Plant based recipes are a foreign concept for most North americans. I used to eat meat from animals and products from them, like milk, cheese and eggs. And then I worked 2 horrifying shifts as a dairy milker at a 130 head dairy farm and saw up close and personal what happens to cows on an industrial farm. Dairy cows live their whole lives in concrete barns, eating, pooping, and giving birth to beautiful calves who are taken from them after just 4 days so that they can maintain milk production that sometimes exceeds 32 litres per day.
With the new market for bovine colostrum (a new “miracle cure” for dogs) this 4 day mother and calf time is no longer written in stone and calves may be taken from their mothers after just a few hours. It’s not like the cows and calves don’t mourn each other’s loss. From what I saw, the new moms are obviously sad and call out repeatedly when their bawling calves are taken from them. It’s no wonder that many dairy cows were afraid of the milkers. Cows that don’t fully cooperate are bad cows and are sold at auction. I was horrified at the was these animals have been turned from a family milk cow into a cog in a big industrial machine.
Plant based Milk Uses Fewer Resources than Dairy
According to the Dairy Farmers of Ontario, a single dairy cow needs to eat about 30 lbs of food per day. And a cow has to drink 80 to 180 litres of water every single day. Many more litres of fresh water is needed to hose their semi liquid poop from the barns and milking parlour. Multiply those numbers by 130 and that’s 3900 lbs of food and 10400 to 23400 of water to make a measly 3900 litres of milk per day. Never mind the fuel and energy used to run a dairy farm- That is still a lot of environmental resources that are going toward when humans don’t need cows milk to thrive. Here is a link to the Dairy Farmers of Ontario website: https://www.milk.org/corporate/view.aspx?content=Faq/DairyCattle
Here are the resources used to make 1 litre of milk.
*Data from BBC Science Focus Magazine
Dairy Milk
- Emissions (kg) = .63
- Land Use (square metre)= 1.79
- Water (litre)= 125.62
Oat Milk
- Emissions (kg)= .18
- Land Use (square metre)= .15
- Water (litre)= 9.65
Almond Milk
- Emissions (kg) = 0.14
- Land use (square metre) = 0.1
- Water (litre) = 74.3
Soy Milk
- Emissions (kg) = 0.2
- Land use (square metre) = 0.13
- Water (litre) = 5.6
Plant Based Diet for a Better Planet
rpodadventure.com/2020/09/05/plant-based-recipes/(opens in a new tab)
I realized that if I wanted to reduce my own impact on this beautiful planet, and help save a bunch of cows and other farm animals from living a miserable life I would need to change my eating habits. I cut out meat and dairy and soon wanted to try a cholesterol free existence, so I also cut eggs out of my diet. The health results? My blood pressure dropped, my cholesterol levels are very low, my energy levels are about the same as ever, and there is still no sign of the diabetes that runs in my family. So far so good.
The Plant Based Recipes
Here are some great plant based recipes that I know you’ll enjoy, whether you are a hard core vegan or someone who just wants to try some plant based recipes that don’t include animal products.
The Best Bannock Recipe
Equipment
- Cast Iron Pan
- Chafing Pan
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Spoon
Ingredients
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour
- 2 tbsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp flax or olive oil *optional if baking or roasting over a campfire
Instructions
- Measure all dry ingredients into a large bowl
- Mix well
- Add water and mix to form a soft, very slightly sticky, dough
- Divide dough into 4 equal parts.
- Roll each part into a ball with your hands
- Pat each ball to into a circle, 1/2 inch thick
- Heat 2 tbsp vegan butter or oil over medium heat in a large skillet.
- When the vegan butter has melted, add as many bannocks as will fit comfortably in the pan.
- Cook each side until golden brown on side, flipping as necessary. Cooking time per side will be 5 to 7 minutes. When bannocks are nice and puffy they are ready and delicious.
Notes
My Favourite Spice Tea Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 20 whole cloves
- 20 whole black peppercorns
- 4 whole cinnamon sticks
- 10 slices fresh ginger root
- 2 tbsp black tea
- 2 tbsp ground cardomom (use 15 whole green pods if you have them)
- 1 tbsp tumeric powder
- 10 cups water
Instructions
- Put water into the Instant Pot pot and add ginger root slices, cinnamon sticks, black peppercorns, and cloves. If you are going to use cardamom pods, you can add them here.
- Put black tea, ground cardamom, and turmeric, into a tea bag and tie it tighlty so the smaller, finer ingredients can't escape.
- Set Instant Pot to Pressure Cook for 8 Minutes
- After time is up, allow the pressure to release naturally.
- Serve hot, pouring into a cup and adding your favorite sweetener and oat milk. I used maple syrup to sweeten mine and it was a perfect balance for the spice mix.
Notes
Chanterelle Pasta Sauce
Equipment
- instant pot for sauteeing
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Becel vegan butter
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 red oinion Medium, quartered and sliced very thin
- 2 cloves crushed garlic
- 1/4 cup red wine SHiraz or whatever you have
- 1 1/2 lbs Fresh Chanterelle Mushrooms
- 1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast
- 1 tbsp Italian spice mix Find this in the spice aisle at the grocery store
- 1 tbsp lemon Juice
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 1/4 cup oat milk
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot on to the Saute function and wait for the beep to tell you it's hot.
- Melt vegan butter in Instant Pot and add olive oil, stir to mix
- Add onions and cook for 1 minute
- Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute
- Add wine and then chanterelle mushrooms.
- Cook for a few minutes until chanterelle mushrooms soften
- Add oat milk/cream and nutritional yeast and cook lightly until sauce is slightly thickened.
- Mix in Italian spice mix and lemon juice.
- Add salt and pepper to taste
- Serve over your favorite Italian pasta. I used rigatoni, but use what you have handy.
- Sprinkle with vegan parmasan to taste
Marinated Grilled Portobello Mushrooms
Equipment
- Barbecue or campfire grill basket
Ingredients
- 4 portobello mushrooms
- 1 thick sliced onion I like red, but use what you have
- 12 Grape tomatoes
- 1 Green pepper
- 2 Beyond meat sausages cut in 1 inch pieces
Marinade
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp Brag Sauce
- 2 tbsp HP Sauce you can also use vegan worcestershire sauce
- 1-2 cloves garlic crushed and chopped finely
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp italian seasoning
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp liquid smoke
Instructions
Prepare the Veggies
- Wash and dry all of your veggies
- cut the peppers into bite sized bits
- slice the onion into 1/4 thick slices
- Put the mushrooms and veggies into a marinating tray or baking pan. Be sure the mushrooms are gill side up.
Make the marinade
- Whisk all of the marinade ingredients together until they are one beautiful, aromatic marinade.
- Pour the marinade over the mushrooms, veggies, allowing it to sink into the mushrooms, especially.
- Allow the mushrooms and veggies to marinate for 10- 20 minutes or even more, if you can.
- put the veggies and mushrooms into a flat grill basket and slowly grill over a fire until they are somewhat soft and the onions are translucent.
- Enjoy
Notes
The Best Hummus Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
- 1 food processor You can also use a blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried chickpeas you can use a can of chickpeas instead, but they usually have added salt
- 3 cups water
- 1/4 cup tahini tahini is sesame/sesame oil paste that helps add a creamy texture and nutty taste
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil, herbs, olives, pine nuts any of these is optional
Instructions
Prepare chickpeas
- place 1 cup of dried chickpeas in Instant Pot
- Add 3.5 cups of water
- Use the Beans/Chili function or set Pressure Cook for 45 minutes- It's better to cook the chickpeas for too long. Let it release pressure on its own.
- Allow to chick peas to cool
Make the hummus
- Add all ingredients to the bowl of the food processor or blender
- Blend until smooth
- Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with cilantro.
- Serve with wedges of warm pita, crackers, tortilla chips, or veggies
