Beat Your Meat - With These Proteins

I don't make a habit of eating meat replacements, but they are not bad every once in awhile. They are great when you are having a lazy day, need something fast, or are just having a craving that you want to nourish. I wanted to share my favorites in this category, and you will see that I use these every so often in my recipes. These also make great transition foods for people wanting to make the changeover to vegetarian or vegan. 

Gardein is a play on the words garden and protein. It's made from soy, pea and wheat proteins, and ancient grains, and then slow cooked to give you a meaty bite and texture. You can cook Gardein in the microwave, on the grill, in the oven, or on the stove - all of the conventional ways that you would usually cook meat. I love Gardein when I want something quick, or when I am craving one of the old dishes that I used to make such as "Chicken" Piccata or "Beef" Stir fry. I have tried all of the products in the pictures and they are awesome and totally vegan!

I love Boca Crumbles when I am craving spaghetti and "meat" sauce, and a Boca Burger whenever I don't have time to make dinner and I need something quick before a night out. I wouldn't say they are super healthy, but good in a pinch.  

Sunshine Burgers are the best! They are made from sunflower seeds, brown rice, herbs, sea salt, and carrots. They taste awesome and they are great on the grill at a cookout!

                                

I'd love to hear about how you use these products in recipes, or to answer any questions you may have about being vegan. Email Me  me, I'd love to hear from you. 

Namaste.

Books to Live By

8 Weeks to Optimum Heath: 

A Proven Program for Taking Full Advantage of Your Body's Natural Healing Power

 Andrew Weil, M.D.

Do you have books that have made such an impression on you that you keep them by your side and constantly grab for them because you just couldn't get enough? I first read 8 Weeks to Optimum Health by Andrew Weil, M.D. about 10 years ago (man, that makes me feel old) and it's one of those books that I always find myself referring back to. I keep it in my bookshelf right next to my kitchen table, and I'm always skimming through it just to refresh myself.

If you haven't read this book, you should. It's an 8 week program that takes you through steps on ridding your life of toxins and getting you on the right path to natural health. When I first bought the book I did the 8 week program to perfection. I always take the attitude that when you have a program like this, you have to take it to the extreme, and then eventually add back in what you need to make it work for your lifestyle.

What I really like about this book is that it is not a fad diet, and not something that you just jump right into so that you shock your system. He promotes gradual change and learning how to feed your body what it needs to utilize it's natural healing abilities. In other words, like fad diets, he is not telling you this is what you need to do to lose weight and have a perfect body, but he's telling you what you need to incorporate into your life to live long and be healthy physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Every week has a focus and he breaks down each chapter into these categories: projects, diet, supplements, exercise, and mental/spiritual to get you on the right track. Then he goes onto explain each section in detail, and even adds in simple delicious recipes to help get your diet moving forward. A few of his focuses are identifying and removing harmful ingredients in your pantry, learning about the impurities of your drinking water, using a steam bath or sauna, the importance of sleep, breathing techniques, types of fasting, and adding tonics to your life. Throughout the book he also has sections called, Healing Stories, where people tell their inspirational stories about how these methods have brought them from close to death to total health.

This book greatly influenced me because it was the first time that someone opened my eyes up to the pollutants to the world around me, and taught me how to use what we have in nature to nourish and heal our bodies. When I implemented this program into my life I felt 100% better and still continue much of it today. I can't encourage frequent visits to the sauna and practicing yoga enough and explain to you how much it will brighten up each day. I strongly recommend this book to anyone that feels like they want to take the first step in making changes towards their overall health.

Namaste.

Put This In Your Mouth

Brussel Sprouts: The Most Misunderstood Vegetable

Brussel Sprouts are delicious. They are little bite size cabbages that crunch in your mouth (if cooked right). I am sure that you heard a lot of awful things about them growing up, but don't be fooled by the bad reputation that they have. They are just so bad that they are awesome. They might even be too cool for you.

I once was fooled by the myth that brussel sprouts taste the inside of a trashcan until one day my friend made them for me. I remember thinking... great.... she made me this awesome dinner for my birthday, and I have already decided that I hate brussel sprouts without ever trying them. But, I'm open minded and I was newly vegan, so I was happy to try them. We were all sitting at the table, and I had my plate in front of me, grabbed the veggie with my fork, and I bit into my first brussel sprout. I instantly wanted more and I couldn't get over that it took me this long to give them a chance. She made me this recipe off of 101 cookbooks, and since then I have forever been buying, cooking, and loving brussel sprouts.

Why are brussel sprouts awesome? Well, besides tasting good, they have super healthy for you. They are high in fiber, help protect against cancer, and they are high in vitamin C which helps support immune function. They also help protect against rheumatic arthritis and birth defects. You can read more about it by clicking here.

There are a few ways to cook brussel sprouts, but I think they are best when they are cut into ribbons and pan fried to where they are a little crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. I do not recommend frozen brussel sprouts, they always end up too soft and watery.

How to prepare a brussel sprout for cooking:
Cut off the ends and peel away any loose or discolored leaves. Wash well. They can be cooked whole or halved, but for this recipe they are best sliced.

Here is my basic brussel sprout recipe....

You will need:
20 brussel sprouts, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt
1/2 Tbls sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped

*In a bowl, coat the brussel sprouts in 1 Tbls Olive oil and some salt. Mix together
*Heat a large skillet to med heat with 1 Tbls olive oil. You do not want to make it too hot because you don't want the outside to cook too fast, but you do want to get the outside somewhat browned.
*Pour in the brussel sprouts until they are laid out flat on the surface.

*Cook for about 5 minutes, and then they should start to look brown on the bottom.
*Once you see that they have started to brown, add in the garlic, sesame oil, stir together, cover and cook for another minute.
*Pour in a bowl and you are done!

You can eat them just like this, or add them to a pasta, a rice dish, quinoa, couscous, soba noodles, or just add some other delicious veggies to the mix. Tonight I made these and mixed them in with kale, tofu, leeks, and rice noodles.

Roasting brussel sprouts is also a good option. Here is a Barefoot Contessa recipe for that. 
I have also been wanting to try a veganized version recipe from the Momofuku cookbook by David Chang for Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Let me know if you make them and how they turn out! Enjoy!

I love Brussel Sprouts in my mouth!

Namaste.

Mixed Mushroom Soup with Green Lentils

I LOVE mushrooms......and I hope you do too because this is a soup for mushroom lovers! This soup came about because I was cleaning out my fridge and realized I had a box of dried porcini mushrooms that I needed to use. I went to the grocery store and bought some fresh crimini mushrooms and fresh shiitake mushrooms and mixed mushroom soup was born. Something to remember when making this earthy flavored soup is that it only needs to be lightly salted. If you don't salt it enough it will be bland, but adding just a small amount of salt will bring out the mushroom flavor beautifully. 


I also love the New Pornographers, and I have been listening to their newest album, Together, for a few weeks now. I've been listening to it in sections or just repeating certain tracks, but tonight I decided to take the time to listen to the whole thing while making this soup.......


For the broth:
1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
5 crimini mushrooms, sliced
5 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 leek, sliced and cut in half
1 cup broccoli
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive oil, plus a little more
2 cups hot water (for the dried mushrooms)
3 cups water (or water used to boil the lentils)
salt to taste
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon rosemary

For The Lentils:
1/2 LB Green Lentils
5 Cups Water
Some Olive Oil
A few pinches of salt


Putting It All Together:

The first thing to do would be to start cooking the lentils. You will use around 5 cups of water, and add about two tablespoons of olive oil, and 1/2 tablespoon of salt to the water. Once the water starts to boil, add the lentils. Turn down the heat until it is at a slow boil. Usually green lentils take a bout 30-40 minutes to cook, but you can always test them after 30 minutes to see if they are at your desired texture. While the lentils are cooking you can start on the next step.

Soak the dried porcini's in the 2 cups of hot water for 15-20 minutes to soften and soak up the flavor. While they are soaking chop up the leeks, garlic, broccoli, crimini mushrooms, and shiitake's.

In another soup pot, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil and add the garlic and leeks. Cook for about 3 minutes and add the 1/4 cup olive oil and the shiitake and crimini mushrooms. Cook for about 2 minutes and add the porcini mushrooms along with the water they are soaking in.

Add 3 cups of filtered water and flavor it yourself. Start with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, taste, and adjust from there.

**If you want to be creative add some of the water used to cook the lentils. I actually added 2 cups of the lentil water and then a cup of filtered water. Some of the lentils will get into the measuring cup, but that is just fine. You can also use vegetable broth if you would like, but make sure it is low sodium. If you need to add more water to make it more soupy, go ahead!

You'll have a lot of leftover lentils, but just add about 1 cup to the soup. Add the rosemary, the bay leaves, stir everything together, bring to a boil, lower heat to a slow boil, and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add to a bowl.... add more lentils if you desire... and you're done!

Afterthoughts: 

I sat at my table savoring my new concoction while being completely captivated by Dan Bejar and Neko Case singing Daughters of Sorrow in the background and I thought, This is one of the best soups I have ever made! I love it when this happens! It was a perfect moment. Sometimes I throw things together and it's good enough for me, but I can't say it's actually good enough to share it with someone else. This soup is hearty, fragrant, and full of flavor with every bite. I can't wait to use mushroom broth for so many other things..... and I couldn't have done it without the New Pornographers to back me up.....


I have been listening to The New Pornographers for a few years  now. I have every album, and have been spending some time listening to them all thoroughly. The first one I listened to was Challengers, which is their 4th. It takes a totally different turn from their first three, which are more upbeat. That being said, they didn't just go from one extreme to another. Twin Cinema (3rd album) is a transition piece where you can hear hints of their catchy upbeat tunes from the first two albums, but then some songs that are still catchy, but also have some breathing room.

Challengers and Together have a more mellow (but not depressing) mood. I loved Challengers when I first heard it, but it was tough for me to go backwards with The New Pornographers. Although, it didn't take very long for me to fall in love with everything about them. What I love most about them is that they have their own style, but every song is different depending on who is fronting it. At first I couldn't get enough of Neko Case and A.C. Newman.... listening to their voices together just completely mesmerized me (and still does). But lately my interests have taken a turn to preferring the Dan Bejar songs. I just love his voice so much. I remember his style took awhile to grow on me, and when I first listened to Destroyer, I didn't take to it so well. I wanted to like it, but it just wasn't working for me, but now I can't stop listening (that's another blog post). That's what I love about this band..... the more I listen to them, I hear something different. The best way I can describe their songs are that they end in a different place from where they begin, and I never get sick of them.

I can't say that Together is the best album that they have put out, but I can say that I continue to like it more every time I listen. I'm listening to Valkyrie in the Roller Disco as I write this, and it's like a breath of fresh air. It just keeps getting better.

Namaste

Say No To High Fructose Corn Syrup

                        

Have you see these commercials trying to make High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) seem like it's totally okay for consumption?

This makes me angry! 

Why you ask? Well, because there are so many lies in these commercials, and HFCS is the leading cause in obesity right now. It's pretty much a death sentence. By airing these commercials, the Corn Refiners Association is silently promoting future health problems so that they can earn a dollar at the end of the day. 


At the end, the narrator says, "Get the Facts." Let's go through all of the lies in the commercial and get the real facts right now:

A.  HFCS is almost impossible to eat in moderation because it is in almost everything. It's way cheaper to use than sugar and it is easily dissolved in liquids, which is why it is so popular in the beverage industry. It's also used as a preservative so it extends the shelf life of food. That explains why you see it in place of sugar in everything. It's even in ketchup! Why?

B. In addition to obesity, It's also been linked to diabetes and overeating. After doing some research, I found out that HFCS also affects the hunger hormone in your body known as leptin, which creates an increase in your appetite and causes people who eat foods with HFCS to overeat. 

C. HFCS does come from corn, but it is not natural. It's completely manufactured requiring the use of enzymes and a series of chemical processes.  The processing of any food causes changes in its composition, therefore, making it unnatural.

D. It's obvious that HFCS is not the same as real sugar. But, if you would like to learn more about it, read this study that Princeton University posted on March 22, 2010. And, if it's supposedly the same..... then just use real sugar!

Knowing how much of a negative effect HFCS has on our health, commercials like these should be illegal. 

How Can Tony Hayward Live With Himself?

Like all animal lovers, I am heart broken over the suffering of these birds. It makes me feel a little better that many of the birds are being saved, but then sickened at the amount of birds that have died, are dying, and are suffering through this. What makes me sick is that this is a man-made disaster. It's one thing to have a hurricane or tornado, but we did this, and there is no end in site. The repercussions of this disaster are endless to our ecosystem, and it kills me whenever I see the footage of oil gushing into the Gulf.


What makes me furious is how Tony Hayward is handling this situation. BP says they want to be transparent, but they haven't been clear at all about what/how/when they are doing anything. This cap they used is not working perfectly, and as long as there is still oil flowing in the Gulf, I can't be optimistic.


Every time I see that ad run on TV with him saying, "We're going to make this right," I want to punch him. It's like BP thinks they are just going to PR themselves out of this mess. How do they not have any compassion? Are they not human? It scares me to think that what we are seeing is just the surface of this mess! What about the whole underwater ecosystem that we can't see?


What about the harmful chemicals that are being dispersed into the Gulf that are banned in other countries because these chemicals have been linked with human health problems including respiratory, nervous system, liver, kidney and blood disorders? Why won't they use an alternative? How does one even attempt to clean up such an environmental disaster as this one? What is going to happen when a hurricane hits?


I am encouraging everyone to do your part in saving these helpless birds by going to the International Bird Research Rescue Center and either donating, adopting a bird, becoming a member, or calling the number listed to find out what you can to do. You can also check out this site on the CNN website to find out all of the ways you can take action. 

Namaste,

Monica

Tofu Scramble (Yum)

You might be wondering where I have been since it's been awhile since I last blogged or updated my Facebook or Twitter page, or you might not be wondering at all. Well, I really have no good excuse except that I haven't been making anything interesting, or the things that I have made have been good enough for me, but not good enough to blog about. 

One thing that I have been meaning to make is a tofu scramble. When I went to St. Louis this last February my Aunt made an awesome tofu scramble for me and my vegetarian cousins (it runs in the family). I made one a long time ago and didn't dig it so much, but hers was so awesome that it inspired me to make it again. 

So, here is my recipe for a delicious tofu scramble:

1 block of extra firm tofu drained

1/2 red pepper cut into cubes

1/4 cup red onion chopped into cubes

3 leaves of kale chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Olive Oil

1 teaspoon Turmeric

1/2 teaspoon paprika

2 small handfulls of Chedder Daiya "Cheese" (optional)

red pepper flakes (optional)

sea salt

a splash of water

Optional Garnish:

A handful of cherry tomatos cut into 4ths

1/2 cup chopped avocado

some chopped up fresh basil

Putting it all together:

Pour about two tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat, and wait about two minutes until it starts to get hot. Add the red pepper and onion and cook for about three minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions start to look opaque. Stir in the garlic, turmeric, a pinch of sea salt, the paprika, red pepper flakes, and the lemon juice. Start to crumble in the tofu, but don't smash it because you still want to have some large pieces. Mix everything together and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. If you notice that pieces start to stick to the pan, then you will want to add a splash of water. After cooking for about 10 minutes, stir in the kale. When the scramble is almost finished add in the Daiya cheese by sprinkling it in while stirring. Once you feel like everything is all mixed together you can turn off the heat, put on a plate, and garnish with the basil, avocado, and tomatoes!

Afterthoughts:

Whenever I cook I always put on an album that I've been meaning to listen to or one that I haven't been able to give my full attention. I decided to listen to Camera Obscura, which I first heard on All Songs Considered. Their newest album, My Maudlin Career was featured as one of the best albums of 2009. I really liked the track they played on that show, so I went ahead and picked up the album..... I thought, why not? I've actually been listening to this album all week and it's really grown on me. I like it because it's a bit poppy, but it also has a 50s sound to it. Tracyanne Campbell also has a fresh and sweet (like watermelon) voice where you can hear a hint of her accent which makes every song so delightful. I can't say that there is one song that I do not like, so it made a nice soundtrack to my morning. Now I just need to pick up some older albums. 

I like to listen to music because I can really concentrate on the flavors and outcome of the food. The worst thing that I can do is make a dish, then sit in front of the tv because the food ends up not being the total focus. Music is a good distraction while I am still able to enjoy my culinary masterpiece (okay... masterpiece might be a bit overboard). I was really happy with how my tofu scramble turned out, especially now that I have access to Daiya cheese (closest flavor and texture to real cheese from what I have found). From what I remember, it comes really close to the taste of a skillet. It would also be good with green onions or sauteed mushrooms, and some breakfast potatoes on the side. 

Enjoy!




Tofu