Mango Smoothie

Since it's nice and warm out (for the most part), I'm bringing back my favorite smoothie:

Frozen mango
Almond milk (or oat milk)
Dates soaked in warm water

I blend it all up, throw in some of the water the dates have soaked in.  Occasionally I'll throw in some other frozen fruits - strawberries, blueberries, orange juice concentrate.  This morning I threw in some ground flaxseed.

Seriously, it's that easy.  Even I can do it.

Oh quick tip, make sure the top is securely on top of the blender.  Sucks otherwise.

Drinking it up, enjoying it, and welcoming summer.  Of course, I'll be welcoming it from a beach in Greece in a few short days, so I don't think it'll be tooooo hard :-)

Being on the road for work is definitely one of my biggest challenges. Luckily going places I know well can help me avoid the pitfalls.
Is it always perfect? Of course not. Will I occasionally bend and have some amazing pizza? My sources say yes. But can I also stay mostly on track? It is decidedly so.

And I didn't even need a Magic 8 ball for those.

I have to admit, for a ready to go, quick but delicious sandwich, I definitely rely heavily on Subway. I get a 6 inch, whole wheat veggie grinder with spinach or lettuce, peppers, banana peppers, jalapeños, olives, pickles, cucumbers, onions and spicy brown mustard, for under $4.  It's soooo tasty, you don't even miss the meat or cheese!

Today I was inspired to try it on toasted bread - whole new level of deliciousness!

 So having that in my back pocket (figuratively... otherwise that's just gross), makes things a whole lot easier.

Apparently anise is a vegetable

Now that I actually do try cooking things a lot more myself, I'm feeling more adventurous in the grocery stores.  And feeling empowered to actually try things out.  After spending the weekend in RI, I'm armed with a couple new things to try!

My mother made some roasted anise the other night.  I have to admit, I never really knew it was a vegetable.  I knew it was a delicious scent in the North End.  I knew that concentrated, it tasted like licorice (blech).  And I knew that there was a liquor that made me gag when tasting it.

But I didn't know it was delicious roasted up with some salt, pepper, lemon, garlic and vinegar!

Seriously it was delicious... I'm not even totally jealous that some people got to have my favorite hot oil & stinger pizza.  Not even a little jealous.

(OK maybe a little.)

But honestly, this was really good.  My mother pointed out that I should be able to replicate it, since I saw how easy it was to do.  I pointed out that everything looks easy when I get to watch someone else do it.  The trouble comes when I try to replicate it.

Big difference.

But I'll test it out tonight.  Worst case scenario, I test out the smoke alarms (again) and my neighbors deal with the smell of burnt anise.  It's bound to be better than the "plants" they're "burning"...

I'm so looking forward to the summer in Cambridge!  There are a ton of farmers markets that start up in June, and I live in a particularly good spot for them.

That being said, I do miss my apartment in the North End on occasion... that apartment has a special spot in my heart and memory :-)  I still remember vividly the first day finding and seeing that apartment.... But I think we agree this new apartment is perfect for now!

As much as the North End was fun, after a while, it wasn't convenient for my lifestyle.  Living next to Whole Foods, living next to Trader Joe's (and one with wine at that!), living near ethnic restaurants, ethnic shops... it's totally worth it!

So my plan for the summer is chock full of fruits and veggies.   And I'll try my hand at some dishes I've had my eyes on: channa masala, bread, etc etc.

Enjoying a delicious mango smoothie today.

Frozen mango, soymilk, spoon of orange juice concentrate, spoon of lemon sorbet.  Blend blend blend enjoy.

I look back on how much diet soda I used to drink and it freaking amazes me...  I know that when you're used to things, you don't feel the impact on your body that much, but I just can't believe how much chemicals I was pouring into myself. 

I haven't had a soda in well over 3 years now and am thrilled about that.  Granted, I was never a fan of rum and coke, so that obviously helps.  Now my choices of beverages are generally water, carbonated water, coconut water and tea.  Obviously wine as well... and thanks to the Trader Joe's next to me that sells wine (somehow I ended up next to one of the very few that do!!), I can indulge that habit cheaply.

But a daily treat is generally tea, which I looooove.  I haven't quite mastered a ginger tea yet, although I'm trying, since it's delicious.  Quick tips for other newbies:  ginger is super flavorful.  You don't need an entire piece of it.  And be careful how you grate the ginger.  One scraped knuckle and the whole pot of tea looks like a massacre.  And guests won't care that it was "only a drop".

So I went with a nice, blood-free cup of Earl Grey this morning.  Since I've been doing iced tea a lot lately, I forgot that the hot tea is, well, hot.  (Duh.)  So apparently I won't be tasting anything else for the rest of the day.

Misty, foggy day... seems to be suiting my mood perfectly today!

I didn't feel much like cooking, so I whipped up some hummus (used chick peas today) and had a nice Mediterranean plate with garlic-stuffed olives (amaaaazingly good), home-made hummus (delicious - obviously!), baby carrots (ok, ok, they're growing on me), and a nice salad.

Short and sweet.

I might have chased it down with a couple dark-chocolate covered cherries and tea.  Might have.  Potentially.

I needed the indulgence :-)

Hummus Me Please

Why did I spend so much money buying hummus all these years???  I mean, even in the height of laziness, I could have made a delicious one in less time than it takes to pick it up in the display, bring it to the cash register, and pay for it.

And yet I bought tubs of it.  For years.  And years.  And years.

The kicker is, I added my own flavorings to the ones I got anyway!!  I pretty much add the crushed hot cherry pepper relish to most things anyway (wow, my mouth just totally salivated at the thought.) 

So I made my own hummus last weekend, and have been enjoying it all week.  It's SO much easier than buying it, SO much cheaper, SO much tastier, and SO much healthier!

I made mine with white beans this time.  Just cause I had them.  And the can in my cupboard was in front of the can of chickpeas.  (See aforementioned laziness.)

Rinsed one can of white (cannellini) beans.  (That's the literally hardest step.)  Then I blended them up with:
- Lemon juice
- 1 spoon of tahini
- roasted red pepper
- crushed hot cherry pepper
- minced garlic
- onion
- salt
- pepper
- cumin

Seriously, it's so freaking good - with pretzel chips, tortilla chips, on sandwhiches, on a spoon....  And better than any hummus I've bought.  Even better than our lemon hummus!  ;)    And you can add whatever spices or veggies you want!  Parsely (sage, rosemary, and thyme.... had to do that!), basil, crushed red pepper, oregano, mushrooms, scallions....

You end up with a huge amount (I've been snacking on it all week), and it's about 1/8th the cost of a tub of hummus from the store.

Eating out doesn't have to be difficult

I have really enjoyed being back in the kitchen, cooking the vast majority of my meals.  But I don't always feel like cooking, and there is also the social aspect of going out to eat.

Both of those hit today.  A friend of mine at work and I decided to go out to eat for lunch.  She works on the other side of campus, so I don't usually see her on a daily basis.  We used to commute in together though before I moved across town, but it's been a while.

So as lunchtime approached, I tried to think of what I wanted for lunch and where I wanted to go.  There are actually a lot more options for plant-based / vegan friendly food than I would have otherwise considered.  I always knew Asian restaurants would be an easy pick since they are flush with options.  But there are other choices as well.

I was recently pleasantly surprised with Americana Mexican restaurants.  If you pick the right chain, there are some great choices!  I steer clear of the enchiladas and head to the veggie fajita platter.  Grilled veggies (esp when it's more than just peppers and onions - I love the ones that come also with cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms etc), sides of salsa, guacamole and beans, all in a couple corn tortillas.  Delicious and filling...

So fast forward to this afternoon... We didn't want to spend a ton of time out, so we went with Panera.  I love Panera and by ordering correctly, I can get a delicious lunch.  I went with a half Mediterranean sandwich on whole grain bread with no cheese, and a half Greek salad (also without the cheese).  Satisfying without filling me up, and I didn't feel like I was compromising my lunch!

Dinner tonight will be a smorgasbord of leftovers.  I have enough leftovers to piece together one globally-inspired meal!  (Indian lentils, Chinese Brussels sprouts, Peruvian quinoa, Californian wine, Italian tomatoes).

It's so sad that Brussels sprouts have gotten such a bad rap!  Now, I'm the first to admit that I hate cooked cabbage, in all forms.  The pungent odor is enough to keep me in another room.  In another building.  In another town.

And Brussels sprouts can, very easily, get that same taste.

But when done right, when done well... they're delicious!!  And so cute!  They remind me of baby cabbage patch kids. 

Anyway, I made some last night for dinner and had them over quinoa... and it was yummy.

Sauteed onions, minced garlic, and ginger in veggie broth, white wine and mirin.  Added Brussels sprouts and red pepper - sauteed til tender.  Mixed in a little hoisin sauce and ate over some mixed (red and white) quinoa.

Tasty!  And enough leftover for dinner tomorrow... win win :-)

I washed it down with some iced oolong tea that I made the night before.  Thankfully I was tired enough to offset the impact of the tea.  This at least isn't as caffeniated as black tea.

So after eating (and LOVING) my lentils last week, I decided to try another recipe of them this week.  I pretty much love everything about lentils, so I figured it couldn't hurt.

And it didn't.

I made a delicious lentil dish this weekend, and will be enjoying it over the next couple days.  My friend had sent me a recipe to try, and I of course modified it a little to suit what I felt like eating (and to suit what I actually HAD in the cupboards)...  I used:

Onion
Minced garlic
Crushed red cherry pepper
Red lentils
Vegetable broth
White wine
Diced red potatoes
Kale
Lemon zest
Lemon juice
Chopped mint
Frozen veggies
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

(I have no idea what measurements I used, since I don't really cook that way...)

I sauteed the onion, garlic, and crushed red cherry pepper in vegetable broth and white wine, then added the lentils, broth and potatoes.  I boiled and simmered that for about a half hour then pureed it.  (Already smelled delicious!)  Then I added the greens, lemon zest, lemon juice, mint, and frozen veggies (I think I threw in chopped peppers and green beans).  Added salt and pepper and enjoyed!

It's very similar to mulligatawny soup - which I know isn't authentic, etc etc etc but it's DELICIOUS and I'm OK with that.

I really thought I'd miss dairy... I never saw being able to get rid of that as something I'd be able to do.  But ever since I had that adverse reaction to Rita's italian ice/custard (that stuff is freaking deadly - seriously, avoid it!  And thank me with something pretty :), I really haven't had a strong desire to add that back in my daily lifestyle in any real way.  I know I've bent a couple times, but I haven't enjoyed the repercussions, so I think I'm good for a while!

Oh Thank God I Have Lentils

With allergies out, I'm feeling awful lately.  Which means I don't feel like cooking at all.  At all, at all, at all.  Thankfully I had some meals frozen and ready to go, so I don't have to extert too much energy right now, and can devote that to fighting off the devil-sent tree pollen.  Apparently MY version of hell includes a whole bunch of blooming oak trees and a Benadryl juuust out of reach.

I pulled out a container from the fridge, not really caring what was even in it at first.  But then I realized it was a lentil dish and I almost cried with happiness.  I vaguely remember when I made this - it wasn't really a "recipe" so to speak... more like "thrown in any veggies I see, and some whole grains and cook it up".  I had a whole bunch left, so I had frozen a couple containers of it.

As I opened this one up, the delicious smell overwhelmed me... if I had ever taken a drug, I think the "high" would be similar.

I'm planning on having this for lunch, and if I can bring myself to cook up some tonight, I'll make sure to keep my freezer stocked.

I don't know what it is about lentils, but I practically feel the energy entering me with every bite.

Back on track

So after my 20 miles Walk for Hunger on Sunday (after which I was sufficiently hungry!), I am now recommitted to health and wellness!  In that light, I made a delicious pasta dish last night - this is my basic, go-to meal, for a number of reasons.  It's uber-healthy, chock-full of veggies, filling, super quick to make, and is one of my favorite things to eat.

I have a bunch of frozen veggies ready to go whenever, so this makes it easy.  I basically boil water to cook whole wheat pasta (I went with rotini last night).  While that's cooking I heat up the sauce:

- Muir Glen portabello mushroom sauce (oil free, yeay!)
- 2 cans of diced tomatoes
- Chopped garlic
- Pureed roasted red peppers
- Pureed cherry peppers
- Frozen veggies: last night I used kale, broccoli, onion, peas
- Nutritional yeast

Other things I typically throw in, but didn't have on hand:
- Carrots
- Artichokes
- Basil
- Mushrooms
- Corn
- Asparagus
- Peppers
- Snap peas
- Green onions

I love that you can throw pretty much anything in there.  I try to cram as much greens in there as possible.  And the more hearty a sauce, the less of the pasta I eat, so it's win-win!  With a thin sauce, I've been known (in the past) to eat probably more than half a bag of pasta in one sitting, and still not be really satisfied.  This way, the veggies take up a huge volume, so by the time it has digested a little, I've realized I'm full.  This time, the pound of pasta will last me easily 4 meals.  Much much much better.

And I only do the 100% whole wheat pasta.

Yes, this could have been obvious to me, but no, it wasn't....

Tonight I cook lentils!  Also a huge personal favorite :-)

Quatro de Mayo

I didn't really feel like cooking much last night, but I was definitely hungry... so I debated with myself back and forth... did I want to order in, or suck it up and make something? 

Reason took over, thankfully, and I cooked up something quick.  And fairly delicious!  In thinking about it, we'll say it was a nod to Cinco de Mayo, since it was Mexican-inspired.

I had picked up some ready made corn tortillas. (These are soft - not tortilla chips.)  If you've never used these before, I highly HIGHLY recommend them.  They're made with 3 ingredients: corn, water, lime, and so soooo much better for you than the flour ones).  I had made my own a number of times when I lived in Mexico - and they even passed the very high quality test I was put through :-)  But I didn't feel like making my own last night, and these are cheap and so easy.  You can find them in pretty much most grocery stores. 

I used a can of fat-free refried black beans - the pinto ones are also good, but I was in the mood for black beans.  I heated up the beans in a pot on the stove with chopped onion, garlic, and a little vegetable broth.  That's it.  As that cooked, I warmed up a couple tortillas on an ungreased pan (turn the heat up high, put the tortilla on there for about 10 seconds or so, until it puffs a bit.  Flip it, another 10 seconds, done.)

I spread some beans in each tortilla, topped with some fresh cilantro and some store-bought salsa, and dinner was ready.  Under 10 min, delicious, healthy.

I used to make my own (super authentic) salsa, but again, I wasn't in the mood.  This totally passed.

No pics of it today - I was feeling a bit lazy.  But it's delicious and you'll see them soon since I plan to make more of them in the very near future.

Especially since I have quite a lot of the bean mixture left, and plenty of tortillas left.  I definitely am going to make my own salsa though.  It gave me such a flashback to making these (at the ungodly hour of 6am) in my kitchen in Mexico, to bring them to work and be judged...

Applesauce... no pork chops required

I made applesauce again last night... I was tired and didn't 100% feel like cooking anything, but I have to admit, this is probably one of the easiest things in the world to make. And it's so delicious.

I hate store-bought applesauce. Hate hate hate. Especially the bland tasteless crap they had in school cafeterias. As I think of school food, those memories are FLYING back... the rectangular cardboard-tasting pizza, the "salad bar" where I'd get a plate of lettuce and blue cheese, the "snack cart" thing stocked with hostess crap. I can't believe I made it out of there alive.

I digress...

I made delicious homemade applesauce, that doesn't resemble anything like the store bought crap. I cut up about 7 apples, put them in a pot with about an inch of water, dumped in some cinnamon, and let cook. Then I Foley-milled it and voila. Delicious. I'm having a large bowl of it for lunch, followed by some tasty huge strawberries. (HUGE!) I'm starting to think maybe having 7 apples and a handful of strawberries isn't the most reasonable lunch, since I think my stomach will revolt at some point.

But it beats the hell out of McDonalds or donuts ;-)

Oh and non-related tidbit:

I got on the elevator this afternoon and overheard this snippet of conversation:

Man #1:  He got arrested for it.
Man #2:  Oh really?  How did they catch him?
Man #1:  They caught him as he was releasing the squirrels.

Oatmeal Pancakes

I have to admit, historically I have loved pancakes.  Not the trashy IHOP version - I mean hearty, tasty, moist, delicious pancakes with real, REAL maple syrup.

I don't even want to hear from people trying to convince me that Aunt Jemima colored corn syrup crap is maple syrup.  That stuff is toxic and disgusting.  And yes, I'm judging you on that!

I've been a maple syrup purist since birth, and I am relentless on conversion.  I even went to a maple syrup festival in northern Vermont (up near Montreal) a couple years ago... (and chased it down with a trip to Ben and Jerry's - clearly in my pre-vegan days!)

I knew I wanted to find a good vehicle for the maple syrup consumption I plan on maintaining.  It's tasty in oatmeal but I don't always feel like a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast.

So I found a great basic recipe from FatFreeVegan.com and tried it out last night...

Mix together in a medium bowl:
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon

Beat in:
1 1/4 cup non-dairy milk

Cook in hot pan.

This was the basic recipe - I added a pinch of salt (prob should make it 2 pinches), and a pinch of sugar (may try it with agave next time).  And I doubled the cinnamon (cause I'm a rebel).  And it's actually quite tasty!!  Tasty, hearty, yummy with maple syrup and totally adaptable....

Mine came out a little thicker since I like them that way...  and trust me, they're delicious.

I will be experimenting over the next couple weeks with some other things:

• Topping with fruit
• Adding a little more sweet into the batter (honey, agave)
• Adding dried fruits into the batter (raisins, cranberries, blueberries)
• Trying other flours (buckwheat, oat flour, quinoa flour)
• Mixing in some powered cacao... (yuummmmm)

Unbelievable!  I'm out of the office for a couple days and apparently I miss "refrigerator clean out" day?  Grrrrrr.... while I'm all for cleaning out the crap that has sat in there for weeks and weeks (decomposing fruit, spoiled drinks, etc), a small thing of maple syrup and a bag of ground flaxseed wasn't hurting anyone!  Yet it's all gone.  :-(

I had to make my oatmeal this morning with water, cinnamon, vanilla extract and some raw sugar.  It was OK, but pales in comparison to the dish I usually enjoy.

Jerks.

As I was picking up some prescriptions yesterday, I at least had the foresight to grab something for lunch from Whole Foods.  They happily had some ready-made brown rice veggie sushi!  Made with carrots, avocado, cucumber, green leaf lettuce, with a white miso dressing to dip it in, if I so desire.  Do I revel in paying $7.50 for lunch?

Hell no.

But it was easy and quick, and I felt like crap yesterday.  So I'm dealing with it.  And going to enjoy it for lunch :-)  I love love looooove sushi (vegetarian, of course) and this will make Monday a little more palatable. 

I will, however, learn to roll my own sushi.  So stay tuned to this space for future Colleen-Inspired Veggie Sushi rolls!  Or hear about how I cut my fingers trying to finely chop veggies.  Either way, good stories to come.

Whew, it's hard coming down from the high of a chili-fest win...  Not being particularly athletic, I can't say I received a ton of trophies growing up... a couple "participated" ones, and mostly just trumpet accolades.  So a trophy is still somewhat exciting to me!  This is like the Stanley Cup, in the sense that I get it for the year, and my name will be inscribed on it.  Since it's in the shape of a bowl, I'm thinking about drinking my tea from it every day and bringing it to all my meetings...  We'll see just how obnoxious I'd like to be with it!

But now I'm back and focused on cooking nice, healthy, nutrient filled meals!  Between that and catching up on TV and couch time, next week is going to be fun!.  High on my list of things to do is organize my freezer, eat the meals I've already frozen, and nail down some great recipes.  Pasta has been my go-to meal.  And by loading the sauce with veggies (tons of tomatoes, basil, kale, broccoli, onions, garlic, peppers and mushrooms), I eat significantly less of the pasta, and more of the veggies.

Seems like such an obvious solution.  And yet it has taken me thirty-(mumble mumble mumble) years to come up with that one.

CHILI DAY!!!!!

It's Chili Day at work today! I can't even believe it's finally here again... truly the best day of the year.

Which makes my work sound sad.

But it's a very intense, high-spirited annual chili contest that we have here. There are over 30 contestants this year, and I'm looking to at LEAST place, and hoping to win!

Last year I came in second, and while that was a decent showing, I'm looking to beat it this time. I'm up against all types of chilis - most of which are carnivorous. And there are NO indications whether it's veggie or not, so it's a fair competition.

(As a plant-based eater, I do get told which chilis I can sample, but the mass population doesn't know.)

I can't say that I truly have a "recipe" so to speak... I've been asked before, and my answer is usually "any veggies I have, crushed tomatoes, sometimes a textured soy protein, a mixture of beans, and any spices I may feel like at the time".

This time, since I want to win, I dialed down the spice level a little (still getting a firey red chili pepper classification, but it won't kill you). I also used a veggie crumble that has a little sausage-like flavor that will certainly appeal to the carnivores.

I wouldn't call this a recipe, so to speak, but this is kind of what I did:
Colleen's "Chili Chili Bang Bang"

- veggie soy crumble
- veggie soy-sausage crumble
- red wine (sautéd things in it)
- balsamic vinegar
- worchestershire sauce
- salt
- pepper
- onions
- minced garlic
- frozen veggies (carrots, corn, peas)
- frozen broccoli
- black beans
- kidney beans
- cannelini beans
- crushed tomatoes
- diced tomatoes
- cumin, chili powder, fennel, cinnamon
- cilantro
- crushed hot cherry peppers (it's amaaaazing and I put it in everything)
- White truffle balsamic glace (a nwer thing I found, also amaaaaazing, and also goes on everything)

Chili is simmering away and I'm crossing my fingers!!!

Staying on track

OK I have used this excuse a lot, but this time I'm sincere. As soon as school is done (ONE more freaking week, thank GOD!), I am going to spend a lot more time prepping and preparing food. The last couple weeks have been so freaking packed with school, full time work, people visiting, trips, etc... and I just haven't taken the time to really dedicate some time and energy into cooking.

Thankfully I've realized that there are still plenty of options for quick and easy vegan meals, so I've not strayed really from my intentions. That was a huge relief for me. I was a little nervous that my laziness or cravings would take over and all good intentions would fly out the window at the first whiff of pizza. Happily it hasn't really happened. So I'm confident that this lifestyle really IS attainable for most people, if they so desire.

That being said, while I've certainly been eating plenty of veggies, I don't know that the veggie/carb ratio is what I'd like it to be. Carbs are just easier! So I am committed to tracking this down and really making a concerted effort to manage this. Once I manage it hands-on for a couple weeks, it will become a lot more second-nature. And since I'm also now inspired to do some more regular jogging, I need to make sure I energize effectively, so that I don't get unexpectedly hungry and find myself noshing on a Nature Valley Oats and Honey granola bar again. (My inadvertent breakfast today.)

But I'm making a little more effort right now, in preparation for the veggie bombardment that will be coming.

Lunch today will be a (hopefully!) delicious oil-free soup I picked up from Whole Foods...

Dinner will be a veggie subway grinder on whole wheat bread with jalapenos and mustard... My mouth is watering already....

Gooey deliciousness

I'm pretty proud of myself this weekend. I was faced with several temptations and I successfully avoided (most of) them!

My sister came up for the weekend and we hit Boston up! Walked around a lot and visited some of my favorite touristy/shopping spots: Quincy Market, DSW, and Ann Taylor. But we also hit some other nice spots: Cakeology, Sweet, and Pinkberry.

Now I have to admit, I was sorely, sorely tempted. The cupcake stores smelled delicious, looked delicious, FELT delicious... but I resisted amazingly. I had one indulgence: a small french macaron. Note: these are NOT macaroons. They are not even close. These are delightful little French pastries that are, in a word, extraordinary. I've traveled to Paris JUST to have some of these, they really are that good. So when I found out this shop sold them, I had to have one.

It was super tasty, and bite sized, so I let myself indulge. When we go to Paris and you see the size of them there (they can be palm sized!), you will love me even more! The pistachio ones there are my favorite, but followed so closely by the almond flavored, strawberry flavored.. mmmm... Weirdly I don't care for the chocolate ones...

Anyway, I digress. That was my one venture into the non-vegan world this weekend. I thought I may have been convinced by Pinkberry when I saw they had a new flavor: salted caramel. My heart skipped a beat, but I am pleased to say I resisted. I settled for a small decaf soy mocha frappe from Starbucks and I have to say that did the trick quite nicely. Dodge and weave, dodge and weave.

And to compensate and satisfy my lust for frosting covered deliciousness, I did eat a piece of amazing vegan carrot cake this weekend from Whole Foods. I definitely have to get to Cafe Indigo in Concord NH who supplies them, since they're freaking amazing.

Frosting treats done now for a while - back to plants, plants and more plants. And I'm making my chili for the contest this week!

I was exhausted last night and was so sooo tempted to go out for dinner. But then I told myself not tobe lazy and make something nice and healthy.

But I decided to be reasonable and make something nice and healthy. I roasted some small potatos and had some delicious tofu from Whole Foods. The tofu had oil, so I can't pretend it was the healthiest thing in the world, but it was so freaking tasty that it made up for not going out. And it was a one time ish thing.

And added benefit: I have some delicious potatos for lunch today along with some organic strawberries.

And this weekend I make my chili for the annual chili contest here at work! I've been thinking about it for the last couple weeks and have an idea of the spice palate I'm planning. I want to win this year! Last year was 2nd place and I'm looking to beat that :-)

Should have stopped with the first leche

OK last week was interesting. I was miserable during the week here, but maintained a happy vegan diet. But then the weekend hit. I was in FL with a friend of mine, and my parents met us for a couple days as well. I was mostly OK but am learning that I'm so easily influenced by others!

My friends are primarily vegetarian. This isn't something I've solicited deliberately - it just kind of happened, and it's been great. Actually, there have been no issues with my carnivorous friends either. I like to be with open-minded people one way or the other.

So out for the weekend with my veggie friend, I did feel the desire to try a couple things - I had a couple bites of a Rita's Frozen Custard. I don't know if it's because I hadn't had dairy in 6 weeks, but while it tasted nice at first, my mouth felt coated with some weird layer afterwards. And I felt terrible. Originally I had thought about bending every now and then for ice cream, and I still will be OK with that, but I'm starting to think I won't even want it.

I had a veggie corn dog. Yes, they exist! And I'll admit, it was delicious. Although a lot of that comes from the sheer oxymoron. But since it contains egg whites, it's not strictly vegetarian. I think this is something I may try from time to time, as a little treat. We'll see. It's still more processed than I'd prefer for a daily staple.

And we split a piece of tres leche cake. Because ONE leche was clearly insufficient. I felt as sick as I had after the frozen custard. I'm starting to fully understand the lactose impact. Which is weird since I used to have skim milk in my decaf every morning and thought I felt fine!

It's weird - you think everything is great and then you find a different way that you didn't even know existed, and it makes the previous status quo completely unacceptable.

I've always like Brussels

I had the most amazing dish the other night... my friend and I ordered take-out sushi from my absolute favorite sushi place in Boston. Of course I get the veggie sushi, made with brown rice, and it's always always delicious. But I was hungry so I threw in an appetizer as well with my order.

Brussels Sprouts.

And holy crap these were the best brussel sprouts I've ever tasted, and up there on the best appetizer or side veggie dish I've ever had!

The menu says it's brussels sprouts, red pepper, garlic and onion, and that really could have been it I guess. There was no sauce really, and it didn't taste at all oily, so at best there was a trace amount of that.

I'm DEFINITELY going to try recreating this. I can't say I've ever been a fan of cooked cabbage, and I know I'd hate overly cooked brussel sprouts, so I know the key is going to be in the preparation.

So to those of you that have cooked them recently (or ever!), any of your tips on how to cook them, I'll take willingly... :-)

But seriously, I think that was even better than the (small) piece of vegan chocolate cake I had Sat night when hanging out with my little cousin.

Or at least it was up there in the debate...

My road to perfect health is apparently paved with oats

On this new health trip I'm on, I'm learning every day about how I feel when I eat certain things. How each decision impacts the next decision. And I've learned that I make significantly better decisions during the day when I start with a large bowl of oatmeal.

I don't know if that's psychosomatic or not, but I don't think it matters. When I eat oatmeal in the morning, I am not craving a huge lunch, which means I make smart decisions for that meal and that translates into a smart, healthy dinner.

Maybe it's really just that easy?

I didn't have oatmeal yesterday for breakfast. I had a full-day training session at work and decided to start my morning with a two pieces of toasted Ezekiel sprouted grain cinnamon raisin bread with some almond butter and a little honey.

The bread is delicious, and will stay in my food plan, so to speak, but not for breakfast. Because I was very hungry for lunch. I had requested a vegan meal for the training session and they provided a great salad (with meaningful veggies - not just a bowl of iceberg lettuce with a couple small tomatoes). But I also took a half sandwich made on ciabatta and sraped the meat & cheese off. And I took a handful (about 10-15) of tortilla chips.

(See above note: perfectly IMPerfect.)

Was it the best decision? No. Was it the worst? No. I didn't have the cookies that were there, I didn't eat the cheese, I didn't go back for more bread or chips. But I thought about all those things, and I'd like to avoid that right now.

I was exhausted last night - fully drained from this freaking virus. So I had some leftover pasta and fell sound asleep by 7pm. The pasta certainly added to the carb count, but it was significantly more sauce & veggies than pasta, and I'm happy about that.

Today is back on track. The sleeping helped for sure and I'm hoping another day of rest and relaxation will kill whatever it is that's beating me up. (I'm pretty sure it's allergies.) I had a large bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, with a nice cup of tea. I'm going to make sure I'm veggie-high at lunch and I'm making some applesauce for dinner and a large salad of kale and white beans. I'm going to beat these allergies one way or another.

My throat is on fire today, so I'm all about recovery right now. And using food to get there (Forks Over Pills, you could say, since "knives" sounds more for surgical things).

So I'm eating a hearty bowl of oatmeal for breakfast:
- oats
- almond milk
- salt (accidentally a little more than planned)
- flaxseed (dumped more in to try to compensate for the salt)
- cinnamon (same note as for flaxseed)
- maple syrup (same note as for cinnamon)
- vanilla

I'm not eating the whole bowl I made, since it tastes a little more off than usual. A couple bites feel like I'm a horse licking a salt cube.

I made applesauce last night! (Yes, it's sooooo easy, but I made it myself, so here comes the bragging...)

I cut a couple apples in half, threw them in a large saucepot with water to cover the bottom of the pot and cinnamon. And let it cook, covered, for about 20 min, stirring occasionally. (I've burnt apples before and don't recommend it. Neither do my neighbors.)

Then I stirred it through a foley mill and BAM delicious applesauce.

I like it chilled in the fridge. I'm having it for lunch today along with some baby carrots. I can't say that I've always liked carrots as a snack, but I've been influenced to think otherwise, so I'm giving them the college try.

So lots of vitamins today, low-to-no artifical sugar, and pleeeenty of hot herbal tea.

The Best Vegan Zucchini Bread Ever

You can make this with carrot as well. I just had zucchini on hand. Oh! And it's a great use for leftover pulp from juicing! Win win, since I hate throwing away juicing remains.

NO oil. NO eggs. NO dairy. ALL natural. ALL delicious. (And now ALL gone... so sad :-(

3 tablespoon flax seed
9 tablespoons water
2 cups grated zucchini (or carrot)
1 cup applesauce
2 cups sugar (or agave, or honey)
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking soda
1 tbsp cinnamon (I guesstimate but I also looove cinnamon)
2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flax seed and water. Stir in the zucchini, applesauce, sugar and vanilla. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well.

Pour the batter in to the pans and bake for 50-60 minutes. Let cool a little... and then dive in! Enjoy your vegan zucchini bread! (This is where you send Colleen flowers as a thank you :-)

Juice Fast day!

It's been so long since I've done a 36 hr juice fast. I used to do them more frequently when I lived in CT, but I hadn't done them as recently over the last 2 years. But I got back into juicing a couple weeks ago and am LOVING it again. It goes along so nicely with the renewed nutritious lifestyle I've embraced. So I got my lovely juicer and have been having at it...

Blah blah blah, I'm sooo focused on what I want to EAT right now! This is the hard stretch - the last hour or two before I go to sleep. When all I think about it fooood. What I'm going to eat tomorrow, what I'm going to cook, what I have in the pantry... Watching commercials about M&Ms almost made me tear up.

I did a 5 day juice fast a couple years ago, so I know I can do a measly 36 hours. My stomach doesn't know it, but I know it.

I know it's great for me and I know I'll feel amazing tomorrow - I just have to remember that! Thankfully doing it along with someone else helps with the moral support :-)

Pizza can totally be vegan

It was such a beauuuutiful day yesterday, so my friends and I decided to have a little impromptu picnic on the Boston Common. I thought ahead and decided that grabbing food from our favorite vegan Thai restaurant (conveniently located right off the Common) would be the best idea.

So we called them to place our order and were told that they were closed... "because it is too nice out and we have to party" and to "call back tomorrow".

....the HELL????

Anyway, it all worked out for the best - a pizza place that makes food I happen to have loved has a store right next to the park, so we decided to grab food from there. (I won't mention their name, since I am NOT a fan of their legal and ethical decisions over the recent past, so I'll avoid ANY sort of free publicity).

So this was my first foray into a pizza place during this new phase - and I have to admit it was a raging success. I got a garden veggie pizza with no cheese. The crust there is delicious, and flavored so nicely, then topped with sauce, onions, mushrooms, broccoli and peppers, it was super tasty and I honestly didn't miss the cheese! Honestly! And I have to admit, I'd much rather something like this than trying to replicate cheese with a fake-cheese thing. (I'm not ready to handle smelling the deliciousness from Colony or anything yet, but I'm working on it.)

And I wasn't tempted to partake in the "let's grab a pastry for dessert" since those are definitely not vegan! Win Win Win!

Only downfall - super thin crust, light tasty pizza led to Colleen eating the whole small pizza for dinner (700 worthwhile calories though) and having nothing left for lunch today.

Hmmmmmm

Yeah, it was still worth it.

Thank God I love pasta

I wasn't in a mood to cook much last night, so I went with the familiar: pasta. Definitely my "go-to" meal of choice. And I also made a nice and healthy juice: kale, cucumber, celery, green apple.

For the pasta, I use the Muir Glen Portabello Mushroom tomato sauce since it's fat-free (no oil!) and delicious. I figure, if I don't miss something bad for me, why add it in? If I were going to eat something with fat, which of course I still do, it's either going to be A) amazingly good for me (flax seed) or B) amazingly delicious (dark chocolate covered pretzels).

So I took that jar, added 1/3 bag of kale, basil leaves, the no-salt seasoning I still love, green onions and cooked it all up. Throw it over some whole wheat pasta shells and it's yummy.

I brought some for lunch, but I can't eat that just yet. I am supposed to send some analysis out by "lunchtime"... and if I haven't eaten yet, I'm not late...

Who Knew These Existed?

I had my part-time MBA classes last night, so I grabbed a delicious 6" veggie grinder on my way (whole wheat bread, all the veggies, a little yellow mustard), and then had the rest of my beet juice when I got home with a couple handfulls of cinnamon Kashi shredded wheat for a snack.

And then, since I'm all domestic now, I decided to cook something up to bring for lunch today... so in the spirit of trying something completely new, I made a baked sweet potato!

("New" to me, obviously, and only refers to the actual baking of it. I have a strong feeling people have been making them for centuries...)

I know what many of you are thinking... I'm guessing it's something like this:

"But Colleen, to bake a sweet potato, all you do is wash it, stick a fork in it a couple times, and throw it in an oven for about 50 min"

Now, yes, that may be true. (Is true). But maybe I did it more eloquently than that. (Not really). And maybe my sweet potato is special. (Unlikely).

What I did do, though, was to wrap it in foil (SUCH a trailblazer), and about 45 min into the baking process, I sprinkled on my no-salt seasoning from Costco, nutritional yeast, and salt and pepper, and then baked it for another 7 minutes. (The prime number makes all the difference.)

I mashed it up, put it in a bowl and topped it with about a half can of Trader Joe fat-free refried beans. I'd take a picture, but it doesn't look quite as appetizing in a photo as I'm sure it's going to taste. I'll have to work on the appearance for the next time.

I think the alcohol burns off...?

Success! I made a delicious dinner last night (and enjoyed it again today as my leftover lunch).

I made some quinoa in my rice cooker. I wasn't quite sure if you could do that (you can) or if it would come out well (it does). I chose to mix things up a bit, so I threw in a cup of quinoa, 1 cup of water, 1 cup of white wine, a splash of lemon juice, some cut up green onions, a pinch of salt, and some mixed dried seasoning (kind of like an all-spice thing from Costco... definitely recommended).

I was a little nervous if it would work - I used the white rice setting. Close enough, it seems.

As that cooked, I made my first beet juice in my juicer. And then spent some time getting the red beet color off things in my kitchen. Lesson learned on that one. And beet juice looks like blood.

And then I sauteed up some kale - I used white wine, garlic, the rest of the lemon juice, the rest of my green onions and some blanched kale.

I have to admit, it's not awful! The white wine definitely does the trick in making this vegetable palatable for me.

I was a little nervous that the white wine in the quinoa wouldn't "cook off" the alcohol, but since I'm not tipsy right now, I'm probably good... right?

I started today with some leftover oatmeal. I wasn't sure the consistency would work, being a day old, but I kept it in the fridge, then microwaved it at work with some water and more agave, and it was certainly tasty enough... Not my favorite way to eat it, but definitely not terrible.

Today's breakfast:

Oatmeal
Oatmeal
Soy milk
Flax seed
Cinnamon
Honey
Agave
Salt

Lunch will be
Pasta
Whole wheat pasta
Portabella mushroom tomato sauce (oil free of course!)
Nutritional yeast
Kale (not as much as I need - leftover trace amounts)

Snacking on some delicious dried black mission figs.

I don't measure when I cook - it's just not my nature. So I'll not be documenting that. When I bake, I measure a liiiiittle more. I take out the measuring spoons at least. I think that counts?

Since my day has been fairly carb-heavy, I'll be doing a large juice tonight (beet/carrot/apple/celery) and a big thing of kale, maybe over a little quinoa.

I have to start enjoying kale. It has now become an issue of stubborness. So tonight I've decided to try sauteing it with white wine, onion and garlic.

Worst case scenario, I'll drink the wine and THEN eat the kale. Everything is better with a glass of vino.

The Perfectly IMPerfect Vegan

I've decided to start a blog about my journey towards a plant-strong, whole foods based lifestyle. This is a new path for me and I'd like to document it, for me to look back on and see how I do. Plus there is something about communicating it that makes it real and makes me accountable.

I have been an active vegetarian for over 3 years now and I've loved it. I couldn't imagine at this point eating flesh, and this is coming from someone that looooved sausage, chicken, lamb..

After going to a seminar by my idols (Drs Esselstyn and Campbell), I've taken on the vegan lifestyle.

I call myself the Perfectly Imperfect Vegan :-)

And I'll document my journey. The highs, the lows, the upsides, the downsides.