Door to Door *Update*

Next Wednesday's box:

Broccoli (1.00 - ea.)
Red Chard (1.00 - ea.)
Green Leaf Lettuce (1.00 - ea.)
Spinach (1.00 - ea.)
Spinach (1.00 – ea.)
Bananas (4.00 - ea.)
Grapefruit(smaller) (3.00 - ea.)
Carrots (1.00 – ea.)
Navel Oranges (6.00 - ea.)
Fuji Apples (6.00 - ea.)
Carrots (1.00 - ea.)
Green Bell Peppers (1.00 - lb)
Roma Tomatoes (1.00 - lb)
Russet Potatoes (3.00 - lb)

I subbed in carrots and spinach for zucchini, avacado & celery.

Massur Dal & Carrot Soup (VLB)
Ribollita (p52 Veg Slow Cooker)
Chickpea & Spinach Curry (p170 VwaV)
Samosa Filling (p80 VwaV)
Potato Stuffed Green Peppers
Sauteed Spinach

Two of these meals are repeats, plus we are in love with sauteed spinach. Not a particularly 'new and different' meal week, but a delicious one! Oh, and Samosa Filling is basically Aloo Gobi without the Gobi, so it's YUM and delicious on its own with chutney. Mmm.

• Samosa filling-excellent, easy and delicious. 5 stars. great with mango chutney.
• Sauteed spinach-always a 4 star side dish. Yum.
• Chickpea & Spinach Curry-good, but I like it better with lentils. Still good though. 4 stars with the chickpeas.
• Potato Stuffed Green Peppers-surprisingly good. Paul really liked them. The stuffing was like a fancy mashed potato mixture and the peppers were quite crunchy even after baking. The tomato sauce was a great touch and I added my nutritional yeast/sesame seed blend (aka fake Parmesan) and it was yummy! 3 stars.
  
• Massur Dal & Carrot Soup-always delicious. This time I pureed it with my hand blender, which took a while but it was easier than doing it in batches in the blender. I love this soup so much. 5 stars.
• I got too lazy to do the Ribollita so I just sauteed the chard with this recipe. It was ok. I think I don't love garlicky greens. I do love greens sauteed in balsamic vinegar, so I think I'll just stick with that. 1 star.
  

Thoughts...

...on the vegan thing. Going vegan is not that hard. Actually, it's a lot of fun. But it does involve a lot of thought. I am cooking more than I ever have in my life. I don't love cooking, but I'm doing it. And, dare I say, often enjoying it. I really had to pinch myself one day when I found myself driving home quickly for lunch rather than go out to lunch (something I used to LOVE doing!!) I still eat out, of course, but as a family we seldom do now, and it's OK! Some things are tougher.

• Eggs. Mae eats 1-2 eggs every day at breakfast. She had a steamed egg every morning in China and I just kept it up. Lately she has been asking for "mo eggy peeze?" If I can convince her that Scrambled Tofu is a worthy substitute, then we're all set. The rest of us can take or leave eggs and replacer powder or applesauce work fine for replacements.
• Milk. Mae loves soy milk. Paul loves rice milk. The boys and I are the hold outs. For me, the key is breakfast. I am usually rushed in the mornings and have a quick bowl of Kashi Go Lean Crunch with skim milk and a banana. If I can just deal with the extra minute it takes to microwave my oatmeal, there would be no problem. Then there is my coffee addiction. I've experimented with Soy Chai and it's OK. I think I could handle it. And perhaps I wouldn't get coffee as often and save some pennies! Ted is a vegan waiting to hatch. He doesn't want to drink cow's milk but has yet to find a milk alternative that he likes. We're working on it and he is very willing to try new milks. So far, we've tried Oat and Almond. Luckily he likes Calcium Fortified OJ. Sam drinks 1-2 cans of Pediasure a day. I seem to recall that he was OK with rice milk when he was younger, though, so once he is able to get off the Pediasure I think he will be easy to convert.
  
• Fish. This is only my problem. I love sushi. LOVE it. I may cheat and never cook fish at home but splurge a few times a year when dining out with friends (i.e. when it's my choice, don't choose a sushi place.)
• Cheese. No problem. We all like it but none of us love it to death or anything. Ted is a big cream cheese eater so we need to try vegan cream cheese out on him. Other than that, no problem. Plus, Nutritional Yeast + sesame seeds, ground together, make for a fabulous "Parmesan." Mmm.

Note: Everyone worries about vegans lacking nutrients. It is true that without dairy, eggs and fish, it is harder to get some vitamins. But there are TONS of specially formulated "Vegan Dietary Supplements" out there that fill the gap. We eat a lot of greens (calcium) and tofu/beans/nuts (protein) so we're not worried there. There are even many different kinds of non fish source Omega-3 supplements out there (did you know fish do not produce Omega-3, but rather obtain it from the algae they eat? Why not just get it from the algae and leave the fish alone?!) But I will admit that finding a good supplement is important. The end. ;-)