Do you want to be right? OR Do you want to have relationship?

Happy Thursday everyone! Hoping the cold and snow are disappearing for some and rain is coming for others.  Can you say hip hip hooray!

Do you all remember the post the other day about Vegans and protein? Not sure why at times I feel the need to defend myself on why I eliminated animal protein from my diet.   Well last night was one of those nights where playing defense instead of offense flashed through my mind.

Have you ever encountered one of those situations where someone says "I'm not telling you what you should do I'm telling you what is good for me" followed by a story of their family tree and the length of their parents life while eating everything and anything they want.  Not to mention "some of those green leafy vegetables can cause health problems.  The real translation to that is:  "let me tell you what you need to do"!

During the last year my eyes have been opened to how different our food supply is today compared to those of our Grandparents and in some cases our parents.  When it comes to people that are old enough to be my parents I really do listen to what they have to say, after all they have to be doing something right to be in their 70's and 80's don't you think?

So last night was a time to practice listening to my elders.  As I sat there listening intently to every word she had to say she approached the topic of adequate protein intake.  She even had real life examples of people she knew who were vegetarians that had to add meat back into their diet due to low protein.  This was my MOMENT  "do you want to be right or do you want to have relationship"?  My choice,  I want to have relationship - my response to her was your so right and I am tracking that to make sure my protein intake is adequate. That is all it took, no heated discussion, no fleshly reaction,  no tactical defensive plays, just me being me.

What does all of that mean?  Ah how about - some things just are not worth reacting to - especially if there is some truth to what you are hearing.  Not to mention most of the time our friends really do care about us and want to help us evaluate the whole picture.  We all know what we know, if we want what others know we must listen!!!

The next time you find yourself in one of those situations where your defenses are coming out - ask yourself "Do I want to be right" OR Do I want to have relationship" your answer will determine the path the conversations goes.

#vegan #friendship #love

Kale Bean Mix

Here is proof that I do eat other things besides mushrooms.  This was inspired by a post from Candy Padilla with eggs and kale.  I love Kale and am always looking for different ways to spice it up.  This was a real quick and easy meal!


1 cup Kale
1/4 sweet onion - chopped
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 can Organic 3 bean blend (you can use any beans for this recipe)
3 small organic heirloom tomatoes or 1 large one
Salsa
1 tbs avocado or olive oil

makes about 2 servings - 1 cup each

Saute onion and garlic in oil for over medium heat for 2 minutes, add the kale and stir, once kale begins to wilt add beans and tomato, simmer for about 3 to 4 minutes be careful to not overcook beans, add salt and pepper to taste. Top with a little salsa

No sauce Vegan Pizza

Pizza, well who doesn't love pizza?  I love pizza always have and always will.  The difference is my pizza looks and taste a lot different from what I use to eat.  Let's start with the sauce - in this case there is no sauce, let's move onto the crust - its not the conventional white or wheat dough.  Nope! Did you know you could use a brown rice tortilla for your crust - yes you can and if I say so myself it is the perfect size for a personal size pizza.  Next are the toppings, how about mushrooms, onions, tomatoes - those are some of my favorites - top it all off with a Vegan Mozzarella shreds.

When your in a hurry or you just want to cook something quick go for this no sauce vegan pizza!

Ingredients
Brown Rice Tortilla (I buy mine from Trader Joe's)
1/2 cup mushrooms - sliced
1/4 sweet onion sliced thin
1 small to medium tomato - slice thick (I used a yellow heirloom tomato)
pinch of dry basil
1/2 to 1 cup Vegan Mozzarella shreds

Preheat oven to 350 

Cook tortilla on stove turning quickly until it gets a little firm - (similar to how you would cook a flour tortilla)

Place tortilla on baking sheet and place sliced mushrooms, onion and tomato evenly, sprinkle basil then top with mozzarella shreds - how much you use will depend on your individual taste.

Bake for 15 minutes or until tortilla sides become brown - remove from oven - cut and enjoy

Stuffed Mushroom

Ever have one of those days that you didn't plan anything for dinner?  You open the refrigerator and nothing jumps out at you and suddenly you find yourself chewing away at chips and salsa!  Yep,  it was one of those nights for me - after carefully measuring out 1 serving of chips - (which by the way was 1oz and a whopping 130 calories) and dipping them into the salsa only to find that 1 serving was gone within seconds.  What does a girl do?  Of course reach into the bag and take another handful then convince yourself this was only 1/2 a serving.

All I could think about was what the heck just happened?  All because I failed to plan my dinner.  Once I got hold of myself and pushed that memory button in my brain all I could hear was "you have to fuel your body" not "feed your face".  Well so glad that message was recorded in my brain.

So when you have one of those days that you haven't planned dinner - what about a Stuffed Mushroom?

Ingredients

2 Portobello Mushrooms

1/2 cup kidney or black beans

1/4 sweet onion diced

2 cloves garlic - minced

1/2 red bell pepper - diced

1 small yellow heirloom tomato - diced

1/2 cup spinach - chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbs + 1tsp avocado or olive oil

Preheat oven 350 degrees

Wash mushrooms and pat dry with a paper towel.  Rub 1 tsp avocado or olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of mushroom, place on baking sheet stem side up.

In a skillet over medium heat saute onion, garlic, bell pepper and tomato in oil for about 3 minutes, add beans, continue to cook and stir gently, cook for about 2 minutes then add spinach, cook until spinach begins to wilt, add salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.

Scoop vegetable mixture into mushroom caps and bake for 15 minutes - or if you want you can eat this raw!

Spinach Pesto over Brown Rice Noodles

1 lb baby spinach - washed
2 cloves garlic - sliced
3 tbs lemon juice
1/4 cup avocado or olive oil
1/4 cup cold water
1/3 cup toasted walnuts
1/2 cup vegan Parmesan cheese*
1 grilled portobello mushroom - Optional
1 cup sliced cherry tomatoes - Optional

If you want to add variety to your pesto you can top you dish off with sliced portobello or cherry tomatoes

Spinach Pesto
In food processor add washed spinach (a little at a time) sliced garlic and lemon juice,  begin to pulse, add walnuts and Vegan Parmesan cheese, once a thick paste begins to form slowly add oil and water, pulse until smooth and creamy, add salt and pepper to taste and serve over brown rice pasta noodles.

Portobello Mushroom
Wash then add a little salt and pepper - grill OR saute -

Vegan Parmesan Cheese
1 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (can buy from bulk section at Whole Foods, Sprouts)
1 tsp salt

Process all ingredients in food processor and process until a smooth powder forms (looks kinda like Parmesan cheese)

Brown Rice Noodles
You can buy them from Whole Foods, Sprouts, Trader Joe's - I find them to be a suitable alternative to regular and wheat noodles - for those of you trying to eliminate gluten from your diet.

Garlicky Spinach Red Pepper Mix

If you love garlic the way I do your gonna love this one!


4 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 red and yellow bell pepper seeded and cut into thin strips
2 lbs fresh baby spinach - washed and chopped in medium pieces
1 tbs avocado* or olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

In large skillet over medium heat add oil, garlic and red peppers, shake pan until edges of garlic are brown. Add the red bell pepper and stir for about 1 minute.  Slowly add spinach and saute until spinach is wilted and most of the excess water has evaporated - about 2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper

* I like to use avocado oil because it can withstand high temperatures - when using olive oil cook at medium to low temperatures

Mushroom Marsala over Zucchini Noodles

1 lb of baby portobello mushrooms - sliced thick

2 tbs vegan butter spread

3/4 cup Marsala wine

2 garlic cloves -minced

1 tsp fresh thyme chopped or pinch of dry thyme

pinch of salt

Zucchini Noodles

4 to 6 Zucchini Noodles

Wash zucchini then put through spiralizer* or use your food processor blade for grating - set aside

*spiralizer (this is a kitchen gadget used to slice vegetables - slices them in spirals) I had to use my food processor shredder blade until I get my spiralizer.

Portobello Marsala

Wash and slice mushroom,  place in a saute pan over high heat (the mushrooms will begin to make their own juice once they get heated) after 1 minute reduce the heat to medium add the garlic and salt, cook for about 5 to 7 minutes or when the mushrooms soften - be sure to constantly stir so they will not burn, once mushrooms have soften and most of the water is gone add the vegan buttery spread and the pinch of thyme, continue to stir for 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the Marsala wine and increase heat to high, toss to coat the mushrooms and cook until most of the wine has been absorbed.  Turn off heat and serve over your raw Zucchini Noodles.

Vegan Breakfast Wrap

1 brown rice tortilla
1/4 diced sweet white onion
1/2 small avocado
1 small organic heirloom tomato
2 garlic stuffed olives
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp diced cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

add any other veggies you like

Very easy and quick meal -


Dice all veggies and place in a bowl, stir gently, add salt, pepper and a little lemon juice

Warm up your tortilla wrap - place veggies in wrap, then wrap and roll

Enjoy

Going Vegan and Protein

When you tell someone you have gone Vegan they may not say this but they sure think it "how do you get your protein?"  Once that thought races through their mind they move onto to how can you give up eating meat?  Don't you miss it? then finally Why did you go Vegan?

Many of us have been taught that the only way to get protein is from animals-- ah guys that is not true! Protein comes from many sources not just animal products.  Beans, Chickpeas or garbanzo beans, nuts and nut butter, green leafy vegetables, Sesame, Sunflower and Poppy Seeds, and Hemp and Chia Seeds. Other sources of protein are tofu, tempeh or seitan - since I am not a fan I don't normally use the last 3 products mentioned.

So what is the big deal about protein?  Protein is needed to do many things in our body especially building and repairing tissue.  If your trying to lose weight and are reducing your calorie intake protein will aid in forcing your body to preserve muscle and burn fat.  The recommended daily allowance of protein for women is 46g.  It is possible to be Vegan and get those 46g of protein daily.

Isn't it nice to live in a world full of people with ideas and opinions?  Sometimes yes and Sometimes no! If you know me,  once I am in it - it's all the way baby and fueling my body is no different.  I have heard "your not going to get enough protein" "this is a fad" "do you think it will last".  Yes my protein is sufficient, no this is not a fad, and honestly time will tell if it last.  Going Vegan was a very thought out decision and a lot of time and education went into my decision.

There are resources galore out there on how to lose weight, how to reduce blood pressure, how to reverse diabetes, how to lower cholesterol, if you have a "how to" question trust me there are several answers out there for you!

I like to keep things simple - Dr Mark Hyman - The Ultra Simple Diet & The Blood Sugar Solution, Dr. Mercola, John Gabriel - The Gabriel Code,  Jason Vale - Juice Master, Drew Canole - FitLifeTV,  Reboot with Joe, Hungry for Change, Engine2 Diet - Rip Esselystyn, The End of Diabetes - Joel Fuhrman, Forks Over Knives - T. Colin Campbell PHD, and Caldwell B. Esselystyn Jr.  MD,  The China Study - T Colin Campbell.  Well all of that is anything but simple.  So much information, so much reading, so much trial and error.

It is a process and does not happen over night.  There really is no secret pill its all about finding what is going to suit your lifestyle and work for you.  After watching Forks Over Knives about 6 times (it is a process) then came reading The China Study - the data from the China Study was cited in the Forks Over Knives documentary over and over again.  So my decision to go Vegan was for health reasons.  You see knowledge is powerful.  Once I had the knowledge I set out to do an experiment on myself.  Yes, I am the lab rat and my study consist of removing all animal protein from my diet to see if it lowers my cholesterol.  Time will tell its been 5 months now and at the end of February 2014, I will get my blood work! We shall see - if my cholesterol is significantly lowered - if it is then the hypothesis of "removing animal protein from you diet will lower your cholesterol" will be confirmed.

                 Happy Eating! MaMa Linda

Crunchy Pecan Brownie Pumpkin Pie Topped with Vegan Whip Cream *

Pumpkin brownie layer
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup Yacon Syrup
1/4 cup coconut oil (softened)
3/4 cup almond flour
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tbs arrowroot powder
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Pumpkin pie layer
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 tbs arrowroot powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup Yacon Syrup
1 tbs almond milk
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Pecan topping
1/2 cup vegan butter spread
1/4 cup Yacon Syrup
3/4 cup pecans


Coconut Whipped Cream
1 can coconut cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tbs Yacon Syrup
Preheat oven 350 and lightly grease a pie pan

Brownie Layer In mixer or by hand mix coconut oil, pumpkin, vanilla and yacon syrup until blended, stir in almond flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, arrowroot powder and salt, mix all ingredients well.  Pour mixture into a pie pan, using a wet spatula spread evenly until smooth

Pumpkin Layer - In large mixing bowl mix pumpkin, vanilla, and milk, set aside - in a separate bowl mix arrowroot powder, yacon syrup, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg - slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well - mixture should be smooth without lumps.  Take mixture and add to the top of the brownie mixture in the pie pan.

Pecan Topping - Mix all ingredients and sprinkle over the top of the pie

Bake for 40 minutes - remove from oven and cool for 30 minutes - transfer to refrigerator and chill for 2 to 3 hours - top with Vegan Whipped Cream

Vegan Whipped Cream
Pour coconut cream in large bowl and whip for 3 to 5 minutes, add yacon syrup continue to beat adding the vanilla - if you want a thicker whipped cream only use the solids and strain out the water from the bottom of the coconut cream can.

*modified Angela Liddon recipe

Lentil Loaf *

1 cup lentils
3/4 cup Bulgar wheat
1 1/2 cups water
8 ounces baby Bella mushrooms
1 large onion chopped
2 to 3 cloves garlic minced
2/3 cup apple cider
2 tsp poultry seasoning
3/4 cup quick cooking oats
1 red bell pepper finely chopped
1 zucchini finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
Salt to taste

Preheat over to 375

Cook lentils in 2 cups of water and bring to boil over high heat.  Once lentils begin to boil reduce heat and simmer for 45 min or until tender.  Drain and set aside

Place 1 1/2 cups of water and Bulgar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer until Bulgar is tender and water is absorbed (about 15 min) set aside

Combine mushrooms, onion, garlic, apple cider, poultry seasoning in a medium skillet, cover and simmer on medium heat until vegs are tender - about 10 to 15 min - Transfer to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, scrape into a bowl and fold in lentils, Bulgar, oats, bell pepper, zucchini and parsley.

Line the bottom and sides of 8 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.  Pack in lentil mixture firmly into pan and smooth top.  Bake for about 1 hour edges should be slightly brown.  Remove from oven and cool for about 25 minutes.  Once cooled invert onto a serving plate and remove parchment paper, let cool for additional 5 to 10 minutes - use a serrated knife to cut the loaf in 1 inch thick slices.

#vegan #thanksgiving #healthy #nonGMO

*recipe modified from Whole Foods Celebration Lentil Loaf

Vegan Shepard's Pie

8 to 10 medium potatoes (gold or red)
2 tbs vegan buttery spread
1/2 cup rice milk
2 tbs avocado oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 ounces baby Bella mushrooms, sliced
1 cup cooked lentils (follow package directions or 2 15 ounce cans lentils drained
2 tbs dry cooking red wine, optional
2 tbs tamari sauce
2 tsp seasoning blend (ie. Mrs. Dash)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3 tbs arrowroot
8 to 10 ounces baby spinach
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup fresh bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 400º F

Dice potatoes and place in a large saucepan, bring to a simmer, cover and simmer for 20 minutes - drain and stir in vegan buttery spread until melted, add rice milk and mash until fluffy – season with salt and pepper, cover and set aside

While the potatoes are simmering saute onion and garlic over medium heat until translucent. Slowly add the mushrooms and saute until the onion is golden. Add the lentils to the onion, garlic, mushroom mixture and bring to a simmer. Add red cooking wine, and tamari sauce, slowly add seasoning blend, thyme, and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. In a separate bowl combine the arrowroot powder with enough water to dissolve,  mix and slowly stir into the lentil mixture. Add the spinach, a little at a time, cooking until it begins to wilt, remove from heat;

Lightly oil a 2-quart casserole dish . Sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly over the bottom of the casserole dish - pour in the lentil mixture, then spread potato mixture evenly over the top.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the potatoes begin to turn golden and slightly crusty. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes, then cut into wedges to serve.

Vegan Cornbread

2 cups of cornmeal - Organic GMO Free
1 cup almond flour
2 tsp baking powder (aluminum-free)
1/3 cup organic coconut - melted
3 tbs organic maple syrup
2 cups almond milk
2 tsp organic apple cider vinegar
Pinch of himalayan salt

Preheat oven to 350

Wisk almond milk and apple cider vinegar in a medium bowl - set aside

Combine all dry ingredients - corn meal, almond flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside

Add the melted coconut oil  and maple syrup to the almond milk apple cider mixture and wisk until it becomes bubbly and foamy

Slowly begin to mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and stir well until entire mixture is combined

Using a spatula transfer the batter into an 8 x 8 glass baking dish -

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes

Roasted Balsamic Brussels Sprouts

Roasted Balsamic Brussels Sprouts

1 lb of Brussels sprouts washed and trimmed
4 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tbs coconut oil melted
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375

Wash then slice Brussels sprouts in half and place in a large bowl.  Pour balsamic vinegar and minced garlic over the sprouts, toss to ensure they are coated evenly.  Slowly add the coconut oil tossing again.  Place Brussels sprouts on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast for about 20 to 30 minutes turning the pan every 10 minutes.  Once the sprouts are are golden brown remove from the oven and serve

Thanksgiving Vegan Mushroom Gravy (gluten free)

Thanksgiving Vegan Mushroom Gravy (gluten free)

1 quart of vegetable broth
1/2 cup almond flour
1 medium onion diced small (either yellow or sweet white)
2 tsp avocado oil
16 oz cremini mushrooms (slice thin)
4 garlic cloves minced
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried sage
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup white cooking wine
2 tbs nutritional yeast
salt and pepper to taste


Mix flour and half of the vegetable broth in a small bowl until flour is dissolved -slowly add remaining broth, mix and set aside.

Saute onion and garlic in avocado oil in 2 quart pot over low heat.  Once onion is translucent add mushrooms, thyme, sage, garlic powder, salt and pepper - saute for 5 minutes

Slowly add the white cooking wine and bring to a boil.  Continue cooking for 3 to 5 minutes, slowly add the vegetable/flour mix until dissolved then the nutritional yeast - lower the heat to medium low and cook and stir for 15 minutes

Add more salt and pepper if needed - serve

Avocado Kale Pesto over Zucchini Noodles

Avocado Kale Pesto over Zucchini Noodles

4 green zucchini (medium size or 2 large)
2 yellow zucchini (medium size or 2 large)
4 to 5 garlic cloves
2 large avocados
1/4 olive oil
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup pine, pecan, walnut, or almond nuts for garnish
1 medium bunch of kale (washed, stemmed and cut or torn into small pieces)
1/2 cup cilantro (washed and cut)
2 tbs lemon juice
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes sliced in half
salt and pepper to taste

Noodles
Spiralize the zucchini and set aside - I had to improvise and use the shredder function on my food processor because I did not have a spiralizer - this made my noodles thin and short (it worked-but I recommend you use a spiralizer)

Using your food process began to process in this order: (I used medium speed)
Garlic cloves one by one
Avocado
Olive Oil
Nutritional Yeast
1/4 cup of the nuts (save the remaining 1/4 cup for garnish)

Continue on medium speed until the above ingredients are blended
Slowly add Kale and Cilantro until well chopped and blended
Add salt and pepper to taste

Toss pesto over zucchini noodles and cut tomatoes.

Keeping it real!

Well its been a while since we posted.  Have to admit the Holiday Season got the best of us.  We were very busy cooking, and baking and now we need to get caught up and post all we made!

I don't claim to be a fancy or experienced cook in fact I am far from it.  It's my daughter Olivia or Liv as we call her that is the cook in the family and she talked me into being part of her blog.  It took me a while to get on board (ah probably 2 years) but better late than never.

Cooking was never really part of me and I made sure of that.  Recently my 27 year old daughter Hattie reminded me of a conversation we had when she was about 15, she was begging me to make a home cook meal and instead I said "here is $20.00 go buy whatever you want, you can go to Jack N The Box, McDonald's, Carls Jr, and Denny's you always like Denny's".

Well if you know me now I would NEVER utter those words to anyone!  Last year was spent on taking my health back and educating myself on what you eat is what you are - literally -- yep its true.  I have gone from the Queen of eating out to now making sure I know what I am putting in my body.  There is so much to learn out there and its all about one step at a time.

There is more to cooking than ingredients and pots and pans.   Never realized there were so many gadgets one could use in the kitchen to perfect a dish! Not to mention the mess and clean up afterwards - oh well who cares it taste delicious and looks great.  Kitchen gadgets, the one thing I am not short of I just need to learn how to use them.  Started my journey of dusting them off and putting them to use.

I did learn about a new gadget this week.  As I'm conversing on fb with a friend about a sweet potato pasta recipe I posted she tells me she made a zucchini pasta and used a spiralizer to make the noodles.  Gotta admit I have never even heard of a spiralizer yet alone how to pronounce it!  I quickly go to Amazon to search for it and am blown away at how many there are on the market.  Another one on my list to get along with the dehydrator!

Who would have known  inspiration for dinner last night a spiralizer I did not have.  What do ya do when you don't have a spiralizer?  Ah you improvise and use the shredder on your Food Processor.  Guess what it worked even though the noodles were let's say a little short, okay they were very very short but it did not change the taste! I made a delicious Avocado Kale Pesto over Zucchini Noodles topped with Vegan Parmesan Cheese and it was wonderful.

Recipe and picture will be posted shortly.