The trade winds have picked up on Maui after a long week of heavy, humid heat. The winds are making it feel a bit like fall in Upcountry Maui (Makawao, Pukalani, Kula, Haiku areas). The chilly weather had me wanting to make CHILI!!!! Instead of using ground turkey and cheese and sour cream (my old recipe), I decided I wanted to try and make a vegan version! It was DELICIOUS.

You may be wondering...why is there sour cream in there? Well it isn't really sour cream! It is a cashew nut "sour cream". I soaked cashews in boiling water for about an hour, drained and rinsed them, threw them in the blender and mixed with water, lemon juice, salt, and apple cider vinegar. Surprisingly delicious and tastes kind of like sour cream! *The chili consisted of: * Jalapeños * Red bell pepper * Onion * Garlic * Pinto beans * Kidney beans * Canned diced tomatoes * Tomato paste * Vegetable broth * Chili powder * Cumin *Salt - - - Top with Cashew nut "sour cream", and some Daiya cheese and this vegan meal will fill you up a ton! Cody and I each had a bowl, and felt full after, and now we have leftovers. Delicious. We are thinking to bake some sweet potatoes and put the chili on top of those. Yum. It got me thinking about how some people will do Meatless Mondays to reduce their carbon footprint. But honestly, if they are still eating meat the other 6 days of the week, what's the point? I get it's a small step but going one day without meat really isn't that hard. So I decided to change things around and invent Meat Mondays. 6 out of the 7 days you are eating no meat, but on Monday you CAN eat meat. It's a bit more drastic of a change, but it will make more of a difference. Transitioning to be fully vegan/vegetarian is a difficult task for me because I grew up eating a lot of meat (chicken, steak, pork, you name it), however, I cannot keep calling myself a conservationist and continue to support the meat industry. From a sustainability point of view, the meat industry produces exponential amounts of greenhouse gases and uses a ton of water resources as well. The internet has everything you need and more. If you seek, you will find. So stop with the excuses of "there's no good vegan recipes that are easy to find" and "vegan food isn't good" (have you even tried it?) and "it's too expensive". There are so many people transitioning to a plant-based and vegan lifestyle, and they are SHARING the information all over the internet. Take the step, do your research, and just try it out. From someone who is still learning how to cook and be vegan, it isn't hard. You just have to do it.

jillwirt