I know what it is to be a vegan, and to promote the idea of a plant-based diet. Really, I do! I’ve seen all the documentaries, read all the books, took and taught vegan cooking classes, and created lots and lots of vegan recipes to post here in this blog — and still do! But sometimes I go off my diet. Are you shocked? It’s because both my doctor and nutritionist suggested that I occasionally have a little fish, chicken, or turkey. Thus this article, which explains why I sometimes go off my vegan diet, and also shares my recipe for real wild turkey — not the mock tofu turkey that you would expect to find in a blog that’s primarily devoted to veganism.
The vegan diet makes sense in many ways. Most would agree that we should all, for good health, eat lots of veggies, leafy greens, nuts, seeds, berries, fruits, and certain grains. And if you know anything about inhumane treatment of animals on factory farms, or the problems associated with monocropping, then you can better understand why anyone would want to be vegan, or go out of their way to purchase food from a local biodynamic farm, or learn to hunt and gather.
I was feeling great when I wrote You’re Vegan? (an article that explains why I’m vegan). A few years later, however, I developed certain food sensitivities that caused me to have to remove certain plant based proteins in my diet. My doctor suggested that I have a little fish, chicken, or turkey now and then. “Fish, chicken, or turkey!” I exclaimed, before reminding him that I have high cholesterol. He assured me that he didn’t forget, and told me to listen to my body and eat accordingly. “I can say that to you” he added, “knowing that you’re not the type to go on a fast food frenzy or cupcake binge.”
When I got home I “listened” to my body and didn’t hear anything. Later in the day, however, I started to crave sardines dipped in nut butter. Gross, I know, which is why I didn’t actually combined the two. I did, however, recognized that my body was needing protein and fat, and a little nut butter on flax seed crackers made me feel a little better, but it wasn’t enough. I figured protein powder added to a smoothie would do the trick, but it didn’t. I tried beans, avocado, nuts, and seeds, which also didn’t help a whole lot. I should point out that I didn’t try these things all at once, but experimented over a period of weeks. And yeah, I finally went out and got some sardines and added them to my salad. That’s when my body said, “thank you!”
I’m not saying that years of veganism caused my food sensitivities. I don’t know what causes it. All I know is that now I go back and forth between being vegan and sometimes not, depending on how my body feels. And recently, I had some wild turkey. A good friend of mine, whose husband is a hunter, gave me some. I didn’t know how to cook it, but after talking to another friend of mine, whose brother is a chef, I received some good cooking tips. I learned that in order to make wild turkey tender and flavorful – because it can be tough, stringy, and bland if it isn’t prepared correctly — I would need to brine, marinade, and cook the turkey at a low temperature for a long time. So that’s what I did, and it came out great! Here’s my recipe for wild turkey:
Ingredients:
2 wild turkey breasts
2 cups water
2 tablespoons ground Himalayan salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 large onion, diced
1/4 cup gluten-free San-J Reduced Sodium Organic Tamari Sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons Herbs de Provence*
1 cup vegetable broth, or more
Directions:
1. Fist, brine the turkey. To do so, place turkey breasts in a large (11 cup capacity) baking dish, add the water, salt, and ground black pepper. Add more liquid if needed, so to completely cover with liquid. Cover baking dish with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.
2. Remove from refrigerator, drain and discard liquid. Cut the turkey into 3 or 4 inch pieces. Clean the baking dish.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the onion, tamari, olive oil, and herbs de provence. Add the turkey pieces and toss to coat. Let sit to marinade for 20 minutes.
4. Return turkey to the clean baking dish, along with the mixture. Pour in the vegetable broth. Add a little more if necessary to cover the turkey.
5. Cover baking dish with tin foil and bake in a preheated 250º F oven for 4 hours, or when tender when cut with a knife. Halfway through the cooking time, carefully mix and turn over the pieces.
6. Slice the pieces fairly thin and place on a large serving platter. Serve with salad greens or steamed vegetables, and brown rice or sweet potato fries. And because there’s a lot, invite a few of your friends and family to join you, or freeze in a freezer safe container for up to 2 months.
Yield:
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
As for my high cholesterol, after six months of sometimes having animal protein, my cholesterol went up, but my doctor said that the ratio between my HDL (good cholesterol) and LDL (bad cholesterol) is okay. I took this as his way of saying, “your cholesterol has always been high and will always be high (whether your vegan and/or on medication or not).” Still, I’m doing what my doctor suggests to keep my LDL cholesterol lower than it would be if I just did nothing about it, so hopefully… You see, for many a change in diet and lifestyle is all that’s needed, but if you’re like me you don’t just have high cholesterol — you have the kind of cholesterol that is genetic, called familial hypercholesterolemia.
To be vegan or not to be vegan? There are various views that support both sides, and I don’t have all the answers. I only know from personal experience that health concerns can either turn someone who isn’t vegan into someone who is, or turn someone who is vegan into someone who isn’t.
*If you don’t have Herbs de Provence, you can instead use equal amounts of dried herbs that include rosemary, marjoram, thyme, and savory.
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