Veganism, cooking, and disability: practical issues

[peaceheart]

Hi everyone, I've been considering veganism for several months now, and I'm convinced I want to go for it. Currently I'm a peace worker in the Middle East (Israel and occupied Palestine) and this experience has taught me how closely all life on the planet is interwoven - a commitment to ecological justice and compassion for other living things are essential to peace. I had serious doubts about the ethics of the meat industry even before I came here, but chose to cling to the belief that if I bought free-range products it couldn't be all that bad. I think I'm ready to let go of that self-delusion now. However, I've got a few practical problems that are going to be tricky to solve, all connected to disability. I have unusually severe dyspraxia. My principal difficulties are with balance, physical co-ordination, short-term memory skills, and sequencing (e.g. working out what I need to do next in a set routine such as showering, dressing, etc). These issues make cooking a serious challenge, and I can only do it with support. I do have adapted kitchen equipment to help with the co-ordination problems, but it's not safe for me to cook alone. Here in Palestine, I live with family who are happy to cook for me (I can't go vegan when I'm with them, as it would put them to huge inconvenience), and in England I have a support worker who comes in to help. Problem: because of the cuts to health and social care funding, now I only get ten hours of support per week. I can't devote all that time to meal preparation - I have other tasks that I need help with too. So the support worker ends up helping me to cook two or three times each week, and the rest of the time I'm dependent on convenience foods and the few simple things I can make independently (such as sandwiches). None of these things are vegan. Even vegetarian ready meals and soups tend to have animal products of some sort. A vegan friend has warned me that it is difficult to find vegan bread and that she has to bake her own, so there go the sandwiches. I've looked at the recipe threads and I know that a vegan diet can be very exciting and varied...but only if you have the cooking skills for it! What if you haven't? I'd be very grateful if anybody with similar difficulties could share how they cope. I'm determined to go vegan, but I don't want to live off raw fruit for the rest of my life!

[harpy]

Hello peaceheart, welcome - sounds as if you are having a very interesting time in the Middle East. Perhaps you can tell us more about it when you have time?

I don't have a disability but I thought I'd stick my oar in anyway as I prefer to keep cooking to a minimum because I don't like it. I am sure you could go vegan when you get home but it might be easier for you to do it gradually rather than overnight, then you will be able to find ways of overcoming the difficulties and finding substitutes for the things you use at the moment.

For example there are in fact vegan convenience foods (if you have a Co-op near you in Britain you will find some of the soups and things like that are marked vegan, and also some of the bread I think) - if you shop in a supermarket you can probably get a list of what foods are vegan from their customer services department; people have posted some of the lists here as well. You can also order vegan convenience foods over the web if that's an option for you.

You might also be able to find some recipes that your support worker could help you cook in bulk so that they do you for several meals (vegetable stews and so on). Must admit when I eat on my own I quite often just have salad - once you get over the idea that salad is lettuce you find you can make quite interesting ones without doing any cooking, and you can also buy prepared ones in some of the supermarkets.

You sound determined so I'm sure you'll find a way. Every time you make a vegan choice you are helping - you don't have to do it all at once.

[peaceheart]

Thank you for that helpful reply, Harpy. I'm building up a good repertoire of salads over here - they're a major part of Palestinian cuisine, and I'll never see a salad as 'just lettuce' again! It's quite normal for a meal here to start with everybody sampling about eleven kinds of salad. I am learning the recipes, and there are many that I can follow with only minimal help.

I hadn't thought about the possibility of cooking in bulk. I will suggest that to my support worker when I get back. I'm going to be living in a new city (Manchester - I'm there for my MA) and I hear that it's got several grocery shops that cater to vegans. Finding vegan food that's quick and simple to prepare might not be so difficult there. My home town is more limited, so I'll just have to plan ahead for visits to family and make sure I order a few things online. It's definitely manageable.

I'll need to keep reminding myself that each small choice helps, as I tend to be an all-or-nothing sort of person. I need to be more patient.

[harpy]

Hello - yes I think Manchester is meant to be pretty good for "health food" type shops so that should be a big advantage for you when you get back. Some are listed here http://www.happycow.net/europe/england/manchester/ along with quite a few veggie restaurants if those are of interest. (These listings can get out of date quickly but they give you an idea of how easy or difficult a place is going to be.)

Your 11-salad meals sound a bit like mezzes - the type of thing you get in Lebanese restaurants in Europe, which can be a good standby for travelling vegans. I guess yours is a bit different though if the salads are just the first course...Anyway I suppose you could perhaps make more of a vegan meal by eating more starter and less main course if that wouldn't offend your hosts?

I think a few of us here are on the minimal-cooking system, whether out of necessity or choice, so please ask if you need any "anti-recipe" ideas when you're back in Britain.

[Andy_T]

Hello peacehart and welcome to the forum!

I guess it is hard to understand the problems you are coping with as those things that seem normal and easy to us are a challenge for you.
Is it possible for you to cook easy meals? E.g. if you write down the recipes in detailed and clear steps?
Maybe there might be a few meals that you could do on your own? Cous Cous comes to my mind that basically consists - when I make it - of putting hot water / broth / vegetable sauce and fried veggies on the cous cous and letting it sit for 10 minutes...
Others might include cooking a huge helping of pasta sauce and then just boiling some noodles and pouring it over them. Harpy's suggestion of cooking in bulk might really be a very good idea, as it will give you some convenience foods that are convenient but do not have the disadvantage of being not vegan, unhealthy and/or expensive to buy. If you have a huge pot of ratatouille or ratatouille, and you get a rice cooker (where you just have to put in the rice, water and push a button) then you might be on the right way to some good meals that you can do with minimal effort.

Best regards,
Andy

[peaceheart]

Thank you both.

Harpy, if I'm eating with people who are fairly well off then it's quite easy for me to select vegan options - all the courses are laid out on the table in separate dishes, with people just helping themselves to what they want. But due to the nature of my work, I spend a lot of time in refugee camps, where people are more deprived. Malnutrition is a problem, and a lot of the families are in receipt of UN food aid. They eat what they get, and I do the same when I'm with them. It's a shame, as I think that greater ecological awareness would tesselate nicely with all the peace and justice work we do here - I want to organise some discussions in the youth group about animal welfare and the need to care for the environment.

I'm not sure how well the ideas would work in practice, as impoverished people living under a military occupation are unfortunately not in a position to make big choices about how they live their lives. However, this does have a positive side for me - it will make it very difficult for me ever to relapse into omnivorous eating patterns when I'm back in the UK. Seeing the way people live here has given me a much greater appreciation for my own freedom, and I doubt that any craving for milk chocolate is ever going to be strong enough to make me forget what it's like to watch children receiving their school lunch from the United Nations, knowing that if they don't eat it they've got nothing else. I have a choice about what I eat, and I need to use it. It's the best way of expressing thanks for the freedom I enjoy in my life that other people don't have.

Andy, I can prepare simple cold meals (sandwiches and salads) and I can use a microwave. I need help for anything involving boiling liquids or the cooker, because of the physical problems. I don't have a good grip and I spill things all the time because I can't gauge where objects are in space. I've sustained a lot of burns in my time! That rice cooker sounds like it would be a really good investment - much safer than cooking on the hob. I will look into getting one when I return. I love rice and I could quite happily eat it every day.

[twinkle]

.... A vegan friend has warned me that it is difficult to find vegan bread and that she has to bake her own...

It might be difficult in some countries, but in the UK it's pretty easy to find vegan bread. Co-op and Sainsbury's own brand ones are marked where they're vegan suitable, for instance, and the last time I looked Hovis marked some of their bread as suitable as well.

So you can still have your sandwiches (which will be especially easy if you like hummus, as that's available everywhere in different flavours, many of them vegan).

[Enchantress]

I would think you could get by, there are some vegan ready meals and soups out there if you look around, and like Twinkle says, it's easy to find vegan bread.

For example you could have toast or cereal with rice or soya milk for breakfast. A sandwich or microwaveable soup for lunch. Vegan sandwich fillings include Tofutti cream cheese, hummus, peanut butter, jam, yeast extract, Redwood's "meat" slices and Tofutti cheese slices. For dinner you could have baked potato and beans or a ready meal such as Sainsbury's vegetable dansak with microwaveable rice or a Fry's Veg Express cottage pie (available in Holland and Barrat and other health food shops). Frozen and ready prepared fresh vegetables can also be easily microwaved. Cauldron marinated tofu pieces can be eaten cold straight from the packet and Redwood's sage and marjoram sausages can be eaten cold or microwaved. For snacks you could have fruit, crisps, and biscuits such as bourbon creams or Hobnobs.

[lastx]

I would also agree with harpy that it is a good idea to cook in bulk. I have suffered from mobility problems due to spinal fractures since last year and have found the freezer to be a real boon. Though my hurdles won't exactly map to yours. like you, there are days when I physically can't cook so I tend to make a lot of something then freeze it in individual portions to re-heat in the microwave or oven. I cook pies, Macaroni Cheese, quiches, chilli, stews and many other things which can be frozen then heated again successfully. Microwaves work well with some things but others are definitely better from a conventional oven (especially pastry). If you have problems with timing the re-heating in a conventional oven, I would suggest that you invest in a digital timer with alarm. I have one integrated with my oven but if you don't they can be bought inexpensively. Best of luck with your veganism. I'm sure you will find it easier than you think.

[Andy_T]

That rice cooker sounds like it would be a really good investment - much safer than cooking on the hob. I will look into getting one when I return. I love rice and I could quite happily eat it every day.

Yes, they are very practical. You put inside the rice and cold water, then you push down the lever and wait, maybe 10-20 minutes, then you have boiled, hot rice, and it should turn off automatically. You re-heat the cold rice by pushing down the lever again and waiting 5-10 minutes. It should be pretty safe and not too expensive.

I have also heard of people who use it for cooking noodles, but I have not tried that myself.

Best regards,
Andy

[FruitJunkie]

Hi peaceheart,

I can relate to your questions/concerns. I have a very severe disability (I am a paraplegic) and also have other muscle and nerve issues. I also have very low energy so doing much cooking is not an option for me. I have been trying to go vegan off and on for many years but have always failed, partly due to my physical issues. I've decided to basically just stick with using a rice cooker/steamer and using a microwave. I found a cookbook this morning called "Vegan Microwave Cooking" by Nancy Berkoff. Between that and the rice cooker and, of course fresh veggies, fruits, and nuts, I think a well balanced vegan diet. Of course, all of this is easier said than done, I know. Maybe after I get that cookbook I can do a review, so you'll know if it's worth getting or not. Anyways, good luck!

[twinkle]

FruitJunkie that's useful to know. I'd be interested to read a review.

[pat sommer]

Hello Peaceheart, are you back in England now?

Just wanted to throw in a bit of an idea: asking the community for what you need. As simple as a note on the supermarket board 'cook with me please'. Many places to ask.
I hated and feared feeling that I couldn't manage; now I know that others are out there ready to give of themselves. Wouldn't we all?