Splinter

Splinter loved chatting it up online

Haha! Look closely in the middle for the bald nose, he was always underneath everyone in the hammock. 

The last couple days, Splinter wouldn't leave my side.  He slept in my bed with me all day and night and I'm super grateful for the quality time we got to spend together before he left.  He not only slept with me but when I was crying, he would reach out to me and grab my face or put his nose on mine to show me that it was okay and reassure me that I gave him a good life.  I'll never forget this little baby face, I miss you terribly, but am glad you are not suffering anymore. <33

Best little 3 year old ever.  Splinter (aka Wilbur) lived a long and healthy life, I couldn't miss him more.  He is loved greatly by me, my sister, Olivia, his son, Kramer and his adopted son, Peter Pan. Seriously the best dad and friend you could ask for...wouldn't even hurt a fly.  Our little family is heartbroken that we wont get to see you in your barnyard window anymore.  I'll never forget your bald nose and your gentle spirit.  Thank you for always taking care of me <333  Say hi to Kai for us xoxoxo

Cinnamon rolls, cookies and yerba mate tea

Don't think I'll ever get over my love of sugar.  I'm at the store every couple days buying cookies, usually Uncle Eddie's peanut butter and chocolate chip!!  (You don't understand how good these are!!)  But I love to switch it up and try something new.  These cinnamon rolls by Zen Bakery are definitely on the top of my list.  With 9 simple ingredients and no sugar, I could eat these all day long!  St. Amours Daniel's vegan chocolate chip cookies (*extra chocolate chips!) and Susan's sugar free oats and peanut butter cookies were good also.  You can get the cookies at Whole Foods, not the cinnamon rolls, but if you have a Mother's Market by you, you will be in vegan heaven<33  Everything you can imagine, they have a vegan version for it and it's amazing!

Butternut squash and mixed veggies over rice

Got a cute, tiny butternut squash from the farmers market to try because I never had one before and I'm in love.  This one was about 6 or 7 inches long.  I'm not sure how the huge, supermarket butternut squashes compare but when I split mine open all I could think of was Halloween!  Arguably the best smell ever is a fresh cut squash/pumpkin.  

Wasn't sure what to do with it so I peeled the skin off and cut into chunks, drizzled a little coconut oil and baked it in the oven on about 375 degrees for 20 minutes or so until done.  It was really amazing actually.  I don't think I would buy one of the huge ones in the supermarket, I'll stick to tiny farmers market squash.  Everything is better when it's tiny.  When veggies are allowed to grow so big (so they can make more $$$) they tend to be dry and flavorless.

I fried some baby broccoli and threw in some tomatoes for a minute and served it over some brown rice.  

:)

Tofu Scramble

Basic tofu scramble.  I ate mine over some quinoa but it's good on it's own or in a wrap.  Pretty easy to make.  Just fry some tofu (squeeze the water out first) until it starts to brown, add chopped garlic, onion, potatoes, broccoli...whatever veggies you have on hand.  Season with lots of turmeric, salt and pepper and cook until everything is done.  Add the tomatoes and parsley last and just heat through.  I actually didn't even use oil, I just added a bit of water if needed and everything cooked fine.  I like it better with a little coconut oil but it's good to know if you're ever in a pinch that you really don't need oil to fry.

Let food be thy medicine, thy medicine shall be thy food. - Hippocrates

Quinoa, baby broccoli and crispy tofu

Super easy and a recipe really isn't needed.  The tofu came out so good, I cut it thin and I think that's what did the trick.  Barely fried baby broccoli is absolutely amazing.  Got it fresh from the farmers market and threw this together.

For the quinoa;  Rinse and drain one cup of quinoa in a fine mesh strainer.  Put it in a sauce pan with two cups water.  Bring to a boil for 3-5 minutes and turn down to low heat.  Let simmer for 30 minutes or so until quinoa is clear in the middle and the water is absorbed.  Stir in 1 tsp sea salt.

For the tofu;   I think tofu is the best if it's been frozen for at least 1 day and thawed out in the fridge for a couple days before cooking.  Squeeze the water out of the tofu carefully, try not to break it.  Slice the tofu into 6 even rows.  Halve each row widthwise.  Cut into bite size pieces (I did three pieces per row).  In a large frying pan, heat 1 tsp coconut oil over low heat until melted.  Place the tofu in a single layer in the pan and turn the heat up to medium high.  Let it cook until the bottom is golden brown.  

  

Baby broccoli, onions, garlic;  Slice 1/4 of an onion and mince 3 garlic cloves.  Grab a handful baby broccoli and throw it all in the pan.  (Only cut the baby broccoli if the pieces are really big or if you are using a regular head of broccoli.)  If you want to season with salt and pepper, do it now and let it cook 2 minutes more.  Cook until onions are tender and serve over the quinoa.

Really good in a tortilla wrap also :)

Quinoa, kale and broiled tomatoes

I could eat this every morning and be totally satisfied.  The veggies are straight from the farmers market.  For some reason, farmers market produce taste 100x better than the grocery stores (even natural grocers).  Maybe it's the organic, non-GMO, fresh, local produce, or the sense of community you get walking around looking at all the exotic, in season fruits and veggies you don't normally see at the supermarket.  Like purple kale and baby beef steak tomatoes.  I'm starting to develop an obsession with kale..  There are so many different kinds and I want to try them all!  So easy to cook, just pop it in the steamer or throw some in a soup.  And don't forget about kale chips!  Rip in pieces, rub with oil and sprinkle salt.  Place in the oven until crispy.  The baby tomatoes were just as good.  They are almost entirely flesh, no seeds and juices, so you're getting a lot more tomato for your buck.

I was pretty surprised to actually see some bugs on my veggies too!  It reminded me of being little and having a backyard garden.  Or even when you had to soak and wash grocery store produce back in the day.  Today you don't worry about that when you shop at the supermarket--everything's GMO and sprayed with pesticides.. they've even gone so far with sweet corn that it produces a poison to kill harmful insects, even the very beautiful monarch butterfly.  Check this out;

Question: How are monarch butterflies associated with corn fields?

Answer: Plants in the milkweed family (Asclepiadaceae) are the only food source of monarch butterfly larvae. Common milkweed, A. syriaca, occurs throughout the U.S. Corn Belt, particularly in disturbed habitats like fields and roadsides, and usually is considered a noxious weed by growers. During corn pollen shed, which generally occurs 7–10 days in July, corn pollen can fall on the leaves of milkweed plants when they occur in or near cornfields. Any monarch larvae that feed on these plants are potentially exposed to corn pollen.

It's not just sweet corn, basically everything has been altered in one way or another.  Some are altered so much that the plants DNA is nothing at all like it was when before it was altered.  Suppressing the substance in tomatoes that causes it to rot so tomatoes will stay "ripe" longer, but I'm wondering.. is it really ripe anymore?  Nature has a proven system and I don't think we should be messing with it.  There is a reason tomatoes don't last forever and we should respect this.

The USDA, Monsanto and AstraZeneca, have contrived a way to make money on two fronts: First they make money on gene modification. Second, they make money because farmers have to pay them annually to continue to grow crops. It's apparently dollars and cents all the way, no sense of human protection involved. The USDA is actually in business with Monsanto in owning some of the genetic engineering technology patents.

from here.

 "give me spots on my apples, but leave me the birds and the bees.."

How cute is Joni?  So naturally beautiful.

This was my first time trying quinoa, and it's better than I expected.  I love trying new grains and having a variety in the house.  Cookings not boring anymore!

Rinse 1 cup quinoa in some cheese cloth or a small strainer.  Place in a pot with 3 cups water.  Bring to a boil and let boil 10 minutes.  Bring heat down and let the quinoa simmer for about 30-45 minutes until done (turns clear and poofs up, a lot like tapioca.)  Stir in 1/2 tsp salt and add a splash more water if it's dry.  

For the kale;  place in a steamer 10 minutes until tender.  If you bought organic, soak in water and rinse well to get the little buggys off.

For the tomatoes;  preheat the oven to broil.  Half some tomatoes and place on a baking sheet.  Cut up a little onion and garlic and place on top and around tomatoes.  Put under the broiler for 20 minutes or so until tender and starting to char (see top picture).  Watch carefully so you don't burn it.  Sprinkle salt if you like.

Great for gloomy mornings!  We ate this for breakfast on one of the scarce rainy days here in LA.  Make some rice pudding for something sweet afterwards!

Sprouted lentil stew

Sprouted Lentil Stew

Serves 4

I used my recipe for slow cooked soup here, and made a couple changes.  Before you make the soup, fry the veggies in the sauce pan with 1/2 tsp coconut oil for about 7 minutes, or until the onions are tender.  Add stock/water, and add 2 cups sprouted lentils.  Bring to a boil and let simmer until veggies and lentils are done.  

The flavor is pretty amazing thanks to the lentils.  You could also use regular lentils and cook them in the water until tender (add the fried veggies afterwards so they don't become too soft..cook until tender)

For amazing, creamy, (slow-cooked)  rice, bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil, add 1 cup rice.  Let boil 10 minutes, turn heat to low and simmer until the water is almost gone (about 30-45 minutes).  Stir in 1 more cup water and 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp salt and sprinkle pepper.  Let cook until the water is almost gone (about 30 minutes).  Again, add 1/2 a cup water and stir.  Let cook another 20-30 minutes until rice is creamy and most of the water is gone.

Apple, cinnamon, raisin oatmeal

Apple-cinnamon-raisin oatmeal

Serves 2-3

2 cups freshly made almond milk 

2 cups whole oats

3/4 cup raisins

2 TBSP cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup natural sugar, or a substitute, to taste

1 apple, peeled and grated

Heat the almond milk in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally--watch carefully!  Almond milk boils over very easily.  When the almond milk is hot, about 5 minute, throw in the oats, raisins and cinnamon and mix well.  Turn off the heat and let it sit, covered, for about 10 minutes, or until the oats are cooked perfectly.  If needed, turn the heat to low and let simmer after 10 minutes to finish cooking.

Turn the heat off if it's on and stir in the sugar and vanilla.  Mix well.  Add the grated apple and mix to combine everything.  Replace the lid and let sit 5 minutes.

Serve hot and with some fresh fruit :)  This is the perfect homemade oatmeal, not too sweet and full of goodies!  Oatmeals awesome in the mornings, it fills you up and keeps you going until lunchtime.  Great for kids too!  

Spinach, oat and sweet potato salad

Spinach, oat and sweet potato salad

Serves 2 as a main meal, or 4 as a side or light meal

First make the salad;

2 tomato, chopped 

1/2 onion, chopped

1/3 cup whole oats

2 TBSP coconut oil, melted over low heat or olive oil

1 cups packed spinach, thinly sliced and stems discarded (or saved for soup stock!)

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

Combine all tomato, onion and oats in a bowl and toss to combine.  Add coconut oil and spinach and mix well.  

Heat a frying pan over medium heat, add raw sunflower seeds and with a wooden spoon, stir constantly for 5 minutes or until sunflower seeds are turning brown and smell nutty.  Add toasted sunflower seeds to the bowl and mix well.

Feel free to change it up and mix in your favorite dressing, sauce or liquid.

For the potatoes;

1/2 a yam/sweet potato, chopped into bite size pieces, about 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 tsp coconut oil

sea salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Melt coconut over low heat and toss with potatoes until coated.  Arrange on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Let cook 15-20 minutes or so until outside is browning and middle is done.  Toss with the rest of the salad.

Almond milk rice pudding

Almond milk rice pudding

Serves 2 as a main meal or 4 as a side dish

The rice needs to soak overnight so plan ahead and enjoy this as a tasty breakfast!! 

5 cups water

1 1/4 cup brown rice

2 cups almond milk, or make your own!

a little over 1/2 cup natural sugar, or sugar substitute to taste

cinnamon to taste (I like a lot!!)

The night before you plan to serve this, bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan, add the rice and cook for 5 minutes.  Reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.  Turn the heat off and let it sit covered, at room temperature over night.  (Soak the almonds also overnight if you are making your own almond milk.)

In the morning, bring the rice and water back to a boil and cook until the rice is soft.  Drain the water if necessary and return rice to saucepan (Save the water for soups!  If there's only a little water, say less than 1/2 cup, you can leave it and it will still taste great.  Just reduce the almond milk a little.)  Add almond milk and heat over medium heat, watching carefully cos it will boil over fast.  When the almond milk is hot, add the sugar and mix well.  Turn the heat to low and let simmer 10 minutes, stirring every minute or so.  Add cinnamon to taste, or put a shaker on the table for everyone to add their own.  You can serve it hot from here, or let it sit a couple hours to thicken and cool.  The flavor is improved when it's allowed to sit, as with most of my recipes, but it is still amazing if you want to dig in now.  There should be plenty so eat some now and let some sit, and next time you will know which one you like best :)

I recommend serving this with a bowl of fruit or as a side dish--although it's super delicious, it's not super filling so prepare something else along with it.  It goes great with my raisin-cumin rice, broiled tomatoes and steamed kale recipe here!

Slow cooked rice and veggie soup

The rice in this soup is slowly cooked for 3 hours so make sure you plan ahead.  You can cook this in the morning and reheat it when you need it.  Or make it the night before, the flavor is even better when it has a chance to sit!!  This soup is the best and is going to become a regular in my house.

Slow cooked rice and veggie soup

serves 2-4

8 cups water or other stock or liquid (*see note)

1 1/4 cup brown rice

1/2 onion, sliced

1 cup broccoli florets with stems sliced in half

2 carrots, cut in rounds

1 tomato, roughly chopped

1 leaf curly kale, ripped in pieces

1 cup daikon, roughly chopped in bite size cubes

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

Bring 8 cups water to a boil in a large soup pan.  (*You can use veggie stock or anything really in place of water.  I save all the leftover water from cooking pasta or steaming vegetables and I use it for the base of soups!  The leftover water will keep for a day or 2 in a closed jar in the fridge, or you can freeze it in ice cube trays in the freezer.  So save these and make a big, hearty soup! :)  

Add 1 cup brown rice and allow to boil for 30 minutes, keeping an eye on it, making sure it doesn't boil over.  Turn the heat down to low, cover pot and let simmer for 2 hours.  Return heat to medium and allow to boil for another 30 minutes.  

Add all veggies and other ingredients and let boil 5 minutes.  Turn heat to low and let sit covered for 5-10 minutes.  You can turn the heat off after this and let it sit covered for a couple hours to let the flavors mingle, or you can serve it as-is.  Either way, it's delicious :)

To make life easier, when you are chopping all the veggies, you can chop extra and store them in a bag in the fridge (3-5 days depending on freshness) or freezer so when you want soup, everything is ready. Just grab handfuls and pop in some boiling water for a quick meal.

I also started a scrap bag in my freezer!  I try not to waste anything and I reuse or give away as much as possible so it started to bug me that my garbage was always full of nothing but veggie scraps.  I live in an apartment so I don't compost and am not left with many other options.  Instead of feeling bad and guilty every day for my waste, I decided to do something about it.  Everything I would normally throw away--potato skin, celery leaves, the ends of zucchini, tough kale and broccoli stalks, spinach stems--I now throw it all in a designated scrap bag in my freezer.  When the bag gets full, I'll throw it all in some water and cook for a couple hours until the flavors are released.  After straining, I'll be left with a basic vegetable stock!  Ta-da!  Everything has a use if we look hard enough!

Stir fry pasta with baked yams

Stir fry pasta with baked yams

Serves 2

A similar version of my stir fry pasta here.

1 tsp coconut oil

1/2 an onion, sliced

2 brussels sprouts, halves then quartered

1 zucchini, thinly sliced

handful of snap peas

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1/2 inch cube of ginger, chopped (or more if you like ginger, this gives the pasta just a hint of ginger)

1 cup gluten free spiral pasta, cooked according to directions (about 2 cups cooked)

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp coconut oil

Heat 1 tsp of the coconut oil over medium heat.  Throw in the onion for one minute, add brussels sprouts and zucchini and cook until zucchini is soft and browning a little.  Add snap peas and cook for one minute.  Add garlic and ginger and fry for another minute.

After pasta is cooked and drained, return it to the sauce pan and mix in the remaining 1/2 tsp of coconut oil, and 1/2 tsp sea salt.  Mix well until coconut oil is melted.  Add all the veggies and turn the heat on low.  Reheat pasta and serve hot!

Baked Yams

serves 2 as a side dish

1 large yam/sweet potato, cut into large chunks

1 tsp coconut oil

sea salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Melt coconut oil over very low heat and mix in yams.  Arrange yams on a baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.  Bake 30 minutes or until yams are browning and can be pierced with a fork but still offer some resistance.  Cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Creamy Sweet Potato Oatmeal

Creamy Sweet Potato Oatmeal

Serves 2-4

2 cups almond milk

1/2 cup water (or more almond milk if you have it)

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups whole oats

1/2 sweet potato, grated

4 dried apricots, chopped (optional)

sugar to taste

Heat almond milk over medium high heat 3 minutes, stirring and watching closely.  Almond milk will boil over really fast and is a total mess to clean up, not to mention a waste of some hard earned fresh almond milk.  Stir in oatmeal, sweet potato, apricots and salt.  If the mixture seems dry, add the water or more almond milk.  You want the oatmeal to be able to move around freely in the liquid when you stir it, but not too wet so it won't absorb it.  Cook over medium high heat for a couple minutes, stirring constantly.  Bring heat down to very low and cover the pot.  Let it sit 10 minutes or until oatmeal is done and sweet potato is tender.  Cover the top with a layer of natural vegan sugar and mix it in, let it heat 2 minutes and serve hot, or if you have time to plan ahead, let it cool one hour and serve cold for the best tasting option (or at least, I think it is).  Enjoy :)

Cream of rice soup with fresh veggies

Don't be surprised to see a ton of rice dishes popping up on here!!  In an effort to save money and learn to budget (and maybe finally become an adult..ew), I came up with a system I think is working out pretty well for my sister and I.  Rotating weekly, one of us takes on the responsibility of preparing breakfast, lunch (usually breakfast leftovers), and supper.  We are up at 6am, out the door for a morning run at 7am, and the chef of the week has 30 minutes after we get home to have breakfast on the table.  Keeping a set schedule is good for me because I am really impulsive--I go to the grocery store almost every day if I don't have a budget and buy anything I think I might need (or 10 of everything).  Wednesday is grocery store day and whoever is cooking that week goes alone with a list in hand so there is no distraction or impulse buying.  50$ is the maximum spent (it's usually well over 100$).  Having a set grocery store day and budget means you have to plan ahead--I've never been good at that...  There is no prepared snacking between meals except for fruit with some almond butter, I bought apples and bananas for that, and we have grapefruit fruit from a neighbors tree :)  No prepared snacking means that when I plan a meal and it comes time to make it, all the ingredients are still there, so there are no more frequent trips to the grocery store.  Having one designated chef a week is a great solution when you have two people in the house that both love cooking--we were having a hard time keeping the fridge stocked, or even deciding on what to make because we both wanted to cook.  

This week is the first week of the new system and also my turn as chef.  I went to the library and got a bunch of vegan cookbooks and made myself a weekly schedule of possible meals with as little ingredients as possible.  I tried to find meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner that used mostly the same ingredients to minimize shopping and also meals that could be repeated with little change to make them new and exciting.  This is the reason for the abundance of rice on my blog lately.  Including grains in every meal is a great way to stay focused and full until the next meal and also an effective money saving tool (a cup of rice goes a long way...)

I was inspired by the book 3 bowls in which the author, Seppo Ed Farrey, explains the system of the vegetarian Zen Buddhist temple in which he is head chef, or tenzo.  He is responsible for preparing the meals for the twelve to twenty-four monks and laypersons who live there, as well as visitors staying for retreats.  Cooking begins each day at 6:35 AM.  From there, he has 45 minutes to prepare, cook breakfast and strike the meal gong, signaling the monks doing zazen (sitting meditation) that breakfast is ready.  If he runs behind schedule, so does every one else.  

The meals must be substantial enough to sustain the monks through their three-hour work shifts--there is no snacking.  It is particularly important that the meals be well-balanced, nourishing and hearty.  Breakfast and lunch are formal meals, following rituals established in traditional Zen monasteries and are served and eaten in silence.  Each diner gets three bowls--a large, medium and small bowl.  The largest contains the base of the meal, usually a grain or noodle dish.  The middle is usually filled with a stew.  A vegetable dish, or an occasional salad in the smallest bowl completes the meal.  The silence allows them to focus solely on what they are consuming, being grateful and reflecting on all those responsible for their meal; farmers, workers on the fields, truckers, grocery store employees, and finally, the tenzos who have prepared it.  Supper is a casual meal, usually leftovers supplemented by a few basics such as bread or nut butters.  Usually a big hearty soup with homemade bread and a savory spread, with a green salad.  

The monastery is located 20 miles from the nearest small town and even farther from any major source of food supplies, so he plans ahead and relies on a well stocked pantry, making due with missing ingredients or substituting with something else.  Often, leftovers are transformed into a new, creative dish, like sweet  potato-walnut burritos, that were devised to use up sweet potatoes and lentils from a previous meal.  It's a daily challenge to keep the meals interesting while staying within a budget and on a tight schedule.

Mindful cooking is a must in the temple.  Food lovingly and mindfully prepared taste better and satisfies longer.  Keep in mind the time you have allotted to cook and wisely choose recipes you wish to prepare, keeping time constrains in mind.  If you know the morning will be busy, prepare your breakfast the night before--wash and chop all veggies and soak or cook rice and beans overnight so only a simple reheating is necessary in the morning.  Before you begin, make sure you have all ingredients needed, or workable situations.  When washing, chopping and stirring, think of only washing, chopping and stirring.  Breathe and be mindful of each slice of the knife, each swirl of the spoon.  Before throwing away anything, consider if it might have a use--compost? soup stock?  (Save all scraps from cooking, whether it be the skin peeled from a potato or carrot, leaves of celery, or the hard stalk of broccoli.  Place it all in a ziplock bag in the freezer.  When you have a substantial amount, boil it all in some water a few hours for a rich, vegetable stock.)  Keep it simple, relax and enjoy the process of cooking.  

Cream of Rice Soup with Fresh Veggies

Serves 2-4

This taste more like cream of corn to me and it's deliciousssss!  Hot thick soup with fresh, crunchy, cold veggies and herbs.  Seems like a perfect soup in the sumer also if you serve it all cold.  The soup takes a while to cook so plan ahead.  Start it after lunch if it's for dinner.

For the Cream of Rice Soup;

Bring 8 cups of water to a boil.  Add 1 cup rice and bring it back to boiling.  Turn heat to very low and let it simmer for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.  Turn the heat off and let it sit one more hour.  By now, you'll be surprised at how much the rice has expanded!  It should have filled the pot with about 1 cup of the water evaporated.  It's okay to stop here and eat it as a hearty soup, throw in some veggies or cooked beans and serve hot.  

If you want a creamy soup, blend the rice/water with 2 tsp sea salt until creamy.  Return to the pot and reheat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly and being very careful not to burn the bottom of the soup!  As you reheat, soup will thicken and bottom can easily burn if you don't pay attention and it's not so tasty.  

Cut up some fresh corn, parsley, tomatoes, garlic, and green onions and mix it all in individual bowls.  You can try other options if you like it spicy or even sweet.

I love the library

Between my sister and I, our apartment is full of books and new ones are always popping up.  I am completely shocked that only 3% of Americans own a library card.  Like Will Smith says, there is no new problem you can have that some body hasn't already solved and wrote a book about.  Anything you want to learn or educate yourself about, you can find the answer in a book.

Breakfast raisin-cumin rice with lacinato kale and broiled tomatoes and the benefit of a diet rich in whole grains

I've been really into greens and rice for breakfast lately.  It keeps me full until lunch so I don't go crazy and eat everything in the house like usual.  As a society, we are used to cereals, granola, oatmeal, bagels, pre-made waffles and sweets like donuts and pop-tarts for breakfast, but have you ever thought of why that is?  To me, it's just another way we are trained to give into big corporations that truly don't care about us, but rather the money flowing into their pockets.  Cereal and granola can be easily homemade, but most people think it too time consuming to make themselves and go straight to the store to buy this, or else be lost when it comes to breakfast.  And how long does that bag of cereal even last you before you find yourself back at the store buying the same thing, over and over again... a week at the most?  Being late to school or work in the morning has become an epidemic and we are continuously given things like donuts, pop-tarts, instant oatmeal packets and cereal to "make life easier".  

What I want to know is, where's the solution?  We don't need another quick fix for our problems.  We need to learn the reason it is that everyone is always running late, teach them time management skills and respect for themselves and other peoples time and maybe we would have that extra hour in the morning to make a hearty, delicious meal with enough time to sit down, relax and enjoy it.  If in the first place, we couldn't find these quick-fix meals absolutely everywhere we turned, do you think we would be walking around starving all day cos we didn't have time to eat?  No, we would learn after the first couple times that going to work on an empty stomach is not fun and that next time you better make the time to eat breakfast, or you are going to be starving all day.  

All I know is that I want to continuously educate myself and change my ways so I am always growing and improving my life, instead of just giving up on myself and giving into todays quick-fix society.  

On a happier note, I've reintroduced rice into my diet with no problem at all and it's becoming a regular breakfast or dinner option.  If you follow my blog, you'll know I did 30 days of the whole30 paleo diet-vegan style.  That's 30 days without the usual vegan restrictions, plus legumes (soy), corn, wheat/grains, alcohol, caffeine, white potatoes, and sugar.  It's an absolutely amazing experience and has changed my thinking significantly.  I don't buy any pre-made soy meats anymore, or any nut milks, I make my own.  Those things contain preservatives and sweeteners that you shouldn't be consuming.  I stopped baking with buckets of sugar, flour and margarine and now look for ways to make my desserts raw or use as many natural, raw ingredients as possible.  I'm not making the same stir fry over and over, I search the internet and cookbooks for simple and nutritious meals.  

After you spend 30 days eating whole vegetables and fruit (real food) you give your body a chance to cleanse and completely clear itself and get rid of any bad side affects from unhealthy eating, like fatigue and "allergies".  After the 30 days is up, if you stick to healthy eating habits, you will feel AMAZING.  But if you go back to your usual ways, like processed foods, sugars and wheat, your body will tell you that it is bad for you by giving you a stomach ache, headache, or will make you bloated or tired.  Now that your body is completely clear, you can feel how food makes you feel.  

The other day, my sister made a pizza that was absolutely amazing-- tomato, olives, broccoli and mushrooms.  Pretty healthy, right?  So why did I feel like absolute garbage after eating it?  Well, since we had some all-purpose flour leftover from before the whole 30 cleanse, she made a pizza crust out of it.  It honestly was the best pizza crust we've made, thick, fluffy and delicious.  But it left me sleepy with a bad stomach ache.  Reintroducing all-purpose flour obviously didn't go over well, and we gave it away to a neighbor after immediately realizing our bodies didn't respond well to it.  Being healthy is all about listening to what your body wants and needs.  There isn't a specific diet or book that can give you a step by step guide to eating, because we are all different.  What my body can handle with ease, yours might not be able to.  The best thing I ever did was give my body time to completely clear out, and most importantly, I'm learning to listen to what it is telling me.  

So I thought that since I can't handle even the smallest amount of wheat flour, I wouldn't be able to take grains whatsoever, but that's not the case.  After having rice for the first time in months in my Meatless Jambalaya, I was anticipating a stomach ache, but instead I got a slight feeling of my body getting used to it again (that's the only way I can describe it) followed with a calm, satisfied feeling (and joy because I LOVE rice :)

In Alicia Silverstones book, The Kind Diet, she says whole grains should ideally be a part of every meal.  To paraphrase her, she explains that grains are our perfect fuel.  They will keep us balanced, centered, energized and focused in life.  She's not talking about bread and noodles when she says "whole grains."  She's referring to wheat before it's ground into flour, rice before it's hulled to make white rice--brown rice, quinoa, wild rice, farro, millet, barley, whole oats and more.  And flour products made from whole grains like bread and noodles are alright to eat every once in a while.  

So whats the deal with carbs?  Aren't they bad for us?  There's two categories for carbs:  Simple carbs--like white sugar and white flour--break down in the body really quickly, so your blood sugar spikes through the roof and then crashes, leaving you feeling like garbage.  Complex carbs--like those in whole grains and veggies--break down slowly, raising your blood sugar gently, and providing sustained energy over a long period of time, until you're ready to eat again.  

The benefits we get from whole grains, Alicia states, are internal balance, relaxed and happy mindset, great skin, the ability to loose weight easily, and makes going to the bathroom a lot easier.  Whole grains make you feel relaxed and happy.  They are full of B vitamins, which relax the nervous system.  (Maybe that's why monks eat so much rice!)  The B vitamins are also necessary for making beautiful, glowing skin.  You feel balanced and connected with yourself because our physiology is designed to work with whole grains in their whole form, so they help us feel right in our bodies and minds.  As opposed to highly refined foods that cause mood swings, hormone imbalances and a rise in cholesterol.  You can loose weight easily because low-calerie, low fat whole grains make you feel full, give you good energy, and nourish your body beautifully.  Meat and dairy contain no fiber, but diets rich in whole grains and veggies contain tons, which makes going to the bathroom a lot easier for people who have problems with that.  

She also explains that wheat has such a bad rep because--like corn and soy-- some form of wheat appears in almost every processed food, so our bodies have been bombarded and overloaded with wheat, often creating a mild intolerance.  True gluten intolerance is a genetic disorder called celiac disease, and it's relatively rare.  For most people who consider themselves "allergic" to wheat, white flour is often the culprit.  Highly processed and commonly overeaten white flour can cause problems that feel like allergies.  

If you have a hard time with wheat, try cutting all flour out of your diet for a while, or try the whole 30 diet, and you might be able to tolerate whole wheat flour products after a few months.  That's what happened to Alicia.  I still have yet to try whole wheat flour at home, but have had it in some store bought cookies and the reaction wasn't nearly as bad as all-purpose flour, but I'm still a little iffy on that and don't think it's a necessity.  But when faced with the decision, definitely opt for whole wheat flour vs. all-purpose.

Raisin rice with lacinato kale and broiled tomatoes

Serves 2-3

For the rice, I used my raisin-cumin rice recipe here, but substituted jasmine rice for organic brown basmati rice.  When the rice is fully cooked, leave the heat on low and let the bottom of the rice burn.  When it starts to smell good (or like burnt rice), turn the heat off and mix everything, scraping the bottom the get the burnt bits.  

Cut 3 vine tomatoes in half and place under a preheated broiler for about 10 minutes or so until tomatoes are soft.

For the kale, I tried something new and got some lacinato kale (dinosaur kale) that I'm now in love with.  It's super easy to cook, just pop it in a strainer and place over a pot of boiling water and cover to steam for 5-10 minutes.  Lacinato kale is delicious and has a really earthy taste.  Unlike traditional curly kale, it doesn't get all wilted when you steam it.  It gets soft but it keeps it's shape and a little firmness, making it easy to chop afterwards and mix in rice.  The stem also is tender enough to eat so you don't waste a thing!  Steaming helps preserve kales nutrients when you can't eat it raw.  Loaded with anti-cancer phytochemicals, high in calcium, iron, fiber, vitamin B, chlorophyll, manganese, calcium and more, kale is one of the most nutritious veggies we can eat!  It's recommended to eat it every day, or at least 3 times a week for maximum benefits.

In 1777, Thomas Jefferson grew lacinato kale in his vegetable garden at Monticello (even though it was maintained by slaves, but we won't talk about that right now..)

I also made some rice pudding with leftover rice porridge, but thats a whole other post.  Check back tomorrow or within the next couple days for a recipe.  I can't wait to share it with you, it's AMAZING!

Sprouted lentil veggie burgers

Another great cookbook is The Ultimate Allergy-Free Snack Cookbook; Over 100 kid-friendly recipes for the allergic child by Judi and Shari Zucker and it's amazing!  Judi and Shari have been vegetarians since age eleven, wrote their first book at age 16 and both have BAs in Ergonomics--the study of human physiology, physical education, and nutrition--so they know their stuff.  

I picked this book up because it's full of great recipes like granola, oat bars and smoothies, all made without milk, eggs, tree nuts, wheat and peanuts (although I have nothing against tree nuts or WHOLE wheat).  Most of the recipes are simple and tailored to busy moms so it's easy to throw them together in time for lunch.  I altered their Mini Veggie Burgers and made Sprouted Lentil Veggie Burgers.  These are so good the next day, so if you can plan ahead, make them the night before and let them sit out at room temperature until lunch time.  You can reheat them by placing them in a warm oven for a couple minutes but it's not necessary.  Serve alone with dipping sauce and sweet potato fries or inside a gluten free hamburger bun with some vegan mayo and ketchup :)

Sprouted Lentil Veggie Burgers

Makes about 10 medium veggie burgers

1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds

1 1/2 tsp coconut oil

3/4 cup diced onion

1 large carrot, grated

1 cup oat flour (make your own by processing whole oats in a food processor until powder)

3 TBSP nutritional yeast flakes

1 tomato, chopped

1 tsp sea salt

2 cups sprouted lentils

1/2 cup cooked brown rice

3 garlic cloves, minced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly oil a baking sheet with 1/2 tsp coconut oil and set aside.  

Toast sunflower seeds; place raw seeds in a frying pan over medium high heat.  Stir constantly for 5 minutes or until sunflower seeds turn a little golden and give off a toasty (delicious) smell.  Place in the food processor and pulse a couple times until they are broken and but still chunky.  Set aside.

Heat the remaining teaspoon coconut oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add onion and carrot, and saute for 5 minutes or until carrot is soft.  Turn off the heat and let cool.  

Meanwhile, place the sprouted lentils in a small saucepan and cover with water until water is 1/2 inch above lentils.  Bring to a boil and let cook two minutes.  Drain the lentils and set aside.

Place the flour, nutritional yeast, and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir until combined.  Add the toasted sunflower seeds, onion-carrot mixture, tomato, lentils, brown rice and garlic and stir until everything is incorporated, smashing everything together a little with the back of a spoon.  

Scoop up small handfuls of the mixture and form patties about 1/2 inch thick.  You can choose the size of the patties according to your meal plan;  if you have small kids or just want a snack, form patties about the size of a meatball and smash a little to flatten.  If you are making this as a meal, without a bun, you'll want to make medium sized patties, about a quarter smaller than a regular veggie burger (about 2 inches wide).  If you have some gluten free hamburger buns ready, form regular sized veggie patties (about 3-4 inches wide).  When forming your patties, they should stick together easily and not leave much dough on your hands.  If you find it hard to form patties and the dough is sticking all over the place, make some more oat flour and add 1/2 cup at a time until patties easily form together.  Place patties on the prepared baking sheet and bake 15-30 minutes on each side (according to size) until bottoms are slightly golden brown.  Flip and repeat until both sides are done.  

I served these with a lentil dip, which was amazing, but a little heavy for this meal.  I would suggest serving with some vegan mayo or a light dip.  To make the lentil dip, I used my recipe for creamy pasta salad, and eliminated the nutritional yeast.  Add more almond milk to make this thinner and lighter.  

To make sweet potato fries, (these are actually yams) cut some potatoes or yams into thin wedges and toss with 1/2 tsp coconut oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  (It's a lot easier to cut into thin wedges if you look for the long skinny potatoes versus the short fat ones.  Cut them to the size you want your fries, half them, halve the halves, and slice again if necessary.)  Arrange on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake 20 minutes on each side, or until both sides are brown.  Mine never get crispy, they are always soft but they are still great!  I served all of this with a strawberry milkshake for a true taste of vegan (healthy!) "junk food".  A better choice for busy moms than McDonalds ANY DAY.

Check out this post for directions on sprouting lentils.