The smell of spicy homemade jerk sauce filled the air at the Sister’s Uptown Bookstore & Cultural Center located on 1944 Amsterdam Avenue in Harlem on May 3rd from 5 PM-7 PM.
The Coo Coo Vegan, better known as Shayaa Muhammad, is releasing his first cookbook filled with vegan recipes that will not only taste good, but promote a healthier lifestyle that can lead to losing weight, lowering diabetes, and ending other chronic diseases.
“Becoming a vegan is marathon, not a sprint,” said Muhammad. He came to Sister’s Uptown Bookstore with an extensive food demonstration, preparing a six-course meal. The attendees of the event got to try samples of each meal while doing a Q&A with Muhammad. Each of these meals is featured in his book, and gives ways a bettering your eating habits at home when preparing your next dinner.
Muhammad, originally from the island of Trinidad, moved to the United States when he was two years old to Brooklyn, New York. His love for cooking began with helping his father in the kitchen. “I was sous chef. I was the one in charge of the remedial work, like chopping onions. That was the exposure,” he said.
“Next, I was exposed to Food Network, which excited me about cooking. I loved watching Paula Deen, Rachael Ray, and Bobby Flay. I would start cooking in the kitchen, like chicken, cinnamon rolls, biscuits, and duck, but after a while, your body catches up to it and begins to feel sluggish and heavy. I wanted a way to enjoy food and feel full without feeling tired after eating the food.”
During the food demonstration, with the owner of Sister Uptown Bookstore, Sister Janifer Wilson, joining the session, he described the moment he decided to start looking into healthier food.
“I was eating all the Caribbean food like oxtail and jerk chicken. I had started suffering from acne at a young age, at 16 and 17, said Muhammad.
“It was the acne I didn’t like that made me want to switch to something different. That was the switch from regular foods like Chinese food. I started eating more vegetables in my diet, and my acne started clearing up. I was using Proactiv, Ambi, Neutrogena, and all these beauty products. Using these products was just a superficial bandage, but the food cleared up the acne, and I started feeling better and more energetic,” he said.
Muhammad started with his food demonstration by first giving sample drinks of his hand-squeezed mango juice with fresh lime juice. He next served his prepared no-bake cashew lime cheesecake. He served slices of this dairy and sugar-free alternative to traditional cheesecake was a sweet delight with a premade cashew crust. “This is easy to make with no oven. Just put it in the freezer and when ready to serve, thaw it out for 10 minutes and enjoy!” he said.
Muhammad gave a breakdown of his book and the plan behind it, and how it differs from other cookbooks on the market that are centered on veganism and changing to a healthier lifestyle.
“This book is not extreme, because some people are not going to go from crawling to running. You have to crawl first, then walk, and then run. So, this book is a walk. I’m not ready to run, it’s too extreme,” he said. “I would say I am only 90% vegan. You’ve got to take baby steps.”
The next part of the demonstration was a lesson on how to incorporate more vegetables into your diet daily. “Eating vegetables is hard. It’s healthy, but not filling, and then you’re back to eating chicken and other foods,” he said. He grabbed pasta for his vegan rasta pasta. The rasta pasta got its name from the colors of the peppers used in the recipe: red, green, and yellow, which represent the colors in the Rastafarian flag.” Pasta is a great way to feel full and be healthy,” he said.
While steaming the peppers. He explained the benefits of his version of rasta pasta. “In traditional rasta pasta, you would use buttermilk, I use an alternative of cashew milk. Cashew milk is a great alternative because it makes it creamy, and there is no need for the addition of processed cheese,” he said. After he added the cashew milk, he added his homemade jerk sauce and prepared pasta noodles, and finished the meal in no less than 10 minutes.
Muhammad also had his prepared peanut punch. His peanut punch is different from the traditional peanut punch from the Caribbean, which uses condensed milk. Muhammad uses the unsweetened 365 Whole Foods brand peanut butter, coconut milk, and bananas as a substitute. “If you want a kick, you can always add your Baily’s!” he said.
Muhammad has big plans for his advocacy on eating healthier and incorporating veganism into your daily diet. For the rest of the year, Muhammad is doing a book tour and food demonstrations to promote the book. “Promoting the book takes up a lot of time, and that is my main focus this year,” he said. “But, next year, I have a goal of opening up my very own restaurant in Brooklyn!”
He entered the final part of the food demonstration with his vegan tacos with walnuts and mushrooms. While preparing the tacos, we discussed the substitution of meat with cashews and walnuts instead of vegan meat. “I don’t believe in the synthetic food substitution, like vegan bacon, vegan oxtail, and vegan chicken. You’re better off eating the real thing. These are things you need to stay away from. They put a lot of glue and synthetic flavors to mimic real meat and give them a similar taste and substitute,” he said.
After the food demonstration came to an end, Muhammad gave out his homemade oatmeal protein bars for guests to take home. He left the attendees happy and full. He is looking forward for the next stop on his book tour and food demonstration. He will be at the The Vital Shop in Crown Heights, Brooklyn at 1030 Union Street on June 7th from 7PM-9PM.
His ultimate goal is for people who purchase the book ” is to believe that eating healthy is possible and within reach, he said.
Photo Credit: Sherica Daley
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