Re: Vegan Liveaboards?

[Blue Jaguar]

Originally Posted by mbianka

Did somebody say hummus?
Hummus: The Rap - YouTube

Hummus spread on Romaine lettuce leaves with a slice of tomato is a regular late summer afternoon snack of mine.

I use a Braun 400 hand blender for when I need to mix things up.

I keep trying to reply to you, but it poofs! Maybe it's because I'm trying to share a link. Anyhow...

[Yummy snack! I eat romaine wraps as even my tacos on romaine due to some bread issues as o late. Have you heard of thug kitchen? Salty language and delicious food!

Thugkitchen dot com

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Blue Jaguar

LOL. Yes! The power draw was my concern on the Vitamix, but glad to hear it could be deemed even more multi purpose than I had imagined.

We've had an okay blender, but have wanted a Vitamix for years. Well, I finally broke the thing, so it's blender shopping we go.

The Vitamix is definitely the king kong of blenders but be sure to bring your big wallet when you go to buy one. Also, unless they've improved since I last used one, they make more noise than an F15 taking off.

I have tried most other brands and the only one I've found that will chop up ice and frozen fruit without leaving lumps is the standard Oster. The problem with the Oster is the blade assembly wears and starts leaking at the bottom where the shaft passes through the metal disk. Easy and not expensive to replace but annoying.

Have not yet tried a Braun. So Mike, how does that one do with ice and frozen fruit?

[Blue Jaguar]

Skipmac,

The Oster is what we had/have. I still have the base for now, but I broke the glass bit of it. It worked well enough, but I was at the point of physically shaking the thing to get everything to blend without having to keep stopping and stirring.

The cost and the plastic is what has kept is from buying a Vitamix before. We may look for a refurbished one.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Blue Jaguar

Skipmac,

The Oster is what we had/have. I still have the base for now, but I broke the glass bit of it. It worked well enough, but I was at the point of physically shaking the thing to get everything to blend without having to keep stopping and stirring.

That's odd. The Oster is the only brand (except a Vitamix) I've used that I didn't have to shake and stir. Cuisinarts, Waring and a fairly expensive Kitchenaid just wouldn't liquify stuff. Was your Oster always like that or did it get that way? Maybe it was dull blades or a different model. I had one Oster with the cloverleaf shaped straight sides that didn't do it. Had to be the one with the tapered jar.

Originally Posted by Blue Jaguar

The cost and the plastic is what has kept is from buying a Vitamix before. We may look for a refurbished one.

A friend used to have a Vitamix with a stainless top, no plastic. Not sure if they still make those. Maybe you can find an old on on eBay.

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by Blue Jaguar

Thanks to the OP for the question and this thread!

I'm wondering what type of blender or food processor (if any) you all keep aboard? We are a green smoothie drinkin' and hummus eatin' family.

We use a "stick blender" (aka "immersion blender") and a Black & Decker EHC650B Ergo 3-Cup Food Chopper.

Both are very compact and don't use a lot of power.

[ShaktiGurl]

Originally Posted by Blue Jaguar

Thugkitchen dot com

Thank you for this link! The recipes look delicious and I was laughing so hard reading them, maybe because my daughter sounds just like this when she cooks.

[Teknav]

Liquefy food ONLY if you don't have teeth; better to eat fruits and vegetables in their original forms. An exception to this rule is, if you're making frozen drinks like Pina Colada or choping cooked egg plants to make Baba Ganouj.

Mauritz
Knows and sees all...

[D&D]

Originally Posted by Teknav

Liquefy food ONLY if you don't have teeth; better to eat fruits and vegetables in their original forms. An exception to this rule is, if you're making frozen drinks like Pina Colada or choping cooked egg plants to make Baba Ganouj.

There are some who don't agree, including Oscar who make the 'cold press' juicers. At the risk of butchering some elaborate material, we understand the contrary view is that juicing provides an improved health 'hit' vis-a-vis simply eating the raw fruit and veg because the juice is easier or more efficient to digest; that, plus the fact that juicing allows one to 'consume' quite a bit more raw fruit and veg. The volume of fruit and veg we go through every week (when we can stock it all, of course!) is huge, but it feels great and it is something we treasure.

In reply to Blue Jaguar above, there's no blender on board here, altho we do have a 'stick' blender...and, most importantly in our view, our beloved Oscar juicer. The juicer takes a workout every morning and we feel it is a pleasant and very healthy way to start the day.

We're restricted (a bit!) in our appliances by staying <1700W for our inverter; that restriction, in turn, means that we use pretty much solar power only, including for our 2xfrig's and 1xfreezer. On the odd days when we're prepared to (or, if it's raining, have to) put up with the generator, then the toaster and electric kettle are available...but as yet no blender, and we're not feeling any loss.

[D&D]

Originally Posted by ShaktiGurl

Thank you for this link! The recipes look delicious and I was laughing so hard reading them, maybe because my daughter sounds just like this when she cooks.

Agree with that, although instead of a daughter, there's 6 sons here, any one of which -- and let's not mention Gordon Ramsey! -- sounds like that!

[Steve Bean]

A classic book on this topic is Ken Neumeyer's "Sailing the Farm." Includes seaweeds. There are only a couple of inedible seaweeds.

[unbusted67]

I love the blender discussion. So happy we are having it. The Vitamix probably draws 10 amps when on full tilt and is likely to wake up the neighborhood. It is a big ass commercial blender meant for a restaurant kitchen not the small confines of a boat. I would probably opt for the Oster or one of the baby handhelds if I wasn't strictly living aboard with shore power. In the meantime I am making some goddamned smoothies!

[muttnik]

Since the early days of rec.food.veg on usenet I think there's been a trans-atlantic culture gap causing some confusion in posts. On the eastern side being vegan is more frequently a purely ethics-led thing. A raw/whole/other health food diet is not necessarily implied. On the western side it seems "vegan" implies a whole set of health-oriented dietary concerns beyond simply "don't use stuff which involved animals in some way". I suspect from both the OP's question and the assumptions replies have made about what was being asked that actually the question was not about how hard is it to be a vegan liveaboard (it's not hard and a heck of a lot easier than being a vegan backpacker) but about the availability of fresh organic produce. Perhaps the OP could clarify and suggest where the intended destination might be? Brighton Marina in west sussex shouldn't be a problem for example, the chagos archipelago might be more of a problem for the vegan eschewing canned and dried products.

[David_Old_Jersey]

One of the things that I became aware of from my time in SEA was how little meat the locals ate (in comparison). Of course that not historically by choice, even if for many now it is a choice - as the cultural norm.

Da Missus used to look at me eating a steak (a large slab of meat on a plate!) as bizarre!...........Kinda like MarkJ looking at a plate full of Vegetables?!

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by unbusted67

I love the blender discussion. So happy we are having it. The Vitamix probably draws 10 amps when on full tilt and is likely to wake up the neighborhood. It is a big ass commercial blender meant for a restaurant kitchen not the small confines of a boat. I would probably opt for the Oster or one of the baby handhelds if I wasn't strictly living aboard with shore power. In the meantime I am making some goddamned smoothies!

I've kind of soured on the Vitamix. Bought one in the late 1980's used it for a number of years. Even ground wheat berries into whole wheat flour. But, one day the shaft on the motor broke right where the adapter that fits into the container attaches. Called Vitamix up no spare parts available and no they can't/won't fix it. After paying several hundred dollars for a blender including buying extra stainless steel containers I expected better from Vitamix. Fixed it my self with some Marine Tex Grey worked for a while until it broke again. On the newer models the containers are plastic and I doubt they will hold up better than the old stainless ones. Think it is too big for my boat anyway.

My Braun hand mixer works just as well for my needs and takes up a lot less room. Never tried to chop ice with it but, for all my other mixing needs it works well including making frozen fruit milk shakes. Seem to have lost the blade for the chopper container though. I'm sure it will turn up as soon as I order a replacement.

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

One of the things that I became aware of from my time in SEA was how little meat the locals ate (in comparison). Of course that not historically by choice, even if for many now it is a choice - as the cultural norm.

Da Missus used to look at me eating a steak (a large slab of meat on a plate!) as bizarre!...........Kinda like MarkJ looking at a plate full of Vegetables?!

DOJ
I've cut back on a lot of beef consumption quite a bit too but, still enjoy prime rib night at a local restaurant from time to time. Mostly cut back on the carbs which has not been that bad despite my reputation for making a mean meat lasagna. Very pleased with the bacon TVP so far. May it try soon with my Shrimp and Lobster sauce recipe. Just cutting down on the carbs has helped to lose a few pounds without really trying too.