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

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood! Lalalalalalalalalala...

Hi everyone!  I am just checking in because life keeps getting in my way of staying current on my blog.  

Just read this article (which prompted the title of the post) and thought I'd share a little about my health.

People who know me personally know that I'm always complaining about having a cold or being on the verge of getting a cold.  I have twelve little children at my house every day, and am exposed to not only their germs but also their wider germ networks of people they are exposed to.  Basically I live in a germ factory, despite our policy about washing hands upon entry, which has been shown to significantly reduce the spread of illness in child care centers.  (I would practice this at home, too, if you find your family getting sick a lot.)

Well I am in tip-top form lately because 1. we bought a new mattress at Costco and I'm finally sleeping wonderfully, and 2. I'm taking lots of immune-boosting supplements (I've mentioned this before but I'll say it again).  My husband keeps asking my why I'm in such a good mood and I think the answer lies in the supplements.

1. Zinc.  Studies have come out again saying zinc may help fight common colds after all.
2. WTCB.  I'm not sure how this precious combo of herbs and roots and flowers works, but I feel amazing.  My amazingly healthy 74-year-old friend recommended this.  Seeing how healthy she is, walking several miles each day, doing those crazy PX90 or whatever those intense workout videos are, she is the Amazing Healthy Lady. 
3. Mushrooms.  My vegan nutritionist, Sid, told me about these (although he suggests taking a powdered form found here which is gentler on the tummy) and when I feel a cold coming on I take a little extra, otherwise I just take one per day.  I take the LifeShield Immunity because that's the brand stocked at Whole Foods.  Take them with food if you have a sensitive stomach like me.
4. Vegan DHA.  Although vegan women seem to have significantly more good fats in their blood than others (read the article here), Sid recommended that I take a supplement nonetheless.  He recommends this one: v-pure DHA.  I swear my mental clarity and overall mood have really improved since starting this supplement.  I eat a ton of walnuts but still seemed to need a supplement.
5. Other supplements I've been taking (these may be controversial): 
• Vitamin B Complex.  You are probably already taking a supplement if you are a vegan, but I don't take these late at night because they keep me awake
• Magnesium-Potassium.  I started taking this because it relieves my restless leg syndrome.  When my body has an ailment, I look to my diet first to see if I can alleviate the problem.
• Sea Vegetation.  I can't find a link for it but my esthetician, who sees my skin up close frequently, told me to take it to help my skin health and overall health.
• Vitamin C: I just bought these for days when we don't have orange juice or oranges in the house (rare) or when there are nasty cold bugs going around the preschool population (like this week).  I like them because they are bright purple which tells me there are natural antioxidants in them.  There has also been controversy over whether vitamin C supplements are useful but I tend to believe in them.

While it seems I'm probably getting paid to recommend these, I'm totally not.  I don't think a blog with less than ten followers would qualify for endorsements : )

The reason I like the Wachters products is that they have sea vegetation which seems to help the digestibility.  I've never been able to take vitamins without resulting digestive, er, backups.  None of the Wachters brand does that at all.  I'm sure there are other good ones out there but none that I have found.

A vegan who is intentional about what they consume will most likely get everything they need from their diet.  However, even eating very healthy I felt like I was missing "something" (I've blogged about this before).  Most days were fine but every now and then I'd feel like I needed "something" that I couldn't pinpoint.  I don't feel that way anymore.  Granted, I have a high-intensity job and being a business owner + working with preschoolers tends to really deplete my system entirely.  So I may be more high maintenance than your average vegan : )

I hope you found something useful in all of this.  Please post comments, even if you disagree with something I've said here!

***

Wishing you an immune-boosting optimism in your day today...

And with that I leave you with this video about a drug-induced optimism which you may find funny or you may find totally crass and offensive.  My husband and I cannot watch this one without cracking up every time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5czRoFqcxNs&feature=youtube_gdata_player