MOFO - Day 1 - But...Where Do You Get Your Protein?

Once again I find myself feeling guilty and apologetic for neglecting you, my faithful blog followers! I never seem to find the time to sit down at the computer at home these days. I can't even begin to tell you how much I have been missing my kitchen and computer time!

Well that should all change today. Once again the crazy folks over at the PPK (Post Punk Kitchen for those of you who may not know) are bringing on Vegan MOFO (month of food). This is a challenge, for us blogger types, that is designed to encourage us to blog about vegan food yumminess. Each year I try to come up with a fun and interesting theme. This is my 4th year participating! Last year I think I blogged just about every day. I am hoping to get close again this year.

Of course, at this time of the year, I start going down blog-memory lane. The first year, 2008, I didn't really have a theme. But I had a lot of fun trying to blog every day. I remember being in Montana on vacation hunting down a computer at the hotel where we were staying. Fred should have realized how bad my obsession was back then, but he married me anyway. The second year I was a little more organized. The theme in 2009 was veganizing favorite family recipes. I loved this theme. It was fun to get my readers, friends and family involved. Last year my theme was chilis and chiles. It was a hot and spicy month in our kitchen. It's hard to pick a favorite theme! They were all so fun.

This year I have decided to answer the age old question posed to all vegans and vegetarians..."But where do you get your protein?" While many of my veg readers may already know the answer to this question, the answers may surprise a lot of you, because there are a lot of plant sources of protein all around us. This month is dedicated to bringing you lots of ideas and information on these building blocks of nutrition. Each week will feature a different group of proteins. To get you primed for our month of protein I found this very informative and handy chart that provides protein content of many different types of food. Some very interesting factoids on this list!

Week 1 - Soy You Think You can Dance. More than just tofu, this week will feature some familiar and not so familiar soy products that make eating veg even more interesting!

Week 2 - Seitan is not the Devil. Seitan is a meat replacement that is made from vital wheat gluten. It contains lots of protein and not a lot of fat. You can find this in stores, but it is super easy and cheap to make (and much better in my opinion). I love this stuff in all its forms. I hope you will too!

Week 3 - That's Just Nuts (and Seeds) - This week will feature some nuts and seeds that are familiar to all of us and a few that are not so common.

Week 4 - Beans, Beans the Magical Fruit. A musical homage to the mighty bean. This week will feature a variety of beans and lentils. These little guys are not only a great source of protein, but they are also very high in fiber.

There will be a few give-aways during the month. It will be easy to win, you just have to be a follower of the blog and post something the day of the contest. I don't have all of the prizes lined up yet, but I do know that the first one will be a copy of The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet by Joni Marie Newman.  Just click on join this site to become a follower. Then make a comment on the October 7th post. On the 8th I will randomly select a winner! Good luck. Good eats and Good Day!!