Change your Life!
Heart disease and cancer are the leading causes of death in this country and obesity is a MAJOR contributing factor in developing both! The good news is that you can choose to LIVE an active and healthy life or EXIST in one of illness and immobility. Want to lose 1 pound in one week? All you have to do is decrease your daily calorie intake by 500!
500 calories= 12 oz soda (180-220 cal), snickers bar (270 cal)
500 calories= whopper jr (340 cal), small fries (230 cal)
500 calories= bagel (270-300 cal), 1 oz cream cheese (99 cal), coffee with cream& sugar (120 cal)
AND, if you add exercise to your daily activities, even just 100 calories worth, you increase your weight loss, boost your metabolism, and start down the path of good health! Substitute fresh fruits and vegetables for high calorie, over processed foods and make an even bigger impact on your life! Change your lifestyle and change your life!!!
This blog is part of the Ultimate Black Belt Test Program, which is an undertaking of The 100., and a part of Four Dragons Martial Arts in Watkins Glen, NY.
Vegan-Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Yummies!
2 3/4 cup King Arthur Gluten-Free flour
1/2 (+) tsp xanthum gum
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup soy margarine
1 1/2 cups coconut sugar
3 tsp Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 4 Tbl. water
1 bag vegan chocolate chips (12oz or so)
Cream together margarine and sugar.Add vanilla and egg replacer-mix well.
Mix in dry ingredients and stir in chocolate chips.
Drop by spoonful (I use a cookie scoop) onto a silicon baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 14-15 minutes.
Cool on wire racks and enjoy with a cold glass of almond milk!!!!!
Crocked Kheer!
Crock Pots are the bomb!!!! I am always looking for yummy “lazy” recipes that I can throw together and “forget”…and here is another that fits the bill! In case you don’t know, Kheer is an Indian dessert-served cold. My version is vegan of course! It can be eaten hot too-for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
1 cup long grain brown rice (basmati gives it a unique flavor-try it!)
6 cups nondairy milk (unsweetened almond or coconut)
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped or slivered almonds
1 tsp cardamon
3-4 TBL. agave syrup, brown rice syrup, or a few tsp stevia (sweeten to taste-not too much!)
Place everything except sweetener in a small crock pot and cook until rice plumps and it thickens (4-5 hours on low, 2-3 hours on high). Stir in your sweetener and transfer to the fridge.
Serve cold-top with fresh berries, more nuts, a little non-dairy creamer, whatever!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
I am not Irish but I am a Scot-a close descendant of the Keith Clan(my Great Grandmother)and surprisingly related to my husbands family through a distant clan, the Leeches. St. Paddy’s day is one of our favorite days of the year as we join in with our “Celtic brother’s” to celebrate. If you like a good “Irish Stew” try this recipe out! Since we are a WHEAT FREE household we use the chickpeas and wheat free soy sauce and skip the Soda Bread. If anyone has a wheat free version of Soda Bread please share the recipe! Slainte!
Vegan Irish Stew
3 Cups of Water
2 1/2 Cups Vegetable Broth
1 lbs Un-peeled Potatoes
1/2 lb Seitan or 8 oz of Chickpeas
3 Large Peeled Carrots
1 Medium Onions
1 Stalk Celery
2/3 Cup Barley (or quinoa-our favorite pseudo grain)
2 Tbls Soy Sauce
1 Tsp Thyme
1 Tsp Rosemary
1/2 Tsp Salt
Black Pepper to Taste
Cut all veggies into large stew like chunks, including potatoes. In a large pot combine water, vegetable broth, barley, onions, an salt. Bring to a boil and cook at medium heat for about 20 minutes. Add in the potatoes and cook for another ten minutes. Next add the carrots, seiten (or chickpeas), celery, soy sauce and all spices and cook for another 20 minutes on a low setting. Now you are ready to serve this traditional Irish dish and don’t forget to serve with a slice of Irish Soda Bread or crackers….and a pint of Guinness!!
Thank you autonomieproject!
Mexican Stuffed Peppers
Here’s an awesome recipe I came up with inspired by my daughter Seana who after eating an AMY’s Bean and Rice Burrito declared-”We should make stuffed peppers like this!”. Since rice is not a grain that we routinely eat I made it with quinoa to give it a yummy protein punch!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a large baking pan by covering bottom with foil.
6 large green peppers-split through the middle to make two “boats” (scoop out guts and seeds and rinse), place the “boats” open side down on pan and roast
in pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes (until they start to brown).
1 cup quinoa (rinse well) and then bring to a boil in 1 1/2 cups of water. Let simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from stove for 5 minutes.
Saute in a medium pan:
1 TBL coconut oil
1 medium onion-diced
3-4 cloves of garlic-minced or diced
1 tsp cumin
Add & heat:
1 can pinto beans (rinsed)
1 can black beans (rinsed)
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes & chiles (hot!)
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup taco sauce
the cooked quinoa.
salt & pepper, to taste
Remove peppers from oven and flip. Fill each “boat” with the filling, sprinkle with vegan cheddar or mexican style cheese and return to oven for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly.
These would also be awesome done on the grill!! And…left over filling can be used to make Enchiladas!!!!!
New Discoveries
For years I have studied diet and nutrition , obsessed over food and it’s impact on health (after all I used to weigh over 200lbs!), and it seems that it is all starting to make sense… it is even starting to make sense to my husband-a die hard meat eater- and he is starting to jump on board rather than heckle from the sidelines!
Re-Read a few good books lately by Brendan Brazier (sometimes you need to see the same material over and over for it to sink in!) and discovered (re-discovered!) some basic truths about nutrition and food that make more sense than ever and “are so easy it’s hard” (something I say to my students on a daily basis)! I was so inspired that I even bought a new kitchen appliance (Ninja Professional Model Food Processor/Blender-because I am too cheap to buy a Vitamix) and have used it to make some of the most incredible, nutritionally complete and nutrient dense meals that we have ever had! Hubby’s in the kitchen now “creating” and I can’t wait!!!
Here’s a fabulous “pizza recipe” that we tried last night (he raved about it!):
Crust:
1 can adzuki beans
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 cup ground sesame seeds
1/4 cup coconut oil
salt to taste
Process until combined, spread on pizza tin or bottom of small casserole dish.
Sauce:
1 cup sun dried tomatoes soaked in 1 cup water (do not drain-use the water!)
1 cup tomatoes (1 use 3-4 romas)
1/2 of a cucumber
1 clove of garlic
3 Tbl. Hemp Oil
1-2 tsp Italian Seasoning (rosemary, thyme, oregano)
1 Tbl. balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
salt to taste
Process till smooth.
Spread Sauce on “crust” and add toppings: green onion, mushroom, dulse, tomato, etc. Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes.
Boring!
I have decided that my diet, while very healthy, is a bit boring! I eat the same things everyday (with few exceptions) at pretty much the same times-not what you would call exciting but it works for me. I am going to try to be a bit more creative in the future and created this little video to highlight how some seemingly boring foods can be made exciting! Enjoy! Tofu & Taters
Vegan Hanukkah Treat
I am always looking for new vegan recipes for general consumption and a post from a friend about “fried donuts” got me to thinking about a vegan version. I found one!!!!
Vegan Sufganiyot Doughnuts
A vegan recipe for sufganiyot using soy milk to replace the milk and margarine to replace the butter. These are just as delicious as traditional recipes. This recipe can also be used if your family easts kosher as an accompaniment to a meat meal. For garnish, dust them with some powdered sugar or dark chocolate shavings, or get creative and let us know the results!
Ingredients:
2 packages yeast
1/3 cup + 3 tbsp sugar (for developing the yeast)
1 cup warm water
4 cups bleached pastry flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup soy milk
2 tbsp potato starch
1/4 cup margarine, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla
oil for frying
Preparation:
In a glass bowl, mix together the yeast, 1 tablespoon sugar and the water until the yeast and sugar has dissolved. Allow to sit for 10 minutes.
In a different large bowl, mix the pastry flour and salt. In a third bowl, combine the 1/3 cup sugar and remaining ingredients, except for oil. Add the yeast mixture, and then gradually add the flour and salt. Combine until a stiff dough forms.
Cover and allow to sit for one hour.
On a floured surface, knead the dough for about one minute, then roll out to about 3/4 inch thickness. Cover with a dish towel or cloth and let rise for about 20 minutes, until doubled in size. Use a doughnut cutter, large cookie cutter or a jar to cut out round doughnuts.
In a deep fryer or a deep pan, heat several inches of oil over high heat. Test the temperature by placing a small piece of dough in the oil. The oil is the right temperature when the dough rises to the surface almost immediately. If it doesn’t rise to the top, the oil is not yet hot enough.
Fry the doughnuts in oil for a minute or two, turning over as needed, until browned on both sides. Allow to drain on paper towels. If you wish you can inject jelly into the finish doughnuts using a bakery injector.
This recipe makes about 12 doughtnuts.
YIKES!
Pizza is NOT a vegetable! Why are we letting companies dictate what our kids eat at school…..wake up people!!!!!!! Letting food companies lobby Congress to change regulations so that they can increase profit…..not cool! Parents: take a stand for the health of your child! Start sending healthy, whole food lunches to school and skip the lunch line!!!!!
