 Happy Aloha Friday, actually. Welcome to the show, Lillian's Vegan World, where we explore everything about veganism and the plant-based diet. And today, I'm actually very excited to introduce my guest to you all. Aloha, Dave Molinero. I saw you on a show on one of the Think Tech shows a couple of days ago. Yes, you did. Thank you very much. It was a great show. I did actually watch it and gave it a thumbs up. Thanks, I appreciate that. That's good to know. Dave, you're working at... I work, I'm a project manager with HCAT, the Hawaii Center for Advanced Transportation Technologies, and I do microgrid project development and high-gym fuel cell development for the Air Force. Awesome. HCAT. So that can also stand for how cute art thou today. Yes, absolutely. I'm glad you figured out that acronym. Perfect, yes. So you're working in renewable energy. I am. Nothing really to do with veganism. Well, there might be a good segue for vegan cooking with hydrogen gas. We've actually done it before. And in fact, maybe that could be a future show for you, Lillian, that you can cook using hydrogen gas. I would love to test out something like that I never have, but definitely I would be up for the challenge. Good. So Dave, thank you so much for joining the show today. I've actually wanted to get you on for quite some time. This is only my fourth episode, but you are very interesting because you are kind of living la vida vegan in your home sweet home. That I am. Completely vegan home, which I really enjoy it. It was a difficult, quite a little bit of a difficulty. It challenged in getting into it, but now that we're into it, I love it. Interesting. So this is something I think perhaps your friend's family. I know mine definitely want to hear how someone like you deals or works around living in a vegan home when you yourself are not vegan. Is that correct? That's correct. I'm not vegan. I do eat a substantially greater amount of vegetable and plant-based foods than what I have in the past, but the transition and the transition hasn't been difficult. There's a lot of great options out there, which was you go from being a normal American diet, if you will, or meat and fish and cheese and dairy. There are a lot of really good substitutes out there, and as you and I have talked about before, and that makes the transition easier. Being able to have that one meal a day, if you will, that I cheat and go back to what I normally eat is really good too, but the transition's been great. There's also been a certain motivating factor in me having the house vegan. Okay, well, explain to us how did you end up living in a home that's vegan when you yourself are not? How did I end up? Well, I was asked, and I committed to it. I think it's very important. You were asked by whom? I was asked by somebody very special. Okay, and this person is on a plant-based diet? This person is vegan and on a plant-based diet, and I wanted to accommodate them in continuing vegan. Like I said, the transition, which it started out a little difficult, but as I've gotten into it, it's easy. The other person in my life is a fantastic chef and very talented. Yeah, she sounds awesome. Yeah, she is very, very awesome, and that makes the transition very easy. Are we fooling anybody here? That means you have, say, breakfast and dinner at home. When you do have breakfast and dinner at home, it is vegan. What would you normally eat for breakfast at home? For breakfast at home, I would normally eat toast, yogurt, fruit, perhaps cereal, and it used to be regular dairy-based dairy milk. The transition to soy wasn't a difficult one, and instead of eating or drinking regular milk, I'd do soy milk and found it just to be as flavorful and healthy. Same thing with the yogurts as well, or I would have regular Greek yogurt. I have switched to soy-based yogurts, and in fact, I prefer the soy-based. I don't really prefer the almond or coconut. I don't really prefer the taste, but the transition is easy. I normally drink juice, have vegetables or fruits in the morning, excuse me, so it really wasn't a difficult switch. Lunch, I usually go out, I work downtown, as you know, and usually even get a normal lunch when I'm home for dinner. It's vegan. Okay, just going back to breakfast, so you did explain how you substituted the yogurt and stuff like that. There are other things that you've probably learned that you didn't really think about before, for example, when buying bread. Bread actually does have a lot of animal products in it. It does. It can have anything from animal fat to honey, which is something I've explained on the show that not many vegans consume anymore, so little things like that. You're learning to read labels. I do read a lot of labels now, again, to make sure that I'm not buying anything that's not vegan. Do you get into trouble if you do? Never, because I don't make any mistakes. But again, there are really great substitutes out there. One thing I failed to mention, too, is I like butter, for example. There's great vegan options for butter that I find very, very tasty, as well as cheese, and I think you've reviewed a few cheeses on your show, which have been really, really good. It makes a transition to a plant-based diet. I've always been one to realize that the closer your food source is to the earth, the better it is for you. Try not to eat a lot of processed foods, but I think it's common sense that if you eat fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, the less processing the better it is for you, too. Sure. And how long have you been doing this for? Oh boy, what, a year, year and a half? Okay. Do you feel any better, or have you noticed any changes? Well, I noticed when I eat vegan at home, especially at dinner, I usually come home pretty tired, a long day at the office, and have a vegan meal. And you come home to this wonderful woman that's waiting for you. Yes, this wonderful, wonderful, beautiful lady. Making all these gorgeous dinners for you. Absolutely. You probably know her pretty well, too. And she, again, is a great cook. But I don't have that sense of lethargy or bloating after you eat what I would, you know, if I'd come home and maybe have chicken or steak. I don't have that. I'm actually really energized. You seem to digest a lot quicker. And yeah, so there's a definite difference. I'm really curious to see, I'm on a test right now to see where my cholesterol goes in the next few months. But I've had a little bit of cholesterol elevation. Elevated cholesterol, high cholesterol. And I want to see with this continued diet where it goes. So yeah, I've enjoyed it. I actually have lost weight, too. Yes, yeah, I heard you say that. Dave, you sent in a photo for us about a breakfast that you sometimes eat in your vegan home. So let's take a look at the first picture. This is a British breakfast and it's been veganized. Now, looking at it, you wouldn't really think that that is a vegan dish, would you? Where is the Bloody Mary that was in that photo? You must have cut it out. Was it a mimosa? It was a mimosa, that's correct. What I see is a really great vegan pancakes, which was a surprise that you can make pancakes. Yes. And maple syrup, which I absolutely love, is vegan as well. There is a tofu scramble, which is great. Beans, which I enjoy. And hash brown potatoes, really great mushrooms, and tomatoes, which were excellent. So that was a very special treat. And again, with the mimosas that somehow didn't make it into the picture. So this is more like a Sunday brunch or a weekend kind of breakfast. It's not something that you would eat on a regular weekday. Unfortunately, I don't get served this on a daily basis. It must just be for special occasions when you're really good. Which usually isn't very, usually not very good all the time. But that looks delicious. So, yeah, you can vegan, you can vegan anything, really. Do you drink alcohol with your fiance? Yes. Enjoy bubbles, red and white wine, understanding that most alcohol is vegan. Some isn't. Yeah, some isn't. Some wines actually are not vegan. And they undergo a clarifying process called finding, which they use finding agents like milk protein, gelatin, fish bladder, and one more, the egg whites. Have you ever seen a French chef cook a big pot of consomme soup? Yes. You know what they do to refine the soup? They beat egg whites together, then add it to the broth. And the egg whites lift all the little bits inside the soup to clarify it. And I'm guessing it's the same sort of process. Could be. So, yeah, a lot of, I myself have the odd drink every now and again. And it is something that I need to really be more aware of, think about, because yeah, do you really want to be drinking wine that has undergone something like that? Although there are no particles left from these finding agents, but the process itself makes you think, oh, I'm not sure if I want to go there. So, I did find actually a few apps that you can download onto your smartphone. And one of them is a Vegan Express app. So this is an on the run guide to what's vegan at popular fast food restaurants, as well as a listing of vegan alcohol and snacks. It has a 3.5 star rating. I actually had a quick look at this. I only downloaded it recently, but the wine guide is quite interesting. It is limited, but definitely worth having a look into it. It's free, and it gives you an idea of what vegan products are out there. That's great. I know there's a desire for people that want to eat plant-based diets, and any help and assistance, especially through apps would be great. I was going to say if I can help administer to the wine collection by doing research on my own, tasting would be absolutely important and detrimental to something like that. I would volunteer myself. You're true to your science, your beliefs. Yes. So, Dave, what do you like and dislike about living in a vegan home? What do I like and dislike? I don't dislike anything. Like I said, just getting into it was a little bit of a challenge. Just learning about what I could and couldn't eat. I'll share with you one thing I do miss about the vegan diet is I love honey. I was surprised to find out that you assume honey is plant-based, but it's not because it's produced by bees, obviously. That was a bit of a change. Do I truly miss anything? Yes, again, I miss a steak and a good piece of fish, but again, I do that. You do that outside of the home. Yeah, to say I'm missing anything or if there's any challenge or trials or tribulations, no, not at all. And does your amazing fiance, does she try to turn you vegan? Is she asking you whether you're planning to or does she just let you do your own thing? That's my fiance. No, she has not. She's let me do my own thing, which is really the smart thing to do because if I do decide to become vegan, it really needs to be my desire to do so. And I think that's there's a really good lesson in that is to promote something you really can't push it. You've got to let people make up their mind and decide. No pressure. No pressure. No pressure to the viewers, but we do want you to stay tuned because we are going to have a quick break and be back in just a tick. See you after the break. Aloha. I'm Wendy Lo and I'm coming to you every other Tuesday at two o'clock live from Think Tech Hawaii. And on our show, we talk about taking your health back. And what does that mean? It means mind, body and soul. Anything you can do that makes your body healthier and happier is what we're going to be talking about, whether it's spiritual health, mental health, fascia health, beautiful smile health, whatever it means. Let's take healthy back. Aloha. Hey, Aloha. My name is Andrew Lanning. I'm the host of Security Matters Hawaii airing every Wednesday here on Think Tech Hawaii live from the studios. I'll bring you guests. I'll bring you information about the things in security that matter to keeping you safe, your co-workers safe, your family safe, keep our community safe. We want to teach you about those things in our industry that may be a little outside of your experience. So please join me because security matters. Aloha. Welcome back to Lillian's Vegan World where we explore everything vegan and about the plant-based diet. I'm here with my special guest, Dave Molinero. Hello, Lillian. Who is living La Vida vegan in your home sweet home. I just think that's, it's very unusual. I haven't met many people who are doing that and who are willing to do that because you are not on a plant-based diet, but your partner, your fiancé is. There was a special motivation of being on a plant-based diet at home. Awesome. But it was an easy transition as we talked about before the break. I think people are going to be surprised to hear that because people assume that it's so difficult. But as I've been trying to show over the period of my episodes, there are so many vegan substitutes that are delicious and can actually replace that craving for people who genuinely love the taste of meat. So I did actually ask you to prepare some photos of things that you keep in your freezer just in case, like for those times. I have that craving for that meat that I really want. So yeah, let's take a look, Dave. All right. Let's have a look at the first one. So these are golden fishless fillets. Two pieces of these fillets come to about 180 calorie, sorry, calories, nine grams of protein. That's pretty good. Yes. 12 grams of fat. The dietary guidelines for Americans recommends about 44 to 78 grams of fat a day on a 2000 calorie a day diet. So that's not too bad. Yeah, 12 grams of fat. You're looking at a fourth or fifth of your recommended daily amount of fat. What did you think of these fishless fillets? They're good. Again, they're a great substitute for, again, any of the substitutes that are plant-based. They're good. And I've enjoyed these. I'll certainly have them again when sometimes a salad just doesn't satisfy me. I've got to have that smack of, hey, it's meat. Something protein. And it's good. So I do read the labels again looking for that vegan symbol. Yes. One of the things that I'm kind of cautionary about too is look at the sodium content. Yes. Some of those tend to be a little bit higher in sodium, so I'm going to be careful about that as well too. Definitely. You brought up a good point and I actually am going to talk about sodium as we continue on looking at the products. Okay. So let's have a look at the next one. Walkless bites. Really, like when you look at these, they actually do resemble the real thing, don't they? And that's a great point. I think there's a, it's not just the taste, but it's the smell and absolutely the touch and the sight of it. If it looks like it's something that's familiar to you, it's been a meat product in the past that helps in the transition. Yes. These are made from wheat, gluten, and soy protein. One serving is about nine pieces. They are rather small. And for nine pieces of these porkless bites, you're going to get 160 calories, 550 milligrams of protein. So they're saying, sorry, of sodium, 550 milligrams of sodium. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,300 milligrams a day and moving toward an ideal limit of no more than 1,500 milligrams a day. At the moment, Dave, Americans are getting 3,600 milligrams of sodium in their diet. Oh, I'm not surprised. So it's almost double, not quite, but on average. So that's interesting that you pointed out. You said that you are concerned about sodium in some of these processed foods. Yeah, it's ubiquitous. There's sodium in every processed food, naturally occurring in other foods as well, too, and the less, the better. Definitely. The lucky thing, I think, one of the good things about these vegan products that are processed is they are all zero cholesterol. Then you have the non-GMO. But the sodium, I'm looking at the sodium now, I think they are quite high. Again, these products are not something that you want to be eating on a daily basis. How often would you eat something like this? Maybe once a week or so. If I want something special, yeah. That would be fine. That's very doable and you won't hurt yourself by doing that. It's important you have these particular bites with your appropriate beverage as well to enhance the experience even more. Put very well. Let's have a look at the meatless meatballs. These would be great just tossed through with pasta, wouldn't they? Absolutely. Zero cholesterol again, 14 grams of protein in three meatballs and coming to 150 calories. These have 80 milligrams of sodium per three meatballs. Again, a little bit higher, but if you're looking at a 1,500 to 2,000 milligrams sodium limit a day, then 80 milligrams really isn't that too bad. No, it's not. No, it's not. One thing I want to point out to make that transition vegan is learning to identify that the package says it's vegan. That's a big deal. A lot of packaging is getting better where it's really obvious. It's a standardized symbol for vegan, but again, a novice getting into this for the first time, trying to identify stuff that was vegan. I was literally scrolling down the labels and it was a challenge. Yeah, especially some of the cheeses and stuff like that. Some of them are not vegan, but they say, I can't think off the top of my head now, but you do have to find that word, make sure that word appears on the product if that's what you're looking for. So yeah, all these things are really great ideas for people that are just wanting to reduce the amount of meat or animal products that they're consuming. I myself, Dave, don't eat any of these. I don't eat anything that looks like meat or resembles meat or tastes like meat or has that texture because of how I became vegan was through my vegetarian childhood. I just don't associate meat with food anymore. I respect that. A great deal that may or may not appeal to certain people, but it, again, reducing some of the processed foods as some of these substitute products are. You're better off, but I completely understand and acknowledge the fact that eating a meatless diet resonates you for different reasons. Yeah, definitely. So these are great ideas anyway, if you're wanting to eat more plant-based. Let's have a look at the next one. I kind of love the name of this patty. It's a patty with hearty chunks of vegetables, black beans and rolled oats. One burger patty is 110 calories, that's quite low. One milligram of iron, not very high, unfortunately. The recommended daily amount for iron is eight grams for men under 50 and 18 grams for women under 50 to compensate for menstrual loss. That also, the 50 need around eight milligrams of iron per day. This has only one. So when you want to get your iron levels up, eat lots of leafy greens, lentils, beans, nuts, seeds, whole grains and dried fruit, especially dried apricots. I think we have some in my refrigerator right now. I didn't know that. I always say during the show and in my workshops, I'm learning something new every day myself. You can never learn enough on this plant-based diet. It's really interesting. So yes, dried apricots have a lot of iron, apparently. But I want to roll back to what you just said. You can get all the nutrients and vitamins and minerals that you need in eating a plant-based diet. Yes, you can. There's definitely something to be said about this diet. I think it's really interesting talking to you and about how you do it because you don't have that pressure of someone forcing you to do this or trying to turn you vegan. It's just in your home you have chosen and together have chosen to make your home in that particular way. But you do have the freedom to go out and eat what you want as well, which is trying to get the best of both worlds. So you don't even have to give up meat all of a sudden. You can do it slowly or be vegan till even. There is a certain pressure. If you say you are going to become vegan, that's a difficult transition for somebody, again, like yourself. You were born a vegetarian. You transitioned to being a vegan. For me, it's something that's never been a real collective conscience for me. But to realize that there are other options out there and to be able to eat plant-based food, it's been a great transition. And knowing that I can, there's not that going cold turkey for lack of probably a bad analogy. But yeah, being forced into it wouldn't work for anybody. So if there are people out there that are looking to become vegans, I think making that transition, being encouraged and realizing there are a lot of great resources, i.e. Lilian, to help with that transition is really good. I appreciate that. All right, Dave, let's have a look at the next thing that you keep in your freezer tucked away. Now these are great, these little instant meals, the sweet potato quinoa bowl. Quinoa is a nutritious whole grain rich in protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins, gluten-free. And it's one of the very few plant foods that contain all nine amino acids. So the quinoa is a superfood. I bought it because I was vegan and this was one of the first products I was able to find that was vegan and it was again an easy transition. And they're really tasty too. Really, yeah. These are a great idea. I myself have never, ever tried one of these little meals, but I really should just to see what they taste like. That kind of looks appetizing. You've got the quinoa, their sweet potato looks like beans in there. Black beans kale also contains kale. Kale, a particular favorite. Do you eat a lot of kale? Yes, I do eat a lot of kale. And you obviously enjoy it. Love it. Can't get enough kale. Yes, I do eat a lot of kale. Can't get enough of it. What's one of your favorite vegan foods? I'm sure you've tested and tried a lot of salad. Vegan wines? I do enjoy good salad, all kidding aside. There has been, what have I, I think I've enjoyed eating breads that I know are vegan. But there is just a whole wide range of great foods as you know. There is. So make sure you pick up a bottle of wine before you come home tonight. Thank you so much for joining me on this show. It was great talking to you. Looking forward to spending the rest of my life with you. Lillian, I steady you. Thanks for watching guys. See you next week. Aloha. Bye-bye. Have a great weekend.