Simple detoxifying dinner

the goal: to detox off of my CSD slip last night (read: lots of white flour, lots of sugar, even some soda...AND I missed my green juice today!)

I'm not entirely hungry but I must eat before the nighttime sweets craving kicks in...

In the bowl:

5 kale leaves, thinly sliced crosswise and massaged till dark green

walnuts and pecans

olive oil and a pinch of salt

In the cup:

hot water, just off boiling

a spoonful of miso

a squirt of Bragg's liquid aminos

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A helluva vegan day

mouth-watering portobello steaks w/plain spaghetti squash

I.

I want to rescind my previous statements about not having "more" energy on the Crazy Sexy Diet. I do have more energy, it just took some time in the CSD groove to get it.  The important thing, though, was that I didn't have less energy--even without coffee. (Read: BIG deal).

II.

I want to brag about my average day of eating.  The above is spaghetti squash (plain, just baked) with seasoned portobello mushrooms.  They were so good! The rest of the spaghetti squash is on reserve for Aimee's Asian Spaghetti Squash Salad.

III.

Now I was just thinking during my post-yoga shower, I have eaten a lot of vegetables today! Probably 90% even if some of them weren't raw.  While that used to be a big accomplishment, it's just part of my routine on the Crazy Sexy Diet (why can't that diet have a less flamboyant name so I don't have to feel ridiculous every time I say/type/hear it?).

---warning, it gets pretty boring here unless you are my future self reading this blog for inspiration on how to get back on the healthy bandwagon---

Breakfast:
Green Juice (cucumber, kale, green apple)
Oatmeal w/walnuts, raspberries and blueberries, chia seeds
Two or three cups of Teechino, French Roast (caffeine-free yummy coffee alternative)

Lunch:
Sprouted wheat tortilla rollup w/romaine, tomatoes, avocado, and two leftover veggie burgers made of black beans, spinach, sunflower seeds, gluten-free flower, carmelized onions, and some spices)
A handful of supplements

Dinner:
Salad (1/3 head radicchio, 2 large romaine leaves, 2 kale leaves, 1/4 tomato, 1/4 yellow bell pepper, 3 radishes, 1/6 of a red beat, flowers from 1 small stalk of broccoli) topped w/dressing (tahini, juice from one orange, mustard, nutritional yeast, honey and a dash of maple (weird right?), salt and pepper, raw apple cider vinegar, 1 avocado)
1/2 spaghetti squash w/sauteed portobellos

Proportions (not servings, but just by thing consumed)
Raw veggies: 13
Cooked veggies: 4
Fruits: 4 (weird, just realized I haven't had a banana today)
Grains/seeds: 4
Nuts/beans: 3

Yummy Salad

Okay, this is not the actual salad because I scarfed it down before taking a picture, but I will share this because it's as colorful as my salad (almost):

Artist: a very confident 4-year-old

My salad today:

1/4 head radicchio cut into bite sized pieces

1 avocado

handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

a few broccoli florets chopped small (save the stem for juicing!)

a few radishes, sliced

handful of baby arugula

Topped with:

balsamic

hazelnut oil

small piece of ginger

a tablespoon of hemp seeds

a squirt of agave

Processed until emusified

I had to share this so I could also remember it for future reference.  The sweet agave in the dressing cut the bitterness of the radicchio and radish and the sourness of the cherry tomatoes, making all of the flavors blend beautifully.  Eating so much salad lately on the Crazy Sexy Diet, I get sick of the same old salad and I like to change it up.

I followed that up with some sprouted bean trio from Costco (comes dried in a big bag) cooked w/carrots and peppers, on top of some quinoa.

The Holes

Vegan Raw-ish Donut Holes

Made 'em (I said I would yesterday!). However, these aren't the pumpkin ones I promised yesterday.  This is an adaptation of several recipes from several sources based on what I had on hand.  I didn't measure anything but here's the rundown:

1. Soak a cup (or so?) of almonds and after a few hours, take the wrappers off (the brown skin).
2. Drain really well and dry a bit with a towel
3. Place in a food processor.
4. Into the processor, add chia seeds (oh, 1/4 cup?)
5. Add a drizzle of vanilla or bean
6. Add a dash or so of cinnamon
7. Add a drizzle of maple syrup, agave, or stevia (I cheated and used maple syrup, about 1/8 cup?, but they were a tad sweet for my sensitive pallet). To make them truly raw you could use soaked dates but I get sick of date flavored raw sweets.
8. Add the tiniest pinch of salt that you've ever seen.
9. Process, scrape, process, scrape, process, scrape
10. Scoop them with a cookie dough scoop or by hand. Freeze if desired.

Like any raw dessert, it is nothing close to the real thing and no these should probably not be called donut holes.  However, I think I would rather have these than donut holes! And that's coming from a donut addict!

The Gross Version

AND get this. I spent $8 (gads!) on "raw" "live" "blah blah blah" cookies from Whole Foods today and they are gross! I believe the ingredients are cashews, almonds, honey, and chai spice (sounds great, right?) and they were disgusting! I'm making my own darn sweets from now on.

I Do Like The Raw Desserts, But...

That said, I'm going to try not to get too into the dessert stuff because that is just a slippery slope for this addict.  I feel great on the Crazy Sexy Diet. Why change anything?  With the holidays around the corner, I really need to practice just steering clear.

Donut Holes and Inner Peace

Zucchini, carrot, bell pepper, micro greens, and spinach salad with Asian Dressing.

So I'm catching up on the blog reader, and I see some awesome looking donuts, which are my biggest temptation in life.  I've been known to eat three Whole Foods vegan donuts in one sitting.

Being on this new "diet" and all, sugar is out!  Having complete faith in the infinite powers of Google, I searched for "raw pumpkin pie donuts".  I think I'll try these.

Another thing I've noticed since doing yoga/eating mostly raw/eating huge amounts of veggies/juicing is that I am so much more psychologically and spiritually balanced.  I have a lot of little OCD triggers like washing my hands after I do anything (I live in a preschool--there are germs everywhere!).  I also have a lot of fears and anxieties about making decisions and things like that. Well, eating better and doing exercise has drastically mellowed those little disorders.  My overall stress level has gone down and I wonder if it's because of all of the great nutrients and chemically things in veggies that soothe the soul.

TMI (Toe Much Info)

Crazy Sexy Diet Announcement

1.  The toe fungus I've been fighting with my usual natural skin cure-all (neem) for months has nearly healed itself even with no neem or other medication. I've been fighting it for a long time. I thank the CSD.

2. At the risk of jinxing myself, we had a nasty croup-like virus pass through my preschool program. It touched every child and teacher and several parents. All I got was a sore throat.  Again, I thank the CSD.

What's true for me is, the CSD suggests things to do and eat that I already knew I should be doing, but I needed someone to tell me in the form of a book to do it.  I'm so glad I started this thing.

*Steph*

So Sushi

For lunch today, I made these I Am Loved Nori Rolls from Kris Carr's book and they are great. Very basic ingredients inside 'em (pea sprouts, carrots, avocado, rice and tahini), but something about the way the tahini and wasabi interact is phenomenal.  I'm making these again tomorrow!

Smoothie of the day: although I didn't exactly follow the fruits to veggies ratio for my 10am breakfast smoothie, it was so good that I had to share:

 The Use-your-imagination-because-I-have-no-photo Vegan Lowish Sugar Smoothie

6 kale leaves
a couple broccoli flowers
2 small dates
4 ripe figs
1 tablespoons cashew butter
1/4 (?) cup rolled oats
10ish frozen organic blueberries
Half water, half almond milk to process

Put it in an opaque bottle because the color which is purplish grey, thank you kale and blueberries. It tasted as good as a chocolate smoothie, but maybe because there was a lot of sugar from the dates and figs. But hey, something had ton sweeten the six kale leaves!

Today's juice: half a cucumber, two stalks celery, a beet, a handful of cilantro, a few broccoli florets, a few kale leaves, six or so romaine leaves.

Sexy Time!

Okay that might seem like a weird title if you don't remember the movie "Borat"!

Yesterday would be my 

Day 21

except...

we went camping over the weekend and I didn't really follow the CSD protocol.

How did that work for me?

I feel horrible and gross and heavy and tired today! We had soup for dinner because we both feel sick.

I'm throwing away those extra marshmallows that are asking to be roasted in the oven and thrown on a graham cracker.  Those will compromise my immune system enough to get me sick immediately, I can feel it.

That's me, today. I don't have any better pictures on hand. 
Skinny enough, right?

A note about weight loss

Last Friday, someone noticed I had lost weight.

And I have, almost 10 pounds actually.

And that's despite the fact that I had almost an entire jar (the big ones!) of peanut butter in the first week of the cleanse.  I have since switched to almond and cashew butters.

I'm going to continue the cleanse but I'm adding in a breakfast/snack at 10am-ish. It will probably be oatmeal or a kale smoothie. 

Why continue?

I have never felt better in my entire life, 

not even when I was a vegetarian yogi.

I feel like this diet was made just for me,

like a special gift from the cosmos

(which I am totally connected with today,

because I actually remembered to meditate!)

One of my weird embarrassing stories

Last night I ate two marshmallows on graham cracker sandwiches before bed (total CSD faux pas!) I woke up this morning dreaming I had made these little clear gelatin pellets in muffin molds and I was taking them out of the refrigerator. It was strange and random and gross.  After I awoke I had to wonder if my body was surprised at the presence of the gelatin-laden marshmallows and couldn't figure out what to do with it, and my brain picked up on the weird signals of digestion and processed it in a dream.

On that note, I must share a related quote from the Crazy Sexy Diet book:

"SHIT FOR BRAINS--Ever heard of the brain-gut connection? Dr. Michael Gershon, a researcher at Columbia university, calls the gut the "second brain". The gut has its very own nervous system, the small intestine alone has as many neurons as your spinal cord. Neurotransmitters are natural chemicals that transmit signals from one part of your brain to another. Guess what? They're also found in your intestines. In fact, a whopping 95 percent of all serotonin, one of the most important neurotransmitters, is made by nerve cells in your gut. And get this--the gut has at least seven different kinds of serotonin receptors. An imbalance in serotonin levels can be an underlying cause of depression. If one brain is out of balance, it stands to reason that the other one (the one you're using to read this) might be out of balance, too.  Many people with depression and anxiety also have bowel trouble. Maybe we need to pop less Prozac and pump out more poop." (Chapter 5).

Once upon a time, there were two salads

This is too easy!

It's SO easy being vegan.

It's SO easy eating a diet of 60% raw food.

(I'll be ready for the 80% goal very soon!)

This much stuff made two salads. One for dinner, one for lunch tomorrow.

1 small cucumber

1 avocado

3 rainbow chard leaves

5 romaine leaves

1 small ear of corn (cooked)

1/2 sweet potato (baked)

4 figs

tofu, raw or cooked

simple dressing:

hazelnut oil

balsamic vinegar

stone ground mustard

pinch of salt

cracked black pepper

top view:

bottom view:

make sure you take bites of sweet potato with bites of avocado.  

those two are a match made in heaven!

AND

don't forget to chew twenty times per bite!

*Stephanie*

  

Crazy Sexy Diet Day Seven

Hey y'all!

I haven't been blogging because I just have any pictures, but I wanted do a check-in post on this cleanse-thing.

• Stil going strong!
• Things I'm good at doing/remembering:
• exercise
• all the food stuff
• green juice for breakfast
• nasal rinsing
• being caffeine and sugar free
• Things I'm good at forgetting/ignoring:
• dry brushing
• meditating
• not eating too much nut butter
• that I should be doing homework instead of blogging
• I had wedding cake last night. It was good and worth it. It was covered in marzipan. And I didn't feel bad afterward but I bet my sugar cravings set in today so I'll have to have some of my black bean power bar dough.  What's that, you ask? My pulp from juicing+black beans+peanut butter+raw cacao+dates+vanilla blended in the food processor.  If I owned a dehydrator I would use it to turn this dough into a power bar because that's exactly what it tastes like (but less sweet of course).
• If you want to do this cleanse, do yourself a favor.  Buy twice as much produce (same variety, double the quantity) as you normally would.
• My juicer hates cucumbers and pears.  As soon as I start juicing those, it gets off balance and starts dancing about.
• Kale chips are my nemesis. They taunt me with statements like "We're green and healthy!" and "We have nutritional yeast so you'll get some vitamin B12!".  I know it's still a CSD-friendly junk food, but I'm so easily convinced that they are good for me!

When all else fails, insert pictures of dogs. 

:Mitch and his old friend Bodhi:

 Peace out!

Crazy Sexy Diet Day Seven

It's Day Seven of the rest of my life!!!  I think I needed a clear timeline to be motivated to start this cleanse-slash-new-way-of-eating, because to say "no more sugar or coffee, period" would have turned me off.  But now, I feel as though I could stick to this diet forever.

Let's see how I feel after eating wedding cake next weekend.  Yes, I will be eating wedding cake.  At least one bite. If I have to sit through a wedding, you better believe I'm having some cake.

Actually, cake sounds disgusting.  So did coffee when I went into Peet's today.  I'm clean!!!

I'll start with today's food:

The juice (I threw in some broccoli as well):

 Carr mentions the chlorophyll in the greens that is the benefit of the morning juice.  I can't help thinking that the "whole" food blended in the Vita-Mix would offer more nutritional benefits.  Anyway, I feel good so something's working.

Lunch: Brown rice and black beans, salsa fresca, avocado/cilantro dip, tomatoes, jicama, spinach

Dinner: Savory oats, inspired by Ali (here are some of her savory oats posts) with re-hydrated shitake mushrooms, tofu, and lots of raw veggies. I could barely finish half of this bowl.

Thoughts on this diet:

• As I've mentioned, my activity level has gone way, way, way up and my energy level has stayed the same.  In other words, I'm not bursting at the seems with green juice energy, but I'm able to pull off two to three times as much exercise and still feel "normal".
• I didn't realize how much I like breakfast until I can't eat until noon.  The green juice seems to actually make me hungry, but I get used to it and by noon I barely even care about food.  I love the way I feel and I'm afraid to add food to my morning routine lest I feel less good.  I've tried adding oats and walnuts to the juice, but it doesn't make a huge difference.
• Why does Carr say to eat fruit alone?  When she mentions that berries can be eaten in the morning if I am still hungry after my green juice, but to make sure when eating fruit not to eat anything else.
• Why does she say to get rid of processed foods but two snacks on the cleanse include flax crackers (processed, IMO) and Earth Balance?  Am I not getting something?
• This weekend, without the help of coffee and no sugar, I did yoga, jogged the dogs, read a boring book and wrote a paper about it, read lots more and did more assignments, went clothes shopping where there was a million people (exhausting), blogged, cleaned the house and did laundry.  And I still have energy left!

To those of you starting the diet this week (and assuming you read my blog), good luck, have fun, enjoy all the benefits of this wonderful cleanse! If I could stop sugar and coffee cold turkey like that, ANYONE can, believe me! I think it's the benefits of the green juice that help detox the body from those evil things and get rid of the cravings.  Just my opinion.

CSD Day Five (!?!)

You can bypass reading this entire post by by reading the following statement

"I feel healthy and energetic on the Crazy Sexy Diet Cleanse."

---

Some wonderful things about this cleanse so far

I'm shocked at how quickly the caffeine urges went away.

I'm equally shocked at how few food cravings I have.

I have done twice as much exercise this week but feel exactly the same,

if not a bit better and more clear.

Eating 60% raw is easy!

The nasal cleanse

I forgot to do the nasal cleanse today and have been runny and sneezy all day.

A testament to the effectiveness of the nasal rinse!

Food today

The juice:

In the juicer: 1 cucumber, 3-4 celery stalks, 5-10 kale leaves, 5 romaine leaves, 1-2 apples

Add that to blender with: 1/8 cup rolled oats, a few walnuts, a couple more kale leaves, water

It's very GREEN.

Since I'll most likely be eating out tonight and may be challenged to stick to the cleanse exactly, I'm having this for lunch:

Strips of 1 zucchini, 3 carrots, 1 cucumber topped with creamy avocado dressing (1 avocado, a drizzle of olive oil, a handful of cilantro, 1 tablespoon chia seeds, juice of half a lime, salt and pepper, water to process, in the Vita-mix). That quantity of food will last 2-3 meals. Raw food is filling!

My snack will probably be a decadent banana topped with peanut butter to get me through my yoga tonight.

CSD Day Three

WOW

I feel great!!!

Caffeine update

I'm down to a third of a cup of green tea.  

I don't even think I need any caffeine tomorrow!

(a true coffee drinker uses the word "need").  

This is coming from 

a-pot-a-day, 

set-the-coffeemaker-the-night-before-because-she-is-completely-incoherent-in-the-morning 

coffee drinker.

This cleanse is awesome.

Breakfast: same as yesterday

Lunch: see last night's dinner

Snack: see yesterday's snack + celery

Dinner:

Baby romaine, roma tomatoes, avocado, brown rice, black beans, crushed walnuts, lime juice, and a superfluous scoop of hummus.

Successes

No sugar for three days now? A miracle

I only had green juice until noon.

Nasal rinse, check!

Lemon and cayenne water first thing, check!

I woke up last night tasting bell pepper. Guess I'm getting enough rough food!

Needs Improvement

I keep forgetting to dry brush

I only exercised for fifteen minutes (hey, it was cardio kickboxing on tv--tiring!)

I need to calm down with the nuts and nut butters.

I need to take the whole 30 min of reflection/meditation time rather than 5 min before work.

~

I'll be back in a day or two with the latest updates on the Crazy Sexy Diet Cleanse.

~Stephanie~

~

CSD Day Two

Okay so the caffeine withdrawals seriously set in today.  

And can I really go until noon on juice alone?

I had a tiny cup of green tea.

I ate a banana at 11am.

There, I said it.

Cheater!

Breakfast:

Green juice (same as yesterday but without the dates)

Lunch:

Yes, it's on my lap. Thos are my legs and my t-shirt. 

Quinoa, sauteed radicchio, half a bell pepper, two carrots, a scoop of hummus, a scoop of guacamole.

I'm on the 60/40 plan

4pm snack:

Carrot sticks, almonds, a dab of peanut butter, some grapes.

7pm snack later after yoga:

Banana

Kale chips

Dinner:

Soup

Boiled dehydrated oyster mushrooms, ginger, and sweet pepper 

Spices: fenugreek, pinch of herbs de provence, salt, pepper, pinch of cayenne)

Garnished (after it cooled a bit) with kale and cilantro and the juice of half a lime

Since I ate dinner late today (another no-no on the cleanse), I thought light brothy soup would be good. 

I guess this will be a 

progress not perfection

kind of cleanse for this frenzied gal 

: )

CSD Day One

Crazy Sexy Diet 

Day 1

Breakfast

warm glass of lemon water with a pinch of cayenne

 just a couple of sips of black tea (weening from coffee)

Green Juice

--------------

1 apple

5 celery stalks

2 chard leaves

2 kale leaves

2 broccoli stalks

1/2 inch piece of ginger

in the vitamix:

the juice from above

2 more kale leaves

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro

2 dates (i cheated, but this is the last time)

I also added a couple dollops of carrot juice (does this count as a fruit?)

It took an entire thirty minutes to make this, and all I got was about two cups of green juice.  This problem will need to be addressed.

The Taste?

Delicious! That is, if you like salad.

I do.  

Even though my body was expecting an 

entire french press full of coffee 

with 

cookies 

(like it got yesterday)

it welcomed the green juice and it's

refreshing vitality.

Lunch

Falafels (they had gluten but someone made them just for me, so...what could I say?)

Cabbage and parsley slaw with asian dressing

Tomatoes

Bell pepper slices

Guacamole

Hummus

A *small* handful of corn chips

Snack

A banana with peanut butter

(sounds weird for a cleanse, right?)

Dinner

Leftovers:

Quinoa

Sauteed Radicchio

Tofu

Carrots

Kale

Bell pepper

Cherry tomatoes

It's 5:15pm, how am I feeling now?

I have felt great all day. I have a slight headache from not drinking caffeine but it's SO mild.  I'm tired but also energetic. I feel great, like I felt when I started a vegan diet. Lighter. Happy.

I know this sounds weird but I'm sharing it anyway

In yoga today, I was doing a forward bend that I couldn't do very well.  Internally, I thanked my body for allowing me to take care of it, and assured it that whatever discomfort it felt during my yoga practice and during my cleanse was for it's benefit, and that we would work together to achieve health and wellness.  I suddenly, involuntarily went more deeply into the stretch, more comfortably, like my body said "okay, then I will stop fighting. We're on the same team and we're not working against each other." So when I got hunger pangs today, I just assured my body that this was beneficial and cleansing and that I would nourish it with good food when it was time.

Crazy Sexy Diet

Without caffeine, you know I'll be feeling crazy. Sexy?  Maybe not : )

My friend Ali and some of her bloggy friends will be doing the 

Crazy Sexy Diet Cleanse 

for the next 21 days (or more).  

(It feels weird to call it a cleanse because it's so close to how I already eat!)

***However***

cutting out sugar, caffeine, alcohol, gluten, and processed foods 

will make for a great all-around healthy feeling, once I get through that initial 

withdrawal phase.

I'm going to start posting every (other?) day to check in about how the cleanse is going.  I just bought the book and will be reading that, too. 

(Did you know you can download a Kindle app for you iPad to read Kindle books? How ridiculously convenient!).

Hello, Greens!

Blueberries and Perfectionism

Hi everyone,

I'm peeking in here to share and to confess.

Share:
Have you heard about the benefits of blueberries on bone density?

Confession:
I have a bit more time to blog now but since I haven't been following the strictly clean, whole foods diet like I was before, I haven't been posting.  For instance, the feijoada recipe would have been nice and clean despite the fact that I just had to add soy hot dogs so it felt meaty.  I'm just a perfectionist with the blogging so I'll stay on my break for a bit longer : )

See you on your blogs!

Steph

Back in a few...

...a few...

...minutes? ...days?  ...weeks or months?

Going back to school has really eaten most of my free time (as in, my blogging time!).  By necessity I will be on hiatus until...?  Hopefully I'll have some time to create some meaningful dishes to share from time to time.  Also I'm going to try to get my recipe page in order so it's more easily referenced.  But I'll still be following you so keep the posts coming : )

Until next time, I leave you with these pictures of my recent kitchen adventures:

 Upama topped with chickpeas and carmelized onions

 A carrot dipped in vegan ranch dressing (half cashew cream, half coconut milk, with added mustard and agave, salt and pepper--try it and I guarantee you'll love it!)

 Flatbread with tofu/garbanzo spread and some stuff on top (my latest favorite)

Quinoa topped with sauteed chard and collard...notice the chard stems? 

Some asparagus.  Nothing special about it.

See you soon (hopefully!)

Stephanie

Food Prep 101

I'm a true noob in the kitchen.  I've always used my same old remedial techniques on food prep.  So I was browsing youtube and checking out some new knife skills.

how to cut an onion in tiny pieces

how to cut an onion without crying? (it works)

i can't wait to try this pseudo-power tool technique for mincing garlic and also how to make garlic paste (right on your cutting board)

And I've linked this one before, but i love how she uses a chiffonade technique on kale.  This is a technique I have used lots and lots of times since I first saw this video (tonight's dinner included).

I also learned how to cut a mango on youtube.

What have you learned how to do on youtube?

my youtube fetish

I was browsing around youtube the other night, as I often do, and came across this lecture snippet by Jeff Novick.  It's very interesting, about olive oil compared to other saturated-fat-containing foods.

I enjoy searching for youtube videos of some of the big names in the vegan world...Rip Esselstyn, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, PCRM, and Dr. Neal Barnard.  I could watch these videos for hours (and I do).

I also like looking up different tricks of the trade in the kitchen...I composed a post about this but haven't actually posted it yet.  I will find it and do that tomorrow!

No Bake Cinnamon Muffin Balls

Look like cookies, smell like muffins, taste like a raw muffin balls!  Original inspiration by Wayfaring Chocolate, though the two final products are quite different creatures.

These would be raw if the oats were omitted but then they wouldn't be muffin balls.

Cinnamon Muffin Balls

Makes 18 balls

Ingredients:

1/4 cup raw cashews, soaked for 30 minutes, drained, and rinsed

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup dried cherries, soaked for 30 minutes and drained

pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

pinch of salt (literally, one small pinch)

1/4 cup raw pecans

1 6 oz. package of dried mango

1/2 teaspoon vanilla or 1/4 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

1/4 cup quick oats 

Place everything into food processor and pulse until combined and gooey.  Add oats and process some more.  Pulsing works much better than leaving it on as it gets things moving around on the bottom.  When sufficiently ground and sticky, roll into balls. Garnish with a dried cherry and/or cinnamon if desired.  Store in refrigerator.

Very Bitter Radicchio-Garlic Saute

Don't make this unless you are in the mood for bitter-spice.  It's sharp taste is what I craved the night I made this.  I ate half of the head right out of the pan, and the other half for lunch the next day. Serve with cutlery (a butter knife won't "cut it" here).  Almost looks like fish filets or something, huh?  Read health facts about radicchio at radicchio.com.  When you taste it, it's deliciously mild.  Once you start chewing, you'll get the intybin-induced bitterness.  Enjoy!

Sauteed Radicchio with Garlic
Serves two

Ingredients
1 head radicchio, washed
a few garlic cloves
salt and pepper
mirin, broth, or cooking wine
rice vinegar or balsamic (I've used both but prefer rice)
little oil for sauteing

Method
Heat oil in saute pan on medium.  When hot, add 4-6 whole garlic cloves and a pinch of salt.  Saute for 3-5 minutes.
Slice radicchio into quarters, lengthwise.  Set the cut-side down right on top of the garlic, and line them up in the pan.
When they are almost burned (purple part of leaves get very dark), use tongs to flip them over.  Add a few tablespoons of rice vinegar and mirin.  Grind some black pepper on top and cover, cooking another 2-3 minutes.

Serve hot or chilled with garlic and sauce poured right over the top.

Simple Vegan Butternut Squash Soup

Do you ever just have a big old butternut squash lying around with nowhere to call home?  I do because the show up in my CSA box every time I start thinking the season is over.  This mama was probably a five pounder (I have no experience in weighing squash to back up that statement).

And if the tense in which this post is written confuses you, it's because I wrote some of it at night when I prepped it, some of it when I saw it in the morning, and some of it after I ate it.  I take things sloooow.

Here is roughly (emphasize roughly) what I did.

Beautiful, wonderful, simple, worthy-of-serving-for-breakfast butternut squash soup
Makes 4 bountiful servings

• Bake squash at 350 degrees for 1ish hour.  Let cool.
• Cut off skin and chop into large cubes.  Throw them in the Vita-Mix (seeds, too, why waste) with a few inches of water.  Use thruster thing to plunge down the mixture (don't want those seeds getting stuck in your teeth!).  If you prefer, leave some chunks out so you have some lumps in your soup.  
• Blend on the soup setting (or on highest setting) until it changes color to reflect it's thorough blended-ness.  Mid-way through, add another cup of water with a boullion cube.  Should take 2-3 minutes.
• Dump this mixture into your slow cooker.  Taste it (yum).
• Add roughly
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds or powder
• several (5? 8? 10?) strands of saffron
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (next time--crushed red pepper)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• several grinds of black pepper
• 1 teaspoon tumeric (might as well add some inflammatory herbs in there)
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• grated or minced ginger (I made teeny tiny cubes)
• Taste it again (yum) to see what to add...I had to make a few adjustments.
• Eat it now, or wait until the morning.  Or eat some now like I did and cook some for the morning. (Why am I saying morning?  Am I going to eat it for breakfast?  Maybe.  It is pretty awesome.)
• I slow cooked it on low for over twelve hours.  But it was until the next night (tonight, read 24 hours later) that it was reeeally good.
• With a little umph to be desired, I topped it with spicy mango pickle (Bedekar brand from the Indian market with baby green mangos in it is my favorite!)

You know me, always gotta sneak in pictures of Tristan 

(and is he always checking email on his phone?)

and on the left, a big ol' pressure cooker full of rice

Chocolate Nut Spread

When I saw this Not-ella recipe (and the super funny comments at each phase of processing), I wanted to make some.  But I don't like hazelnuts.  So I made a pecan-walnut version.  Offering omegas, magnesium, and only slightly salty-sweet, it can be eaten with a spoon or on apple slices.

Process until smooth, adjusting sweetness as desired.

Hope you're having a great weekend,

*stephanie*

Beans and Cornbread!

I brought this meal to my desk to eat while I did school work, but of course since I'm a blog addict I wrote this post instead...

Cornbread is not my typical healthy fare, but I happened to walk into the living room while Tosh.0 was on and saw this clip:  Worst Comedian Ever: Web Redemption (go to 4:00 to see the reference).

How to prepare this delicious and hearty meal of chili beans, cornbread, and guacamole:

While the Vegan Maple Cornbread Muffins (from Vegetarian Times) are in the oven, prepare your chili beans.

Quick and Easy 20 Minute Chili Beans
Makes 2 big servings

Saute in a little oil:
1/2 chopped red (or other color) onion
1 small carrot, chopped
1 stalk celergy, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced


Saute for five minutes, stirring frequently.  Add:
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 dried red chiles
1-2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds 
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
pinch or so of salt
(Adjust spices to taste)


Cook for a few minutes and add:
1 14 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed well
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or white vinegar

Add enough water to cover.  Bring to boil and add 1 bay leaf if desired (I did).  Cook, stirring constantly, for five minutes, then lower to simmer and cook uncovered until the mixture cooks through and all of the colors are beginning to combine.

At this point the cornbread should be ready.  Take it out of the oven and turn off heat (the oven and the stove).  Prepare you guacamole:

Easy Guacamole
1 avocado
2 heaping tablespoons salsa fresca

Mash avocado, fold in salsa.  Serve on top of chili beans!

Stylish Blogger Award

Thank you, Cheryl (from the Midlife Vegan blog), for passing along this award.  I feel special!  Cheryl and I cook in a similar way (simple, healthy, lots of veggies included)!  And in my opinion, even our photos are really similar.  She's the only other blogger that I've seen to post a photograph of a cross section of a head of cabbage!

More exciting than getting the award was discovering all the new blogs from Cheryl's 10 recipients!

In the tradition of the Stylish Blogger Award, I will now tell you 7 things about myself and pass the award along to 10 recently discovered bloggers.

My husband (doesn't he look like a meat-eater?) and our oldest dog when he was nine months old.

1.  My comfort food of choice is cream of wheat, roasted in Earth Balance, made with almond milk, flavored with saffron and cardamom, and sweetened with molasses or plain old sugar.  2.  I am tall (5'10") and thin (around 135 lbs) and people always assume it's because I'm vegan and I've also been accused of having an eating disorder (I don't).  3.  My moral values about using eco-friendly chemical-free products stop at my neck.  When it comes to my hair, I'm appalled at what I will put on my own head in order to look good.  4.  If I finish, I should have a Master's Degree in Human Development in the next two years.  5.  If I had to choose a religion to join and follow, it would be either Jainism or Judaism.  6.  I am married to my exact opposite.  My meat-loving corporate software sales guy tells people that if it were up to me we'd be walking around naked on the Big Sur coast playing Peter Paul and Mary songs on our secondhand guitars.  He's probably right.  7.  I have a secret obsession with preparing myself for the next major natural disaster or maybe armageddon.  For now, I create small crises to fill time.

Now, the fun part!  The "recently discovered" part may be tricky but I'll try my best!  Since many of my "recently discovered" blogs are not related to vegan diets I'll categorize them for you.

1. Dandelion Vegan Blog.  (Vegan) I was happy to come upon this recent discovery, for sure.  There's something very "home cookin'" about Rose's style and my kitchen has already seen creations inspired by Rose.
2.  Raw Bento.  (Vegan? Raw food) I love Yu's blog, her photos, and her cute little recipes.  I even used this one at the preschool on valentine's day, but instead of making a brownie I scooped out balls and put the pink frosting on top!  We called them "Valentine's Day Candy" (see photo above).  I think she's vegan but I'm really not sure.
3.  Bohemian Single Mom.  (Life) Okay, this is nothing about vegan but I really look forward to her posts.  She writes in a way that keeps me grounded in spirituality despite what else is going on in life.  Go meet her.  You'll see what I'm talking about.
4.  Fancy that, fancy this.  (Life) Again, not a vegan blog but seriously entertaining.  Ameena is my polar opposite yet I find myself living vicariously through her blog.  I'm guessing you will love it or hate it depending on your attitudes toward men, marriage, and materialism.  I would give this the "most cathartic blog" award.
5.  The Global Vegan.  (Vegan) Thank you, Aimee, for bringing consistency and simplicity into my life.  Aimee posts regularly and her posts always provide good food, good photos, and easy recipes!
6.  Manjula's Kitchen.  (Vegetarian) Although Manjula-ji is not a vegan, I find I can easily veganize her Indian recipes.  She posts videos...videos, I said!!!
7.  Vegan Thyme.  (Vegan) Even though it's an oldie but goodie, I just discovered this one a few days ago. Kelly writes about my favorite things: vegan food, gardening, and dogs!
8.  Brick by Brick. (Preschool) I know Scott from the preschool blogosphere, and I had to add his name on here for two reasons.  1.  Male bloggers, represent!  And 2.  He has a great reflective and introspective style that I love and try to embody myself.
9.  Two Little Yoga Monkeys.  (Life) She's awesome.  She tapes her kids to the wall.
10.  The Healthy Advocate.  (Health) I like Brandon's blog because he reminds me of why I eat the way I do and he's scientific about it.  My favorite post of his to date describes his experience on the raw food diet.

And how about a nod to my tried-and-true favorite vegan bloggers: Ali, Angela, Chloe, and SusanV!

*Stephanie*

Takeout: "food" fit for a dog...or not.

Tax time...

which means busy time.  I am a sole proprietor in my small business, my husband is a general partner in another small business, plus he's an employee at his corporate day job.

Our taxes were supposed to be submitted today and we're still working on them...do you think I have time to make dinner?  Not!

Here was our dinner:

As I was devouring my sweet and sour whatever-that-crap-was-that-was-meant-to-be-the-pork and oil seasoned with the occasional green bean, I got some sweet and sour sauce on my hand.

My epiphany came when my dog tried to lick it off but I wouldn't let him because the crap was so unhealthy.

True story.

The Two Step (Kale Salad)

Who doesn't like a salad that's easy AND wholesome?

Step 1 (ie. prep before bike ride)
Get a container with a lid and put in 1/8 cup pine nuts, 2 tablespoons raisins, and 1 orange, cut into pieces.  Close container, shake vigorously, and put in the fridge for 30 minutes-1 hour.

Step 2 (ie. after bikeride and preferably after shower!)
Wash 3-4 kale leaves.  Cut across leaves into 1/2 inch strips.  Massage these strips by taking handfuls and squeezing and rubbing together until the kale turns dark green and shiny and your hands are green from the juice.  Mix into the Step 1 mixture and serve.  Optional: add hazelnut or other oil in refrigerated mixture before mixing into kale.

Comments:  Shaking the orange pieces with the raisins and pine nuts allows the juices to interact with the other ingredients in a wonderful way, making for a salad that is sweet but still satisfying on this cold winter day.  Rubbing kale ahead of time somehow makes it easier for me to eat raw.  It becomes soft and juicy, rather than firm and like a leaf picked fresh from a tree.

***

Don't love kale?  

Well then, I challenge you to eat it for seven days straight and by the end of that week you will love it.  Your body will crave it and miss its nutrient-dense health-a-licious-ness when you take it away.  

***

Vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte

Not too sweet, not too spicy.  

Vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte
Adapted from Oh She Glows
Original recipe from TheKitchn

In a saucepan, heat until steaming:
1 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup coconut milk (or another 1/4 cup almond milk)
1-2 tablespoons sucanat, maple syrup or other sweetener

Whisk the heck out of it.  Once steaming, add:
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
scant 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon rum extract (optional, if using omit 1 teaspoon vanilla)


Whisk well.  Blend if desired to get a good foam, otherwise whisk vigorously to get a foam on top.  Fill your mug 1/3 full with coffee and add pumpkin spice mixture to taste.  I ended up with about a 2/3 pumpkin:1/3 coffee ratio.  If you didn't use a blender, serve with a spoon so the drinker can stir as needed.  Garnish with cinnamon if desired.

Makes 1-2 servings.  Side note: I made a whole second batch for myself.  Fueling up for my bike ride!

Comments: I think tax time is giving me an ulcer so I'm cutting back on the black coffee (read: I'm not cutting back on "coffee", I'm cutting back on "black coffee").  I'm hoping that adding some fat will buffer the acidity.  Also, I added such a small amount of sweetener that I'm hoping it won't give me sugar failure (that's the flu-like feeling that I've been getting every time I binge on sugar).

Where, oh where...

...has my plate of kale gone?

I transformed an entire bunch of kale into kale chips.  

And then ate all of them.  Yes, all.

Want your own?  Find a bunch of kale and wash well.  Chop it into chip-sized pieces (I cut the stem parts smaller so they become juicy little bites--why waste them?).  Bake them at 350 for 13 minutes.  Optionally, spread with a light coating of olive oil and/or salt before baking.  

Or...

just throw the whole leaf on a grill.  No oil or salt needed.  

Why would I waste such a nutritious and healthy whole food and bake the crap out of it?  

Because I had two batches.  2 - 1 = 1

One left for my smoothies. 

Like this one:

What's in there?

3 kale leaves

1/4 cup blueberries

1 baked beet

3 frozen strawberries

1 banana

1 teaspoon chia seeds

1 teaspoon raw cacao powder

1 tablespoon hemp seeds

1 pitted date