Plant Based Diet & Veganism... Angel's Journey

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My love for plant based foods and vegetables specifically started when I was only 2 years old. My mother made up a “Green Bean” song to get me to eat the ones on my plate. And from that moment on I still wanted her to sing the green bean song every time I ate any kind of vegetable. I grew up eating cabbage, squash, brussel sprouts, asparagus, lettuce, green beans, broccoli, carrots… the list goes on. I LOVED IT and never stopped loving them. I never had a picky eating phase, the only vegetable I don’t eat is Okra (I have tried everything, it's not my jam). An authentic Caesar Salad is still my favorite food from childhood and I don’t make meals that lack a variety veggies if I can help it. But lets face it, everyone hasn't always had such a pleasant relationship with vegetables ESPECIALLY in a place like America where fried foods are KING.

Vegan and Vegetarianism have been growing in popularity over the past few years. More and more people are switching from eating meat and dairy to eating completely plant based or vegetarian diets. There are more vegan restaurants and healthy options on non-vegan menus. Eating plant based has increased in popularity due to many issues. The mistreatment of animals in the meat industry for one is incredibly disgusting and shocking. Environmental challenges that come with mass producing and killing domesticated meat have been detrimental as well with this country's ever-increasing carbon footprint.

When I met our guest, she hadn’t yet made the change from eating meat to plant based and vegan food yet. However, she's always been a forward thinker and selfless spirit. We were just two students confused in our Biology Lab at ECU and she invited me to her home. She was a phenomenal cook and still is to this day. Veganism has influenced her diet but also her lifestyle. Just like the meals before the switch to veganism, her vegan meals SLAP. She is truly talented when it comes to being a home cook and I enjoy her vegetables almost as much as my own mothers. I decided to interview her on two topics, the first being the challenges and discipline it takes to switch to a vegan lifestyle. Stay tuned for her second appearance on being a certified Doula and birth coach. I am extremely excited to introduce you to the most selfless and supportive individual you would ever meet. Let’s welcome her with open arms to The Big Yellow Pot! My friend and fellow chef, Angel Whitehurst.

A word from Angel..

My name is Angel Whitehurst. I am 35 years old, I'm a wife, a mother of two girls, a Douala, and a vegan chef. My husband and I own a Vegan catering business named,” The Garden of Vegans”. My love for Plant based Vegan cooking started back in 2017. I found myself embarking on a very intense spiritual journey that led me to change many things in my life. The biggest part of that change was my diet. One day I gave up all meat and dairy and never looked back. When I first began my journey I was very confused about what to cook and how to live and thrive on a vegan diet. Since I was 8 years old I've always been a chef. My grandmother would teach me different recipes everyday after school. The love for cooking has stuck with me since then but transitioning to vegan I was afraid my life as a home chef was over. That couldn't have been any further from the truth. Over the past 4 years I've learned to veganize all the southern comfort foods and more. You name it and I can make it Vegan style! To check out all our delicious meals and to reach me follow me on Facebook and Instagram at The Garden of Vegans 88.

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Interview

When did you go vegan? What challenges did you face when you made that choice?

I went vegan in 2017. The biggest challenge was trying to figure out what to eat. Like most people I was used to meat being the highlight of the plate and without that you feel like you are eating sides. Which is really weird at first but over time sides become the meal and meat is no longer a factor. 

How much of your decision to switch your diet and eating habits was influenced by environmental factors?

When I first decided to go vegan my decision was strictly for spiritual reasons. After I made the switch and began to do more research I learned the negative impact farming animals for food has on the environment. Watching documentaries like, What the Health, Cowspiracy, and Food Choices amplified my decision to go vegan. 

Since you have been vegan, what physiological changes and health changes have you noticed?

The biggest change I notice is my mindset. I see things so clearly and I'm able to view things from all perspectives. The saying,” You are what you eat” is true in more ways than one. When you consume animals you become one with them and believe it or not it plays a part on your mind and the way you think. Since going vegan I feel mentally free. Another change I notice is my weight. I've always been up and down and most of my life I've been a heavy set girl. Since going vegan I've maintained my weight for 4 years with no effort. 

The African American Community has been embracing and switching to veganism more than any other group according to a Pew Research Center article… Why do you think this is important or so popular in this community? What would you do to get more black and brown people eating plant based?

The African American community switching to veganism is a beautiful thing to see. It's very important because historically many people of color were foragers; they did not eat meat and they lived and thrived off plant based diets. African Americans are the number one most affected community in almost all the most common diseases and conditions. Diet plays a huge part in those numbers and many people of color are learning the benefits of eating plant based and making the switch.   

What does an average weeknight meal look like for you and your family? If you can, list the members of your family and what dish they like best of yours.

  A weeknight meal for my family would be beans over quinoa, with sauteed vegetables and a homemade vegan sauce to pour over. We love veggie bowls. They are quick, easy and filling. We use beans like Chickpeas, Pinto, and black beans and add veggies like broccoli, brussel sprouts, string-beans and many others. Onions and peppers go in every meal I make no matter what!  My husband is super simple. He loves my lentils with quinoa. He likes to eat his meals with tortilla chips kinda like nachos. He will add the veggies I cook with it. He absolutely loves my homemade cashew cheese. He wants to pour that on any meal I make for him. My Oldest daughter likes my lasagna and my vegan mac and cheese. She's not a huge fan of veggie bowls; she likes regular dishes turned vegan. 
The baby girl of the family is only 2 she's been vegan since conception so all she knows is whole plant foods. She loves pinto beans and guacamole!

Please share about your vegan catering and meal delivery service Garden of Vegan. What is your most popular selling dish? Do you sell your food to meat eaters or mostly vegan and vegetarian customers?

Our Grand Opening for Garden of Vegans was August 2019. We didn't really know what to expect but the outcome was more than we imagined. We started off doing meal preps but then transitioned to plate sales. Every week we would put out a menu for Sunday pick up and people would be lined up to get their food. All of our customers were meat eaters who were interested in how vegan soul food tasted. The most popular dish by far was our cauliflower wings with mac and cheese. The next top dish was the lasagna and the empanadas. Once COVID hit we stopped doing plate sales and now we only do catered events.  

How easy or difficult was it getting your oldest daughter to switch to a vegan diet? What advice do you give meat-eating families who are looking to get their kids excited about eating plant based and vegetarian meals?

   Briana was never into a lot of meat; she really ate mostly hamburgers. When I first went vegan she wanted nothing to do with it. She was still eating meat. Over time after she saw I was consistent she gave up meat and decided to go vegetarian. What really inspired the sudden change of heart was after she ate some chicken tenders she began to have massive amounts of flem come up. This lasted for two weeks and she constantly had to keep coughing it up and spitting. At that time she was 9 years old so she was still very impressionable. I told her it was the meat that caused all the flem which was true and after that she never ate it again. Now she is 13 and she's still mostly vegetarian. Sometimes she may have a little fish but not often. 
My advice to parents is any child 5 and under make meals that resemble the food they love vegan style and never mention anything about it. See if they notice the difference. For babies I wouldn't introduce them to any meat or dairy at all, keep them on whole foods and they will continue to eat them. For parents with older children my advice is to educate them, let them watch certain documentaries and slowly try to implement more plant based food into their daily eating. Most importantly parents need to stay consistent. Children do what we do more than they do what we say!

Do you have any plans on releasing a cookbook or expanding your business to different parts of our state? What's something you dream of doing with Garden of Vegan?

Honestly eventually I will release a cookbook but so many other business opportunities have come my way since COVID. I've been exploring other avenues and have put The Garden of Vegans on the back burner. As of now we only accept catered orders. In the future when we have more revenue I would like to open up a restaurant in Greenville North Carolina. 

Any advice on keeping produce fresh for long periods of time? How do you get the most out of your grocery shopping trips when eating mostly fresh and plant based foods? What grocery staples do you get all the time?

Produce is food full of life and really isn't meant to have a long shelf life so the only advice I have is buy produce for the week and eat it. Many times people buy produce and eat everything else while it sits and rots. In my home we buy food for the week. I plan all my meals and snacks out in advance. At the end of the week any produce left I cook it all. If I have different veggies I may make a stir fry or make a fruit salad to make sure we dont waste anything.

Why are your lentils so damn good?!

It's all in the seasoning lol 

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Asian Pulled Jack Fruit Sliders with Spicy Slaw

WHAT YOU NEED

SLIDERS

• 2 (14 oz) cans Organic Young Jack-fruit in Water

• Small Buns/Yeast Rolls (3 or 4 per person is a good serving size)

• 3 TBSP Coco Amino (Tangy Barbecue)

• BBQ Rub or Seasoning

• Garlic Powder

• 4 Sprigs of Spring Onion

• Soy Sauce

• Juice of Half a Lime

• 3 TBSP water

• 1 cup Red Wine Vinegar

• ⅓ cup Granulated Sugar

• Stems of Cilantro

• 1 cup Water

• 1 small Red Onion (thinly sliced)

• Mason Jar

Spicy Slaw

• Savoy Cabbage or Napa Cabbage

• Spring Onions

• Ginger Paste

• Red Bell Pepper

• White and Black Sesame Seeds

• Toasted Sesame Oil

• Soy Sauce

• Rice Wine Vinegar

• Granulated Sugar

• Coco Amino (Tangy BBQ)

• Lime juice

• BBQ Rub or Seasoning

• Garlic Powder

• Sriracha

• Coarse Salt

• Cilantro Leaves

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

Spicy Slaw:

I thinly sliced 1 half of the savoy cabbage (about 4 cups of cabbage), 1 julienne red bell pepper, 1 cup of thinly sliced spring onions, handful of Cilantro, 1 cup of Carrots. Set aside in a large bowl and make your sesame dressing.

I will be honest, I never measured my dressing components because I wanted something with balance & it's hard quantifying that - just keep tasting and adjusting until you're happy.

I combined soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, coco aminos, lime juice, bbq rub, ginger paste, garlic powder, some sugar & whisk until seasonings have dissolved. After I was happy with the flavor, I whisked in the toasted sesame oil until it was combined & beginning to emulsify.

After I poured my dressing over the slaw, I stirred well and added salt to taste. I finished with a generous drizzle of Sriracha and Sesame Seeds (black and white). Tossed then set aside to marinate while the sliders were finished.

Pickled Onion:

I did make pickled onions for this dish because I just love the taste of them on any sandwich. I warmed 1 cup of water, 1 cup of vinegar (I ran out of white vinegar, so I used red wine vinegar & finally ⅓ cup of granulated sugar). Sliced my onions thin and placed in a mason jar. Warmed my vinegar, sugar and water mixture. Poured the vinegar mixture over my onions until they were covered, sealed the mason jar tightly and left in the fridge for 30-45 minutes.

Sliders:

For the sliders, in a medium sized saucepan heat 3 TBSP of Coco Aminos in the flavor “Tangy BBQ” until bubbling.

Open and drain your jack-fruit. Rinse with cold water and break apart the jack-fruit flesh until you’ve reached your desired consistency. I used my hands but you can use a fork if you're not sure. I shred mine pretty fine because this is a pulled pork substitution recipe.

Once my coco aminos were bubbling, I added my jack-fruit. I also tossed in the white portions of the spring onions, finely chopped cilantro stems and Sweet BBQ Rub from Fresh Market. I added garlic powder. Once the seasonings were correct, added 3 tbsp of water & the juice of half a lime. Fry on high stirring often. I cooked my jack-fruit about 25-30 minutes before I reached the desired texture.

I took my slider buns, toasted them in sesame oil. Add a good portion of jack-fruit, my pickled onions, then a tower of slaw. Mash down and cut.

I served mine with sriracha on top and some sesame seeds.

If you have any questions or need to see the recipe step by step, you know the drill! Head over to the Instagram tab & view the process. Subscribe so you don't miss any posts & let me know how you liked this recipe in the comments! - Caity