Living the fat-free, vegan lifestyle

Quinoa Vegetable Paella

Her blog will make your mouth water, even if you’re not a vegan.

Susan Voisin is a self-described “health-conscious vegan who likes good food.” Her friends and fans will tell you she’s being modest, that she’s also a great cook and a fantastic blogger.

Her blog, Fatfree Vegan Kitchen, is filled with photos and recipes from her kitchen:
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com

“It’s a good way to have a more personal take on recipes,” she said. It began simply, in December 2005, and “within a couple of months I was getting a good bit of traffic, and then it’s just grown.”

Among her fans is the man who inspired her, Dr. John McDougal, whose books promote the health and lifestyle benefits of eliminating animal products from your diet. Voisin was recently invited to participate in a vegan cooking demonstration in California in connection with McDougal’s programs.

“I was thrilled when they contacted me,” she said. “They have a wellness center in California where they have workshops and a live-in facility to come out and learn to eat this way. They invited a bunch of cook book authors and a chef from the most famous vegan restaurant in the country, and me, to come out and give a demonstration.”

During the demonstration, Voisin will demonstrate four recipes — “not gourmet, they’re really fairly simple things to do,” she said — to show examples of things people will enjoy even if they’re not vegans.

She said she’s nervous about it, but excited. Her friend Sarah Campbell wasn’t surprised that Voisin was invited.

“She’s got some fabulous recipes out there and the photography is beautiful,” Campbell said. “People enjoy seeing the visual as well as the recipes. … She has gotten a lot of good attention nationally from it, and the blog has attracted a following on its own right.

“She’s been invited to speak at conferences and it’s been voted a favorite vegan blog for various magazines and publications, based on people voting.”

Plus, she said, Voisin works hard to keep it interesting and fresh.

“She keeps new things on her blog,” Campbell said. “I’ll tell her, ‘I made your salad again the other night,’ and she’ll tell me she never makes things more than once. She always wants things to be new on the blog.”

Among the most popular recipes are the Vegan Omelette for One (using tofu), My Favorite Lasagna, Easy Macaroni and Cheeze and Ridiculously Easy Lunchbox Enchilada Casserole, among others.

“I became a vegetarian in 1988, really for health reasons,” Voisin said. “I thought I could lose weight. As I got into it, I discovered that I did not want to eat animals anyway. I loved animals, and I felt like for my own sake, eating them was not something I needed to do.”

Creating each recipe was another delicious step for Voisin on her healthy lifestyle journey. Along the way, she lost 100 pounds when she began eating fat-free vegan foods.

“It creeps back if I don’t stay on it,” she said. “I have to stick to it and exercise. It’s crept back over the years and I’ve done the yo-yo thing over the years. I’d lose a lot and then slide back. Now I’m trying to work it off again.”

She has more energy. She feels better. And she and her daughter rarely get sick, Voisin said.

“My cholesterol levels and blood pressure levels are all good, and when I exercise, they are really low,” she said, “which tells you the importance of exercise too.”

There are two schools of thought behind becoming a vegan, she said.

“You can jump right in or do it gradually,” she said. “You have to decide what’s better for you. Most people say the gradual change is best. Try to take some of your favorite recipes that are naturally vegetarian and start centering your meals around those.”

If you like barbecued beans, “take the recipe and try leaving out the pork. Add other things you think of as side dishes,” she said. Or take things like spaghetti and cut out the meat, and you get used to it after a while.

Or, just look on her blog.

She’s got recipes for every meal, and for entrees, sides and desserts. And she’s got photos with each, if her readers need more incentive.

“Susan’s story is inspiring to me as I work to make a creative life and be a mother at the same time,” Campbell said. “I feel like hers is a great story of doing this from her house with her own materials and talents and sharing it with the world. And the blogosphere allows us to do that. So now, she’s recognized without her having to go out and travel and sell herself.

“She’s doing it from home and has a full creative life there. It’s a great story for moms who are trying to balance work and family.”

A favorite, from the Fatfree Vegan Kitchen blog:

Quinoa Vegetable Paella

Cook's note: This is one of those dishes that seem to improve overnight. Reheated leftovers make a great lunch. Spicy food lovers note that this is a subtle dish, not a spicy one.

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cup quinoa
1/4 teaspoon saffron, crushed
2 teaspoons Spanish smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
dash cayenne
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 14-ounce can light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 3/4 - 3 cups vegetable broth
2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 can artichoke hearts, rinsed and cut into quarters

Put the quinoa into a large bowl. Cover with water and stir well to wash the grain. Pour off the water and then repeat the washing process. You may also put the quinoa into a fine mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly.

Sauté onion and garlic in a deep non-stick skillet with a little water until soft. (I use my inconveniently-named "chicken fryer" for this.) Add the quinoa and saffron and cook, stirring, for another 2 minutes. Add paprika, cumin, cayenne, tomatoes, peppers, beans, and 2 3/4 cups vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to very low, and cook covered for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, check to see if more broth is needed. If it looks dry, add the remaining vegetable broth. Place the zucchini on top of the quinoa and re-cover. Cook for about 5 more minutes, until quinoa is done. Remove the cover, stir in the peas, and cook uncovered until peas are warm and all liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Arrange the artichoke hearts on the top and serve. Add salt at the table, if necessary.

Makes about 6 servings.

Per serving: 288 Calories (kcal); 3 g Total Fat; (9% calories from fat); 13 g Protein; 55 g Carbohydrate; 0 mg Cholesterol; 307 mg Sodium; 10 g Fiber