Bulgar and Quinno "Neat Loaf"

Saturday night I just felt like a home cooked meal, so I embarked on the rather large task of making this neat loaf, from the macro chef , it only took 1.5 hours! My mom was visiting so I enlisted her help since there are so many steps to the recipe. There are a lot of ingredients and I ran out of miso paste so I had to wing it a bit. I skipped the side beets and carrots since I did not want to do anymore work that night. My food certainly does not look as pretty as the macro chefs....probably for one I didn't puree the tofu so my mushroom gravy looks kinda gross, but it still tasted good. Once it was plated and I took my first bite I thought that it was ok tasting...I think when you spend a lot of time in the kitchen sometimes you don’t enjoy the food as much. I did have some left over’s yesterday and enjoyed it a lot more, but I can’t help but compare it to my moms nutloaf that I grew up on.........nutloaf takes my first choice for a comfort food like this.

English Breakfst for Dinner?

So last night was a very important hockey game for the Canucks and my sister who is my sidekick chef and meal planner wanted something quick and easy so she could get on with watching her hockey. So I flipped through Alicia Silverstones The kind life Diet and found this recipe www.thekindlife.com/ which I have always wanted to make, plus I had bought tofu bacon and wasnt sure what to do with it...so problem solved! Here below is a photo of her English Breakfast:

I am not sure If I am a fan of this tofu bacon yet... I thought it was a bit dry...maybe I should have cooked it in something besides earth balnce, if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. lol

Here is a photo of mine:      P.S. This tastes mighty good with a nice cold strongbow cider!

Long Weekend Egg Salad Sandwiches

So I know that eggs are not vegan and all, but I just said I was "flirting" with a vegan diet, I am not a total convert. Sometimes this girl is just going to have to eat eggs and cheese! Anyways I went to the Aquarium with little guy and hubby on Monday and it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day! When we got home I just felt like an easy and fresh dinner, so I whipped up my famous tarragon egg salad sandwiches...by the way tarragon is sooo yummy in these. I bought vegenaise for the first time and used it in the sandwiches, I couldn’t even tell the difference from real mayonnaise.

P.S. These taste way better with fresh Bakery Bread, I like Cobbs!

I love Mochi

I know this is my fourth post today...but what can I say I am excited to share my new food ideas with you. So I made Mochi for the second time last night (to go with my salad) and I did a much better job, it seemed to puff up better and get all gooey in the center. I love this little snack...I bought the sesame flavored mochi and its nice just on its own. Anyways, if you have never tried it, DO IT! Its even fun to say, MOCHI, MOCHI, MOCHI!

Matcha Matcha

So its day 2 of my new matcha regamin...lol...It's taking some getting used to, it has a very strong flavour. I went to ikea yesterday and got a very pretty mug to help me, well get the stuff down. I just know in time that I will grow to love it, I hope.

So Delicious

I just wanted to mention that this dairy free ice cream is the BOMB!! So delicious Mint Chip is so good as well as there Chocolate Peanut Butter...I might never need real dairy ice cream again!

My first time with Seitan

So last night I decided to make apple cranberry salad with fried seitan and almond dijon dressing from the blog: Vegan Yum Yum. It just looked so good. I decided it was too much work to make my own seitan when you can buy it at the health food store :). I sliced the seitan up and breaded and deep fried it...I know that doesn't sound that healthy but that’s what the recipe said.....! I also switched a few ingredients since I didn’t have any cranberries or slivered almonds. I just used lettuce, pine nuts and apple and instead of making my own dressing I used organicville's tarragon dijon dressing. The salad was quite yummy, seitan is nothing like tofu....I am not sure what I expected but I was pleasantly surprised!

I am loving this Bloggers Recipes!!

Hi Peeps,
I just found a whole bunch of mouth watering recipes from this macro chef blog................Bulgar and Quinno "Neat Loaf" looks Yum to me!

http://macrochef.wordpress.com/james-recipes/

Pumpkin Maple Quinoa Granola

I was feeling very ambitious so I decided to make this granola as well........I cant say as I have ever made granola before...and this one doesn't even have any oats. If you want the recipe I got it off this awesome blog called "Clean Eating Chelsey". cleaneatingchelsey.com It was a bit time consuming since you have to stir the granola every ten minutes for 1 hour! I some how managed to burn it since I was distracted with planning my trip....ooops. I tried it this morning with yogurt and maple syrup and it wasn't half bad. Next time I would sweeten it up a bit more and make sure to take it out of the oven on time. lol

Revival Rice Bowl

Good Morning Bloggy-Poos,
I am so excited for my trip to Jamaica next week!! Even locking my keys in the car this morning at the gas station isn't going to bring me down. Last night I tried another recipe from my Fresh at Home cookbook. http://www.freshrestaurants.ca/cookbooks.asp I made the revival rice bowl, it was pretty good, it had brown rice, tofu, peanut buddha sauce, bok choy, wakame seaweed and hemp seeds! It felt very healthy.

Magic Plums

 I just recently purchased some umboshi plums for a weight-loss tea recipe that I got from The Kind Diet, by Alicia Silverstone. I am now discovering that these plums are apparently a cure all for the Japanese. They are used them for the following ailments: detoxification, constipation, bad breath, lack of appetite, hangovers and morning sickness. Here are some interesting facts:

ALKALINIZING EFFECT OF UMEBOSHI:

We can maintain a weak alkaline pH (of about 7.35) in our blood by regularly consuming umeboshi. Without exaggerating, the ume has been named "the king of alkaline foods." By taking 10 grams of umeboshi we can neutralize the acidity created by consuming 100 grams of sugar. The strength of this alkalinizing effect is due to three factors:

* The abundance of citric acid makes the absorption in the small intestine of alkaline minerals, such as iron, magnesium, etc., from other foods, much easier. Citric acid combines with those minerals from other foods, creating an easy to absorb mineral salt.

* Umeboshi itself contains high amounts of alkaline minerals such as iron, calcium, manganese, potassium, etc. Because these minerals are digested in the presence of citric acid, their absorption is insured.

* Citric acid breaks down the lactic acid in our blood and tissues.

 Other Components of Umboshi Plums:

* Picric Acid: This acid supports and stimulates the function of the liver. Umeboshi also helps the liver to clean out artificial chemicals from our body.

* Catechin Acid: This acid speeds up the peristaltic movement of the intestines; it also has an antiseptic effect, and promotes the digestion of proteins.

* Pectin Acid: This acid is present in the umeboshi peel. It has a laxative effect.

I have also read on a blog that this tea is very helpful for crohns flare ups, so I just might have to try it out the next time I have one, here is the recipe:

To make, first boil enough water to fill a mug...do NOT microwave. Cut off a 1/2-1 plum and cut into tiny shreds. When water is boiling poor into mug and add plum. Then stir and drink. It will taste a bit sour and salty. If you have crohn's, chew the plums VERY good.

http://megansmind-holisticwellness.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-1-crohns-flare-up-remedy-or-if-you.html

Udon Noodles

So I must say I was not that thrilled about the recipe I chose to make last night...even before I tasted it. I just have a hard time thinking any pasta will be good without a little cheese! I'm not sure if I mentioned this yet but me and my husband are planning a trip to Jamaica in the next 2 weeks so I am trying to eat uber healthy so I look better in my bikini! Anyhow the recipe was for (spelt) udon noodles pan-fried with garlic, broccolini, cherry tomatoes and lima beans. I have never been a huge fan of beans unless they are in chili or in my burrito.........so putting them on pasta was a stretch to say the least, and I don’t think I will be doing it again. I don’t think the dish had enough flavor besides garlic and a few Italian spices.........it was basically bland. I want to eat super healthy clean food, but this is not the way to get my to enjoy it. If anyone has any yummy recipes.......feel free to send them to me.

Here is a photo...it actually looks yummy..too bad it wasnt!

Tempeh Tantrum

So over the weekend I sat down again and planned out all the dinners and healthy new recipes I am going to make this week. Monday night’s dinner was going to be my first time making tempeh....and I was excited to try a new type of vegan protein. I made a shitake mushroom stir-fry with spinach, asparagus and smoked tempeh on a bed of quinoa. Sounds Yummy, doesn’t it? Well I am not sure if I just plain don’t like tempeh or if I just didn’t cook it right or if I just don’t like smoked tempeh, but this was not one of my favorite meals. Needless to say I was disappointed since I worked all day and then slaved in the kitchen whilst trying to entertain my son. I am now scarred off from buying tempeh again.......maybe next trip to the store I will try seitan instead?!

Saturday Night Mac & Yeast!

Saturday night I decided to make a recipe called Mac & Cheese from the blog Vegan Yum Yum. veganyumyum.com/ It was actually quite tasty considering it didn’t have any cheese in it, I grew up eating yeast on my tofu, so I love it. The pasta sauce was actually quite creamy, I decided to bake it with gluten free bread crumbs and Daiya vegan cheese, but I baked it too long and it got a bit crunchy, any ways needless to say I would make this recipe again!

Friday Night Tofu

I decided on Friday night instead of being lazy and ordering pizza or something I would make a healthy dinner. I made smoked tofu........although it was more baked than smoked...the recipe called for liquid smoke which I decided not to use since I didn’t have any, and it sounds kinda scary! With the smoked tofu I made tofu and veggie sandwiches..........mmm so yummy! I think these are my new favorite meal, since I ate them all weekend. The sandwich consisted of my favorite terra bread,(organic sourdough rye), avocado, sprouts, lettuce and tomatoes. I also made a side salad.....with purple cabbage, carrots, almonds and raisins.

Matcha: refers to finely-milled green tea, most popular in Japan

So I love my earl grey tea and have always thought it was better for you to drink tea than coffee....apparently it’s not, but I can’t drink it without milk and sweetener. So I have decided to challenge myself to switch over to green tea, since it has so many great properties (so I am told) and I don’t need any dairy or sugar for it. I have tried a few green teas and unless there in some kind of fruit flavor mixed in.......I think it tastes kind of nasty! (Just my opinion) I have however tried matcha and think it is quite tolerable....maybe it’s like red wine...an acquired taste. So I have ordered a tin of it online....this stuff is not cheap....anyways I hope this will be part of my new health regime! :)

Some interesting factsabout Matcha:
1. Loaded with powerful antioxidants, drinking this tea regularly will help stave off flues, viruses, infections, and the common cold. By containing roughly 10 times the amount of antioxidants of regular green tea, Matcha will help strengthen your immunity – pronto!
2. Its contains no sugar or additives.
3. it’s excellent for weight loss, lowering cholesterol, and cancer prevention.
4. It contains L-theanine will activates the hormone production of dopamine and serotonin in the brain which are our "pleasure" compounds. A reduction in stress is a key factor to eliminating chronic illnesses, cancer, and imbalances in the body.
5. It gives you a boost without the jittery effects or stomach discomfort of too much coffee and caffeinated beverages.
6. it’s full to the brim in nutrients; significantly higher than blueberries.
7. Is alkaline and Ph balancing. A less acidic body will resists disease and illness.
8. It provides mental focus and concentration.
9. It contains lots of chlorophyll for detoxifying and purifying the blood and body.

Vegan Cheese

So last night I made wakame seaweed salad with a simple Asian dressing...it was not bad...I’m still getting used to eating sea vegetables. I know they're really good for you but they taste like, well seaweed lol. I made another recipe from The Kind Diet http://www.thekindlife.com/tlc_units/filter/2/the+kind+diet/1  called Cheesy, Oozy Guacamole Bean Dip, its all vegan. I am a serious nacho lover and I was actually hoping this recipe might convert this cheese lover. I dont think it worked, I still feel there is no substitute for a good plate of greasy nachos! I guess it will just have to be a special occasion treat. That said, this really wasn’t bad if you weren’t expecting it to taste like the 7 layer bean dip you buy form Thrifty’s, it’s the best. I actually liked the vegan sour cream! The cheese I used was Daiya and it was the first non-dairy cheese I have tried...I was told it melts well...I was a bit disappointed as you can see from the photos it didn’t melt that much.

Alicia Silverston's: Peanut Butter Cups

Monday Night Dinner

So over the weekend I spend some time planning the healthy dinners I would make for this week, I made a grocery list, I marked each recipe, and then I went to 3 different stores to get all of the ingredients. Last night me and my sister (who lives with me by the way, and is also on a quest to change her diet) begin the daunting task of making what seemed like 2 easy recipes. My sister was in charge of making the chocolate peanut butter cups from the cookbook The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone, yummy. I was set to make the New Buddha Bowl from my new cookbook Fresh At Home by Ruth Brown. The only problem is that I hadn’t realized that the Buddha bowl had 3 recipes within the recipe so it took me about an hour to make the whole thing....plus I did not have enough of some of the Buddha sauce ingredients so I had to wing it. Overall it turned out pretty good, and I even had extra sauce to put in the freezer for next time.