Meal Plan Monday with a Kris Carr Influence

I took a much needed internet break for a while, but here I am again with a week's worth of meals and a grocery list.  

Breakfast:

I've been reading Crazy Sexy Diet, and I want to try starting my day with green juice instead of protein smoothies on some days this week.  Apparently, greens help alkalize your body and contain massive amounts of chlorophyll, which is super fab for you.  I'm thinking of trying this smoothie in addition to some recipes from Kris Carr:

• Chocolate Vegan Protein Powder (I like Biochem)
• Chocolate Green SuperFoods
• Kale
• Frozen Banana
• Almond Milk
• Maybe some almonds 

      I've also come to love this juice combination:

• some kale
• half an organic cucumber, with the skin
• 2 green apples
• a peeled lemon
• ginger root

I found this deep blue sea smoothie recipe that I'm dying to try as well.

Lunch:

Kris Carr and many other health experts recommend a lot of raw food in the diet because of the enzyme content, among other things.  Your body has to work less at digesting food which frees up energy for other crucial things.  She recommends an 80/20 or 60/40 goal ratio of raw to cooked.  I've been going close to 100% raw for lunch with salads for months now, so I'll continue that.  I like an organic salad made up of mixed greens, romaine, chickpeas, cucumbers, carrots, avocados, walnuts, and berries or chopped apples.  I like to sprinkle my salads with nutritional yeast and cayenne pepper.  My dressing of choice lately has been olive oil and balsamic or sesame oil and apple cider vinegar.

Dinner:

I'm thinking Buddha Bowls.  Grains, greens, and beans with a yummy dressing.  I bought one of those Amy's frozen vegan pizzas on sale recently, which I like to cover with vegan cheese like Follow Your Heart Monterrey Jack or Daiya Mozzarella shreds (not very raw, but whatev!).  I found this lentil walnut loaf recipe that I want to try.  It's also been cold recently, so I think some soup would be perfect this week.

Here the shopping list:

•  almond milk
•  organic, raw almonds
•  bananas
•  organic mixed greens
•  organic romaine
•  organic kale
•  avocado
• organic, raw walnuts
• organic cucumbers
• organic celery
• organic broccoli
• organic green apples
• lemon
• ginger root
• organic cauliflower
• organic spinach
• organic red onions
• organic scallions
• garlic
• mushrooms

I'll probably get some of the produce today, some a few days from now.  I think it's better than way because the veggies are fresher.  In addition to that:

• lentils
• millet
• quinoa
• black beans
• tofu
• tempeh
• chickpeas
• vegan cheese
• spirulina
• Amazing Grass Chocolate Green SuperFood

I like my sweets and desserts,  so I'll most likely pick up a dark chocolate bar or two for a little after dinner treat.  I'd like to try Vanilla Chia Tapioca Pudding from Crazy Sexy Diet too.

Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse with Raw Vanilla Sauce

I have yet to try a raw dessert that I didn't like.  I usually find that they're on the expensive side at restaurants, so I thought I'd try making my own.  This raw chocolate mousse was super rich, crazy chocolate-y, and so easy to make!  

The accompanying vanilla sauce was a nice complement that balanced out the intensity of the mousse.  I got these recipes from Raw Food Made Easy for One or Two People, which has consistently surprised me with easy, raw, vegan, and insanely flavorful food.  Seriously, this is the best chocolate mousse I've ever had.  It's that good!  Wondering how to get that amazing mousse like consistency?  Avocados!  I was a bit skeptical when I put all the ingredients in the blender, but what came out was heaven!  Check out the mousse tart video on Jennifer Cornbleet's webpage for the recipe and the how-to on making this amazing raw dessert.

What is your favorite raw dessert?  I'm looking for more raw vegan cookbooks, so any recommendations would be most appreciated!

Green Pasta

 

Recently, I was super hungry and short on time.  I had originally bought spinach fettuccine and organic edamame for something from Appetite for Reduction, but I didn't have the patience to follow a recipe on this particular evening.  Instead, I quickly cooked the pasta and defrosted the frozen edamame in boiling water.  I think the original recipe I was going to follow called for pesto, which would have been great, but I opted for some earth balance, olive oil, and salt instead.  So not low fat, but so simple and sooooo good.  There was a nice salty buttery-ness coating everything, which is so perfect with pasta.  The edamame was fun and saved this dinner from being too carb-tastic.  I'll definitely make this quickie again!  And, I still want to try the Appetite recipe I originally bought these ingredients for too.

Orange and Red for Breakfast

It's been a while since I've had pancakes for breakfast.  I've mostly been having smoothies for breakfast during the week and oatmeal on the weekends.  I was flipping through Vegan Brunch the other day and decided I needed more pancakes in my life.  I went with the delicious pumpkin pancakes.  I subbed whole wheat pastry flour for all-purpose flour.  They took a while to firm up on the pan, but once they did...oh, man.  So worth the wait.  I slathered on some Earth Balance and drizzled a bit of maple syrup on top for a dessert-worthy breakfast.  To health it up a bit, a had some bright red and organic beet, apple, carrot, and ginger juice on the side.  

Next post, Vegan Brunch peanut butter waffles!

The Green Bean Cafe

A selection of vegan and raw treats from the Green Bean Cafe

I rarely ever have a reason to venture to the Upper East Side of Manhattan, but I did end up there last weekend.  Totally by chance, I happened to walk by a great little vegan cafe on York Ave between 75th and 76th.  I had an amazing coconut smoothie made with fresh coconuts and a raw tiramisu.  The smoothie selection is amazing, I grabbed a take out menu so that I could replicate some of these at home.  If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend checking out the Green Bean Cafe!

Tofu Chimichurri, Cauliflower Chickpea Soup, and Baked Onion Rings

Last week, I tried the Tofu Chimichurri and Caulipots recipes from Appetite for Reduction.  Caulipots are basically healthier mashed potatoes.  There's some boiled cauliflower mashed in with the potatoes.  I didn't totally follow the recipe since I prepared it with unsweetened almond milk and Earth Balance.  It was really good!  I wouldn't know there was cauliflower in this meal at all if I didn't make it.  The Tofu Chimichurri wasn't quite what I was expecting, but it was still good and I'll make it again.

This is blended cauliflower, veggie broth, and chickpea soup with some nutritional yeast generously sprinkled on top.  This recipe is based on something I saw in a magazine, it ended up being a winner!  The nutritional yeast brought it to the next level.

The OMG Oven Baked Onion Rings from Appetite for Reduction were really fun!  I haven't had onion rings in a while, I generally don't like the deep-fried greasiness.  These bad boys were pretty easy to prepare with a fast cooking time.  They weren't oily at all, just soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.

I'll be trying out more from Appetite this week, I'll let you know how it goes!

Meal Plan Monday

I'm copying Shellyfish's Meal Plan Monday blogging idea.  I plan out most of my meals every weekend.  When I go food shopping, I mostly stick to the list.  It makes grocery shopping and dinner making so much easier when it's all planned out ahead of time.  I pretty much use up everything I buy by the end of the week, so there's not a lot that goes to waste.  The time I spend planning on the weekend really helps me eat well during my hectic and busy work week.

This week, I plan on making:

Breakfast smoothies- I'm feeling organic frozen strawberries and coconut milk this week.  There's also a pear ginger smoothie recipe in Thrive that I want to try.  I have hemp protein, flax seeds, and chia seeds on hand, so no need to buy my smoothie staples.

Salad for lunch-I'm on a Romaine kick lately.  I have some brown rice, quinoa, and some beans I can add to it.  I will be buying random veggies that catch my eye to spice it up a bit, and I already have dressing.

Dinner:

Monday-Clean Mac and Cheese with Kale Chips

I made this last week and loved it!  Really, it's just brown rice pasta with kale, kale chips following this recipe, and tahini dressing from Vegan with a Vengeance.  I call it Clean Mac and Cheese because it's something I could eat during the Clean detox and it has a mac and cheese consistency.  The balsamic and garlic tahini paired with the crispy, nutritional yeast covered kale chips are amazing.

Tuesday-Apple Miso Tofu with Scallion Potato Pancakes from Appetite for Reduction (most of this week's dinners will be from this book)

Wednesday-Hummus and Curry Lentil Crackers from Thrive

Thursday-Spinach Linguine with Edamame Pesto from Appetite for Reduction

Friday- Buffalo Tempeh with Mac and Trees from Appetite for Reduction

Appetite for Reduction and Thrive are my newest cookbooks, I'm having some fun trying out new recipes!  Most of them have been amazing so far.  I'll share some of my favorites on Wednesday.

My New Weekday Morning Routine

Coffee Update, four hours after last post:

Ugh...crashing...hard.  Hard to concentrate.  Tired, fuzzy brain.  Thoughts are scattered, bad mood, cranky, snippy.  I didn't expect such a strong reaction, and I don't like it at all.

Reflection, today:

Though I couldn't wait to go back to coffee during Clean, this reaction left me feeling the worst I've felt in a month.  I could go back to my old ways, but why would I when it makes me feel like this?  The effect of caffeine was so strong!  I'm not saying I'll never drink coffee again, but I've definitely experienced a shift.  I felt horrible! As a former coffee junkie, I can see that I'm officially rehabbed.  What?!  Yes!  I'm no longer a coffee fanatic.  

Instead of the coffee maker, my new kitchen appliance of choice in the morning has become my blender.  During Clean, I made sure to add a full scoop of hemp protein to each smoothie.  It has a taste that can be a little overpowering.  Since I mostly avoided any sweetener during Clean, I decided to try a new smoothie recipe with bananas and dates to see if it would make the hemp taste mellow out a bit.

The chocolate almond smoothie from Thrive was a great inspiration.  I mostly followed the recipe.  I didn't use quite as much water, added a little almond milk, and used cocoa, not carob.  I think I used more than the tablespoon he recommended too.  This smoothie is sweetened with a banana and two organic dates, I used a little less hemp than I used on Clean, and it was perfect.  It gave me a sustained energy and left me full all the way 'til lunch.

I love the taste of coffee, so I will definitely have it again (probably on the weekends, and in moderation).  During the week, it looks like it will be protein smoothies for me.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Vegan Clean Program, I'm Done!

Twenty-one days ago, I started following a veganized version of Dr. Alejandro Junger's Clean Program.  I drank a healthy organic smoothie for breakfast, had a whole foods lunch, and a soup for dinner.  I snacked on yummy things like organic kale chips and raw organic cashews, and sometimes I had a juice for dessert.

Blended curried split pea soup from Vegan With a Vengeance

Overall, I feel really good.  Three weeks later and no complaints here.  I've lost two pounds and a teeny bit of body fat, and my clothes fit better.  Weight loss wasn't one of my goals, I followed the Clean Program because I wanted to press restart after too many sugar cookies over the holidays.  I wanted to pick up some more healthy habits, and maybe make a difference in the way I react to certain allergens.

I discovered the deliciousness of kale chips while on Clean!

The verdict? I'm really happy that I saw this through.  It wasn't always easy, especially with my busy schedule.  I went without sugar for the longest time I can remember.  I mean, I had fruit and a bit of agave here and there, but I'm talking about straight up sugar.  I feel good about that.  We installed a water filter on the tap in our kitchen.  I thought it would be expensive or a pain, but it was like $20 at Target and really easy to install.  I drank filtered water with organic lemon throughout the day.  I started skin brushing regularly.  I left a 12 hour window between my last meal of the day and my first.  I started my day with a healthy smoothie and usually ended it with a healthy juice.  These are habits I could easily continue.

I have allergies to cats, and on Day 20, I spent some time at a house with a cat.  I love kitties, and they love me.  They always end up rubbing on me, and I always end up petting them (it's hard not to!).  Usually, this ends with hives, fatigue, and a stuffy nose.  On Day 20 and 21...no reaction.  I couldn't believe it!  Could it be that simple changes in my diet made this happen?  I've been getting allergy shots for almost a year now, but this is the first time I haven't had a reaction in what seems like forever.  The weird thing is, I was getting hives during Clean, so at one point during the 21 days I came to the conclusion that the Detox wasn't fixing my allergies.  The fact that I didn't react to the cat was really awesome and surprising!

It wasn't all smooth sailin' on Clean, though.  There were definite moments of frustration and hunger.  If I got hungry during the day, I'd snack on a Clean approved food.  I found I had the hardest time on Friday nights, after dinner.  It's hard to find the resolve to say no to seemingly healthy food like popcorn while watching a movie.  I would make some tea and move on, and I found my craving would pass without any drama.

Now that it's done, I look forward to sneaking in a little coffee back in my life.  It's been a almost a month!  The only strong cravings I had were for coffee, so I'm going to bring it back. After Clean, you're supposed to bring certain foods and drinks on the "no" list back gradually to see how you react.  Since my diet was healthy to begin with, I don't think I'll see too much of a problem.  It will be interesting to see how my allergies go.  After coffee, I'm bringing back peanut butter, bananas, soy, then gluten.  I'll definitely post updates on how it goes!

Have you ever given up coffee?  How did it go?

Kale Chips!

Wow, do I love kale chips!  I am a huge fan of kale in general, but this is my first time making them into chips.  The finished product is delicate and crispy.  It has a potato chip crunch, and it's so good for you!

There are tons of recipes for kale chips on the internet, but I decided to use this recipe that included nutritional yeast, sesame oil, and apple cider vinegar.  It also calls for tamari, but I can't do soy during the Clean Program.  Here is what I did.

-a bunch of organic kale
-2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
-1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
-1 tablespoon sesame oil
-about 1/4 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Take a large bowl and mix together the nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, salt, and sesame oil.  Add small pieces (about 2 inches) of ripped kale, avoiding large stems.  Mix it all together with your hands.  Take the time to rub in the nutritional yeast mixture to make sure it's really evenly coated.  

Put it on a baking sheet that has parchment paper on it.  Bake for about 15 minutes.  The end result should be crispy, you can put it in for 5 more minutes if it's not totally crisp.

I like this mixture raw too!  In fact, I think it will be the basis for most of my salads this week. 

Clean Program, Week 2

Week Two is over, and I officially have seven days left on the Clean Program.  Today, I feel well rested, strong, and healthy.  I feel good! 

This week was a really busy one for me.  I got home late, I stayed up late, I woke up late, I barely had enough time to get dressed in time for my commute let alone make a smoothie.  I found myself randomly getting a strong urge for some coffee while at work, but other than that, it was pretty smooth sailing.
 

I skipped the breakfast smoothie on Day 11.  I made up for it on Day 12 with a frozen organic raspberry, cocoa, almond milk smoothie with hemp powder and chia seeds.  On most other days this week, the base of my breakfast smoothie was coconut milk, almond milk, hemp powder, chia seeds, and ground flaxseeds.  I added frozen organic fruit like peaches and blueberries.  They are super filling!  I found that I like cold, thick drinks in the winter.  I am so surprised by that!  There's snow on the ground, yet I like my cold smoothie.   Here's a particularly thick version, in a coffee mug.

For most of the week, lunch was not exciting since I have to cook it the night before and bring it to work, and I haven't had the time to do this important Clean meal any justice.  I tried to make a lovely millet and artichoke risotto from the Clean website that was supposed to be nurtured with frequent stirring but ended up being rushed.  The result was pretty blah.  I repeated the quinoa, lentil, spinach mixture from last week.  One definite winner this week was this meal made of balsamic glazed portabella mushrooms from Vegan With a Vengeance and saffron brown rice from Veganomicon. 

This weekend I made crabless cakes, a Clean recipe from their website.  It was made up of cashews, coconut flakes, celery, carrots, onion, sea salt, pepper, and kelp powder.  It was suggested to serve it with mustard and sauerkraut, but I would have preferred it with Vegenaise.  I'll probably make it again after the detox.

I eventually had time to heat up the artichoke millet risotto with more veggie broth, and it came out so much better.  Here it is with some kale and crabless cakes.

In addition to organic honeycrisp apples, hummus and carrots, raw cashews, and raw almonds, I made kale chips to snack on.  They are so amazing!  I'll post the recipe I used later this week.

Dinner during week 2 was either white bean and roasted garlic soup from my last Clean post or some green juice.  Here's spinach, celery, green apple, ginger, and lemon juice.

An exciting update on my allergies is when I got my allergy shots, the injection site didn't swell up like crazy like it normally does.  Weird, huh?  It will be interesting to see if this continues.  Does this mean that coffee and gluten make me more sensitive to allergens?  I hope not!  After week 3, I'm supposed to incorporate the foods I wasn't supposed to eat gradually into my diet and see how I react.  I'll have to think about what food on the Clean "no" list will make an appearance first.  Soy? Gluten?  Coffee?  Nightshades like potatoes?  Bananas?  I'll keep you posted!

No Sugar Apple Crisp

After the holidays and before my Clean Program detox, I decided I needed a serious break from sugar.  Typically, I start the day with coffee and later have a small baked good.  Sometimes it's a homemade muffin or a slice of pumpkin or cinnamon bread.  One of my favorites is coffee cake.  I needed something less sugary, but still sweet.  I immediately thought of organic apples, since they're sweet and easily available at my favorite food stores.  Apple crisps are so easy to make, they only require a few ingredients that take minutes to assemble, and they taste amazing.  I started by chopping about 4 apples with the skins and placing them into an 8 by 8 baking dish.  

Then, I sprinkled cinnamon all over the apples and mixed them right in the baking dish with my hands.

  

Now, on to the topping.  I took some oatmeal, chopped walnuts, whole wheat pastry flour, more cinnamon, and a bit of nutmeg and stirred them together in a bowl.

After that, I added some canola oil and a tiny bit of agave and stirred again.

Finally, I placed the topping over the apples in the baking dish, like this. 

I baked the crisp at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.  I knew it was done when the smell coming out of the kitchen was amazing, the apples were sizzling, and they looked something like this.

I had a little bit whenever I craved something sweet.  The crunchy walnut, the filling oatmeal, and the apple-cinnamon combination was perfect!

I will definitely make this again after I finish my Clean detox, since I'm taking a break from gluten during the cleanse.  I bet this would be amazing with peaches in the summer!  Can't wait to try that!

Grapeseed Oil and Crazy Rumors

Photo from crazyrumors.com

A few weeks ago, I wrote about some winter dry skin solutions that have really helped me out this year.  I was looking for a non-waxy vegan lip balm that lasted.  Well, I found one!

I tried a Crazy Rumors lip balm in the past and didn't love it.  They have a line of flavors inspired by coffee, but I think the flavor I picked out just didn't work out for me.  I know they're vegan and use organic ingredients, so when I recently saw a display in a store I opened up some of the testers to smell some of their new flavors.  French Vanilla won me over, so I bought it.  I'm not sure if Crazy Rumors reworked their formula, but I really love this lip balm now!  I've been using it every day with great results.  My lips haven't been chapped since I added it to the Lush lip scrub in the morning, organic cocoa butter/coconut oil at night routine.

I also figured another great dry skin solution that has totally been a life saver.  I find that my favorite lotions that I use all year need to be amped up in the winter.  After the shower, I've been slathering on a bit of organic grapeseed oil before I layer on my lotion.  It makes all the difference!  I feel like the lotion traps the goodness of the grapeseed oil right next to my skin.  

What are some of your favorite vegan lotions and lip balms?

P.S.  I've written about the cute vegan shoe selection at Lulu's before, Statements in Fashion is hosting a Lulu's $25 gift card giveaway until Wednesday, January 19th.  You might want to check it out!

Getting Clean, the Vegan Way

I ate too many white, processed, sugary foods over the holidays, and I want to give my body a rest.  I'd like to press reset and maybe learn a few more healthy recipes and adopt some healthier habits.  So, I'm going to follow a veganized version of the Clean Program.  It's a 21 day detox plan that utilizes whole foods, avoids common allergens, and is written by an MD. 

Dr. Alejandro Junger details the why's and how's of his program in his book, Clean.  I thought a lot of what he wrote made sense, the only issue I have with it is that he says it's OK to eat some animals.  Dr. Junger writes that organic lamb, chicken, and fish are OK to eat while detoxing, but I obviously am not going to do that.  

He does have plenty of vegan recipes in the program and it's generally vegan friendly.  As a vegan I'm already pretty "clean", but to faithfully do the cleanse I also need to take a break from caffeine, sugar, gluten, soy, corn, nightshade vegetables like potatoes, some fruits that are common allergens, and processed food.  The diet consists of a smoothie for breakfast, a whole food lunch that can be cooked, and a smoothie, juice, or soup for dinner.  You can have snacks too, if you really need them.  The idea is to reduce acidity in the body, reduce the toxic load, and eliminate any possible allergens and foods that could promote inflammation in the body.  

Apparently, strawberries and chocolate are common allergens.  Bananas and wheat are acid-making foods, grapefruit tends to suppress some key liver functions when detoxing, and peanuts tend to have fungus on them.  Corn is often genetically modified, and caffeine taxes the adrenal glands.  The goal is to create a nice, gentle, chilled out state in your body so that it can heal itself.  

So what can I eat on Clean?  A lot of my favorite foods!  Kale, quinoa, brown rice, ginger, apples, cashews, green juices, smoothies, lentils, most vegetables, soup.  I think this will be a healthier, slightly amped up version of what I usually try to do.  

To prepare for the detox, you're supposed to gradually eliminate some of the detox-unfriendly foods from your diet.  I knew my biggest challenge was going to be my morning coffee.  So, this week I slowly weaned myself off.  On Monday, it was my usual travel mug full of black coffee with a scoop of organic sugar.  Tuesday, half a mug without sugar.  I had a giant headache.  On Wednesday, I replaced my coffee with a green juice (my favorite: green apple, lemon, ginger).  I was tired all day!  Thursday came along, juice again.  Weirdly, I wasn't tired!  It was the opposite, I had all this extra energy in the morning-almost too much.  On Friday, I juiced again and I was fine.  I actually expected a more dramatic state of affairs. Maybe all the natural sugars in the juice helped me out there.

I'm planning out my meals now so that I can go food shopping and start full-force on Monday morning.  I'm not a morning person, apparently this program will help me with that.  I'm also hoping for a miraculous cure for my allergies.  I tend to get hives when I come into contact with environmental allergens like pet dander, dust, and pollen.

Next week, I'll update you on Week 1 of the vegan Clean Program.  In the meantime, look out for a post on vegan St. Kilda and a fabulous vegan lip balm.  

Have you ever detoxed?  I'm looking for yummy juice and smoothie recipes, so if you have one, let me know!

Sloppy Joes, Tempeh Puffs, and Cajun Chickpea Cakes

Here are some dinner hilights from the past week or two.

Snobby Joes from Veganomicon

This is my favorite Sloppy Joe recipe.  I love the fact that there's no fake meat in it, just veggies, spices, and lentils.

  Tempeh Sausage Pastry Puffs from Vegan Brunch

Tempeh Puffs from Vegan Brunch are a fun treat.  I usually stay away from puff pastry, but combined with this super savory Italian-seasoned tempeh, it's one of my favorite recipes from Vegan Brunch.

Crispy Cajun Chickpea Cakes from Vegan Dad

I had my eye on this recipe for a while.  It didn't disappoint!  Super yummy, and I will definitely make it again.

Tofu Dinner Favorites from Tofu Cookery

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Since Santa brought me two new vegan books, I had to make some room on my cookbook shelves.  Looking through, I realized how awesome and important some of these books are and the impact they've had on me.  They took me from Slightly Anemic Teenage Junk Food Vegan that can make toast and spaghetti to Super Healthy Whole Foods Vegan that can actually cook!

Tofu Cookery by Louise Hagler was one of my first vegan cookbooks.  I remember flipping through this book thinking that these recipes were so unusual.  Back then, I didn't cook much and I wasn't too concerned with healthy eating.  If I'm remembering correctly, it was a Christmas gift from a family friend.  The pictures looked so good, but recipes were so foreign to me.  Could I really make dinners that looked like this?  Looking back, this might have been one of the best presents ever because it was the beginning of my vegan cooking life.  These days, the pages are stained and folded in evidence to the important place it has on my cookbook shelf.  Here are two of my favorites:

Barbequed Tofu

Seen here with sauteed kale, this barbequed tofu is made with frozen tofu and a few other simple ingredients like black pepper, soy sauce, and peanut butter.  It's easy to make and soooo delicious!

Sesame Tofu

This is one of my favorite tofu dishes ever, and I've had some crazy amazing tofu in my life.  The combination of ginger, garlic, sesame seeds, and soy sauce are just perfect!  Both of these dishes are baked, so they aren't oily or heavy at all.  Just crispy and delicious!

Blizzard at the Jersey Shore

On Christmas, I went to the beach for a quiet moment and snapped a few photos.  Little did I know that in about 24 hours, an epic blizzard would hit, and the entire Jersey Shore would be blanketed in more than 2 feet of snow!

The total amount of snow in my town is officially 30 inches.  It's crazy!  I couldn't open my back door so I climbed out a window to get to a shovel.  The most shallow snow was over my knees, making it really hard to walk.  Needless to say, the shoveling didn't get done.  Snow drifts were intensely high, completely covering cars!  Streets are completely impassable, plows are getting stuck and are being diverted to emergency situations.  Thank goodness I went food shopping on Christmas Eve day!  We've been watching TV, reading, drinking hot drinks, and eating yummy food.  Here's an organic TLT (tofu, lettuce, and tomato) with avocado on toasted whole wheat bread.

I want this snow to melt!  Here's a cool time lapse video someone recorded near here. 

December 2010 Blizzard Timelapse from Michael Black on Vimeo.

Kale Chickpea Soup

I rarely make my own recipes.  I substitute and change around all sorts of things from my favorite cookbooks, but start from scratch?  Almost never (and salad doesn't count). 

I love soup for lunch in the cold months.  I had a craving for kale and chickpeas, so I put a bunch of stuff together in a pot and surprised myself by making this delicious, flavor filled and healthy soup.  

Here's what I used:

-2 stalks of celery

-1 onion

-half a green bell pepper

-olive oil

-2 cloves garlic

-2 cups vegetable stock

-1 vegan boullion cube

-1 large can organic chickpeas

-a bunch of kale, chopped

-3 carrots, chopped

-1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped

-1 tsp thyme

Here's I did:

1.  Saute diced onion, green peppers, and celery in olive oil in a pot until onions start to get a tad transulescent.  

2.  Add 2 chopped cloves of garlic and stir with a wooden spoon until the garlic gets fragrant and smells awesome.  Stir in the thyme.

3.  Add two cups of vegetable stock and stir.

4.  Add four cups of water and one vegan boullion cube (crumble the cube as you add it).  Stir and bring to a boil.

5. Add carrot and cauliflower and simmer for about 5-10 minutes.

6.  Add chickpeas and kale and simmer for 5 minutes or so.

I heated this up for lunch throughout the week, so good!  I especially liked it with a healthy dash of Sriracha hot sauce.  I will definitely make this again, and I'll try to invent new soup recipes since this one was such a success! Yay for soup making!