Divine HealthIn pursuit of healthy living.

One of my favorite things about living in San Diego is the endless hiking options. There are so many different areas to hike that are all unique. We decided to try a hike in the Laguna Mountain area last weekend. I wanted to bring a light lunch to eat along the way and knew it was going to be really hot.

Cold and juicy!

Veggie wrap ready to roll

Veggie wraps are great because you can use any combination of veggies you have on hand. I used white beans, zucchini, spring mix, sprouts, tomato, red pepper and a little dressing.  We stopped about half way through the hike and found a nice cool rock to sit on.

Enjoying the shade

The watermelon was particularly refreshing. This lunch hit the spot and gave us enough energy to finish the hike.

It was a beautiful day!

What is your favorite food to take on a long, hot hike?

I think this makes a refreshing light dinner on a hot summer evening. The cole slaw can be made ahead and kept cold. It called for crunchy Asian noodles but I couldn’t find any that didn’t have HFCS so I used rice crackers and they tasted great on the salad. The original sauce for the rolls called for fish sauce so I tossed it aside and used a recipe for a sweet and spicy sauce that a friend gave me. The rolls require a bit of work but I promise they are worth it! Cool, crunchy, sweet, salty and delicious!

Slightly Asian Cole Slaw (adapted from Sam the Cooking Guy)

Ingredients:

• 1-10 ounce bag cole slaw
• 1 red pepper
• 3 tablespoons vinegar, rice vinegar if you have it – if not white is just fine
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Rice crackers (broken into bite size pieces)

Directions:

• Add vinegar, sesame oil, soy and sugar to a small pot over medium heat to mix, but do not boil – remove from heat
• Slice red pepper into thin strips and then cut them in half lengthwise – you don’t want them too long
• Mix together red pepper, cole slaw and cooled sauce
• Top with rice crackers just before serving

Asian Cole Slaw with Rice Crackers

Asian-Style Veggie Rolls ~ Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients (rolls):

• 8” round sheets rice paper
• 2 cups thinly sliced bibb lettuce leaves (I used spinach)
• 2 cups cooked bean threads (cellophane noodles)
• 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
• 1 cup shredded carrot (about 1 large)
• ½ cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
• ½ fresh cilantro leaves
• ¼ cup thinly sliced green onions

Ingredients (sauce)

• 1 cup rice wine vinegar
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tbsp hot chile sauce

Prep work done, ready to start rolling!

Preparation

• To prepare rolls, add hot water to a large, shallow dish to a depth of 1 inch. Place 1 rice paper sheet in dish, and let stand for 30 seconds or just until soft. Place sheet on a flat surface. Arrange 1/4 cup lettuce over half of sheet, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Top with 1/4 cup bean threads, 2 tablespoons sprouts, 2 tablespoons carrot, 1 tablespoon mint, 1 tablespoon cilantro leaves, and 1 1/2 teaspoons green onions. Folding sides of sheet over filling and starting with filled side, roll up jelly-roll fashion. Gently press seam to seal. Place roll, seam side down, on a serving platter (cover to keep from drying). Repeat procedure with remaining roll ingredients.
• To prepare sauce, in small bowl combine rice wine vinegar, sugar, ¼ cup water and chile sauce; set aside.
• Serve rolls with sauce and enjoy!

Make sure the surface is wet or they will stick!

Maybe not beautiful but delicious nonetheless!

What’s your favorite meal to make when it’s too hot to cook?

I think I’m in a recipe rut. The problem is my arsenal of cookbooks and recipes include lots of meat and dairy based dishes. Since going vegetarian and trying to go vegan I have found lots of new recipes but I don’t think I have enough. I find myself unmotivated to pick recipes, shop and cook. But I love cooking so this doesn’t make sense. I’ve started reading a ton of vegan blogs and websites looking for inspiration but most of the time the recipes look difficult or time consuming. I’m okay with that once or twice a week but not every night. The other problem I run across is recipes with tons of ingredients which translates to spending more money than I’d like. We rarely eat out so that means that I make dinner every single night. That’s a lot of recipes, assuming I don’t repeat any of them too often. Erik will eat anything, he’s not excited about food. He only eats because he has to. I wish I had that kind of relationship with food, then maybe this wouldn’t be as difficult.

A few of my veg'n cookbooks

I’m also frustrated by the fact that most vegetarian recipes use cheese or other fattening products. Is it really that hard to come up with healthy vegetarian/vegan recipes? Surely not. I think I’m going to have to start making up more of my own.

Where do you find recipes and inspiration to cook?

The hubs and I really enjoy pizza but we’re burnt out on Margherita and all the other usual suspects. I decided to try out my old barbeque chicken recipe using tofu. It turned out really great! I like the ease of buying a pre-made whole wheat pizza dough from Trader Joes or Whole Foods.

BBQ Chik’n Pizza

Ingredients:

1 whole wheat ready to bake pizza dough

¼ cup barbeque sauce

¼ cup pizza sauce (pasta sauce or tomato sauce with Italian herbs will work)

8-10 ounces firm tofu (seitan would work great as well)

2 Tbs cilantro finely chopped

¼ cup red onion finely chopped

2 Tbs olive oil

½ cup shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese (Daiya vegan cheese works too)

Instructions:

Let the dough rest at room temperature and prepare as directed on packaging. I like the way it turns out if you pre-cook for about 5 minutes, then add the toppings and finish cooking. Press the tofu to remove excess water and chop into small pieces. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add tofu, cook until the tofu turns golden brown. Remove from heat and toss the tofu with barbeque sauce. Spread the pizza sauce in a thin layer over the crust and top with cheese, tofu, onions and cilantro. Cook for about 10 minutes or according to the package.

We try to eat a decent amount of veggies with every meal so I made a quick green salad to go along with the pizza. It was a perfect meal.

What’s your favorite vegetarian pizza toppings?

I love grilling in the summer! To be honest though, since we live in San Diego we grill year round. I do grill more in the summer though. Especially since the season brings tons of great veggies! Corn on the cob is probably one of my favorites on the grill. I’ve tried soaking it, leaving the husk on and a few other ways. I’ve found the easiest method is to grill it with foil. It comes out perfect every time and requires little effort. This works great on a grill or even a camp fire!

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Ingredients:

1 ear of corn per person plus one square of foil for each

Earth Balance organic buttery spread – about 1 teaspoon per cob

Salt to taste

Directions:

Peel the husks off and rinse the cobs, dry thoroughly. Lay foil squares out and spread the Earth balance right on the foil, add a dash of salt if desired.

Place the corn on the foil and roll it up, twisting the ends to close. Repeat for as many cobs as you have.

Grill on medium to high heat for about 20 minutes total, turning at least 3 or 4 times to prevent burning. If you are using a charcoal grill or a camp fire it might take closer to 30 minutes and you should turn the corn every 5. Carefully remove the foil and enjoy your tasty grilled corn!

What’s your favorite veggie to grill in summer?

I bet you’ve said those words to yourself at least once in your lifetime. Or maybe something like “I’m really ugly” or “I feel frumpy today”. I think most women are familiar with these self defeating phrases we constantly repeat in our heads. Why are we so hard on ourselves? Is it because we are constantly bombarded with images of models and actresses that are a size zero at most?  I have to give props to companies like Dove for trying to change that. But I really think the change should begin at home. We have to start getting real with ourselves and put some belief in the power of positive thinking. I’m sure you have all heard of “The Secret” and while I agree with its ideals I’m not saying that’s what you need to do. You know, think you will lose weight and suddenly you will. No, I don’t think that will work. What I mean is you have to stop the negative thoughts and replace them with more loving thoughts. We work hard and do our best to take care of our families, friends, homes and before we know it we don’t have any time for ourselves. This is the reality for most women today. Here’s the good news though, you deserve a pat on the back! Maybe you don’t have time to chop veggies for a healthy lunch but I bet that’s because you are taking care of a child, making a difference in the world or otherwise doing more than should have ever been expected of you. Give yourself a break. Maybe you aren’t a size 0 or even a size 10 for that matter but you are still a good person. Let’s make a pact and agree to drop all of the fad diets? No, actually, let’s drop ALL diets! Okay? Instead, let’s focus on healthy living and doing good things for our bodies. Maybe it will work better to start small. It can be as simple as replacing that afternoon soda with a green tea. The tea has antioxidants and other nutrients that are good for you but still enough caffeine to give you a little boost. I’m sure you know that soda actually depletes nutrients in your body. If you want to include your family maybe you can start with dinner. Replace white pasta, bread, rice, etc. with whole wheat or multi grain. It might taste a little funny at first but trust me; eventually you will love it and wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. Let’s stop worrying about how much we weigh and focus on our accomplishments. If you replace a few bad foods with healthy nutritious foods give yourself a high five! Celebrate the small successes, forget the setbacks and keep moving forward. Negative energy feeds bad moods, stress and a life that is less than you deserve.

I’m going focus this blog on healthy living. I plan on posting about food, work, relationships, exercise and lots of other topics that will help us live healthier lives together.

Please share how you talk yourself out of negative thoughts in the comments.

My favorite vegan cookbook author and blogger, Happy Herbivore promotes cooking without salt or fat. When I was on the 30 day whole food challenge we had a few chats about using water to sauté ingredients. I thought she was crazy and couldn’t believe it would actually work, let alone taste good. I was delighted to find out she was right! There’s a reason she’s the cookbook author, not me. If you ever want to chat with her just like her facebook fan page or follow her on twitter, she’ll post when she is going into the chat room. It’s always a lot of fun!

Here is my favorite recipe sautéing with water. I’m not big on measuring so all quantities may be adjusted and it will turn out great, I promise!

Triple bean and lentil chili

2 medium tomatoes or 1 can diced tomatoes

1 small can tomato sauce plus 1 can or about 2 cups water

1 can each kidney, pinto and great northern white beans

1/3 cup each red and green lentils

1/3 cup each red, green and yellow bell peppers, chopped

½ cup white or yellow onion, chopped

1 jalapeno

5 garlic cloves

Chili powder, cayenne, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Put enough water in a large sauté or frying pan to cover about ¼” and bring it up to a simmer. Add the bell peppers, onion and jalapeno, sauté for about 5 minutes or until almost tender. Add the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute more. Add all of the ingredients to a crock pot or slow cooker and cook on low for about 8 hours or high for 4 hours. You can add chopped green onion to the top if desired.  

This chili isn’t as heavy as a meat based chili and would actually be good in summer or winter.

Have you ever sautéed in water? Are you as skeptical as I was? Try it out and let me know how it goes!

Photo courtesy of Happy Herbivore

Here’s the lowdown in case you don’t want to read Happy Herbivore’s blog. Starting on May 1^st I will not eat any processed food. If it has more than 1 ingredient it’s probably not going in my body. No added fat, salt or sugars either. I started eliminating processed food a long time ago but boy am I shocked to learn how many things I still cook with and consume that are processed. I think I will learn a lot about food which has been my favorite subject lately so that’s great. The challenge allows for meat and dairy but I won’t be eating any meat (I doubt I’ll ever eat meat again). As of now, eggs and cheese are the only dairy I eat so if don’t miss them too much then maybe I won’t be eating dairy anymore either. We’ll see.

The good news is that I have a vita-mix I can make peanut butter and almond milk in, both using only the raw nuts. As well as lots of other great whole foods that can be mixed up in wonderful ways in that incredible machine.

I am participating in my first sprint triathlon next weekend (5/2/2010) so I may have to cheat a little. My body might not like to be tested with a new diet while pushing it in other physical ways at the same time.

When I think about this challenge I wonder how I’ll deal with eating out and working events. Will I be able to find something to eat? Will I be tempted to cheat in those situations? It will take a lot of discipline but I know I can do this. I am most curious to find out how different I will feel. I wonder if I will loose weight? I will probably do a blog post or two along the way and I will definitely give you a review when it is over. In the mean time, I would love to hear from you. If you have ever done a challenge like this please share your secrets to success.

Cheers to better health!

Take a peek at these beautiful photos….

What do you think they have in common? They are all beautifully photographed and look good enough to eat right off your screen, right? They are all recipes made from scratch and photographed by a vegan! Yep, they are all vegan! Check out Vegan Yum Yum for more beautiful photography and yummy recipes! I’ll be cooking up some recipes out of her cookbook soon and I’ll blog the ones I fall in love with, which I am certain will happen.

*In case it isn’t obvious all of the photos above are by Vegan Yum Yum! Now go check out her blog already!

A few people have recently asked me how my veganism is going so I want to clear that issue up. I have not gone vegan yet. I gave up meat about two months ago. That was the first step in this journey. My plan was to give up meat for a seven day trial period and after that I was going to re-evaluate. On the eighth day I didn’t want meat and decided I would wait to eat it until I felt “obligated” in some way. I figured it would be at a party, out to dinner or in some situation like that. As time passed I continued doing research into eating meat. I’ve been learning about how it impacts our body, planet and the animals themselves. The more I read the less I wanted to eat meat. I used to be happily in denial but I am finding greater happiness in being aware. Those situations eventually started to arise and I decided I would not let something like a meal tasting with clients or dinner with friends force me to eat something I couldn’t agree with.

A really inspiring vegan and cookbook author says that it’s typically easier to give up dairy before meat. Too bad I read that after I gave up meat. The meat was easy for me but I think the dairy will be a little more challenging. I’ve been having a great time finding new recipes that are meatless but many of them use either cheese or eggs (I already use soymilk and almond milk so that’s not an issue). I’m going to start trying a few vegan substitutes soon to see how things taste. I think I might do another seven day trial with the veganism and go from there. I’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, I have a few more thoughts about the last two months of a meat free life. I have found that surrounding myself with other vegans and vegetarians is really helpful. They provide insight, ideas, support and a sense of family. It has been really amazing and it makes me feel good about the choices I am making. However, I don’t want to push anyone else away in the process. I still love my meat eating friends and family just as much as I did before! I don’t judge them or think anything negative for that matter. I share my thoughts, feelings and bits of information here, on facebook and twitter only in hopes of raising awareness. I am not trying to change the world or even the people around me. But if I can help people have a better understanding of everything involving meat then I feel good. If you are educated and continue to eat meat then so be it.

My final thoughts are about my husband. He has faced some food/health issues over the last year that we haven’t been able to figure out. I don’t really want to get into details…but I do want to share that going meatless has made him feel much better. He is still eating a little bit of meat here and there but not very much. I am happier than any words could ever describe that I can cook a healthy, tasty meal and my husband loves it and doesn’t feel sick afterwards. It’s the most rewarding feeling after dealing with his sickness over the last year. I realize that many men are major meat lovers and they would never give up meat for a day, let alone for good. I understand that and don’t think much of it. I guess I am lucky in that my husband was never a big eater in general and didn’t love meat in the way most men do. Please don’t hate on me for this or think I am forcing this on him. I am seriously thankful every day that he does not want meat and he feels better not eating it. It is what it is.

If you read all of that thanks and cheers to loving life!