One Year

Life has gotten in the way of my blogging.  I am going to try to get back into the discipline of regular blogging. 

As of August 1st my husband and I have been whole food, plant based eaters for
one year.  It started out as a one month experiment.  We even voiced that if we did not make it for the whole month, we would not beat ourselves up about it.  We had been making changes to our diet for some time and just seemed somewhat lost in which direction to go.  There were multiple health problems which we had decided we would no longer be complacent to accept as a permanent part of our lives. 

Two things brought us to the decision to go plant based.  The biggest was that our daughter and her family had been plant based for several years and had seen considerable improvement in their lives.  They are raising two beautiful, healthy children on the plant based diet, and those children are thriving. 

The other reason for our going plant based is a documentary called "Forks Over Knives".  Within about 15 minutes into the film, we were looking at each other and agreeing that we needed to try plant based eating. 

I have heard it stated that instead of thinking of all the foods a person gives up to be plant based, we need to look at the incredible amount of foods we can enjoy.  That has been so true.  Just last night I was looking at a cookbook from the library that was by a favorite cookbook author of mine from the past.  My husband walked into the room, and I told him I was having a hard time looking at all of the beautiful dishes that I can longer eat.  He told me I needed to quit looking at it.  His statement was so simple but so true.  I put it down and started making out my weekly grocery list, which includes my weekly menu.  I was excited all over for the foods we will be eating next week. 

I have had some substantial improvements in my health.  I was taking four doses of a prescription medication for reflux daily, with zero improvement.  I am now down to one half dose per day and  am about to drop that.  I had been told I would have to do that for the rest of my life.  This medication causes an inability of the body to absorb nutrients properly, and that is completely unacceptable to me.  I am now my own "GI doctor".  

There is one other reason I am a plant based eater.  I grew up in a cattle and pork producing family.  There are so many hard working families who produce meat for America's consumption.  The animals on my childhood family farm were treated very well.  They had a tremendous amount of pasture on which to roam.   I have become aware in the last few years, however, how those animals are treated once they are sold to the "feed lots".  It is absolutely appalling and unacceptable to treat any living being in this way.  It is no different than treating a beloved dog, cat, etc. in that way.  We compartmentalize which animals can be abused, but they are all animals and should be treated with dignity.  Okay, off my soapbox, (for now).

I am rambling, so I will wrap this thing up.  I have never felt more sure about any decision I have made in my life than changing to a whole food, plant based diet.  Well, I guess marrying my husband was an equally good decision, but that's about it. 

Husband's thoughts:  Plant based is another way of saying vegan.  You know vegan right?  First you lose the meat, then you lose dairy, then you lose your friends.  Growing up I would consider a non-meat eater likely someone who plays a sitar, doesn't own shoes, and had poor personal hygiene.

Seriously, I have been in the closet about this for a couple of reasons: 1) People wouldn't believe me since I am still fat.   2) Most have a very strange reaction to plant based folks.  I enjoy going to lunch with friends, and unless they ask I just say I am not that hungry when I order a salad.  I have nothing against those family farms who raise cattle or pigs. The industrial operations and what they do to dairy cows and stack chickens on top of each other bothers me.

The few I do tell often find it strange.  Jo's blog has been about showing others that plant based food isn't boring. (As I once thought it was)  As you look through her food pictures and recipes you will see it is anything but.  After a year, I no longer crave BBQ or a chili dog. I reserve the right to fall off the wagon at any time, but for now we are healthier and happier.  It's not for everyone, but I was surprised how easy it was.  Gee, guess now I am out of the closet.  Thanks Jo for outing me!   Now where is my sitar?

Vegetable Wrap

This is a fun meal for a hot summer day.  I also love a recipe that can be made ahead, so when I have company, I can relax instead of doing last minute cooking.  This recipe actually needs to be made ahead for at least one hour, up to 5 hours.  We had some leftovers, and the next day they were still quite good, although I wouldn't recommend holding them that long. 

VEGETABLE WRAPS

½ cup vegan cream cheese

2 cups cannellini beans, rinsed if from a can, and drained
5 green onions, sliced thinly
6 Tbsp. basil, cut chiffonade
salt and pepper to taste
zest from one lemon, grated finely
2 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon, or to taste
5-6 large flour tortillas
2 large carrots, shredded
4 cups lettuce of choice, thinly sliced
2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced
avocado, sliced, optional
pickled jalapenos or pickled banana peppers, 3-5 Tbsp. chopped, optional

Combine the vegan cream cheese and cannellini beans in a food processor.

In a bowl, combine the bean mixture, green onions, basil, salt, pepper, lemon zest, and lemon juice.  Taste for seasoning.

Spread a thin layer of this on a tortilla shell, spreading all the way to the edge.  Sprinkle some of the shredded carrot, lettuce, bell pepper, avocado, and peppers over the bean mixture. 

Roll the tortilla very tightly and place in plastic wrap.  Repeat with remaining ingredients.  Refrigerate at least one hour or up to 5 hours.  

This recipe can be eaten as a whole wrap or can be cut into "rollups" for appetizers.   If this recipe is cut up for appetizers, it makes quite a large number of them.

 

 

 

 

Is It Too Hot for Soup?

In my world, it is never too hot for soup.  That statement doesn't mean that we don't get hot in our state, but I love soup even on the hottest of days. 

I had some home cooked chickpeas lounging around in my freezer, so I put together this soup.  It was filling yet light, perfect for summertime.

I had some pasta in my pantry that someone had given me.  It was made with carrots and squash, and it was great.  I need to be more adventurous in my pasta purchasing. 

CHICKPEA NOODLE SOUP

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

4 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
8 cups of vegetable broth
1 tsp. white or yellow miso paste
2 tsp. tamari
1 Tbsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. vegan “no chicken” boullion base, optional
Louisiana hot sauce, ½ tsp or to taste
1/2 to 1 tsp. kosher salt, or to taste
2 whole bay leaves
15 ounces chickpeas, drained and rinsed
8 oz. of pasta, cooked

In a dutch oven, warm the olive oil up, then add the carrots, celery, and onion.  Saute over high heat until onions are translucent.

Add broth, miso paste, tamari, Worcestershire sauce, boullion base, Louisiana hot sauce, salt, and bay leaves.  Cook for another 6 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Remove the bay leaves and stir in chickpeas.  Check for seasonings and adjust.  Heat soup up to desired temperature.

 Dip up the soup into bowls and add the pasta to each bowl.  If storing the soup for later use, keep the pasta separate until ready to serve. 

I always keep my pasta separate from my soup until I dip it into each serving
bowl.  I used to cook the pasta in the soup.  If there were leftovers, the next time I would look at my soup, there would be little to no broth left, and the pasta would be much bigger and not al dente at all.  It did not take much brain power to realize that as the soup sat, the pasta was absorbing the broth.  It is so easy just to keep them separated until serving time.
 
Husband's note: I had two bowls.

Plant Based and Gluten Free Cookies

My husband and I do not have a problem with wheat products, so we don't normally have to deal with cooking gluten free.  For this, I am very thankful.  However, we have a member of our family who has a serious gluten allergy, as well as many other food allergies.  It has been a long journey for the parents of this child to find out what was causing these severe allergies.  It is not surprising to me that the doctors have not really been of very much help.  I salute parents who don't give up when it is apparent that something is very wrong. 

I am starting to change some of my recipes so that they can be gluten free, for when this child visits our home.  Some of my recipes can't really be changed to accommodate this, but with a few tweaks, some recipes can meet this challenge. 

        
PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 flax egg (1 Tbsp. ground flax mixed with 3 Tbsp. warm water)

¼ cup non-dairy buttery spread
¼ cup peanut butter
½ cup lightly packed brown sugar
¼ cup cane sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. kosher salt
1 cup gluten free rolled oats, blended into a flour (or 1 cup oat flour)
1 cup almonds, blended into a flour, (or 1 cup + 2 Tbsp. almond flour)
½ cup vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

In a small bowl, mix together the flax egg and set aside for five minutes.

Beat the buttery spread and peanut butter until combined.  Add both sugars and   Beat in the flax egg and vanilla extract until combined.

beat for one minute more.

Mix the dry ingredients, (baking soda, baking powder, salt, oat flour, and almond flour in another bowl.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat to combine.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

Place mixture into the fridge for at least one hour. 

 Shape dough into one inch balls and place on the baking sheet.  No need to flatten the balls, as they will spread out on their own.  Place balls 2-3 inches apart. 

Bake for 11-13 minutes until lightly golden.  Let cookies rest on the cooking sheet for 4-5 minutes before placing on a cooling rack.

I noticed that the first tray of cookies were a little thicker than the subsequent trays of cookies. 

I  prefer the thicker cookies, so next time I will refrigerate the dough for a longer period of time.  This time I only left them in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.  I think that will make a big difference.

 If you or someone in your family requires gluten free food, I would encourage you to find recipes and try to do at least some of your meal preparation in a whole food type of way, meaning less packaged goods. 

I found the prices of gluten free packaged foods incredibly expensive.  I think the food industry has taken advantage of people who require gluten free food. 

Let Them Eat Cake!

I have not had much success with plant based desserts.  I think there are several reasons for this.  One is that I don't make a lot of desserts, because then I will eat them.  However, I would like to have a few tried and true dessert recipes for when we have people over for a meal. 

I think another reason is because I am very picky about desserts.  If I am going to have the calories and eat substances that are maybe not the best for my health, they need to be truly delicious, because I consider that an occasional treat.  I have tried a few plant based desserts which just weren't very good at all.  I felt like a piece of fruit would have tasted better than the dessert recipe.

Well, I found a great recipe for chocolate cake.  It is actually a recipe I used many years ago when it was just my husband and myself in the home.  This makes an 8" x 8" cake, much better for a two person household. 

WACKY CAKE

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar
4 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
6 Tbsp. vegetable oil, (or can substitute half of this with applesauce)
1 cup water

Grease and flour an 8” x 8” baking pan.

Mix flour, sugar, and cocoa in a medium bowl.  Make three depressions in the dry ingredients.  Pour vanilla into one depression, vinegar in another, and oil in the third one.  Pour water over all and stir well.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.   Place cake on cooling rack and cool completely.  Cover with frosting.

CHOCOLATE FROSTING

 4 Tbsp. vegan “butter”, room temperature

7 Tbsp. baking cocoa
2 cups powdered sugar
2-3 Tbsp. almond milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, (use only 2 Tbsp. of the almond milk at first) and blend together with a mixer.  Add more almond milk as needed until it is of desired consistency. 

This frosting recipe probably makes more than is needed on this small cake, but I like a lot of frosting on my cakes.  If I am going to have a treat, I want it to be really good!

Husband's note: Amen

Making It Work

I was planning to have an easy dinner of veggie soft tacos.  I wanted to use up some stuff from my freezer.  I wanted to use up some adzuki beans, because they had been in the freezer since November.  After I heated them up and mashed them up a bit to make oil free "refried" beans, I realized I needed a few more beans.  I heated up a container of frozen pinto beans and added them to the adzuki beans.  I never thought about using more than one variety of beans for refried beans, but I really liked them a lot.  I will purposefully do this in the future.

I had planned to make some guacamole with the four small avocados on my
counter top.  Well, I have been having a terrible time getting good avocados this year.  When I cut into the avocados, two of the four were unusable.  I get so discouraged paying for avocados and then throwing them away.  I buy them while they are still hard and let them ripen on my counter top.   Backup plan was to dice the two small avocados which were okay and squeeze lime juice over them.  Not as good as guacamole, but still very good. 

Overall, the tacos turned out very well.  I forgot to chop up the lettuce and add it, which would have been some nice crunch.  Sometimes when I make something like this, a no recipe meal, I will  jot down the items I want to include.  That really helps me a lot, because I inevitably get caught up in the preparation and forget an item or two.

Bulgur Salad with Dried Cranberries

With summertime here, it is time to make some new salads.  I have a large amount of grains that I need to use up, so decided to go in that direction. 

Bulgur is a whole grain, usually sold parboiled and dried, with only a very small amount of the bran partially removed.  It has a light, nutty flavor.  It has a very high nutritional value.  It is a common ingredient in Armenian, Israeli, Lebanese, and Mediterranean dishes. 

I have tried to like tabouli, but I never could fully embrace it.  This recipe is basically a take off of tabouli, but it has no mint and has the addition of dried cranberries.  Now I am thinking that maybe it was the large amount of mint in the tabouli that I did not love.

Anyway, this salad was a big hit with my family and was very easy to make.

BULGUR SALAD WITH DRIED CRANBERRIES

1 cup coarse ground bulgur

2 cups cubed, peeled English cucumber
1 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onion
1 cup finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tsp. agave nectar, optional
¾ tsp. kosher salt
¾ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Place bulgur in a bowl and cover with 2 cups boiling water.  Cover and let stand 30 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.  Fluff with a fork.  Let bulgur cool to room temperature.  Add remaining ingredients.  Toss to combine.  Refrigerate for at least one hour, but even better for several hours. 

I thought the bulgur might get too soft overnight, but when we pulled the leftover salad out the next day, it was still very good.