vegan food pyramid

• Consume high-net-gain foods: leafy greens & colorful vegetables deliver energy by way of conservation rather than consumption. The digestive process is energy-intensive – highly processed, refined, denatured foods require much more digestive energy to break it down in our systems. By shifting from processed and refined carbs (pasta and bread) to fruits and pseudo grains (amaranth, buckwheat, millet, quinoa and wild rice), our body can assimilate easier and also obtain more nutrients.
• Consume alkaline-forming foods: keeping a balanced pH is important to achieving peak health. People with low pH are prone to many ailments and fatigue. Brian suggests consuming more high alkaline-forming foods (asparagus, beets, bell peppers, broccoli, carrots cauliflower, celery, chicory, cucumbers, dill, green beans, leafy greens, leeks, onion, parsley, parsnips, peas, sea vegetables, sprouts and zucchini). Prescription drugs, artificial sweeteners and synthetic vitamins & minerals are extremely acid-forming and consumption should be monitored.
• Eliminate biological debt: there are 2 types of energy, one brought about from stimulation (short term energy), the other from nourishment. If you are well-nourished, you have no need for food stimulation. Brian states “Caffeine is North America’s second favorite drug next to refined sugar. Obtaining energy by way of stimulation is like shopping with a credit card. You get something you desire now, but you will still have to pay eventually. With that bill comes incurred biological interest: fatigue.”

This information is courtesy of the Thrive group headed by Brendan Brazier.
I found this write-up on the blog Enrich. The article is eating for energy.

coffee caramel snapachinno

1/2 envelope vega sport protein or any protein powder with no extra flavoring or sweetener
unsweetened almond milk
cold brew coffee
ice and 3 cold brew coffee ice cubes
a drop of caramel extract
tiny bit maple syrup

mindful eating

Last night I attended another interesting seminar at the Great Sage Restaurant in Clarksville MD- weight management on a plant-based diet. The lecturer, Paige Snyder is a plant based nutritionist who specializes in sport performance, stress management and achieving your optimal weight through clean, plant-based foods. She talked about macronutrients and the Thrive food pyramid. One of the most interesting nuggets that struck a chord with me was mindful eating.
Right at this moment I am sipping my smoothie while writing- GUILTY!
Here are her tips;

When ready to eat
1. sit and just take a breath, slow down.
2. take a moment to be thankful for your food.
3.look at and enjoy the pleasure of seeing beautiful food.
4. smell your food.
5. take a bite and chew it 25-30 times (not the 3 that the average American does)
6.put your fork down between bites.

Now I know this is not rocket science and you have probably heard it before...but try it for one meal a day. Or may try all the meals in one day a week. Let me know how it works.
More later........

Yummy tofu

So I was preparing to make my favorite staple of the week- pan seared garlic fried tofu. Yum. I asked my husband, wonderful husband, to pick up two containers of extra firm tofu.  I didn't think that he would bring back two containers of these tiny cubed tofu pieces of extra firm tofu. Hmmmm. Now what do I do with these? 

I started by squeezing them, as always, with my handy tofu X-press. Water out, I fried them in a little coconut oil. After I flipped taken over with a spatula I poured some tamari and maple syrup on and continued to cook. The result was yummy.

Here are the simple ingredients:

*Cubed extra firm tofu

*Coconut oil to fry in

* A couple tablespoons or so tamari sauce- I didn't measure

*1 tablespoon or so maple syrup

Tofu X press

This thing is awesome. Want to squeeze the water out of your tofu in a half hour? ....without doing anything? Get out your Tofu Xpress! Amazing how the spring automatically get tighter while it squeezes out all the water. Make it really easy to whip together  some pan seared garlic tofu!

Marinated Lentils

This recipe was taken directly from the Oh She Glows Everyday cookbook. It's so yummy I wanted to share it. An easy, make ahead or eat immediately, recipe this is a keeper! it was a hit at Burger Night and that's a tough crowd!

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked french lentils
1/2 cup uncooked brown lentils
2 TB olive oil
2 TB plus 1 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar...here's where I made a change - I used White Nama Shoya Sauce and no salt or pepper
1 TB fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
 1 1/2 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups sliced green onions both dark and
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup oil- packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped

1. Pick over lentils, discarding any debris. Rinse and drain. Place lentils in saucepan with 4 cups of water.  Bring to boil then reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until tender.
2. In a large bowl whisk together oil, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, maple syrup, salt. Stir in green onions,  parsley and tomatoes.
3. Drain the lentils really well and spoon them into the bowl with the other ingredients. Stir well.
4. Serve immediately (warm and delicious) or let cool slightly and then cover and marinate in the fridge. You can keep in fridge (in airtight container) for a week. or freeze in a freezer safe ziploc with all the air squeezed out. Lasts 1 month. Angela recommends adding  extra dressing and salt to liven it up.

evergreen matcha and coffee sproutachino

G

This week I was visiting Sanibel Island in Florida. I fell in love with the small vegan cafe called the Sanibel Sprout. The wonderful creators of these drinks were super nice and happily shared the basic recipe .Here are the recipes for the two drinks I imbibed freely.These are basic  and I will update with photos and more exacting amounts.

Evergreen Matcha Iced Tea

1 heaping TB matcha
1 TB soursop matcha
A speck of a drop of jasmine diluted with water - it's potent!
1 squirt honey or maple syrup
vanilla favored almond milk
Stir together and then pour over ice.

Soursop is an amazing source of antioxidants.

Coffee Sproutachino

1 scoop cashews
1 small scoop coconut
4 dates
1 scoop cacao powder
4 oz coffee
ice

I now also add flaxmeal, maca, tofu and nut milk. Yum. 

Blend in a high speed blender.