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.

Rice Porridge

I've been reading a lot of good cookbooks lately, and this feast was inspired by 3 Bowls; Vegetarian Recipes from an American Zen Buddhist Monastery by Seppo Ed Farrey.  Rice Porridge has been a traditional breakfast in Zen temples for centuries, usually called "rice water" since the ingredient is stretched as far as possible.  In 3 Bowls, the Rice Porridge is more substantial, like a thick soup.  I eliminated 1/2 a cup water and made a thicker, oatmeal like porridge.  Feel free to add the 1/2 cup and experiment to see what you like.  If at the end you have more water than you care for, just dump some out and heat the porridge until it thickens.

Rice Porridge

Serves 4

1 1/4 cups brown basmati rice

5 1/2 cups water

The night before you plan to serve this, bring the water to a boil in a saucepan.  Add the rice, return to a boil, cover and turn the heat off.  Give it a stir and let stand covered overnight at room temperature.  (Alternatively, to cook the same day, bring the water to a boil, add rice, reduce heat to low and cover.  Let simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally during the first 1/2 hour)

In the morning, place the covered pot over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is fully cooked and you have reached the desired oatmeal like consistency.  

Serve with a variety of condiments such as cooked beans (soak overnight and throw it in the rice when cooking), veggies (cut up the night before and fry in the morning), fruits, almond milk, cinnamon, agave, raisins, cumin, kale, fresh herbs...basically anything can be thrown into the porridge depending on if you want sweet or savory.  

I wanted both, so I set out sliced bananas, cinnamon and almond milk for the sweet-- and for the savory, i barely fried (in a drop of coconut oil!) onion, garlic, tomato and spinach, mixed it with some fresh parsley, green onions and cumin powder!  It was all so good and super easy, everything can be prepared, washed and chopped the night before so in the morning you just throw it all together.  Don't forget tea/coffee and some vegan cookies!!  (Uncle Eddies vegan peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are THE BEST!  You can find them at Whole Foods.)  

The good thing about setting out condiments instead of making a whole batch of rice mixed with one thing is, everyone gets to choose what they want to try and no one is limited to one thing.  In the end, everyone is happy.  The left over rice can be used in a variety of recipes!  Use it to make a quick lunch, or reheat as rice pudding the next morning (check back soon for recipes for both! :)  It's also fun when you have a bunch of different options to try!  The combinations are endless.

Meatless Jambalaya

Wikipedia says "The (Native American) Atakapa tribe claims the origin of the name (Jambalaya). The original word "Sham, pal ha! Ya!" means "Be full, not skinny! Eat Up!" with a French equivalent of "Bon appetit!". Spanish influence resulted in the current spelling of the name."  Jambalaya is a mix of veggies, rice and LOTS of meat; chicken, sausage and seafood to be exact.  Obviously, the meat isn't very appealing to me but the oatmeal like rice and mix of veggies is!  I tweaked Jamie Oliver's recipe and came up with my own that is equally delicious, without the heart attack.

See Jamie Oliver's recipe here.  From his book Jamie's America, which is pretty amazing by the way.  Not vegan but a lot of the recipes can be made altered.  I always loved Jamie Oliver for taking the initiative to educate america on the horrors of the food industry.  He still eats meat, but at least he takes that extra step to make sure what he is eating is what he thinks he's eating, catch my drift?

Anyways, enjoy :)

Meatless Jambalaya

serves 2-4

1/2 onion, sliced

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped

1 celery stalk, roughly chopped

1/2 of a green serrano pepper (or red chili pepper), seeded and chopped

2 tomatoes, roughly chopped

2 cups white basmati rice

salt and pepper

coconut oil

1 cup chopped fresh italian parsley

Fry the onion, bell pepper and celery in a tsp coconut oil over medium high heat.  Let cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add garlic and chilies and cook 2 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste.  Add 4 cups water, bring everything to a boil.  Throw in rice and stir.  Bring to a boil again, cover and turn heat to low.  Let cook 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until rice is cooked perfectly.  If it needs it, stir in enough water to make an oatmeal like consistency.   If too much water, pour some out and let simmer till desired consistency.  Stir in parsley, reserve 2 TBSPs, and put the lid back on for a minute.  Garnish with the reserved parsley and serve hot!

This recipe would be really good with some vegan chicken or meat substitute thrown in, but it's delicious and filling all on it's own so you don't even need it!

Chunky veggie soup with ginger tofu steaks

Chunky veggie soup with ginger tofu steaks

serves 4 with a side dish or

2 as a main course (two bowls soup plus two tofu steaks each)

Tofu steak;

Drain 1 pound firm tofu

Cut the tofu in half width-wise, and place each half on its side then slice in half again, making 4 tofu steaks.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

3/4 cup water

1 TBSP melted coconut oil

2 TBSP fresh minced ginger

1 TBSP fresh chopped garlic

2 TBSP apple cider vinegar

1 tsp agave nectar

Place all ingredients in a glass casserole dish and mix with a fork.  Place tofu steaks in dish and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until top is browning.  Flip over and repeat on the other side until both sides are brown.  

To make the soup;

1/2 onion- sliced

3-4 cloves fresh garlic- chopped

Fry garlic in a tsp coconut oil until golden brown, add onion and fry two more minutes.

4 inch piece daikon- cut into 1/2 inch chunks

2 1/2 carrots- sliced in thick chunks

1 large kale leaf- ripped in large pieces

1 celery stalk- sliced in thin chunks

1 portabella mushroom- thinly sliced

1 cup broccoli- slice the florets in half

1 tsp salt

Bring 4 cups water to a boil and throw in onion and garlic when done.  Add carrots, kale and daikon and cook 2 minutes.  Turn the heat down to medium and add celery, portabella mushroom, broccoli, and salt.  Let cook for 5 minutes or until veggies are tender but still firm.  (For softer veggies, let cook 10 minutes)

Place a tofu steak in the middle of a soup bowl and cover with chunky veggie soup.  Serve immediately.

Alternatively, if you have a large casserole dish you can cook this all with one step.  You would place raw cut tofu in the dish and cover with ingredients for soup (include water), some ginger and let bake at 375 degrees until veggies are tender.  You can also halve the soup recipe if you want to make this in a small casserole dish and it is equally amazing, you just can't make as much with a small casserole dish, which is why I opted to make a soup.  :)

Best stir fry with noodles

Stir fry

half an onion (sliced)

3 cloves garlic (chopped)

handful of broccoli (slice florets in half)

 1 cup brussels sprouts (cut into quarters)

handful of snap peas (whole)

 1 portabella mushroom (chopped)

 Stir fry onions in coconut oil over medium high heat for one minute.  Add broccoli and brussels sprouts for another 2 minutes.  Add mushrooms and snap peas and cook until all veggies are brown and tender.  Throw in garlic and cook 1-2 minutes. 

Noodles

Meanwhile, cook some gluten free noodles in a saucepan.  When tender, drain noodles and melt a teaspoon coconut oil in the saucepan over low heat.  Return the noodles to the saucepan, add stir fry and sprinkle with sea salt--make sure you mix this the entire time to prevent noodles from sticking to the bottom of the pan.  Stir for about 30 seconds, just to reheat everything and remove from heat.  Serve immediately.