Lettuce Wraps

So I took this idea from a couple of recipes at Engine2.com.

They suggest kale or swiss chard, but I used romaine lettuce leaves.
Spread the leaf with homemade hummus (I like it with garlic and red pepper) - but I need a better recipe with more spice and flavor.

Top the hummus with any chopped veggies you want. I used leeks, broccoli, green pepper and tomato. Corn would be good and so would cucumber and zucchini.

Roll the lettuce leaf like a burrito using the stem as the bottom. Ta da!

It was tasty (but my spice skills need work to improve flavors), filling - because you can eat however many you want, and easy. I suppose you could wrap anything up in the leaf - quinoa, rice, mustard - it essentially is a wrap, which we all know how to make and eat!

I kind of feel like an ex-smoker...I crave certain foods in certain situations. Fridays used to be pizza day. I don't miss it - but my brain thinks it needs it. It's an odd experience. I guess that's what an addiction is.

I'm going to the Rally for Sanity in D.C. tomorrow and packing some food. I want to avoid the vendors with hot dogs and kabobs!
I'm thinking...
Hummus sandwich on whole grain bread
the island vanilla shredded wheat from Kashi that I love to snack on
an apple
and maybe carrots

Onward :)

Motivational Life-ring!

I just found this website: Engine Company 2 Diet created by Rip Esselstyn - son of the good Doctor. At this site, Rip chronicles how he is challenging and working with Firefighters in Austin, TX to take on the plant-based regimen created by his dad.

The fabulous thing about this site is that it is fun, real, and has recipes that I can make!! It tells me how to cook kale and greens, has helpful hints on cooking lots of veggies, and makes the regimen a bit more approachable and less clinical!

Please check it out to see how real people are lowering their cholesterol and losing weight by adopting this plant-based way of eating for life!

Onward at full speed!
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Conflicting Health Advice

Yikes. The more I read, the more discouraged I get. So many conflicting pieces of information on what to eat, what not to eat, what is good for you, what is not good for you. I think that's why people often decide on the "everything in moderation" route.

Here are my dilemmas:
1. B12 - you have to have it and you can't get it from plants. I take a multi-vitamin every day that has all the B vitamins in it. I chose this vitamin years ago because of its formula that hits all the vegetarian needs. B12 is essential for your nervous system operation. Not something to fool around with. I can get it in Salmon...

2. Omega 3's - there are 3 types and you get only one from plant sources. All 3 are necessary for good brain health. I decided on a fish oil supplement gel cap that includes Krill as well as fish and gives you a great dose of the 2 missing Omega 3's. You also need Omega 6 in small doses and most people get it from plant-based oils. I have to check back to see how to get these. Flax gives you Omega 3. There is an entire medical literature about Omega 3 supplements too and which ones are good, which aren't and why...

3. protein - you don't need as much as you probably think you do. I am finishing up a can of whey protein powder because I like it, but it is a milk-based product... If you use whey protein powder there are all kinds of good and bad elements of it as well - cold vs. heat processed, raw vs. pasteurized, no growth hormones, grass fed cows, no long chain something or other...yikes. I am looking at hemp powder and bought one trial size packet to see if I like it in my almond milk fruit juice mix. Almond milk has protein, but I should be getting it from beans, lentils type foods. I probably don't eat enough of those. Could be why I am lacking energy. I used to get my protein from dairy products as a meat avoiding vegetarian. I need to eat more Quinoa.

4. Vitamin D - I can get it from almond milk. I also take a Vitamin D supplement occasionally (spray under your tongue). Sunshine is obviously the best source - but who wants skin cancer. Oy!

5. Gluten - the big fad now is to go gluten-free because it supposedly does dastardly things to your intestines and causes cancer. I can't add this to my list too. I like the whole grain bread they bake at my grocery and it fits all my other criteria...I like the Jerusalem Artichoke flour pasta and whole wheat pasta I have that fits all my criteria. I'll take my chances with gluten.

6. High Fructose Corn Syrup - luckily, I have been avoiding this for almost 2 years now and with a plant-based regimen, there aren't too many products with hidden sources that I eat anymore.

7. Fish - I don't think I want to eliminate this entirely because of the Omega 3 and B12 properties. I will, however, be very conscious of when I eat it, how much I eat, what type I eat. Not ready to bring it back into my diet just yet. Though I have had shrimp in a dish or two since starting this effort. I want to get the oil/fat craving out of my system as much as possible and then see how well I can handle it.

8. Calcium - this is an issue for me because I always relied on dairy as my source. Now I have to find the plants that are rich in calcium and be sure they are in my rotation. Butternut Squash is a good source and I am trying to learn how to cook it!

One of the joys of being oblivious to all this and eating fast foods is that you don't have to think about anything. When you are hungry, you eat. But years of doing that has gotten me to where I am. So for all those years of slacking, I now have to put in the work of thinking about what I eat proactively and not just avoiding meat :)

Onward!
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Kansas City Vegan-Friendly restaurants

Eating out is sometimes challenging, but my favorite KC restaurants make it pretty easy. I just ask for vegan and they accommodate me.

Had a great late-night meal at Pot Pie in Westport. It is such a great restaurant for anyone, but they made me a wonderful veggie plate with potatoes that is cooked in an apple cider reduction. Oh, yum. The house salad is fabulous too. I can't entirely avoid oil, but I can avoid butter.

Today I was at Blue Bird Bistro on the Westside at 17th and Summit. They serve organic and locally grown and raised food. I had the polenta and vegetables and it came with cheese - I said, the menu didn't indicate cheese - and the waitperson said, vegan? Yes! No problem. And voila - back it came without cheese. This is a restaurant with fabulous flavors. Also had the house salad with blueberry vinaigrette, and the apple and pear tart kind of desert. All wonderful.

Also recommend Korma Sutra Indian in Westport - their lunch buffet has a vegetarian side and I asked about cheese in dishes. None had any so I was good to go for a fantastic lunch.

There are few places to eat in Camden, let alone in Jersey that will accommodate my eating regimen. I could easily go over to Philly, but downtown restaurants are pretty expensive. So when I go to KC, I tend to eat out a lot.

Onward
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Leeks - who knew?

This week I have eaten a leek for the first time. If I have ever eaten a leek in a dish before I don't remember it or did not know it. I intentionally tried it this week and found out I love leeks!! To me they are like a giant green onion that is not as sharp tasting, but certainly flavorful. I bought a bag of fresh leek that was already washed, trimmed, and cut - because I didn't know what to do with a whole leek - what was the good part, what was not.

Tonight I threw it in with green pepper, brocolli, and carrot and steamed it in the micro using tamari sauce. Mixed it in with brown rice and it was great!! I'm a fan of Asian food and I also do not need a tremendous amount of spice to enjoy my food. I love spice and love eating out where ethnic spices are used. But I like a simple dish like this too and the tamari is really good.

I ate grapes and celery during the day as snacks. I haven't eaten celery in years - but it actually tasted good. That's part of the whole - my palette is coming back - thing.

I followed a great convo today on Facebook where some friends were discussing the merits of Omega 3 sources. I thought flax seeds were just fine - well I found out that there are 3 kinds of Omega 3 and flax only provides one. Your body may be able to use that kind and turn it into the other 2, but not everyone can do that. And the other 2 are the ones that are really important for your brain. As an academic, I find my brain to be a vital organ :)

So I am looking at fish oil supplements as a source of Omega 3's - I have tried Krill Oil gels, but I fear I have a shellfish allergy that is exacerbated by taking the gels every day. I can look for other fish oil supplements and now at least I know what to look for, but if you have a recommendation on a brand - let me know. My other option is to just eat fish - but you need it 2 or 3 times a week to maximize the effect and the PCB and Mercury contamination in fish could do more harm than good. Sigh. Who polluted the fish???? But whether I do supplements or eat fish, I will be allowing oil into my diet. I'm not sure how I feel about that - not because it breaks the rule - but because I fear it will leave me in that craving state forever. But I want to keep my brain healthy. Well, I'll figure it out.

I had a friend comment on my dilemma and said - oh, what's a little fish - go ahead and live dangerously. My friend then told me how a near death experience had changed his/her mind about denying pleasure. I thought about that a lot. Here is my answer - I have been living dangerously by stuffing my face with bad foods and letting my weight balloon. I am playing roulette every day. The pleasure I have been denying myself is in living a healthy life where the stress of what I am doing to myself does not kill me. I think I have really turned a corner on this one.

Today was a good day :D

Onward
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Menu as Forethought

I did 5 days worth of grocery shopping on Saturday. I planned some dishes, made a list, and hit the store. I figure the fewer times I am in the store, the less temptation there will be. More on that later...

I used to buy veggies with the intention of eating them and ending up throwing them away. Now, they are what I eat, so there is no throwing away! I made some great meatless, cheese-less chili, some homemade hummus that rocked for football watching, and finally found the Kiva Flatbread which is great with hummus. Tonight I made stuffed mushrooms that were excellent - filled with mushroom stems, shallot, diced red pepper, garlic, fresh basil, and Japanese-style breadcrumbs called Panko made from whole wheat flour. It's probably a bit more involved in terms of cooking than I would like, but the result was great.

I had to buy some cat food today and I had to go to a different grocery store to buy it. In my regular grocery I know the aisles to avoid. I found the cat food, was on my way to the register and hit the candy isle. I wanted some sugar. Before I knew it, Twizzlers were in my hand, paid for, in my bag and then in my mouth. It is just that easy to just enter an alternate universe where nothing you are trying to do exists, rules don't apply, and you do as you please.

Well, the sugar fix was wonderful, but the calories were awful. Luckily, eating lots of veggies means you don't have to count calories or deal cards to yourself with points, or any of that other stuff. Did I mention I had a soy latte this week?

The really hard thing about making these changes is losing your old friends - cheese, fries, ice cream, eggs, pizza, egg rolls, who were always there to comfort me, help me through my day, and never leave. In fact they still sit perched on my hips...

What I have to constantly remind myself of is that those foods are NOT my friends - they are impostors. My real friends are the people I see every day, who I text, IM, Facebook, Tweet, and phone - who want me around for a long, long time.

I'll get there, but I think it is important to be real about the roadblocks and what I learn. I realize that other food programs allow all things in moderation - but for me moderation is a moving target. So for now, I need to walk (er, eat) the straight and narrow. The good Dr. Esselstyn reminds us that "just a little" may as well be a truckload when your heart it at stake. Undoing damage takes time. That's what I gotta give it.

I am currently in my 4th week of this project. I looked back over my food diary and saw my progress! I started out with lots of X's for no-foods and too few check marks for yes-foods. Now I go whole days without an X! Of course, today was not that day - damn you Twizzlers!!!

I fear two things.
1. that I will get complacent and little slips will turn into more frequent slips and the whole thing will unravel. That's why I keep track of the X's and review daily. If I keep it square in front of me, I won't be as likely to enter that alternate universe where I forget what I am doing.
2. that I will get bored with what I know how to fix or am willing to fix and will lose my drive to do this. Although Jared ate nothing but Subway sandwiches, so I could just eat a regimented menu.

Onward
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Quinoa - Superfood!

I've had quinoa pasta before, but never the seed itself. I cooked it tonight for the first time. It is now my new favorite food :D

Quinoa (keen-wa) is a superfood - in that it is nutrient dense, a great source of protein, and highly versatile. I bought a bag in my grocery of Alter Eco organic quinoa that is from Bolivia and is a free trade import. I like to do my part for global trade.

Quinoa is actually the seed of the plant, and yes, it is tiny and hard. It looks a bit like barley or tiny pasta. You have to rinse the seed to get its outer coating off - which if left on - leaves a bitter taste (or so I'm told). Rinsing the seeds is challenging because they are tiny and will slip through a mesh strainer. Cheesecloth would probably be best. I used a convoluted method of a pot and a 2 cup glass measure and drained the water off the pot into the measure to capture any errant seeds. When the water comes off clear, it's good to go. Catching the drained water allows you to easily see if it is clear. It is messy to handle - it does not float and sticks to anything you put in the pot - a spoon, your fingers, and does not release - almost like it is statically charged. Kind a creepy.

You cook 1 cup quinoa with 1 1/2 cups of water, by bringing to a boil, then simmering for 15 minutes, in a tight-lidded pot. Let stand without the heat for another 5 minutes, and fluff the cooked quinoa with a fork. The finished product is a bit like rice, has a slightly nutty taste, and is quite yummy! I steamed some mushrooms, carrot sticks, and baby asparagus in the micro-wave using some tamari sauce. Drain the excess water that comes off the mushrooms after cooking, and fold into the quinoa. Delicious.

I found a number of internet sites dedicated to quinoa recipes and there are a million things you can do with this food - pilaf, patties, salad, stuffed peppers, pudding, and on and on. It fixes fast, it is tasty, you can make enough for leftover to have in a completely different dish the next day, and it has protein - did I mention that?

Thanks to my friend, Beverly, for suggesting I try this. She's cooks it frequently and gave me the nudge to try it :)

Onward!
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