Smoked Paprika, that is. It's the 'trendy' spice thing happening it seems (but oh so good.)
I am a huge fan of bowls. The edible kind. Even before my heart attack, I enjoyed making them. And now that I have gone vegetarian (still crossing over to Vegan)-I am finding that they really are the best way to eat.
Panera Bread introduced some bowls (St Louis Bread Company to some regions) that I really, REALLY liked and are very healthy-containing kale and quinoa and spinach and stuff you wouldn't expect to find in a 'faster food' arena. However tasty they are though, they can be considered pricey-at least for everyday lunch eating or whatever. I found I can make twice the amount for roughly the same cost, so I set out to copy some of their bowls. Also in looking up plant-based recipes, I came across a plethora of bowl recipes. Seems I'm not alone in my love of bowls.
This here is a Pizza Bowl (and its vegan, actually.) I found it posted on the website, Blissful Basil. www.blissfulbasil.com
(Yes, there was a bowl with chicken and cheese in it, as well as an egg, and some shrimp. Those were pre-heart attack but you can simply omit the animal proteins, they still have some sort of bean or grain as well. If not-add them then. )
So. While not all pictured, there are themed bowls, too. A Mexican bowl, which could house some vegetarian chili with some rice and pico de gallo and avocado, or a Greek bowl which could have artichoke hearts, black olives, penne pasta, spinach, a Thai bowl (and pictured here is a pad Thai bowl)-the possibilities for bowls are endless. You can have a complete protein/veggie/grain meal all in one bowl, and you can make extra 'bowls' and freeze them. After awhile, you'll have a freezer full of bowls that can just be popped into the microwave or put into a pot and re-heated.
Did I have recipes for all of these bowls? No. I made them up, for real. I realize not everyone can or wants to do that. But the basic foundation of bowls is pretty simple. What are you in the mood for?
If you are simply vegetarian then you may want to go for more 'comfort' food bowls once in awhile, like a macaroni and cheese bowl with broccoli, or even a goulash bowl made with ground beef substitution. From what I have heard (but haven't tried yet though for you all I will-the fake Italian sausage is really REALLY good. )
A great vegetarian comfort food bowl is the 'country' bowl-mashed potatoes, corn, mushroom gravy and cheese melted on top.
Just figure what you are in the mood for-is it Chinese? Lots of different bowl options there, using rice or noodles, is it more mid eastern or Indian? Curry bowls.
I've veered away from posting many recipes each day because in perusing the internet myself, I have stumbled across a MILLION. There are SO MANY vegetarian and vegan recipes online that I really don't know how to compete. I'd rather link you to them and have this blog become more educational. But I will post any recipe on request.
I find different intriguing recipes that sound great to me each day that are vegan. Or vegetarian but mostly vegan, such as the Sausage and Peppers recipe. Also I've learned of a sure-fire way to absolutely LOVE tofu which involves pan frying it and browning it using maple syrup(!), imparting a salty/sweet thing that pairs well with a number of things. So as I try these new recipes and products, if they turn out any good-I will happily link to where I found it from.
My next post will be taking a few steps back into 'healthy food knowledge 101.' There are a few staple items that everyone should have in their kitchens but may not know why or how to use. Things like chia seeds, hemp seeds, flax (ground or seeds) acai berries, goji berries, tumeric, nutritional yeast, etc. Some of it is 'trendy' but some of it truly should be spices and staples that you use to enhance the nutritional value but also act as 'agents'. What I mean by that is for example, chia seeds soaked in water create a 'gel' and can be used as a sub for butter and oil in baking recipes, while imparting a great deal of protein and nutrients. Stay tuned!
But I love to make salad dressing and store in the jars, or cook extra beans and put in jar. I keep all my dry goods in the jars (pictures in previous posts) to keep out moisture and bugs (and it does look nice in the kitchen also). There are a ridiculous amount of uses for mason jars, including turning them into lamps that I also think you should look into that. But I forgot to include the link for the mason jar salads in my last 'salads' post, so.....there it is. Above this paragraph. Enjoy!
So if you haven't been living under a rock, you have probably heard that sweet potatoes are really good for you. Filled with beta carotene and antioxidants and vitamins and stuff to ward off cancer, it's a tuber that is far superior to its white cousin, the baking potato (and as I have established-you don't put vegan sour cream on one of those unless you make it yourself.)
In any event, the only ways I have ever eaten a sweet potato is-sweet. And twice a year. Once at Thanksgiving, where someone has mashed em' and then stuffed them in an orange rind then threw marshmallows on top then baked in the oven, and once again at a steakhouse nearby where you get a baked sweet potato as a side option, which comes with whipped butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
So you could argue that in our culture, we utilize the sweet potato as just that-a sweet-and that it's more a dessert item than a meal ingredient. (Sweet Potato Pie, anyone?)
My oldest daughter also warns that you do not want to take a raw sweet potato, dice it up and try and juice it. Apparently, my ex-husband did just that, believing that the health properties of the sweet potato would be a great addition to a smoothie and the results were disastrous. (I am pretty certain that sweet potatoes are one of those things that really can't be eaten raw.) Actually when I think about it-no potato is good raw, right?
Anyway, I really like sweet potatoes (not to be confused with yams.) Yams are a completely different thing. Sort of like the difference between a banana and a plantain-not super noticeable but totally different. Here in the states, we don't eat real yams. We eat sweet potatoes and call them yams, so the term in interchangeable here. But go to Africa and ask for a yam-you'll get a yam.
Anyhow-when using sweet potato use the actual potato. The canned 'yams' are over-cooked sitting in a syrupy mess of sugars and additives and there is no salvaging them from that.
In my research of recipes, I stumbled on a black bean and sweet potato recipe. For some weird reason, this combo sounded like it would be really good to me. I didn't bookmark it. So I Googled "black beans and sweet potatoes" and a number of things popped up-just not what I wanted. So I took matters into my own hands and created my own black bean and sweet potato dish, because experimenting is half the fun of this new eating lifestyle. Though I did borrow form a black bean and sp 'chili' recipe I found.
I took my bag of black beans and rinsed them, then brought them to a boil, boiled for about 2 mins and then took them off the heat, covered the pot and let them sit for an hour. Then I prepped the rest.
I took a large sweet potato and diced it. Then I sauteed onions and some garlic and added the sweet potato. I 'stir fried 'this for a bit, then added spices. I added some cumin, some smoked paprika, some salt and pepper, and a touch of chili powder. Then I threw in one chipolte pepper. After the spices coated the potato mix, I added some water to cover the potatoes and then covered the pot, letting them steam and get soft.
I then added some of the beans (about 1/2 the bag) and a can of stewed tomatoes. Not Italian Style stewed or Mexican, just traditional stewed tomatoes. From there, I transferred all of it to my crock-pot and let it cook on low for about 6-8 hours.
Once finished, I squirted some lime juice and topped with some avocado, and it was all DELICIOUS.
You could easily throw this on top of rice or quinoa for additional protein/vitamin boost but I think it's great as it stands. Or even take a corn tortilla (non-GMO corn of course) and stuff all this in that. Hey-even use some of that HOMEMADE vegan sour cream to garnish. Again, as Auntie Fee would say, "It's your shit. Do with it what you want." But I totally encourage you to Google around for sweet potato recipes or sp as a main ingredient. Yes, they are 'sweet' but they pair truly amazingly well with 'spicy' as a result, also giving a hearty thickness to a dish while not being too heavy. As a nutritional powerhouse to boot, you can't go wrong experimenting with these things!
I'm super picky about my salads. The standard side salad leaves me cold-iceberg lettuce, a slice of crappy mealy tomato, a slice of cucumber with it's waxy skin still on it and maybe some sort of carrot shaving-with a plasticy ranch or neon-orange french dressing....you know the type.
But then the salads can get too 'trendy'. I do prefer a chopped salad, only because I don't like shoving a big ass piece of lettuce in my mouth. Some salads-its alot of work to eat them. And I'm not a big salad 'garnish' person. Croutons, seeds, nuts, Chinese noodles, etc......naw.
I like traditional salads-a Chicken Ceasar, and a seafood salad with chopped egg and 1000 island-old school salads. Greek, the Wedge with the blue cheese-those types of salads. So now when I eat a salad as a meal-I don't mess around. I put a ton of stuff in.
Of course, I've had to forgo the chicken on the Ceasar, and lose the crab and egg on the seafood (so i don't even bother with that one) but Greek I can still do, and my favorite-Thai Beef Salad.
Minus the beef. If I am honest with myself-it's always been the dressing on that salad that has made me adore it. I found the recipe for the dressing and I will post it here. I make my Thai Now Beef-less salad with cabbage, and heirloom tomatoes, and mint and cilantro and basil and baby corn, but it's the dressing. It's ALL about this amazing dressing.
Asian Dressing
2 tsp brown sugar
juice of one small lime or 1/4 cup
1 1/4 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp of Sriracha (less if you want less spicy)
This dressing is a mix of sweet, tangy, salty, spicy and sour-every tastebud gets hit. To really bring an authentic flavor, use fresh cilantro, mint and basil ontop of cabbage mixed with lettuce. OYE so good!!!
Greek Salad...Omit Feta for Vegan. Cucumber, dill, mint, black olives, red onions, tomato and parsley. Can also add artichoke hearts. Squirt with lemon and Greek oregano.
Garbage Salad. Let your imagination guide you! I have all colored peppers, zucchini, red cabbage, tomatoes, yellow squash, cucumbers to name a few!
Obviously, not all of these salads are 'vegan' per se. Some contain egg, some have some cheeses. Other's shown have tuna, or chicken pieces. But most are in fact, vegan. Though I will probably have to have my Tarragon Grape Chicken Salad once every 6 months. it's killer (hopefully not literally.) Fuck it it's a great way to go.
Rotisserie Chicken, shredded ( must. No other chicken will do)
Hellman's Mayo ( must. No other mayo will do.)
Tarragon, dried preferable.
Salt
Pepper
Red onion, minced
Red grapes, chopped
squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Mix all, garnish with almonds.
*CLEARLY NOT VEGETARIAN or VEGAN but hey, I include 'treat' food also, because my kids-who are not quite vegetarian or vegan may want our family recipes. So F off.
But the point is really, that even if you began to eat thse non-vegan salads as a meal-you are doing your body a great service. So many people don't eat salads like these-unless they dine out and usually at lunch-and then they eat the 'side salad' which is nutritionally anemic at most dinners. Of course iceberg lettuce is the worse as far as nutrition goes, and surprisingly, straight-up plain Roman is very nutritious. You can use greens, kale, spinach, spring greens-the possibilities are endless. Just create a lettuce or greens 'base' and store in fridge. Kinda like this :
Then, chop you little ass off of veggies-or let the food processor do it.
Think of the combinations that you really love. And for some people, the Mason Jar salads are really a thing, and great for them to take to work.
I guess my point is, is that there are as many variations of salads as there people. YOU know what you like. Chopped, plain, with lots of crap, dressing ontop, dressing on the side. You know that you can add veggies to rice, pasta, quinoa, beans, grains of all sorts, and make it a 'salad'. There are 'hot' salads and there are 'cold' salads. But truly people should aim to eating at LEAST 4 big-ass salads a week as a meal. Not a little side dish, but as the meal, with a nice bowl of soup. For me, nothing is more satisfying than a hearty soup and a salad.
When you make salads with the grains or beans-like the Black Bean salad above, or the quinoa veggie salad, you are getting a complete protein meal to boot. We need to get it out of our heads that things have to be hot or contain meat to give us complete proteins and nutrition.
As far as dressings go-read your labels. I mentioned before that I like Kraft because they don't use HFCS. They do however use oils and sugars, and many of their dressings have cheese in them. I probably shouldn't hawk Kraft since they are allegedly part of the GMO system and I should rave about some sort of off-brand, private brand, local artisan brand, some Whole Foods brand BUT-this is LOW CLASS vegan. This is average, run-of-the-mill garden variety Joe Normal Vegan. You want fancy and hard to find (and expensive)-it's around. I think some of the refrigerated dressings in the produce sections might be okay, and Lord knows-there are millions of recipes here in the interwebs of salad dressings, from traditional to classic to totally vegan and even oil-less.
Don't be lazy but if you will be, for God's sake at least pick up a bag of salad that has stuff in it already. Some of it is already so pre-assembled that you get the 'antioxidant' blend, which includes even the freaking sunflower seeds and acai berries for your sloth-ridden ass. OK. I'd rather see people consume that, than not eat salad or God forbid grab one pre-packaged from the deli, which is filled with preservatives and other unsavory for you stuff. Usually like the 'chef's salad' with gross processed lunch meat ham and cheese. Yuck.
Eat like a rabbit, and you'll wanna do other stuff like rabbits! ;)
So for comparison I saw that they have sour cream -vegan sour cream-at the grocer's, so I thought "Ok, I should try it to see." I mean as posted previously, I made some homemade and it was good, but maybe the company made store bought would be even better.
I was very excited. Now I didn't stick to SOS-(no Salt, Oil or Sugar) because I did grease the skin of the potato with olive oil before baking in the oven. It's truly the only way I like baked potatoes, when the skins get crunchy-the microwave just doesn't cut it.
So I let it bake for an hour, then once done, I rolled the potato in some kosher salt. Kosher salt being the coarse salt so the salt crystals are pretty big. Typically you get a potato like this when you eat at a seafood restaurant or a steak joint, and it's the BEST.
Once baked, I cut open the potato, smear it with "MELT"-the vegan butter, then put a dollop of the vegan sour cream on top. I chop up some fresh chives and dig in.
AWFUL. First of all, the sour cream itself seemed 'grainy.' I don't know how else to explain it other than it was slightly lumpy. Now it did have a better consistency than the sour cream I made, but I screwed up and bought the wrong kind of tofu. They didn't have 'medium firm' at my store, so I bought the 'silken' kind which has the consistency of yogurt but once you add the vinegar and salt it became more like a smoothie. So that was my bad, and I know if I had the right tofu it would've been just like sour cream. Anyway........
I don't even know how to describe the taste of this 'sour cream' but I can assure you, it didn't taste anything like sour cream. It tasted like nasty soy. It tasted like it had a disease in it.
It didn't even have a 'sour' to it, there was no 'tang' to it, no salt or anything. While the label had a bunch of ingredients, I am assuming most of them was to make the consistency that it has. However, the resemblance to sour cream ended promptly right there.
It was bad enough on top of the potato (and thank God I didn't totally smother the thing with this soy-ish weird ass paste) but when I tasted it off the spoon-just to make sure it was the sour cream and not something wrong with the potato, or maybe the mix of it with the "melt"- I damn near gagged.
Is it this brand, is there a decent store-obtained sour cream? I don't know and I no longer care because there is no way in hell will I ever buy it again. To add insult to injury-this shit ain't cheap. Sour cream isn't very cheap either, the average cost being around 2.00 but this stuff was 2.99 for a medium-sized. I mean look at the picture, it's 3.00 for that little container.
I was so pissed that I felt I had to salvage my potato. So I sauteed up some Portabello mushrooms and I did it in REAL butter. That's right, fuck it-REAL butter. Consider it the "10% badness" that I'm allowed to have in my diet. They, along with the fresh chives, turned a terrible potato into an edible one.
Yes. This shit was SO BAD that it set me into a 'relapse'. It made me passive-aggressive and angry that I ended up going back and sliding back into a slippery-slope animal fat abyss. Yes, I had a reaction to this. It wasn't logical, it wasn't rational, but the flash in my mind was if I had to eat this kind of terrible substitute to keep my heart healthy for the rest of my life, I'd rather have another heart attack and not make it. Ok that is extreme-but that's how awful awful this was to me. Just not even right. Not even CLOSE to sour cream.
I also don't understand why the Melt "butter" didn't taste all that great on the potato but it didn't. The stuff is good. I have spread it on bread and used it in other ways and it was as good as butter, but in this situation-hell to the no.
If you don't want to do butter I get it, I do-it's animal and that's ok. But I'd put some olive oil or something. I do have some Butter Buds but I'm not sure I want to go through this again. I'm sorta traumatized having a shitty baked potato. I don't think I've ever had a shitty baked potato in my life until now.
Clearly, some things just can't be replicated. The classic baked potato with butter and sour cream/chives is one of them. In my opinion. Now the homemade sour cream would work. I could probably handle that. So MAYBE-maybe I will make another baked potato and try it with the Butter Buds and with the homemade sour cream. But it'll be like 6 months from now, if not a year. I think I may need that long to forget about the taste of this gotdamn potato. Yeah so this sour cream was easily the Carob of sour cream. Avoid. At. All. Cost.
Vegetarian I figured I could do, as eating meat is not that big of a deal to me and in fact, kinda turns me off when I really think about the condition of the animals and all the stuff done to them and their meat. That said, the fear of Vegan really comes with my love for cheese and dairy products such as sour cream, coffee creamer, ice cream, yogurt/kefir.
I have found that the soy yogurts are a tasty substitute and I really can't tell much difference between it and regular yogurt. This makes me happy because I do want those 'friendly' bacterias to be in my gut once in awhile, especially as a woman.
I am still experimenting with vegan cheeses and I have reviewed the 2 already that have been posted. So far, it's not THAT big of a deal to not have cheese with everything, but I don't think I am alone in my love for it. Being at the grocery store this evening cemented that thought in my mind-not only is there a vast array of cheese in the deli section alone-at least 3 huge cases full-there is the regular ole' cheese aisle as well. We are a nation of cheese lovers-there is no doubt about that, and these days it's hard to find it not smothering something or sprinkled/added to foods.
This all said, sour cream is a weakness of mine. I used to make a dish called "Pollo Con Creama", which is a Mexican chicken dish made with a sour cream sauce. Of course all Mexican dishes for me are better with sour cream, and what is a baked potato without it? Not to mention that it was the 'secret ingredient' in my classic potato salad (a mix of Hellman's mayo w/sour cream) and I made a salad that was like a Greek Tziki sauce of cucumber, onion, vinegar and sour cream. Oh, and for salmon-a crazy good sour cream/fresh dill sauce that my ex-husband actually turned me on to.
And I mean, DIPS. Knorr Leek onion dip, veggie dips- how can you have dips without sour cream??
Needless to say-I can't get enough of it. Yes, I tried subbing with Greek yogurt to be 'healthier' but I've learned that yogurt is animal. I am really trying to eliminate MOST dairy. No small trick because mayonnaise is right behind sour cream as being my favorite condiment. (I'll be reviewing vegan mayo but I can already tell you-it ain't bad, either.)
So when I Googled for a vegan sour cream, I expected the usual onslaught of nut-based recipes that really sorta turn me off. I shouldn't knock until I try, but soaking cashew nuts and then churning them into some sort of cheese or sour cream in a weird vegan alchemy kind of a way was simply NOT appealing to me. Then I found this gem on the You Tubes.
VERDICT: It doesn't suck!!!! The first taste, did taste sort of 'soy-ish'. But after 2 more bites, it really started tasting more and more like sour cream. I'm almost certain, that like anything else once you are used to it, the actual original product will taste 'weird.' It's strange how we do 'accustom' to different tastes. I mean seriously-did you really like aspartame the first time you tried something 'diet'? If you did, weirdo. You are a weirdo.
You know what I love most about this? It's not pretentious. Its simple. Its easy. Its very, VERY accessible ingredients-hell, there are 3. Unlike this next video that I will show you simply for contrast:
This thing is exactly WHAT I'm trying to avoid. I'm sure she's a very nice person. I'm sure she's a great person. Ethical, 'mindful', loves the environment, the animals. She's very white. SHE IS THE STEREOTYPE ALL THE FREAKIN' WAY. All the way down to her hemp milk.
Hemp milk. Get the f*ck out of here, hemp milk.
"I prefer hemp milk." Oh, LOVEY. Sounds the same as some elitist " I prefer the Malbec wine."
Seriously. I need to keep it low-class. Because I'm not this chick. But I care about my health, my family and friend's health, and I don't want to see animals adulterated, either. I don't like GMO. I don't like the poison being peddled on grocery shelves-but I don't fit this mold. No offense to her, it's not her personally. I'll be showing more vegan videos of "what I eat in a day" and you'll see-young, white, very pretty and trendy girls, into outdoors, etc.
Anyway, here's the sour cream I probably will never try and make ^^^^^^
I haven't been to a Whole Foods, Marianos, Trader Joes or health food store yet-maybe won't be for a good long time-to purchase a vegan sour cream. So for now I will be making this simple one (the first video). It'll work. A baked potato, with the vegan butter "melt" and this homemade sour cream with some fresh chives-perfect for that baked potato craving. MMM. I may have to make tomorrow and report back! :)
One issue that often is cited as being a reason for the morbid obesity of so many people is that our foods are now highly addictive. And not just the processed ones but ones also like cheese and meat and chocolate, that keep us coming back for more and also keep us from abandoning the ones that are 'bad' for our health, despite knowing that they are bad for our health.
Now first of all, most people agree that caffeine is addictive. If you don't believe that you are addicted to caffeine-try going without it for 24 hours and tell me how you feel. The ubiquitous migraine headache comes on, along with irritability, fatigue, and a real craving for it. For the taste, the smell, the feel of coffee (or soda pop) -whatever your caffeine delivery system is, there is a definitive craving for that item to get the caffeine 'fix.'
If you continue to go without it, your body will be achy, you will become depressed, your thinking foggy, your mind slower, your reflex's off, and your metabolism screeching to a halt. For a hard-core caffeine addict, it can take a month to feel normal. Until one day you wake up feeling refreshed and not needing anything to 'get you going'. You have natural energy and you no longer have the 'slump' in the afternoon where you reach for another cup of coffee or a pop and artificially boost your energy levels because you are playing with your flight or fight system now (Read: stress your body the fuck out)
I know all this, because I quit a horrible coffee addiction. I went 2 years without caffeine and I was so much better for it. It did literally take about a month to feel normal however. But once I was clean off it -everything improved. My energy levels were stable-I had no dips, I'd wake up fine, do my thing and then when I did sleep, I sleep soundly and deeply. My skin cleared up, I didn't need as many cigarettes (at the time I was still smoking) and I was no longer craving. (Caffeine incidentally, causes nicotine in your body to be excreted faster, and vice-versa. This is why people who smoke and drink coffee, do a lot of both. When you quit smoking, you need less caffeine, and when you quit coffee, you need less smoking. It's a synergy-an evil synergy but as an FYI, it helps when you quit one to do the other if you already do both. I drank a ton of coffee the first two weeks I quit smoking. Hell, I already had wicked insomnia from the nic withdrawal so who cared? It did help me pass the nic thru my body faster which meant withdrawal was shorter.
Despite what we thought, caffeine is no longer considered an antagonist of the heart, unless it is in crazy amounts or in combination with other crap, like energy drinks. Those ARE truly evil and should be avoided on many levels, but in any event studies are showing that MODERATE caffeine use in coffees and teas can be beneficial for the heart. I guess that's why up in ICU they kept letting me have it and didn't care, which I questioned (and subsequently discovered all this. So drink some for heart health, unless you have an arrhythmia or sensitivity in which it would be contradicted. You know, check with your doctor and pharmacist for any drug interactions with caffeine.)
Since my heart attack I've more or less quit again-I have only 1/2 of cup of caffeinated in the morning. I really don't crave or want much more than that. I also love my coffee with cream so I'm not really feeling the cream substitutes. I'd rather just not drink it. But there is no question that our coffees, with their milks and creams and sugars and flavors are very addicting and for many, the one 'treat' they allow themselves to have.
The other caffeine culprits of seeming addiction are of course soda pops. I'm from Chicago so it's hereby referred to as 'pop'. Frankly, I've seen more of my friends addicted to this crap than anything coffee, and I don't just think it's for the caffeine. Certain brands of pop in particular seem to turn people into fiends. Sorry, but I've never seen anyone drink just one can of Diet Coke a day. Or Mountain Dew-regular or diet but the people I know that drink Mountain Dew typically don't touch diet drinks. Even so, unless they are drinking a Mexican or a 'throw back' pop-they are drinking high fructose corn syrup.
Now without getting too in depth, I can only say that Aspartame, the main 'sugar free' additive in diet drinks of all sorts, and High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) which has substituted cane sugar in just about everything-these have been highly implicated in not only creating health issues-a myriad of them, but also in being addictive.
Books have been written for years about the evils of cane sugar- or fructose table sugar as it's known- for years. The book Sugar Blues comes to mind. It is true however, that we do not need sugar to survive. Our bodies convert sugar but it would convert other sugars such as in fruits to create energy and did long before sugar became a 'thing.'
I don't want to get into the biology here of the insulin cycle as it is bad enough we eat as much table sugar as we do. When we complicate it by then throwing our bodies a fake sugar that does not break down into glucose and the pancreas does not release insulin as a result but our taste buds keep craving looking for that energy hit-all kinds of trouble ensues and diabetes is it. So these foods become 'addictive' for a few reasons.
Remember, there was a time when sugar was treated like it was a drug, a precious metal or commodity and only the very wealthy could afford it, and it was used as barter and trade.
One, the physiological effects of many food additives on the brain- like caffeine is a drug, sugar acts like a drug, the effects on the energy blood sugar cycle, and 2, the psychological associations with food which cannot be underestimated. The smell of bread cooking can remind one of childhood and if Grandma made you mac and cheese when you were upset, you will associate love and comfort and being cared for with that particular dish. But nowhere have I seen more circumstantial evidence of food being addicting than the heart attack support group I'm on.
I was on an online support group for heart attack survivors 55 and under. Many of us are unclear as to why we even had one, because we were healthy. No diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, maybe a few were overweight but not morbidly so-essentially, stress, maybe smoking and genetics is the axis of evil that have been implicated in our heart woes. No one says 'diet.'
However my cardiologist did, and urged me to watch "Forks Over Knives" which is a movie about why a plant-based diet is good for the heart. Not only good for it, but with the ability to reverse heart disease that already exist. Many are skeptical-except leading cardiologist from the Cleveland Clinic to Harvard. In fact, there is a 100 yr old heart surgeon who credits his longevity to a plant-based diet.
My cardiologist urged me to go vegetarian-vegan being optimal, even he says that he's a vegetarian. Yes, because it can be damn hard to forgo animal based foods like cheese and eggs. But before I start posting the brigade of experts who extol the virtues of the diet, I still want to post a video for you on foods being addictive.
Going back to the support group, I saw one of the members type a post that stated she was going to INCREASE her intake of meat, cheese and butter. I was all 'whaaaaaa......? Increase?
Well yeah, because evidently there are also a few doctors out there who are advocating that. (WTF??)
In actuality, what is being said is that studies have shown that the saturated fats in bacon, cheese, butter-all the things we love-may not be a direct cause of heart disease. Rather it is now believed that the carbs and sugars are the real culprits. (is anyone confused yet? ) It is the substitutions of 'fat free' and 'sugar free' that are also lending a hand in hurting our hearts. So what the doctors are suggesting is that it is preferable to eat things such as bacon and butter- IN MODERATION- than it is to eat hydrogenated oils in margarine and trans-fats in fast food. It's not a green light to indulge in animal fat by any means.
But what is 'moderation', particularly when food is addictive? Can't nobody moderate addiction, that's the very antisis of addiction.
Not to mention that animal fats have still been shown to have a direct link to certain types of cancers and other illnesses beside heart disease. But try telling that to this group. These people would not hear it. They were angry, in denial, they were defensive as to why it's okay ("I've been eating meat 3x a week since my heart attack and my cholesterol is only 130!") (Are you on a statin?) ("Well yeah of course")
Right. So it wasn't the statin that lowered the cholesterol-which is what its supposed to fuckingdo-it was that extra pat of butter on your dinner roll, right?
"No, its carbs that will give me a fat ass, not meat and dairy."
Right. I mean sure, white rice COULD, if you throw bbq pork on it, and potatoes COULD, if you throw sour cream on them, and sure, forget the spaghetti but pour Alfredo Sauce on your chicken-that won't gain ya no weight, yah okay sure fine. Incidentally, in most cultures that eat rice and grains-they are NOT fat asses. Because above.
But they still wouldn't hear of it. I was lambasted and maligned to such a degree that I ended up just deleting them. It was essentially, addressing a roomful of addicts who were not willing to admit that maybe, JUST maybe, their CONSTANT intake of meats and crap pre-heart attack had something to do with it. And now that they've added some salad and maybe LESS meat and are watching the fat intake they think 'ok'-they simply refused to accept that all of the evidence both scientific and anecdotal for a plant-based diet could be remotely true. I even had one or two people post links to counter-opinions on why the plant-based diet and Forks and Knives in particular is a bunch of trendy bullshit. That it really was the paleo way that led to good health. It was the most asinine and counter-intuitive post I think I had ever read, and I only had 2 people inbox me who were also just as incredulous (but thankful for me speaking out) at what we were reading.
As I've stated here a bunch of times, I am a moderate. I don't fault or scold anyone for indulging in a cheese, or eating some chicken, or using that butter. I allow myself that stuff rarely also. What good is life if you can never eat what you love again, or at least take a few bites??
Yes, your farming grandparents ate cow and pig and churned butter and drank buttermilk and lived to be 98. Their shit was organic. They didn't have 100 cows crowded together in slaughter houses passing their bovine disease, being fed antibiotics and GMO corn feed and their chickens weren't being given growth hormones, and by the way we are genetically closest to the pig-not the monkey-so its almost cannable to eat pig but fine. Point being-our grandparents also didn't have microwaves with fast food, no boxed mashed potatoes, no 100 calorie cookie bags, none of that shit. They cooked, they ate it straight from the ground or tree. As I've stated in previous posts-they shopped at butchers and bakers and yeah. The argument that meat and cheese and butter must be okay since they ate that way and lived so long is now invalid, and it sure wasn't everybodies grandparents living that long.
It's not about deprivation, the plant-based diet and there are many misconceptions about it that I'll cover in a new post soon. A diet of just 10% 'bad' stuff is better than a diet of 30% 'bad' stuff. And of course for ethical reasons as well as health its just nice to always stay vegetarian.
Many people do go 100% in the pool, never to eat animal or dairy again, even sugar and caffeine, and they are happy with it and claim no cravings at all. However, they did AT FIRST have cravings and that is something to be expected when switching from your addictions to foods.
I mean, not to don the tin foil hat for too long, but there is a bit of a conspiracy in that yes, certain foods seem completely designed to addict people. Is that really so far-fetched? Tobacco companies introduced ammonia into cigarettes, which acts as a 'freebase' for nicotine. This means that nicotine hits the brain and bloodstream stronger, faster and harder than it would on the legally allowed amount. So they essentially addict people that much faster than they normally would-and makes them smoke twice as much. Add to that faster-burning papers than 'back in the day'-I mean they are doing everything they can to keep people smoking since so many people are trying to quit, and we actually have nicotine replacements now (many own by big tobacco, btw) and so fewer people are smoking that they got desperate enough to do something radical and of course unethical to stay relevant (and keep billions of profits coming in.) Considering the state tax on this, I'm really not convinced that the gov't, even with it's big blitz to get everyone to stop smoking-well moving on, doing the same thing to certain sects of the food supply would work in the same vein, yes? (BTW....the gov't which once exposed the use of ammonia in cigs has now retracted stating it is not shown to increase. I'll let you be the judge, its pretty interesting stuff. For further reading if interested : Big Tobacco Exposed adding 'crack' to smokes by gov
So yes, you could say I trust the FDA about as much as these guys above. And just why is it that so many foods we have on our shelves here are illegal and banned in Europe? But I digress.....
Addict people to fast foods, addict them to convenience foods, addict them to 'snacky' foods and certainly to beverages-you're money. So despite the billion-dollar diet industry, despite our addiction to body image and shaming, regardless of the research and science of health and vegans in the blogspear teaching you how to do it-if they make it almost impossible for people to want to give up certain food crack-including people who have already had heart attacks and strokes-well it's food for thought for me and should be for you as well.
The sad thing is just how much this has infiltrated to our children-the backlash the First Lady has gotten trying to implement healthy lunches in schools, and the news stories of kids smuggling salt into school-yes. Addicted. I'm pretty convinced and maybe after watching some of these, you will be also.
Food for thought. I'll get into the Monsanto stuff later because that also reminds me of addiction, I think they are the biggest pushers there are.
The first rule of Vegan Club, is that there is no rule of Vegan Club-other than you know, avoid that animal shit.
When it comes to everything else-it's all about you. There is no 'right' or 'wrong' way to do any dish. There is 'traditional' and there is 'tweeking'. I like to tweak. I get my ideas from a traditional, and then I just go with whatever sounds good/I have on hand/have a taste for.
Today it was Minestrone. Now I like the original classic Minestrone just fine, but I also noticed I had a bunch of veggies so why not throw em' in the pot? Now when I list the ingredients, it's going to sound like a shit ton of ingredients but I am certain you probably have most on hand. Or if not-use most of what you have on hand. Make your own mix. Use your own spice combination that sounds good to you. I can give you a 'blue print', but don't be afraid to 'concoct.' This is your food, your kitchen, your pantry, spices and fridge-so go with what you have and what sounds good to your tastebuds. I tend to listen to my body and it's 'cravings' and try and figure out what it really wants-protein? Vitamin C? Iron?
Our bodies are pretty smart like that. However intially we crave all the 'junk' foods-the sweets, the salty chips, the gooey cheese, the meats because those foods are addictive. And that will be the next post following this one. It's two for Thursday on posts since I missed yesterday as well. Or maybe I'll do 3 post. Maybe I'll not do another post til Monday. See the point? Go what what you feel, what works for you. Or you could make this exactly how I did and have a mouth of yummy sensation that is reminicent of Campbell's 'ABC vegetable soup (only WAY better tasting.)
I know, I need better photography. This is just temporary. I've got some great pics. Promise. But as usual, make it your damn self and see what it really looks like. Here's the recipe:
garlic
yellow onion
carrots
celery
green pepper
peas
corn
zucchini
snow peas
can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
cabbage blend (pre made cole slaw mix is perfect)
can garbanzo beans
can kidney beans
ditilini or other small pasta
fresh parsely
bay leaf
pink salt
cracked black pepper
garlic powder
celery salt
seasoned salt
chipolte season blend
adobo
This has protein (the 2 beans and peas) it has a starch (the baby pasta) veggies, grain (corn) and I use avocado as a garnish to give a healthy fat and for a fruit so it's the perfect complete protein/balanced meal.
Oh, to make, you saute the garlic, onion, celery, peppers and carrots til semi-soft, then throw the rest of it in, cover it all with veggie broth or water to make it 'soupy'. You'll be adding the pasta though so make sure its pretty soupy to start. Add the rest except the avocado and bring to a boil, simmer covered for 45 min to an hour.
Garnish with the avocado and anything else you like-pico de gallo, jalapeno, hot sauce, even some cheese if you aren't totally vegan.
You can also do a veggie stew, where it's not so soupy, these ingredients are a bit different but same concept:
I did not add any greens such as kale or spinach to either, but that's because you can do a salad on the side with the greens and some super-healthy watercress or romaine lettuce as well. If I'm really feeling the need to pig out, I'll munch on some sourdough bread and dip that in the soup/stews as well.
Ok so cheeseburgers. Cheeseburgers have been my weakness ever since I was a kid. I remember my Dad making really thick burgers and I'd yell at him because I wanted mine to be totally flat aka McDonald's style. They don't call it "Happy Meal" for nothin'.
Like Jughead from Archie comics or Wimpy from Popeye, not only would I gladly pay you Tuesday for a cheeseburger today, they became my staple PMS go-to food. If I ever had a food addiction, it would be to burgers. Mustard's Last Stand in Evanston, IL so far has the best double cheeseburger on the planet, and I've tried em' all over the country, even the trendy joints in the city where they throw a fried egg and shit ontop, or drizzle with truffle oil or butter, or a Culver's butter burger (the bun is soaked in it) or a Steak and Shake burger on garlic bread or.....ok yeah. Hear Homer Simpson in your head saying 'MMMMM BUUURRRRGGGGER' and that's me.
My only regret is not having tried an In and Out burger but you know I might have a BITE one day. Shit man. A day at a time, I am powerless over the cheeseburger. In fact, I posted this picture on my Facebook page May 1st of 2012 with the heading "Pretty much addicted to Cheeseburgers." This one I happened to have made at home (and I got over the whole burger gotta be flat thing)
I have tried turkey burgers-meh. I had heard that Boca burgers are actually really good veggie burgers. I had not ever, nor did I ever care to try one. Veggie burger, what the hell? What's the point? A burger is ground beef, period.
Well.....now that the arteries are clogged, I've had to re-think the whole cheeseburger concept of Prozac for my brain. And then I thought "Fuck it-I'll go for the vegan burger."
Now the idea hit me when I was asked to find the rave reviewed vegan cheese who turns out is by a company named Daiya. It also turns out that my national grocery chain store carries it, in a speciality case. Now this is because I live in a town that harbors yuppies and money, but it also borders a very blue-collar lower income town so I'm also close to Aldi's and shit, too. Best of both worlds. So I eyeball this cheese and it comes shredded or it comes in slices. I see the sliced cheddar, thought of the veggie burgers I just bought and said to myself that for the interest of my blog and by request, I will sample this cheese and a pseudo vegan burger all at the same time. I bought some pretzel hamburger rolls and started cookin'.
I did buy the classic vegan Boca soy burger, but these intrigued me as well.....made with veggies and quinoa, so I went with this. Plus the pic on the box looked pretty good, as does the grilled cheese sandwich on the Cheddar. Now the directions on the box said to pan fry, though it did give microwave directions. I'm curious as to why it said nothing about grilling, so I think next time I make them, I'm gonna throw them on the George Foreman and see what happens.
And this is what the final product looked like. So far, the cheese looked pretty normal coming out of the package but I did note that it took much longer to begin melting than regular cheese does.
Now, keep all this in mind. The soy- free gluten -free look- on- the- label -for- the- other -free shit vegan cheese, is made up primarily of different oils. I'm feeling conflicted about that. While it may be animal free, oil is no better for the arteries and body than animal fat. I don't want to argue semantics because I agree that animal fat is far worse than plant-based fats, but oils and fat are fats and the package also does say "vegan flavoring." WTF is 'vegan flavoring." That seems very vague and ambiguous to me. It seems shady. Traditional crap food does this same sort of tricky Jedi label tricks, so I'm leery about the whole thing. However, if you are a purist and naturally hating on anything containing animal, this is your best cheese substitute option.
As raved about-it's pretty good. I have not had the courage to try a slice raw by itself yet (baby steps.) I am afraid since the last batch of cheese was God awful plain. But on the burger-it was good. I'd say the consistency once it's melted is similar to Velvetta-it's thick like that and almost 'saucy', like a melted Cheese-Whiz kinda thing, which many people do love. The flavor was authentic enough but I wouldn't say nailed cheddar flavor. It does taste like a cheese, just not necessarily a pure cheddar. That said, it's much better than the other brand I tried and there is a mozzarella cheese by this company that I am eager to try next.
I know that in speciality stores and higher end markets there are artisan vegan cheeses, and there are tons of recipes online of how to make vegan cheese-typically out of nuts such as cashews. I haven't 'gone there' yet. I am limited by budget constraints and I want to first venture into the vegan waters by getting what's readily available at my 'normal' grocer. It's a psychological thing, I believe-if I can get it at this national chain, then somehow it's less alternative to me which means less foreign which means easier to maintain? I don't know. I don't always get my mind.
Now, as for the veggie burger-it was delicious. However-it tasted like roasted veggies. It didn't taste anything like beef. I'm thinking now that it wasn't supposed to, not like the soy crumbles I tried that were in fact made to emulate ground beef. Nope, these veggie burgers were made to be just that-a patty of veggies. So while it made for a very good cheesy veggie burger (and the pretzel roll made it)-if you are looking for a mock beef taste you won't find it with this particular burger. I will continue to experiment of course with the meat substitutes-I am very curious about the fake chicken, beef strips and fish I see in the frozen weird section.
About price, the price of the container of cheese was comparable to regular cheese, that is about the same price. Nowadays the cost of cheese has floored me, and this was roughly the same, about 5.00. The Boca burgers were on special, two boxes for 6.00, and you get 4 patties to each box. Hamburger is larceny now as well, so really it is within the same price parameters as animal meat, so no, it doesn't cost more to eat this way. I already had lettuce, tomato and onions laying around and I used a spicy mustard-didn't cost me a thing to garnish. Had some corn with it, though sweet potato fries baked might've been a great side as well.
My rating, out of 5 stars, I give it a 3.5, only because I did want a 'burger' taste but as far as just a decent sandwich goes, I'd give it a 4. This would be the cheese to try. Oh, they also have a 'cream cheese' to spread on bagels and toast. I don't eat bagels. The only exception to that was when I'd eat lox and bagels and that was maybe once a year, so I most likely won't be trying the cream cheese for bread purposes. I do have some creamy casseroles and dip recipes that call for cream cheese that this may be a great sub for.
So I wanna say about 5 years ago, a website called Thug Kitchen came online and it featured vegetarian/vegan cuisine. And their "schtick" was to curse and talk all ghetto-fabulous, which they do, in abundance.
Now if you've seen the video I've posted here of Auntie Fee-she's simply a YouTube star. Her son videoed her making some 'sweet treats for da kids" and it went viral, and a cooking show was born. She also swears her ass off, but she's not cooking vegan-nothing even remotely close to vegan. Her "dumb ass good macaroni and cheese" is a vegan's worse nightmare, featuring egg, milk, butter and cheese. Throw some ham up on that bitch and it would be to a vegan like throwing holy water onto the devil.
Anyway, there was a bit of controversy between Auntie and Thug-not between them but she did a video pointing out hypocrisy-that she's been judged and maligned for her use of curses and foul language whilst cooking and Thug Kitchen has been praised and lauded. Then she kinda went race card on about it but she has a bit of a point.
I think she may be a bit paranoid though because I'm sure that Thug Kitchen has had their share of judgy haters most likely with the bible next to the cookbook types, but it is true that Thug Kitchen is sort of a joke in that they are really white trying to be hood. The food is totally high end, and yet what they are doing is exactly what I'm trying to do-get rid of that stigma and stereotype and bring healthy eating to ev'rrybody. To black, white, hispanic, asian, martian, purple-gay, straight, republican, democrat, confederate, living in a trailer, living in a mansion it don't confront me none-to make this type of eating-primarily plant based-the norm and not a weird little hipster urban trendy wealthy Whole Foods hype-y kind of thing.
I'm not sure the demographic that Thug kitchen was aiming for-I'm going to guess anyone with a sense of humor but if I had to put money on it I'd say a younger collegiate aged crowd. Which is good, instill healthy eating habits and knowledge in the young. But it does make eating this way much more humorful. In trying to attract people to a new lifestyle, sometimes you need to get their attention, have a 'gimmick' be a little shocking. Thug Kitchen delivers on this.
While I too will be sharing recipes (yes, they are coming) that are over-all simple, another point of my blog is to do research and education and link you to places that keep it real, are not over-pretentious and of regular people just trying to be healthier. Thug Kitchen also brings this to the table, metaphorically, literally.
BTW, nobody is compensating me or bribing me to endorse them; these are just my picks for no frills, simple, keeping it real healthy eating tools and tips and recipes. Plant-based can get far more elaborate, frilly, fancy, exotic and crazy, depending on how deep down the rabbit hole you wanna go...but let's not get all vegan Anthony Bourdain yet. I'm still navigating these waters myself, still trying new things for the first time myself. Ive made myself an example of a person reluctant to give up comfort foods and highly addicted to cheesy buttery goodness average American motherfucker. So since I am the ambassador of the S.A.D. (standard American diet) defecting to Veggieland -if I say you'll like it, you'll probably like it and if I say it sucks-it will most likely suck.
I think my finger is on the pulse, coming from the land of BLT pizza's and the best hotdogs on the planet. (Picture: How I used to eat, and BLT pizza. Mayo, bacon, lettuce, tomato. Oh how I'll miss thee!)
so trust grasshoppers, and allow me to be your vegan guinea pig. Meanwhile-here's a 'commercial' for Thug Kitchen that I think you'll really fucking enjoy!
Much of re-working how you eat is experimenting with substitutes.
All over the web you can find reviews and recommendations for meat and dairy substitutes for example. This is soy yogurt (delicious) vegan butter, butter sprinke sub and chocolate milk. (One of my posts has links to this stuff.) One does have to be a bit daring when taking the plunge=what if this faux cheese sucks, for example?
This cheese is 'meh'. I mixed it in with cauliflower and it was "a'ight". By itself? Oh honey no. I am reading rave reviews about a particular brand of vegan cheese, so once I track it down I will let you all know. This however is found at your grocery store so in a pich (and mixed with other shit) it will be fine,
Also its a matter of lifestyle/convience. Do you buy your beans in cans, for example-or do you buy bulk? Do you buy all your veggies fresh or frozen?
Shown: veggies, veggie burgers. And yes, it's ok to have a few 'for eaze'. Amy's line is perfect for this.
Not a huge fan of tofu. I rarely use it. But I was hungry after shopping and needed something quick. This is stuffed with veggies, and the tofu really didnt taste tofuy. More like eggs. Im also not usually a big fan of wraps, but this wrap actually tasted more like a tamale. It was a bit pricy-2.99- but then again, so's an Egg McMuffin these days. All told this was filling, vegan and took 2 minutes to heat. And OMG IT'S GLUTEN FREE, FUCKING A!!!!!! (insert eye rolling sarcasticon here)
Well.......both. To answer do I use dried.fresh/frozen/canned. I stock up on the dried goods when they are on sale. If I plan out a dish ahead of time,
then soaking the beans or boiling the rice is not an issue, and if you use a slow cooker or pressure cooker-even better. I prefer my veggies fresh and in the summer local, however I am one of those 'produce goes bad before I use' peeps. Well-was.
*hard to take pic with bad hand sorry
I invested in a few produce keeper Tupperware thingy, and they really do work. There are also green bags, these produce fresh balls you can get at places like Bed Bath and Beyond that go into the fridge drawers, or if you're really into it=vacuum seal.
You can also buy fresh and blanch and freeze your own fruits and veggies. But I like both. Nutritionally frozen is superior to canned veggies, which have been boiled and the nutrients boiled out, and with too much salt (even if it says low salt). Some cans are ok, such as tomatoes (watch for sugars and oils though) and a can of corn in a pinch. I also tend to buy 'exotic' things in a can, like Mandarin oranges for my beet salad (and I'll sometimes cheat and buy canned beets), and baby corn and artichoke hearts. Things like that-bamboo shoots, water chestnuts-that's fine for cans.
Otherwise, I keep a freezer of veggies handy and a stock of canned beans, along with a bowl of rice or quinoa cooked up in the fridge. I do this because let's face it; Sometimes we feel freaking tired. We are sick, run down, worked overtime, a crisis happens, the kids need stuff, the spouse is off work-whatever. Shit happens. And in those times, its all too easy to just say 'Fuck it' and go thru a drive-thru or order a pizza. There's no need to do this however, because you'll be prepared. I spend a couple hours on Sat or Sun and I get ready for the week.
I chop some veggies, I make some kale chips, and I've started making my own veggie broth (more on this below.) I make the rice or grain to keep during the week. Ive got herbs in the produce keepers and beans and canned veggies on standby. I've also frozen left.overs and batches of things as I've made, so on those burnt-out nights I can grab my own 'frozen dinner'. This works with making lunches to take to work (I'll be doing a whole post on that) and also to throw different kinds of salads together.
Buying in bulk helps greatly and that's including bags of onions, potatoes, apples and just keeping them in a cool, dry place. Spices too, keep indefinitely if you dont store in the direct window light or near a heat source.
Speaking of spices-I grow many herbs-indoors. In the city. My little kitchen urban garden of basil, cilantro, parsley, chives, etc. I use these so much that it made sense to grow my own. You can get a kit even at the Wal-Mart for like 10.00 to start, or you can buy the potted herbs-often right at the grocery store in produce section and just re-pot. Each pot really starts out being around 5.00 and you save so much money..Bonus, even food stamps will cover potted herbs. No shit.
So, back to the produce wasting. I really try and make a meal plan for the week so for no other reason I dont over buy produce and it goes bad. Im fortunate enough to live near a market so going every other day is ok for me, but many peeps can only do a weekly trip. So get solely what you;ll need for your specific meals. Though as stated, you can freeze (including your fresh herbs.)
I've learned that commercial veggie broths often have added oils salts and sugars, so I make my own. I use whatever I cut off of whatever I'm making. I take carrot ends and pepper caps and onion bottoms-all the veggie 'waste' and store in a big baggie. At the end of the week, I put it all in a pot, add water and simmer for hours. I only lightly salt it as I dont want it highly seasoned since I use it in many different dishes and dont want it adulterating the recipes. I then store it in my fridge in a glass pitcher (after straining the broth thru a colander) and use it to cook rice, saute, add to this and that-basically as an oil substitute. (You can also use Nature Made, Mrs. Dash or salt-free seasoning of your choice if you are avoiding all salt.)
Time management is another post, but its really not as hard to make scratch things as you'd think. The irony is that the energy and good health and feelings this lifestyle of eating brings means you find, make, have, enjoy and are not lazy and it all just will fall together. Unlike a fast food drive thru where you have to take the time to double check your order because invariably something is missing and not right and its cold when you get home and yeah ick.
*Sorry for typos, spelling and generally piss-poor writing. I'm still pecking this out with my non-dominant hand as the good arm is still in a cast but I still managed to cook today ;)
