Hi everyone! Today is the first Tuesday of 2016. Time really flies when you are having fun, or when you are just too busy to keep up. Today I am sharing with you all a really fantastic guest post. I am so lucky to have met a pioneer in the vegan world. This chef is a cooking instructor, a natural foods consultant and a wonderful local friend. Mimi Clark, also known as the Veggie Gourmet, has written this post and also shared with us, one of her original recipes. Without further ado, here is Mimi, “Pioneer Vegan Mom”
Thank you, Sara, for inviting me to share my story on your informative and fun blog. I’ve been vegan, along with my husband and my daughter (who has been vegan since birth 26 years ago) for the past 30 years. Back in 1989, we didn’t have any of the wonderful resources that we have now, so it was a challenge to raise a vegan baby. However, I read all the literature and I was convinced that, if done properly, my daughter would get all the nutrients she needed on a vegan diet. It helped to have a pediatrician who himself was vegetarian (Dr. Russell Libby, VA Pediatric Group). Dr. Libby was extremely supportive in my quest to raise my daughter vegan. The book, Raising Vegetarian Children, by Joanne Stepaniak and Vesanto Melina, would later become my Bible. (Note: For those readers who may want more in depth info on raising a healthy vegan, I wrote an article for Live in the Now, an online publication, in which I share 15 tips on how to raise a vegan child. Sara selected a few of her favorites, which appear at the end of this post.)
Back story: By day, I was a speech/language pathologist in FCPS; by night I performed in musical theatre. When I went on maternity leave, one of the staff said that she was going to miss the healthy food I brought in for the teachers to sample. I said, “Well, you could make it yourself.” She had no way of knowing that her response would be life-altering for me. She said, “Don’t get me wrong. I love your food. But I’ll probably wait until I get cancer to make it myself.” Driving home that day, I knew that change was in store; that I had other important work to do, which was to parlay my teaching skills my teaching skills into teaching people about the virtues of a plant-based diet before they got a disease. And that is what I have been doing for the past 25 years. (Sad follow-up: I bumped into a mutual friend last summer – now 25 years later – who told me that the staff member who made the comment, recently died of lung cancer which she did not have in 1989.)
How I got started: I began teaching cooking classes for FC Adult Ed, and have since taught over 2,000 students in the DC Metro area, including at MOM’s Organic in Rockville, MD, and many Whole Foods stores. I also teach monthly classes in Fairfax Station and I do demos for manufacturers of vegan products at natural food stores to introduce customers to the latest products on the market. I am fortunate to have a close, personal relationship with most vegan manufacturers, and as such, they send me products to test, some of which have not even hit the shelves (for example, www.edwardandsons.com is launching sweetened condensed coconut milk with which I have been experimenting during the holidays. LOVE IT!). My students reap the benefits of my relationship with manufacturers by getting coupons and goodie bags in all of my classes.
What’s Next: I’m currently in the process of getting plant-based certification from T. Colin Campbell’s Plant-Based Nutrition program, courtesy of the Coalition for Healthy School Food in NYC for which I do fund-raising, and Candle restaurants in NYC, for whom I am a brand ambassador.
Monthly Group cooking Classes: My next class is Soups & Stews on January 10th in Fairfax Station. Although the class is full, you can get in on a cancellation if you contact me immediately at this email address, [email protected]. I am happy to offer Sara’s blog followers a one-time discount which will make this class only $50/person (discount only available for next week’s class only!)
Here are Sara’s favorite tips excerpted from my article:
- Motivate Your children with children’s books: When you read to your child, include books about compassion, health and the environment, including: Cows Are Vegetarian, by Ann Bradley, Making Kind Choices, by Ingrid Newkirk and That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals, by Ruby Roth.
- Embrace movies about food choices: Watch videos as a family, including Vegucated, Peaceable Kingdom, Earthlings, Food, Inc. and Forks Over Knives.
- Consider alternatives for classroom inclusion: Keep a goody bag in your child’s school classroom so that when a mom drops in with surprise cupcakes, your child can have his or her favorite treat.
- Be proactive about social events: When your child is invited to birthday parties, it becomes more challenging. You can send your child to the party with a vegan cupcake or you can offer to make or buy vegan cake/cupcakes from your local health food store for all of the kids.
- Lead the path and light the way: You’ve heard this parenting advice before but it bears repeating: Model the behavior that you want your child to emulate. While fries and chips are vegan, they do not constitute a balanced vegan meal. Use trips to the grocery store as teachable moments, explaining ingredient labels and nutritionals. The same holds true when you go to restaurants so that your child hears the questions you ask your server, i.e. “Is the base of this soup made with beef, chicken, or vegetable broth?”
Wishing you a Happy and Healthy New Year, and please enjoy my “Good Luck Black-Eyed Pea Salsa” recipe!
Black eyed pea salsa
Ingredients
- 15 oz can organic black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
- 1 and 1/2 cups tomatoes, chopped and seeded
- 1/3 cup scallions, finely sliced
- 1 T minced, seeded jalapeno pepper
- 2 T chopped cilantro
- 2 t olive oil (optional if oil-free)
- 2 T apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 t each: sea salt, ground cumin
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight for optimal flavor.
- Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
- Garnish with extra cilantro if desired.
- © Mimi Clark, 2015
Copyright by Cookwith5kids
Very informative post. I love your ideas involving the children. When I was a kid, I practically had the healthy stuff rammed down my throat, leading to me liking very few veges and the like now.
It is really true, the way you treat your children when they are young, especially with regards to food, affects them when they get older. Thanks for visiting, so glad you enjoyed this guest post.
I’ve known Mimi for years and benefited greatly by her wisdom, kindness, and encouragement. She is a whiz in the kitchen and can convert any non-vegetarian food, for which you have an unhealthy affinity, into a vegan delight in which you can barely discern a difference. She cares deeply for people and has a keen ability and desire to help them move into healthier lifestyles. Her courses are wonderful; she is a patient, knowledgeable instructor and you will come away motivated and encouraged. She will go the extra mile to ensure you are fully equipped and stocked with the right ingredients to be successful. I am so thankful for all the love, kindness and expertise she has shown to me and my family through the years. Thanks for the great article!
Hi Diane, Thank you so much for visiting my blog today. How lucky that you have known Mimi for a long time. Mimi is such an inspiration. I am looking forward to learning much more and sharing my love of vegan foods with Mimi for many years.
lovely post and I couldn’t have said it better.
That salsa sounds amazing!
Thank you Rachel. It is an awesome way to take your salsa up a notch.
That salsa looks oh-so-yummy!!
Interesting read. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much. I am glad you enjoyed reading my post.
That looks delicious! my 10-year-old son has always been vegetarian by choice! So when he was 5 I join in the fun! and wouldn’t change a thing! We are not vegan because we consume dairy and eggs but we do try to keep away from animal products. Love your blog! come round say hi to mine!
I love that your son decided to be vegetarian at 5 years old! How amazing. One of my sons decided at 4 he wanted to be vegan because his Dad was vegan. He has never looked back and he is still very happy with the decisions he made as a little boy. Thanks for visiting!
Thanks for sharing your story. It’s awesome you’ve been doing this and evolving for so long. I love to cook and would love to join a cooking class but limited time 🙁
It is so much fun to take a cooking class! I hope that you will find the time one day, there is something really important and seeing a recipe created in front of you. Thanks for visiting!
I’m super impressed that she’s been living a vegan lifestyle for so long. These days everything is paleo or vegan or whatever so it seems a lot easier to adopt a new way of eating. Wish I’d had that recipe last week so I could have had my spoonful of black eyed peas!
It is so much easier to be vegan now that it was 30 years ago!! You can still try the black eyed pea salsa, it is never too late for good luck.
Great introduction to an very dear friend. I have known Mimi for at least 10 years.
I love her down to earth cooking classes. I use so many of her recipes for my family.
Welcome to my blog, Faith! I am hoping to be able to attend one of Mimi’s classes this year. I have already shared many recipes with her, she is such a wonderful resource!
Have a lovely guest post, I am not vegan but I do enjoy eating black eyed pea salsa and hope when I have kids I can lead them onto a healthier eating lifestyle. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for visiting! It is very important to set a good example to your children, how to eat healthy is just one of the many things you will have to teach your children.
Wow, it looks like a great recipe. I will try it in my kitchen too!!
I hope you enjoy it! Happy new year.
This looks delicious! I’m always up for a healthy recipe. I haven’t cooked with black eyed peas, so I’m curious!
I think it is time for you to try black eyed peas Danielle!
We like black eyed peas going to try this.
Wonderful, I hope you enjoy this recipe!
love that you are teaching healthy cooking.
We are so lucky to have such an amazing resource in our community. Healthy cooking is the wave of the future and sooner or later everyone will realize that they need to eat healthy to live longer.
I have a package of frozen black eye peas. I need to make your salad.
I think this recipe is perfect for you! Happy new year.
Oooh your black eyed pea salad looks delicious! I am vegan and have always said if I ever had kids, they would be too. Great post!
Doesn’t this black eyed pea salsa look awesome? I hope you can give it a try.
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