Archive for the ‘food’ Category
KJ’s Should Be Famous Guacamole
I’m not sure why I stopped making this. When I mentioned that to my beloved, he said: “Maybe because I don’t eat guacamole?”
Given that that means twice as much for me, I really don’t know why I stopped.
I whipped this out over the holidays and it literally flew off the table. So for posterity’s sake, lest I forget again:
KJ’s Should Be Famous Guacamole
4 ripe avocados
2 small vine ripened tomatoes, diced
1/2 a bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
the juice of 1 lime
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, to taste
dash of cayenne
sea salt to taste
Mix all ingredients together and serve.
To make the mixing easier, I tend to mash the avocados using a potato masher before adding the rest of the ingredients.
Serve with blue corn tortilla chips (or hemp tortilla chips from the same company if you can find them).
Though spoons, fingers, and celery sticks seem to work just as well!
Surviving the Holidays (for the most part, intact)
Filed under: challenges, food, gluten-free, Holidays, strategies |
Leave a Comment Every year I dread the holidays.
It’s not the busyness or the hassle of traveling. It’s not the weird family dynamics (I actually enjoy spending time with my family). It’s not the increasing credit card balance or the last minute wrapping. It’s not the panicked trips to the store searching frantically for tape or thyme (not to mention, t-i-m-e).
It’s really all about the food.
Christmas at my parents house is like a minefield. There is literally sugar in every room in the house (save the bathrooms).
Seriously, it’s everywhere. My father’s bark covered pretzels, Ritz crackers, saltines, and mixed nuts. Cookies and chocolate. And then once my relatives arrived, the pie parade: coconut cream (to die for), my Aunt Mary’s chocolate pie (should be illegal, especially since she uses corn starch in the filling for us gluten-free folk), my cousin Megan’s pumpkin pie, and my cousin Matthew’s pecan pie (which I am pretty sure is illegal in a few states). Then there’s the bourbon balls the neighbors brought….
Did I mention that we also had a 60th surprise birthday party on the 23rd? So that also meant we had an extra dark chocolate sheet cake floating around and a ton of Tahitian Vanilla Bean Gelato. Seriously, this stuff was insane and was worth the three hours of misery that followed (can any one say lactose intolerant?) A lesser ice cream wouldn’t have been, but this – most definitely.
Regardless, despite all of the potential minefields (including several bottles of wine and about three different batches of my sister’s world-famous margaritas), I actually made it through relatively unscathed – that one brutal stomach ache aside.
So, how did I do it?
1) I thanked the powers that be that I have a wicked gluten-intolerance, because that knocked out a whole lot of options. I remember Anthony Robbins saying something about, “Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels,” but I think a more personally motivating mantra is this: “Nothing – and I mean nothing – tastes as good as gluten-free feels.” (If only I could find something similar for sugar!)
2) I planned ahead. Knowing that we were going to be doing a party spread (in addition to the holidays), I ordered gluten-free options from what Jena la Flamme assures me is the best gluten-free bakery in the country (and I must say, I agree), where I ordered some awesome baguettes, some cupcakes, and a pumpkin bread (which, damn the bad luck, is still sitting uneaten in my mother’s fridge!)
3) I tried new things and substituted, substituted, substituted. My newest finds are Q Tonic Water (which I drank in place of wine and margaritas) and hemp tortilla chips, which have a lot more protein than corn chips and are, thus, more filling.
4) I pulled out my old favorites, meaning that I baked garnet yams, ate my normal sauteed kale, and even whipped up three – count them three – batches of my incredible guacamole (Notice the correspondence between the number of batches of guac and margaritas?)
5) I packed my yoga mat (and did yoga twice a day while I was there) and my hula hoop. Although my parents don’t have a great indoor space to hoop and their yard/driveway is slanted, I still got in a little hooping every day.
6) I set an intention going in – to wear the same skinny jeans going out that I wore going in (I should have specified comfort level, but there’s always next year).
7) I remembered that all things are transitory. I’ve realized that I have this belief that when I gain weight – in any amount – that it’s never going away. I tend to get really down on myself and start doing crazy restrictive things with my diet. This time I remembered that things change. My waist got bigger, that means that it can get smaller. It was only four days. (And sure enough, just after two days of being back at my home and doing my normal thing, my waist is looking a lot more familiar to me). What is that saying: change is the only constant? It’s a good thing to remember.
Now, that’s not to say that things went flawlessly or that things are completely back to where they were before I left for the holidays.
I’m just now beginning to pull myself out of the “sugar skid.”
Sugar is my crack; there’s no doubt about it.
Normally sugar doesn’t bother me, because I don’t eat it – like, ever. I don’t even eat fruit. Because as soon as I do, it’s like I’m an addict. In fact, I was speaking with a dear friend of mine who works with seriously addicted people and she asked me to describe – in great detail – what it feels like and what happens to me when I eat sugar. I was telling her and she was nodding.
Her response? “It seems like the sugar is triggering a dopamine response in you, much like drugs or alcohol do for many of my clients.”
Lovely.
I got home on Tuesday around 1:00 a.m., after having polished off the last of the Byerly’s dark chocolate salted sea caramels that my father had so lovingly packed in my bag.
Wednesday, I found the bark covered pecans in my suitcase, which my father had made specifically for me (since I can’t – thank goodness – eat his other creations). I ate them slowly and savored each one.
Thursday, I found the contents of my stocking that my mother had so carefully packed up for me and stowed away in the pocket of my backpack. I had one Ghiradelli Square – Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt (which was but a pale comparison of the aforementioned Byerly’s caramel, by the way). I also had an apple.
Today (Friday), who knows? I don’t feel totally out of control when I think about sugar – but part of that’s because we don’t have any in the house. Well, Michael J has some raw honey, but that’s even too sweet for me.
When my dad taught my sister and I to drive, he’d take us out to snow covered parking lots, tell us to go really fast and hit the brakes. Lesson: learn to turn into the skid and stay in control of the wheel.
In some ways, this holiday season brought back a lot of those memories.
Was I out of control around sugar?
Maybe.
But because I headed into it with foresight, planning, and flexibility I feel like it was/is going to be a quick recovery. And who knows, I may be better in the long run for the slippage. Because next time it happens, I’ll know even better what to do.
Happy Holidays!!!
Ah, even more ways and reasons to eat yams….
Filed under: coconut oil, cooking, food, gluten-free, recipes, Uncategorized |
Leave a Comment I’m consistently blown away by how good the Whole Foods website is.
For instance, check out their page on yams.
I’ll be curious to do the slice and steam prep they recommend for maximum health benefits (including blood sugar regulation), but it’s doubtful that I will ever give up my favorite: Candied Yams Without the Candy.
Although I had originally pitched this as a dessert, I’ve recently paired it with black beans, a little bit of forbidden rice (for texture more than anything else though it too is ridiculously good and good for you) and, last but certainly not least, my favorite kale recipe.
I put it all together on a beautiful multicolored, hand-thrown plate/bowl (7″) and I’m good to go. Not only is it super satisfying, it’s also beautiful with the gem-like colors: emerald, not quite ruby, and onyx. Seriously it’s almost as visually appealing as it is delicious.
New Winter Dessert Smoothie
I know that for most people, the words “winter” and “smoothie” rarely go in the same sentence.
However, I am one of those people that love cold, creamy desserts all year long.
Unfortunately, like most of the people in my family, I can no longer easily reach for ice cream or even a milkshake, as my ability to digest dairy (even raw dairy and goat’s milk yogurt, which is totally annoying) has diminished with age.
I can eat it (or drink it); it’s not like it causes me to swell up or anything like that. But it makes me feel crappy and it really throws a wrench in my normal digestion.
So for me, protein based shakes have become a staple – not only for breakfast, but also for snacks and desserts.
My newest concoction is perfect for the fall. I haven’t yet come up with the perfect name yet, but here it goes.
Vanilla Garnet Spiced Smoothie
8-12 ounces of cold water (or unsweetened almond milk)
4 tablespoons of Raw Organic Living Harvest Hemp Powder – Vanilla Spice Formula
1 medium garnet yam, cooked
1 tablespoon of psyllium husk (or Yerba Prima’s Colon Care)
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 pinch of pink sea salt
1/8 teaspoon of xantham gum, to thicken
Put all of the ingredients in a blender (preferably a high speed blender, though it may not be necessary for this particular recipe).
This is ridiculously good. I’m sure that you could also use pumpkin, but since I had a yam on hand, I just tossed it in – skin and all!
It hits all my buttons, the ingredients are super healthy, and it’s chock full of protein, fiber, and antioxidants. It also tastes suspiciously like a pumpkin pie milk shake (especially if you use almond milk as opposed to water). And if you’re worried about being cold, the cinnamon and the cayenne are very warming; I’m sure that cloves or nutmeg would also be excellent.
I’ve had it twice this way and I’m pretty happy with it. However, because I’m really conscious of adding more fat to my diet – yes, you heard me, more fat to my diet – I may throw in half an avocado or a tablespoon or two of coconut oil, manna, or creamed coconut.
I’ll keep you posted as the recipe evolves and if you try it, please do the same!
p.s. Now this makes a lot of smoothie, so you could easily serve four as a dessert!
Back to Basics: Three Solid Squares or Five Small…Triangles???
One of the biggest contradictions in the health and fitness field is how much you should eat and when.
In my mother’s day, the conventional wisdom was that you should eat three square meals a day (whatever that means) and minimize snacking.
In recent years, however, the experts say that it’s better to eat five half meals a day (usually between 300 and 400 calories per meal).
The former is supposed to give your digestion system a break between meals.
The latter is supposed to keep your digestion system running – burning more calories. Also, eating every couple of hours is supposed to keep your blood sugar from crashing, which helps prevent fat storage. There are a lot of really healthy, skinny, and attractive people out there who swear by this method of eating and it makes a lot of intuitive sense to me.
However, in practice, it just didn’t work. That is, it didn’t work for me.
My problem? I’m not sure, but my best guess is portion control.
See, I like to feel full. I tend to eat fast and I have never gotten the hang of stopping when I’m 80% full. If I could remember to eat slowly, I would imagine a whole host of problems would resolve themselves. But no matter how hard I try, I’m usually 75% through my meal before I remember, “Oh yeah. You were going to slow down.”
I kid you not: I’m actually considering having the worlds “breathe” and “slow down” stenciled on the wall of my office.
Of course, not eating at my desk might also help, but I digress….
Regardless, eating five meals until you’re full really meant that I was eating way too much food.
I have tried to eat less. I have tried to slow down.
Unfortunately, however, “try” is outcome equivalent of “close.” And as “they” say, “close” only counts in horse shoes.
Thus, I have gone back to three solid squares a day and, so far, it’s working for me.
It’s working in the sense that I am less hungry and, contrary to popular belief, I am actually eating less food, calorie-wise.
At first it seemed scary to eat a meal with 500 calories in it, but I’m getting used to it. And as it turns out, the key to feeling full (and not crashing your blood sugar) is protein. Lots of protein.
For the last several days, it’s looked like this:
Breakfast Smoothie (384 calories; with 54 grams of protein).
Lunch (385-450 calories; with 21-24 grams of protein)
Snack (150 calories; 14 – 27 grams of protein)
Dinner (400 – 600; 30 grams of protein)
After dinner snack: herbal tea!
And, believe it or not, so far so good.
It’s working a lot better than the 5 meals, though I suppose that could have something to do with the fact that I have completely cut out sugar (averaging about 16 – 25 grams a day)….
I haven’t been back on the scale since this has all started, but I’ll be sure to let you know. I was thinking about “weighing in” on Friday…or not. Though I probably will, because, as I will discuss in another post, I’ve also come to appreciate having tighter feedback loops.
Oh, one last thing! Since I’ve gone back to larger three meals – instead of five smaller ones – I’ve had virtually no stress eating or any other compulsive food-related behavior. That in and of itself is worth the cost of an extra meal.
Chocolate and Cinnamon Socca
Filed under: cooking, food, gluten-free, recipes, Uncategorized |
Comments (2) It’s been a long absence from this blog. I’ve been writing the journey from where I was when I was a regular blogger to where I am now, but the details seem long and convoluted and are of probably no interest to anyone other than myself.
However, I have been in the kitchen, so I may as well share my new discoveries.
Socca.
Socca? What the heck is socca?
I had never even heard of socca until I ran across this post from the Pure2Raw Twins.
Socca is a bread that you make from garbanzo bean (or chick pea) flour, which not only is gluten-free but is chock full of fiber and protein.
As I mentioned in the last post, I am in the process of sugar detox. Part of that means eating protein at every meal, including snacks.
Since I’m just as happy eating big protein-less salads and soups as I am anything else, I decided a little socca seemed in order.
I didn’t have any ground cardamon, so I subbed cinnamon.
Here it goes:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Heat an iron cast skillet in the oven, with 2 1/2 Tbs coconut oil
1 cup chickpea flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
1/4 c. raw cacao
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp. sea salt
Pour the batter into the center of the heated skillet and let it run out to the edges.
Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.
I sat the skillet on a rack to cool and then used a baker’s cake decorating spatula to get it out (carefully, as you want it in one piece).
I cut it into 8 wedges. It’s dense and not particularly sweet (I think that next time I might add in some stevia), but it’s a great texture for sandwiches. And I can imagine that I’ll be eating it as a good source of gluten-free, high protein, bread.
Man, if I wasn’t on that no-sugar thing, this would be awesome with a little raw almond butter and honey! But I digress…
If you’re allergic to gluten or know someone who is, I highly recommend that you check out the twins’ webpage.
I think their pumpkin socca recipe is next on my list!
I’ll be sure to keep you updated!
Post Script: Chocolate Cinnamon Socca is phenomenal as a carrier for natural peanut butter!
Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
I love pumpkin. And I love smoothies, so when I saw my friend Ana’s post Winter Pumpkin Pie Smoothie, I was in heaven.
I even had pumpkin, so I was all set! Right?
Wrong. I went to the store without reading the recipe and when I got back I realized I was without carrot juice and without green cabbage. And as it turned out, I didn’t need the pumpkin – fresh and organic from the local farm – as the recipe called for sweet potatoes.
Have I mentioned that I am on a 31 day sugar detox and can’t have sweet potatoes? And technically, I’m only supposed to have 1/2 cup of carrots at a time!
I also needed some protein, because I hadn’t had any at lunch. What’s a girl to do?
Create her own Pumpkin Pie Smoothie. I hope Ana can forgive me for bastardizing her recipe!
KJ’s Version of Ana Poirier’s Winter Pumpkin Pie Smoothie:
1 cup of pumpkin puree
1 cup water
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp vanilla rice protein powder
1 small wedge of red cabbage
1/2 avocado
Liquid Stevia (I put in 4 -5 drops and it was pretty darned sweet; so proceed with caution).
6 ice cubes
Put all ingredients in a high speed blender and puree until smooth.
I’m not sure what color the original is supposed to be, but this was a beautiful berry color – thanks to the red cabbage, no doubt, which you really could not taste at all!
So, if you’re in the mood for a little pumpkin pie, check this out. It’s surprisingly delicious. Or check out Ana’s. Or better yet, check out both!
I know I certainly be whipping up a batch of these post-Christmas dinner!
Enjoy, and if you try it, let me know what you thought!
Over Indulgence, Addiction, and Forgiveness
I went out last night with friends for dinner and I had the whole enchilada – meaning that I did the whole drink (1), appetizer, entree, and dessert! I can’t even tell you the last time that has happened.
It was delicious.
It was indulgent.
It was fun.
It was high vibrational – as most of the food was organic and locally produced.
It was rich.
It was also very, very expensive.
Although my soul was filled, my body was overfull. (I also can’t tell you the last time that’s happened).
I didn’t feel good physically and when I got home, and believe it or not, I found myself noshing on leftover delicata squash (see earlier post). The full sensation – the overfull sensation actually made me want to eat more! Not to mention the sugar in the wine and the (shudder) ice cream sundae with dark chocolate sauce and brandied cherries!
I made the decision to have that meal consciously, knowing that for the next three days I am going to have to monitor my food intake closely. I won’t be counting calories, but I will be extra diligent for sugar. Because now that it’s in my system – just like crack! – the craving is there…. Just an idea. Just a whisper. Just an ever present suggestion: Are you sure you wouldn’t like a little bit more?
I would, actually. But I’m going to pass.
Last night, as I crawled in bed, I murmured the following as I rubbed my tummy, anointing it with lavender:
I apologize
I love you
Please forgive me
Thank you
No self-recriminations, just love. I am the caretaker of my body and I – and I alone – am responsible for it’s condition.
New Green Smoothie Recipe (Low in Sugar)
I picked this one up from my friend, Kelly Cornell.
It’s sort of different, but it’s rapidly becoming a favorite! Check it out and let me know what you think!
A Dinner That Hit All My Buttons
Filed under: beets, coconut oil, cooking, food, gluten-free, recipes |
Leave a Comment Every once and a while, I surprise even myself. This was so good that I am immortalizing it here…as I will most certainly want to make this again.
Rainbow Salad with Spinach, Kale and Chard (I made a big salad for 1 as my main course):
Baby spinach (2 cups)
Red chard (2 small leaves, finely chopped)
Lacinta Kale (2 small leaves, finely chopped)
Green cabbage (about a 1/2 cup, finely chopped) – adds crunchiness without the carbs!
1 small carrot, finely shredded
1 small beet, finely shredded
1 Tbs shelled hemp seeds
2 Tbs of sunflower seeds
2 Tbs dulse
Dressing:
1 Tb olive oil
1 Tb Braggs amino acid
That was the first course and would have been fine, but I was feeling particularly decadent.
So, onto dessert!
Roasted Delicata Sauce and Tahini
2 Delicata Squash (this way there’s plenty left over), seeded and cubed, unpeeled.
1 Tb Coconut Oil
Cumin to taste
Mix all three ingredients in a roasting pan and roast at 375 degrees. I took it out after 30 minutes or so, but it probably depends on the size of the cubes.
Optional: Serve with 1 Tb tahini to slow the absorption of the sugar in the squash and to add protein.
This was stellar. And gorgeous. Next time I’ll be sure to take a picture.
P.S. When I’m just having the salad, I’ll sometimes add in 1/2 cup of canned organic garbanzo beans.
Perfection in a Glass
No, I haven’t started drinking again! But I have created (for now at least) my all-time favorite raw food recipe: Almond Maca Chia Cacao Shake with Goji Berries and Cacoa Nibs. Though considering that I spend most of my spare time in the kitchen, that – I am sure – is subject to change! 
This all started earlier this summer, when I had a Chocolate Maca shake at Planet Raw, this phenomenal raw food restaurant in Santa Monica, California. It came out in a 16 ounce tumbler, lightly dressed with nuts, goji berries, and cacao nibs – and it was heavenly. Not only was it delicious and ridiculously good for you, it also had the additional benefit of the maca/cacao buzz.
(If you’re familiar with maca – which is a peruvian superfood with slight psychedelic properties – you know what I’m talking about. If you’re not, it’s sort of hard to explain, but I’d recommend that you try it. Without putting too fine a point on it, it’s sort of like malt, with benefits. Mix that with a little raw cacao and you’re in for a supersonic treat!)
Anyway, I digress.
Since then, as you might imagine, I have been trying to replicate it with more or less success.
But the big breakthrough came with the Almond Maca Chia Cacao Shake I came up with a couple weeks ago. It was pretty close. The chia gel gives the shake a nice consistency – whereas the one at Planet Raw relied on coconut meat.
(Though I might use coconut meat too if I could figure out how to open one!)
But since I love nothing more than playing in the kitchen, the recipe continues to evolve – so maybe I should have called this post – Nearing Perfection in a Glass.
Almond Maca Chia Cacao Shake with Goji Berries and Cacoa Nibs (1 serving)
1 cups almond milk (I used Almond Breeze, Unsweetened Chocolate – though I’m sure it would be better if I made my own)
3 Tbs chia gel
1 Tb maca
1 Tb chocolate rice protein powder
1 Tb raw cacao powder
1 Tb dried goji berries
1 Tb psyllium husk (or Yerba Prima Colon Care, which is much finer)
cinnamon, to taste
vanilla, to taste
5 drops chocolate stevia
8 ice cubesBlend together in a high speed blender! Garnish with raw cacao nibs and goji berries and enjoy!
Note: although this may look/sound like dessert, it can definitely be used for a meal replacement. It’s chock full of protein (close to 15 grams), fiber (close to ten grams), and essential fats – not to mention all of the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients in the cacao, the goji berries, and the maca.
Peanut Butter Cups – Raw, Easy and Delicious
I love chocolate and I love peanut butter.
When you think about it, what’s NOT to love?
But I don’t like the sugar hit that traditional chocolate peanut butter cups give me. They taste great, but sometimes you have to think about how the food that you eat is going to make you feel two hours later, not to mention two days later when you’re still fighting sugar crazing – you know, that was actually a typo, but it’s so apropos, I think I’ll leave it!
So here’s what I came up with.
I originally saw a similar recipe on Alissa Cohen’s blog, but I ended up experimenting – big surprise.
KJ’s Version of the Old You’ve Got Peanut Butter in My Chocolate Classic – Peanut Butter Cups
Ingredients:
1 cup raw organic cacao
1 cup of cold pressed virgin coconut oil (melted; it becomes liquid at 79 degrees [or something like that] so you don’t have to heat it much, if any!)
1/4 cup of agave nectar
6-10 drops of chocolate stevia (or to taste; don’t do too much or you’ll get a strange after taste)
cinnamon, 1 – 2 tsp (or more; I like lot, so chances are I put in more)
organic vanilla, 1 tsp (or more, to taste)
raw organic peanut butter (or almond butter, or cashew butter….)
Whisk all of the ingredients – except the nut butter – until smooth.
Spray an ice tray or two with non-stick cooking spray (I know, I can hear Susan Powter as I type talking about the propellent in cooking spray, but what can you do?).
Spoon in about a T of chocolate into each ice cube space (the batch I made yesterday made about 20 pieces, but you might want to do one tray first and then start a second tray if you have any left over).
Let the chocolate set up for a few minutes; it shouldn’t take long.
Spoon in a rounded 1/8 teaspoon (or a 1/4 teaspoon depending on your chocolate:peanut butter taste ratio preference) into each cube space, then cover with remaining chocolate sauce.
If you have left over chocolate, start a second tray.
Put in the freezer overnight and you’re done!
Pop those puppies out in the morning and store them in an airtight container.
Now, the only caveat is you have to leave these in the fridge or freezer, because the coconut oil isn’t particularly stable – remember that 79 degree melting point? However, that said, they’ll stay good for a month or more (if they last that long) and if you keep them in the freezer, no one will know they’re there but you!
Reboot Camp Snack: KJ’s Kickin’ Kale Chips
Since part of my reboot involves in drastically limiting the almond and nut butters that cross these lips, I decided that I really had to do something with all of that kale I had in the fridge that didn’t require slathering in it tahini and nutritional yeast before putting it in the dehydrator – no matter how tasty it is that way!
I had tried a couple of other kale chip recipes and wasn’t a fan.
So, last night, I decided to make my own:
KJ’s Kickin’ Kale Chips
1 massive bunch of organic Kale (the big curly kind)
5 Tbs of olive oil (I am actually trying to increase my intake here, so it’s okay)
1 Tb agave nectar
1 tsp of sea salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
ground cumin, to taste
cayenne, a pinch or less, to taste
Braggs Amino Acids, a couple of shakes, to taste
Cut the stems out of your kale, then tear into bite sized pieces. Place in a large stainless steel mixing bowl.
Then add all of the other ingredients, massaging them into the kale. The more massage, the better your flavor will eventually be!
Toss into the dehydrator, directly onto the screens and dehydrate for 8 hours at 105 degrees (or until nice and crispy). I put mine in and left them overnight so I’m assuming it was about 8 hours!
Enjoy!
Recipe: Almond Maca Chia Cacao Shake
Filed under: cooking, food, gluten-free, raw food, recipes, superfood |
Comments (3) More fun with chia seeds! It’s amazing how creative you can get when that’s one of your only three acceptable snack options!
Almond Maca Chia Cacao Shake (2 servings)
2 cups almond milk (I used Almond Breeze, Unsweetened Chocolate)
1 Tbs soaked chia seeds
1 Tbs maca
1 Tbs ground flax seeds
cinnamon, to taste
2 teaspoons of agave nectar (or 5 drops chocolate stevia and 1 tsp of agave nectar).
8 ice cubes
Throw all ingredients into a blender and blend!
I drank one for my morning snack and will have the other as my afternoon snack. Yum-my!
Recipe: Black Bean and Corn Salad (Gluten-Free)
Filed under: cooking, food, gluten-free, high water-content food, recipes |
Comments (1) The other day I realized that I still had 36 cans of organic black beans left over from the case-lot sale last October – that is, before I decided to go mostly raw.
I also realized I had a ton of fresh corn in the fridge, thanks to the local CSA.
Given that black beans are really good for you and I hate to waste food, I found myself dusting off my cookbooks – you know, the ones where you actually cook – and pouring over the pages until I found something that I thought might do the trick.
The winner: Anne Lindsay’s Black Bean and Corn Salad (slightly modified, of course)!
1 can organic black beans, drained and rinsed
1 sweet red bell pepper
2 cups raw corn kernels
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green onions
4 tbs chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
Dressing:
3 Tbs rice or cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp organic brown mustard (or Dijon)
1/4 tsp each of agave nectar, sea salt, freshly ground pepper
1 tsp each of water and vegetable oil (I actually forgot this part and didn’t notice until I was typing it up, so that leads me to believe that it’s optional!)
1. In a bowl, combine beans, red pepper, corn, celery, onions, and coriander.
2. Dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, mustard, agave, sea salt, and pepper; whisk in water and oil. Pour over salad and stir to mix.
Makes 8 servings
calories: 117
protein: 6 grams
total fat: 2 grams (unless, of course, you forget the oil, like I did!)
saturated fat: trace
carbohydrates: 21 grams
fiber: 4 grams
sodium: 204 milligrams
This was quite tasty and I’m sure that I’ll make it again. I mean, after all, I still have 34 cans of beans in the basement!
Regardless, I served it with fresh tomato and cucumber slices. Water-based. Easy. Beautiful. and Tasty! An all around win.
Enjoy!
Packing up the kitchen, uhm, I mean, the suitcase
Filed under: challenges, food, gluten-free, nutrition, raw food, travel |
Leave a Comment I am traveling again. This time to Atlanta – downtown Atlanta, not one of the cute little neighborhoods with fun shops, boutiques, and grocery stores. But to the empty, deserted, hotel and restaurant infested part of the city.
So, as always – and even a little more so than always – I am packing my own food. And, as per usual, it looks like I’m going to be bringing more food than clothes!
The list, so far:
Susan’s Kale Chips 2.0
1 bag of Organic Baby Spinach
1 box of cherry tomatoes
1 gallon sized bag of chopped veggies: broccoli, carrots, turnips, and zucchini
Enough Chocolate Rice and Protein Powder for at least 4 shakes
3-4 avocados
Energy bars
Psyllium Husk
Spirulina
Almond butter
Kitchen utensils:
1 spoon
1 travel sponge
1 large cup
1 travel-sized Magic Bullet Blender
I’m sure I’m forgetting something; as I almost always do!
So, why am I bringing all of this food – particularly since I have lunch and dinner dates planned every day that I am there?
The powders, the spinach, and the avocados (or maybe the almond butter, depending on my mood) are all for breakfast. If I don’t have MY breakfast, the day is pretty much shot for food for me. If I don’t start off with my regular 60+ gram protein BOMB, I can pretty much count on a bad eating day. When I do start the day off with a shake, no matter where I am, I am more sated, I am more grounded, and I am much more likely to be in control of my eating (as opposed to the other way around).
And as someone who is 85% (more or less) raw vegan, it’s hard to get a satisfying meal out. Most restaurants’ idea of a big salad (see earlier post on this topic) wouldn’t feed a rabbit! So instead of being all weird about it, I’ve decided to just go and order a salad (where possible) and eat it. Even if it’s not particularly satisfying, I know that I have PLENTY of nutrition in my room to fall back on. Using this approach, “eating out” with friends will really be more like “hanging out.” Eat a little salad, drink a little water – then go back to my room for my real lunch or, as the case may be, dinner.
Now, even though Atlanta – at least the part I am going to me in – is not that diet friendly, there is a Legal Sea Food, which does have a pretty generous Gluten-Free Menu. Given that gluten-free is the mandatory condition and the raw/vegan is just the preference, I should be in pretty good shape on Saturday night – as that’s where my very understanding friend made reservations. And, believe it or not, Atlanta also has a Raw Restaurant! It’s not downtown, but it’s only a MARTA ride away. As it turns out, I have a chunk of time available on Saturday, so I’ll definitely be checking that out for lunch! And as a service to raw aficionados everywhere, I’ll be sure to let you know!
Late to the Party As Always: “Cheezy” Kale Chips
I spend a lot of time on websites dedicated to the joys of raw food and I have seen dozens, if not hundreds, of references to Kale Chips.
Though I love kale and I love chips, I really hadn’t put the two together – until about a week ago.
Mama, I think I’m in love!
Kale chips! Who knew? Other than the thousands of raw foodists and other health enthusiasts out there who haven been blogging about these culinary delights for months, if not years!
My current favorite recipe for Kale Chips comes from the book, Raw Food Cleanse, by Penni Shelton, who just happens to be from my hometown and the founder of Raw Food Rehab. Without any copy right infringement meant, here it goes:
Susan’s Kale Chips 2.0
2 heads of curly kale, de-stemmed and cut into large chunks
3/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup Bragg Liquid Aminos
1/4 cup Bragg apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
Juice of one lemon
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 clove garlic
Place all ingredients except kale in a food processor (or high speed blender) and run until well blended. Massage this mixture into the kale. Dry in dehydrator at 105 degrees until very crunchy!
EnjoY!
The Flavor of the Week: Avocado, Cacao, and Spinach…
…what’s not to like?
I have loved ice cream my entire life. It’s ironic that I lost 90 pounds while working at a Baskin Robbins. It wasn’t due to lack of desire, trust me. I just had stronger will power back then!
Since I’ve gone vegan (and soy free to just to make things really hard) I’ve been playing with the blender with as much enthusiasm as any mad scientist in her lab.
If given a choice, I would live on smoothies – or protein shakes. Or Ginger Lime Blasts. You name it, if it’s wet and cold, I’m all over it.
Especially in the summer.
This week’s concoction – or, as they used to say at Baskin Robbins, this “Flavor of the Week” – is totally decadent.
It’s super filling. It’s unbelievably healthy. It makes at least 16 ounces (did I mention that I still struggle with portion control?) and it’s chocolate. If I was going to describe it, I would say it’s half milkshake, half mousse.
KJ’s Flavor of the Week
1 scoop of Chocolate Rice Powder
1 scoop psyllium husk
lots of cinnamon (at least two teaspoons)
1/2 of an avocado
1 red chard leaf or a handful of spinach (or both)
1 cup of cold water
10-12 drops of Dark Chocolate Liquid Stevia
6-7 ice cubes
Process all of the ingredients in a high speed blender. Enjoy!
This is so filling and so, so yummy!
Tons of protein, tons of fiber, tons of essential fats, tons of yum! If you haven’t tried the avocado, cacao, dark leafy green combo, trust me, you don’t know what you’re missing!
Refurbishing Old Favorites: KJ’s Raw “Rice” Salad
One of the things that transitioning to a majority raw diet has taught me is that you need to be able to eat at least some of the things that you used to love when you were eating cooked food.
Sometimes that means just going ahead and eating it, as I did the other night when I had a delicious part-cooked part-raw meal at my friend Meg Maker’s house or as I did last night, when I met some former students for dinner at the Elephant Walk.
Other times, however, it means learning to refashion (or even refurbish) old cooked favorites.
A couple of weeks ago, I started thinking about a salad that a friend of mine used to make in graduate school. It wasn’t a traditional salad, as its base ingredient was cooked sushi rice. I believe the ingredients were rice, vinegar, avocado, crumbled nori sheets, and cucumber. I’m pretty sure that it came from one of the Moosewood Cookbooks and may have been called Sushi Salad or something like that.
Well, I’ve been thinking about that salad a lot, and this is what I came up with:
KJ’s “Rice Salad”
Ingredients:
2 cups cauliflower, “riced” in the high speed blender or food processor
1 small cucumber, peeled and diced
1/2 – 1 small avocados, diced
1 medium carrot, finely grated
6 – 8 stalks of baby asparagus, snapped into pieces (optional)
1 tomato, diced (optional)
2 Tablespoons of raw organic dulse flakes (or crumbled nori sheets)
Sesame oil, to taste
Braggs amino acid, to taste
Directions:
Rice the cauliflower by cutting it small bite size pieces, then hitting the pulse button until you have reached desired consistency.
Add all of your other ingredients in layers, then drizzle on the sesame oil and the Braggs amino acids, to taste.
Gently toss to mix the flavors.
It’s fast, easy, delicious, healthy, and absolutely gorgeous. What more could you want?
Enjoy!
Eat more fat and eat less, period?
For the last couple of years, I’ve been told about the importance of eating high quality fats for weight loss (not to mention overall health more generally). And though it made sense, intellectually, I just couldn’t get myself to do it. I mean, I’ve had a bottle of Udo’s 3-6-9 tablets in the fridge for well over two years and I may have – maybe – taken about a third of them.
A few weeks ago, I went to a nutritionist, who wanted to see a list of everything that had gone into my mouth for a week. SInce I was still counting calories then (more on my experiences not counting calories to come) I had a very detailed account of what I had been eating, not just for a week, but for months (if not years).
After about ten minutes of flipping through print outs she asked, “Where are you getting your fat from?”
I looked at her sort of funny and said, “Well, as you can see, I eat a lot of tahini. It used to be peanut butter, but I can’t control myself around that. I had switched to almond butter, because I didn’t like it as much and then eventually got to be just as much as a trigger food as peanut butter. Now it’s tahini.”
She flipped through another few pages. “Do you eat olive oil? Fish? Flax?”
Uhm, not really. Mainly I had stopped eating all of that stuff because my nut butter compulsions were so out of control.
Her suggestion: Maybe the reason I can’t control myself around peanut butter, almond butter, and (while not quite as bad as the other two) tahini is that I’m fat deficient.
To be honest, I almost laughed.
Until she started giving me the symptoms associated with fat deficiency: constipation, dry hair, brittle nails, dry skin, fatigue, depression, anxiety – you name it, I have been experiencing it.
Prescription: eat more fat.
More to the point: eat a wider spectrum of fats.
Since I met with her I have really upped my fat intake and, importantly, reduced my nut and seed butter intake dramatically. So instead of eating nut butters and or tahini straight out of the jar and feeling like an out of control pig in the process, I am consciously adding fat to every meal.
To my morning smoothie, which is heavy on the rice protein, raw cacao, and dark leafy greens, I am adding 1 tablespoon of Barlean’s Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Essential Oils for Women. (If you haven’t tried this stuff, it is so good that you could eat it – literally – off the spoon or as a topping for ice cream. Seriously, it’s that good!)
To my lunch, I have added an avocado.
For my snack, I am having 1, if not 2, tablespoons of coconut butter. (If you haven’t tried this either, get some, as it is truly divine. I am not kidding, it is absolutely heavenly!) This particular brand comes in regular, which is just straight coconut and in chocolate – aptly named Raw Organic Cacao Bliss, which is coconut and raw cacao. Either way, it’s delicious. It’s a bit hard to deal with in the summer months because it goes liquid at 72 degrees, but where there’s a will, there’s a way! And trust me, its inconsistent consistency hasn’t stopped me yet. Again, delicious straight off the spoon, off my finger, or as a spread.
For dinner? Well, it depends. Sometimes it’s more avocado. Sometimes it’s sesame oil. Sometimes it’s flax seed. Sometimes it’s olive oil.
Bottom line: I am now eating essential fats at every meal.
And guess what? I’m no longer binging on peanut butter, almond butter, or tahini. In fact, it’s been days since I’ve had any of those things and I haven’t even missed them!
As someone who has counted calories (and fat) for years and who has tendencies to binge on high fat foods, the notion of adding fat purposefully and consciously into my diet not only seemed counter-intuitive, but also scary. However, it’s eliminated the binging and, more importantly, all of the subsequent guilt, self-abuse, and self-ridicule.
And how has this affected the scale, you might be wondering?
Well, I couldn’t tell you, because in addition to ditching the calorie counting, I also have stopped weighing myself. But it appears – by sight, by the fit of my clothes, and by the number on the measuring tape – that Barlean’s claim to be an “approved belly fat cure” may not be as overstated as I originally thought.
Got fat?
