By Amy Dell, Vegetarian Resource Group Intern

My arms were full when I made my way up to the Our Daily Bread building. Our Daily Bread provides hot meals to those in need and also acts as an employment center, run through the Catholic Charities. I had to first drop off two vegan casseroles that fellow intern Emily and I had made the previous weekend before I could make my way to my cooking class. With my bag of ingredients, I made my way through the building and met with VRG Volunteer Marcy Schveibinz who runs the Healthy Cooking Class at Christopher Place in Baltimore. Christopher Place, a part of Our Daily Bread, is a residential employment center that provides education and training to formerly homeless men. To learn more about Christopher Place, visit: https://www.catholiccharities-md.org/services/christopher-place-employment-academy/

I was so excited to work with a new group of people and share food and conversation while also teaching! I had spent time in the weeks preceding the class preparing a lesson plan and picking a recipe to cook. I decided that I wanted to make Eggless French Toast from VRG’s own Meatless Meals for Working People by Debra Wasserman and Charles Stahler. Something about French toast sounded perfect as an example of how a few easy switches can make your favorite meals vegan. Plus, who doesn’t love French toast? Marcy suggested adding berries for some summer-y flare and color. With my recipe in mind, I created the lesson plan based on a few main themes that I wanted to address: vegan comfort food, easy vegan ingredient replacements, and how food can be used to bring people together.

The class consisted of six men who were excited to meet me and get started with the class. When I said that we were cooking French toast today, many of the men’s faces lit up and they started asking questions about what I was going to put in it and telling me their own recipes. After some quick introductions, Marcy and I started peeling the bananas and mashing them up in a bowl. To that, we added soy milk, maple syrup, and cinnamon. As I described what I was doing, I also asked the men about their daily diets, their favorite foods, and their experiences in the program. I learned that many of the men eat a lot of chicken, but they said they were interested in adding more fruit to their diets. Marcy and I then talked to the men about the health benefits of fruits.

Even though we had a little trouble getting the French toast to cook right on the pan, the men were very understanding and supportive. The pan was not nonstick, and so the French toast stuck to the bottom of the pan before it was cooked. After a few tries, we were able to get the temperature right and fry up some delicious French toast. When we were finished, the men were eager to try what we had made. As the men ate their French toast and berries, they went around the room and shared something they learned today. Many of the men shared how surprised they were that you could use bananas instead of eggs in French toast and other baked goods. One man even said he would make the recipe again!

Below, you can find the complete recipe for the Eggless French Toast and my lesson plan.

Vegan Whole Wheat French Toast with Berries

Ingredients for 3-4 servings:

3 Ripe Bananas

1 cup unflavored soymilk

2 Tbsp maple syrup

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

7 slices whole wheat bread

2 teaspoons oil

Berries to top

Recipe:

Mash bananas in a bowl.

Add soymilk, maple syrup, and cinnamon.

Stir well.

Soak bread in mixture.

Fry in a lightly oiled (non-stick!) frying pan on both sides over medium heat until lightly browned.

Top with berries

To purchase Meatless Meals for Working People, visit: https://www.vrg.org/bookstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=2&zenid=0931010b82bf2fbbc2c9ff71a9443f26

Lesson Plan:

• Prep ingredients
  • Mix wet ingredients
  • Soak bread
  • Preheat the wok
  • Discuss the differences between traditional French toast and this vegan recipe
• Cook
  • Fry the French toast
  • Discuss the culture of food: how cooking can bring people together, can be used to show love/compassion for people in times of need (if there’s a loss in the family, etc.)
  • Ask the men what comfort foods they enjoy, explain how to veganize the recipes
• Decorate with Berries
  • Health benefits of berries
    • High in antioxidants
    • High in fiber which makes you feel full longer
    • Provide vitamins and minerals like Vitamin C
• Discuss healthy comfort foods
  • Vegan food can be healthy and affordable while still being comforting and delicious
  • There are easy ways to recreate your favorite childhood dishes with vegan ingredients
  • Mac and cheese made with nutritional yeast, mashed potatoes made with soymilk, and veggie burgers made of black beans
  • Vegan baking is easy – eggs can often be replaced by applesauce or smashed bananas, milk can be replaced by soy or almond alternatives, and butter can be replaced by vegetable oils, shortening, or vegan butter.
  • Simple tricks to make any comfort foods a little healthier:
    • Use whole grains whenever possible
    • Reduce salt in favor of other seasonings like: lemon juice, oregano, garlic, and onions
  • Easy ways to add variety into a vegan diet – try different veggies and fruit, research new recipes, be creative (just experiment with different flavors to see what you like)

Helpful Tips and Tricks:

• Contact a local organization to set up a cooking demo. Some ideas are: Re-Entry Programs, Halfway Houses, Domestic Violence Centers, Addiction Centers/Rehabilitation Facilities, Summer Camps, Cooking Classes for Children or Adults, Culinary Groups, and many more. Try looking for programs being run by your local Parks and Recreation Department or by charities in your area. Offer to teach the class or group how to prepare a healthy vegan dish and answer any questions they have about veganism. You can also reach out to other vegans in the area to see if they have any connections to organizations already.
• Know your audience. Base what dish you’re making and what you’re talking about on the experiences and knowledge base of your audience. For example, if you’re working with a group of young kids at a summer camp, they may not know words like sauté or broil, so you might need to explain what they mean while you’re doing them. If you’re doing a vegan cooking demonstration at a culinary school, however, you might choose to prepare a more complex dish with more steps and ingredients.
• Be prepared to think on the spot and make changes to your plans. With the hot plate that we were using, we could only use one specific pan that corresponded to the plate. Because of this, we were unable to switch pans when the first one was burning our French toast. We had to think on the spot, clean out the pan, and try on a lower heat. When doing any sort of cooking demo, you have to be prepared to make last-minute changes and think on your feet!
• Be as open as you feel comfortable with. Many of the men in my group seemed more receptive to what I was saying when I shared more information about myself. The men really wanted to get to know me and get to know my personal reasons for why I chose veganism. If you’re comfortable sharing that information with your group, it might lead to a more open and honest discourse that would be more meaningful for your group in the long-run.

Amy Dell is an intern at The Vegetarian Resource Group. For more information about VRG internships, see https://www.vrg.org/student/index.php To support VRG outreach, donate at www.vrg.org/donate