Gearing up for the New Year

Gearing up for the vegan kickstart:

1. I am looking forward to my morning scrambled tofu again. That stuff is just damned-tasty.
   
   


2. I think I'll probably make some Indian dishes:
   
   
   
   • I remember making Cauliflower and red lentils in balti sauce, and although it was tasty, the recipe needed some tweaking.
     
     
   • Aloo gobhi will likely make an appearance as well. I'll have to peruse some vegetarian Indian recipes & blogs for more ideas.
     
   
   
   • Oh! There are those spicy chickpea dishes, Channa Masala (chickpea curry) or Aloo Chhole (chickpeas with potatoes). One of my local Indian restaurants makes killer Aloo Chhole. I could just eat that with garlic naan and call it a meal.
     
   
   
   • I know that there are some excellent vegetarian curries with spinach as well. I need to hunt those up.
   
   
   • I've got a few recipes for naan and onion-stuffed kulchas, and will give those a whirl to accompany the Indian dishes.
     


3. I don't want to rely as much on the fake meats & soy cheeses; they seem to be every bit as over-processed as any sodium-filled crap out of a box or a can. More reliance on pulses and beans for protein. The goal is to eat the least -processed foods as possible. I'll make some exceptions for tofu and tempeh. Those are pretty great.
   


4. I can't even begin to count how many different rice and beans recipes I have, from the outstanding Cuban-style black beans and rice from Dinosaur BBQ, to Mexican-style, to a great Cajun red beans and rice recipe. More rice and beans. More Beano, too. ;-)
   


5. Now is as good a time as any to cut out my Diet Coke habit. It's insane, really. I have been drinking hardly any water at all, and that is just not good. 6 - 8 glasses of water a day is my new goal.
   


6. Again, for snacks, I'll opt for nuts and fruit, but if I feel hungry, I'll start with a tall glass of water. I recall reading somewhere reputable that lots of us are so over-fed that we mistake signs of thirst for hunger. So when we're reaching for a bag of potato chips or something else fairly laden with empty calories and salt, what we really ought to be doing is downing a glass of water.
   

I'm Back

I fell off the wagon this fall.

No, actually, that's not quite right. I didn't fall off so much as jumped off the wagon.

Right into wheelbarrow filled with sausage and cheese.


I've talked about lapses with other vegetarians and vegans, so I know that it happens. Still, I could only describe myself as a self-loathing omnivore. With every bite I took I was torn between the decadent taste and the suffering behind it. I wanted the cruelty-free ethical lifestyle, but not as much as the taste of the food I grew up with.

I didn't realize I could be that weak.

I don't know if I had trouble sticking to a vegan diet because I dived in feet-first, going straight from omnivore to vegan instead of easing in gently.


I resolve to try again.

Starting January 1, I'll be climbing back in the wagon via the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart.

I suppose I'll take it from there and see how it goes.

Four-legged Vegans in the House?

Now, my cat ate a squashed pea off of the kitchen floor the other day, and he's been known to snack on house plants from time to time, but unlike some vegans out there, I will not insist on trying to turn my perfectly lovely 9-pound carnivorous tabby into a vegan.

There's ethics about what your yourself eat, and then there's a step into Crazyland.

At some point, we have to accept the facts: cats are carnivores, from their sharp teeth to their razor-like claws to the chemical makeup of their stomach juices and length of their intestinal tract. Forcing them to an all-plant diet because you don't want animals to suffer is ludicrous. You'll only be passing the suffering onto your beloved pet.

Now I know that the anti-vegans out there will take this argument and project it onto humans and make wild claims about meat as an essential ingredient for human development, but even that is a subject of fierce debate. Did we evolve as scavengers? Was our brain development contingent on adding meat proteins to our diet? etc etc etc

My own personal belief is that for people, it is a different issue. We can survive without meat; unless there is scientific evidence of which I am unaware, conventional wisdom states that cats and dogs, as carnivores, can not. For people, it is a choice to abstain from meat for whatever reason, be it health, ethics or even aesthetics.

Making that choice for your pet can't be healthy. I don't know of any vets who propose a vegetable-based diet for animals.

I do agree that the pet food industry has been tainted by association with the meat-packing industry and the factory farming model. The leftover bits of livestock are ground up for pet food, and considering the quality of the "mechanically separated meat" that ends up in our tinned meats and soups for human consumption, I can not begin to imagine the meat that's leftover for our pets!

I do understand the desire not to participate in supporting the industrialized food model, but I can not put my pet's health at risk to do so. I haven't really researched organic pet foods - Hell, I don't know if they even exist - but I'd like to see what I can do to avoid Purina and other companies which I imagine use the dregs from the killing floors of the big slaughterhouses.

Sweet Potato Fries

I've been down lately, and true to form, when slightly depressed, have been running into the comforting arms of carbs. My latest carb-obsession has not been desserts or home-baked breads, but instead, sweet potato fries.

I know, I know, like who really needs a recipe for this, right? I thought I'd share it anyway.

I like my sweet potato fries with a bit of a kick. I love the sweet and spicy flavors together. I tried making these with creole seasoning last week, but they were far too salty, so I switched back to my standard Old Bay until I can hunt down a creole seasoning blend which has less salt in it.

Sweet Potato Fries with Spicy Mayo

Ingredients:

• 1 sweet potato, sliced into matchsticks
• Olive oil
• Old Bay



• veganaise
• whole grain mustard
• Old Bay

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425.


2. Slice the sweet potato into batards/matchsticks NOT julienne slices.


3. Toss in a bolw with a generous amount of olive oil and a good tablespoon of Old Bay.


4. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray (I like grapeseed oil for high temperatures).


5. Spread out the sweet potatoes in one even layer.


6. Bake for 15 minutes, take out and flip them and bake for an additional 15 minutes.


7. While they're baking, mix the ingredients for your spicy mayo, seasoning to taste, then devour.

Mini Key Lime Pies

These were oh-so-good. If you are expecting some unnaturally green plasticky pie, this is not it. Try a lime gelatin pie for that. :p

Mini Key Lime Pies

makes 6

Ingredients

• 1/2 package silken tofu
• 2 T agave nectar
• 1 T arrowroot powder
• 3 T Key Lime Juice


• 6 mini graham cracker crusts, prepared or homemade
  


• Turbinado sugar (for garnish)
  
• Lime (for garnish)
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.


2. Place the 6 mini graham cracker crusts on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan.
   


3. Place the tofu and agave nectar in a bowl. Whisk together well.*See Notes below.
   


4. Add the key lime juice and continue to whisk briskly.


5. Add the arrowroot powder (or tapioca starch) and stir until well mixed.


6. Pour the mixture into the prepared crusts.


7. Bake for 25 minutes. Take out and let cool on a rack, then chill for at least 2 hours.


8. Sprinkle the top with turbinado sugar and slices of lime.


9. Eat and faint from joy.
   

Notes:

• This is the first time I've made any sort of dessert with silken tofu, so I am still getting a feel for it.


• They were very tasty, but I think that I did not whisk well enough, because the texture wasn't the perfectly smooth and creamy custard of the non-vegan Key Lime Pie. It was a bit grainy, which I think I could overcome by whisking more, or even using an electric mixer.
  


• The flavor was wonderful- sweet and tart, no hint of "tofu-ness" which puts a lot of people off desserts with silken tofu. The key lime flavor really bursts forward in this recipe.
  


• If you would like a full-sized, 9-inch pie, double the filling recipe and add 10-15 minutes' baking time.
  

Day 53: Mock Crabcakes

I saw a recipe for mock crabcakes made with tempeh at the Post Punk Kitchen. The thought of using tempeh instead of tofu, like most of the recipes I found, intrigued me. I made some changes to the recipe to keep it closer to the original Maryland crabcakes I used to make when we lived in southern Maryland in our little house by the Chesapeake Bay. *wistful sigh*

The Old Bay seasoning is essential. I swear, it's in everything down there. We would joke that new transplants to the state would get a huge tin of the stuff in their welcome basket, along with a diagram on the only correct way to pick crabs. My ex got to using Old Bay in place of paprika in his Saturday morning homefries. It adds a nice bit of bite and spicy flavor to the potatoes.

Another change I made was adding crushed Saltines, although Ritz crackers would have been my first choice. I remember talking to someone down in Maryland who swore that Ritz crackers were the super-secret ingredient for the perfect crabcake.

While the original recipe looks tasty, I can't recall ever eating a real Chesapeake Bay crab cake that had bell pepper in them. Celery and minced onion, yes. Then again, there have got to be as many ways to craft the perfect crabcake as there are cooks. I wanted to recapture the essence of the crabcakes I remembered.

This recipe came pretty close. The texture of the tempeh is nice, much closer to real lump crabmeat than tofu would ever do, in my opinion.

Mock Crabcakes

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces tempeh
• water to cover
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Bragg's liquid aminos
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoon whole grain mustard
• 1 tablespoon Frank's Red Hot pepper sauce
• 1/4 cup minced onion, rehydrated
• 2 stalks celery, minced
• 2 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
• 8 Saltines, crushed
• 1 handful toasted nori, crumbled
• Panko breadcrumbs


Spicy mayo:


• 3 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
• 1 tablespoon Frank's Red Pepper hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

Directions:

1. Crumble the tempeh into a sauce pan. Pour in enough water to cover the tempeh. Add the Bragg's, olive oil and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, uncover and let boil for 12 minutes. Stir occasionally. Drain well.
   


2. Transfer contents to a mixing bowl, remove bay leaf, and mash with a potato masher. Let sit and cool for about 15 minutes.


3. Toss in the minced onion and celery and mix well. Add the crushed saltines and crumbled nori and stir well. Fold in the mayo, mustard, hot sauce, Old Bay Seasoning and mix thoroughly.


4. Fill the bottom of a pie plate with panko breadcrumbs. Take a small handful of the tempeh mixture and form into a ball. Press them into the panko crumbs in the pie pan and flatten them. Coat the top and sides well. Be careful with these cakes, as they will fall apart with rough handling.


5. Gently put about four cakes in a large oiled skillet, frying them over medium-high heat. Fry the cakes for about 5 minutes on one side until (GB&D) golden brown and delicious. Fry for 2 minutes on the other side and transfer to a plate. While the second batch is frying, whip up the spicy mayo by mixing all the ingredients together.


6. Top each cake with a generous dollop of the mayo and eat while still warm.

Notes:

• This recipe made 8 generous-sized crabcakes. You could make them much smaller for hors d'oeurvres.


• They are very fragile. I had to use two spatulas to turn them. I would not recommend turning them more than once. Make sure that you let them cook longer on the first side and come to a nice GB&D state before flipping.
  

Day 52: A Touch of Autumn

It's been cool and rainy here lately. This morning especially, I got a hint of fall on the breeze, and even though I know it's only temporary, I thought I'd celebrate this autumnal mood with apples. I'm also down to the scraping the barrel of the fridge and pantry. I really need to get to the grocery store soon, but I love those days when I have to take stock of what I've got in hand and see what I can whip up. Honestly, I've made some of the best meals that way.

Today it was individual apple crisps. The girls said that I need to make those again, so next time I'll have a photo. Also, bear in mind, I was tossing things together as I went, so my measurements this time are inexact.

Maple- Brown sugar Apple Crisps

Ingredients:

• 2 apples - I used 1 Granny Smith and 1 Jonamac. With my apple pies I like a mixture of sweet and tart apples. These make a nice combination.
• 2 T pure maple syrup
• 3 T brown sugar


• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 T wheat germ
• vegan margarine (or butter if you're not a vegan)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.


2. Peel and slice the apples into very thin slices.


3. Place into a bowl and drizzle with maple syrup.


4. Add the brown sugar and stir well. Taste to adjust. You may like it sweeter or more mapley.


5. Put the mixture into greased ramekins. This made enough for three.


6. In a food processor, pulse the walnuts until coarsely ground.


7. Add the oats and pulse again until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.


8. Dump this mixture into the same bowl that held the apple mixture. The bowl should still have some of the maple syrup/brown sugar mixture in it. Stir well to mix in all the syrup.
   


9. Add about 1/4 cup of brown sugar (I usually add it in tablespoon increments and taste as I go) and mix well. I like to add a tablespoon or two of wheat germ too.


10. Cut in about 2 T of butter or vegan margarine. (I like Earth Balance) and work with your hands or a pasty cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.


11. Divide between the three ramekins, packing down the crumb topping firmly.


12. Bake in a 375 oven for 25 minutes or until it's bubbling nicely around the edges.


13. Take out and let cool on a rack for a bit and then serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream.

Day 46: Strong Hearts Cafe

Well, as I predicted yesterday, I could barely wait until 11 am to try out the vegan cafe in my city. I dragged the girls off with me for a vegan luncheon. I promised them pizza, only to discover that I had not read the menu very well. They serve pizza on Friday nights from 6pm until 2 am only. Oops. That elicited a bit of sulkiness from my Tween-in-training, but I snagged a few menus and pointed out to her that they served breakfast all day and emphasized the long list of milkshakes and she was ok.

In the end, Natalie had waffles topped with powdered sugar, fresh strawberries and real maple syrup and washed it down with a huge pumpkin milkshake. That milkshake tasted like a Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, oh my! Lucy opted for a BLT using the fak'n bacon stuff, vegan cheese (Teese), vegannaise, lettuce and tomato on grilled whole wheat bread, and to drink, had a thick, creamy blueberry milkshake. I had a TLT: a generous slab of marinated, baked tofu with tomato, lettuce, sprouts, pesto & vegannaise on grilled whole wheat bread. Although the milkshakes were tempting, I had a yerba mate after finding out that they'd sold out of my first choice Thai Iced Tea.


The verdict: Delicious. The girls loved their food too, and any mom, vegan or otherwise, can tell you, that's no mean feat.


The sandwiches came solo, unaccompanied by chips, fries or even a small salad, so the prices were a bit, well, pricey for simple sandwiches, but I'm ok with it, and let me tell you why. This place is 100% vegan, and it's rare that a restaurant offers any vegetarian items at all, let alone any vegan offerings. I'm more than happy to support them. Sure, I won't be eating there every week, but I don't eat out anywhere every week, but when I do go out, I will be going there instead of spending my money elsewhere.

I am happy to spread the love; in fact, I told my sister-in-law about the place today. She hadn't heard about it either. They've been open for a little over a year now, and are going strong. I hope that they continue to do well. We could use more places like this.

Day 45: Dining Out

I've only dined out twice since I've made this switch. The Thai restaurant had a whole vegetarian section filled with tofu and vegetables and when I asked if there were hidden animal products like broth, the waitress told me that it was all totally vegan. The Friendly's menu, on the other hand, was not terribly vegetarian-friendly, let alone vegan-safe. Nevertheless, they accommodated my request to un-cheese my veggie fajita quesadilla and it was pretty tasty. I rarely eat out, so it hadn't really occurred to me that this would be quite the ordeal.

I did a little bit of online searching and found the Vegan Eating Out Guide, which researches popular sit-down restaurants and fast food chains and details what, exactly, on their menus is vegan. Some restaurants, like Red Robin, Hooter's, Denny's and TGI Fridays, offer nothing. Nope, not even a fruit cup, a bowl of plain oatmeal or a green salad. I was stunned, really. I had figured that vegan dining out would be an exercise largely reduced to a plate of anemic-looking iceberg lettuce passing itself off as a "green salad" or picking and choosing from side dishes, but for some restaurants to have nothing free of animal products, like not even a baked potato, for God's sake, well, that's an eye-opener.

Panera and Au Bon Pain, on the other hand, had some soups and sandwiches which were either already vegan as-is or could be made so simply by omitting the cheese.


I was surprised and disappointed to discover that Ruby Tuesday's Veggie Burger was no longer listed. A few more searches on Google later, and I found that they had switched suppliers and their veggie burger mix had mayonnaise in it. So now, the only stand-alone vegan offering on their menu is their salad bar. I did not become a vegan so that I could be relegated to eating salads wherever I went. Is it really that difficult for a restaurant to add a grilled portobello mushroom sandwich to the menu? I'm not asking for fake meats or seitan, here.

I was perusing the Vegan Eating Guide's of fast food restaurants which serves 100% vegan foods and saw that there was one listed in New York. I clicked on it, wondering what in the world a fast food vegan restaurant could possibly be like and I nearly fell over.

The link took me to a place called Strong Hearts Cafe, the largest vegan cafe in New York state outside of New York city, and it's right here in Syracuse.

How the Hell did I not know this?!

Now I am so excited I can barely stand it. They have a full breakfast, lunch and PIZZA menu! I told the girls that we would go there soon for pizza. Hell, let's see if I can wait as long as 11 am.

They have milkshakes, soups, salads, sandwiches and.... did I mention the pizza?

You can expect my review as soon as I've gone there. Check out their menus here.

Day 44: "Mexican" Quinoa & Rice with Corn and Chorizo

This was a spur of the moment, "the pantry is empty" recipe that ended up tasting delicious. I was inexact with my measurements, so if you're trying to recreate this, bear that in mind.

"Mexican" Quinoa & Rice with Corn and Chorizo

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup long grain white rice
• 1/4 cup quinoa
• 1/4 cup red quinoa
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes and chilies
• 1/2 t garlic powder
• 1/2 t onion powder
• 1/2 t (heaping) chili powder
• water


• 1 vegan chorizo, diced (I used the LightLife Smart Sausages brand)* A poster kindly pointed out that these sausages are not actually vegan, as they contain egg. I believe I will try to make steamed seitan sausages from scratch this weekend.
  
• 3/4 cup frozen corn
• dried, minced onion, reconstituted * for some reason I am using this stuff in everything lately



• chopped avocado
  
• shredded vegan cheese
  
• chopped cilantro
  

Directions:

1. In a sturdy saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.


2. Add the chopped onion and saute until translucent.
   


3. Add the garlic and the rice and two kinds of quinoa. Stir well, be sure that everything is coated.


4. Dump the Rotel tomatoes, chilies and juice into a measuring cup and add enough water to make 2 1/2 cups.


5. Add the spices to the rice and onion mixture, stir well, increase heat to high and add the tomato and water mixture.
   


6. Cover, bring to a boil and reduce heat to low and let cook for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat. Let sit at least 10 minutes before removing the lid. The longer it sits, the better.


7. In a medium-sized skillet, saute the diced chorizo in olive oil over medium-high heat until browned.
   


8. Add the corn and reconstituted onion, stir well and cook until it's as browned as you like. I like the corn to have a bit of color.


9. When it's done, add the chorizo mixture to the grains, stir well. Serve in a bowl topped with cheese, avocado and cilantro.

Notes: This recipe uses my basic pilaf technique:

• I saute the aromatics (chopped onion or shallot) in olive oil over fairly high heat until it just starts to sweat and turns translucent, then add the garlic and then almost immediately the grains.
  
• Up the heat to high, stirring pretty frequently, making sure that the grains are nicely coated. You can saute them longer until they're slightly browned and give off a nutty smell, and then add the liquid.
  
• Cover immediately with a tight-fitting lid and bring to a boil I like to use a pot that has a glass lid so I can see exactly when it's come to a nice boil - then lower the heat and let simmer for 13-15 minutes. This is where the glass lid comes in handy. You can see the surface of the rice if there are holes, like small craters where the hot air has forced through but there is no more liquid bubbling, it's perfect.
  
• Turn off the heat, and let it sit for at least 10 minutes before you remove the lid to fluff the rice.
• I use this for mixed-grain pilafs and when I was a dairy eater, would add grated cheese and a pat of butter at the very end when I would stir in the last ingredients.
  
• One of my favorite mixed-grain pilafs uses 1/2 cup of rice, 1/4 cup of bulgur and 1/4 cup of quinoa and 2 cups of liquid.
  

Day 42: Sunday Morning Vegan Fry-up

I've never been a fan of cold cereals, pancakes, waffles or french toast for breakfast. I've tried the light breakfasts of fruit and granola, and on the whole, they just don't work for me. I need a solid breakfast under my belt to get me going in the morning. On those occasions when I want a big breakfast, I'd always opt for a big greasy plate piled high with eggs, sausage, some mess of fried potatoes and toast.

I have fond memories of when I was in Korea after partying in Itaewon, my friends and I going back to my apartment where I'd make a late-night( or very early-morning ) breakfast mess of a huge skillet filled with fried potatoes cooked down to a lovely golden crisp with sauteed vegetables and topped with scrambled eggs. We called it the Peasant's Breakfast Special, but oh my GOD was it good, just thing thing after a night of too much beer, soju and the greatest disco hits of the 70s.

There's nothing like a nice fry-up on the weekend, and there's no reason you can't have one, even if you're a vegan.

Vegan Sunday Fry-up

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 1/3 package vegan Gimme Lean Sausage
• 4 T dried, minced onion, reconstituted
• 1/3 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 tomato, diced


• 1/3 package extra firm tofu, blotted dry
• 1/2 onion, chopped fine
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 t onion powder
• 1/2 t garlic powder
• 1/2 t turmeric
• 1 T nutritional yeast

Directions:

1. In a skillet, over medium-high heat, cook the sausage in olive oil until it starts to brown. Add the reconstituted onion and stir well.


2. In another skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat, then crumble the tofu into the pan. Stir well and cook until browned.


3. While the tofu is browning, add the red bell pepper to the sausage mixture in the first skillet, stir well, then lower the heat and let cook through.


4. Once the tofu starts to get lightly golden-brown, add the chopped onion and garlic. Stir well.


5. Add the onion powder, garlic powder and turmeric to the tofu mixture and stir thoroughly to coat.


6. Add the chopped tomato to the sausage mixture, stir well.


7. Add the nutritional yeast to the tofu mixture, turn up the heat to high briefly, stirring constantly, then add the tofu to the sausage and vegetable mixture in the first skillet. Fold it all together, then serve and eat.

Day 41: Refreshed

For the past 8 years ever since my son's death, a good portion of the month of June is hard for me. I often disappear from the radar, I'll stop blogging, avoid my usual internet haunts, hole up at home, reading books, watching movies, and quite often, just go to bed.

This past week I did not eat healthily; I ate completely vegan, but I basically ate nothing but bread. I took in no fruit at all, and very few vegetables. I took refuge in homemade naan and whole wheat flatbread. I craved Korean and Indian food for some reason, and made aloo gobhi and kimchi fried rice. Kimchee fried rice was one of my comfort foods when I was teaching in Korea: cheap, easy to make, and very filling, it satisfies.

This morning, though, I feel as though I've finally woken up. The girls have been begging me to take them to see the movie "Up," so we're off to the movies in a little while. They also asked for Chinese food, but I told them that a trip to the movies and take out was too much for one day, but said that we could do our DIY takeout, and they liked that.

So, later on, we'll be making mandu, veganized, 0f course. I'm planning on two kinds: the fake ground beef sort adapted from my original meat-based recipe here (I'll use the Gimme Lean fake ground beef), and veggie mandu filled with baby bok choy, tofu, shiitake mushroom, green onion, soy sauce, garlic and ginger.

I have some nice asparagus that I'll roast, glazed with soy sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds, and I still have some leftover sticky rice that could heat up as an accompaniment. Presto! DIY takeout Chinese night. It keeps the girls happy, and as the three of us sit together at the dining room table making the mandu, we do silly things like sing songs and tell stories. Then we'll eat pic-nic style in the living room while we watch some dvd.

The girls' gradual introduction to vegan replacements for old standards has gone very well. They are actively taking an interest in what I eating and are willing to try things out. They have found that "these things taste good," which is the usual fear with healthy foods.

I'll post pictures of our mandu feast later on.

Have a great weekend!

Day 32: June 18th

Today is the 8th anniversary of my son's birth and death and I'll be going to the cemetery later on, so this will be short and sweet.

It's rainy, cold and gloomy out, a fitting parallel of my mood. I needed a hearty breakfast this morning, and decided to veganize one of my comfort food breakfasts: Scrambled Eggs with Onion & Tomato.

Scrambled Tofu with Onion and Tomato

Ingredients:

• 2 T olive oil*
• 1/2 block of extra firm tofu (I like nasoya organic tofu best)
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 tomato, chopped
• 1/2 t onion powder
• 1/2 t garlic powder
• 1/4 t turmeric
• 2 T nutritional yeast
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Put the olive oil in a pan and turn the heat to medium-high.


2. Drain the tofu and blot it with a paper towel.


3. Crumble the tofu into the pan and saute until it's nicely golden-brown.


4. Push the tofu to the sides of the pan and add the chopped onion and saute until translucent.


5. Add the tomato and stir the mixture together.


6. Stir in the onion powder, garlic powder and turmeric and mix well.


7. Fold in the nutritional yeast, making sure that everything is well coated. Let it cook for about a minute more, then plate.


8. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

*Unlike Rachael Ray, you'll never see me prance around the kitchen calling it EVOO.


Notes:

• It looks amazingly like the real deal scrambled eggs, thanks to the turmeric and nutritional yeast.
  


• I always preferred my eggs on the dry side which is why I did not opt for any additional moisture, but if you like yours creamier, you can whisk your nutritional yeast into some warm soy milk or soy creamer first and then add it to the tofu and vegetable mixture.
  


• I may try something like this in my quest to make the perfect vegan omelette. Omelettes were my favorite egg-based dish. If I coudl recreate their essence with tofu I would be very happy indeed.
  

Day 30: Perspective

Well, it's not what I'm eating, there's something else going on because as of this morning I've gained 5 pounds since yesterday, all in excess water I can feel sloshing around in my tissue. All day yesterday I was ridiculously thirsty, drinking glass after glass of ice water, and running to the bathroom constantly. Nevertheless, I have accumulated 5 pounds of fluid, so obviously there is more going on here. My first thought, especially because of the extreme thirst, was diabetes, but I was just tested, and my numbers were fine. I'm not nearly at a weight that would put me at risk for it either, so unless this thirst persists for days, I will rule that out.

Then I got to thinking, I did start a new medication two weeks ago, and for some lucky reason, I am prone to weird side effects of medications. Reading the literature on this medication I noticed that a rare side effect is... hyperglycemia or diabetes. Great. I think I'll call and have them order a blood glucose test for me and see if perhaps my blood sugar numbers have sky rocketed in the past few weeks. Or I suppose could just stop taking it, it's not an essential medication, it was just for migraine prevention.

So in other words, staying true to my ideal of eating healthy should be the way to go. I may put the Eco-Atkins on the back burner for now and continue to eat smart, eat healthy and choose from all the groups, and to Hell with the scale.

In other news, today we have our big day at the zoo. My younger daughter's long-awaited class field trip to our local zoo is today, and I somehow volunteered to be a chaperone. I still am not sure how that happened. She's so excited that I'm coming along, and packing our lunches in the laptop lunch boxes. The forecast is for a beautiful day, I'll get plenty of exercise walking around herding kindergarteners, all in all, it should be an epic day.

If only I can keep from running to the bathroom.

Enjoy your day, everyone.

Day 29: "Now is the Time on Sprockets Ven Ve Dance!"

Ok, not really. In fact, in the swirling torrents of my mind right now, it actually goes something more like "Now is the time on Sprockets ven ven obsess over our veight."

Ugh. I weighed myself today, and inexplicably, I am up a pound and a half from Friday. I knew it was happening too, because I could feel the water weight accumulating over the weekend. I hate that. It makes me feel like a bloated sponge. I wish I could just wring myself dry.

What. The. Fuck?

I haven't been eating unhealthy foods, I haven't been overindulging, the portion sizes aren't gluttonous, yet *BAM* I haven't even been overdoing it on the breads, well, except for yesterday. I made my whole wheat flatbreads to accompany the cauliflower and lentil dish and had four of those; 1 "tester" straight off the griddle when I was cooking them, another to test the cauliflower dish as it was simmering and then two later on with the meal. Granted, they're small, but still. I'll have to put them in the freezer until I can sort this out.

So, how lovely, my firm resolution of the other day is basically all shot to shit, and I am now obsessing over the idea of doing this Eco-Atkins plan that's got people's tongues wagging. Basically, for two weeks I'd eliminate the carbs I do eat: the whole wheat bread, whole wheat tortillas, potatoes, grains & the occasional Guiltless Gourmet chips. Oh, and the damned vegan pancakes. I never really cared about pancakes before, I don't know where this craving came from.


Part of me really hates that I've become so scope-locked on this as primarily a weight loss issue, instead of as a healthy lifestyle & ethical change, when it's both. I guess I assumed that now that I am eating healthily (and virtuously for God's sake, I'm saving cows and pigs and chickens), the pounds should be melting off of me as quickly as they did the first time I adopted a vegan diet. I remember losing 20 pounds pretty damned quickly, but then again I am 40 now, and was 18 then. Big difference in metabolisms.

Anther option would be to go raw, which would mean no cooked or processed anything: bread, tortillas, hummus, refried beans, cooked lentils, tofu, seitan, tempeh, fake meats. Basically a lot of what I've spent money on the past three weeks at the grocery store. It's just not economically feasible to throw food out, that's throwing money out, so I'm going to say no to going totally raw. I am going to continue keeping the bulk of what I eat raw fruits and vegetables though.

So I think that for the next two weeks I'll just cut out what flour-based items I have been eating, along with the occasional rice or potato dish along with the snack indulgences and anything that might still have sugar in it, though to be honest, I haven't used white sugar in months. I'll increase the amount of protein because I've read that boosting the higher-protein plant foods might be especially helpful for vegan women looking to lose weight.

I am keeping the fruit, at least for the next two weeks. If the pounds don't start sliding off in a steady manner, then I'll see about taking the drastic step of eliminating them for two weeks.

So, a sample menu for my day on an Eco-Atkins diet would probably look something like:

Breakfast:

Monster Green Smoothie

Snack:

20 almonds
water

Snack:

apple with peanut butter
water

Lunch:

1/2 cup of hummus with 2 cups of raw vegetables: raw red bell pepper, celery, grape tomatoes
water

Snack:

1/4 cup of roasted soy nuts
water

Snack:

Celery sticks with cashew cheese
water

Dinner:

Tofu and veggie scramble
water

So, lots of raw vegetables, beans, nuts, soy and legumes for protein, plus some fruit and plenty of water. Oh, and I won't be stepping on the scale again in a while. Let's see where I am after two weeks of doing this.


Of course, getting back to the title and the sentiment Dieter's expressing in the photo to the right, you know, I really should get up and dance, or so some cardio daily. My copy of Yoga Booty Ballet beckons.

If the weather cooperates today, I will walk instead of drive to pick the kids up from school, and tomorrow is my little one's big day at the Zoo, and she made me promise to come on the field trip with her, so no doubt we'll be walking all day, plus I'll have my own bevy of kindergartners to herd.

This would all be so much easier if I had the support of a loving spouse, but yet again, one of life's big lessons is that if you don't love yourself, then really why the hell should anyone else love you? It's especially difficult in those times when you feel as though you really want to give up, but you know that you can rely on a loved-one to buck you up. Don't get me wrong, I get a ton of support from my friends, and I appreciate every bit of it, but it's a different kind of support from the type you get from someone who loves the hell out of you. So yet again, I have to suck it all up and just pull through this shit on my own. It's tiring, and kind of demoralizing after a while.

Well, enough of that Monday morning negativity.

Day 28: Indian Food in a New Kitchen (Sort of)

The girls and I embarked on a long-overdue spring cleaning of sorts yesterday. They'd put off really cleaning their rooms and I'd put off really laying down the law with them until things reached a critical mass yesterday. I held out the reward of a cool pet keepsake craft kit with a scrapbook and a photo album which they could do while watching a Pokemon movie.

I must say, that worked as a pretty effective carrot on a stick. You call it "bribery;" I call it "two clean kids' rooms."

While they toiled upstairs, I sorted out all of the stuff from the lower cabinets in my kitchen, ripped out the old contact paper, washed the shelves and applied new contact paper. I tossed out some old stuff hanging around, like a package of beef jerky still lingering from my South Beach Diet days (won't be needing that anymore), an old can of soup which I believe we actually moved with us up from Maryland 8 years ago, and a seasoning packet for pasta salad that had hardened into a solid lump of salt. *shudder*


Now my flours are all in nice containers, nicely aligned, my rices and grains are nearby, everything looks nice, although I could devote an entire post to how un-Martha I am. I'm pretty sure that some other chick has taken the title of the "Anti-Martha," and although I do not smoke, and believe it or not, don't really drink much anymore either, I am the idea of the Martha who's got a strong drink on the counter, a cigarette smoldering in the ashtray and a stream of curses flying out of her mouth as she struggles with the contact paper.

That contact paper is the devil.

Although my cabinets are all in order, the top of my counter is a different story: jars of at least 8 kinds of nuts, seeds and trail mixes squeezed in what small space can be found between the blender, food processor and juicer - each of these vital to my daily routine. If I can dredge up the will to do it, I'll go through the upper cabinets and reorganize things there so I can shift the jars of nuts up there and give me back some counter space.

Of course I'd probably just clutter it up with the food dehydrator which I've been dying to use. Some of the raw food cracker recipes look mighty tempting, but that thing is a monstrous space-hog.

We'll see. At any rate, I was looking around for vegan recipes for cauliflower when I stumbled on this: Cauliflower Dal with Panch Phoran from the FatFree Vegan Kitchen. The critical ingredient for this dish is a Bengali spice blend called Panch Phuran. Despite a trip to Wegman's early yesterday, I seemed to be fresh out of this stuff. Fortunately for me, we do have a few Indian groceries in my area. A quick trip through Google later and I was nearly salivating on my keyboard, ready to roll down the hill to get to Kashmir's and sample their vegetarian samosas, rotis and naan. I'm trying my best not to go out to the store for specialty items every day though.

My craving for Indian food now completely stoked, however, I have been poring over Indian food blogs and recipe sites seeking out recipes I could make using what I have on hand, when it occurred to me that I already have a tried and true recipe for Cauliflower and Chickpea Balti that I could adapt. I've been heavy on the chickpeas lately, in fact, today's lunch was a hefty dose of Sabra Chunky Hummus and an assortment of raw veggies. Delicious. If you haven't tried their hummus, do yourself a favor and pick some up the next time you're wheeling past the kalamata olives, baba ganouj and feta.

Anyway... to keep from overdoing it on the chickpea quotient, I thought I'd satisfy another craving and add red lentils to this recipe.

Cauliflower and Red Lentils in Balti Sauce

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup red lentils
• ½ t turmeric
  
• ½ t salt
• 1 cup of water


• 2 Tb vegetable oil
• ½-in piece ginger, minced
• 2 large garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 shallots, chopped
  
• 1 cup of water
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 T chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 t ground cumin
• ½ t turmeric
  
• ¼ t chili powder
• ½ t paprika
• ½ t garam masala
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 green cardamom pods, slightly crushed
• 1½ t salt


• ½ head of cauliflower cut into fourths
• fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
• garam masala (optional)
  

Directions:

1. Rinse the red lentils well, then drain. Place them in a pot with the salt and turmeric and 1 cup of water, bring to a boil and simmer, covered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. While the lentils are cooking, heat the oil over medium heat.
3. Add the onions and cook until they are translucent.
   
4. Add the water and bring to a boil. Add the garlic, ginger, tomato, cilantro, cumin, turmeric, chili powder, paprika, garam masala, bay leaves, cardamom pods and salt, cover and simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes.
5. Remove the bay leaves and cardamom pods, add the cooked lentils and cauliflower, cover and simmer until the cauliflower is just tender.
   
6. Stir in the coriander. Just before serving, sprinkle additional garam masala on top. Serve with flatbread or over basmati rice.
   

This makes 4 sizeable servings.

Notes:

• I had to cook more lentils to add to the sauce. By the time the cauliflower had finished cooking, there was no sign of them, so I turned off the heat and cooked some more red lentils.


• The original recipe also had green chili peppers in the sauce, but that was on ingredient I didn't have. This recipe is deliciously spiced, but not spicy. The chilis add a wonderful heat to it, so if you want it hotter, go for it. :)
  


• The next time I make this, I'll make a lot more lentils and add them last, when the cauliflower has finished cooking.


• When I heated these leftovers up, I added some chopped pickled green chillies (mirch achaar), because I wanted some heat. Excellent. I went on to use some of them in the straight in the curry sauce when I made aloo gobhi instead of jalapenos.
  

Day 26: What Not to Eat

It may be easy to assume that the majority of vegans eat a healthier diet than most non-vegan Americans, but it's worth nothing that that's not necessarily so. Even though vegans have cut out synthetic trans fats and animal-based saturated fats, they still run the risk of swamping meals with "healthy" fats like walnut oil, olive oil and flaxseed oil, also with high-fat fruits like avocados and coconut products, and then there are all of those nuts for snacks.

There are still carb-laden junk foods, like bagels, Oreos, Fritos, unfrosted Pop-tarts, tortilla chips, Cracker Jacks, pretzels and potato chips. Yes, those are all vegan! Then there are varieties of organic and "healthy" junk food alternatives in the natural foods section of many large chain grocery stores.

So what if they're organic? They're still more or less empty calories! Simply making a one-to-one switch of the animal products to plant-based ones, like eating vegan pizza topped with cashew cheese and fake meats instead of a regular Meat-lover's pizza from Pizza Hut three times a week may bring some benefits, but it's not as healthy as ultimately changing the way we eat.

You could eat nothing but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bagels with Tofutti cream cheese, nachos assembled from Guiltless Gourmet blue corn tortilla chips, vegetarian refried beans, guacamole and soy-based casein-free "cheese," and topped off with salsa, vegan sour cream and black olives and say, "Hey, I'm a Vegan!" and still not get a healthy allotment of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.


I know. I've done it.


My food credo, if you can call it that, is to eat the majority of my food in as close to its natural state as possible: more natural food and less "industrial food," as Michael Pollan would say. In his book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, he described industrial food as "any food whose provenance is so complex or obscure that it requires expert help to ascertain." In the Standard American Diet (SAD), this probably means corn or some derivative thereof, and wow, is it everywhere, from the sweeteners, to the flour, to the wax on a lot of the produce, to the grain that fattened the cattle who ultimately became Quarter Pounders, or fed the chickens who turned into your kids' Purdue Dinosaur Chicken nuggets; it even fed the dairy cows who produced the cream in my old favorite pint of Chubby Hubby ice cream.* Edit: upon some review, it appears that Ben and Jerry's actually makes real efforts to work with dairy farmers who pledge to use grass-based dairying, whose benefits are many; among them being a more sustainable agricultural practice with less need for chemical fertilizers, and a healthier herd, so less call for drugs.

The Egg McMuffin? A lot of corn behind that baby, plus a smidge of overly-refined wheat flour.


So, no more with the military-industrial complex and their frankenfoods. I haven't even touched on the issue of genetically-engineered foods and the evil that is Monsanto.


I resolve to eat most of my fruits and vegetables raw, same goes for my nuts and seeds. Unlike with a 100% raw diet, I'll have baked whole-grain bread, though I may try some dehydrated cracker recipes from raw food sites. I do have some processed soy and vegetable protein items, (soy milk, tofu, tempeh, soy-based meat and cheese replacements) but they will not constitute the bulk of my diet.

In fact, I am still delving into what's "ok" and what isn't. I recently discovered that my favorite soy milk, Silk, no longer uses organic soy beans. From what I've read, genetically modified soy beans have pretty much contaminated the general supply, so unless the package is specifically marked organic, chances are good that you're consuming a genetically modified organism (GMO).

Silk did not substantially change their packaging except to remove the organic stamp and the "organic soy beans" from the ingredients list. They did this with as little fanfare as possible. In fact, I only heard about this through vegan blogs and a twitter-fest over the past week. Now I have to check the labels even more thoroughly on my soy-based items. It's not enough that many of the "non-dairy" soy-based cheeses aren't actually vegan because of traces of casein, something which I discovered to my chagrin after I bought three blocks of Soya Kaas last week. No, now I have to worry about the quality of the soy beans in my supposedly healthy food.

How aggravating.

I have to work twice as hard and spend more money to feed my kids and myself the healthiest foods, as free of pesticides, antibiotics and suspect science as possible. The food industry markets the most unhealthy food the most aggressively. They have the grocers' associations on their sides as well as the food manufacturers because their bottom line is a financial one, although it is patently absurd, since at the end of the day, they all have to eat too. But here is where there is a disconnect: they don't see the animals and plants as anything other than commodities to be processed into other exchangeable items.

I see animals that have been poisoned, inhumanely slaughtered -against our own laws, even- and contaminated food that has been processed and stamped USDA-approved thanks to the ridiculous concept of an industry regulating itself. Let's be realistic, if fraternities can't manage the honor system, we can't expect billion-dollar corporations to do so.

That's just scratching the surface. /rant


So, what to eat, then?

There's been a lot in the news in recent days about the Eco-Atkins, or a veganized version of the Atkins diet, and yesterday I was excited about it because I'd done a low-carb, high-protein diet 3 years ago and lost a good deal of weight, only to have some of it come back when my unresolved eating disorder issues popped to the fore during times of stress.

Now I know that it's naïve of me to assume that switching to a vegan diet/lifestyle would be a panacea for all that ails me. I know I'll probably have to see a therapist about this at some point, truth be told, but I know from my past experience that weight loss with a vegan diet is quite common. Hearing about this vegan version of the Atkins got me revved up until I realized that I've been losing weight already, albeit slowly; what's more, I have been feeling great ever since I made the switch. So, why mess with a good thing? Besides, as of this morning, I'm down another pound, so, as far as I'm concerned, I'm good.

Using a Vegan Food Pyramid as a guide, the base of my diet will be fruits and vegetables instead of grains.

I have to be wary of which grains I eat because of they way they affect my blood sugar levels. Rice, even brown rice, is tricky for me. I can eat a huge serving of a brown rice dish and be craving something shortly thereafter even though I'm not hungry. I have already given up pasta except on rare occasions, going on 3 years now. At first I thought I'd die if I couldn't have pasta 3 times a week, but look, I haven't! When I do make it for the kids, I try to use whole grain varieties, which are expensive, I admit, so there's even more of an incentive to try other things like quinoa, millet and bulgur.

Whole grain breads don't seem to have the same affect on me as pasta and rice do, which is nice since I am a bread-making fiend. I can make a mixed grain pilaf with rice as long as I am heavy on the other grains (bulgur and quinoa are my favorite) and add some beans and nuts as well and round out the meal with plenty of raw vegetables. I can't make that dish very often though.

All in all, I like the emphasis on fruits and vegetables instead of grains. Most of the pyramids use the grain and cereal group at the bottom, and it seems to suggest to people that they can go ahead and eat 2 bowls of cereal or have 3 bagels or snack on pretzels all day and they're set.

That's nuts.





-Source VeganMethod.com

Day 25: The List

As I mentioned way back in the beginning, 25 days ago, part of the reason I switched to a vegan diet was that I wanted to lose weight. Although my blood-work came back with outstanding test results despite the number on the scale (I still secretly think that the scales in doctors' offices are set a good 5 pounds heavier), I decided that I need to drop some mass off my frame.

Since making the switch, I've felt really pretty awesome. I've lost some weight (6 pounds), feel energized, have increased my yoga workouts, instituted a meditation practice and even started some cardio. Hurray. That one pebble thrown in the pond has cast some wide ripples. /zen

Always looking for more ways to stay motivated, I'm taking a cue from two friends who've embarked on a journey to lose a bit of themselves in order to find themselves (heh, that's hokey, but I'm keeping it), and creating a wish-list of the things I'd like to do once I'm in the shape & fitness level I've always dreamed I'd attain.


1. Take a yoga class at the local yoga center and not have to wear a tunic-sized t-shirt.

Hell, that roomy shirt always ended up down around my neck when we did the inverted positions anyway, so why bother, right? Ok, I'm not saying I'll be traipsing around, scantily-clad, in a sports bra and spandex shorts, but I do have a workout shirt with a built-in bra that would fit the bill... once I lose some of this winter padding around my waist.

I am actually planning on registering for their next session, starting June 29^th, although I will not be wearing that top. I'd need to go down like two cup sizes before I'd feel comfortable wearing that in mixed company, but that's just me.



2. Take an adult ballet class.

I know, my God, I know!

I took 10 fucking years of dance when I was young, and bitched about it for, oh, about 9 of them. Once I stopped, I missed it almost immediately. I am extremely fortunate that all those years of dance gave me a good muscle base and a sense of balance as a foundation on which I can rely even now, as out of practice and shape as I am.

Still, there's no way in hell I am squeezing my ass into a leotard until I lose some body mass.


3. Take part in a mass cross-country skiing event.

Ok, it doesn't have to be the massive endurance ski across Greenland. What? Think I'm joking? Check out the Greenland Icecap Challenge:

The race distance is 550km and competitors will have a choice whether they are supported or unsupported. The route will follow an arc just above the Arctic Circle from the West to East coast. Competitors will pull their individual and team stores in sledges, sleep in tents and deal with diverse challenges such as surviving in temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees, navigating the crevasses, as well as watching out for Polar bears on the East coast.

Sounds exciting doesn't it? Insane, too. I bet it will be filled with men named Sven, Olle and Kjetil. I hope National Geographic will film it so I can watch it from the warmth, comfort and relative safety of my living room as I sip coffee laced with whiskey. Lykke til!

Anyway, I'm sure there must be a shorter race somewhere closer to me without the threat of plunging to one's death down glacier crevasses or being eaten by polar bears even if there will be a profound dearth of men named Sven, Olle and Kjetil. :p

Note: the event pictured above is the American Birkebeiner race, not the Greenland Icecap Challenge, which is slated for 2011.

Another note: a little extra padding is actually a plus for this event. The polar bears like that too.


4. Attend a week-long workshop at the Kripalu center


Talk about pie in the sky dreams. I'd have to sell a kidney or create the next big pyramid scheme to come up with the money for this, I think.

This place is like yoga summer camp for grownups. It's in the Berkshires, and it is literally, right on the mountain next door to Tanglewood. You can sit outside on the hill and hear the Boston Symphony Orchestra play. If that isn't a little bit of nirvana right here on earth, then I don't know what else could be. As an added bonus, it's in New England which is just the vegan icing on the cake.



5. To any of you that ever made some crack about my looks (like calling me "pudgy" or *shudder* "chunky" God, I hate that word), I will hunt you down on Facebook and haunt you with a skinny & young-looking picture friend request, only to delete you and tell you to fuck off.*


Ok, probably not, that's too bitchy & spiteful even for me, but I can sure as hell daydream about it. I mean, what else are those revenge fantasy scenarios good for if not to get that crap out of our systems so we can move on, right? Sure.

C'mon, we all indulge in those secret fantasies where the people who wronged us on the playground of Borough Elementary school when we were 8 get their comeuppance at some hazy point in the future, and all is right with the world. Right? I can't be the only crazy one here who does this...

Ok, I'll put the crazy back in the box for now. /crazy


6. Have a custom-made dress for a fancy occasion.


Sure, I have no idea what occasion that would be, I'm not exactly going to red carpet events on Viggo Mortensen's arm here in CNY, and the last time I got an invitation to take tea with the Queen was some time ago, and I'm hardly into haute couture. Frankly, I think it's a waste of money to devote to stuff which is out of style every season. That said, it would be nice to have a dress for special occasions made just to fit me, in a style that flatters my body shape, and in a fabric which I actually like.

Sadly, I am no fashionista; I would commit the high crime of fashion and wear it more than once. :p


7. Go to some fancy-schmancy resort spa for a weekend.

I am not a girly-girl spa girl. Shocking, no? Oh, if you could see me now, braless in a t-shirt and yoga pants with my hair twisted in a bun, you'd have no doubt. I've had 2 manicures in my entire life, rarely even paint my nails myself, have never had a professional pedicure and frankly hate spa facials because instead of leaving my skin feeling invigorated, they make my skin feel like an oil slick. Yuck. I'm 100% in favor of the hour-long massages though. Bring those on!

Nevertheless, I'd love to go to one of those places for a whole weekend and get plunked in a mud bath, wrapped in seaweed so that I look like a walking California roll, and have all the hair waxed off of me (as long as they numb me up first) and whatever else they want to throw at me... except a high colonic.

Juice fast? Yes. Gourmet macrobiotic dishes? Yes. Microdermabrasion from shelter-rescued kittens? HELL yes! Fish pedicures? WTH, why not? Enemas? Noooooooo....

Best of all would be if my GP girlfriends were there too. Now THAT would be epic.



8. Take a cross-country cycling tour.


This would involve my bringing the bike up from the spiderweb-infested depths of its corner of the basement, taking it to the local bike shop for a tuneup, actually hauling my ass onto the seat once in a while, and finding the time and money to break away from this random assortment of stream of consciousness moments I like to call a "life," but yeah, I think it'd be fun. It would be even more fun to do with a significant other, but that's making another huge assumption that I won't even address here.

Oh, but fret not, I would never, ever ride as a couple on a tandem bike! The cutesy-and-gag factor there is just too high.


9. Take the all-day horseback trip over Flattop Mountain... again.


When I was 16, on a family vacation out to Colorado I went on this totally awesome trail ride from Grand Lake to Estes Park over Flattop Mountain. My sister, who was forced (by our parents, not by me) did not think that it was so cool.

Anyway, we got to the stables in Estes Park at some ungodly hour of the morning, and drove with a cowboy-looking guy whose nickname ought to have been "Slim" in a rattly truck on these terrifying switchback roads along the side of a mountain range to the Grand Lake stables where we were matched up with our trail horses. Then it was like 10 or 11 hours in the saddle as we trekked over a damned mountain back to Estes Park. Totally awesome, even if I did walk bow-legged for three days afterward.


10. Just be happy and comfortable with my body as it is.

This one might take a miracle.

Or therapy.

Or a lobotomy.


*I stole this one pretty much verbatim from Shannon. Thanks sweetie!

Food Nazi

"You want to sit me down and force-feed me kale." Stephen Colbert to Eric Schlosser

Day 24: A Green Smoothie Addict

I can't get enough of these green smoothies. For the past 3 days I have had what I've been calling "Monster Green Smoothies" for two meals. They're "monster" because they're big and green: 24 oz of tasty greenness.

I know I ought to seek out new recipes so that I don't get tired of drinking exactly the same smoothie every morning, and I do mix it up a bit, but I stick to a base of banana and spinach. I have come to like Michael's Super Defense Food Powder quite a lot. I have some soy yogurt which I could use as a base once I run out of bananas. I think I'll hunt down some new smoothie recipes today.

Breakfast:

1 Monster Green Smoothie:

• 2 bananas
• 1/4 of a fresh pineapple
• 1 cup of water
• 1/2 cup of pineapple juice
• 1 oz of baby spinach
• 1 scoop (2 teaspoons) of Michael's Super Defense Food powder

1 glass of water
1 multivitamin, 1 flax seed oil, 1 evening primrose oil

Lunch:

Potato-veggie Tofu Scramble*
1 glass of water

Afternoon Snack:

2 glasses of water (lunch was very filling)

Dinner

1 avocado
1 tomato
3 T tomatillo salsa

ok, yes, basically, I ate a bowl of guacamole for dinner, but my GOD was it good! The ingredients were organic, and all so fresh that it didn't need the enhancement of tortilla chips (no, not even Guiltless Gourmet or my homemade ones) or tortillas. I was eating this with a spoon until I thought better of it, got up and sliced up a red bell pepper.

1 red bell pepper
2 glasses of water

Note: I didn't even eat the whole bell pepper or the entire bowl of guac.

Potato veggie Tofu Scramble

Ingredients:

• 2 medium red potatoes, diced
• 1 vidalia onion, diced
• 5 cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 block of firm tofu, diced
• 1/2 oz of shredded soy cheese
• 1 tomato, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 heaping t of smoked paprika
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Saute potatoes and onions in a skillet that's been coated with cooking spray over high heat.


2. Cover tightly so the steam helps cook the potatoes.


3. Cook 5 minutes, then add the mushrooms, stir to coat and cover again, but stirring from time to time.


4. Once the mushrooms have released much of their liquid, add the red bell peppers, stir and cover.


5. Mix the tofu, shredded soy cheese, tomato, garlic and spices together in a bowl. Toss well.


6. When the potato has cooked through, add the tofu-cheese mixture.


7. Stir well, heating through, and serve hot.
   

Makes 2-3 servings