Vegan for a Month

Around the end of December Kyra decided that she wanted to follow a vegan diet for a significant period of time.  This has now been defined as the month of January to be repeated periodically through the year.

If you are not familiar with the term vegan - it not only means no meat but no animal products like dairy and eggs.  I have often referred to the diet we regular follow because of Allen's food allergies as vegan plus meat.

So if you know our family diet restrictions due to Allen's allergies and Kyle's sensitivities it looks like this:

• no milk, cream, sour cream, etc
• no cheese
• no butter and most margarine
• no eggs
• nothing with any of the above in them
• no nuts
• no beef
• no peas
• white flour based bread/pasta in moderation

And Kyra's vegan month has now knocked chicken, turkey, fish and pork off the list of available food as well.

Honestly, I don't mind the food - fruits, vegetables, grains.  It's healthy.  I have good cookbooks and because of Allen's allergies we are most of the way to veganism anyways.  The biggest annoyance to me is menu planning.  I'm not used to cooking exclusively vegan multiple days a week.  I've had to do some extra time with my cookbooks and extra time cooking recipes I don't know by heart.  By the end of January I should be in the routine and then Kyra will want meat again.

A Thanksgiving Like No Other

I know Thanksgiving is an American holiday.  I am aware that not everyone celebrates it and that here in Belgium it would look different.

The commissary has been very helpful.  They have stocked turkey, stuffing mixes, cranberries, canned pumpkin, frozen mince meat pie, french fried onions, oyster crackers, cream of mushroom soup and more.  All the basic ingredients of American's typical Thanksgiving meals have been available.

But the day is going to feel "off."  The kids have school.  In a nod to the Americans, the school will close two hours early tomorrow.  I have French class.  Kyra has practice for the musical she is in.  I'll be spending a good amount of tomorrow driving back and forth.  Somewhere in there I need to figure out how cooking a big meal in a small kitchen works.

We'll have Thanksgiving.  We'll eat familiar foods. We will be and are thankful.  We'll stuff ourselves, roll to bed and then get up early for work and school on Friday.

It will be Thanksgiving.  It just won't be quite the same.

I hope you all have a lovely day filled with friends, family and much for which to be grateful.

Food Network

Kyra was a fan of Food Network before we moved to Belgium.  Now with limited cable and access to English language shows she is even a bigger fan.

I have to admit Food Network is easy to watch (particularly with the more limited commercials).  We don't have to keep track of any continuing story lines (this is important as we have no way of recording shows here.  If we miss it, we miss it).  It doesn't take much brain power to understand what is happening and all the hosts are happy and perky.

Barefoot Contessa is on quite a bit.  Kyra really likes the show, but I far prefer Iron Chef America.  As much as Allen complains about having to watch shows that he doesn't pick (one TV here), he likes Iron Chef too.

So while the shows haven't changed the way we cook or eat, at least they keep us entertained in a light, don't have to think way.

Grocery Shopping - Local Economy - Traditional

First a disclaimer - I have not yet entered a traditional local grocery store, so what appears below is gleaned knowledge with little first-hand observation.

Houses in Belgium are small.  Kitchens in Belgium are small.  Refrigerators in small kitchens in small houses are small.  As cold storage is limited, it is difficult to store more than a couple of day's worth of meals for a family.  This means that food shopping must be done more than once a week.

For people who live in small towns, this may best be accomplished by visiting the local food markets.  Most towns have a grocery store which is about the size of a small convenience store.  Here one can buy dairy products, produce, and a limited amount of canned goods, meats, wines and the all important chocolate.  Usually close by to the grocery store is a bakery - for the essential daily bread and also a local butcher.

If one does not live in the small town, shopping at such locations is not terribly convenient.  These stores are typically located along a stretch of buildings that are hundreds of years old.  The store building does not stand alone.  It is one store front sandwiched between housing and/or other store fronts.  It also doesn't sit that far off the street. Typically the distance from the store front to the front of the building across the street consists of - wide side walk, two lane road, wide side walk.  If you are able to follow my description and visualize - you will quickly realize that there is no place to park one's car while one shops.  Well, actually there is - on the sidewalk.  The local market is two car lengths long.

And one more impediment to any kind of food shopping on the local economy - the stores are closed on Sunday and Monday and all the other days they close at 6 pm.  Honestly, I'm not sure how working people ever buy anything.

Traditional local market shopping seems romantic and it would probably be lovely to have a neighborly relationship with one's grocer, butcher and baker.  If I lived in town, I might even pursue it, as I have the time to do so.  But for now, I'm sticking to the commissary and Champion market.   Some day if one of the two parking spots is open, I may stop in and have a look around.

Food Shopping Local Economy - Supermarkets

When it comes to grocery shopping on the Belgian economy, there are a few options.  In the Mons area there are a few "supermarkets" - the chains are Carrefour (think French wal-mart), Colyrut and Champion.

These markets are about the size of a Trader Joe's.  They have a bakery, cheese counter and a meat counter in addition to the standard produce section, canned goods, wine section, cleaning supplies, paper goods, etc.

Shopping in these places is fairly similar to what you would find in the US.  Grab cart or basket, load up with what you want to purchase, put stuff on conveyor belt, stand in line and pay.  There are a few slight differences.

If you want to use a shopping cart, you must have correct change.  The shopping carts are all chained together.  To release a cart, one must have a 50 euro cent coin.  Not 50 cents in assorted change, but the actual 50 cent piece.  When you are done shopping and link the cart back with its friends, out pops your 50 cent coin.

You are your own bagger.  Most people bring their own shopping bags, but there are bags available for purchase.

In general there is a greater emphasis on fresh food versus prepared food, though prepared foods are available. Potatoes are plentiful and cheap.  Pork and beef are also plentiful and reasonably priced.  Chicken is quite expensive.  Leeks seem to be a popular food item as well.  Outside of the fresh food a good amount of floor space is given over to wine and chocolate.

We were pleased to discover that there is a soy brand that is well stocked in local markets.  Alpro Soya makes several flavors of yogurts and puddings in addition to boxed soy milk and soy margarine.  This helps us add some variety to Allen's diet, as this type of soy product is not available at the commissary.

In general, I enjoy shopping at these local markets, it is good for practicing my French skills and I can buy goodies - tiramisu, chocolate mousse, fresh bread, brie, etc that I can't get at the commissary.

Tomorrow- traditional food shopping

The Commissary

Food shopping seemed to be of interest to those who have responded to my invitation for suggestions.  I'll address this over a few blog posts.

As I will be visiting the commissary today, I think I'll start there.

The closest (and I believe only) commissary in Belgium is located in Chievres.  Depending on farm equipment traffic I can travel one way in 30-50 minutes.  This does not make the commissary the most convenient shopping location.  For most foods though it is the cheapest.

The commissary for the most part looks like your typical American grocery store and it carries the most popular brands and types of food preferred by Americans.  It has a bakery, produce department, and meat counter.  The meat is from the US and all of it has been frozen.

The two major differences between the commissary and a US grocery store are the frozen foods section and the lack of sales/promotions.

At the commissary there are no sales or promotional items.  One is not bombarded with advertising or displays to buy a particular product.  Overall the prices are lower than what I would pay in Northern Virginia.  Not by a huge margin, but lower.  The prices between what I'd pay in a Belgian market and what I pay at the commissary are a bit more remarkable.  Chicken for instance is twice as expensive out on the local economy.

Frozen foods comprise four full aisles of the grocery store.  There is quite a bit of meat, frozen pizzas, frozen prepared meals, frozen vegetables and fruits.  There are two main consumers of these products.  The first group - single soldiers who really have no need to cook and the second group - Americans who live in Brussels or Paris and come long distances to shop at Chievres.  They need food that will keep for long periods of time.

So as much as I dread my weekly trips to Chievres, I am grateful we live as close to the commissary as we do.  Our food budget is much less because the commissary is close by and we can buy a number of familiar and favorite foods that would otherwise be unavailable to us.

Tomorrow - the Belgian market where I shop