Thoughts!?!

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Stuffed Bell Peppers - Not too difficult to adapt to Vegan plant based

I spoke with a lot of people over the holidays when asked about the way I eat.  I hear lots of excuses about why people are the way they are; how difficult this is; I'm allowed to cheat now and then (though the definition for cheating varies, it seems that cheating becomes more frequent the more you allow it).

I'll admit, during my birthday I probably cheated.  I say probably because I don't know for sure that I did.  I ate at a wonderful vegan restaurant but I didn't say everything had to be oil free as I usually do.  I didn't go out and have a big steak and fries either.  If the food had oil in it, I was OK for that day.  My thinking is, don't even allow the option of cheating into your thoughts until you reach whatever goal you are trying to achieve.  Once there, you will be able to adjust your eating to your lifestyle, though I think the habit of eating this way and the extra energy and pep in your step will forever change the way you view food.

I guess I have to ask the question "why do we wait for something dramatic and life changing to do something good for ourselves".  The fact that you read this blog tells me that you're already questioning the way you ate up to this point.  Don't you want the future to be more about living your life rather than re-gaining your health after a crisis?  People want to do things to keep their brain more active, I say do this plant based food program.  If you think it's difficult, use your brain to transform the foods you already know how to cook into foods that you know are good for you....it's not that hard.

If you had been able to eat the food that I made for Thanksgiving, didn't know I made it, didn't know it was oilfree plant based and vegan, you would never have thought twice about it.  From the turkey to the gravy, it was delicious.

I hear a lot of great success stories as well.  One person told me he didn't realize that he was allergic to dairy until he cut it completely out of his diet.  Another said his diabetic numbers haven't been this good in years.  A couple of women that have lost 20 or more pounds told me once they got in the groove of the program they sit back and watch the weigh poor off of them.  Blood pressure is down, cholesterol numbers have not been this low for years, I can finally get rid of my fat pants, these are all things people have told me and thanked me for pointing them in this direction.

Be repetitive.  If you find something you love to eat, eat it often.  I was going to Subway for their Veggie sandwich (see the eating out tab above) 2 and 3 times a week.  I eat oatmeal almost every day.  It doesn't become monotonous if you like it and don't feel like thinking of something else to have.  Find a few things you like and make them well and often.  The Engine 2 avocado pasta in the recipe tab is wonderful and easy.  Ask me for ideas, I'll get back before your next meal.  Most of all, enjoy your new-found health....you'll never look back once the mirror looking back at you changes.

Ken

Butternut Squash Soup

Time to bundle up and have a nice warm bowl of fall roasted butternut squash soup.  I bought the squash at Costco so it was already cubed and ready to go.  I just roasted it in a 375° oven until they are a bit brown around the edges.  

Next you want to cut the carrots, onion and celery into smaller chunks and either put them in the pot with the squash and 8 cups of  My Roasted Vegetable Stock, 4 cloves of garlic and 1 tablespoon of herbes de Provence (mixture of thyme, rosemary, sage...lavender if you have it) 1/4 teaspoon cinammon, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg and cook everything together.  After about 1/2 hour, use an immersion blender, or if you don't have one, blend it in batches in your Cuisinart or blender...but be careful of the hot liquid.  Add more stock if it's too thick for your liking.  

Put the soup back in the pot and taste for salt and pepper.  Start with 3/4 teaspoon salt and a teaspoon of freshly crushed black pepper.  Serve with some great crusty whole grain bread.  

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Leftover Lasagna

This is a really great tasting dish that I NoOilized from Oh She Glows website

I left out anything having to do with oil and instead of the fake cheese on top, the white you see is mashed garlic potatoes (leftover from Thanksgiving), that I dolloped on to make it look like Ricotta.  I also don't use oil when I saute.  Instead of meat crumbles I ground up some of the leftover seitan turkey.  For the tomato sauce I used a pound and a half of fresh tomatoes that I cut in half and roasted in the oven.  I added the roasted tomatoes to two large cans of Italian San Marzano plum tomatoes.  I put all of the tomatoes in a Cuisinart with several cloves of garlic, a small handful of fresh basil and a tablespoon of crushed red pepper. I cooked this on the stove for about an hour.  I sprinkled on about 3 tablespoons of Nutritional Yeast after I took the picture below.

I also used no boil whole wheat lasagna to save that step.  I served all of this with a Kale and avocado salad.  I took the spine out of the cleaned kale, cut it into small pieces, added avocado and the juice of a lemon, salt and pepper to taste.  Easy and delicious, thanks to Engine 2 recipes.