Day 64 -- Berry, Berry Good For You! Part 3

One of the most ignored berries of all is the noble cranberry.  It was there at the first Thanksgiving . . . wasn't it?  And cranberries make a wonderful Cosmopolitan, when you add a little vodka.  And who doesn't prefer Craisins to raisins?  Beyond that, cranberries have struggled to gain the kind of popularity that the other berries have achieved.  It's probably because they don't taste very good when eaten plain.  But added to other things, they bring a tartness that you can't achieve with any other fruit.

Cranberries provide more anti-oxidants than every other food, except for blueberries.  In fact, cranberries come from the same genus as blueberries, a genus that also includes lingonberries and huckleberries.  Like blueberries, they grown on dwarf shrubs, but since they're a little bit more durable and they float, they're harvested by flooding the cranberry fields and beating them off the bushes.  They then float on the surface where they're scooped up.

Cranberries contain a powerful cocktail of protective phytonutrients; plant chemicals that contain protective, disease-preventing compounds (flavonoids and phenolic acids) that act as antioxidants in the body.  Cranberry extracts have been shown to inhibit the growth of oral, colon, and prostate cancer cells, in addition to battling breast cancer cells. Phytonutrients in cranberries may also be involved in inhibiting the spread of cancer cells throughout the body.

In addition to its anti-cancer properties, cranberries may also lower the risk of cardiovascular disease by lowering “bad” LDL cholesterol, inhibiting LDL oxidation (one of the first steps in the progression of coronary artery disease), lowering blood pressure and inhibiting the formation of blood clots.

This recipe for Apple-Cranberry Strudel Pie came from the Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen blogsite.  Visit that site for great hints on making this recipe!


Apple-Cranberry Strudel Pie

Have all of your ingredients mixed and ready before you remove the phyllo dough from the package. Keep it covered with a barely damp tea towel while you work, and wrap up the leftover dough and refrigerate it immediately when you’ve finished.

12 9×14-inch sheets phyllo dough, thawed if frozen
2 tablespoons walnuts or pecans
2 tablespoons oatmeal
1 1/2 pounds Honeycrisp apples (or other crisp apples), peeled, cored, and diced (about 4 cups or 3-4 apples)
1/2 cup coarse sugar, such as demerara or raw sugar
2 teaspoons unbleached white flour or cornstarch
2 teaspoons molasses
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup cranberries
2-second spray canola oil or non-stick spray
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons sugar

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a rectangular baking dish with oil or non-stick spray.

Place the nuts and oatmeal in a food processor and process until coarsely ground. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, toss together the apples, raw sugar, flour, molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cranberries. Mix the 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 2 teaspoons sugar in a small bowl.

Working with two phyllo sheets at a time and keeping the others covered to prevent them from drying out, place two sheets into the dish. (If sheets are too big for the dish, coax the edges into standing upright along the sides of the pan, but don’t stress about it.)

Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the nuts/oatmeal. Repeat this twice, for a total of 6 sheets. Arrange the apple mixture on top of the 6th sheet.

Cover it with 2 sheets of phyllo, tuck the excess edges under, and sprinkle with a tablespoon of nuts/oatmeal. Repeat 2 more times for a total of 6 sheets on top of the apples. Spray the top sheet lightly with canola oil and lightly cut through the top layers of phyllo to form 8 equal pieces.

Sprinkle with the cinnamon/sugar mixture.  Bake until the phyllo is golden and the apples are just tender (but not mushy) when pierced with the tip of a knife, 40 to 50 minutes. Allow baking dish to cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Serve warm. Reheat leftovers in toaster oven or regular oven, not microwave, to maintain flakiness.

Day 63 -- Berry, Berry Good For You! - Part 2

My favorite time of the year isn't Christmas or Thanksgiving.  Or even the first warm days of summer.  My favorite time of the year is CHERRY TIME!  From the moment cherries first arrive in the grocery store at a reasonable price (under $4.00 a pound), I start eating them.  In large quantities.  And I don't stop until the prices drift back above $4.00 a pound.  Even then, I treat myself to a half pound.

Now, technically, cherries are not considered berries since they grow on a tree, not a bush.  But they're always in the berry section of the grocery store, so even if they are an interloper, I'm going to talk about them anyway.  It's my blog and what I say goes, right?  And I'm going to add a picture of Ranier cherries, which I recently discovered.  They are so incredibly delicious that just thinking about them makes my mouth water!  In fact, I love cherries so much that I planted a cherry tree in my back yard.  Unfortunately, the chipmunks and the birds take care of picking the fruit before I get a chance at it, but they let me sneak a few cherries every now and then.

Cherries don't just taste good, they're good for you!  Here are the top ten health benefits of eating cherries from an article on ingredientsinc.com .  I don't need ten benefits to eat cherries.  I eat them because they are the most perfectly delicious fruit in the world.  And that's my definition of a superfood!

Ten Great Health Benefits of Eating Cherries
1. Cherries, known as a “super-fruit”, are packed with antioxidants called anthocyanins which aid in the reduction of heart disease and cancer.
2. Cherries are one of the few food sources that contain melatonin, an antioxidant that helps regulate heart rhythms and the body’s sleep cycles.
3. Cherries are an excellent source of beta carotene (vitamin A). In fact they contain 19 times more beta carotene than blueberries and strawberries.
4. Cherries are rich in vitamins C, E, potassium, magnesium, iron, folate and fiber.
5. Cherries are referred to as “brain food”, aiding in brain health and in the prevention of memory loss.
6. Because cherries contain anthocyanins, they can reduce inflammation and symptoms of arthritis and gout.
7. Eating cherries reduces the risk of diabetes.
8. Cherries are a good source of fiber which is important for digestive health.
9. Cherries are a great snack or dessert choice important for weight-maintenance.
10. Because of their powerful anti-inflammatory benefits, cherries are said to reduce pain and joint soreness for runners and athletes after workouts.

To celebrate the cherry, check out this recipe for "ice cream" called Chocolate Cherry Ice Dream  from the Fat-Free Vegan blog site.  And this recipe includes greens!


Chocolate-Cherry Ice Dream

If you’re used to greens in your sweets, you can use kale leaves (ribs removed) instead of spinach, but if this is the first time you’ve added greens to a dessert, stick to spinach–you won’t know it’s there.

2 cups raw spinach leaves, loosely packed (optional)
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder
1 tablespoon ground chia seed
1 frozen banana, cut into several pieces
2 cups frozen, pitted unsweetened cherries
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
sweetener of choice, to taste (I used a little stevia)

Place ingredients into high-speed blender in the order listed (a food processor may work if you omit the spinach). Begin blending on low and gradually increase the speed until you’re on the highest setting. If your blender has a tamper, use it to push the fruit into the blades. (This will be loud, so don’t worry if it sounds like a jackhammer fighting with a chain saw.) Blend until smooth but don’t over-blend or the friction will melt your Ice Dream. If that happens, call it a smoothie and use a straw.

Day 62 -- Berry, Berry Good For You! - Part 1

This is the first part of my tribute to my favorite fruit -- the berry.  Ever since I was a kid, I've alway thought berries were the queens of the fruit kingdom.  They weren't as commonly available (at least not in my house) as apples, oranges and bananas.  They looked lusciously appetizing.  They were so easy eat.  And they were my favorite flavor -- red.

Raspberries, strawberries, blueberries.  I also consider cherries a berry since they are small and round and bite-sized.  But I'm going to start with the super-berry, the blueberry.  It has been designated by many as a superfood.  And hey, if Superman can eat them, then maybe I should, too.

Actually, they're a superfood because of their high concentration of anti-oxidants.  Anti-oxidants neutralize free radicals.  Free radicals damage cells and damaged cells are more vulnerable to diseases including cancer.   Studies show that the ellagic acid in blueberries may actually slow the growth of some cancerous tumors.  Blueberries, along with raspberries, blackberries and boysenberries, have more ellagic acid than any other fruits.  And if you eat wild blueberries, the benefits are even greater.

Eating blueberries may also help prevent and fight Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, eye disease and some forms of blindness, urinary tract infections, and other serious and potentially deadly conditions. Consuming blueberries may even slow the signs of aging and help reduce cholesterol.

For the greatest health benefit, blueberries should be eaten as whole fruit, ideally in their raw and unprocessed form. Many of the beneficial nutrients are lost when blueberries, and any other fruits, are processed. Whole blueberries have more nutrients than juices or supplements made from processed blueberries.  I eat blueberries on my morning oatmeal.  And I found this recipe for fat-free vegan muffins.  I'm going to give this a try soon.

Fat-Free Vegan Blueberry Muffins
from Fat-Free Vegan Recipes website, Recipe By :Susan Voisin
Serving Size : 12       Preparation Time :0:30

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon Ener-G Egg replacer — MIXED WITH
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup soy milk — or rice milk
3/4 cup applesauce
2/3 cup blueberries — fresh or frozen (measured then defrosted)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Sift the first 5 ingredients together, and then add all the wet ones. Mix just until moistened. Fold in the blueberries and then fill muffin cups (paper-lined or sprayed) full. Bake 20 minutes.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 141 calories, 4 calories from fat, <1g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 227.5mg sodium, 59.1mg potassium, 31.6g carbohydrates, 1.1g fiber, 12.6g sugar, 2.7g protein, 2.6 points.

Day 61 -- Taste Buds? Meet Umami.

I'm a big fan of "Top Chef" and now, I've been watching "The Taste."  Occasionally, I've heard them make reference to an "umami" flavor in food and I've always been curious about what that was.  I thought it referred to an earthy flavor, something like mushrooms or root veggies, but I wasn't really sure.  So I decided to do a little research and to my surprise, I learned something new.

I've always known that the tongue can distinguish four tastes -- salty, sweet, bitter and sour.  But there's actually a fifth taste the is referred to by its Japanese name -- umami.  Roughly translated, umami means "pleasant savory taste."  And now that I know what it means, I know why I love some of the vegan soups I've been making.  And why miso has become such an important ingredient for me in soups.

There was actually an Umami International Symposium that recognized umami as an official taste.   It can be described as a pleasant "brothy" or "meaty" taste with a long lasting, mouthwatering and coating sensation over the tongue.  There is a whole chemical explanation for what umami is, but I won't get into that here.  Glutamates and stuff like that.  Foods that are full of the umami taste include fish, shellfish, and cured meats.  (Bacon anyone??)  As for vegetables, mushrooms, ripe tomatoes, Chinese cabbage, spinach, and celery are just a few.  Fermented and aged products including cheeses, soy sauce, and miso are also filled with umami flavor.

This is the taste that I really search for in my vegan dishes.  It replaces that rich, fatty flavor that comes from fried meats and it's very satisfying and comforting.  I'm not sure I completely understand the diagram above but it will give me something to think about while choosing favorite recipes.  

Day 60 -- Another New Dish!

The second of my two new recipes this weekend is from the Low Fat Vegan Chef blogsite.  I've had a butternut squash sitting around for a couple weeks and it's time to use it!  This is an unusual dish for me because it uses pasta, something I havent eaten much of lately.  But I have some whole-wheat rotini that I can use instead of the elbow macaroni.  Of course, I've removed the added oil from this recipe and I cut it in half, since pasta is always better fresh.  If you want to see the original recipe, click this link.

Vegan Baked Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

from Comfort Foods From Around The World   Serves 6

½ medium butternut squash (or 1 2/3 cups cooked and mashed)

16 oz package elbow macaroni or spirals

1/4-1/2 tsp. salt (*optional for pasta)

1/2-3/4 cup vegetable broth (for cooking)

1 large onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 tsp. brown rice miso (use more if using shiro/white/yellow miso)

3 cups almond milk (unsweetened original)

2 tbsp. flour or cornstarch

3/4-cup nutritional yeast flakes

1/4-1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2-1 tsp. smoked paprika

1/2-3/4 tsp. salt (*optional for sauce)

Topping:

2/3 cup panko breadcrumbs (or GF)

1/2 tsp. dried basil

1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. smoked paprika

1. Peel and cube the butternut squash and bring to a boil and steam just until soft. Alternatively you can cook in a pressure cooker at high pressure for 5-7 minutes. Drain well. (Tip, if your squash is hard to peel or cut, pop it in the microwave for 3-4 minutes to soften the skin to make it easier to slice.) Measure out 1 2/3 cup of mashed squash and set aside.

2. In a large pot, bring water to a rolling boil and then add salt if desired. Add pasta and cook just before tender. Generally it’s about 5 minutes. Drain well in a colander and rinse in cold water. (Do not overcook the pasta.)

3. Preheat oven to 350 F/ 177 C.

4. In a large saucepan heat vegetable broth over medium heat and add the onions. Cook for 5-6 minutes until tender adding broth when needed to prevent burning.

5. Add cooked onions and any remaining broth from pan into Vitamix or food processor, add mashed squash and miso and blend until combined. Set aside

6. In the same large saucepan add 1 cup of the almond milk and sprinkle 1 tbsp. of the flour or cornstarch when hot and whisk in. Add the remaining 2 cups of milk and sprinkle in another tbsp. of flour. Whisk this together fast. It’s ok if there are a few small bits of flour still.

7. Cook the sauce for a minute or two until hot and quickly add the squash mixture and whisk in. Heat through another minute or two and then add the nutritional yeast and whisk in. Turn off heat and add remaining seasonings starting with the lower amounts. Taste test and add additional seasonings to your liking.

8. Add drained pasta to sauce pot and stir to coat. Spread out in a casserole dish. (If you want to add some vegan cheese like Daiya cheese you would layer some in now and mix it in, but I don’t feel the need to add it personally.) Sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly over top. Sprinkle basil, oregano and paprika to cover.

9. Bake for 20-30 minutes just until pasta is tender. (20 minutes if you slightly overcooked your pasta, 30 minutes 

10. Serve with steamed broccoli or a green salad.

Additional Tips:

To save time you can use frozen cubed butternut squash and then cook it and mash it, or use canned butternut squash. Both are sold at health food stores in North America.

Smoked paprika (also called Spanish Paprika) is much more flavourful than traditional paprika, it lends a nice smokey flavor to this cheesy sauce. McCormick makes one, or you can get it at some ethnic or Indian markets.

To reheat you will want to either microwave it and then toast it in the oven or toaster oven to crisp up the breadcrumbs again, or just reheat in the oven until warm.

ETA:  Day 65:  I finally got around to making this and it was really pretty good.  The sauce has the consistency of real cheese sauce and has a very mild, cheese-like flavor.  If I didn't know it was butternut squash, I would never have known it wasn's cheese!  However, if you like your mac and cheese made with sharp cheddar cheese and heavy cream, his won't satisfy.  This would be really good with brocolli baked into it.  I added some green onion. 

Day 59 -- What A Bore

I fear I'm quickly becoming a boring vegan.  I've found a number of recipes that I really like and I just keep making them over and over and over again.  Although variety has been an important part of my vegan eating plan, it only applies to the number of dishes I have waiting in my fridge and not the dishes themselves.  So, this weekend, I am committed to cooking two new recipes.

For Saturday, I'm going to make this Cabbage "Noodle" Soup from the Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen blog.  I have a head of cabbage that's been waiting in the fridge and this has garbanzo beans in it, so it will be a nice one cup meal.

Cabbage “Noodle” Soup

1 small onion, chopped

2 carrots, diced or sliced

2 ribs celery, diced (leaves included)

8 cups water

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1/8 teaspoon rubbed sage

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1/4 head cabbage, thinly sliced

1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, rinsed and drained (or1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas)

generous grating of black pepper

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

2 teaspoons mellow white miso

salt to taste

Preheat a large, non-stick pot. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook until onions soften. Add the water and all remaining ingredients except nutritional yeast, parsley, and miso. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until vegetables are tender and broth is flavorful (at least 30 minutes).

Stir in the nutritional yeast and parsley. Place the miso in a small bowl and add some of the hot broth a little at a time, stirring, until the miso is dissolved in the broth. Add the miso broth back to the pot. Add salt to taste and serve.

Day 58 -- What A Loser

Since embarking on my vegan journey, I've become more curious about nutrition and diet -- and, to some extent, exercise.  Yes, I do at least think about exercise, though I haven't made any attempt to add it into my new lifestyle.  Some studies have shown that exercise only contributes between 10 and 30 percent to weigh loss efforts and that diet is the over-riding factor in successful weight loss.

For now, I'm just focussing on diet  And when my six month mark rolls around, I've promised myself that I'm going to think about exercise.  It will be warm and sunny by then.  And much easier to get outside.  And while I'm cooped up during the cold winter months, I've been watching episodes of "The Biggest Loser."  I'm getting my exercise by watching other people exercise.

First of all, let me say that these people are so incredibly brave to go on national television, to put themselves out there for everyone to see.  I could never do it.  And then, to put themselves through the physical challenges that the trainers give them.  Even at my most healthy weight and 30 years younger, I couldn't do what they do.  And to have those trainers yelling at you all day long would get on my very last nerve.  I don't handle authority very well and I'm sure I'd be the first one to snap.

But what I find so interesting about the show is how much weight they are able to shed in a week. Nine pounds, eleven pounds, thirteen pounds.  They're actually disappointed if they lose four pounds in a week. The trainers are disappointed.  For me, four pounds is a stellar week!  But the competitive atmosphere seems to spur them on.

I guess it only proves the point that you have to find something that really works for you. For me, it's this.  Eating vegan, no added fat, all whole grains.  Writing something in my blog every day.  Searching for new recipes.  It doesn't seem like a chore.  I'm sure I could lose more if I exercised, but right now, that doesn't work for me.  I need to shed more weight before this body will be moving at any great speed.

It's enough to say that I'm happy, I'm gradually getting healthier and I'm approaching the two month mark.  In another month I will already be a quarter of the way to my goal -- a year of eating vegan.  There won't be a big cash prize waiting for me at the end, like there is on The Biggest Loser.  And I may not have lost every pound I wanted to.  But I don't think I'll mind.  I'm just enjoying the journey.

Day 57 -- 8 Times 7 Is 56! Eight Weeks!

Eight weeks of eating vegan.  It's time for an update!  Though I started eating vegan to get healthier, one of the side-effects of getting healthy is losing weight.  In eight weeks, I've lost thirty pounds!

It's a little hard for me to believe since the only thing I'm really doing differently is cooking more.  In eight weeks, I've only eaten out once.  Instead, I cook at home.  I've made numerous new dishes, tried foods I've never tasted before, and developed a few new habits.  I haven't really had any cravings that I couldn't resist and though I've wondered what a donut or a grilled cheese sandwich or a rotisserie chicken might taste like, I haven't acted on those thoughts.  Oh, and I haven't exercised.  Not once.

I'm perfectly satisfied eating what I'm eating.  In fact, I'm glad to be eating what I'm eating because I can eat as much of it as I want without feeling guilty -- or sick to my stomach.  And I've noticed that my taste buds now crave a different set of tastes.  Instead of fat, they crave the rich taste of mushrooms or the spicy taste of ancho chili powder, the tangy taste of balsamic vinegar or the tart taste of a Pink Lady apple.

My acid reflux is gone which has improved my sleep.  My energy has increased.  As I lose weight, I can be more active.  And overall, I feel better physically, which makes me feel better emotionally.  I set a goal to stick with veganism for a year before I re-evaluate.  Right now, I'm not sure I ever want to eat any other way.  So, that's me, after eight weeks -- happier, healthier and surprisingly -- not hungry!

Day 56 -- For My Sister

Beans, beans, the musical fruit

The more you eat, the more you toot

The more you toot, the better you feel

So let's eat beans for every meal!

Beans, beans, they're good for your heart

The more you eat, the more you fart

The more you fart, the happier you feel

So let's eat beans for every meal!

As a vegan, I should consider myself lucky.  I'm able to eat legumes without any lower digestive distress.  I'm not gluten intolerant or lactose intolerant.  I'm not allergic to soy.  In fact, the only thing that's ever really bothered me were braised scallions and massive quantities of mushrooms. 

For some people, a restrictive diet is a neccessity, but for me it's a choice.  But my poor legume-intolerant sister, L, who prefers not to eat a lot of meat, is lactose intolerant AND can't eat any legumes without blowing up like a balloon.   So, I decided to find out why this happens.  Research in the name of sisterly love.  And I found this . . . 

Beans (legumes) cause gas because they contain a particular sugar, oligosaccharide, that the human body can not break down. Oligosaccharides are large molecules and are not broken down and absorbed by the lining of the small intestine as other sugars are. This is because the human body does not produce the enzyme that breaks down oligosaccharides.

Oligosaccharides make it all the way through the GI tract to the large intestine still intact. The bacteria that live in the small intestine break down the oligosaccharides. This produces gas.  So to recap, it's not the beans that cause the gas, but the lack of the proper enzyme in your small intestine that causes the problem.  And you're not making the gas, it's the bacteria in your large intestines breaking down the oligosacharides molecules that are making it -- so blame them.  

To prevent gas that is caused by eating beans, the oligosaccharides must be broken down before they reach the large intestine and become food for the resident bacteria. The enzyme that breaks down oligosaccharides is alpha-galactosidase. This enzyme is derived from the fungus Aspergillus niger and is available under the brand name Beano.

If you'd like to learn more, read this humorous article by Hannah Holmes.

ETA:  I'm writing about flatulence.  Could it be I'm desperate for subject matter?

Day 55 -- Come Here, Honey!

One of the benefits of eating vegan is that I'm not making a negative impact on an animal's life.  I am an animal lover and, in the past, I managed to put the whole issue aside and happily ate meat.  But now that I've come to enjoy a plant-based diet, it will be much harder for me to go back and eat meat again.

I decided to take dairy out of my diet over concerns about casein  and all of the antibiotics and growth hormones in milk products.  Casein is thought to feed cancer cells, while the hormones and antibiotics have their own bad side effects.  And corporate dairy farms are pretty cruel places for cows to spend their lives.  If I were to start consuming milk products again, I would probably look for organic products produced by smaller independent farmers.

So, taking animals into account, why isn't honey considered vegan?  The basis of honey is plant-based -- nectar from flowers.  We don't eat the bees or even kill them to get honey.  They get to live their lives in the wild.  In fact, by harvesting their honey, we're keeping them employed.  And considering my hatred of bees (and wasps and hornets), I'd rather see the bees occuped elsewhere and not chasing me around my yard or ruining my picnic.

Daniel Engber wrote a thought-provoking article on the honey conundrum for Slate.  It's called "The Great Vegan Honey Debate" and is worth a read.  Most strict vegans believe that the beekeeper exploits the bees, much like a dairy farmer exploits his cows or an egg farmer exploits his chickens.  But these animals are kept prisoner to provide these food products.  No one is trapping bees and forcing them to make honey.

For me, this is going just a little too far.  Are we exploiting the bees because we eat the apples or the corn they've pollinated?  Should we avoid truffles because a pig is used to find them?  And if we go that far, what about the migrant workers who are exploited in harvesting all the veggies we eat?  I'd much rather exploit a bee than a farm worker.  The only way to avoid that is is grow and/or pick all my own veggies.  So, I've decided that honey is all right for me.  I guess I'm what Daniel Engber calls a "flexitarian."  My views on veganism are somewhat flexible.  And maybe they always will be.  But I'm eating healthier and that's the most important thing to me.

Day 54 -- Oh-So-Good Oats

After my rant yesterday, I decided that I'd go right down to the kitchen and make some oatmeal.  Yes, it was past noon, but I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.  I've eaten instant oatmeal in the past, but I'd read that steel cut or Irish oatmeal was the gourmet's choice when it came to porridge.  I had a package of Bob's Red Mill Steel Cut Oats in the freezer and when I pulled it out, I noticed that it had been awarded first place in some world oatmeal championship in Scotland.  I was starting with the best.

I know I can make oatmeal in my rice cooker, but I decided to cook it on the stovetop for the first time, just to make sure I was eating the best of the best.  Unfortunately, after it was cooking for awhile, I realized that I added too much water  -- 3/4 of a cup!  Stupid measuring cup was 1 1/4 cups to the top mark, not 1 cup.  So, I scooped out about that much water when it was simmering and went on.  After about 20 minutes (I forgot to set the timer) it looked like it was thickening up.  It was supposed to rest for 2 minutes off the burner, so I watched the clock.

I have to say, it didn't look like much when I scooped it into my bowl.  "Gruel" was the word that came to mind.  But I topped it off with a handful of frozen blueberries and a drizzle of honey and dug in.  And . . . it was really, really good!  Not just good, yummy!  It was creamy, yet still had a nice texture to it.  And the slightly tart blueberries with the tiny bit of honey was just perfect.  How did I go so long without discovering this wondrful breakfast food?

Tomorrow, I'm going to grind my flax seed and add it to my oatmeal.  I'm not sure if the leftover porridge will be as good as today's serving, but I'm going to try.  I'll also address the issue of honey -- is it or is it not all right for a vegan to eat?

Day 53 -- I'm Doing The Best That I Can

Since December 27th, fifty-three days ago, I've made a major shift in my lifestyle, moving from a junkfood-laden omnivorous diet to a healthy plant-based diet.  I've tried my best to follow the rules laid out by Caldwell Esselstyn's book "Preventing and Reversing Heart Disease."  But then, yesterday, I came across a speech given by Ann Esselstyn, Caldwell's wife, and realized that I'm not doing everything I can to maximize the benefits of this diet.

Well, all I can say to that is "Pffftt!"  I'm doing the best that I can. I know I should buy organic, but I'm on a budget.  I know I should cut back more on the sugar, but compared to what I used to eat, a few added tablespoons a day isn't going to kill me, is it?  And I have been using non-stick spray in my cooking, which is added oil -- a big no-no.  And I don't eat enough greens.  Some days, I don't eat any greens.  Truth be told, I hate eating greens.

So there.  My healthy vegan confession.  Forgive me, Ann, for I have sinned.  Over the course of the next year, I'll try to do better.  But after watching this interview and reading the summary, I realized there were a few more things I ought to be doing.

1) No faux meat -- Wait a second, Ann!  My vegan Boca burgers are a staple in my life!!!  They're the only thing standing between me and the Macdonald's drive-thru.

2) Forget about vegan cheese --  I never think about it.  Ever.  Real cheese is a different story.  I dream about it.

3) Eat oats -- especially for breakfast -- All right, I have a package of steel cut oats in my freezer and it's been in there for about six weeks.  I'm going to cook some up and give it a try -- if I can find it amongst all the packages of Boca burgers I'm not supposed to eat.

4)  Limit salt -- especially in broths and canned veggies -- I haven't been as diligent on this as I should be.  In truth, I don't even think about salt.  Why?  Because I'm too busy thinking about fat!  But I'll try to look for low-salt beans and broth.  But don't even think of coming after my miso!  That's where I draw the line.

5) Drink water -- No diet soda, no fruit juice, no smoothies.  Now, the smoothie has been my breakfast staple for the past few months.  It's how I get my greens (sometimes) and my flax seed (all the time).  And my favorite flavored water (which is technically diet soda without the salt) satisfies my sweet cravings.  I do drink water and I like drinking water, but I'm afraid I'm not going to give up my breakfast smoothies.  Unless, I start liking oatmeal.  Hey, I spent almost $100 on a NutriBullet.  I guess I can use it for the margaritas I plan to add to my diet.  They're plant-based, aren't they?

So, Ann, I will try harder to eat a more plant-perfect diet.  I'll give the oatmeal a try.  I'll look for low- or no- sodium beans and broth.  But please, understand, I'm doing the best that I can.

Day 52 -- Let Me Eat Cake!

On Day 22, I made myself my first vegan "treat" -- molasses cookies.  Since then, I've enjoyed them with my almost nightly Chai soy latte.  But after 50 days, I decided I deserved a bigger treat.  I'd had this little cake before and I remembered it as being really tasty.  But it had been made with white flour and dairy milk, so as any good vegan would do, I substituted whole wheat flour and soy milk.  Cake can be tricky for vegan without eggs and oil, but this is a soft, moist cake that Dean Ornish called a pudding.  The sugar makes it a little bit sweet, but that's balanced by the sour of the cherries.

Sour Cherry Pudding (Cake)
From Dean Ornish’s “Everyday Cooking With Dr. Dean Ornish”

1 cup whole wheat flour

½ cup sugar

2 t. baking powder

½ t. salt

2/3 cup soy or almond milk

1 15 oz. can of sour pie cherries, packed in juice or water, drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Stir to combine.  Add milk and stir just until blended.  Pur half the cherries into a 9-inch cake pan, either non-stick or sprayed lightly with non-stick spray.  Spread all the batter over the berries to cover completely.  Scatter remaining cherries over the top of the batter.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.  Serve warm or cool.

1//8 of cake is 150 calories.  Can also make it with peaches or any other fruit.

Day 51 -- Can I Do This For A Year?

After 50 days of eating vegan, I have no doubt that I can continue to eat like this for another 315 days. The first fifty have just flown by.  What I worry about is whether I can think of enough subjects to write about in this blog.  I've had a few busy weeks and haven't had much time to cook.  And without new dishes to talk about, I find myself searching for subjects.

I don't seem to have any trouble finding recipes I want to cook.  I have a 75 page document on my computer than contains all the recipes I've cooked or want to cook -- or bake.  And I'm finding more each day.  Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen is a favorite source and so is The Post Punk Kitchen.  And now that friends know I'm eating vegan, they send me recipes.  I'm surprised at how many people I know have recently moved to plant-based diets.  My sister (who probably would be a vegan if not for her love of boiled eggs and her hatred for the gaseous effects of legumes) searches out obscure blogs and passes along at least one recipe a week.

Right now, I have spaghetti sauce with roasted mushrooms simmering on the stove.  Beside it is a pot of Brussels Sprouts with Shitake Mushroom Soup (Day 46). Wheatberries are cooking in the rice cooker for my Wheatberry and Wild Rice Salad (Day 3).  And tomorrow, I'm determined to try a new recipe instead of making the Japanese Curry With Edamame (Day 26)  that I've been craving.  I will try something new, I will try something new, I will try something new.  Tune in tomorrow to find out.

Day 50 -- A Day For Minestrone

Fifty days behind me and yesterday was warm for winter in the midwest.  But today is supposed to be nasty, with snow, sleet and freezing rain in the forecast.  So I've pulled out this recipe for Winter Minestrone.   My sister, L, sent me the recipe from The Urban Spork blog and I altered it to make it fat free.  I replaced the swiss chard with kale, because I have kale in the fridge.  This should keep me warm for the rest of the week!  Thanks, L!

Winter Minestrone

Serves 6 to 8

1/2 medium onion, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 stalks celery, sliced crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 bulb fennel, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1-35 oz. can whole tomatoes, lightly crushed

8 cups low-sodium chicken stock

1-15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar

1/2 bunch kale, thinly sliced

2 cups short pasta (cooked), for serving

nutritional yeast, for garnish (optional)

Heat small amount of stock over medium high heat.  Add onion, celery, fennel, potatoes and garlic.  Cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes and their juices, additional stock and cannellini beans; season with 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.  Increase heat to high and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.

Stir in vinegar and kale; season with salt and pepper.

Prepare the whole wheat pasta to al dente by following the directions included with the pasta.

Divide pasta evenly between bowls.  Ladle soup over the pasta and garnish with nutritional yeast (opt).  Serve immediately.

Day 49 - Just The Flax, Ma'am

My mornings often begin with a smoothie made of fruit, greens, a little soy milk and flax seeds.  Everything gets thrown into my Nutri-Bullet and a few seconds laater, i have breakfast in a glass.  I followed the smoothie recipes sent with the blender and dutifully added my flax seeds, but I never really knew what they were for.  What I do know now is that without my daily dose of flax seed, my digestive system doesn't work as well.


Flaxseed adds a critical element to a vegan diet -- Omega 3 fatty acids.  Omega 3 fatty acids include ALA, found in flaxseed, hempseed, canola oil, soybeans, soybean oil, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin seed oil, linseeds, walnuts, and walnut oil.   EPA and DHA are the other two fatty acids of the three and those are found primarily in cold water fish and algae.   Once ingested, the body converts ALA into EPA and DHA, allowing it to be more readily used by the body.   However, this conversion isn't very efficient. That's why experts recommend including EPA and DHA sources in your diet as well.

Omega 3 fatty acids have many different health benefits.  They::
-Improve artery health by helping to reduce plaque buildup and blood clots in arteries that lead to the brain.

-Improve cholesterol-by lowering triglycerides and elevating HDL (good cholesterol) levels. These benefits come primarily from DHA and EPA. Learn more about fats that fight cholesterol.
-Improve joint health by reducing joint tenderness and stiffness associated with arthritis and osteoarthritis.
-Improve bone health by positively impacting the body's calcium levels, reducing the incidence of bone loss.
-Improve mental health by helping to insulate nerve cells in the brain, allowing these nerve cells to better communicate with one another. 
-Improve skin health by helping to alleviate symptoms related to skin disorders like acne and psoriasis.
-Improve bowel health by reducing inflammation of the bowels, helping alleviate symptoms of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
-Improve lung health by reducing inflammation in diseases like asthma. To read more on this topic, click here.
-Improve menstrual health by reducing the pain associated with PMS and menstruation.
-Help prevent cancer. Colon, breast, and prostate cancers have all been correlated with low intakes of omega-3's.

The best way to get Omega 3 fatty acids is from ground flaxseed.  But the flaxseed must be ground fresh since pre-ground flax seed must be stored in a dark container in the freezer.  Even then, it spoils quickly, losing its health benefits.  Flaxseed oil can also be used, but is only effective if it's fresh.  Whole flaxseed stays fresh for a  long time and when ground in a blender, it is ready to do its thing in your body.

Sources:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=873
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=451

Day 48 -- The Virtues Of Variety

After my previous blog about my vegan binge, I thought it might be good to right about the virtues of variety.  I've found that the easiest way to maintain this diet is to have a lot of tasty one-cup meals ready and waiting in the fridge.  I exist almost entirely on one-pot, one-cup meals -- soups, stews, composed salads.  It's the simplest way to eat.  I just spoon my meal into a giant mug and eat.

A normal weeks worth of cooking will include some kind of cold grain salad with veggies and legumes, a broth-based soup, a tomato based soup, a highly spiced stew, veggies for a stir-fry with brown rice, and prepared fruit like cut-up melon or grapefruit peeled and de-membraned.  I also bake a batch of fat-free whole wheat cookies for a treat with a chai soy latte.  For breakfast, I try to have a fruit smoothie with greens and flax seed, so enough fresh fruit to get me through a week of smoothies.

That's a week and I can usually cook everything in a long afternoon.  It's easy because many of the dishes have the same veggies -- carrots, peppers, potatoes, onions -- so the chopping is easier when it's all done together.  The rest is broth, canned or frozen veggies, dried or canned legumes, and spices.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili is on the stove right now.  Tomorrow, I'll make a broth-based soup and my favorite Wheatberry Salad.  And then, I'll be back on track!

Day 47-- A Vegan Binge

It took until Day 47 to experience my first vegan binge.  In my former life as an omnivore, I used to binge all the time.  First, my definition of binging.  Eating and not stopping.  I used to do it with chips and dips, pints of Ben and Jerry's, bags of crackers or packages of cookies.  Sometimes it would be bags of candy.  Whatever it was, I'd just continue eating until it was gone or I decided to stop.

Tonight, I had to pull an all-nighter to finish a work project and I was tired and hungry and didn't have anything decent to eat-- except for a container of molasses cookies and a box of JJ Flats 7 Grain Crackers.  And thus began my vegan binge.  I ate all nine cookies and the entire package of crackers.  Add to this the fact that all I ate before this -- for three days straight -- were veggie burgers..  Did I feel guilty?  Yes.  Did I beat myself up over it?  No.  Because everything I ate was whole grain and fat-free.

I don't expect that I'll be doing this again soon, because I plan to do a lot of cooking this week to restock my fridge with good and healthy food.  But it did show me that careful menu planning and lots of yummy leftovers go a long way towards making a healthy diet.  And that old habits can pop up again at the most surprising times.

Day 47.  That wasn't too bad.  If I can wait until Day 94 for my next vegan binge, then I'll be happy.  

Day 46 -- A Bloody Good Orange

Since my vegan lifestyle focusses on lots of fruits and veggies, I've been wandering the produce aisles searching for new and intersting things to taste.  I went through eight different varieties of apples, I've eaten kale and I've enjoyed a rutebega or two.  I want to do a survey of tropical fruits and try a papaya, a star fruit and passion fruit.  But I ran across blood oranges at the store a few days ago and picked up a couple.  At 50 cents a piece this would be an affordable taste test for now.

I've heard about blood oranges  They use them on Top Chef all the time.  And an orange with blood red flesh sounded so yummy.  Kind of like Ruby Red grapefruit -- one of my favorites.

In doing a bit of research (Wikipedia), I did learn that regular oranges are all hybrids of the pomelo and the tangerine.  I did not know that.  And the blood orange is a mutation of the sweet orange.  The red pigment is called anthrocyanin, an anti-oxidant.  The characteristic color develops only during cold nights in the growing season.  The blood orange is the primary orange grown in Italy and is grown in the U.S. in Texas and Califormian.

The blood orange peeled like a tangerine and the taste was slightly different than a regular orange   Though it's small for an orange, it was a nice change of citrus pace.  And the flesh was deep red, almost a maroon color.  I hope they're still available on my next shopping trip.  I plan to buy more.

Day 45 -- Jimmy Johns, Two Bake Sales And No Time To Cook

Up until today, my new vegan lifestyle had been running quite smoothly.  But an overabundane of work responsibilities have thrown my routine into chaos.  I haven't had time to cook, so I've been surviving on veggie burgers with ketchup, pickles and onions.  For breakfast, lunch and dinner.  No time for snacks.

I could deal with this little bump in the road, but along with this, I also faced two (soon to be three) big challenges.  Yesterday afternoon, I fetched sub sandwiches for a group I was working with.  Jimmy Johns smells just as good as I remember.  And I was tempted to order a veggie sub.  But in the end, I stuck to my guns and walked out with 15 yummy subs . . . for 15 people who were not me.

Tonight (and tomorrow) I'm working a bake sale for about an hour.  Cupcakes, cookies.  BROWNIES.  I handled all of them and managed to consume nothing more than a bottle of water.  There was the crumb from a brownie that I picked up and almost put in my mouth, but then I stopped myself.  

So, I just want to say, to Jimmy Johns, brownies and drive-in cheeseburgers with ketchup, pickles and onions, maybe I'll be seeing you in 320 days.  For now, I'll just admire, and smell you, from afar. 

Day 44 -- Why Try Chai?

Late  nights have always been a problem time for me.  I used to munch on anything and everything from between 8 pm and midnight.  I've managed to break myself of that habit.  Eating healthy foods has seemed to rid me of cravings and subsequent binge eating.  But I have developed another late night habit.  Before bed, I like to have a soy chai latte and a couple of fat-free whole wheat molasses cookies.  Cookies and milk!  You can find the recipe for the cookies on Day ?

My favorite chai mix is the Oregon Chai concentrate.  The sugar-free is perfect and though it contains a small bit of caffiene, it hasn't been enough to keep me up.  Mixed in equal parts with Silk Light soy milk, and microwaved for 2:30 and it's ready.   It really is a nice treat on a cold winter night.

It's funny how satisfying that simple cup of warmth can be.  Much more satisfying than a bag of chips or a couple candy bars.  And much healthier, too.

Day 43 -- Are We There Yet?

They say it takes three  weeks to break a habit.  I'm not sure who "they" is, but some other "theys" think it takes 30 days.  And other "theys" say six weeks.  I even found a study that said sixty-six days.  Not sixty-five, not sixty-seven, but sixty-six days.   Today is the first day of my seventh week of eating vegan.  So, at this point, according to all but one study, my eating habits have supposedly taken root and I'm not going to be as tempted to stray.

Well, it's clear that "they" have never met "me."  I have indeed managed to stay on diets six weeks and then go off them.  Many times  But, I've come to the conclusion that what I'm doing really isn't a diet, it's a change in lifestyle.  When you diet, you're supposed to be hungry all the time.  I'm not.  When you diet, you're supposed to force yourself to eat foods you don't really like.  I don't.  When you diet, you're supposed to be obsessed with every fraction of a pound that you lose.  I really don't care.  Dieting is about feeling deprived, and I don't.

I'm eating the healthiest food I can eat. And as much as I want, whenever I want. Whole grains all the time.  Plenty of legumes.  No added fat.  Reduced sugar.  No meat, dairy or eggs.  Organic when I can afford it.  And vitamin supplements to make sure I'm getting what I need.  All of these things have helped me to feel better, both physically and mentally.  I don't get the sugar highs and lows.  I don't get that yucky feeling from eating too much processed food or too much fat.  And I'm not dealing with nightly acid reflux that keeps me from sleeping.

"They" say you should never go into a grocery store when you're hungry.  Last night I did.  I was starving (not by choice, I'd been away from home for 4 hours)  but I wanted to pick up some sweet potatoes so I could make that killer Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili (Day 39) that I wrote about a few days ago.  I walked past the bakery and looked at all the treats.  I strolled by the deli and checked out what was in the cases.  And yes, my stomach growled.  But I didn't feel tempted in the least, because I knew exactly what that food had done to me in the past.

I don't begrudge anyone their cream puffs or their Ben and Jerry's or a big thick steak.  If I could eat that and feel good, believe me, I would.  But that kind of food didn't make me feel good.  And eating vegan does.  So, if anyone is reading this and you don't feel good, try a vegan diet and see if it works for you.  Maybe it will, maybe it won't.  But you won't know until you try.  And be sure to give it at least six weeks.

Now, if I could only get in the habit of flossing, my world would be perfect.

Day 42 - If Brussels Sprouts Are From Brussels. . .

.    . shouldn't they be called Brussel's sprouts?  With an apostrophe?  Yes, my job with the grammar police does extend to fruits and vegetables and this has been a question that has been plaguing me for a long time (not).

For most people, the Brussels sprout holds a high place in the Pantheon Of Food I'd Never Eat As A Child.  And many people have never gotten past that.  They turn up their noses at a vegetable that is deeply flavorful and kind of fun to mess around with on the plate.

My favorite Brussel's sprouts (see there, I'm starting a movement) recipe has to be the one my sister serves at Thanksgiving.  She browns halved Brussel's sprouts in butter and minced shallots, then pours cream over them and serves them with roasted pine nuts and marjoram sprinked in.  The cream seeps between all the little leaves and biting into one is just heavenly.

Well, there will be no cream involved in my future encounters with this little cabbage, or "petit choux" as the French would say.  Nor will there be any roasted pine nuts.  But the Brussel's sprout will still have a place on my menu.  Today, I'm going to try a recipe I found on one of my favortie sites -- FatFree Vegan Kitchen.  It's for Brussels Sprouts and Shitake Mushroom Soup.  Though it won't be loaded with calories and fat, I'm hoping that it will still be fun to eat.  Do you hear that, mon petit choux, I'm coming for you!

ETA:  I made this by the recipe and found the Brussels sprouts got too mushy cooking as long as the brown rice.  Next time, I'll simmer the soup until the Brussels sprouts are just done, then add cooked brown rice and the cannelini beans.  The broth for this soup is also made better by the addition of a tablespoon of miso!

Day 41 - Keeping Track

In my many attempts in the past to lose weight, one of my more successful came with Weight Watchers online.  I loved entering the food I ate in their online tracker and watching it neatly appear onsceen.  There were charts and graphs that magically appeared at the push of a button.  And I'm a girl who likes a good graph.

When I started my vegan lifestyle, I wanted a way to track my weight loss beause I knew I was going to lose weight.  Since I didn't belong to Weight Watchers Online anymore, I couldn't use their tracker, so I searched online for a free tracker.  I settled on the Weight & BP Tracker.  

It has a points tracker if you follow Weght Watchers.  It has a place to record your weight, keeping track of your goals, BMI, and weigh-ins.  It has a place to enter your measurements and your blood pressure readings, if you're tracking those.  It has almost everything that Weight Watchers has.

It would be nice if you could set goals on the weight loss charts.  Or if the charts were graphed with dates on one axis.  But beggars can't be choosers and for free, it's pretty darn nice.

Day 40 - What-A-Burger!

There are moments when food taste so good you can't help but groan.  Since I've been eating vegan, I've tried many new dishes and some of them have been groan-worthy.  A few days ago, I picked up some grilled vegan Boca burgers at the grocery store.  I've eaten veggie burgers before and enjoyed them and thought this would be a quick meal when I didn't have time to cook.  But I didn't expect the reaction I had when I bit into the burger.

First, let me say that I put the Boca vegan burger on a Food For Life Whole Wheat Bun with some dill pickles, catsup and sliced onion.  I heated it in the micro before I fried it in a non-stick pan lighty sprayed with PAM.   The last burger I'd eaten was probably a Big Mac in the days before I decided to eat vegan.  But the the taste of this burger was like a little bit of heaven.  I don't really remember what a Big Mac tastes like, but it couldn't have tasted better than this veggie burger did at that moment.

Just for fun, I decided to do a nutritional analysis of my burger vs. my former favorite Big Mac.  I know it's not an apples to apples comparison, but I don't care.  I used to eat Big Macs and now I eat Boca vegan burgers.

The vegan burger was 70 calories with .5 grams of fat and 13 grams of protien.  It had 0 grams of cholesterol and 4 grams of fiber.  The  Food For Life Sprouted Wheat Burger Bun had 150 calories with 2.5 grams of fat, 6 grams of protein, 0 milligrams of cholesterol and 5 grams of fiber.  There's no added fat in the buns, the only fat coming from the whole grains.  So, to recap, we have 220 calories, 3 grams of fat, 19 grams of protein, 0 milligrams of cholesterol and 9 grams of fiber.   The onions and the pickles don't add anything and the catsup is mostly sugar and adds 20 calories .   Pretty good, right?  So now lets look at a Big Mac.

A Big Mac comes in at 590 calories with an gut-busting 39 grams of fat and 24 grams of protein.  It also has 85 milligrams of cholesterol and  3 grams of fiber.   Side by side, they stack up at 240 vs. 590 calories, 3 vs.39 grams of fat, 19 vs. 24 grams of protein, 0 vs. 85 milligrams of cholesterol and 9 vs. 3 grams of fiber.  Yikes!

The strangest thing about this whole burger experience was that I got the exact same feeling of satisfaction from the veggie burger that I used to get biting into a Big Mac.  My palate has been reset by a plant-based diet and now that simple vegan burger tastes like heaven.  I don't know if I'll ever eat another Big Mac.  I can't imagine what it might do to my digestive system if I did.  But for now, I'm happy with my tasty veggie burgers.  It's Day 40 and I'm feeling great.  I'm happy.  

Day 39 - Chilly? Chili!

What is it abou a cold winter day that just calls for  a big pot of chili?  I can't imagine living my life in a warm climate and never getting that urge to gobble up a big bowl of spicy goodness.  My friend Elise sent me this recipe for Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili.  It's from AllRecipes.

The truly wonderful thing about this recipe, and about vegan eating in general, is that I had all the ingredients for this dish in my fridge and pantry (except for the fresh jalapeno, whch I had canned instead).  No mad dash to the store.  It was all just there!  In a busy life, this saves so much time.

Of course, I tinkered with the recipe a bit.   I used just a tiny bit of olive oil for the sweet potatoes and omitted the rest.  And I used just one can of beans and added a half package of Boca crumbles.  And some frozen corn  And didn't use sour cream for a garnish.  Also, I didn't have cilantro, but next time, I will.  And I'll also make the Vegan Cornbread that Elise recommended.  This was OMG yummy!  Thanks, E!

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sweet-Potato-and-Black-Bean-Chili-2/Detail.aspx
with alterations by me!

2 pounds orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

1/2 teaspoon ground dried chipotle pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, sliced

2 tablespoons ancho chile powder, or to taste

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

2 (14 ounce) cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes

2  cups water, or more as needed

1 tablespoon cornmeal

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained\
1/2 pkg. Boca veggie crumbles
1 cup frozen corn

1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste

1/2 cup sour cream, for garnish (optional)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2.  Combine sweet potatoes, chipotle pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large bowl and toss to coat. Spread sweet potatoes on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer.

3.  Roast sweet potatoes in the preheated oven until the outside is crunchy and inside is tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature.

4.  Cook and stir remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, onion, garlic, red bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, ancho chile powder, cumin, and dried oregano together in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook and stir until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.

5.  Pour tomatoes and water into the onion mixture and bring to a simmer. Add cornmeal, 1 teaspoon salt, sugar, and cocoa powder. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

6.  Stir black beans, Boca, frozen corn and cooled sweet potatoes into the onion-tomato mixture. Add more water if mixture is too thick. Simmer until heated through, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Serve topped with sour cream and cilantro.

Day 38 - My Favorite Kitchen Tool

Since I've been hanging out in my kitchen a lot lately, I've been working on arranging and culling and tossing various items that I've collected over the years.  There are some kitchen tools that I could never, ever give up.  Of course, my knives are on the top of the list.  I've always spent money on good knives and they make cooking so much easier.  I hope someday to purchase this --

It's a Minosharp 440 knife sharpener.  Unlike those guys on Top Chef, I'm not coordinated enough to use one of those sharpeners that looks like a cattle prod.  I need something that's kind of foolproof.  My dream is to be able to sharpen a knife whenever it needs sharpening.   Right now, I'm forced to wait  for the knife and scissors sharpening guy who visits my local fabric store twice a year.  

Though I do rhapsodize about sharp knives,  by far my favorite kitchen tool is this little jem.  It's called a JarPop and it's available through Sears.  My sister bought this for me one Christmas from the Container Store and I've found them at Bed Bath and Beyond, but I'm not sure either store still carries  them.  It catchs under the lip of a jar top and with a lift, you can pop the vacuum and the jar opens.  For my rather weak hands, this comes in so handy.  I've given the JarPop to friends and family as gifts and for a single gal, it's a lifesaver.  At $4.99, it's perfect as a stocking stuffer or a party favor.   With the JarPop, that jar of pickles you so desperately need to open will open -- without the help of a man.

Day 37 - Meet and Eat

Yes, that says 'meet', not 'MEAT'!  I've been eating vegan for five weeks now and besides the fact that I'm feeling much better than I have in years, I've been discovering some brand new foods.  I've eaten quinoa for the first time and found it very tasty.  I've added edamame to a curry that I've made three times already.  And I can't even express how much I love miso paste.  I've been adding to to every soup that I make!

I've come to enjoy the heartiness of kale and use it in my soups now instead of spinach, which I always found just a little slimy.  And nutritional yeast and I have become acquainted.  Though the smell was a bit off-putting, I did like the taste sprinkled on top of spaghetti and sauce.  I've added fenugreek seeds to a dish and sent away for kalonji seeds for the same dish.

I've tried eight different varieties of apples and found one to replace my dearly loved Macintosh (but only when they're out of season and too mushy to eat).  The Pink Lady is now my choice when it comes to a good eating apple.

I tried to find lily buds for my Vegan Hot and Sour Soup, but couldn't find them.  Within the next week, I plan to try fava beans for the first time and I also bought fennel to add to a soup recipe.  I've been trying something new at about the rate of 1 or 2 items per week.  Can I keep this pace up for 52 weeks?  Thank goodness I'm vegan and I won't have to try sardines or anchovies.  In truth, there isn't much in the plant-based world that I wouldn't try.  I even bought a can of my childhood nemisis -- the lima bean.  I do know that eating vegan is paying off in health benefits.  I've lost 22 pounds in 5 weeks.  I'm sleeping better.  And my acid reflux is gone.  Here's to five more weeks of veggies!