Open Coconut

I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts...

There they are all standing in a row...on my countertop.

Both are about the size of my head..

I have been trying to eat more raw foods lately. I haven't gotten too fancy in my preparations, because in the past, that has been a recipe for disaster. Not that the food hasn't turned out well, I just lose enthusiasm really quickly.

However one thing that is in every raw recipe book I've ever seen is the young Thai coconut. They're so elusive, they're so expensive, they're so....covered in a rock hard husk. Needless to say I did not have the confidence to try and crack one open. But I recently discovered two things:

1.) our local Asian Markets (there are two great ones)

2.) videos on cracking these babies open

Okay, to be fair, we found the Asian markets long ago, I just didn't think I had it in me to get them open. Then I saw this video on Kristen's Raw. It seemed doable. One problem.

No cleaver.

Back to square one. So I tried the illustrious youtube and came across many videos that used a knife. I only looked at one and decided it was possible. She makes it look really really easy. It is easy, but not really really. Especially when you have a dinky little knife that isn't even a full tang.

This cut off the husk no problem, but required some elbow grease to get the inner cap off. Still, there was success, and it really didn't take long. It was a bit messy, but I suspect it will get much easier now that I know what I'm doing.

I was a little worried about its freshness, but it produced a full cup of almost clear coconut water.

I was thrilled! It was possible! Good thing because I bought two!

I scooped out the meat with an ice cream scoop, and peeled off the bits of brown skin that was stuck to it with a vegetable peeler. After that, I sat down and looked at the internet for information on how to store it. Bottom line, it can be stored for about 3 days in the fridge, but is best eaten immediately, as far as taste and nutrition are concerned. I can do that.

In went 1/2 cup of the coconut water, all the coconut meat, 1/4 of a large papaya, a banana, some ice, and 1 tsp of Xanthan Gum.

Out came a papaya coconut smoothie!

This was so nice and thick, obviously from the Xanthan Gum, and you could totally taste the coconut. Loved it! I have big plans for the next coconut, but we'll see what happens. Have you taken a crack at the young Thai coconut yet? Its not as hard as it sounds!! I'm so excited to take a crack at some more complicated applications with it, especially as I am getting some Teflex sheets for my dehydrator soon!

Raw Foods, Mixed Well

I've been doing a lot of stealing lately. Of course I mean stealing from other bloggers and websites. As such, I have tons of pictures, and not much to write about except how delicious everything is. So I figured I will do just that.

First off though, we got a Vita-Mix! This has been a very exciting development, and I think I have used it multiple times every day. I love it love it love it already. So most of the food being shown here was made with that.

I hit Averie's blog first. She posts a lot of stuff that looks great, but I have been dying to try her Raw Vegan Kale Chips. They were one of the first things that got made in my shiny new (well...refurbished, but new to me) Vita-Mix...and oh man did they deliver.

They were cheesey and crispy and made the whole apartment smell yummy while they were dehydrating. I added some cayenne for a little kick too, and they were gone very quickly.

I also tried one of Averie's newer desserts that she had posted. Now don't get me wrong, I love chocolate and all that too, but when I saw her recipe for Raw Caramels, I had to make them.

Either my hand is smaller, or I spread mine thinner!

Sandwiched with chocolate soynut butter

Ah, there he is. I'm not the only one in this place that's been stealing. Ivan, our newest little stinker, LOVES food. And I don't mean he gets excited when a can is opened because he still thinks there's a chance it might be tuna, like Zoe does. The cat loves anything. One of his favorite treats is spinach, he loves zucchini and asparagus, and he has an especially soft spot for coconut (flakes, oil, milk, any form). So you can expect to find him in most pictures from here on out because it is almost impossible to keep him out of them!

So, one of the reasons I have always wanted a Vita-Mix was because it seemed like making smoothies was just SO much easier. And...it is infinitely such.

Avocado, kale, spinach, parsley, cucumber, banana, dates.

Avocado, cucumber, parsley, kale, spinach, frozen strawberries, pear.

Topped with grapefruit.

Spirulina smoothie from Annie's Raw Food Kitchen. Which Ivan especially loved...

and got him very messy, since he knocked over the blender and crawled inside to lick it all up.

I did have some not so raw food this week. I was watching the Food Network while working out and saw these Sauteed Potatoes with Chorizo being made on Mexican Made Easy. I was thinking how I could easily do it with a Soy Chorizo, and was then dumbfounded when the host actually suggested doing that to make it vegetarian. So, I tried it.

We also used sweet potatoes instead of white.

Honestly, this was just okay. I've never had real chorizo and I used Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo. I don't think that Soy Chorizo is really an awesome substitute. It just tasted like TVP marinated in spices. I'm sure that's what it is, and I've made things like that before. So, it was fine, just not what I was expecting I guess. Have you tried the Soy Chorizo or even Soyrizo? Is one better? Am I just asking too much of poor TVP?

I also whipped out another tool that I had promised I would be using a lot this year. I have been using it, just haven't been posting about it for some reason. Anyway, enter the spiralizer!

Zucchini "Noodles"

which Ivan, of course, loves

Mixed with a mango and red pepper mixture from the Modern Ayurvedic Cookbook.

All together with a sesame oil dressing, lime, and cilantro.

This recipe was supposed to be made with buckwheat noodles, but it made such a fantastic combo with the Zucchini "Noodles". I have leftovers of this and I am very happy about it!

Back to the Vita-Mix for the last thing today, which was from one of my newest very favorite bloggers, the lovely Michal, from Earth Muffin. I was at a loss for what to have for breakfast this morning. On the weekends I always want something "special", but I still want it to be healthy. I usually end up compromising one of those. Not today! I made her Spiced Carrot Puree.

Yummy.

This pretty much tasted like carrot cake in a bowl. I used 2 dates to sweeten it, and added cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and ginger, and it was totally perfect...with the obvious addition of coconut and raisins! This made such a satisfying breakfast, it totally fit my "special", and healthy, requests. Oh, and this got Ivan's seal of approval too. At one point he was able to get some by sticking his foot in it (I know, I'm not proud), and when I was done, he licked the bowl.

So there we have it! A week's worth of good food, thankyouverymuch blog friends and Vita-Mix! And as I mentioned above, I did get a refurbished model, so it was about $100 less. Still expensive, but I've only had it for a week, and I can tell you it is so worth it.

Enjoy the weekend! I am off to my cousin's birthday party, and my brother's band's show.

The Vegan Strong Blog-iversary!

I sat here today, thinking about how I was feeling a bit of the blogging slump. How I really wanted to just be excited about cooking again for the sake of cooking and not for blogging. I was thinking, its probably just like anything else, where the initial excitement starts to fade and you have to get through a rough patch to reach your stride. Of course, I say this all with a light heart, as it is, after all, just a blog.

But I started thinking about this in terms of the year and how after I hit a year, it'd probably be on the upswing. Literally, this happened less than a minute ago. Then I realized...it HAS been about a year. So I checked and, it has actually been EXACTLY a year! So, happy Blog-iversary to Vegan Strong. Its been quite a year. Some has changed, and some has not.

Bulgar Wheat and Soy, my second post, is still one of my favorite things.

My Vegan Coat is itching to officially come out of the closet this year (I have a new hat to go with it).

I had a Gluten-Free week, which definitely made me more sensitive to those of you with gluten intolerances/allergies/celiac's/etc.

I tried to involve as much of the "strong" in Vegan Strong as possible with posts about protein, protein powder recipes, and workouts, and while I know they aren't the favorite posts, they're important to me.

I've had a few raw days in there, something I wish I was more diligent about doing on a regular basis!

You were all there with me during my student teaching experience, the good and the bad.

I went to Hawaii and Maine, and moved to New Jersey.

And most recently, you've heard about my complete career change, which I am still really happy with.

All in all, its been quite a year, and I can't believe how quickly its gone by. I am really looking forward to this coming year, especially the upcoming holidays! I hope that I've been able to share some of my personality, my sense of humor, and given you an idea of who I am. Its been really great getting to know a lot of my fellow bloggers and developing relationships and doing exchanges and giveaways with them.

So thank all of you for visiting, reading, and commenting. I really love hearing from everyone, and I hope that I give back to you what you all give to me!

Have a great day everyone! And I hope you'll stick with me for another year!!

And the Winner Is...

Time to pick a winner for the Love Force giveaway! I used a random number generator and the winner is...

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

2 

Timestamp: 2009-09-01 22:48:34 UTC

Commenter number 2, aka Gina from The Candid RD! Congrats Gina! Send me an email with some of your top choices.

Didn't win and still want some Love Force bars? I've been sampling them every few days (I found another store near the beach that has them), and I thought I'd give you my two cents.

Chocolate Vanilla: YUM. The vanilla intensifies the chocolately flavor of the raw cacao and raw carob. Very yummy.

Fig Ginger: Not my favorite, in fact, I didn't finish it. But I think I just might only have loved the figs in Fig Newtons. If you know you're a big fig fan, go for it. The flavor is good, I just wasn't a fan of all the little fig seeds in it.

Goji Lemon: Really really yummy, especially if you are a big lemon fan.

Granola Cacao: One of the tops! It is so yummy, with chewy raisins and little crunchy cacao nibs. Totally delicious.

I already reviewed the bliss that was Chocolate Orange, and I'd say it is still probably my favorite!!

If you didn't win and want to get creative with bars or some raw yumminess, try out my Pumpkin Ginger Granola Bars or Raw Banana Bread Cookies!

Raw Banana Bread Cookies

Something about that Love Force raw bar had me in a raw mood. Usually when I "do raw" its all-out for a day, and after that, I'm over it until the next time I decide for a full-on raw day.

This time, something clicked that I didn't have to eat super high raw for the day in order to incorporate some raw food in my day.

I soaked some almonds, cashews, and sunflower seeds, and then set to finding recipes for them. Believe it or not, these started out as...falafel. Don't let that sway you, I abandoned that recipe after grinding up the almonds and decided to go my own way.

Banana Bread Cookies were born. And they were yummy. If you are in the mood for something raw, this is a pretty good treat made with things you may very well have sitting in your pantry, begging to be made into raw cookies!

1 cup Raw Almonds, soaked

1/2 Banana

1 Tbsp Maple Syrup

2 Tbsp Water

1 Tbsp Sunflower Oil*

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 cup Raisins

I processed my almonds when they were still wet, just out of their soak, so they grinded together in the food processor together to make a wet meal. If you are using dry almonds, you may need to add a little more water. After grinding the almonds, add all but the raisins, and process until you have a smooth, sticky batter. Add the raisins and pulse a few times, until combined.

*You can use another oil, like melted coconut oil instead of sunflower.

Use a Tbsp measure to portion out each cookies, and flatten so that it looks like a cookie. The batter will be sticky, you may need to wash your hands a few times.

While these are quick and easy to make, they do take a bit of time to dehydrate. If its nice out (it finally is here), stick them outside for a few hours (we have no outside space). I dehydrated them at 115 degrees for 6 hours, and they are still slightly soft in the middle (in a good way). They were still good at 4 hours though, so anywhere from 4-8 hours would be tops. I always like to flip stuff like this halfway through, so..I did.

This makes about a baker's dozen.

Serves 13

Nutrition Information: 89.2 Calories; 6.6g Total Fat; 0.5g Saturated Fat; 0.0mg Cholesterol; 6.5g Carbohydrates; 1.6g Fiber; 2.5g Protein

If you don't have a dehydrator and live in a small apartment with no lanai like us, you can use an oven. Just keep it on the lowest setting, cracked, and check from time to time. Your oven will be warmer, so it probably won't take quite as long.

Don't feel like making your own raw treats? Be sure to enter the giveaway for some Love Force bars!! Five more days to enter!

With that, I am going to go enjoy some raw cookies at the beach. Peace :)

A New (Raw) Day

The first time I ever did a "raw day" I was nervous about exercising.  Worried that I wouldn't be eating enough, not getting enough calories, would be tired, sluggish, etc.  Yesterday, after having some dates, I went out and ran (and walked) a total of 5 miles, and I'm still feeling pretty peachy.  

The menu included a lot of nut and seed soaking, prep time, and a very messy kitchen, but it was well worth it.  

Breakfast was a Vega Smoothie.  The very lovely people at Vega sent me a nice sized bag of Vega Whole Food Smoothie Infusion last week.  While the hemp in Vega is raw, the other proteins aren't (like the pea protein).  I figured with so much good stuff in it, was still okay with me to start a raw day.  

But, I was skeptical.  Oh SO skeptical.  I have regular Vega and I'm not a fan of it.  I bought it because it has so much great healthy stuff in it, but I just can't have it every day, for various reasons.  I decided I'd make their Blueberry Smoothie suggestion on the back of the package, since I had fresh blueberries from the farmer's market yesterday.  My first impression?  Ew.  The powder is a gross green color...but that's because its filled with greens (spirulina, spinach, broccoli, etc)!  So I sucked it up and made the smoothie.  And...it was really good!!  It was still a gross greenish brown color (hence the lack of picture...you didn't want to see it), but that's just what happens when you add greens to a smoothie.  The Vega Smoothie Infusion is about 120 calories a serving and has 14 grams of protein.  So the verdict is, if you're looking for a very healthy, very easy way to start (or end, or continue) you day, there is no denying that this stuff is really good for you, and pretty tasty to boot!

I can't possibly say enough about how delicious my lunch was, so I will just give you a picture which does not do it justice.  

This is the Baked Macaroni and Cheese from Everyday Raw, with Buckwheat Cheezies (recipe follows).  This was SO good.  What really made it just the best was that it was dehydrated for awhile, so the squash softened a little bit.  Really, this is fantastic, if you have the book, you must try it.  

The Buckwheat Cheezies are based on a recipe that was in Vegetarian Times a few months ago, but I made it raw-ish, so I will share.    

1/2 cup Raw Buckwheat Groats

1/4 cup plus 1-2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast (not raw)

2 tbsp Olive Oil

3 garlic cloves

5-ish Basil Leavs (depends on how much you like basil)

2 tsp salt

1.  Soak buckwheat groats overnight.  Give them some space because they just about double in size.

2.  Dehydrate the groats for about 3 hours at 104 degrees.

3.  Blend together the oil, garlic, salt, and basil until it makes a thick paste.

4.  When the groats are dehydrated, add them to a bowl with the paste and mush everything together until all the groats are more or less coated with something (it may not be even).  

5.  Dehydrate for another 30-60 minutes.

These are so yummy!  I wouldn't eat them by themselves, the raw garlic is fairly strong, but they were absolutely perfect over the baked mac and cheese.  Also, for those of you without a dehydrator, you can do this in a 300 degree oven too, which is what the original recipe calls for.  If you want to roll that way, you don't need to pre-dehydrate them, and you should only keep them in for 30 minutes.  Also, if you're not keeping it raw, you could cook the garlic with the oil.  

Makes 8 2-Tbsp Servings

Nutritional Information:  90.5 Calories;  4.1g Total Fat;  0.6g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  10.7g Carbohydrates;  2.6g Fiber;  4.6g Protein.  And 181% of the RDA for Vitamin B12!

One of the things I was really itching to make with the dehydrator was Ani's Black Sesame Sunflower Bread.  

I had it as a raw sandwich for dinner along with her Sun-Dried Tomato Cheeze, topped with some avocado and tomato, along with some fresh farmer's market green beans.  This Cheeze was okay.  The Black Pepper Cheeze was way better.    

The bread was somewhat of a disaster, although it worked out in the end!  Because my kitchen is still in pieces all over the country, I don't have things like sieves, so it was hard to get all the water out of the teeny flaxseeds and sesame seeds.  I think that made it too watery, and it made a bit of a mess.  Again though, it worked out.  Next time I make it I think I'll take her advice to make a few batches of it.  I calculated the nutritional information for it and was really surprised.  I'm not a big "real" bread person, so I'd choose this any day.  

Makes 9 Slices

Nutrition Information:  167.6 Calories;  13.0g Total Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  9.6g Carbohydrates;  7.0g Fiber;  6.6g Protein

Dessert, of course, was the impetus for having a raw day at all.  I've had my eye on the Key Lime Kream Bars in Ani's Raw Food Desserts since the moment I opened the book.  

I really didn't need a "raw day" as an excuse to make them, since they came together in all of 5 minutes (plus freezing time).  They are yummy!  I made a dessert or two in Ani's first book and I thought that they were incredibly salty, but it seems like she's toned it down for this book, and everything I've tried so far (like the Strawberry Macaroons) has been fantastic! 

I really love having an (almost) entirely raw day.  Because I have far too much time on my hands now, I calculated the nutritional information for everything (email me if you want any of it), and it came to just about 2000 calories (including an orange I had for a snack), which is perfect for me.  What is really more important to me though, is that it all came from good, whole food.  Nothing is better than that, right?  

  

Cleanse Favorites

Spring Break is almost over.  Sad, because I had a ton of stuff to do and I didn't really do any of it.  I did relax though, and I do feel a lot better, and I did finish Breaking Dawn (in less than 3 days, pathetic).  I really liked it.  My mom came in and asked me if it was as weird as she had heard.  Seriously?  Its a book about vampires, it wasn't any weirder than I expected.  I know there was a lot of fuss about it, and that a lot of people didn't like it, and I can't see why, except that they were upset it was over!  Joanna and one of my students both told me I would like it though, so I'm glad I got around to reading it.    

The cleanse is almost over too.  It has gone really well, but I think what I got out of it the most was how much planning the week helped.  So I sat down and planned out all of next week.  This doesn't really make for exciting blogging, but I am going to be so ridiculously busy this week that it would have been either this, or go back to eating like crap.  I chose planning.  

Why is my week going to be so busy?  Glad you asked.  First, my husband is coming home on Monday.  Not like, he's coming to visit, he is coming HOME.  Here.  Done with active duty Army.  Finished.  Holy crap.  So after school on Monday I go to pick him up (2 hour drive from school).  Oh right, school.  I take over all the Physical Science classes on Monday, doing a Biology review for their state exam (I hate Biology).  Tuesday I'm being observed by my clinical supervisor.  Wednesday I have a meeting right after school with one of my professors about my research project.  I have started said research project, even have the data, but still have not compiled it, which is what she is looking for.  Thursday I have my Capstone Project due for my student teaching, which I have actually started, but still have a ton of work to do on it.  Friday might be okay, except I'm jumping in the car after school and driving down to Baltimore to spend the weekend with my husband and my inlaws.  My dad has business in Baltimore next week, so he is going to drive my husband down with him on Wednesday, because, as you can see, I don't really have time for him (that's terrible, right?).  Whew.  

After this week, things should calm down a little bit.  Its really almost at the end.  I'm almost done student teaching, I'm almost done with grad school, I get to move out (again) soon.  Its all good, I just need to get through this week.  Good thing I planned my meals.  

Okay, so wrapping up my food during this cleanse, I want to share two things.  First, another dish was was originally raw that I de-rawified.  This Cauliflower Curry was on GoneRaw, and sounded awesome.  A curry sauce made with avocado, coconut, flax, etc.  Lots of healthy fats.  The problem?  The idea of raw cauliflower seemed icky.  I know they don't taste the same, but when I think of cauliflower, I think of broccoli, and I hate raw broccoli.  So....I cooked it!  

So this is steamed fresh cauliflower and steamed frozen peas, with a raw curry sauce.  This was really good, nice and spicy but not overwhelming, and I highly recommend it.  I did only put in half the cayenne, and then added about 1 tbsp of agave nectar because something was a little off at first (I think it was too much tumeric).  This was easily my most favorite meal I made this week.

Of course, I had a favorite dessert too.  Technically, um, I wasn't supposed to "snack", but I did anyway.  

This Melon-Berry Sorbet was so easy.  So very easy.  It is a bag of a frozen, organic, melon-berry blend (canteloupe, honeydew, pineapple, and blackberries).  I took out the blackberries, and mixed the melon and pineapple in the food processor with a tbsp of liquid coconut oil and some water until it was pretty smooth.  Then I added the blackberries and pulsed until they were slightly broken up.  Yum.  This made a lot.  You could easily have it be two servings.  In fact, I made it to be two servings, but I ate them both.

I hope that everyone enjoys the rest of the holidays, whatever it is that you're celebrating.  We have Easter Saturday  today at my grandmother's (we thought this was an Italian thing until about two years ago...turns out she made it up!), and Easter Sunday at my aunt's tomorrow.  Easter is my favorite holiday.  Spring is also my favorite season, I was always that loser in school who didn't say summer was her favorite season.  Anyway, I love that its starting to get warm, and I love all the cute things:  bunnies, chicks, all baby animals, etc.  What I like the most though, is that it is such a low-key holiday.  There's no pressure, there's no fuss.  Its just relaxing.  

Nice way to end my Spring Break, right?  

Making New Friends

So far, its been a relaxing week.  Spring Break for me, remember?  In all honesty, it should not be this relaxing, I have a ton of stuff to do that I'm just ignoring.  I am procrastinating for a few reasons.  First, I do everything better under pressure.  Second, I finally got my hands on Breaking Dawn.  My next door neighbor let me borrow it since I'm too cheap to buy, and that library thing just wasn't working out.  I'm about a third of the way through.  

Normally on a week off I'd be taking advantage of extra gym time, but I've been doing a detox/cleanse/whatever you want to call it, and it was suggested that you kind of take it easy.  I've been walking with my mom and her friend in the morning, and going to yoga.  I went to a new teacher today and was thrilled to find that my normal teacher was subbing for her!  I love him so.  It was a short class though, only 60 minutes, when I'm used to 90 minutes.  There's just not enough time to get into things with only 60 minutes in my opinion.  

So clearly food this week has been different.  Well, not so different than normal but super different from the crap I've been eating lately.  I've been resorting to a lot more processed food than normal, and I really wanted to break away from that.  The diet that this "cleanse" suggests is mainly fruits and vegetables.  Almonds and sunflower seeds are okay in moderation, as are millet and quinoa.  I've mainly been sticking to the fruits and veggies though, and keeping a large portion of it raw.  There is also no caffeine, which is fine with me when I'm not working, no processed foods, no soy, and no salt.  

I do miss salt.  

Other than that its going really well.  Much better than I expected actually.  The hardest part was getting used to eating at the suggested "meal times", because I'm not used to eating such low calories foods all day, so I get really hungry, and I'm not about to tell myself I can't eat.    

So, I've been eating tons of fruit, thinking about Paulina's experiences (who recently started to basically follow an 80/10/10 diet), and having some fun with food again.  Its been far too long.  I really don't have any complaints so far, and while they suggest not doing any intense exercise, I feel like I have a ton of energy (says the girl who has been sitting on the couch reading and watching TiVo all day).  

My favorite meal on this diet (not that it isn't usually) has been breakfast.  There is just something so cheerful and vibrant about a big bowl of fresh fruit in the morning. 

 

I had this yesterday:  Bananas, pomegranate seeds (that I froze months ago), coconut, and the most beautiful papaya ever.  

I love you, papaya

This totally made my morning.  One of the downsides to this is that all the fruit and vegetables are supposed to be organic.  Yikes.  I don't know about you, but to me, that reads expensive.  $6 for a papaya?  I about fainted when I saw that pop up on the screen, and I told myself it had better be the best papaya of my life...I don't think it disappointed.  I'm not usually a papaya fan, but I believe it was Vegetarian Times who has an article this month about its health benefits and how it aids in digestion.  Maybe I'm wrong though, I get all those little free magazines at my health food stores, so everything gets mixed up in my head.  Regardless, I did read an article, and I figured now was a good time to try fruits I was wary about.  Wary no longer!

I made another new friend this week:  Beets.  I know I've had golden beets featured on here before, but I have also expressed my fear of its more mainstream sibling, purple beet.  I decided it was time to conquer my fear.  

Beets are the dark purple, apples are the pink, and carrots are the orange (obviously)

Now, this cleanse doesn't suggest that you eat only raw food, but I figured I would conquer my beet fear head on, and had this really delicious raw Spiced Shredded Beet & Carrot Salad from GoneRaw.  It was really good!  Beets are really good!  The only change I made came from the comment of the person who posted it, which was to add apples.  She also made the suggestion of adding pine nuts, but I think walnuts would be better...however, since I'm not eating nuts right now, they didn't get added.  

Conquering beet fear?  Check.  Well, I guess I have done one productive thing this week.    

As this has been a largely raw week, of course I turned to the one and only Ani Phyo.  I've mentioned Ani's Raw Food Kitchen on here many times, and this was another recipe that did not fail to disappoint.  

Above is the Garden Pate, one of my nut (almonds) based meals for the week, stuffed in a pepper with some edamame.  Totally yummy, and you can't see but there are raisins in it, which make it really extra yummy in my book.  By the way, if you check her site, you'll see that Ani is coming out with Ani's Raw Food Desserts soon.  I totally can't wait to snatch that up, I love the semblance of dessert being healthy!        

 

I'm so happy to be eating food again.  It has been an expensive week, but that is mainly because I'm bored and keep going to grocery stores for fun.  Funny, I used to do nothing every day and was fine, but now I actually miss going to "work".  

As much as this cleanse is going great, there are some things I already miss, and I am definitely fantasizing about making some tofu when this is over.  Barbeque Tofu?  Tofu Salad?  Any suggestions?

Go Green

For St. Patrick's Day, of course.  

Honestly, I've never been a big fan of St. Patty's Day.  I'm completely Italian, and I know that "everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day", but even when I was younger, I never really bought it.  My mom loves it, green bagels, Irish Soda Bread, etc.  My husband is half Irish too, but its just not my thing.  Even in college when it was just another excuse to drink a lot...I mean, I never needed an excuse for that (yes, my college experience was like that...maybe why I had an extra 30lbs to lose by my junior year).  

Anyway, the fact that my breakfast tomorrow will be "green" is a happy coincidence.  I ran out of breakfast cookies today, and was trying to make use of the stuff left in my refrigerator...like spinach.  Into a breakfast cookie it went.

Green (I swear, I know they don't look that green) Breakfast Cookies

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup protein powder

1 cup flax meal

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp coconut oil

6 tbsp maple syrup and/or agave nectar, or any combination of the two

2 tbsp applesauce

1 tbsp molasses

2-4 tbsp water

1 cup spinach

  

The process, if you haven't memorized it by now, is pretty simple.  In a big bowl, mix the first four ingredients.  In a smaller bowl, liquify the coconut oil.  Add that, plus the rest of the ingredients (sweetener through spinach) into a blender/food processor/whatever (I use my magic bullet, super convenient for jobs like this), and blend.  Add the wet to the dry, mix, and form into 8 cookies.  

Serves 4

Nutrition Information:  433.8 Calories;  17.9g Total Fat;  6.3g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  48.1 g Carbohydrates;  11.3g Fiber;  26.6g Protein

As always, the nutrition information largely depends on the protein powder you use. 

These are so good.  I love that green stuff tastes so good.  I know a lot of you are into the green smoothie, which isn't my thing, but its just such a cool concept..greens for breakfast! 

You can easily raw-i-fy these too.  Replace the rolled oats with another cup of flax meal.  The protein powder can either be hemp protein, or you can also use the flax meal for that too.  I'm sure molasses isn't raw, you could use more maple syrup or agave for that.  The molasses is just good for hardening it for the "put in your pocket" factor.  You could use any pureed fruit instead of the applesauce.  

For all of you who DO enjoy the tomorrow's lovely Irish holiday, I hope it treats you well!  Tomorrow should be an easy day for me.  We're so close to the city, so everyone is going to the parade instead of school.  In other news though, life has been stressful, which is why I haven't been posting much.  I'll talk about it more later on, but I've been at least trying to keep up with you guys!  

Breakfast, Ideally.

   M: “What have we always said is the most important thing?”

GM: “Breakfast”

   M: “Family”

GM: “Family.  Right.  I thought you meant out of the things you eat”   

500 points if you got that reference.  

Anyway, we all grew up being told that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”.  But how many of us grew up on sugary cereal, Pop-Tarts, and doughy bagels?  How many of us skip breakfast now, or run out the door with a sugary granola bar masquerading as something "wholesome"?  Have you ever had the “Continental Breakfast” at a hotel?  Its all pastries, donuts, and maybe an English muffin.  You may get some peanut butter for that muffin if you’re lucky.   

The quick and easy American breakfast is heavy in one major food group:  carbohydrates.  No no, carbs are not evil.  Well, not all of them at least.  But when carbs come in the form of sugar, or of highly processed white flour, they can be bad news.  When these “highly processed carbs” hit your digestive system, they get to work immediately.  Perfect for an early morning pick me up, right?  Well you won’t be thinking the same thing an hour later, when you’ve quickly worked through all those simple carbs, and are now running on empty.  

We need carbs, they’re brain food.  We need them to keep our glycogen levels up, which is especially important for athletes, or any fitness enthusiast.  But we want complex carbohydrates.  This means whole grains;  whole oats, whole wheat, whole barley, brown rice, buckwheat, spelt berries, bulgar wheat, etc.  This stuff still has its fiber content.  While it will still give you the energy you need, it comes along with fiber, that will keep digestion at a slow burn to keep you feeling strong, longer.  Fruits and veggies are a carbs too, but they’re not as complicated.  I feel perfectly fine eating anything that comes from nature.  Fruit does have a lot of sugar, but it also has vitamins and fiber.  Most veggies are super good for you, but the poor potato has gotten a bad rap, since it is a simple carb.  In general, I get as many veggies as possible, and just stay aware that while fruits mean great nutrients and fiber, it does come with calories.     

Okay, so we know what kind of carbs we need, but what about ALL the other food items out there.  Surely if just carbs were enough, they wouldn’t add “part of a complete breakfast” at the end of cereal commercials, would they?  The other two macronutrient groups, protein and fat, are an integral part of breakfast.  

First, fat.  Oh poor fat and its misconceptions.  Fat is just another type of food.  It isn’t, nutritionally, going to make you fat.  The reason why fat is synonymous with “being fat” or weight gain, is because one gram of fat has more calories then protein and carbs.  

1g fat = 9 calories

1g protein = 4 calories

1 g protein = 4 calories

So, its easy to see how, if you eat too much fat, you do, in fact, gain weight.  Guess what though?  You gain weight if you eat too much of anything.  Because fat has more calories, it fills you up more.  Just like carbs though, fat can be good or bad.  I think everyone knows by now that trans fats are bad.  I’ll actually be talking about trans fats with my students this week.  No, I’m not a health teacher, but trans fats are principle of organic chemistry, which we’re starting this week.  If anyone wants to know about the chemical basis behind trans fats, let me know!  Anyway, good vs. bad fats is pretty easy once you think about it.  Fats that are from nature are good:  Avocados, olive oil, peanut butter, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, coconut oil, etc.  For me, fats are one of the most important parts of breakfast.  I’ve mentioned before, and have posted recipes for, my breakfast cookies, my personal weekday portable breakfast of choice.  They’re full of good fats, with ground flax seeds, coconut oil, and sometimes other nuts and seeds, depending on the recipe.  Stay tuned for a Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookie recipe later this week.  

I think the macronutrient that most vegans and vegetarians are most aware of, is protein.  If you are any sort of vegetarian and have never been asked where you get your protein, congratulations.  But its still good to know the answer, right?  Protein is everywhere, tofu, nuts, seeds, tempeh, whole grains, seitan, beans, etc.  As far as I am concerned, when it comes to vegetarian sources, there is no unhealthy, or “bad”, protein.  Supposedly protein fills you up too, but I’ve never felt that way; I attribute the full feeling more to fat and fiber, than to protein.  Regardless, it is important to have protein at all your meals, and as long as you are conscientious of the vegetarian sources, you should be getting more than enough.  Some of us want more protein.  Muscles are made of protein, and if you are consistently breaking them down, you’re going to need protein to build them back up.  I am always pushing my muscles pretty hard, through weight training, yoga, and running, and to facilitate that repair, I turn to protein.  The amount of protein we need is debatable, but as a general rule, your body can only absorb so much at once.  This is why its a good idea to have some at every meal, so your body can make use of it all.  

So much to take in before breakfast!  You want the first meal to count though, right?  So you need protein, good fat, complex carbohydrates, and nutrients you get from fruits and veggies.  It can all sound complicated, but its not so daunting a task.  

I have breakfast every morning, but I especially love my weekend breakfast, when I have time before yoga to cook up something different, and relax while I eat.  Today I had my ideal breakfast.  

It started last night with setting aside some oat groats for a raw “oatmeal”, inspired again by Ani's Raw Food Kitchen.

  

1/4 cup raw oat groats, soaked overnight, and rinsed

1/2 nectarine

1/2 tbsp maple syrup

1/2 tbsp water

1.  Blend the oats, water, and nectarine in a food processor until it is "oatmealy".  

2.  Drizzle with maple syrup

This was my first time having the raw oats, and I was so pleasantly surprised.  First off, I couldn't believe how much it smelled like oatmeal just after being rinsed.  And it was so chewy and fruity, it was really a really tasty alternative to a bowl of cooked oats.

Now, my weekend scrambles may be old news, but they are seriously my most favorite breakfast.  The key ingredient, for me, is the vegan cream cheese.  It makes it so nice and creamy.  If you can't find the trans fat free version of Tofutti near you, there are a few other vegan cream cheese options, like Vegan Gourmet, and Soya Kass.  They're both good, but the Tofutti tastes the best if you are using it as a condiment.    

3.5 oz Extra-firm Tofu

1/2 red pepper

1/4 cup scallions

1/2 tsp Bragg's/soy sauce/tamari

1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast

1 tbsp vegan cream cheese

tumeric

cayenne pepper

1/2 ripe avocado

I've posted my method before.  This isn't too different from my regular scramble, except I added the scallions at the end instead of cooking them with the pepper, like I do when I use yellow onion.

Stats for the ideal breakfast?  

Serves 1:  

Nutrition Information:  516.7 Calories;  22.0g Total Fat;  3.8g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  60.9g Carbohydrates;  15.0g Fiber;  24.8g Protein

Vitamin Information:  83.1% Vitamin A;  66.5% Vitamin B-12;  259.5% Vitamin B-6;  213.1% Vitamin C;  9.9% Vitamin E;  4.9% Calcium;  15.2% Copper;  53.6% Folate;  9.8% Iron;  12.3% Magnesium;  31.9% Manganese;  152.8% Niacin;  16.2% Phosphorous;  850.3mg Potassium;  291.9% Riboflavin;  17.0% Selenium;  328.7% Thiamin;  18.4% Zinc 

Breakfast of champions, indeed.  I absolutely believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  If I screw up breakfast, the rest of my day is just off.  What do you consider to be your ideal breakfast?  I'm always up for new breakfast ideas!

I'm off to finish my lessons for my two weeks of Organic Chem (it ends with something fun)!  I know it has a terrible rap, but at the High School level, I really like it (not so much at the college level, I almost failed my second semester...stupid mechanisms).  

Oh, and let me know if you won my 500 point prize...no Googling!!  I'll think up something good to send ya :)

You get an extra 250 points if you can tell me the chemical process that creates trans fats.  

If you really want to be a show-off I'll give you 100 points for the chemical formula for sucrose (table sugar).  My teacher made us memorize it in 5th grade, the things that stick with you are funny!