Day 36 -- Keeping Produce Fresh

Since the major portion of my vegan diet involves fresh fruit and veggies, I was surprised to discover that I didn't know all that much about how to prolong the freshness of the produce I bought.  I came across this article that provided a lot of really good information about storing fresh produce.

For instance, I didn't know that storing potatoes and onions together would cause the onions to spoil.  And that onions could be stored in pantyhose to keep them fresh for months.

 

Did you know that if you store apples with potatoes, the potatoes won't sprout?  Or if you wrap the crown of a bunch of bananas with plastic, the bananas will keep 3-5 days longer than usual?   Speaking of bananas, they should be kept isolated on the counter as they cause other fruit to ripen too quickly.  And if you wrap celery, broccoli and lettuce in tin foil before refrigerating, it will keep up to 4 weeks.  This is great to know since celery always seems to be a problem for me.  It's wilted and rubbery within a few days of buying it.

One thing I was doing right was storing my produce in glass rather than plastic.  Blueberries stored in a covered glass dish last much longer than those stored in plastic.  And finally, I learned that I can freeze ginger root rather than letting it shrivel up in the fridge.

Check out these 27 Ways To Make Your Groceries Last As Long As Possible.

Day 35 - An Apple A Day - Part Two

I'm back to testing out new apple varieties and I picked out four more in the produce section of my local grocery.

Pacific Rose --  This apple has a sweet,\ taate and a fine texture.  It's juicy with tender skin and crisp flesh.  Pacific Rose originated in New Zealand and is a cross between a Splendor and a Gala.  In researching this variety, I happened upon an incidence of apple "espionage"regarding the Pacific Rose.  In 1997, a Chinese delegation got caught trying to smuggle budwood from this apple out of New Zealand in their pants!  New Zealand is very protective of their patented apples and recently found as many as 65,000 trees in Chile, propagated from stolen budwood.  I can see why they're so protective.  Pacific Rose was an 8 out of 10 for me.

Jazz -- After tasting the Jazz apple, I was left with the impression that this apple is an apple searching for an identity.  It is so middle of the road that I can't think of much to say about it.  It's sweet but not too sweet.  It's crisp, but not too crisp.  It's big but not too big.  And it looks pretty, but not too pretty.   Jazz is a cross between a Royal Gala and a Braeburn and comes from the same New Zealand breeding program that the Pacific Rose comes from . In following it's genealogy, a Braeburn is thought to be a cross between a Granny Smith and a Lady Hamilton.  And a Royal Gala is mutated from a Gala apple, which is a cross between a Golden Delicious and a Kidd's Orange Red.  I could go on, but I won't.  It's enough to say that the Jazz apple is a nice, middle of the road apple that would do quite well for kindergarten snack time.  But beyond that, it wasn't much to talk about.  I rate it a 5 out of 10.

Sonya  - My first impression of the Sonya apple was that it was a very tall apple.  It comes from a mix of a Gala and a Red Delicious.  It looks like a slim Delicious apple with very pronounced "feet."  Then I bit into it and it was the strangest tasting apple I'd ever tasted.  It was sweet, but it had a wine-like taste.  When I try a new apple I try to summarize the taste in a word and all I could come up with was "spicy."   Since I'd eaten it straight out of the fridge, I decided to let it warm and see if the taste changed.  It did get sweeter, but there was still an odd taste to this apple  It's crisp and juicy but I didn't finish it.  My apple rating is a 4 out of 10.

Kiku -- This apple is very large and very juicy and very sweet.  It has a mild apple flavor so the sweetness is almost the only thing I tasted.  Kind of like biting into an apple full of sugar water.  The flesh is very crisp and the skin tender.  I had juice dripping all over as I ate it, but for someone who loves a tart apple, this didn't do much for me.  That variety was introduced in the U.S. in 2009 and came from a mutation in a Fuji apple tree.  When this happens, the variety is called a "sport."  Though this is a pretty perfect apple for someone who loves a sweet apple, it's a 7 of 10 on my scale of apple perfection.

This is a great site for info on all apple varieties -- Orange Pippin.com.  I find it interesting the different scents and flavors one can detect in an apple, much like wine.  I'm going to continue my search for the perfect apple, but for now, I've been eating Pink Ladies and enjoying them immensely.

Day 34 - Coddling My Inner Cookie Monster

There are times when I feel the need for a sweet treat.  Although I have no complaints about my new vegan eating plan and I've discovered many wonderful new dishes, there are still moments when I crave just a little extra.  So my exploration of vegan cooking has occasionally veered into the realm of vegan baking.  And the cookie is the perfect little treat for me.  It's small, it freezes well, and it's easy to bake.

When I originally tried this vegan oatmeal cookie recipe, I added Craisins to it.  But because I used a very ripe banana, it ended up tasting more of banana than anything else.  So I decided to keep the ripe banana, toss out the Craisins and add walnuts.  Walnuts are the only nuts recommended on my low-fat vegan food plan.  Like flax seeds, they're very high in heart-healthy Omega-3 fatty acids.  And there are so few in the cookies that I feel confident that I needn't worry about the fat.  So these oatmeal cookies are now Banana Walnut cookies and are a terrific way to get rid of those last two over-ripe bananas.

Banana Walnut Cookies

Preheat oven to 350.

Blend in blender until smooth:

1½ very ripe bananas

½ c. applesauce (lunchbox size)

2 t. vanilla

½ c. brown sugar (or comparable sweetener)

Mix together in bowl:

1 cup of whole wheat flour

1½ t. baking powder

1/8 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

dash nutmeg

Add the banana mixture into the dry ingredients.  When well mixed, stir in:

¾  c. rolled oats

¼ c. chopped walnuts

Drop by rounded teaspoons full (or use cookie scoop) onto lightly-sprayed parchment-lined cookie sheets.  Flatten cookies with fork.  Bake at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cookies will take longer to bake because of absence of fat and baking times will vary depending upon the size of the cookie.  Check after 15 minutes.

Day 33 - Pantry Raid

After a month following a vegan diet, I gathered up my grocery bills and added them all up, curious to know how much I'd spent per week on food.  In my previous life, I usually spent about $100 a week, mostly on take-out, drive-thru and grocery store deli.  On any given day, I could have breakfast at my favorite family restaurant, a deli sandwich for lunch, dinner from the drive-thru, and a late-night snack from the gas station.

My new vegan total was well above $100 a week, but then, I'd spent quite a bit building a proper vegan pantry.  The wonderful thing about vegan eating is that without meat and dairy, food spoilage is barely a factor.  Meat is usually good for 3 or 4 days at the most.  Dairy will last 10 days, give or take.  But dried, canned and frozen legumes, grains, fruits and veggies last months.  Fresh fruits and veggies will outlast dairy in the fridge.  When properly wrapped they can go at least 2 weeks, sometimes more.

But besides canned, dried and frozen whole foods, I'd invested a good deal in things I could add to my dishes to make them more flavorful.  These are some of the odd items I have in my pantry.  Please note that these are for a fat-free vegan diet, so you won't find oils or tahini or anything that's an added fat.

a wide variety of spices and dried herbs
a variety of vinagers including rice, red wine, balsamic, apple cider
bottled lemon juice
vegetable and mushroom broth in boxes
Better Than Bouillon (vegetable)
Powdered bouilion
a variety of fat-free stir-fry sauces
Miso Paste
Ginger Paste
Capers
Soy Sauce (regular and reduced sodium)
Tamari Sauce (regular and reduced sodium)
Cooking sherry
Tabasco or hot sauce
Liquid Smoke
Red Chili Paste
Vegan Worcestershire Sauce
Coconut extract
Cornstarch
Potato starch
Red curry paste
Yellow curry paste
Nutritional yeast
Molasses
Maple Syrup
Agave nectar and other sugar substitutes
Small lunchbox size of natural applesauce (for baking)
Egg substitute
Dijon mustard
Catsup
Garlic (fresh and pre-chopped)
non-stick spray
sea salt
peppercorns (with pepper grinder)

And finally -- parchment baking paper.  It's not a food item, but I use it so much for roasting veggies, it's something I keep well stocked.  Once I had a well-stocked pantry, it was almost simple to choose something to cook for dinner.   I could browse recipes and almost always have the ingredients I needed to make the dish.  It was the best investment I could have made!

Day 32 - Just Like Take-Out

My adventures in vegan cooking have produced some great successes and some pitiful failures. I've tried my had at modifying regular recipes to be vegan and fat-free.  Most of my failures seem to revolve around baking -- my fat-free, dairy-free Whole Wheat Bread and my Oatmeal Cookies with Craisins weren't the height of culinary achievement.  But I did manage to devise a favorite in my Wheatberry Salad and the spaghetti sauce I whipped up from scratch will make another appearance for dinner in the near future.

After trying the Garlic and Kale Soup, I decided  that I was really craving Hot and Sour Soup.  I looked for vegan recipes, but decided to make one up on my own based on three separate recipes I found.  Traditional recipes usually don't include wheatberries and kale -- and they do include eggs.  The soup turned out great, with a tangy, but spicy broth thickened slightly with cornstarch.  Add more vinegar or red pepper to suit your own taste.  More broth will make it "brothier."

 Vegan Hot and Sour Soup

5 oz. sliced fresh shitake mushrooms

1/2 cup small dried tree ear mushroom

1 cup dried shitake mushrooms

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 can bamboo shoots, rinsed and julienned

2 medium carrots, peeled and julenned
½ bunch (5-6 leaves) kale, sliced into thin strips

32 oz. vegetable broth
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, more to taste

1 T. red chili paste

1 t. crushed red pepper flakes (more to taste)

3 T. cornstarch, mixed with 3 tablespoons water

3 T. soy sauce

1 T. miso (opt.)

2 T. catsup

1-2  c. cooked wheat berries (opt.)

5  ounces firm tofu, cut into 1/3 inch dice

3 scallions, finely sliced

Cook wheat berries on stovetop or in rice cooker.  In separate bowls, cover the tree ear and dried mushrooms with  hot water; let soak until softened, about 30 minutes.  Drain the mushrooms and tree ear. but reserve the liquid from the mushrooms.  Slice both into narrow strips.  Slice the fresh shitakes..

Spray the bottom of a large pot with non-stick cooking spray and sauté the fresh shitakes.  When slightly browned, add garlic and saute a few minutes more.  Then add the rest of the broth, the reserved mushroom broth, 1 c. water, mushrooms, tree ear, bamboo shoots, carrots, kale, ginger and salt; cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce the heat and simmer until the kale is tender, for 10-15 minutes.  Add the wheat berries (opt.), vinegar, red chili paste, catsup, miso (opt.) and crushed red pepper and boil over medium-high heat for 2 minutes.  Taste broth and adjust the hot or sour by adding more red pepper flakes (or cayenne red pepper) or rice vinegar.  Once adjusted, drizzle the cornstarch mixture into the soup, stirring as you pour.  Add the soy sauce and tofu and heat until warmed through.  Garnish with raw scallions.

NOTE:  If you like a brothy soup, double the ingredients from the ginger through the catsup.

Day 31 - Don't Put Turmeric In The Rice Cooker . . . and other things I've learned

I've tried very hard over the last month to be a perfect vegan.  And for the most part, I have managed to adhere to the "no meat, no dairy" rule.  There was the one little slip with Worcestershire sauce (it has anchovies in it), but I'd forgotten to get the vegan version and was in the middle of cooking.   The "no fat" rule has also been pretty easy to follow.  But the sugar rule, which is of my own making, is another story.   I think, when you can't have fat, you crave sweet even more.  In my previous life as an omnivore, I really wasn't much of a sweets person.  Snack and junk food was almost always savory, not sweet.

I've also learned a few new rules concerning vegan cooking and shopping that try to repeat to myself on a regular basis.

1) Don't put turmeric in the rice cooker.  I recently tried cooking lentils, spiced with turmeric, in my trusty rice cooker.  It boiled over, spilling yellow water all over the counter and the yellow water stained the countertop, the rice cooker, my dish rag and dish towel, and the coffeemaker sitting nearby.

2) Don't put greens in your morning smoothie unless you want to drink a green smoothie.  Try as I might, I can't bring myself to drink something that's a muddy green color, no matter how good it tastes or how many times I try it.  I've found that frozen dark red cherries make a deep red smoothie -- for about 10 minutes.  After that, it turns green.  So I drink very fast and get my greens.

3)  Do rely on favorite recipes while you search for something new.  I have a favorite chili recipe that is almost always in my fridge.  As I try new recipes, it's nice to know that I have something I really love at hand.  I've found two or three new recipes that I'll be making every week or so.  I think variety is the key and over the course of the next year, I hope to find a lot more.

4) Don't write off any product as unappealing until you've tried it.  I always felt this way about soy milk.  Yuk!  I couldn't understand how anyone could drink it and enjoy it.  And now I do.  I barely remember what cow's milk tastes like.  I'm going to try soy yogurt next.

5)  Do focus on the positives of a vegan diet.  Like how good you feel and how easy it is too cook.  How simple clean-up is without greasy dishes.  How inexpensive it is to grocery shop.  Don't let the negatives creep into your mind.  Don't long for the things you can't eat but realize that your body is becoming healthier every day by not eating them.  I remind myself of this daily.

I do think that for someone like me, someone at risk of heart disease and diabetes, a fat-free vegan diet is the fastest and safest way to get healthy.  I feel it already.  No more acid reflux or stomach problems.  No more  sleepless nights.  No more fuzzy brain.  No more ups and downs from sugar highs and lows.  I feel . . . clean.  That's the only way I can describe it.  Though it's hard not to focus on the weight I've lost, that has also become a motivator.  After just a month, I've lost nearly 20 pounds -- without ever feeling hungry or deprived.        

Day 30 - For Want Of A Dishwasher

Over the past month, I've had a chance to reflect on how and why my diet (and health) got so out of control.  There are many different reasons.  Stress was a major factor.  Depression probably played a part.  But those were symptoms and looking further back, I've been trying to pinpoint the causes.  Crazy as it seems, a broken dishwasher was one of those causes.

About three or four years ago, my dishwasher broke.  Because of some tight financial circumstances, I never had the money to replace it.  I hate-hate-hate doing dishes (I cannot state this more strongly) and will avoid doing them at all costs.  Dishes would pile up and I'd spend a day washing through them, but they never seemed to end.  I never had a completely clean kitchen.  There were always dishes in the sink or on the counter.

I hated going into the kitchen because it only reminded me that I needed to do the damn dishes.  I avoided cooking for myself because I would only be adding to the pile of undone dishes.  So I bought take-out or deli or I went to my favorite family restaurant and sat in a booth on my own and had dinner.  All to avoid doing dishes!

In the weeks before Christmas, I had a little extra money and decided that I'd done with a dishwasher for long enough.  A friend had given me an old one from her kitchen and when I brought someone in to install it, he refused, saying that the seals would probably be cracked and it would leak after so long sitting outside and in my garage.  So I told him I wanted something basic and a few weeks later, it was installed and ready to go.

Without the burden of dirty dishes, I'm free to cook to my heart's content.  I don't have a half-hour of dishes to do after an evening of cooking.  Dishes no longer pile up and I don't feel guilty or want to avoid walking into the kitchen.  It's a silly, silly thing.  I could have scraped together the money for a dishwasher when it broke, but I it put it off.  The same way I put off getting healthy.

I'm sure I'll discover some other interesting insights along the way.  But I have to remember not to put anything off for a later date.  Take care of things today and they won't spiral out of control tomorrow, or next month, or next year.  That's goes for both dishwashers and pounds put on.

It's a hard lesson to learn, but I think about it every time I load my new dishwasher.

Day 29 - It Tastes As Good As It Looks

I find it strange how much my sense of sight is involved in choosing foods I might like to eat.  I've already discovered that muddy green smoothies made with fruit and greens are almost impossible for me to drink, even though they may taste like cherries and pears.  My enthusiasm to make Cauliflower Dal with Panch Phoran was driven entirely by the photo that accompanied the recipe.

Recently, I came across this photo and I immediately went out and bought a head of cauliflower.  To some, it might look like overcooked cauliflower, but to me, I could imagine a sweet taste and almost creamy textrue.  I just knew it would be amazing.

I sliced the cauliflower starting from the stem end and moving toward the crown, then put the "slabs" on a parchment-lined cookie sheet that had been sprayed lightly with PAM.  I also lightly sprayed the tops, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and then put them in a 400-degree oven for about 45 minutes.  The more oil you use, the browner they'll get, but anymore than 45 minutes and they'll end up a little mushy.

I put a few "slabs" in a pita with some hummus and some other fresh veggies and it was so good  Food For Life, the makers of Ezekial bread, makes a nearly fat-free whole grain pita that, with the hummus, makes this a balanced lunch of grain, legume and veggie.  It's wonderful how roasted cauliflower can be just as satisfying to eat as sliced roast beef or ham.

I'm going to attempt making my own pita bread in the future.  The FatFree Vegan website has a recipe. 

Day 28 - Forks Over Knives

My primary goal in following a vegan diet came from concerns over my health.  I was in serious trouble with my weight and there was just no other way to get myself healthy.  After reading Caldwell Esselstyn's book, "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease," I was convinced that I could do no better than following a no-fat vegan diet.  I decided to give myself a year.  It was long enough to make a major change in my health, yet short enough to see an end goal.

After a month on my new "plan," I've adjusted quite well.  Since I work out of my home, I'm not faced with eating lunch or dinner out.  I rarely travel, so I don't have search for vegan food on the road.  All and all, my decision is easier for me than it might be for other people.  I've learned to enjoy cooking and grocery shopping.   But more than that, I've learned to enjoy living without guilt.  Mentally and emotionally, a weight has been lifted.  I can enjoy eating now.  I don't limit my servings, I eat when I'm hungry, and I never feel as if I'm depriving myself.

Part of the inspiration for changing my eating was the documentary "Forks Over Knives."  Click on the link and watch it for free.  It does have some annoying subtitles on this version, but it really is worth watching.  You can also watch it for free if you have Amazon Prime or if you subscribe to NetFlix.  This documentary really opened my eyes about nutrition and the many things that I didn't know about how food affected the body.

Making such a huge shift in my diet has revealed some interesting habits.  I've found a number of dishes that I really enjoy and will eat on  regular basis.  The Cauliflower Dal I cooked recently was memorable.  My own Vegan Chili is always comforting.  Sloppy Joes on whole grain bread is another favorite.  And finally, both the Roasted Root Veggies and Balsamic Roasted Mushrooms, both over quinoa, will make more appearances on my menu.  The more dishes I add to my favorites list, the more confident I feel about my future as a vegan.  Variety is definitely important to me, but so is familiarity.

I have some specific challenges I need to address in my second month.  I still eat too much refined sugar -- mostly in salad dressings and some that I add to tomato-based dishes (I like my tomatoes sweet).  I don't get enough leafy greens in my diet.  Usually a serving or two a day.  I haven't been getting exercise -- we're in the middle of a cold and icy winter and walking outside is treacherous at best.  And I need to work harder on balancing the elements of a vegan diet on a daily basis -- more grains than legumes.  More veggies than fruit.  But I'm happy and optimistic and ready for the next four weeks.      

Day 27 -- Desperately Seeking Soda . . . Again

I headed to WalMart this morning to stock up on my favorite soft drink/flavored water -- ICE.  I've found that keeping a few soda-like products in the fridge breaks up the tedium of drinking iced green tea and these sugar-free beverages taste so good that they satisfy my sweet tooth with just a few sips.

Much to my dismay, my favorite was nowhere to be found.  In it's place I found this -- Clear American flavored water.  It comes in eighteen flavors -- Wild Cherry, Apple Pear, Cranberry Grape, Grape, Kiwi Strawberry, Lemon, Key Lime, Tangerine Lime, Melon, Mandarin Orange, Peach, Pineapple Coconut, Pom Blue Acai, Raspberry Apple, Raspberry Blackberry, Raspberry, Strawberry and Black Cherry.  I was doubtful that anything could taste as good as ICE.  And again, I was wrong.

These sparkling sodas are just as intensely flavored, but are not colored, so I would assume they don't have any artificial coloring.  They have no calories, no sodium, no caffiene, no sugar.  They do contain aspartame, so you'll have to decide whether artificial sweeteners are a deal-breaker.  But the very best thing about my new favorite drink is that it comes in a bottle twice the size of ICE for the same price!  The liter bottles (34 oz.) of Clear American were 99 cents at Walmart, the same price as a 17 oz. bottle of ICE.  A great price for a great alternative to soda.

Day 26 - Miso Hungry

I've always considered myself a fairly knowledgeable person when it comes to food.  If I haven't tasted something, I've usually at least heard of it or know what it looks like.  Not so with miso.  Was it a powder or a liquid?  I later learned it was a paste.  What was it made of?  I thought it had something to do with ginger.  Nope, it's made of soybeans.

I've seen miso listed in a number of recipes and I've been looking for it for almost two weeks.  I finally found it today where it was all the time -- in the refrigerated section at my local Asian grocery store.  I needed it in order to make Japanese Curry with Edamame, a recipe I found on the Vegetarian Times website.

I bought a plastic bag of yellow miso.  I was actually looking for white miso, but the clerk told me that yellow miso is white miso.  I was left to trust him on this matter since the store didn't have any miso that looked white and I'm an uneducated culinary rube.  They did have red miso, which my reading told me was more strongly flavored that the white . . . er, yellow.  So, I bought the yellow . . . I mean, the white.

Miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting rice, barley, and/or soybeans with salt and the fungus kōjikin, the most typical miso being made with soy. The result is a thick paste used for sauces and spreads, pickling vegetables or meats, and mixing with dashi soup stock to serve as miso soup called misoshiru, a Japanese culinary staple. High in protein and rich in vitamins and minerals, miso is widely used in Japan, both in traditional and modern cooking, and has been gaining world-wide interest. Miso is typically salty, but its flavor and aroma depend on various factors in the ingredients and fermentation process. There is a wide variety of miso available. Different varieties of miso have been described as salty, sweet, earthy, fruity, and savory.

As for the Japanese Curry with Edamame?  It was salty, sweet, earthy, fruity and savory.  And fabulous!  The sauce was rich, like a gravy, and I served it over brown rice.  It was filling and tasty and a recipe that I plan to make again soon.  And, I added another new food to my list -- quinoa, kale and now, edamame!

Day 25 - You've Got Kale!

I can now add kale to the list of foods that I've tried for the first time since going vegan.  Quinoa was the first and kale becomes the second!  I've always heard about how nutritious kale was, but I was never sure how to use it.  It seemed a bit sturdy to add to a leafy green salad.  And with it's curly leaves and deep green color, I assumed it would have a very strong taste.  But a few weeks ago, I bought a bunch of kale and stuck it in the fridge, hoping to use it in a recipe on my "to cook" list.

Old habits die hard and I let the little bunch of kale languish in a dark corner of my fridge.  When a friend sent me a recipe for a soup that called for kale, I decided to check up on my leafy purchase and was surprised to see that it looked as good as the day I bought it.  Kale has a long shelf life!

So what is it about kale that makes it so good for you?  It's very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C,  and rich in calcium.  Kale, as with broccoli, contains sulforaphane (particularly when chopped or minced), a chemical with potent anti-cancer properties.  Boiling decreases the level of sulforaphane; however, steaming, microwaving, or stir frying do not result in significant loss.  Kale is also a source of indole-3-carbinol, a chemical which boosts DNA repair in cells and appears to block the growth of cancer cells.  Thank you, Wikipedia!  I learn so much from you.

This recipe for Garlic and Kale Soup from Vegetarian Times was the perfect thing for a chilly night.  I've been eating so many tomato-based soups that it was a refreshing change.  And it has inspired me to develop a vegan version of Chinese Hot and Sour soup.  That will come later. After I buy some lily blossoms and tree ear.   For now, I'm learning to appreciate the new taste of kale.  But I won't be adding it to my morning smoothies any time soon.  If only it wasn't green.

Day 24 - The Accidental French Fry

It is one of life's great justices that the potato neatly fits into the vegan diet.  A person can go without meat and dairy, but living the rest of my life without another potato touching my lips would have been very difficult to imagine.  Since I'm trying to stay as fat-free as possible, french fries and potato chips are out for now.  But there may come a time when they can make a reappearance.  When faced with a meal at a hamburger joint, french fries are pretty much the only go-to item on the menu.

Last week, I was roasting veggies for a recipe I was trying, Roasted Root Vegetables with Quinoa (Day 18).  Though the original recipe didn't call for rutabaga, this rather under-appreciated root veggie has always been one of my favorites.  My mother used to boil up cubed rutabaga, then mash it and serve it with lots of butter, salt and pepper stirred in.  For those of you who haven't tried rutabaga, you can usually find them coated in wax at the grocery store.  They can range in size from small (baseball size) to huge (cannonball size).  Try to buy the smaller size as they're easier to handle.   Just peel them like you would a potato.  They are very dense, so a big, sharp knife is needed to cut them.  The larger they are, the more difficult they are to cut.

When I cut my rutabaga, I just happened to cut it into shoestrings about the size of Macdonald's french fries.  I put them on a cookie sheet, lined with parchment paper, gave them a very light spray of PAM, added a little salt and freshly ground pepper, and put them in a 375-degree oven for 45 minutes.  When they came out, I couldn't stop eating them.  They were sweet and crisp and better than a potato french fry!

Rutabaga bears a resemblance to turnip, but originated much later than the turnip. It is believed that rutabaga is a hybrid of the wild cabbage and turnip. This hearty root veggie is otherwise known as Swede or Swedish turnip or yellow turnip and is well-known for its delicate sweet flavor.  Some sources suggest that rutabaga is native to Scandinavia and Russia. According to historical records from the 17th century, this beta carotene-rich vegetable was used as animal fodder as well as consumed as a vegetable in Southern Europe.  Today rutabaga has gained popularity in Europe and America due to its health benefits.

Rutabaga is a rich source of protein, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and other beneficial nutrients.  It's a good source of Manganese, Potassium, Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Dietary Fiber, Thiamin, and Vitamin B6.  And a one-cup serving of rutabaga provides half the recommended daily requirement of Vitamin C!  With that said, I have a feeling that rutabaga oven-baked french fries might turn into a regular treat for me.  Now, I just have to find something good to dip them in.

Day 23 - Desperately Seeking Soda

My cravings for food from my "old" diet have been pretty much non-existent.  But I have found myself missing soda.  Iced tea usually does it for me, but there are times when only that fizzy, fruity taste can satisfy me.  Drinking diet soda fits into a vegan diet, but in the past, I've gone through four or five cans in a day and since I was getting rid of meat, dairy and fat, I decided to throw soda under the bus as well.

Not long ago, I discovered  a couple brands of sparkling water that are so intensely flavored they make a wonderful substitute for canned soda.  Since they come in small bottles, I can take a few sips and put it back in the fridge for the next day, thereby instantly satisfying my craving without over-indulging.  They're sugar-free, sodium-free, calorie-free and gluten-free.

The first is Cascade Ice, which I usually find in my local grocery store.  It comes in twenty-one flavors.  My favorite is Wild Berry.  New flavors include Coconut, Macintosh Apple, Huckleberry Blackberry and Strawberry Chocolate.

My first choice  is Sparkling ICE which is available on the shelves at Walmart.  I love every flavor they offer and though their flavor selection isn't as wide as Cascade Ice, they seem to offer all the flavors I love and they are so refreshing:  Orange Mango, Black Raspberry, Coconut Pineapple, Lemonade, Pomegranate Berry, Lemon Lime, Kiwi Strawberry and Pink Grapefruit.  Drinking a bit of this is like a sweet treat!  Now if I could only find a way to make popcorn taste good without oil.

Day 22 - Three Weeks & I Deserve A Treat!

I used to say this all the time.  And it would usually result in a trip to the grocery store for some high-fat, high-calorie sweet.  A box of Haagen-Daz coffee ice cream bars.  Some tortilla chips and nacho cheese.  A cinnamon and sugar morning bun.  Sometimes, I'd go even bigger.  An expensive steak.  A lobster tail. A pound of boiled shrimp.  Or a stack of containers from the deli that contained anything and everything that struck my fancy.  The permutations of the story were endless, but they always resulted in me feeling guilty for deserving a treat.

So, after three weeks of my new vegan lifestyle, I thought it was about time to dip my toe into the world of baked goods and make myself a treat!  I'd purchased the egg replacer.  I had the applesauce.  I'd made one disastrous attempt at fat-free, dairy-free whole wheat bread, but surely cookies would be much easier.  I needed a recipe that would be tasty and something that wouldn't give me too many leftovers to gobble up all at once.  I settled on fat-free molasses cookies and found a recipe on Raleys.com.  I cut it in half and decided to freeze the extra cookies so I couldn't eat them all.  I'll eat one when I deserve another treat!

Fat-Free Molasses Cookies

1/2 cup raisins 

3 T. hot coffee 

1/2 cup sugar

2 T. molasses 

1 T. egg substitute (replacement for 1/2 egg) 

1 cup plus 2 T. whole wheat flour 

1 tsp. baking soda 

1/2 tsp. each: cinnamon and ground ginger 

1/4 tsp. ground cloves 

dash of salt 

2 T. sugar

Puree raisins and coffee in a blender or food processor. Transfer to a bowl and stir in 1/2 cup sugar, molasses and egg replacer. Stir in remaining ingredients except extra sugar; mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours for easier handling. Preheat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into tablespoon-size balls and roll in 1/4 cup sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets and press flat if you like a thinner cookie.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until set, but still soft in the center. Cool for 1 minute, then remove from cookie sheets and let cool completely on a baking rack. 

The cookies, made with whole wheat flour, are hearty and deeply flavored.  I put a little slice of candied ginger in the center of each before baking and they turned out crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.  Yummy with a chai soy latte on a cold winter night.

Day 21 - Expanding My Taste Horizons

I've always been fairly open-minded when it comes to trying new foods -- or maybe I should say, new cuisines.  There are some foods I refuse to eat.  Sardines.  Pickled pig's feet.  Pork rinds.  And anything that once was a bug or might become a bug someday.  Since I can retch just thinking about eating a bug, I'm pretty sure that actually trying to eat one wouldn't be pretty.  This is one of the reason why I will never apply to be on "Survivor."

I was glad for my love of new cuisines when I happened upon a recipe for an Indian--inspired dish that used a Bengalese spice mix called panch phoran.  Blending a bunch of spices together intrigued me.  Like mixing perfume, there were so many different combinations possible.  I found the recipe on the FatFree Vegan Kitchen blog.  I seem to go there a lot for inspiration and Susan Voisin, the blog owner, is an amazing vegan cook.  I started with her Family Favorites recipe section since the Susan's daughter was probably harder to please than most new vegans.  Susan's recipe is called Cauliflower Dal with Panch Phoran.  A "dal" is an Indian dish that contains simmered and spiced legumes, usually cooked into a puree.  This dish uses red lentils, cauliflower, tomatoes, onion and garlic.
  

I wrote about searching for the spices in an earlier blog post (Day 14) and had finally gotten around to cooking it.  The result was the most flavorful dish I've ever made for myself.  The combination of fenugreek, cumin, fennel, black mustard seed and nigela satvia was something I'd never come close to tasting before.  These five seeds, tossed into a pan and roasted for a few seconds made some very ordinary foods taste extraordinary.  And with every bite, I got a little bit different taste!

Bengal a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh (previously East Bengal / East Pakistan) and the Indian state of West Bengal.  It's kind of fun researching the origins of some of these dishes.  I get a geography lesson at the same time.  (The above is from Wikipedia, BTW)    

Day 20 - An Apple A Day - Part One

 I’m a pretty loyal girl when it comea to my apples.  I like Macintosh apples.  They’re tart and crisp when they’re in season and they’re perfect for both eating and baking.  I’ve never been attracted to the beautiful Delicious apple nor lured by the promises of the Granny Smith.  On the rare occasion I stumble across an old-fashioned Jonathan or Cortland apple, I’ll buy it. But my first choice has always been the Macintosh.

Lately, on my strolls through the produce aisles, I’ve been astounded by the new varieties of apples available.  Many of the names I’ve never even heard of.  I’ve decided, in the interests of scientific research and my new vegan lifestyle, to explore these new apples.  I’ll buy one of each kind and report on its pros and cons.  Sorry, my little Macintosh, but I think it’s time that I broaden my horizons.

Honeycrisp – I started with the Honeycrisp because I read somewhere that the apple exploded with juice in your mouth.  My sister mentioned that she’d tried Honeycrisp and they were good and she shares my loyalties to the old-fashioned varieties.  The Honeycrisp was developed at the University of Minnesota and was said to be a cross between a Macoun and a Honeygold.  But later DNA testing showed that these two apples were not the Honeycrisp’s parents.  One parent was a Keepsake apple and the other parent is unknown. As this little apple soap opera continues, the Honeycrisp is now the state fruit of Minnesota.

The apple is incredibly juicy.  After just a few bites, I had juice running down my chin and since I was eating it in the car while driving it made a bit of a mess.  The cream-colored flesh is firm and crisp and it has a hint of pear in the slightly tart taste.  Though it wasn’t quite tart enough for me, it was a really good apple.  Using the perfect Mac as a 10, I’d give the Honeycrisp a 7.

Ambrosia -  The Ambrosia apple turned up as a seedling in an apple orchard full of Jonagold trees.  I suspect it might have run away from the apple tree orphanage and hoped to settle into a quiet life in that British Columbia orchard, but like a beautiful startlet, it was discovered.   The little seedling produced its first fruit in 1990 ant the rest is history.

The sample I ate was an apple of Amazon proportions.  The taste was sweet, fragrant and almost buttery, but I found the skin a little tough and the flesh incredibly crisp.  It was hard to bite into without worrying about my teeth and gums.  On my scale of 1 to 10, the Ambrosia gets a 6.   

Green Dragon -- Green Dragon Apples are a cross between a Japanese Orin and a Golden Delicious.  Dragon apples are supposed to have a pale green skin but the apple I bought was definitely yellow.  I’d had it for only about four or five days and it was already starting to get spongy, so I cut out the soft parts and gave it a try.  As soon as I cut into it, the scent of pineapple hit me. 

But after tasting the apple, I wasn’t impressed.  Though the skin was tender, the flesh was soft and a bit mushy and way too sweet for me.  It wasn’t juicy.  After doing a little research, I found that this apple is in season in September and October, so perhaps it would taste better during those months.  But this variety was not a keeper.  I’m going to give it a 3 out of 10.

Pink Lady – I didn’t mean to save the best for last, but wow!  This has to be the best apple I’ve eaten in years.  The Pink Lady hails from Western Australia and is a cross between an Australian apple called the Lady Williams and the Golden Delicious.  It grows in a hot climate and has a long growing season compared to other apples. 

Had I read this apple’s pedigree first, I might have had rather low expectations. I’m definitely not a fan of Delicious apples.  But this apple, with its bright white flesh, is crisp and juicy and tart, which is quite amazing considering it was probably harvested two months ago.  It was, in a word, perfection.  A 10.  This is an apple that I will definitely buy again. 

Day 19 - In A World Where Crunch Equals Fat

The second axiom of nutritional eating, behind "if it tastes good, it must be bad for you," has to be "if it crunches then it must be made with fat."  Think about it.  Crackers, chips, all the great salty snacks in the world are usually loaded with fat. Even "baked" junk food has fat to make it crunchy.  I'm sure without fat, all snack foods would be limp and bland.   There is probably some chemist or physicist out there who can tell me why this is, but it was brought home when I went out and tried to find a cracker that didn't contain fat.  You'd think it would be easy since there are fat-free cookies.  But then I realized that in baked sweets, the fat is replaced by something sweet, usually more sugar.  And a cracker can really be sweet -- or it would be a cookie.

The closest I could come to a fat-free cracker was the KaMe brand of rice crackers -- until I stumbled across the Feng Shui band of rice crackers.  And there it was -- absolutely no fat!  Also, no gluten.  It's not whole grain, but for the occasional handful of crackers, I'm not going to feel guilty.  I know this shouldn't be a big deal, but texture can become very important when a craving strikes and the crunch of a potato chip or a cracker is just one of those things that you have to experience.

Of course, if you can't find them at your grocery store, you can find them online, direct from the distributor, Roland Foods.  They come in Nori, Wasabi and Original flavors.  And I can testify that they are especially good with hummus and some sliced crudite.

Another great choice is JJ Flats flatbread crackers.  Only one of the varieties is no-fat and that's the seven-grain.  This is a substantial cracker, very crisp, actually hard.  But it's great with hearty soups and you don't need a lot to get that feeling of "crunch."  Note that the ingredients don't contain any added oil, but they do have a small amount of fat from the whole grains.  I consider this no-fat.  You may feel differently,

I make my own hummus now since the store brands have added oils which means added fat -- disproving the reverse of my axiom that all crunch equals fat--not all fat equals crunch.   And there are so many tasty things to chop up and add to hummus.  It's like chip dip for healthy eaters.  I'm not very accurate on my measurements here because you should experiment and add garlic and cumin to your own tastes.  But I always try to keep a small container of hummus in the fridge for those times when I need just a little something to eat.

No (Added) Fat Hummus

1 15 oz. can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2-4 cloves of garlic
1 t. ground cumin (more to taste)
small amount of vegetable broth or water

Whip up in food processor or blender until smooth.  Add more liquid as needed.  Add roasted red peppers, dry pack sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, or small amount of kalamata olives  They can be blended in or chopped and stirred in.  Refrigerate overnight to let the flavors intensify.

Day 18 - In Appreciation Of The Lowly Root Vegetable

In the social strata of the produce kingdom, there exists a carefully determined hierarchy.  At the top, the aristocracy, if you will, are morels, rapini, Rainier cherries and arugula.  Then there's the middle class -- those ordinary, working class veggies that appear on tables everywhere -- green peppers, iceberg lettuce, Delicious apples and corn.  The lowliest of the low in this produce kingdom are the root vegetables.  Perhaps it's because they often come to us with just a little bit of dirt on them, a reminder of their previous home.  Or maybe it's because we can't just eat them as they are.  They have to be scrubbed and peeled first.  Or it could be because they just aren't as pretty as the rest of the produce.

But these often grubby looking vegetables can be transformed into the jewels of the kingdom by nothing more than a cookie sheet and a very hot oven.  Root vegetables hold a secret cache of sugar and by roasting them, that sugar is intensified to the point that the vegetables become as sweet as candy.  I roasted parsnips, carrots, rutabaga and beets for this dish, Roasted Root Vegetables with Quinoa, based on a recipe I found on the Whole Foods website.  I took out the fat by roasting the veggies with just a mist of non-stick spray.  I've modified the recipe below to reflect the changes I made.

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Root Veggies

2 yellow or red beets, diced

3 carrots, diced

3 parsnips, cored and diced

1 small rutabaga, diced
non-stick vegetable spray (PAM)

pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup uncooked quinoa

Juice of 1 lemon

2 cups vegetable stock or water

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Peel all veggies and cut into a large dice.  Be sure to cut in the same thicknesses so that all veggies cook equally.  Spread on a non-stick or parchment-lined cookie sheet, separating the beets from the rest of the veggies.  Spray lightly with PAM and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper. Bake for about 40 - 50 minute or until browned and soft.   Remove from oven..

While roasting the veggies, put the quinoa, lemon juice, stock or water and thyme into a small pot. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until quinoa is tender. Remove from heat and set aside to let cool to room temperature.  Quinoa can also be made in a rice cooker.

Put quinoa, roasted carrots, rutabaga, and parsnips into a large bowl and toss. Add beets, onions, parsley, salt and pepper and toss lightly.  This can be served with your favorite salad dressing.  Veggies can be stored in the fridge or frozen and added to quinoa later, either cold or warmed.  You can also serve over spring greens or baby spinach.

Day 17 - Out To Eat -- For The First Time

Today, a good friend called and asked if I wanted to meet and grab some dinner.  We hadn't seen each other in awhile and my first impulse was to say yes.  But then, I had to think.  Was I ready to face the challenges of walking into a restaurant, scanning the menu and making the right choices?  We'd decided to go to a place that was a favorite of mine in my pre-vegan days.  But I'd never really paid attention to the offerings available to anyone who didn't eat meat . . . . or dairy . . . .  or fat.  I decided to eat something before I left, then tucked a bottle of my fat-free salad dressing into my bag.

I got there a few minutes early and ordered an iced tea.  Along with the drinks came a basket of the best tortilla chips and two dips, a spicy ranch and the traditional smoky salsa.  It was really hard not to reach out and start munching, but since I'd eaten before I left home, I wasn't hungry enough to give in.

In the end, there wasn't anything on the menu as printed that fit into my vegan plan, but I simply asked the waitress if I could have a salad with only fruits and vegetables on it and with dressing on the side.  I ended up with spring greens topped with mandarin oranges, sliced pears, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes.  There was also a side of candied walnuts and I indulged in a few of those.

So, in the end, I made it through my first dinner out without any problem at all.  But I have come to appreciate the difficulty that vegans have eating in regular restaurants.  The only upside to he food was that hhe salad gave me my leafy greens for the day, which is part of my plan that I don't always pay attention to.  And I had a nice time without being over-anxious about food, since there really wasn't any food to worry over.  But this dinner, unlike those in the past, really wasn't about the food.  It was about the company and the conversation.  Maybe that's what it needs to be about from now on.

Day 16 - My First Rule of Vegan Cooking - Flavor, Flavor, Flavor

In these early days of my new life as a vegan, I've come to appreciate the convenience of a one pot meal.  If there's a way to combine grains, legumes, vegetables and leafy greens into one tasty dish, I'll try it.  This kind of meal fits perfectly into my life.  I cook for myself and I never sit down at a table and eat a meal.  I eat at my desk, or sitting on my bed watching television, or standing at the kitchen counter while loading the dishwasher.  Yes, it's not very elegant, but that's mealtime.

If it's a one pot meal, then it will probably be a one mug meal, too.  Almost all my meals are eaten out of my favorite giant Fiestaware mugs.  This fortuitous purchase was made years ago, before a Christmas celebration where I was serving two hearty soups and guests were sitting all over my house.  Only later did I discover that these mugs were great for cereal or fruit or steamed veggies or chai soy lattes -- pretty much everything I ate.  Because of the handle, they work well in the microwave and are convenient for carrying to whatever spot I choose for dining.  Best of all, they come in lots of pretty colors to match any kitchen decor!

NOTE:  Fiestaware refers to these as "jumbo cups."  They hold 18 ounces and are available in eight different colors for $6.99 at Everything Kitchens.

Lunch today was a wonderful recipe, Ethiopian-Insprired Red Lentil Soup, from the FatFree Vegan Kitchen.  It uses a berberé ground spice mixture that includes cardamom, coriander, fenugreek, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, paprika, tumeric, cayenne red pepper, black pepper and sea salt.  It was fun to put together and it smells (and tastes) so exotic.  Further research tells me that a berberé mix has as many different recipes as curry powder.  The soup, made with red lentils, potatoes, crushed tomatoes, green beans and spinach, is rich and deeply flavored  and hit the spot on a chilly January day.

Day 15 - Two Weeks And No Regrets

It's hard to believe I wrote my first blog post two weeks ago.  I've had time to reflect on this major change in my life and I'm still sorting through my feelings about why this seems to be different from the other attempts to get healthy.

I haven't made myself a lot of promises.  I'm just taking one day at a time.  I cook healthy, plant-based dishes and I eat them.  I write about my experiences in this blog.  I don't deny myself food when I'm hungry, but I do know, without a doubt, that what I'm putting into my body is absolutely as healthy as I can make it.  So there is no guilt, no feeling of deprivation, no pessimistic feelings about the future.  I'm never hungry and that feels good.

I'm surprised I don't have any cravings.  In the past, that had always been the end of me when it came to dieting.  I used to spend so much time thinking about food, trying to decide what to feed myself, then feeling guilty after eating something ridiculously unhealthy.  Add to that, the after-effects of an unhealthy meal and my life was pretty much consumed by thoughts of food -- and none of them positive.  These days, I really don't have to think about eating, beyond searching for interesting new recipes.  There's healthy food in the fridge, left-overs of healthy meals, basics to make a new, tasty dish.  When I'm hungry, the food will be there and I'll eat.

I don't restrict myself to three meals a day.  Instead, I eat about 5 or 6 small meals a day.  I try to eat breakfast shortly after I get up and usually make a smoothie or have a bowl of oatmeal and fruit.  But this doesn't always work for me and sometimes I have lentil chili for breakfast.  Again, as long as it's healthy, plant-based food, I never feel guilty putting it in my mouth.

I've lost ten pounds in 14 days.  Without feeling one hunger pang the entire time.  My plan seems to be working.  But now that I've written this, I do have one regret.  I regret that I didn't do this years ago.

Note:  The Vegan food pyramid comes from a poster available from http://www.veganfoodpyramid.com.

Day 14 - The Search For Strange Spices in Smalltown America

One of the most exciting things about eating vegan is trying new recipes.  I've found that unusual flavors in food more than make up for missing meat and fat and dairy in my meals.  I found a recipe for a Cauliflower Dal on a wonderful blog called FatFree Vegan Kitchen that required an Indian spice mixture called panch phoran, something quite common in a Bengalese kitchen.

I live in a small town, next to a small city, halfway across the world from India.  Though we have a couple of good Asian markets and Mexican markets, I was doubtful that we had an Indian market.  But I did a quick Internet search and was surprised to find one place, an Indian grocery connected to a gas station.  So, off I went in search of panch phoran.  Panch phoran is a mixture of five fragrant seeds -- fenugreek, black mustard, cumin, fennel and something called kalonji.  Kalonji is also known as nigella sativa, charnuska, black cumin, black caraway seed, blackseed, black onion seed or Roman coriander.

When I arrived at the gas station, the clerk showed me to their selection of Indian groceries.  They consisted of four box meals, kind of like an Indian version of Hamburger Helper.  He did gallantly offer to pick up what I needed on his next trip to the big city Indian grocer, but I decided to head to our local natural foods store and see what they had to offer. 

A wall of spices awaited me.  To my disappointment, they only had four of the five spices I needed.  The kalonji was going to be a problem.  The owner had never even heard of it and her vendor didn't carry it.  I could make the dish without it, but I really wanted to try the recipe in its authentic form.  So once again, I hit the Internet and found The Spice Sage.

There are any number of spice vendors on the Net, but I chose this one because they didn't charge for shipping.  Ordering $2.95 worth of kalonji and paying $9.95 in shipping just wasn't going to happen.  The Spice Sage (www.myspicesage.com) does have a minimum order of $10.00 for free shipping, so I picked up some smoked Spanish paprika and some chipoltle chili powder that I needed and that was that.  Obscure and exotic spices are available to those of us living in smalltown America.

Once the kalonji arrives in the mail, I'll report back on the Cauliflower Dal.  I love the Internet.  It makes anything possible!     

Day 13 -- Getting Rid of BPA

In my effort to live a more healthy life, I decided to re-evaluate my kitchen and do away with anything that might be bad for me.  I started with the food, throwing away things that were in my refrigerator for years.  After that, I tackled a pile of mismatched plastic storage containers that I had stuffed in a cabinet.

I recently began reading about the effects of BPA (Bisphenol A).  I won’t go into all the details here.  You can Google it and make your own judgments.  But what I read convinced me that I should at least make an effort to get rid of as much BPA in my life as I could.  Especially since it is suspected to cause breast cancer, heart disease, diabetes and problems with brain function.  It makes sense.  Plastic is made of petro-chemicals.  We store our food and drinks in plastic.  It’s not surprising that some of those chemicals might leech into that food and drink.

I’m going to try to make an effort to store everything in either glass or BPA-free plastic.  I’m going to avoid as many products as I can that are packaged in BPA-infused cans or plastic bottles.  It’s going to be impossible to get all the BPA out of my life, but it was really fun to throw out all those mismatched containers and buy all new.  I also bought new pitchers and new takeaway water bottles and glasses.

Of course there are many other sources of BPA, but a small step in the right direction is better than no step at all.

Day 12 -- Quin– NOH– ah? No, Dummy, It’s KEEN – nwah!

It may be hard to believe, but I’ve gone 57 years without having the pleasure of eating quinoa.  I grew up on a farm where pasta and rice were considered exotic and potatoes were served at almost every meal.  But I have been a pretty adventurous eater in my adult life and I can’t believe I missed out on this interesting grain.

According to Bob at Bob’s Red Mill, quinoa is a high-protein grain cultivated by Incan tribes in the Andes Mountains of South America.  It’s grown in Peru and considered to be a “powerhouse” grain, packed with protein and nutrients.  I cooked mine up in my trusty rice cooker and it turned out light and fluffy.  I love the way it pops in my mouth

I found this recipe on the Whole Foods website and between the quinoa and the spinach, this dish is can’t get much more nutritious.  Any dish that can get me to eat raw spinach is a good thing.  And the mushrooms are earthy and almost meaty.  I halved the recipe and used sliced baby portobellos.  If you want to save time, use a commercial balsamic dressing, fat-free or not, and toss the mushrooms in a mix of  ¼ c.of the salad dressing, 2 T. brown sugar, 1 t. minced garlic and 2 t. Dijon mustard before roasting.  Another blogger from the blog "My Plant-Based Life" suggests adding a roasted red peppers to the dish.  I've also tried dry pack sun-dried tomatoes and roasted some slices of Vidalia onions with the mushrooms.  All are delicious!

Quinoa with Balsamic Roasted Mushrooms

Serves:  6

Mushrooms roasted in a simple oil-free pear balsamic dressing are delicious tossed with quinoa, spinach, green onions and almonds. Serve this dish warm, room temperature or cold, as a side dish or the main event.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 ripe pear, peeled, cored and cut into chunks

1 garlic clove, halved

2 pounds portobello mushrooms, stemmed and gills scraped out

1 cup red or white quinoa

3 cups tightly packed fresh spinach, chopped

4 green onions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 475°F.

Put vinegar, mustard, pear and garlic in a blender with 1/3 cup water and blend until smooth, about 1 minute, to make the dressing. Cut mushrooms into chunks and combine in a large mixing bowl with 1/4 cup of the dressing. Spread mushrooms in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast until tender, stirring occasionally, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

While mushrooms roast, prepare quinoa. In a medium pot, bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil. Stir in quinoa, cover pot, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat and set aside, covered, 10 minutes more. Uncover and fluff quinoa with a fork.

Combine mushrooms, quinoa, spinach, green onions, almonds, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup more dressing in a large, wide serving bowl. Stir to mix well. Serve with remaining dressing on the side.

Day 11 - If It's Good For You, It Can't Possibly Taste Good, Too

It's an axiom that applies to so many foods.  If it's good for you, then it can't possibly taste good, too.  And if it tastes absolutely wonderful, then most assuredly, it is very, very bad for you.

I give you bacon.  Universally acknowledged to be the best tasting food product on the planet.  I have happy vegetarian friends whose Kryptonite just happens to be bacon.  After years of eating a plant-based diet, they smell bacon and long for the days when they used to eat meat.  It tastes so good, but it's oh-so bad for a person's health.  It packs an amazing amount of fat, cholesterol, nitrates, and sodium, all into one crispy little strip of heaven.  In truth, bacon is probably the devil in disguise.   Now, there's a theory no one is trying to prove.  And cream cheese is the devil's handmaiden.  Just saying.

On the opposite end of the spectrum we have green tea.  Calming, soothing, noble green tea.  The health benefits are numerous.  Studies say it fights cancer and heart disease.  Other studies say that it can lower cholesterol, burn fat, prevent diabetes and stroke, and stave off dementia.  It's even thought to suppress the appetite.  Green tea just might be the fountain of youth.  The strange thing about about green tea is that I actually love it!  I can drink it all day long and never feel like I'm being forced to do it.  I drink so much green tea that I had to place a big order with Walmart to get my favorite brand.

I drop a few of the oversize bags into a gallon pitcher, fill it with the hottest tap water I can, and let it sit on the counter until it cools enough to put in the fridge.  (Make sure to buy a pitcher that is BPA-free.) With green tea ready and chilled, it's much easier to avoid soft drinks.  It's quite clear that my consumption of diet soda was bad for me.  But what has been so surprising is how easily I've substituted iced green tea for Fresca and my all-time go-to soft drink, Diet Dr. Pepper.

Another great tea that comes in oversize bags for iced tea brewing is Sport Tea.  While the Tazo is flavored with a hint of mint, Sport Tea is very citrusy.

     

There's no reason why I can't drink a diet soda.  It's fat-free, cholesterol-free, sugar-free.  But I do suspect that the caffeine and the sodium and the acid might have had a lot to do with my problems sleeping.  For now, I'm drinking green tea -- and sleeping much better.

Day 10 - I'm In Love With A Kitchen Appliance!

One of the drudgeries of eating more whole grains and legumes is cooking more whole grains and legumes.  Dried grains and beans take time to cook and if you don't pay close attention, you can end up with a mushy mess and another hour or two of cooking before you can eat.

I've discovered that you can cook grains in a rice cooker  I'm sure this isn't news to any smart vegan, but it certainly was a revelation to me.  The convenience of dumping wheat berries or brown rice into my little Aroma rice cooker, flipping it on and walking away has made eating whole grains so much easier.  Of course, I haven't tried to cook beans or lentils in the rice cooker, but I suspect it should be able to handle the task without much problem.

How cute is that?  I bought it at WalMart for under twenty dollars and it is worth every penny.  So far, it has  cooked brown rice, wheat berries and wild rice to perfection.  The teflon insert comes out and is easy to clean with a little warm water.  If you'd like to add more whole grains to your diet, I'd recommend buying a rice cooker.    

ETA:  I just cooked garbanzo beans in my rice cooker.  So now, it officially does everything I need it to do! Here's a link to the Whole Grain Council with info on cooking grains in a rice cooker.

Day 9 - Sloppy Joes At Midnight

There are times when the taste of a single dish gets into my head and I just can’t get rid of it.  The only solution is to eat it.  I used to have this problem with Taco Bell.  I’d imagine the taste of a beef Baja chalupa and start obsessing over it until the only solution was a late night trip to the drive-thru.  The problem was, it never, ever tasted as good as I’d imagined it.

From the time I’d put the Boca Veggie Crumbles in the grocery cart, I knew they’d be great as Sloppy Joes.  I’ve made them in the past for vegetarian friends, so when I needed just a taste of something from my former diet, what better to eat than Sloppy Joes.  I didn’t have buns so I had to settle for a few slices of whole grain bread.  But it definitely hit the spot.  In truth, it was so much better than I’d imagined it, because I could eat it without a single ounce of guilt.

 

Here’s my recipe, adapted from Martha Stewart’s.  I always like my tomato sauce a little sweet, so I add brown sugar.  Leave it out if you're concerned about processed sugar.

Vegan Sloppy Joes

Makes six servings

1 medium onion

1/2 green pepper

1 celery stalk

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T. vegetable broth (or olive oil)

1 12 oz package of Boca veggie crumbles

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

1/4 cup ketchup

2 T. Dijon mustard
1 T. brown sugar (opt.)
1 T. vegan Worcestershire sauce

Finely chop onion, green pepper, celery and garlic in food processor or by hand.    Saute veggies in broth in large skillet until tender.  Add Boca veggie crumbles, tomato sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard.  Cook until bubbling and flavors meld, about 15 minutes.  Serve on whole grain buns. 

Day 8 - Week One Over, On To Week Two

I’ve completed my first week as a veganish vegan.  In all honesty, I’m not suffering.  I’m not denying myself food.  When I’m hungry, I eat.  I don’t have to count calories or measure portions, so it really doesn’t seem like I’m on a diet – which I’m not.  

I’ve decided to give myself a year.  Every day, I’ll put my thoughts into a blog post and share some of the things that are helping me maintain my focus.  I’m not sure if anyone will ever read this blog or if I’ll be talking to myself for a year, but just the discipline of writing about my experiences might make it easier to keep moving forward, a day at a time. 

One of the keys to staying on track for me has to be simplicity.  I’ve counted calories and points and kept a food journal.  I’ve weighed and measured food.  I’ve attended meetings and bought expensive pre-packaged food.  But this time, I’ve stumbled upon a plan that requires only two things – preparing wholesome, nutritious food and eating said food.  Obviously, eating is not a problem for me, so making my meals is the only complication I’ve added to my life.  And since I know exactly what I can and can’t eat, even that isn’t very complicated.

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I worried about variety, but I’ve been searching for recipes on the Internet and modifying dishes that sound good.  Tonight, for dinner, I made hummus with roasted red peppers and plenty of garlic.  I spread it on whole grain bread made by Food For Life.  Their products can be found in larger grocery stores in the freezer section and in many health food and vegetarian stores.  I’m learning to appreciate different tastes and making some surprising discoveries. 

Eating can be an adventure and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.  I’m going to roast some root vegetables and try quinoa for the first time.  I’ll be back to let you know how it goes.

Day 7 - My New Comfort Food

I’ve always had my favorite comfort foods, my go-to menus when I wanted to feel safe and calm.  My mother was not the most adventurous cook, but there were several meals that I took from my childhood and cooked as an adult.  My favorite was always fried pork chops, cooked in a can of Campbell’s Mushroom Soup.  This meal also included mashed potatoes and applesauce.  Since pork is permanently off my menus, I now have to find new dishes that give me that warm and satisfied feeling that mom’s pork chop dinner used to.

                       

Soup has always been a good place to find that feeling of satisfaction.  And this lentil chili is a recipe I adapted from a Molly Katzen recipe.  It’s vegan – virtually no-fat.  I’m looking forward to the search for a new menu of comfort foods.  

Sweet and Spicy Lentil Chili

Makes 18 1-cup servings

1 large Vidalia or sweet onion, 3 cup chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped, 3 cups chopped

3 to 4 large carrots, 4 cups sliced

1/2 cup chili powder (more to taste)

¼ cup molasses

¼ cup brown sugar

3 T. Dijon mustard

15 oz. can tomato sauce

28 oz can stewed or chopped tomatoes

1 – 1 ½  cups frozen fat-free veggie crumbles (opt - Boca is good)  

1 4 oz. can mild green chilies, well drained (opt.)

1 cup frozen organic corn

6-8 cups water (add extra if chili is too thick for your taste)

1 cup dry red or green lentils, rinsed

1 15 oz. can organic red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Use as many veggies as you want!  Saute onion, celery and carrots in large soup pot using veggie broth, non-stick spray, or small amount of vegetable oil.  When onions are transparent, add the rest of the ingredients except for the kidney beans and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer until lentils are soft, approx. 45-60 minutes.  Add kidney beans and heat through.

Day 6 - A New Year, A New Resolve

How many times have I made a New Year’s resolution to get more exercise  .  .  . or to eat a healthier diet . . .  or to lose some weight?  Yeah, we all begin the new year with good intentions.  This year, I didn’t make a resolution.  I made a decision – a decision to try to extend my lifespan, to believe that I might be around to see my nieces get married and have children of their own. 

As I was driving to the grocery store the yesterday, I saw a billboard that said, “Never quit trying to quit.”  Aimed at cigarette smokers, the phrase also rang true for me.  Once you give up trying, you have lost.  The act of trying means that you still want to make a change.  I had reached the point where I was ready to stop trying, then decided not to give up.

I’ve been working on my plan for almost a week now.  Right around the one week mark is always when my resolve first starts to waver.  Though I’m still in mourning for the foods that I’ll never be able to eat again, I really haven’t been hungry enough to even consider surrender this time.  Nor have I experienced any cravings.  Is that a result of the healthy, more balanced diet?  The thought of cheating is abhorrent to me right now.  When I began a week ago, I called myself veganish, allowing myself non-fat dairy and egg whites.  I’ve now decided to go all in and forget the dairy.

I feel better than I have in months.  I feel more alert, my mind seems to be clearer.  My body feels lighter.  I feel in control and after so many years of being out of control, that gives me a certain amount of pride.  Maybe this will be the one time that it works.