It's Enchilada Night and I'm talking about Mexican Food!

Yay for Mexican Food! A lot of people think that if you are vegan then you don't "get to eat regular food". I think the word "vegan" can scare people unnecessarily. Avoiding animal products is not hard, especially considering that most flavorings are plant-based: herbs, spices, oils, salt, pepper, tomato sauces, salsas, guacamole, marinades, barbeque sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, jams, chutneys, etc. I find that ethnic foods are especially easy to make without animal products and eating out as a vegan is almost always easy at ethnic foods restaurants.

Eating out:
When I go out to a Mexican restaurant I almost always get vegetable fajitas and enjoy building my own little tacos filled with the veggies, guacamole, salsa, beans and rice (always ask to make sure they are vegetarian- sometimes they sneak chicken broth or lard in there). Luckily, guacamole and chips and margaritas are usually animal free and I can make a meal out of that right there!
I have always loved refried beans, but those can be more difficult to find at a restaurant due to the fact that they are classically made with lard. Most of the time, a Mexican Restaurant will offer both black beans or pinto/refried beans and in my experience the black beans are almost always vegetarian and often the pinto or refried beans are not, but sometimes you get lucky and they are (Tres Agaves, I love you). The mexican rice is often also vegetarian, but again you have to ask because they could use chicken broth to cook the rice in, in which case it's not going on my plate...
I am happy to see that almost all restaurants now days are vegetarian/vegan friendly and no longer act surprised when consumers ask questions about the origins/ingredients of their dishes- whether it be about trans fats, sugars, animal products, etc.  Vegetarian or not, as a society, I think we are learning that we have to take control of what goes in our bodies, but we shouldn't have to sacrifice eating out to do so.

So back to these Enchiladas I made tonight...I have always loved Mexican Food, believe it or not I am a quarter Mexican- I don't look it at all, but I definitely have a love for all things Mexican- which makes my Grandma very happy! We ate a lot of Mexican Food growing up, and back in the day it was not vegan. My mom is great at making mexican food, but now as an adult I have had a lot of fun veganizing my favorite mexican dishes. Tonight I made my version of enchiladas. Inside those enchiladas were a combination of homemade refried beans (so yummy), diced and marinated seitan (a vegetarian protein made from wheat protein and has a meat like texture), which was sauteed with diced red peppers and corn. I also put a dollop of cashew creme in there to add a nice texture. I used regular corn tortillas, and made a homemade enchilada sauce from tomato paste, water, diced tomatoes, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin powder, salt and pepper. A top the casserole was the amazing and delicious Daiya Cheese which I have talked about before on this blog. I am so happy because it is SOY FREE! Not that Soy is bad but just like anything else, I think soy should be eaten in moderation - a topic for another day. Anyways, if you haven't tried Daiya yet, you must. A lot of pizzerias are starting to use it now as a vegan option which is awesome... Daiya is available at Whole Foods and probably most Natural Foods markets.

Lastly- those refried beans. I will post the recipe on another day this week, but in short, I use a bit of cashew cream as I mash my beans to give them that creaminess that  the best refried beans will boast. The flavor and texture is spot on, and lard-free. More to come later this week.

So, my final point today is that it is easy and delicious to make minor changes that can take a classically non-vegan dish, make it healthier and vegan and supremely delicious!