Don't Be Afraid...

Why is it that 4 day weeks seem to drag on and on and on...??  Now don't get me wrong, I love having a Monday off but for whatever reason the shorter week seems to take longer than a full one.  I filled my extra day off with a hike with my husband and some friends, followed with a veggie burger from my favorite local sports bar, Zipps.  What I love about this place is that you can make any of their specialty burgers into a veggie burger, or make it with turkey or chicken instead of beef.  I obviously get the veggie burger, but my favorite version is their "BBQ Bacon" minus the bacon.  They also include cheddar cheese and a large onion ring to top it off.  It's delish and I ALWAYS find myself lifting the bun to make sure there is indeed no bacon on it because the mixture of the flavors and the texture of the onion ring convince me that I am in fact eating a piece of bacon.  It is AMAZING!  However, at this go around, there was a piece of bacon on top.  I was annoyed because I specifically asked for it with no bacon and told the waitress and the waitress-in-training that I was a vegetarian.  So to fix it, they just took the bacon off.  I'm glad A) I'm not allergic to it OR B) That it goes against my religion.  To be honest, it annoyed me that they didn't make me a new burger but I never really complain.  I think the next time I will, even if it means that they spit in my food...


Has this ever happened to anyone?  If so, what did you do?


I made a lot of yummy food this week.  Much of it was inspired from my new obsession, Pinterest.  I follow Vegetarian Times and got some of my ideas from them and their magazine.  I also "wung" it a few times and won!


Here's some of the things I made...

 I learned the art of "poaching" vegetables for this light Sunday night dinner.  It's a Vegetarian Times recipe that you can find in their latest issue (it's not online yet).  I added brussels sprouts and a sprinkling of coarse sea salt at the end.  It was a wonderful dinner that helped to balance out all the wine I drank this weekend...  :)  Oh, wait- I drank wine while eating it.  Oops!

This is also a Vegetarian Times recipe from their latest issue.  It's a Paella Primavera and it was delish!  Both this recipe and the one above are not up on their website yet.  If you're interested, I can post the recipe when it pops up.  This recipe called for saffron which is uber expensive but definitely made the recipe come together!

I made this one up.  It was a side-dish with my Quorn (meatless) chicken nuggets.  It's a sweet potato inspired hash.


1cubed sweet potato
1/2 of a thinly sliced onion
1 large clove of garlic, minced
Fresh chopped parsley
Smoked paprika
S&P
EVOO


Oh so yum!






I also made another Veggie Times recipe: Whole Wheat Pasta and Fennel Ragout  which was like a party in my mouth!  I forgot to take a picture of it...sorry!  I have never used fennel before but thought I would give it a try.  It has a similar texture to celery but less stringy with a slight black licorice taste.  Now, I very much dislike black licorice but I really enjoyed the fennel.


This week, I feel like I experimented a lot with ingredients and techniques that I've never tried before.  Fennel, saffron, poaching...   It was a lot of fun and I found a love for all three!


Don't be afraid to try something new... you never know what you will find!


I hope you all have a fantastic week!  I'm back to watching the Academy Awards, kicking my husband's butt in our award game bet, and drinking my glass of wine. 


Be.Well.


Peace, Love, and Veggies




Which cooking method or ingredient have you experimented with and loved???  Tell me about it!

Where do YOU get your Protein?

As a vegetarian, this is the most common question I get asked.  "So, where do you get your protein from?".  And let me be honest... as I transitioned into vegetarianism, I actually did my homework.  I am a teacher after all :)  I changed my eating lifestyle to be healthy so when I did it, I learned what vegetarians most commonly lack and how I could make sure that I would not become deficient,  I've learned that people think that just because you don't eat meat, then you aren't getting enough protein.  When in fact, I get more than enough!

Well let me know you where I get my protein from:

Soymilk
Tofu
Beans
Legumes
Quinoa
Seeds
Whole Grains
Broccoli
Potatoes
Peas
Spinach...  


I mean, I could go on a on.  Did you know that too much protein could be a bad thing?  Check out this website on that topic: Here  And just a little tidbitty for ya- 100 calories of spinach has MORE protein in it than 100 calories of steak.  Yea, you heard me right!   Google it!

I guess I don't really understand why people care so much about where I'm getting my nutrients from.  All I can say is that I've done my research and I feel great since making this change.  In fact, if you're following a strict diet and not eating enough or you eat a lot of junk, you are likely to be protein deficient.  Here's some more info:


According to LiveStrong.com...LiveStrong
Individuals who do not eat enough food to meet their energy needs due to illness or dieting are likely to be deficient in protein, as are those who consume primarily junk food and protein-poor foods such as fruit, sugar, fat and alcohol. Someone who relies only on a single source of protein or very few sources may also become deficient in one or more essential amino acids. Consumption of a variety of protein-rich grains, legumes and nuts is necessary to ensure a healthful vegetarian diet, especially for strict vegans.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/60597-protein-deficiency-risk-vegetarian-diet/#ixzz1mVMIFP7f

I will leave you with some amazing food I've made this week.  Enjoy!

Toasted quinoa with broccoli, carrots, potatoes, and squash

After yoga lunch: stir-fried veggies with BBQ tofu and leftover coconut rice

As you can see, I am trying to use up my broccoli and carrots :)

Sicilian Swiss Chard over Quinoa

I made this for dinner tonight after getting inspiration from Pinterest.  It's a Vegetarian Times recipe.  You can get it Here.  I did add some mushrooms and tofu, and swapped the pine nuts for unsalted sunflower seeds, but otherwise I followed the recipe.  The recipe had wonderful flavor; salty, sweet, hot, crunchy, nutty...  YUM!  My husband loved it and we will definitely be making it again.  The next time however, I will use less red pepper flakes.  This is one of those meals that makes you feel good when you eat it and I sure like that!

So, where do you get your protein???   ;)

Peace, Love, and Veggies my friends!

Soup for the Soul

I don't know about you all, but I've been exhausted lately.  Do you ever have those weeks that never seems to slow down and then have jam packed weekends to boot?  That's how I've been for going on 3 weeks now.  And to top it off I had "one of those days" at work where nothing was going the way I had planned and I felt completely out of control.  I've been so tired after school that I've nearly been falling asleep as my husband drives me home, but I seem to quickly perk up once I start my evening cooking.  When pondering what we were going to do for dinner, my husband requested something light.  In his mind, that equals sushi, but I wasn't feeling it.  Instead, we opted for some homemade Minestrone soup.  And that's what we had!

As I eat it, I feel revived after a long and tiresome day with my ever-energetic Kindergartners.  It's as though soups heals and warms the soul, maybe that's why we go for it whenever we're feeling under the weather!

So here's what I did if you feel like trying it!  Again, feel free to improvise as you go, using things you like and discarding those you don't!

Ingredients

A drizzle of EVOO for the pot

1/2 of an onion, chopped

1C. of peeled and diced carrots

1 small zucchini/squash diced

1 celery stalk diced

1 can of diced tomatoes (28oz.)

2 handfuls of spinach or kale (I used kale b/c I had it on hand)

1 can of white beans, drained and rinsed 

3 garlic cloves, sliced

1 handful of chopped parsley.  I used italian parsley

1 handful dried whole wheat pasta

5 cups Veggie Broth

A nice hunk of some GOOD parmesan cheese

A dash or rosemary

A dash of crushed red pepper flakes

1 or 2 bay leaves

S&P

Directions

Line a deep pot with a hefty drizzling of EVOO.  When warm, add onions and garlic and sauté until soft.  Add diced carrots, celery, squash spinach/kale, parsley, and season with S&P, crushed red pepper, and rosemary.  Sauté, stirring for about 2 minutes.

When veggies are soft, add the veggie broth, can of tomatoes,  rinsed beans, and your parmesan cheese.  YUM!  Warm over medium/high heat until lightly simmering.  Add the handful of pasta and the bay leaves.  Let simmer on the stove for about 10-15 minutes or until the pasta is soft.

Ladle the soup into a bowl.  Be sure to discard the bay leaves.  Grate some more parmesan cheese over the top and serve warm with some delicious bread.

And there you go.... DINNER-

 For 

Your 

Soul!

On a side note, I LOVE making soup!  It's a great way to clean out your fridge and to just really experiment with ingredients you love.  Taste as you go and season as you like.  I find it's better to use low sodium broth and add salt as you see needed.

What kind of soup do you love to make?

Peace,

Love,

And yummy veggies :)

T.M.I.

As the title reads, this post may be "Too Much Information", but I feel it has to be said to get a real understanding of why my vegetarian lifestyle is so important to me.

So here goes, 'nothin!

Since moving to Phoenix from Ohio in 2006, I noticed a great decrease in my health.  I had always been a healthy person with no real concerns.  The only medication I was taking at the time was my birth control.  Very quickly, my allergies were through the roof and my breathing became difficult.  Like I never felt I was getting a real good breath.  Then after about 2 years of teaching, I began noticing heart palpations...like ALL.THE.TIME.  It scared me.  I started feeling a tightness in my chest and pains down my arms.  Was it possible for a 27 year old to have a heart attack?  All this spiraled me into a panic attack and the next day I called a Cardiologist to set up an appointment.  I went through all the hoops... Holter Monitor, EKG, Stress Test, etc.  Everything came back fine... phew!  I went to my regular doctor and she tested me for asthma.  Check!  It's what I had..problem solved, right?  Not really.

Then came the pain of other sorts.  My stomach started fighting against me while on a trip back to Ohio.  I was soooooo sick. These pains were on and off for months on end.   It felt like I.B.S. but then I noticed it coincided with that time of the month. Stomach pains, lady part pains, me curled up and crying for hours.  No one could figure out what was wrong with me.  One doctor thought it was acid reflux.  No dummy, it wasn't!

I ended up having endoscopic surgery because my gyn thought it could have been Endometriosis. After quite a few hundred dollars and a surgery, everything came back fine.  My doctor put me on continuous birth control thinking it would help the pain.  It kind of worked, well it's still kind of working I guess.  I think I've just grown used to it.

Then the whammy!  I had an abnormal pap... for the first time in my life.  And an FYI- I'm the type of gal that DOES NOT miss her yearly exam.  I had a biopsy done and then the results came.  I was a hair away from having cervical cancer.  There are 3 levels that they rate the abnormal tissue: CIN I, II, and III.  III means that if the abnormalities penetrate down and any further, you have cancer.  Half my cervix was covered in this, and the rest was CIN II.

My life flashed before my eyes.  I mean I didn't have cancer, yet... but how in the HELL do I go from being fine to basically being told that you will have cancer if we don't remove this?!?  I held myself together as my gynecologist told me she wanted to refer me to a gynecological ONCOLOGIST!  Eeek, cancer doctor!!!  My doc was afraid that her doing the surgery could end up damaging me so much that I may not be able to have babies.  And PS- I got married in June and we were planning on letting nature take its course this coming June.  I was devastated.  She stated that she wanted to send me to a specialist in order to have the best shot at saving my fertility.

So I can go on and on about what I felt and what I went through, but I won't.  I will say that I was depressed because for the first time in my life, I felt as though I had been the healthiest I had ever been. I was feeling great and proud of my choices.  Why was this happening now??

I began to rely more and more on my lifestyle to be my new "medicine".  I feel very strongly that what you put in your body can cure you.  I started eating less dairy and animal products.  I began reading labels and looking closely at the ingredients choosing only to put things in my body that would nourish me.  I went back to my Body Talk gal.  If you've never heard of Body Talk you should check it out.  It does a lot of the same things that acupuncture can do but without the needles.  She helped me through my heart problems and my asthma.  Actually, she was the one who noticed my breathing and asked me if I had asthma.  She was the reason I went to my regular doctor.  BAM!

So moving on.

My surgery was a huge success.  They removed everything and my results came back negative, meaning the cells had not penetrated any further and that there was no evidence of cancer.  HALLELUJAH!!!

Now, onto healing and looking to the future.  I had a great friend say it best when responding to my "Why now?  I'm the healthiest I've ever been" question.  She said, "Well, because your body was ready to handle it.  Ready to fight it off.  This has been in you all along and your body knew that this was the time it could take care of it."  I think she was right.  I feel wonderful and I have a new outlook on life.  I look forward to having babies, and I should have no problems getting pregnant.  The problem lies with staying pregnant.  However, with today's technology, I choose to stay positive that things will work out the way they are supposed to.  I do not have room in my life for negativity.  Your mind is a powerful thing and letting negativity take over can be poison to the soul.

I refuse to be poisoned.

Food is my medicine and I will continue to give my body what it needs in order to keep myself working the way I am intended to.  And if this craziness happens to show its ugly head again.. I will fight it.  I will kill it.  My body will be strong for me.

And if you're still reading, I shall leave you with tonight's dinner recipe.  Truth be told, I stole it from my dear friend Nicole, blogger at Pepperoni Is Not a Vegetable and recipe contributor for Good Veg.  I made her BBQ Tofu with Pineapple & Coconut Rice.  Here's her recipe from Good Veg...


INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups coconut milk (almost all of a 13.5 ounce can)
1 cup basmati rice, rinsed
Red pepper flakes
1 can pineapple chunks
1/4 cup water
Your favorite barbecue sauce
1 package firm tofu, frozen and thawed
2T olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Make rice the way you usually do (on the stove or in a rice cooker) but with coconut milk instead of water or broth. I put 1 cup of basmati rice in my rice cooker with 1 1/2 cups of coconut milk, 1/4 cup water, and a few shakes of red pepper flakes. Cook rice until done (about 20 minutes), fluff, and set aside.
2. While the rice is cooking, preheat your oven to 350*. Press the tofu several times to remove excess water. A clean dishtowel or paper towels work well for this. Place the tofu on a cutting board and press down from above with the towel until it seems most of the water is gone. Be careful to apply the right amount of force – too much pressure could cause the tofu to break and crumble.
Cut the tofu into 1″ cubes and place in a large Ziploc bag or bowl. Add enough of your favorite barbecue sauce to coat the tofu, shake or stir to cover evenly. Let sit in your fridge for at least 20 minutes.
3. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the BBQ-marinated tofu and saute for 5-10 minutes over medium-low heat, turning frequently.
4. Place the sauteed tofu in a shallow pan and bake for 10 minutes. Turn after 10 minutes and bake for another 10. The tofu should be relatively crispy on the outside and softer on the inside.
5. Open and drain the pineapple. Place a serving of coconut rice to a bowl or plate, and add equal parts BBQ tofu and pineapple.
Put on some of your favorite music, pour yourself a drink you love, and enjoy!

A picture of my rendition

*The only thing I did differently was add some veggies that I had on hand.  I sauteed up some sliced golden carrots, broccoli, and green onions and added them to the baking pan with the tofu.  To die for!*


So, my friends- feed your body what makes it feel good.  Whatever that may be.  You only get one body so take care of it and throw negativity out.the.window!

-Peace, Love, & Veggies :)