A quick post.
Being vegan does not necessarily mean one is healthy, thin, etc. However, going vegan, I did not want to become more unhealthy than I was. Since going vegan I have made a gradual progression to unhealthy eating (most of this transition was after my move to Knoxville). Because I am a student again, I stay up later and get hungry, I snack when I study, when I am bored, and in general when I am at home. I now work in a grocery store and that certainly hasn't helped any either.
I have developed some terrible habits!
So on November 1st I decided to make a change in these habits - I am going back to basics. I am starting each day with a green smoothie - a good start in the morning can only lead to good places & I am avoiding all snacks between meals. If I get very hungry in between - I am sticking with fruit.
You will be seeing some posts about green smoothies coming up, how to make them delicious and what to avoid. Go green!
November 3, 2010
October 30, 2010
Veganize Your Potluck
Unfortunately, this post will have no pictures because I haven't really gotten into the habit of taking photos of food I make. I suppose that I will need to keep a camera next to the stove.
In this post I am going to address potlucks because there always tends to be an explosion of them this time of year when they air gets crisp and the leaves start falling - comfort food! Potlucks can be a big problem for vegans because the vegan population is a minority and folks don't think of (nor should they have to) accommodating such restricted diets. But not all potluck food needs to be casserole style & covered in gooey cheese. There are tons of vegan dishes that will please all appetites!
Since moving to Knoxville, I have joined a meetup group through meetup.com and this particular group is for vegans living in the Knoxville area. I immediately jumped on board, as I thought that this would be a great way to see what other vegans were eating, get to try these dishes, and pick up some new favorite recipes. My first (and only, thus far) meeting was an end-of-summer potluck picnic. The group brought an array of fabulous items! Doing my best to remember what we had, I recall we had a lot of salads as we were all enjoying the last of the fresh greens and local veggies we could. We had quinoa tabbouleh, potato salad, fruit salad, a layered taco-like dish, a summer squash medley, pies, cake, and tons of items which I can't remember. It was great to be at a potluck where there were no limits in my selection.
My contribution to the event was an heirloom tomato salad because it was the end of tomatoes for the season and I couldn't pass them up. I found the recipe here:
http://www.swellvegan.com/?p=799
The balsamic reduction gave it an amazing flavor and & everyone was impressed and enjoyed. It was divine!
My next potluck event, happening earlier this month, was one for the employees of my new job. I have picked up the most fantastic part-time work at Knoxville's local food co-op. The people are great, the business is something I truly believe in, and you can't find a better selection of local & organic food in one spot. Because so many of my co-workers are vegetarian (and some vegan as well) there were lots of options for me here too. A vegan mac & cheese was made and was insanely good! I have yet to get my hands on this recipe but I certainly will!
I brought a dish of Spicy Peanut Noodles which are easy to throw together, absolute comfort food & delicious! I also snagged this recipe from online, but can no longer find it. So, here it is (with my adaptations) & I've also doubled it because it was to serve a lot of people.
Spicy Peanut Noodles
Ingredients:
Preheat oven to 350Sift flour, baking soda, salt & spices together.
In a different bowl, mix: oil, molasses, milk, 1 C sugar, vanilla
Pour dry into wet & mix well
Roll into 1" ball & flatten into 1 1/2" disks. (I generally roll into a ball, roll this in sugar and flatten into a disk-like shape in my palm)
Bake 6-8 min.
Let coll 5 min before putting on a cooling rack.
And the last potluck event was a wine & finger food sort of thing. I had come across this recipe the other day & thought it quite apropos for the season. It was also a favorite of the group:
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/1425
I altered the recipe by using almonds instead of pecans, I omitted the pineapple rings, and I made the balls 1" so that they were more finger food like. I simply used a cookie scoop, dumped it into a bowl of chopped almonds and rolled around. Also, used cooking spray on baking sheet and on top of balls - a lot healthier and less messy. SO good!!!
Lesson learned for you folks - being vegan can be yummy too!
In this post I am going to address potlucks because there always tends to be an explosion of them this time of year when they air gets crisp and the leaves start falling - comfort food! Potlucks can be a big problem for vegans because the vegan population is a minority and folks don't think of (nor should they have to) accommodating such restricted diets. But not all potluck food needs to be casserole style & covered in gooey cheese. There are tons of vegan dishes that will please all appetites!
Since moving to Knoxville, I have joined a meetup group through meetup.com and this particular group is for vegans living in the Knoxville area. I immediately jumped on board, as I thought that this would be a great way to see what other vegans were eating, get to try these dishes, and pick up some new favorite recipes. My first (and only, thus far) meeting was an end-of-summer potluck picnic. The group brought an array of fabulous items! Doing my best to remember what we had, I recall we had a lot of salads as we were all enjoying the last of the fresh greens and local veggies we could. We had quinoa tabbouleh, potato salad, fruit salad, a layered taco-like dish, a summer squash medley, pies, cake, and tons of items which I can't remember. It was great to be at a potluck where there were no limits in my selection.
My contribution to the event was an heirloom tomato salad because it was the end of tomatoes for the season and I couldn't pass them up. I found the recipe here:
http://www.swellvegan.com/?p=799
The balsamic reduction gave it an amazing flavor and & everyone was impressed and enjoyed. It was divine!
My next potluck event, happening earlier this month, was one for the employees of my new job. I have picked up the most fantastic part-time work at Knoxville's local food co-op. The people are great, the business is something I truly believe in, and you can't find a better selection of local & organic food in one spot. Because so many of my co-workers are vegetarian (and some vegan as well) there were lots of options for me here too. A vegan mac & cheese was made and was insanely good! I have yet to get my hands on this recipe but I certainly will!
I brought a dish of Spicy Peanut Noodles which are easy to throw together, absolute comfort food & delicious! I also snagged this recipe from online, but can no longer find it. So, here it is (with my adaptations) & I've also doubled it because it was to serve a lot of people.
Spicy Peanut Noodles
Ingredients:
- Pasta (I used one package of whole wheat shells)
- 1 C frozen peas
- 2 Tbsp oil (I used canola)
- 1 C water
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped finely
- 1/2 C smooth Peanut Butter (you will need to use a good quality PB for this. My favorite PB of all time, Woodstock Farms, Smooth/Salted, works wonderfully for all recipes & especially this one because the peanut flavor is so important)
- 2 Tbsp Tamari (Tamari is essentially soy sauce but it is made with more soybeans than reg. soy sauce which give sit a smoother, more balanced & complex flavor. Of course, you could easily use soy.
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup (this is not the same as pancake syrup!!!)
- Juice of 1/2 of a lime
- Hot Sauce (to taste) (The recipe calls for Sriracha, but I don't have this so I just used Louisiana Hot Sauce and it worked well)
Boil water for pasta in a large pot. Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to directions. 1-2 min. before the pasta is done, add the frozen peas and allow them to cook with the pasta. When pasta is done, drain in a colander and leave the pasta & peas in colander while you make the sauce.
Dry out the pot and put it on the stove over medium heat. Add oil to the pan & once it is hot, add garlic. Saute garlic for about 30 seconds (DO NOT LET IT BURN). Add peanut butter to pot and allow it to melt down into the oil. Watch the garlic carefully and don't allow it to burn, if it does, turn your heat down. Once PB is mostly melted, add the water and allow the sauce to come to a bil, stirring constantly and briskly to emulsify the PB and water together.
Add the tamari/soy, hot sauce, and maple syrup. You can choose to add more of any to adjust for your taste. Once you are satisfied, add the lime juice and mix well. Add the past and peas back into the pot, stir up & you're done!
Yum!!
I also baked some soft ginger cookies which were a huge hit! These are also easy and pulled from online:
Soft Ginger Cookies
Ingredients:
- 4 Tbsp sugar (for rolling)
- 2 C flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 t ground cloves
- 1/2 C oil
- 1/4 C molasses
- 1/4 C soy milk (I use almond)
- 1 C sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
In a different bowl, mix: oil, molasses, milk, 1 C sugar, vanilla
Pour dry into wet & mix well
Roll into 1" ball & flatten into 1 1/2" disks. (I generally roll into a ball, roll this in sugar and flatten into a disk-like shape in my palm)
Bake 6-8 min.
Let coll 5 min before putting on a cooling rack.
And the last potluck event was a wine & finger food sort of thing. I had come across this recipe the other day & thought it quite apropos for the season. It was also a favorite of the group:
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/1425
I altered the recipe by using almonds instead of pecans, I omitted the pineapple rings, and I made the balls 1" so that they were more finger food like. I simply used a cookie scoop, dumped it into a bowl of chopped almonds and rolled around. Also, used cooking spray on baking sheet and on top of balls - a lot healthier and less messy. SO good!!!
Lesson learned for you folks - being vegan can be yummy too!
October 24, 2010
Still Vegan
Although there was a hiatus in my blog posting - I have survived the summer (and most of the fall) and am still vegan!
As I am approaching my one-year meat-free anniversary, I realized that this blog was a positive outlet in my life and that I should get back on board again. There is much that I have not written about and many challenges which I have come across in the past 7 months. I have moved to a new city, headed back to school, and thrown my very consistent day-to-day schedule out the window. So, I can't promise that blogging will happen regularly, but I will do my very best not to miss huge gaps of time.
Because I need to be studying at the moment, I will start my blogging return with something light & quick.
This summer I was tattooed.
This would generally not be a topic of interest for those who are vegan, but the tattoo is a symbol of my dedication to my vegan lifestyle. I chose one of the symbols for veganism and had it tattooed on my inner wrist. It is a constant reminder to me of why I made this change in my life.
Many were surprised at my choice as I had only been a vegan for a few months when I got the tattoo. For me, though, choosing to become a vegan and live that lifestyle was/is not something temporary.
Notable: Not all tattoos are vegan friendly! Tattoo ink has two parts: the color (ink) and the carrier solution. To get black ink, bone char (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_char) is generally used. Yuck! The carrier solution often contains glycerin (which is derived from animal fats) but can be derived from vegetable bases as well. I felt that if I was getting at tattoo to symbolize veganism that I couldn't use animal products to perform the process.
Thus began my careful research to find the closest vegan friendly tattoo shop and inks until I found one which met my standards. I chose Only You Tattoo in Atlanta, GA
http://www.onlyyoutattoo.com/
One of the owners, Danielle, is actually vegan herself. Matt, a vegetarian, did my tattoo & I am very pleased.
For aftercare of the tattoo I used Black Cat products and really liked them.
http://www.tattooaftercare.net/
Personal hygiene/bath care products is a topic which I am very interested in covering, but that will have to wait for another day.
As I am approaching my one-year meat-free anniversary, I realized that this blog was a positive outlet in my life and that I should get back on board again. There is much that I have not written about and many challenges which I have come across in the past 7 months. I have moved to a new city, headed back to school, and thrown my very consistent day-to-day schedule out the window. So, I can't promise that blogging will happen regularly, but I will do my very best not to miss huge gaps of time.
Because I need to be studying at the moment, I will start my blogging return with something light & quick.
This summer I was tattooed.
This would generally not be a topic of interest for those who are vegan, but the tattoo is a symbol of my dedication to my vegan lifestyle. I chose one of the symbols for veganism and had it tattooed on my inner wrist. It is a constant reminder to me of why I made this change in my life.
Many were surprised at my choice as I had only been a vegan for a few months when I got the tattoo. For me, though, choosing to become a vegan and live that lifestyle was/is not something temporary.
Notable: Not all tattoos are vegan friendly! Tattoo ink has two parts: the color (ink) and the carrier solution. To get black ink, bone char (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_char) is generally used. Yuck! The carrier solution often contains glycerin (which is derived from animal fats) but can be derived from vegetable bases as well. I felt that if I was getting at tattoo to symbolize veganism that I couldn't use animal products to perform the process.
Thus began my careful research to find the closest vegan friendly tattoo shop and inks until I found one which met my standards. I chose Only You Tattoo in Atlanta, GA
http://www.onlyyoutattoo.com/
One of the owners, Danielle, is actually vegan herself. Matt, a vegetarian, did my tattoo & I am very pleased.
For aftercare of the tattoo I used Black Cat products and really liked them.
http://www.tattooaftercare.net/
Personal hygiene/bath care products is a topic which I am very interested in covering, but that will have to wait for another day.
April 20, 2010
Cheese - Vegan Style
Vegan cheese.
This seems to be the one thing that is simply irreplaceable. Nothing, nothing is going to taste like dairy cheese. Nothing can replicate a block of sharp cheddar - in texture, taste, or satisfaction.
But dear, sweet vegans, they sure do try.
I do still need to write about soy and why I am trying to avoid it for the most part - basically though it is a mucus forming agent and causes slow digestion as well. All of that is to say that I have not tried any soy-based cheeses.
Though I have written about cheese before, are my findings:
Cheese no. 1: Rice Vegan by Galaxy Nutritional Foods
This seems to be the one thing that is simply irreplaceable. Nothing, nothing is going to taste like dairy cheese. Nothing can replicate a block of sharp cheddar - in texture, taste, or satisfaction.
But dear, sweet vegans, they sure do try.
I do still need to write about soy and why I am trying to avoid it for the most part - basically though it is a mucus forming agent and causes slow digestion as well. All of that is to say that I have not tried any soy-based cheeses.
Though I have written about cheese before, are my findings:
Cheese no. 1: Rice Vegan by Galaxy Nutritional Foods
Basic Ingredients: rice (in many different forms)
Rice Vegan comes in slices. Easier to put on bread for sandwiches, right? I picked up the cheddar flavor - my favorite cheese. Well, the cheese still tastes like rice. Actually, it tastes like really funky rice. Unless you are looking to eat a smooth textured rice sandwich - I would not recommend.
Cheese no. 1: Vegan Rella
Basic Ingredients: water, tapioca starch, brown rice flower, canola oil
Vegan Rella comes in a block and is not as hard as cheddar but isn't mushy. Again, I chose the cheddar "style" but I am not sure if they had other options. This cheese is pungent, repulsive really. And as for taste - I would compare it to the squeeze nacho-cheese that you would get at a sporting event. That doesn't quite describe the taste though.
Before I get to cheese number 3, let me explain the excitement behind this. I read quite a bit of vegan blogs to find recipes, learn about my diet, etc. Well, everyone in the vegan blogging world has been raving about Daiya Cheese. This cheese, until 2 weeks ago could not be found at your grocery store. Daiya just went retail last week and prior to that they were only selling to commercial restaurants (pizza parlors mostly.) Any vegan that had tried the cheese at a pizza joint seemed to want to get their hands on this stuff - pronto!
Vegan cheese has a tendency to not melt or stretch well. Also, it doesn't seem to taste like real cheese - but clearly that is not the top issue.
Well, I got on the ball and magically, just as I was finding out about Daiya it was making its retail debut. Put in the request at Greenlife and viola - 4 days later it is on the shelf!
I immediately picked up two packages of the shredded wonder cheese, cheddar & mozzarella.
Cheese no. 3: Daiya Mozzarella
Basic Ingredients: Here is the WOW factor folks - this is the "healthiest" vegan cheese I have found yet! It has the fewest calories, folks. A blurb from their website:
Daiya contains no casein, the protein found in dairy products, no soy, and no common allergens, animal products or cholesterol.
Water, tapioca (which is from the cassava plant) and arrowroot flours, canola and safflower oil, coconut oil, pea protein, inactive yeast
I used the mozzarella version for my favorite quesadilla recipe which contains the following: fire roasted tomatoes, black beans, corn, cilantro, lime juice, and various other items. Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos. It did indeed melt and stretch. It didn't taste bad. It gave the quesadilla the good, creamy texture and flavor - which is what I suppose I was looking for. In this recipe, the cheese does not have a dominant flavor so I found it to be a great substitute.
Cheese no. 4: Daiya Cheddar
Basic Ingredients: The same as the mozzarella.
I used the cheddar version to make a grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough bread. Because grilled cheese is one of my favorite comfort foods, I was anxious to give this one a try.
This is the cheese - yeah, it doesn't look too appetizing up close and personal.
Used Earth Balance for the 'butter'
The cheddar melted and streched as well. It looked great! But taste is where the dissapointment set in. The cheese just doesn't taste good. I am not really expecting it to taste exactly like cheddar, and I could live with a cheese like that. But this cheese just doesn't taste good. It was creamy and satisfying texturally, but I found that I couldn't eat the center of the sandwich. I only ate the edges because in those areas the bread had enough balance with the cheese so that it wasn't too dominant of a flavor.
I have decided that vegan cheese just will not satisfy. It will substitute in a pinch (only if it is not meant to be the dominant flavor of the dish). I think that all the vegans who were excited about this cheese had certainly not had real cheese in quite some time. Folks, it has almost been 2 months since I have gone vegan and the day before I did - I had a celebration of cheese! Yes, I did and it was glorious.
April 12, 2010
Pancakes for Everyone!
Vegan pancakes really are possible. No, they do not taste like "regular" pancakes. Yes, they are still delicious.
Whipped up some of these on Sunday morning after a late night out and in preparation for my day-long hike. Although I cannot remember where I found the recipe (it was somewhere on the web) many people seemed to agree that this was a good one.
The consistency is similar to that of Bisquick pancakes (which were my favorite). If you are used to the extra-fluffy light things you might find at a pancake shop - don't look here. The non-vegans liked them (not quite as well as the usual, but neither did I). They seem to be a good substitution for the "real thing." I doubled the recipe since I was feeding a group of people and it worked well.
Pretty Darn Good Vegan Pancakes
Ingredients:
1C flour (I suppose you can use whichever type you have at hand. I used unbleached)
2t baking powder
1/2 t salt
3 T sugar
1t vanilla
1 egg replacer (I used Ener-G)
1 C soy milk
2 T veg oil
Directions:
Mix the wet ingredients (vanilla, egg replacer, soy milk & veg oil)
Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, sugar, salt)
Pour the wet into the dry and mix until smooth.
I cooked these on my "griddler." The pancakes do "bubble" when they are ready to flip. They golden nicely & taste sweetly of vanilla.
I had maple syrup from some of my baking and did not enjoy it on my pancakes. Much too sweet. I suppose that I am accustomed to the thick high fructose corn syrup version of "maple syrup". I think that these would be tastier with blueberries or bananas thrown in. Think I will give it a try next go-round.
On another note:
I made a product request at Greenlife last Tuesday and they had it in the store on Sunday! It was a fantastic surprise! I will be sure to write about my very thrilling discovery next!!
Whipped up some of these on Sunday morning after a late night out and in preparation for my day-long hike. Although I cannot remember where I found the recipe (it was somewhere on the web) many people seemed to agree that this was a good one.
The consistency is similar to that of Bisquick pancakes (which were my favorite). If you are used to the extra-fluffy light things you might find at a pancake shop - don't look here. The non-vegans liked them (not quite as well as the usual, but neither did I). They seem to be a good substitution for the "real thing." I doubled the recipe since I was feeding a group of people and it worked well.
Pretty Darn Good Vegan Pancakes
Ingredients:
1C flour (I suppose you can use whichever type you have at hand. I used unbleached)
2t baking powder
1/2 t salt
3 T sugar
1t vanilla
1 egg replacer (I used Ener-G)
1 C soy milk
2 T veg oil
Directions:
Mix the wet ingredients (vanilla, egg replacer, soy milk & veg oil)
Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, sugar, salt)
Pour the wet into the dry and mix until smooth.
I cooked these on my "griddler." The pancakes do "bubble" when they are ready to flip. They golden nicely & taste sweetly of vanilla.
I had maple syrup from some of my baking and did not enjoy it on my pancakes. Much too sweet. I suppose that I am accustomed to the thick high fructose corn syrup version of "maple syrup". I think that these would be tastier with blueberries or bananas thrown in. Think I will give it a try next go-round.
On another note:
I made a product request at Greenlife last Tuesday and they had it in the store on Sunday! It was a fantastic surprise! I will be sure to write about my very thrilling discovery next!!
April 10, 2010
The Recipe Book Purge
When I left home for college in 2003 I took with me a book of recipe cards containing my favorite meals from my childhood. Among this collection included: baked mac & cheese, twice baked potatoes, pizza, chocolate chip cookies, lasagna, sweet & sour meatballs. All of these were my comfort foods which I gladly cooked up for roommates over the years.
As well as this cookbook, I started collecting recipes found in our local newspaper, which has a "food" section every Wednesday, and recipes found online. My collection was housed in a giant 3 ring binder with yellowed newspaper recipes pasted to card stock and slipped into page protectors. Each section contained a table of contents & comments could be added after each dish was prepared for the first time.
This week I purged my recipe books.
I have decided that returning to animal products is not something that I wish to do - and my recipe books, with their unopened pages, needed to reflect this. The only section which truly stayed in-tact was the "veggies & sides" collection. My sister has since inherited 6+ years of the best recipes I've found.
What I need now is to start my vegan cookbook collection. I have come across numerous books with rave reviews that I am dying to pick up. I need to just spend the money to do it because I have found myself eating the same things again and again. It certainly doesn't help that I am a very picky eater either. Mostly it is veggies stuffed into hummus spread tortillas for lunch + fruit on the side. Dinner is harder - as I come home hungry and haven't pre-prepared anything in ages. Soups don't appeal to me when the weather is warmer - so I am going to need to figure things out. But dinner thus far has been anything from steamed veggie pot-stickers + veggies to baked sweet potatoes or even a peanut butter slathered tortilla and various munchies.
I have been pretty good about eating my greens after I ended my smoothie cleanse and my blood is showing that my iron levels are great - something that always suffered for me as an omni.
Now I just need to make sure that I am eating balanced meals.
As well as this cookbook, I started collecting recipes found in our local newspaper, which has a "food" section every Wednesday, and recipes found online. My collection was housed in a giant 3 ring binder with yellowed newspaper recipes pasted to card stock and slipped into page protectors. Each section contained a table of contents & comments could be added after each dish was prepared for the first time.
This week I purged my recipe books.
I have decided that returning to animal products is not something that I wish to do - and my recipe books, with their unopened pages, needed to reflect this. The only section which truly stayed in-tact was the "veggies & sides" collection. My sister has since inherited 6+ years of the best recipes I've found.
What I need now is to start my vegan cookbook collection. I have come across numerous books with rave reviews that I am dying to pick up. I need to just spend the money to do it because I have found myself eating the same things again and again. It certainly doesn't help that I am a very picky eater either. Mostly it is veggies stuffed into hummus spread tortillas for lunch + fruit on the side. Dinner is harder - as I come home hungry and haven't pre-prepared anything in ages. Soups don't appeal to me when the weather is warmer - so I am going to need to figure things out. But dinner thus far has been anything from steamed veggie pot-stickers + veggies to baked sweet potatoes or even a peanut butter slathered tortilla and various munchies.
I have been pretty good about eating my greens after I ended my smoothie cleanse and my blood is showing that my iron levels are great - something that always suffered for me as an omni.
Now I just need to make sure that I am eating balanced meals.
April 1, 2010
Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Fluffy Buttercream Frosting & a Brownie Bonus
More vegan baking adventures!
As I mentioned in the last post - birthdays gave me an excuse to try out some new goodies.
For the birthday girl:
Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Fluffy Buttercream Frosting.
Yum!
The recipe is from the cookbook: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World
http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Cupcakes-Take-Over-World/dp/1569242739
This book is now on my cookbook wishlist because they turned out fabulously!
The only drawback about these cupcakes is that they only made 12. I suppose that this is so you don't overindulge, because although they are vegan - they are still sweets & that's fine - just everything in moderation.
Here is where I found the recipe:
http://www.chow.com/recipes/10794
I followed the recipe using almond extract w/o alcohol (which is more syrupy) for the second extract ingredient. Again I was without dutch processed cocoa so I used the Hershey's Special Dark. The cupcakes were not quite as chocolaty as I would have liked but chocolate cupcakes are never have a very strong chocolate flavor. The consistency was wonderful - very fluffy and moist.
For the frosting I used this recipe:
http://www.chow.com/recipes/10856
Incredible!! If I were not vegan - this would still be the recipe I would choose. I have never in my life used shortening & intentionally did not read the label (even though it is vegetable based and non-hydrogenated) because I just didn't want to know. I did use the Earth Balance "buttery sticks" and they worked well.
yum yum yum.
The brownies I did not document with photos & they were less successful. For the birthday boy I made this first batch because it seemed very healthy:
http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Scrum-Diddly-Umptious-Vegan-Brownies-150473
They were more cake like rather than gooey. Two of my testers said that they were not sweet enough and actually used the word "bitter chocolate". Well, I didn't want anyone having a bitter birthday brownie so I tried this recipe:
http://people.tribe.net/arize/blog/3e60a521-dd86-44d5-82d2-92bc846782ca
This recipe had more of your traditional brownie taste but I found them to be too oily - the kind where you have greasy fingers after eating. They were very very moist and had a better chocolate flavor in my opinion.
I am very happy with the cupcake result but think that I am going to need to do more baking to find the perfect vegan brownie.
March 29, 2010
Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows
There are many words to describe this cookie (or whatever it is) & I choose divine!
I was in a mood to bake up a storm last weekend & luckily I had a few excuses - two friends with birthdays & a craving for something chocolate. In my opinion - there isn't much that is better than peanut butter and chocolate together & that is exactly what I found.
I have been reading oh-so-many vegan blogs and I have a list longer than my arm of recipes that I am dying to try. This recipe I first found on (never home)maker's blog. You can find her blog and recipe here:
http://www.neverhomemaker.com/2010/01/ppks-peanut-butter-chocolate-pillows.html
She takes some wonderful photos & does a very good job of documenting everything.
The recipe for these little goodies actually belongs to the Post Punk Kitchen, some folks who also do a great job of whipping up some great recipes. You can find their blog & recipe here:
http://www.theppk.com/blog/2009/03/30/peanut-butter-pillows/
So let me tell you about making these cookies. They aren't fast so you will need patience and a not-so-grumbly tummy. Below I will post the recipe taken from the PPK's blog originally.
First step is to get all of your ingredients together like a good little baker:
Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows
Yeild: 24 cookies (2 dozen)
-1/4 cup pure maple syrup (this is not the same as pancake syrup)
-3 tablespoons non-dairy milk (I used soy because I am trying to get rid of it)
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used artificial vanilla because that’s what I had on hand)
-1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used unbleached organic)
-1/3 cup unsweetened dutch processed cocoa powder (could not find dutched coaco so I used Hershey’s Special Dark which is a blend of dutched and regular)
-2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa (just used more or the above)
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1/4 teaspoon salt
For the Filling:
-2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
-1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
-2 to 3 tablespoons soy creamer or non-dairy milk (used soy milk)
To prepare:
I was in a mood to bake up a storm last weekend & luckily I had a few excuses - two friends with birthdays & a craving for something chocolate. In my opinion - there isn't much that is better than peanut butter and chocolate together & that is exactly what I found.
I have been reading oh-so-many vegan blogs and I have a list longer than my arm of recipes that I am dying to try. This recipe I first found on (never home)maker's blog. You can find her blog and recipe here:
http://www.neverhomemaker.com/2010/01/ppks-peanut-butter-chocolate-pillows.html
She takes some wonderful photos & does a very good job of documenting everything.
The recipe for these little goodies actually belongs to the Post Punk Kitchen, some folks who also do a great job of whipping up some great recipes. You can find their blog & recipe here:
http://www.theppk.com/blog/2009/03/30/peanut-butter-pillows/
So let me tell you about making these cookies. They aren't fast so you will need patience and a not-so-grumbly tummy. Below I will post the recipe taken from the PPK's blog originally.
First step is to get all of your ingredients together like a good little baker:
Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows
Yeild: 24 cookies (2 dozen)
For the chocolate cookie part:
-1/2 cup canola oil
-1 cup raw sugar (I used organic pure cane sugar)-1/2 cup canola oil
-1/4 cup pure maple syrup (this is not the same as pancake syrup)
-3 tablespoons non-dairy milk (I used soy because I am trying to get rid of it)
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used artificial vanilla because that’s what I had on hand)
-1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used unbleached organic)
-1/3 cup unsweetened dutch processed cocoa powder (could not find dutched coaco so I used Hershey’s Special Dark which is a blend of dutched and regular)
-2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa (just used more or the above)
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1/4 teaspoon salt
For the Filling:
-2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
-1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
-2 to 3 tablespoons soy creamer or non-dairy milk (used soy milk)
To prepare:
- In a small/medium bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, dark cocoa, baking soda and salt. You can sift this together, but I just used a whisk and it was great, easy, & quick.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer (though I am sure that you could use a hand mixer) combine oil, sugar, maple syrup, non-dairy milk, and vanilla and mix until smooth. Add the dry mix to the wet ingredients. Mix to form a moist dough. Set this aside.
- To make the filling: In another medium mixing bowl beat together peanut butter, confectioner’s sugar, 2 tablespoons of soy creamer and vanilla extract to form a moist but firm dough. (I used a hand mixer for this step) If peanut butter dough is too dry (as different natural peanut butters have different moisture content), stir in remaining tablespoon of non-dairy milk. If dough is too wet knead in a little extra powdered sugar. **Helpful hint from me – as natural peanut butter requires refrigeration, I found it easiest to work with a new jar of PB so that it was soft and easy to mix. This particular PB used did not require any additional milk or powdered sugar.**
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. (I did not line my trays with parchment paper. I do, however have nice baking sheets – I would not recommend using an old baking sheet that has black markings all over.)
- Shape the cookies: Create the centers of the cookies by rolling the peanut butter dough into 24 balls. Because it is hard to tell just how large to make these, it may take some trial and error. I believe that my PB centers were about as big around as a quarter. Set these aside.
- Scoop a generous tablespoon (be careful of how generous you are with your tablespoons –used a tablespoon measure to scoop out the chocolate dough and let it overflow a litte and ended up one chocolate ball short)of chocolate dough, flatten into a disc and place a peanut butter ball in the center.
- Fold the sides of chocolate dough up and around the peanut butter center and roll the chocolate ball into a smooth ball between your palms. Place on a baking tray and repeat with remaining dough & PB.
- Place dough balls on lined (or not) baking sheets about 2 inches apart and bake for 10 minutes. **Because I did not want to rotate my trays in the oven as I was unsure how that would affect the baking of these particular cookies –I made one tray of 12, baked them and put together the remaining 12 as the first batch baked. The timing was perfect.** Remove sheet from oven and let cookies sit on the tray for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to complete cooling. Store cookies in airtight container.
They are so wonderful - they are absolutely worth the time. As I did some more baking this weekend, I will post those later.
March 24, 2010
Posting Pause
I haven't been feeling well lately but will be sure to get back on soon to post more information.
March 19, 2010
Where to eat in Chatt
On dining out in Chattanooga.
Took the guest to Hiroshi's - which serves some fabulous sushi as well as other Japanese fare. Because the guest does not enjoy sushi she had fish.
Unfortunately, Hiroshi's only prepares raw food well. The fish was apparently overdone and the veggies it was served with were insanely salty. The same results were found with another guest's steak. Well, you win some & you loose some. My veggie sushi was great and I enjoyed my meal. The service was sub-par. There were only two girls waiting on the entire restaurant & poor dears must have been running around like crazy.
For lunch today I went with the guest and a few others to Sluggo's Vegetarian Cafe. I have finally gotten around to going and have nothing but greatness to report.
As the 3 I was with are omnivores, most were timid about trying anything unfamiliar to them.
Here is what was had:
1 - cup of chili (reported good but quite spicy) and small garden salad
2 - large garden salad (average)
3 - portobello mushroom burger (reported good)
4 - For myself, I had the black bean burrito. I love Mexican fare. The burrito was quite good but was seasoned with cumin which was unexpected but delicious. The burrito was gigantic! It comes with a vegan sour cream but as I don't care for sour cream, I left it off. It is topped with 'cheese' which tasted alright. I asked what type it was, as I did not have success with the rice cheese last weekend. I was told that it is made in-house and is made of nutritional yeast flakes. This is a product which I have yet to try but I read about it in many recipes. Apparently it has lots of vitamin B. The cheese was good but not very "cheesy" tasting. If I were to compare it to any "regular"cheese - it is most like a squeeze nacho cheese - which I am not a fan of.
The chips and salsa served with the burrito were very nice. The chips were not greasy at all and had a great crunch.
I will definitely be making another trip back!
Took the guest to Hiroshi's - which serves some fabulous sushi as well as other Japanese fare. Because the guest does not enjoy sushi she had fish.
Unfortunately, Hiroshi's only prepares raw food well. The fish was apparently overdone and the veggies it was served with were insanely salty. The same results were found with another guest's steak. Well, you win some & you loose some. My veggie sushi was great and I enjoyed my meal. The service was sub-par. There were only two girls waiting on the entire restaurant & poor dears must have been running around like crazy.
For lunch today I went with the guest and a few others to Sluggo's Vegetarian Cafe. I have finally gotten around to going and have nothing but greatness to report.
As the 3 I was with are omnivores, most were timid about trying anything unfamiliar to them.
Here is what was had:
1 - cup of chili (reported good but quite spicy) and small garden salad
2 - large garden salad (average)
3 - portobello mushroom burger (reported good)
4 - For myself, I had the black bean burrito. I love Mexican fare. The burrito was quite good but was seasoned with cumin which was unexpected but delicious. The burrito was gigantic! It comes with a vegan sour cream but as I don't care for sour cream, I left it off. It is topped with 'cheese' which tasted alright. I asked what type it was, as I did not have success with the rice cheese last weekend. I was told that it is made in-house and is made of nutritional yeast flakes. This is a product which I have yet to try but I read about it in many recipes. Apparently it has lots of vitamin B. The cheese was good but not very "cheesy" tasting. If I were to compare it to any "regular"cheese - it is most like a squeeze nacho cheese - which I am not a fan of.
The chips and salsa served with the burrito were very nice. The chips were not greasy at all and had a great crunch.
I will definitely be making another trip back!
March 17, 2010
Dining Out Dilemma
During my time as a vegan - just over two weeks - I have not run across any problems regarding meals that cannot be solved with a quick trip to the grocery store or a great recipe. Vegans can eat meals that are just as fabulous as those that contain animal products.
The issue now is dining out.
Chattanooga, TN - where I live - has one vegan restaurant and one vegetarian restaurant. I have dined at the vegan restaurant prior to being a vegan & even before I was vegetarian and did not enjoy my experience. Most likely, I just need to give it another try.
The vegetarian restaurant in town I have not tried yet but am anxious to do so as most of their menu items fit into 'vegan' category.
So what is the problem? When friends want to dine out, they do not want to go to the same restaurants again & again. Heck, I don't want to go to the same restaurants again and again. I just learned that I will no longer be able to eat at my favorite Italian restaurant in town. Because they make fresh pasta, they use eggs & so it's out. Another favorite restaurant of mine offers many vegetarian options but most of those include sandwiches (bread made with eggs) or cheese.
What's in? Mexican. I am so glad that this is generally one of my top choices as I feel that I will be eating quite a lot of it. Japanese - veggie sushi rolls - are also an option that I might be trying more and more of.
With a guest coming into town for a few days I will most certainly want to take them out to eat - and because she doesn't care for Mexican or sushi - the question now is "where?"
The issue now is dining out.
Chattanooga, TN - where I live - has one vegan restaurant and one vegetarian restaurant. I have dined at the vegan restaurant prior to being a vegan & even before I was vegetarian and did not enjoy my experience. Most likely, I just need to give it another try.
The vegetarian restaurant in town I have not tried yet but am anxious to do so as most of their menu items fit into 'vegan' category.
So what is the problem? When friends want to dine out, they do not want to go to the same restaurants again & again. Heck, I don't want to go to the same restaurants again and again. I just learned that I will no longer be able to eat at my favorite Italian restaurant in town. Because they make fresh pasta, they use eggs & so it's out. Another favorite restaurant of mine offers many vegetarian options but most of those include sandwiches (bread made with eggs) or cheese.
What's in? Mexican. I am so glad that this is generally one of my top choices as I feel that I will be eating quite a lot of it. Japanese - veggie sushi rolls - are also an option that I might be trying more and more of.
With a guest coming into town for a few days I will most certainly want to take them out to eat - and because she doesn't care for Mexican or sushi - the question now is "where?"
March 15, 2010
Getting Back to the New Normal
I am doing some crazy things to my body & my brain right now. The on again, off again smoothie cleanse has created havoc for me. Both stomach and head can't figure out what's going to come next and after doing the cleanse for most of 2 weeks, regular food is rough.
What I do not recommend - a drastic change in diet of any type. Please, learn from my mistakes.
Another problem I am having is one that I have been fighting my entire life - overindulgence. I just don't seem to know when to say 'when'. What I am going to need to find is balance & soon.
Barely slept last night due to an aching stomach. Didn't feel like I needed to be in the bathroom or getting sick, but just an awful ache. Felt that way most of the morning & had a pounding headache as well. I am going to attribute this to sugar from the cookies (the yucky ones) which I tasted more times than necessary to tell that they simply weren't good.
Felt so crummy that I didn't even make it to the gym & I am now regretting this decision, but my tennis shoes are locked up at the office. Will get things together tomorrow. I am making a promise to myself.
What I do not recommend - a drastic change in diet of any type. Please, learn from my mistakes.
Another problem I am having is one that I have been fighting my entire life - overindulgence. I just don't seem to know when to say 'when'. What I am going to need to find is balance & soon.
Barely slept last night due to an aching stomach. Didn't feel like I needed to be in the bathroom or getting sick, but just an awful ache. Felt that way most of the morning & had a pounding headache as well. I am going to attribute this to sugar from the cookies (the yucky ones) which I tasted more times than necessary to tell that they simply weren't good.
Felt so crummy that I didn't even make it to the gym & I am now regretting this decision, but my tennis shoes are locked up at the office. Will get things together tomorrow. I am making a promise to myself.
March 14, 2010
Vegan versions of "regular foods"
Saturday was spent with a stomach ache for the majority of the day. This is what happens when you get excited about eating solid foods again and go overboard. Mexican certainly wasn't the best choice.
Rested for most of the morning & afternoon and mended things with lentil soup. Lentils, yum, are something which had never been a part of my diet until I went vegetarian this fall. Many of the soups I've made over the past few months call for them and I have really enjoyed them. Beans are really making a larger appearance in my diet in general, through soups mostly.
I sat down to look through recipes for the week & I am having trouble picking out vegan recipes other than soups. I don't own any vegan cookbooks (except for the recipes included in some of the books I have bought) and I am finding that this will need to be something that I add to my wish list soon.
I was really looking forward to making some yummy vegan deserts and found what seemed to be a very yummy recipe on Chocolate Covered Katie's website: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2009/11/05/raw-vegan-mounds-bars/
When I got to the store to purchase the Cacao Bliss I found that it was $15 for a small jar - I didn't look at the ounces, but it was most likely 15 oz or less! This was ridiculous!! Instead, I satisfied my chocolate craving with an Endangered Species chocolate bar: http://www.chocolatebar.com/, delicious and vegan!
Did not eat well this weekend. I hope to get back on track this week & hit the gym again. With the gym closed this weekend and the weather a dreary, wet muck I didn't get to spend any time outside either. The plan is to do oatmeal in the mornings (until I finish up the bag & then switch to fresh fruits), smoothies for lunch, and a hearty meal for supper. On the list this week is a lentil/spinach stew of sorts & a tomato/pine nut/golden raisin pasta.
Sunday I do my shopping for the week and I picked up some vegan baking staples: agave nectar, turbinado sugar, etc. I was in a baking mood so I mixed up a batch of these: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6391.0 chocolate chip cookies. They sucked. Followed the recipe & I ended up with crunchy, crumbly, vegetable oil tasting sugary messes. I am having my sister take them to her classroom to see if her children will eat them. I was planning on throwing them in the trash.
There are so many vegan products I have never tried so I picked up my first vegan "cheese" today. I have been reading some terrible things about soy lately (will have to post about this later) so I selected rice cheese:
http://www.galaxyfoods.com/Products/VeganCheese/RiceVegan/riceveganSlices.stml
This was the particular brand I picked up in hopes to create a grilled cheese on tortilla. It tasted like rice. Big disappointment. So I am not hitting it off with vegan versions of traditional foods. We'll see what I come across next week.
Rested for most of the morning & afternoon and mended things with lentil soup. Lentils, yum, are something which had never been a part of my diet until I went vegetarian this fall. Many of the soups I've made over the past few months call for them and I have really enjoyed them. Beans are really making a larger appearance in my diet in general, through soups mostly.
I sat down to look through recipes for the week & I am having trouble picking out vegan recipes other than soups. I don't own any vegan cookbooks (except for the recipes included in some of the books I have bought) and I am finding that this will need to be something that I add to my wish list soon.
I was really looking forward to making some yummy vegan deserts and found what seemed to be a very yummy recipe on Chocolate Covered Katie's website: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2009/11/05/raw-vegan-mounds-bars/
When I got to the store to purchase the Cacao Bliss I found that it was $15 for a small jar - I didn't look at the ounces, but it was most likely 15 oz or less! This was ridiculous!! Instead, I satisfied my chocolate craving with an Endangered Species chocolate bar: http://www.chocolatebar.com/, delicious and vegan!
Did not eat well this weekend. I hope to get back on track this week & hit the gym again. With the gym closed this weekend and the weather a dreary, wet muck I didn't get to spend any time outside either. The plan is to do oatmeal in the mornings (until I finish up the bag & then switch to fresh fruits), smoothies for lunch, and a hearty meal for supper. On the list this week is a lentil/spinach stew of sorts & a tomato/pine nut/golden raisin pasta.
Sunday I do my shopping for the week and I picked up some vegan baking staples: agave nectar, turbinado sugar, etc. I was in a baking mood so I mixed up a batch of these: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6391.0 chocolate chip cookies. They sucked. Followed the recipe & I ended up with crunchy, crumbly, vegetable oil tasting sugary messes. I am having my sister take them to her classroom to see if her children will eat them. I was planning on throwing them in the trash.
There are so many vegan products I have never tried so I picked up my first vegan "cheese" today. I have been reading some terrible things about soy lately (will have to post about this later) so I selected rice cheese:
http://www.galaxyfoods.com/Products/VeganCheese/RiceVegan/riceveganSlices.stml
This was the particular brand I picked up in hopes to create a grilled cheese on tortilla. It tasted like rice. Big disappointment. So I am not hitting it off with vegan versions of traditional foods. We'll see what I come across next week.
March 13, 2010
The Turn + book review of Raw Food Detox Diet
Since Thursday evening's events I have been doing a lot of thinking.
I cannot, on my budget, make my smoothie detox work. A suggestion was made to me that evening that I try a raw food detox, particularly Natalia Rose's Raw Food Detox Diet. This was luckily one of the many books which I had purchased when I began to further my education of nutrition but had yet to read.
I pulled it off of the shelf and started reading. There are 5 steps in the detoxification process, as outlined my Ms. Rose, and Thursday evening I read the intro and step 1. At this point I was in agreement with much of what she had to say and was on board to try this detox starting Saturday morning.
Friday morning I had ingredients to make one more smoothie batch & had planned on grocery shopping after I finished work so I could get materials for supper & the weekend. This smoothie was supposed to make 2 quarts but only made 20 oz!! This isn't even enough for lunch - I couldn't squeeze breakfast out of this too.
It was then that I decided to suck it up. I had a bowl of steel-cut oatmeal and took the smoothie with me for lunch (as well as 8 oz of a smoothie which I had leftover from a small supplemental smoothie I made the night before.)
**This next section is quite candid, please do not read if you do not want to know too much information.**
As this is a learning process for me & perhaps many of you who are going to embark on such a journey I am going to be utterly honest about how this food reacted with my body.
I have eaten this oatmeal many times before I started my cleanse and have never had problems. But after 4 days of nothing but pureed fruits & greens my body was not prepared for what then entered. Oatmeal is quite heavy and I felt weighed down all morning. My stomach felt agitated and by noon, my bowels were in disagreement.
I have not had a BM since Monday morning & now my body clearly wanted to pass this oatmeal through. After agitation all day I had my first BM Friday afternoon. I had not been in discomfort at all this week by not having a BM, rather my body had no need to pass anything as the smoothies become mostly juices after blending. "Real food" seemed to be the issue and my body is going to need to become accustomed to processing this once again.
*** You queasy folks may pick up reading again.***
During work on Friday I had time to finish reading The Raw Food Detox Diet. Please do not get the impression that I am not doing my job - Friday was an exception, to say the least, to what is normally a rather crazy and busy schedule.
About the book:
What I read in this book was an extreme view of how to eat and care for one's body.
Part 2 covers "quick exit combinations" which teach how we should eat food in order of how quickly it exits our body and tells us that we should never combine starches, animal products, nuts/seeds/dried fruits, & fresh fruits in the same meal - or even within 3 hours of each other. And most importantly we are never to eat fruit unless we have a completely empty stomach.
Part 3 was still extreme.
Part 4 was the doozy! Ms. Rose discusses a crucial part of detoxification - "taking out the garbage." This, I simply could not get behind. She suggests everything from colonic hydration (look it up), enemas, brushing our skin, bouncing on trampolines, standing on our head, and sweating as means of ridding our body of toxins.
Can you imagine how my life would appear:
friend: "Hey, do you want to catch a movie in an hour?"
me: "I would love to, but I am in the middle of brushing off some toxins & I am scheduled for my monthly colonic in 45 minutes."
friend: "Well, why don't we just catch a show later?"
me: "I don't know. I haven't had any time to jump on my trampoline yet today & I still need to spend some time inverted. Do you think the movie would be the same if I were upside-down?"
Folks, this is really where the woman lost me. She is not the first to suggest cleaning the colon as part of the detoxification process - in fact, many others suggest this, or even consider it necessary. However, I cannot bring myself to administer an enema or even worse, to allow someone to give me a colonic!
So, I did finish reading the book (which includes recipes & a weekly meal plan for 5 different levels of preparedness.) I was ready to try to do the detox, without bowel cleansing, until I read the meals.
Did I mention that I was a picky eater? The pickiest!
By the end of the afternoon I had given up. I feel confident that I gave my body 72+ hours of reprieve from processed foods & I still haven't had animal products since March 1st. I was ready to enter a normal lifestyle where I was simply a vegan without any crazy detox plans.
This is the point where I may have gone overboard. I have very little self-control when I comes to food. I am the type of person who goes out and buys a bag of chips but eats them in 2 days, instead of throughout the week. Or who buys some healthy almonds to save for little snacks between meals but ends up consuming them in one sitting in front of the TV. So, when I got home from work I dove right into some hummus which I had made last Saturday & enjoyed it with some red bell peppers - this was a nice snack.
But then I realized that I didn't have anything for supper. I didn't want to look through recipe books & didn't want to go shopping. I needed instant gratification & I was craving Mexican food.
So, that's what I did.
I did enjoy dinner, a veggie bean burrito sans cheese. It was great! But this was a little too much for my stomach to take on after 4 days of cleansing. My stomach ached.
This morning I had oatmeal. My stomach aches again.
One thing that Natalia Rose may have had right in her book was a suggestion to only eat fresh fruit in the morning. Fruit passes through the body quickly, is good for you, filled with water, & most of all - it's light. She suggests that we work gradually throughout the day putting heavier foods in as we go along. This seems like a good suggestion (or at least my stomach thinks so right now.) Perhaps it is just me coming off of the cleanse & having difficulties processing "regular" foods - but I think it might be something I try.
I have considered keeping up with the smoothies for lunch/mid-day meals but Ms. Rose warns us about combining fruit with any other items in our stomach because it ferments. You will have to read the book to understand fully. And now she has me worried about combining the fruits with greens in my smoothies.
This entire process is about learning & trying new things and I am well on my way.
I cannot, on my budget, make my smoothie detox work. A suggestion was made to me that evening that I try a raw food detox, particularly Natalia Rose's Raw Food Detox Diet. This was luckily one of the many books which I had purchased when I began to further my education of nutrition but had yet to read.
I pulled it off of the shelf and started reading. There are 5 steps in the detoxification process, as outlined my Ms. Rose, and Thursday evening I read the intro and step 1. At this point I was in agreement with much of what she had to say and was on board to try this detox starting Saturday morning.
Friday morning I had ingredients to make one more smoothie batch & had planned on grocery shopping after I finished work so I could get materials for supper & the weekend. This smoothie was supposed to make 2 quarts but only made 20 oz!! This isn't even enough for lunch - I couldn't squeeze breakfast out of this too.
It was then that I decided to suck it up. I had a bowl of steel-cut oatmeal and took the smoothie with me for lunch (as well as 8 oz of a smoothie which I had leftover from a small supplemental smoothie I made the night before.)
**This next section is quite candid, please do not read if you do not want to know too much information.**
As this is a learning process for me & perhaps many of you who are going to embark on such a journey I am going to be utterly honest about how this food reacted with my body.
I have eaten this oatmeal many times before I started my cleanse and have never had problems. But after 4 days of nothing but pureed fruits & greens my body was not prepared for what then entered. Oatmeal is quite heavy and I felt weighed down all morning. My stomach felt agitated and by noon, my bowels were in disagreement.
I have not had a BM since Monday morning & now my body clearly wanted to pass this oatmeal through. After agitation all day I had my first BM Friday afternoon. I had not been in discomfort at all this week by not having a BM, rather my body had no need to pass anything as the smoothies become mostly juices after blending. "Real food" seemed to be the issue and my body is going to need to become accustomed to processing this once again.
*** You queasy folks may pick up reading again.***
During work on Friday I had time to finish reading The Raw Food Detox Diet. Please do not get the impression that I am not doing my job - Friday was an exception, to say the least, to what is normally a rather crazy and busy schedule.
About the book:
What I read in this book was an extreme view of how to eat and care for one's body.
Part 2 covers "quick exit combinations" which teach how we should eat food in order of how quickly it exits our body and tells us that we should never combine starches, animal products, nuts/seeds/dried fruits, & fresh fruits in the same meal - or even within 3 hours of each other. And most importantly we are never to eat fruit unless we have a completely empty stomach.
Part 3 was still extreme.
Part 4 was the doozy! Ms. Rose discusses a crucial part of detoxification - "taking out the garbage." This, I simply could not get behind. She suggests everything from colonic hydration (look it up), enemas, brushing our skin, bouncing on trampolines, standing on our head, and sweating as means of ridding our body of toxins.
Can you imagine how my life would appear:
friend: "Hey, do you want to catch a movie in an hour?"
me: "I would love to, but I am in the middle of brushing off some toxins & I am scheduled for my monthly colonic in 45 minutes."
friend: "Well, why don't we just catch a show later?"
me: "I don't know. I haven't had any time to jump on my trampoline yet today & I still need to spend some time inverted. Do you think the movie would be the same if I were upside-down?"
Folks, this is really where the woman lost me. She is not the first to suggest cleaning the colon as part of the detoxification process - in fact, many others suggest this, or even consider it necessary. However, I cannot bring myself to administer an enema or even worse, to allow someone to give me a colonic!
So, I did finish reading the book (which includes recipes & a weekly meal plan for 5 different levels of preparedness.) I was ready to try to do the detox, without bowel cleansing, until I read the meals.
Did I mention that I was a picky eater? The pickiest!
By the end of the afternoon I had given up. I feel confident that I gave my body 72+ hours of reprieve from processed foods & I still haven't had animal products since March 1st. I was ready to enter a normal lifestyle where I was simply a vegan without any crazy detox plans.
This is the point where I may have gone overboard. I have very little self-control when I comes to food. I am the type of person who goes out and buys a bag of chips but eats them in 2 days, instead of throughout the week. Or who buys some healthy almonds to save for little snacks between meals but ends up consuming them in one sitting in front of the TV. So, when I got home from work I dove right into some hummus which I had made last Saturday & enjoyed it with some red bell peppers - this was a nice snack.
But then I realized that I didn't have anything for supper. I didn't want to look through recipe books & didn't want to go shopping. I needed instant gratification & I was craving Mexican food.
So, that's what I did.
I did enjoy dinner, a veggie bean burrito sans cheese. It was great! But this was a little too much for my stomach to take on after 4 days of cleansing. My stomach ached.
This morning I had oatmeal. My stomach aches again.
One thing that Natalia Rose may have had right in her book was a suggestion to only eat fresh fruit in the morning. Fruit passes through the body quickly, is good for you, filled with water, & most of all - it's light. She suggests that we work gradually throughout the day putting heavier foods in as we go along. This seems like a good suggestion (or at least my stomach thinks so right now.) Perhaps it is just me coming off of the cleanse & having difficulties processing "regular" foods - but I think it might be something I try.
I have considered keeping up with the smoothies for lunch/mid-day meals but Ms. Rose warns us about combining fruit with any other items in our stomach because it ferments. You will have to read the book to understand fully. And now she has me worried about combining the fruits with greens in my smoothies.
This entire process is about learning & trying new things and I am well on my way.
March 11, 2010
Running on Empty
I am embarrassed to post this, but that is one of the many purposes of this blog - so you can learn from my mistakes. I came home and immediately hopped onto the computer just to tell you about the most recent.
Today I felt hungry. Hungry after breakfast, hungry after lunch. This should have been a big clue to me, but alas, no. What it needed to be was a huge sign - neon lights and all - saying "Girl, you are stupid! You obviously did not get enough to eat." Instead, I simply thought that I was feeling particularly voracious and needed to settle my meddling mind & stomach down.
After work I went to the gym as I do most Monday-Thursday and found that I was having difficulty on the elliptical - the elliptical, folks. This thing isn't even as hard as a treadmill and I can't get my legs to move? As I was 3/4 mile into my exercise I got to thinking about what I had to eat today.
--Well, I had 13-14 oz of smoothie this morning and 26 for lunch. That's normal.
What went into this smoothie: 2 apples, 2 bananas, 2 C spinach & 3 C water.
What the hell was I thinking?! If you are good with numbers you will realize how many calories that I was attempting to consume as my daily intake:
Calories in a medium-large size apple: 95-115
Calories in a medium-sized banana: 105
Calories in a packed cup of spinach: 14
Okay, you math whizzes, have you done your calculations?
That is a whopping 468 calories!!
This is what I was hoping would get me through the day - 468 itsy bitsy, raw calories! Dumb, folks. I'm dumb. And on top of this I am going to the gym 4-5 days a week and burning at least that each day. Running on Empty! The goal of this cleanse isn't to starve myself & it isn't to loose weight either; but apparently that's the road I'm headed down. What has happened is that I am not measuring my smoothies by their contents, but rather their quantity. I haven't been thinking about calories and have merely been thinking about how much smoothie I am consuming in one day. Now, granted, some of these smoothies are much thicker (less water - more substance) than others. Today's smoothie - not substantial enough on its own.
I will not be continuing down this path of self-destruction & starvation. In fact, after the realization hit me mid stride on the elliptical, I decided to save today's calories and head home. What I need is a new plan - a plan to consume more calories. This would seem easy, as one would simply say - "Well, have more smooties." This is a great idea, except for the fact that even though I have a "real job" I am still rather poor. I shop at Greenlife http://www.greenlifegrocery.com/www/docs/1 which I love, but organic is pricey & produce in general is too. Example: I picked up ingredients the other day to make 4 smoothies - $18 and I already had many of the ingredients at home. And if I need to have 2-3 smoothies per day then I am going to go broke trying to go green here!
I'd like to reach out to anyone who has any good ideas of how to make this cleanse work within a reasonable budget. Is is feasible? Do I shorten the cleanse? Do I call it quits?
While I try to figure things out I will still be having smoothies - just many more of them.
Today I felt hungry. Hungry after breakfast, hungry after lunch. This should have been a big clue to me, but alas, no. What it needed to be was a huge sign - neon lights and all - saying "Girl, you are stupid! You obviously did not get enough to eat." Instead, I simply thought that I was feeling particularly voracious and needed to settle my meddling mind & stomach down.
After work I went to the gym as I do most Monday-Thursday and found that I was having difficulty on the elliptical - the elliptical, folks. This thing isn't even as hard as a treadmill and I can't get my legs to move? As I was 3/4 mile into my exercise I got to thinking about what I had to eat today.
--Well, I had 13-14 oz of smoothie this morning and 26 for lunch. That's normal.
What went into this smoothie: 2 apples, 2 bananas, 2 C spinach & 3 C water.
What the hell was I thinking?! If you are good with numbers you will realize how many calories that I was attempting to consume as my daily intake:
Calories in a medium-large size apple: 95-115
Calories in a medium-sized banana: 105
Calories in a packed cup of spinach: 14
Okay, you math whizzes, have you done your calculations?
That is a whopping 468 calories!!
This is what I was hoping would get me through the day - 468 itsy bitsy, raw calories! Dumb, folks. I'm dumb. And on top of this I am going to the gym 4-5 days a week and burning at least that each day. Running on Empty! The goal of this cleanse isn't to starve myself & it isn't to loose weight either; but apparently that's the road I'm headed down. What has happened is that I am not measuring my smoothies by their contents, but rather their quantity. I haven't been thinking about calories and have merely been thinking about how much smoothie I am consuming in one day. Now, granted, some of these smoothies are much thicker (less water - more substance) than others. Today's smoothie - not substantial enough on its own.
I will not be continuing down this path of self-destruction & starvation. In fact, after the realization hit me mid stride on the elliptical, I decided to save today's calories and head home. What I need is a new plan - a plan to consume more calories. This would seem easy, as one would simply say - "Well, have more smooties." This is a great idea, except for the fact that even though I have a "real job" I am still rather poor. I shop at Greenlife http://www.greenlifegrocery.com/www/docs/1 which I love, but organic is pricey & produce in general is too. Example: I picked up ingredients the other day to make 4 smoothies - $18 and I already had many of the ingredients at home. And if I need to have 2-3 smoothies per day then I am going to go broke trying to go green here!
I'd like to reach out to anyone who has any good ideas of how to make this cleanse work within a reasonable budget. Is is feasible? Do I shorten the cleanse? Do I call it quits?
While I try to figure things out I will still be having smoothies - just many more of them.
Cravings
Yes, it is only day 3 of round 3 and it feels as if it could be day 25. Although I had solid foods this weekend, because I started my cleanse on March 2nd, I have mostly been drinking smoothies for the past week. Goodness, do I miss the crispy crunch of dry cereal! To me, cereal could have been considered a food group of its own. There are plenty of vegan cereals out there, so when I am done with the cleanse I have many options; however I am not just going vegan but I am trying to treat my body better and eat better foods.
I haven't had cereal with dairy milk since early January and had been eating cereal with soy or plain oatmeal with wild blueberries tossed in (frozen as they are not in season.) And even though oatmeal didn't have a 'crunch' like cereal, I am missing that too.
I have also found that when I am very hungry a smoothie does not initially satisfy my hunger. Because I drink the smoothies slowly my stomach does not immediately get the feeling of fullness as it would if I chowed down on a bowl of cereal. Smoothies do satisfy my hunger after I have finished one & I suppose that is all that matters.
I have been perusing tons of vegan blogs and found out that Oprah did a vegan cleanse this past year.
http://www.oprah.com/food/The-21-Day-Cleanse-Oprahs-Blog-1
Although she did not have smoothies (only vegan foods) she seemed to be having some of the same issues that I am having - feelings of withdrawl and cravings to eat things that we know we shouldn't. The majority of my cravings have been for things that are crunchy - that I can chew. However, cheese is the only animal product that I am having difficulty with. Before I was vegan I thought about cheese a lot - I love cheese! And now, I feel like it is on my brain even more. I am hoping that at the end of my 21 days those cravings will have passed.
I haven't had cereal with dairy milk since early January and had been eating cereal with soy or plain oatmeal with wild blueberries tossed in (frozen as they are not in season.) And even though oatmeal didn't have a 'crunch' like cereal, I am missing that too.
I have also found that when I am very hungry a smoothie does not initially satisfy my hunger. Because I drink the smoothies slowly my stomach does not immediately get the feeling of fullness as it would if I chowed down on a bowl of cereal. Smoothies do satisfy my hunger after I have finished one & I suppose that is all that matters.
I have been perusing tons of vegan blogs and found out that Oprah did a vegan cleanse this past year.
http://www.oprah.com/food/The-21-Day-Cleanse-Oprahs-Blog-1
Although she did not have smoothies (only vegan foods) she seemed to be having some of the same issues that I am having - feelings of withdrawl and cravings to eat things that we know we shouldn't. The majority of my cravings have been for things that are crunchy - that I can chew. However, cheese is the only animal product that I am having difficulty with. Before I was vegan I thought about cheese a lot - I love cheese! And now, I feel like it is on my brain even more. I am hoping that at the end of my 21 days those cravings will have passed.
March 10, 2010
Education + Dedication
A quick overview of my cleanse/detox:
Yesterday evening was quite difficult. When I get home I just want something to munch/crunch and this seems to be the hardest part for me. This morning, however, I felt fantastic and had a particularly yummy smoothie.
About my smoothies:
Currently I am getting my recipes from a book by Victoria Boutenko - Green Smoothie Revolution & I quite like it. The only difficulty that I am coming across is a descrepency of how much smoothie that each recipe makes. Each recipe is listed as making one or two quarts. I choose to make the 2 quart recipes so that I do not have to blend as often. However, most of these recipes only turn out 30-50 oz each. I suppose that it could vary depending on the size of my fruits and greens but a quart difference is just ridiculous.
Consumption:
I know that many people are worried about me getting enough calories & nutrition but I would like to set your minds at ease. I consume a minimum of 55 oz of smoothie per day but often I make more when I am feeling hungry. In your average smoothie you can have quite a bit of fruits and veggies.
Take this morning's smoothie:
1/4 C water
2 bananas
1 large bosc pear
1 large gala apple
2 C (packed) kale (I used dinosaur kale, also known as lacinato blue)
Although this smoothie told me that it would make 2 quarts, it only made 30 oz and I was very disappointed because it was particularly delicious. So this smoothie was halved - half for breakfast and half for dinner. Lunch consists of 26 oz of another smoothie. Smoothies must be consumed slowly for better assimilation of nutrients, mixing of saliva, and warming of drink; thus my "lunch" smoothie will be spread throughout the afternoon approx. 11:30-3:30 taking half at a time.
About being a newbie:
Because veganism is very new to me I am still learning. I have purchased a number of books on the subject so that I can learn what type of nutrients & vitamins need to be in my daily diet. There are a few problems here - reading a lot of information all at once is hard to digest and even more difficult to retain. Also, I have had trouble getting motivated to read all of these books. After a day at work, sitting down to a textbook style read is not exactly high on my list of entertaining/relaxing activities. Another issue is that new studies & theories in health and nutrition are constantly being developed and many people have very different ideas on the subject, so often these books contradict each other.
I do realize that weather we are vegan or not we should be learning as much as we can to take care of our bodies and this takes time and effort - now it's just a matter of getting down to task.
Yesterday evening was quite difficult. When I get home I just want something to munch/crunch and this seems to be the hardest part for me. This morning, however, I felt fantastic and had a particularly yummy smoothie.
About my smoothies:
Currently I am getting my recipes from a book by Victoria Boutenko - Green Smoothie Revolution & I quite like it. The only difficulty that I am coming across is a descrepency of how much smoothie that each recipe makes. Each recipe is listed as making one or two quarts. I choose to make the 2 quart recipes so that I do not have to blend as often. However, most of these recipes only turn out 30-50 oz each. I suppose that it could vary depending on the size of my fruits and greens but a quart difference is just ridiculous.
Consumption:
I know that many people are worried about me getting enough calories & nutrition but I would like to set your minds at ease. I consume a minimum of 55 oz of smoothie per day but often I make more when I am feeling hungry. In your average smoothie you can have quite a bit of fruits and veggies.
Take this morning's smoothie:
1/4 C water
2 bananas
1 large bosc pear
1 large gala apple
2 C (packed) kale (I used dinosaur kale, also known as lacinato blue)
Although this smoothie told me that it would make 2 quarts, it only made 30 oz and I was very disappointed because it was particularly delicious. So this smoothie was halved - half for breakfast and half for dinner. Lunch consists of 26 oz of another smoothie. Smoothies must be consumed slowly for better assimilation of nutrients, mixing of saliva, and warming of drink; thus my "lunch" smoothie will be spread throughout the afternoon approx. 11:30-3:30 taking half at a time.
About being a newbie:
Because veganism is very new to me I am still learning. I have purchased a number of books on the subject so that I can learn what type of nutrients & vitamins need to be in my daily diet. There are a few problems here - reading a lot of information all at once is hard to digest and even more difficult to retain. Also, I have had trouble getting motivated to read all of these books. After a day at work, sitting down to a textbook style read is not exactly high on my list of entertaining/relaxing activities. Another issue is that new studies & theories in health and nutrition are constantly being developed and many people have very different ideas on the subject, so often these books contradict each other.
I do realize that weather we are vegan or not we should be learning as much as we can to take care of our bodies and this takes time and effort - now it's just a matter of getting down to task.
March 9, 2010
Girl Gone Green
Before I jump to the present, let me rewind time to March 1st 2010.
This was the day on which I had planned to go vegan & I was going to do it in a big way. I didn't simply plan on cutting out dairy and eggs but I was going to cleanse my body of all animal products and start fresh. To aid in this process I had purchased (after two months of research) a VitaMix which I was anxiously awaiting to arrive in the mail. This cleanse, I had decided, would be 21 days because that seemed to be the magic number of so many cleanses. I would not follow any set detox/cleanse but would consume green smoothies - breakfast, lunch, & dinner - for 3 weeks in hopes of accomplishing a few things.
One, to flush out animal products.
Two, *and this was the most important to me* I hoped that by the end of the 21 days that I would like more vegetables and greens.
As you will notice as I work through this blog - I am a very picky eater & veggies are one of my least favorite foods.
March 1st - VitaMix arrives in the mail, elation ensues! Did not begin cleanse due to late arrival of blender but did go vegan - 0 animal products.
March 2nd - Began cleanse. It was hard.
March 6th - Aborted cleanse. I was getting sick in the mornings & credited this to the consumption of ruffage on an empty stomach.
March 7th - Realized that the illness was caused by a multi-vitamin on an empty stomach, not the smoothies.
March 8th - Cleanse restart. Quit for dinner. Because I had quit my cleanse that weekend, I had a fabulous fridge full of yummy leftovers that I couldn't seem to let go to waste - or in my sister's mouth.
Felt guilty.
March 9th - Cleanse, day 1 - round 3. I am determined that I am going to complete this.
This was the day on which I had planned to go vegan & I was going to do it in a big way. I didn't simply plan on cutting out dairy and eggs but I was going to cleanse my body of all animal products and start fresh. To aid in this process I had purchased (after two months of research) a VitaMix which I was anxiously awaiting to arrive in the mail. This cleanse, I had decided, would be 21 days because that seemed to be the magic number of so many cleanses. I would not follow any set detox/cleanse but would consume green smoothies - breakfast, lunch, & dinner - for 3 weeks in hopes of accomplishing a few things.
One, to flush out animal products.
Two, *and this was the most important to me* I hoped that by the end of the 21 days that I would like more vegetables and greens.
As you will notice as I work through this blog - I am a very picky eater & veggies are one of my least favorite foods.
March 1st - VitaMix arrives in the mail, elation ensues! Did not begin cleanse due to late arrival of blender but did go vegan - 0 animal products.
March 2nd - Began cleanse. It was hard.
March 6th - Aborted cleanse. I was getting sick in the mornings & credited this to the consumption of ruffage on an empty stomach.
March 7th - Realized that the illness was caused by a multi-vitamin on an empty stomach, not the smoothies.
March 8th - Cleanse restart. Quit for dinner. Because I had quit my cleanse that weekend, I had a fabulous fridge full of yummy leftovers that I couldn't seem to let go to waste - or in my sister's mouth.
Felt guilty.
March 9th - Cleanse, day 1 - round 3. I am determined that I am going to complete this.
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