Meet Mayim Bialik!

Mayim Bialik is a woman of many talents.  She is an actress on the hit series, The Big Bang Theory, as well as holds two Masters degrees (in neuroscience and Hebrew & Jewish Studies) and a Ph.D (in neuroscience).  If that isn't enough, she is a writer, the author of Beyond The Sling, and most recently, the cookbook Mayim's Vegan Table (click here for my review of the book on the blog last week).  Mayim is also a regular contributor to Kveller.com, a Jewish parenting site.  Oh, and she is the mother of two young boys.  Yeah - she's pretty awesome!  

I have had the pleasure of knowing Mayim for several years, meeting through a very good mutual friend.  She was one of the only vegans I knew when I first made my transition. She has always been extremely gracious and helpful with any information she could provide and always a pleasure to spend time with.  It is my sincere honor and joy to have Mayim join us on VeegMama today.

VM: Can you tell us a little bit about your vegan journey - the turning point that led you to choose this lifestyle?

MB: Well, I was always an animal lover and became vegetarian at 19. I still ate dairy and eggs, but after cutting out most dairy in college, my health improved significantly. I didn't get seasonal allergies, I have not been on antibiotics or had a sinus infection since. When my first son was born, he got gassy, fussy and really miserable if iI ate any dairy so I cut it out completely and that solved that problem! I read Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer about 6 years ago and after that, I cut out all trace eggs and dairy. That was the main turning point in going "whole hog" as it were!

VM: Do you have any advice for those interested in becoming vegan, but may be overwhelmed by adopting a new diet, finding new recipes, and learning about new products?

MB: Find things you already know about and can enjoy vegan: pasta marinara for example, or 3 bean chili. Experiment with variations on those things. Don't try out "substitute" meats or force yourself to enjoy a glass of rice milk; those tastes take longer to adjust to and you can start small and go from there! 

VM: You are a woman of many talents - an actress, neuroscientist, and blogger (I love you on Kveller.com), among many others.  What inspired you to write a cookbook?

MB: As a normal mom, I shared for Kveller.com recipes I had made vegan, especially ones for Jewish holidays. There was interest in me publishing them and that's literally what I did. I took the recipes I make the most for my kids and for our friends and family (most of whom are not vegan!) and put them together, along with nutritional expert advice from pediatric nutritionist and pediatrician Dr. Jay Gordon. I'm not a fancy chef or celebrity chef; I'm really a normal mom and this is how we eat! 

VM: What is your go-to meal for your family on a busy weeknight?

MB: Burritos. Tortillas, beans (vegetarian refried or whole black or pinto beans from a can), a little salsa, a little Daiya vegan cheese, and sliced avocado if I have it. And vegan sour cream too for a little flare!

VM: Passover is coming up.  It is my favorite Jewish holiday.  Do you have any special dishes or traditions that you could share?

MB: As a vegan who doesn't eat kitniyot and doesn't eat processed matzoh products, Pesach is a lot of quinoa and salads and vegetables. We always have latkes at least twice during Pesach though since that's easy to make vegan for Pesach!

VM: What suggestions and advice do you have for families raising vegan kids?  How do you help them explain and advocate their food/lifestyle choices?

MB: Start small and know that small palettes need time to adjust. We get to decide what's best for our kids, though; not them! By that I mean, they can "want" chicken fingers and pizza, but it's us who decide what to actually give them. We are supposed to help them grow their bodies and brains and whole bodies and we get to make choices that work for everyone's health even if they resist at first. 

VM: What is your favorite vegan restaurant?

MB: In LA, I think Native Foods. Their Reuben sandwich is to die for. I also love Real Food Daily, of course. 

VM: What is the one vegan product you couldn't live without (in the kitchen)?

MB: Hmmm. Daiya cheese has changed my life and the lives of my sons. It allows us to have pizza and "fun foods" in a way we couldn't before. It's not super healthy or an every day thing, but it's very important to us!

VM: I am on a quest to live "the good life" in every meaning of the word.  What does "the good life" mean to you?

MB: Honesty. Integrity. Faith. Serenity. 

VM: Can you share your favorite quote?

MB: "Be the change you wish to see in the world." That's Gandhi for you!

Thank you, Mayim!  Read more about Mayim below.

Mayim Hoya Bialik is best known for portraying Bette Midler as a child in “Beaches” as well as her subsequent lead role as Blossom Russo in the early-1990s NBC television sitcom “Blossom.” Bialik now appears regularly on the #1 comedy in America, CBS' “The Big Bang Theory,” playing neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler, a role for which she has been twice nominated for an Emmy and once nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award.  

Bialik earned a B.S. from UCLA in 2000 in Neuroscience and Hebrew & Jewish Studies, and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience, also from UCLA, in 2007. Bialik was a dedicated student leader at UCLA Hillel and is an avid student of all things Jewish. She speaks all over the country for Jewish organizations, colleges and universities.

She gave birth to her first son in 2005, and her second son (born at home, unassisted until pushing) in 2008. Her book about Attachment Parenting, Beyond the Sling, was published in March 2012 (Simon and Schuster). Her second book of vegan family-friendly recipes, Mayim’s Vegan Table, was published by Da Capo Press in February 2014. 

She writes regularly for the Jewish parenting site Kveller.com and is proud to be a voice for religious observance, liberal politics, maintaining modesty in Hollywood, and just being a really normal imperfect mom trying to make everything run smoothly in a world out of her control.

Meet Julie Hasson of Julie's Original Baking Mixes

Photo via http://juliesoriginal.com

I wouldn't necessarily call myself a baker.  I love to cook and consider myself skilled in that area, but baking has always intimidated me.  Becoming vegan made baking a necessity, and luckily, after 4 years, I do okay in that area now.  Still, sometimes I long for the days when I could just buy a mix or boxed recipe and whip up a batch of brownies or a layer cake without all the fuss of making something from scratch. Now I can - with Julie's Original baking mixes!

Julie is the cousin of a very good friend.  We were introduced when I first launched VeegMama because she is a big time vegan roller!  With several vegan cookbooks under her belt (and more in the making), a restaurant in Portland, and now her new line of mixes, this lady is on fire!  I follow her on Facebook and Twitter, and her joy and delight in what she does shines through brilliantly.  I am so very excited to have her on the blog today!

VM: Tell us about Julie's Original mixes.  Where can we buy them?

JH: Right now you can buy them in stores in Portland and San Francisco, or on our website (juliesoriginal.com). We hope to have them available everywhere in the near future.

VM: You are also a cookbook author.  Tell us about your latest pizza cookbook, Vegan Pizza, and Vegan Casseroles coming this fall?

JH: I love creating modern, new versions of everyone’s favorite comfort food dishes, which shows how delicious and fun vegan food can be. Vegan Pizza is full of out-of-the-box pizza recipes like Chili Mac, Barbeque and Eggplant Parm, to fresh vegetable-laden pizzas like Sweet Potato and Kale, Corn, Zucchini, and tomato and Smoky Mushroom and Potato Pizza. It also has easy-peasy homemade crusts, creamy sauces, and homemade wheat-less and meatless sausage crumbles.

As for the casserole book, I’ve always been a huge casserole fan and really wanted to write a book with more modern, healthier takes on the old favorites. So instead of relying on canned soups, frozen vegetables, and pounds of cheese, my casseroles have everything from homemade creamy sauces to whole grains and pastas, with lots of fresh vegetables. These are definitely not your grandmother’s potluck standbys!

VM: A lot of people go gluten free out of necessity, like you, because they are intolerant.  What made you make the choice to go vegan too?

JH: I was actually vegan long before I went gluten-free. I went vegan for ethical reasons, but loved how creative I had to get with my cooking, trying to replicate all of my favorite dishes without using meat, eggs and dairy. It was really hard at the time to transition my career, since the cookbooks and magazine recipes that I wrote and developed contained eggs and dairy. But it was the right thing to do, and I was able to slowly transition my work in a new direction. My pie cookbook was the turning point for me, and after that I knew that I only wanted to write vegan cookbooks.

VM: Do you see any trends in vegan and gluten free baking and cooking right now?

JH: Kale, cauliflower, coconut, and Sriracha, are definitely big trends right now, although not necessarily in your baked goods. For desserts, coconut, caramel and sea salt are still very popular flavors, and look like they will be around for a long time to come.

VM: What are your favorite favorite flavor combos when baking?

JH: I am a lemon fanatic, so anything with a sweet, tart citrus flavor is tops in my book. Combine it with berries, and it’s hard to beat. I also love fruit and chocolate together, so anything with raspberries, orange or lemon along with some good dark chocolate, and you’ve got a wining combination!

VM: What's the one vegan product you couldn't live without?  What about the one gluten-free product?  
JH: Nutritional yeast flakes. 

VM: What about the one gluten-free product? 
JH: For staple ingredients, it would be sorghum flour. It’s a nutritional power-house, and in combination with other flours makes a great stand-in for wheat flour.

VM: You are based in Portland, one of the cities on my "Most Want To Visit" list.  What's the vegan scene like there?  What restaurants do I have to try when I visit (besides your Native Bowl, of course!)?

JH: The vegan scene in Portland is awesome! It was a big part of why we moved here. The city is super vegan-friendly, and there are lots of fantastic vegan businesses, like Food Fight Grocery, Herbivore Clothing, Home Grown Smoker, Back To Eden Bakery, and so many more. There is a real entrepreneurial spirit that runs through Portland. As for the vegan restaurants that you must try, just off the top of my head there’s Portobello, Blossoming Lotus, Papa G’s Organic Deli, The Bye and Bye, and my favorite food carts like Homegrown Smoker, and of course our old cart, Native Bowl (which has awesome new owners).

VM: Do you have a recipe you can share?

JH: I do! It’s a super-easy and delicious ice cream recipe.

Creamy Pineapple Coconut Ice Cream

Makes about 1 1/4 quarts

1 20-oz can unsweetened pineapple chunks in pineapple juice, undrained

14 oz can lite coconut milk

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons rum, optional

1. In jar of blender, combine pineapple (and juice), coconut milk, sugar and rum (if using). Blend until smooth.

2. Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions.

3. Serve right away, or transfer to a covered container and freeze until ready to serve.

VM: I am on a quest to live the "good" life in every meaning of the word.  What does the "good" life mean to you?

JH: “The Good Life” to me means living a happy, vibrant life, doing what you love to do, and sharing it with others.

VM: Can you share your favorite quote?

JH: “Always believe that something wonderful is about to happen”

Thanks, Julie!  Read more about her below and click here to learn more about her cookbooks.

From her first Easy Bake Oven, Julie Hasson has been cooking whole life. She is the author of 9 cookbooks, including Vegan Diner, Vegan Pizza and the soon to be released Vegan Casseroles. She has contributed extensive articles and recipes to Bon Appetit, Cooking Light, Vegetarian Times, and Family Fun magazines, and has been featured in magazines, newspapers, and on TV and radio across the country, including The Cooking Channel, Good Food America, Better, Better Portland, AM Northwest, Good Day Oregon, Martha Stewart Radio, VegNews Magazine, Vegetarian Times, and many more. Julie was one of the former founders and co-owner of Native Bowl, a popular food truck in Portland, Oregon, and currently runs Julie’s Original, a line of deliciously gluten-free baking mixes.