Bean Burger

As a vegan we have to learn to make many things. The more we learn how to cook vegan dishes the happier we will be. One time I was in Florida and I had bean burger which was pretty good. I found a recipe online that I liked and that is easy to do.


Ingredients 

• 1 Can Of Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed
• 1 Can Of Chick Peas,  Drained And Rinsed
• Olive Oil
• 1 Small Onion Diced
• 2 Teaspoons Of Garlic Salt (optional, I stopped using it)
• 2 Teaspoons Of Onion Powder (optional, I stopped using this as well)
• 2/4 Cup Of Wheat Flour (I used to put less in the mixture, but it turns out the flour helps keep the patties together)

Directions 

1. Smash the rinsed black beans and the rinsed chickpeas with a fork and mix them together well. Set aside. 
2. Saute the diced onion in olive oil until the onion is soft then add it to the bean mixture along with the optional garlic salt and onion powder. Mix together well.
3. Add the flour a little bit at a time. Mixing after every bit that was added.
4. After all the flour has been added, put oil (I find spray doesn't work well at all) in a frying and cook your patties until they are brown. (Occasionally, if I'm not paying attention while I am cooking I will burn them a bit, but it's ok, they still taste good.

I will make this soon and put up pictures. I find pictures are always helpful.

Vitamin B12

It is important to know what your body needs to be healthy. One thing vegans need to be aware of is how important B12 is for their bodies. For the two in half years of being vegan I haven't taken a B12 vitamins. Though it was on my mind I never really took any action until I recently finished a book called "Vegan Freak Being Vegan In A Non-Vegan World Version 2.0: Revised, Expanded and Updated" by Bob Torres and Jenna Torres. (A great book for new vegans) Page 164 is where they talk about the importance of B12.
Where does B12 come from
"This is the one vitamin that is nearly impossible to get in a vegan diet without supplements or fortified foods. In and of itself it is vegan, because it is produced by bacteria. The problem is that these bacteria are mostly found in animal guts (and thus the vitamin is present in animal products) and sometimes in soil, depending on how the soil is treated" Says Bob and Jenna Torres. They go on to say "...you can't rely on dirt as a vitamin source".
Some food sources Vitamin B12 is found is, claims the New York Times, is:

• Eggs
• Fortified foods such as soy milk
• Meat
• Milk and milk products
• Organ meats (liver and kidney)
• Poultry
• Shellfish

The New York Times goes on to say that "the body absorbs animal sources of vitamin B12 much better than plant sources. Non-animal sources of vitamin B12 vary in their amount of B12"
Purpose of B12
"Vitamin B12...is important for metabolism. It helps in the formation of red blood cells and in maintenance of the central nervous system".
B12 Deficiency
Low Levels of B12 can cause

• Anemia
• Loss of balance
• Numbness or tingling in the arms and legs
• Weakness
• Memory Loss
• Increased risk of stroke or heart attack
• Depression

Ways to get B12
You can get B12 by:

• Injection
• Nasal Gel
• Patches
• Tablets that dissolve under the tongue
• Multivitamin Pill Form

Nature's Bounty dis-solvable tablets  is what I ended up buying to help prevent B-12 deficiency.  It doesn't tastes bad with the cherry flavor. I haven't tried any other brands but I personally like this one thus far.

Here is an interesting little quiz to see how much you know about B-12 Deficiency 

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/vitamin-b12-rm-quiz

References
http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/nutrition/vitamin-b12/overview.html

http://www.b12deficiency.org/

"Vegan Freak Being Vegan In A Non-Vegan World Version 2.0: Revised, Expanded and Updated" by Bob Torres and Jenna Torres pg. 164

Vegan Cheese To Eat And Not To Eat

One thing that people claim that is the hardest to give up when becoming a vegan is cheese. Cheese is indeed tasty but just because you  became vegan doesn't mean that you will never eat cheese again.
Daiya

Daiya is the first vegan cheese I have eaten and I absolutely love it. I would recommend Daiya for a cheese substitute. To me it tastes almost exactly like dairy cheese. The texture of the vegan cheese is different than dairy cheese, but that's the only real noticeable difference. It is suggested that you wait a while after you have been vegan before you try it. If you try it shortly after becoming vegan then you will notice the difference in taste. I haven't tried it in or on many things but I have used it to make Grilled cheese, Casadias and Pizza. The cheese doesn't melt like dairy cheese. To me it only looks slightly melted but it still tastes great.
Vegan Rice Cheese

The only reason I bought this cheese one day was because the store which I was at had run out of Daiya. I thought I would broaden my horizons and try a different type of vegan cheese. I decided to make a casadia with this cheese. Which tasted horrible. I couldn't even eat another slice of this cheese it was so bad. I ended up throwing the rest away. My advice is to  save your money and stay away from this cheese. Buy Daiya.