More Good Eats

Busy playing the opera, Turandot, this week. But I can show you some of the good stuff I've been eating!

Barley "Risotto" with mixed vegetables:

Raw Buckwheat Groats for breakfast:

Pretzel Rolls!

Cashew Tomato sauce on top of steamed potatoes:

Spaghetti Squash!!

That's all I can give you today. More posts to come tomorrow!

Eat smart,

T.

Exercise, Vegetable Coulis, Creamers, and other stuff

So I logged 7 3/4 miles walking today.  I've been trying to get in at least 5 miles a day.  It's spread apart of course, in 2,3, or even 4 parts. Although this morning I got a good 4 mile walk in just going to and from Borders Books, after I dropped off my husband at his recording session.  Felt good.

I've seen various reports saying that if you do the same exercise everyday, it won't do much, or it'll "stop" working.  I'm not sure what that means.  They tell you to vary your exercise routine.  I decided to take two days off per week of walking.  And on those two days I do weights (arms, shoulders, etc).  I think that's a pretty good routine so far.  But really, if I just keep walking everyday for 5-7 miles a day, will I not lose weight anymore?  Do I need to do a different form of cardio?? What are your thoughts?

By the way, I didn't gain any weight on our 3+ week trip.  Although I didn't lose any either.  Tried to keep walking a lot.  We did try a bunch of great vegan restaurants, including vegan cupcakes and other baked goods. Guess that's why I assumed I would've gained weight.

I made spaghetti squash the other day, and topped it with a vegetable coulis I made in my Vita-Mix.  Is it possible to eat too much fiber? I think I should call this sauce, FIBER COULIS :)

Veggie Coulis (very concentrated):

1 tomato
1 red pepper
1 cup broccoli pieces
1 pint shiitake mushrooms
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup nooch
2 cups strained/pureed tomatoes (I use Pomi or Bionaturae)
1/2 onion
1 cup kale
1/2 cup red wine
oregano, garlic, black pepper, salt


Blend in VitaMix: everything but wine
Pour into a pot and turn heat on medium.  Add wine to thin.  You may at this point add more water/wine to thin it out even more.  It's VERY thick!  For leftovers, I've been adding even more strained tomatoes to it, because it's just too thick and fiber dense.  So perhaps this is more of a concentrated coulis :) Sever over pasta, potatoes, grains, or spaghetti squash.

I think when we got back home, we went back to our fiber rich foods too fast.  Whole grains, lots of vegetables, etc....but we feel better now that we're back on our routine.

Nori rolls I made with the Sunflower Seed Falafel:

Tonight's version of my Eggplant Parmesanless:

Creamers. Why do I always have a problem with creamers?  For a long time I used Silk's Original Soy creamer.  I loved it in my coffee.  But recently, more often than not, they go bad really quickly, or they're bad right out of the container. Why is that? Has anyone else had this problem? I had tried my almond milk in my coffee, but didn't like it.  I did however try the Almond Breeze unsweetened in my coffee and it's not bad. I can deal with that.  Soy milk is another story.  Sometimes it curdles, sometimes it doesn't. I don't get it.  I think if you pour your coffee fast into the soymilk, while stirring, you're ok.  If it's done very slowly, or if you add the soymilk to your coffee after the coffee's already in your mug, you're out of luck.  But of course it's not always the same effect.  Grrrrrr. Does this aggravate anyone else? Or is it just me?  I found MimicCreme.  I've tested it out and it's pretty good!  I realize now (after this morning's coffee) that you really should stir it into your coffee. Just because it's at the bottom of your cup when your coffee goes in, doesn't mean it will mix itself in. But I like it.  Can't find it anywhere locally unfortunately. (you can order it online) I also like it because it's NOT soy, it's made with almonds and cashews.

Here's what I don't like....errr....I mean what else I don't like. SoyGo.  I ordered a bag of it online.  It's powder.  I was hoping....just hoping....it would be better than that awful old non-dairy crappy powder that all the hotels and truck stops have. It's not.  It doesn't mix in.  It's all grainy and powdery in your coffee. Bleh.  And since I'm not going to use anymore, I should give it away, don't you think?  I'll have to come up with a giveaway to include it in soon.

Update: I've been in contact with the people from SoyGo recently and they sent me a new bag of creamers.  I've been testing it out and will continue to test it in different places and ways.  I will let you know the outcome! The folks there have been very nice and very patient with me :)

If you have any other suggestions for creamers, at home, and on the road, please PLEASE let me know!!

For a list of other great vegan blogs, click here.

Eat smart,
T.

Spaghetti Squash & Kale Chips

I found a great recipe for Spaghetti Squash on VeganDad's blog: Spaghetti Squash with Slow Roasted Tomato Sauce. I bought a squash last week at the farmer's market, so I was looking for a great way to cook it, since I'd never cooked one before.

I did cheat, however.  I didn't slow roast tomatoes, like the recipe calls for.  Instead, I bought a large can of fire roasted tomatoes and used that.  I also left out all oil and butter. (just used a little water to saute the leeks)  I used a white riesling I had in the fridge (Clean Slate) instead of Vermouth, and I only used about 1/2 cup. And you know, the sauce was delicious!  I didn't even add salt or pepper or anything.  Leeks and white wine do go together (I used to make a Swiss dish with that combination). And my last cheat of the recipe: I used pre-minced garlic I bought from the store!

The squash was quite easy to cook.  You just prick it with a fork several times and put it in a pan.  Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees for 1 hour, or a little more, if you have a bigger squash....until soft.  And it was so easy scraping out the insides....and all it left was the shell!  There was a lot more squash than I was expecting, which is good, because it's low calorie :)

I highly recommend this recipe, cheat or no cheat.

I tested out another snack on the FatFreeVeganKitchen's blog: Kale Chips. Very easy and delicious.  Just watch out....they crumble very easily! (& of course I left out the oil)

Eat smart,
T.