I already have a favorite!

Ok, let the vegan begin! In order to prepare for the next month or two I did my recipe and food research. I planned out meals, wrote out recipes and made my grocery list! It really wasn't all that hard to buy vegan at my local store! The only thing I am disappointed in was the "cheese" wanna be stuff. NOTHING! Even the so called "veggie shreds and slices" have dairy in them. Nice. So tomorrow I am off to a local specialty store in search of a vegan "cheese". One thing I have looked into is honey. I use raw honey like it's my job and I wasn't sure I was prepared to give that up. The health benefits are amazing! After researching a little bit I have found that some vegans don't use it for cruelty purposes and some vegans use it because they don't think it hurts the bee. Well, don't crucify me, but I could care less about that nasty stinging bee. So, I made an executive decision. I WILL continue to use raw honey!

Now, about my new fav... I found this at Meijer. It was 3 for $5.00! Not bad!!! This is Olivio USDA certified organic coconut spread. Don't freak out yet! I use a lot of coconut oil already, so this caught my eye. It is Non- Hydrogenated, dairy free, gluten free, soy free, organic, non-GMO and vegan! Sounds gross maybe, but it is AWESOME! Even my coconut hatin' hubby loved it! I made him a bagel and used this instead of butter and he said he never would have known had I not told him! That my friends, is a testimony lol! I promise I will post recipes, but I was so excited about this find I had to share it!

The Weekly Dish

So this week starts off our vegan adventure. One disappointing part is I was unable to get a physical. Those suckers are dang expensive and Insurance will only cover a portion of 1 and I was hoping for two. And, Insurance will only cover a small portion of the blood work. So... I guess we will know a little bit just by the way we feel. I expect to feel way different if what we have seen and read is true. I still wish I could have more concrete evidence, but I can't spend my money on Dr. appointments right now. Boooo.... But, I will not let that deter me from going at this full bore. I may throw in a non vegan recipe or two just because I have some still waiting to be posted, but I will label the vegan ones so you all know what recipe is what. I think this week I will try to post:

Pasta with hummus sauce (YUM doesn't that sound so good?!)
Pigs n a blanket (something kid friendly)
Southwestern bean and corn cakes (I may try to do three recipes this week.)

Hope you all have fun following this little vegan adventure we are on. I will be sure to update weekly on how we feel and any changes we notice in our bodies.

Vegan WHAT?!?!

Nahum and his new "dirt bike" action...

Olie's gettin around like crazy now.

 Ok, so about two weeks ago Andy and I watched a documentary that talked about the health of Americans and how animal proteins are linked to cancer, diabetes and a load of other health problems. There are SO MANY documentaries out there claiming this and that, but how in the world are we suppose to know if those things are true or not? I mean unless you have a good year to dedicate solely to research how in the world are we to know the truth?! So, after watching this documentary I thought, "Hmm.... I could get physicals done before and after a month or two of a vegan diet to see if there is truth to this!". I mean, I don't have cancer or diabetes, but there was a plethora of other tests that can show increase and decrease in things such as blood sugars, white blood cell count, inflammation, cholesterol, blood pressure....and the list goes on. This does NOT  mean we will do this forever. This is basically just to test out the theory and see if there is any truth to it. So, I will probably post two more "normal" recipes and then after that it will be a month or two of strictly vegan. The hubs is all pumped about doing this....yeah, I was shocked too! I mean the man eats meat like it's his job! I am planning to get a physical before and after if I can afford it or find a local Dr. who is willing to give me freebies or cheap-o visits. If any of ya have any idea of how to do that let me know! ;) So, please walk this journey with me to find out if Animal proteins really do cause more harm than good. Vegan...WHAT?!

Toasted Quinoa Salad GF

This is an extremely fresh meal! Now that summer is ending I think my super fresh raw-ish types of meals are going to slow down. :( Big frown! There is just nothing quite like fresh from the garden veggies and cold salads. Oh well, on to a new season. Warm food, hot coffee, chili and sweatshirts! Even though I will miss my garden fresh veggies, I LOVE  the fall! It is by far my favorite season! Right now I am sitting in front of an open window under a big micro plush blanket and loving it! Enjoy this fresh recipe, cause they are gonna start warming up soon!

Quinoa

2 C quinoa rinsed

toasting the quinoa

2 Tbs olive oil
3 C water

Dressing

3 Tbs Olive Oil
1 jalapeno finely chopped and seeded
3 Tsp cumin (toasted)
2 Cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
3 Limes juiced
1/4 C rice vinegar


Salad

5 scallions
4 Roma tomatoes
1 1/4 c corn
3 avocado
1/2 c cilantro

Directions

Put oil in a skillet over md/high heat. Add quinoa and stir until coated. Toast quinoa until light brown. Then add the water and cook to package directions. Add all of the dressing ingredients together in a jar and shake it to mix. (You could use a bowl and stir it as well.) Cut all veggies into similar sizes. Mix everything together including the dressing. You can serve this hot or cold. I prefer to let the quinoa cool completely before mixing everything together.

Asian Steak

Here is another steak one for all of you carnivores out there. My hubby loves his beef, so this one was for him. I really like the idea of sneaking some veggies in with the noodles, cause my little guy doesn't even notice em this way. I really love meals with an Asian flair and I love being creative to try and make them a little more nutritious. Hope you beef eaters enjoy this one!


The noodles

Soba noodles (I found organic wheat soba noodles at meijer)
1 large zucchini
1 Tbs sea salt
1 Tbs sesame oil
Toasted sesame seeds (Toast seeds in a dry skillet over md/high heat until lightly browned)

The Steak

2~ 3/4 lb steaks
1/2 onion sliced

The Marinade


1/3 C liquid aminos
2 Tbs sesame oil
2 Tbs rice vinegar
2 tsp crushed red pepper
4 cloves crushed garlic
1 tbs grated fresh ginger


Mix all marinade ingredients together. Place Onion slices and steaks in a zip lock bag and cover with marinade. Get all air out and seal. Refrigerate for 6 -12 hours. Grill to your liking. While Grilling, thinly slice zucchini into noodle shapes and sizes. Bring large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and oil. Put in the zucchini for about 3 minutes and then add the noodles and cook to package directions. Usually about 3 minutes. Toss the noodles with the oil and sea salt.  Slice meat and serve with Soba noodles and zucchini. Top with toasted sesame seeds.

The Weekly Dish

My munchkin sporting some of the things I got him at the resale.

Thanks for bearing with me last week. It was a crazy busy week and I was lucky to get the one recipe posted. It was a great week working the children's fall/winter resale. I enjoyed it all and enjoyed the time out of the house. My wonderful husband stayed home with my boys last week and they had lots of fun boy time.  However, it is great to be back home with my little cutie heads. I am still trying to catch up here at home, so this week I will be posting two more recipes that I have had on hold for a busy week. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Toasted quinoa salad
Asian steak and noodles

Egg Plant and Tomato Stack

It has been a busy week, and it is only going to get busier for me. This is the week that I work the Wakarusa Children's Resale, and let me tell ya....It is work! I have shin splints a pulled muscle and my whole body aches from the first two days....Does this mean I am old? :) I am pulling a couple of recipes out that I have already made, cause this week is easy food...egg sandwiches and mac n cheese here we come! So, here we go. This is my version of a egg plant Parmesan. We had these beautiful egg plants growing out in our garden and I have made some dips with them, but I was so excited to make them into this!! It is soooo good! Buy the freshest egg plants you can find! If they are getting old and mushy wait until another time! Also, make sure you salt them well before breading, cause they are a bitter veg and they need the salt!!

Ingredients

1-2 heirloom tomatoes

2 eggs

1 egg plant

1-2 C Italian bread crumbs...buy or make your own (6 slices dry whole wheat bread, 1 tsp basil, 1 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp rosemary)

4 Tbs Olive Oil

Salt

Fresh grated motz cheese

Directions

cut the skin off of the egg plant and then cut it into 1/4 inch thick circles. Beat the eggs and put them in a shallow dish. Put the bread crumbs in another shallow dish. Egg plant is bitter so make sure you salt it more than you normally would....you should be able to see a little bit of salt on the egg plant. Then, coat with egg and then bread crumbs. Heat skillet on Md/High heat with olive oil. Fry the egg plant until cooked through, and browned on each side. (about 3 min per side) Lay on a cookie sheet after frying and sprinkle with fresh mozzarella cheese. Place under broiler on low until the cheese melts. Slice big ole beefy tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick and layer them with the egg plant. This can be served with Pasta if you would like, but we make enough to make this the main dish.

Fresh Tomato Basil Salad GF

This recipe really isn't a recipe. It is super east and straight out of the garden. I literally came in from picking, washed my bounty cut it, salted, peppered it and threw a little rice vinegar on it.......AAAAMAZING! My tomatoes are organic, heirlooms and they are awesome! They all have a bit of a different flavor so the mixture of them together is unlike anything! Red, yellow and purple.....soooo good!

Ingredients

Enough Bite sized tomatoes to feed whomever you are feeding.
About a handful of fresh basil
Salt
Pepper
Rice Vinegar
1 Clove of crushed garlic

Directions

Slice tomatoes in half, thinly slice the basil and crush the garlic. Mix everything together, splash a little vinegar on it , salt and pepper it and voila! Deliciousness!