Divine HealthIn pursuit of healthy living.

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?

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!

I’ve been nominated for the ‘I love your blog’ award by a few amazing friends!

Rules:
- Post award on your blog
- Link the person who has given you the award
- Pass the award to 15 other blogs you’ve discovered
- Remember to contact the bloggers you’ve nominated

Here are the blogs I choose to give this award to by category:

Friends that nominated me:

Lindsay who loves all things pretty and is oh so pretty herself!

Jennie who loves all things tasty! Oh and she has great book recommendations too!

A favorite funny friend:

Katie’s blog is always full of fun and laughs as well as great ideas for everything.

Vegetarian and Vegan blogs I love:

A Veggie Venture

Cook Vegan Lover

Happy Herbivore

Happy Vegan Yogini

Lusciously Local in San Diego

The Kind Life (Alicia Silverstone)

What the hell does a Vegan eat anyway?

Wedding related blogs:

Melissa McClure is a great friend and amazing photographer!

Love at First Invite ~ Cathy is a beautiful person inside and out. She creates amazing wedding stationary and does great web design as well!

The Ultimate Wedding Blog!

I lost count but I hope I provided something for everyone. Enjoy!

To date my posts have been about serious issues so today I want to mix it up with my new favorite recipe. It’s perfect for a weekend dinner and I suggest enlisting the help of a loved one, it makes the cooking more fun. :) I love this recipe because it is really easy and made from scratch. How often do you hear those terms together in one pizza recipe? I had never cooked with polenta and was worried I might dis-like it but both the hubby and I found it to be quite tasty!

Crust:

1 ½ cups coarse cornmeal

1 tsp. salt

1 ½ cups cold water

2 cups boiling water

Dash of olive oil

Filling:

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 small onion, thinly sliced

1 cup thinly sliced bell pepper

1 large zucchini, thinly sliced

5-6 medium cloves garlic, sliced

2 tsp. dried basil or 2 Tbs. minced fresh basil

½ tsp. oregano

Fresh black pepper

¼ pound mozzarella cheese, grated

2 small or 1 medium ripe tomato, sliced

1) Combine cornmeal, salt and cold water in a small bowl. Have the boiling water on the stove in a saucepan and add the cornmeal mixture, whisking. Cook about 10 minutes over low heat, stirring frequently. It will get very thick. Remove from heat and let cool until handle-able.

2) Spread the mixture on a baking stone if you have one. Otherwise, oil a 10” pie pan. Use a spatula and wet hands to form it into a smooth, thick crust over the bottom (and sides) of the pan. Let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, up to 2 hours.

3) Preheat oven to 375®F. Brush the surface of the polenta with olive oil and bake for 45 minutes.

4) While the crust bakes, heat 1 Tbs. olive oil in a medium sized skillet. Add the onion and sauté for 5 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to soften. Add bell pepper and zucchini and sauté until everything is tender. Stir in the garlic and herbs and sauté just a few minutes more.

5) Remove the polenta crust and turn the oven up to broil. Sprinkle half the cheese onto the bottom of the baked crust, then add the tomato slices. Spread the sautéed mixture over the tomatoes and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Broil until brown (about 5 minutes) and serve hot.

This recipe has been adapted from Moosewood’s “Polenta Pie”. You can add mushrooms, eggplant or any other veggie you like. The original didn’t call for letting the polenta rest but I believe it helps solidify the crust and it will break less if you do this. In a time crunch you could put it straight into the oven and it will turn out good. I didn’t have that much mozzarella so I mixed it with a little cheddar and it was very tasty, the flavors went well with the veggies.

If you try this recipe please let me know if you enjoyed it.

I love everything about food; cooking, smelling, looking at and especially eating it. Over the last two to three years I started getting serious about cooking. Every weekend I plan the upcoming week’s menu and go shopping for everything I’ll need. I try to find recipes that have fresh ingredients in common like parsley or cilantro so that I can use the entire bunch before it goes bad. I’ve been working on cooking “light” and trying to get healthier. I use whole wheat, whole grains, brown rice and try not to use too much processed food. Recently I’ve started learning more about factory farms (more on that to come) and corn*, oh that evil corn! I have been trying to change our weekly menu not to include these and other unhealthy items.

My awareness of eating animals began in high school and at times was more on a conscience level than others. I’ve seen a few PETA videos that really disturbed me. However, it was never enough to make me give up meat completely. I find it interesting how I watch those videos and it does make me want to give up meat for a short while but then I forget about it and move on with my life. I really don’t think I am alone in this thought process. I believe there are a lot of people out there who are affected by the things they see and hear when it comes to animal welfare but they still don’t feel inclined to make any changes. Is that because of the love of the taste and maybe even an addiction to the meat? Is it because we think eliminating meat and figuring out what’s for dinner would be too challenging? Maybe it’s the common misconception that we won’t get enough protein if we eliminate meat? I’m sure there are lots of reasons and I know mine are included in a few of the above. I have reduced my meat consumption over the last few years  as has my husband. I’m thankful for that because it would be challenging to have differing meal desires. I still feel like we could probably eat even less meat so I’m trying to figure out how to do that.

Part of my journey is giving up one thing at a time or doing trials on eliminating certain foods. I read on Go Veg  that they recommend pledging to go 30 days without meat. That time period is probably based on evidence that it would only take 30 days to change your life style and you wouldn’t go back to eating it again (that’s a total and complete assumption on my part). I decided that was too difficult and I am only going to do it for 7 days. I’ll be honest, I know this probably won’t have a life changing impact on me but it is a small step in the right direction. If I try it for 30 days I think I’ll probably fail, especially if I’m out to dinner or at a party. However, for 7 days it will be easier to remain strong and I know I can succeed. I may not feel a major impact on my body but I hope it’s enough to know whether eating meat makes me feel any different or not. It will also give me the opportunity to try some new recipes. I’ll post my successes and failures after the week is over. Until then, wish me luck.

*Corn is evil, you ask? I’m not talking about corn on the cob as you might imagine. I’m talking about what factories and food manufacturers DO with the corn they grow and how it gets into almost everything in an unhealthy manner. I’ll do a whole post on corn in the future. In the meantime if you want to read more right now I suggest reading about high fructose corn syrup here and be sure to read the comments below the article, there is a lot of great insight there.

I have a lot of respect and admiration for vegans. As an average consumer I used to hear about vegans and thought it was an extreme lifestyle and probably hard to attain. I’m starting to learn that isn’t really the case. If you aren’t familiar with veganism you can learn more by clicking here.

People are vegans (and vegetarians) for various reasons and I can identify with most of them. First there is the health and well being issue. We are learning more about how animals are not good for our bodies; we weren’t designed to digest the meat and flesh. There are also issues with saturated fats, cholesterol and other health concerns related to eating animals. One reason I think vegans are sometimes  considered “over the top” is the animal welfare issue. Many believe farm animals deserve the life that our common household pets live and cite evidence of chickens, pigs and other farm animals showing signs of intelligence. Personally, I think about what these animals go through in the slaughter houses and it horrifies me; it makes me want to throw out all of the meat in my fridge and never touch it again. I also realize there aren’t any health benefits to eating meat and that makes me want to give it up as well. Why not only put things are 100% healthy into my body? I’ll tell you why, because if I am being honest, I enjoy a grilled chicken breast every now and then. Or maybe a beef sausage link at the county fair once a year. I am not the average meat consumer, I mostly only eat chicken breast and ground turkey breast. The only other meat I consume is the occasional bacon, maybe once every few months and a steak about once or twice a year. I suppose that probably makes the goal of going vegetarian (or vegan) easier for me. If I ate a lot of meat I probably couldn’t even fathom how great it would be to live without it.

The journey I am about to embark on is a way for me to become more aware of what is in the food I eat and becoming healthier while keeping the furry friends in mind. I plan to learn more about processed foods and will be trying to replace them with whole foods. I may never to get to a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle but that’s okay as long as I learn something and feel like an aware, healthier person at the end. I’m an open minded individual and I am ready to absorb as much information on these topics as possible. I will not judge others for feeling different, indifferent or otherwise. Maybe you’ll learn something along the way that you’ll want to apply to your life or maybe you won’t. Either way, thank you for riding along with me. I will always value people that listen to my thoughts and ideas and have real conversations with me. I promise to listen to you and if you want to argue any of my points please feel free to do so, it will only make both of us smarter.