GoodVeg

Keen Wa with Raspberry Vin-A-Gret

2012-05-25T19:32:20Z

OK so I’m having fun with the pronunciations of words but can you expect anything less from a journalist who is obsessed with grammar and words! Also, quinoa is not an easy word to pronounce! The grain packs a powerful punch. It is considered a complete protein and a great source of iron and dietary fiber, not to mention it is gluten-free! Shall we continue?…

Keen Wa with Raspberry Vin-A-Gret

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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 15-20 minutes

It’s lunch time so I head to my kitchen cabinets to find a bag of quinoa (Keen Wa) and discover frozen raspberries. Next comes fennel and a green apple. I came up with this recipe based on the flavor profile on each of these ingredients – starchy quinoa, sweet raspberries, earthy fennel and sour apple. All together they create a light, refreshing and nutritious meal or side item. Perfect for summer? Si! Just look at that vibrant raspberry vinaigrette! Buon Appetito!

Recipe Tools

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa made with ½ tsp turmeric powder
1 fennel, diced ½ inch
1 green apple, diced ½ inch
Raspberry vinaigrette:
½ cup unsweetened frozen raspberries, thawed or fresh raspberries
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon raw organic agave nectar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

For the salad: prepare the quinoa according to instructions on container adding turmeric and salt for seasoning. Dice the fennel and green apple into ½ inch pieces. Let the quinoa cool for about 10 minutes once it has been cooked. Mix the ingredients together and mix in the raspberry vinaigrette.
For the vinaigrette: Place the raspberries, olive oil, lemon juice, and agave nectar in a blender. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Six Ways to Pop Vegetables Into Your Popsicles

2012-05-25T18:29:12Z

With warmer temperatures comes the need for refreshing treats to help cool down. Whip up some homemade popsicles and throw a few veggies into the mix, making them a cool and nutritious treat. Create your own or try these suggestions.

1.) Spinach Popsicles. Kids will love the green color of these popsicles, but they might not know it comes from pureed spinach. The veggie is combined with orange, apple, and carrot juice and pineapple tidbits. Check out the recipe here.

2.) Dairy-Free Beet and Cherry Creamsicles. This vegan popsicle which contains beets, cherries, vanilla, and cardamom gets its creaminess from coconut milk.

3.) Apple-Carrot Popsicles. These fun orange popsicles combine apples and carrots with cinnamon and ginger and are naturally sweetened with honey. Find the recipe here.

4.) Pumpkin Pie-Sicles. It doesn’t have to be fall to enjoy the tastes of fall. Cooked and mashed butternut squash is combined with maple syrup, cream or half-and-half, and pumpkin pie spice to create a fun, refreshing treat. Find the recipe here.

5.) Caramel Corn Ice Pop. Yum! In the center of these popsicles made from fresh or frozen corn kernels, heavy cream, milk, and sugar, is a tasty caramel candy. This Rachel Ray recipe suggests dusting the popsicles with chile pepper.

6.) Cucumber Mint Popsicle. For this cool creation, pick up a cucumber at the store, or pick your own from your garden if it’s summertime. Combine the veggie with a homemade mint simple syrup and the juice of one lemon for a refreshing treat.

Photo Credit: Prudent Baby

How Easy is it to Lose Weight After Having a Baby?

2012-05-25T19:21:44Z

How hard is it really to lose weight after having a baby? As you can imagine the answers can be as many as there are people on this planet. There is always the proverbial “baby weight” that women carry around, sometimes for years, postpartum, while other women drop “baby weight” in a matter of months or even weeks once their bundles of joy are delivered. It was certainly a question I was pondering myself. Having that I never had a baby before, I did not know what the answer would be for me once I carried my Sprout to term. I knew for sure that it would not take years–my diet and lifestyle simply would not allow extra weight to hang on. But how long was it going to take? That I needed to find out through personal experience before making big claims.

The Goal

In my mind I had a goal of dropping the weight which I gained during pregnancy in six weeks after the delivery, and then giving myself total of 3 months to get to my pre-baby shape:

Having resolved my health issues with a whole foods plant based diet (reversing hypothyroid and a pituitary adenoma diagnosis), my husband and I were finally able to conceive last year, and were happily expecting the arrival of our miracle child. Since we did not do any ultrasounds we did not know our baby’s gender, so we called him/her Sprout.

Easy Pregnancy

Having heard enough of horror stories from other women about difficulties they had during their pregnancies I resolved to avoid as many of them as possible by eating an impeccable diet and exercising regularly. Needless to say, I heard enough of: “Just wait until…” warnings, but thankfully, save the growing belly and inability to sleep any which way I would like to, my pregnancy progressed beautifully, and I was still teaching nine high intensity fitness classes a week until the very last moment.

Less than two weeks ago, having taught my last two classes, before taking time off, my little Sprout decided to come out a week early. Here I am the night before having… our little baby GIRL(!):

She arrived as my Mother’s Day present, just in the wee hours of Monday morning following the holiday. Having spent 27 hours in labor, my water finally broke at 11:20 pm, and only 2.5 hours into active labor Sprout came to join us in our veggie filled world–perfect head to toe and lovely in every way.

(image courtesy of The Perfect Pear Photography)

With Sprout having vacated the premises, now it was time to heal and move on to the next phase of our lives–bonding with her, loving her, and… for Mama, losing weight. I ended up having back labor (a hellish thing to live through) and had three minor tears, so my recovery time is going to be longer than expected. Not all too bummed, because she was worth it, and it was time to do the only other thing I knew how to, to achieve my goal–EAT! Yes, diet (not dieting!) became everything.

Weight Loss Postpartum

By day 6 weight loss seemed like an easy thing to do, with pounds melting off my frame:

As of today, 10 days postpartum, I am only 6.5 lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight ( I gained a total of 30-31 lbs during pregnancy). Just how hard will it be to lose it? Based on my current experience it should not be hard at all! With my diet under complete control, my goal is to fully recover and amp up my exercise routine… until then, it is clean, unprocessed, plant based foods.

NOTE: I know that there is a myth going around that breastfeeding magically helps women drop weight, and, while it might be true for some, it is not so for the clan I came out of. If that was the case, all of my female relatives (and half of the world for that matter) would be thin as sticks… but they are not. So, it is safe to assume that breastfeeding is not the magic wand we are looking for.

If you are in the ranks of Mamas wanting to lose your baby weight, you are probably dying to know just what I eat. Here a sample of my food intake.

Sample Diet/Day

(note that I rotate my foods daily and weekly, so no two days are really alike, but the format is similar):

Breakfast: green smoothie with maca and dulse; if I am still hungry I might have a boat of freshly made oatmeal 15-30 minutes after
Snacks: fruit, veggies, veggies with hummus, green smoothies, or homemade energy bars
Lunch: salad (veggies or greens, but normally veggie salads) with whole grains (whole wheat past, rice pasta, buckwheat, brown rice, quinoa, etc.); or soup with salad and homemade wholewheat bread (or no bread); or veggie wraps (green leaves can be used to make wraps or whole wheat/gluten free non-fat tortillas)
Dinner: pre-dinner snack is a green smoothie; dinner itself similar to lunch, but always more raw foods than cooked
Water: as needed throughout the day
B12 sublingual once a day, unless injected that week, then it is every other day or so
Sun exposure as much as possible
Exercise: none at this point except for carrying Sprout around as needed and wanted .

So, how long will it take for me to get from “now” to “before”?

I do not quite know yet, but my guess… once I can exercise once again, it should not take more than a few weeks.

“Baby Weight” Weight Loss Challenge

With that said, this coming month (the month of June), I am issuing a challenge to any Mamas out there wanting to lose weight, to do it with me. I am kicking off “Baby Weight” Loss Boot Camp along with my regular boot camp, during which I teach people how to transition to a whole foods, plant based diet the right way–avoiding pitfalls and achieving maximum results. There is NO crazy dieting, calorie counting, skipping meals or weighing your food. All we do is eat, learn and exercise–that’s it. If you are willing to join me on this joyous health improvement ride, go to June Boot Camp page and register (through midnight on Saturday, May 26th, there is a limited time Early Bird registration offer).

At the end of the day “baby weight” is worth the trouble we go through.

And, despite all wives’ tales and myths, it is really not that hard to lose if done right!

Meat-Free Memorial Day

2012-05-24T15:16:47Z

Looking for summer grill staples or meat-free alternatives for this weekend’s cookout? Are you sick of veggie kebabs and frozen veggie burgers?

This summer, I’m exploring some additional options for barbecues, picnics and charcoal-cooked meals. Here’s what’s on my to-try list for the official kickoff weekend of the season:

BlissTree’s Meatless Monday column has 10 vegetarian recipes for Memorial Day, including chipotle portobello burgers and stuffed poblanos.

MSNBC correspondent Dynise Balcavage suggests vegan “caprese” sandwiches (with tofu substituted for the traditional mozzarella), macaroni salad (made with Vegenaise) and strawberry-rhubarb pie.

Fit Foodie Finds has a few great side-dish recipes, such as rosemary balsamic green bean salad, and avocado hummus, which could be a nice alternative to guacamole and would also make a great dip for a veggie tray.

Honest Fare has a crustless pie recipe that puts blueberries and apple front and center.

Slate’s “You’re Doing It Wrong” column offers up a veggie burger recipe—tempeh cheeseburgers, to be exact. “Veggie burgers simply need to be sturdy, savory, and juicy—flavorful and dense enough that you know you’re eating something distinct from the bun, and not getting more bland starchiness. The way to accomplish that is marinated tempeh,” Slate says.

What will you be grilling for Memorial Day?

Photo Credit: Fit Foodie Finds

Best Vegetarian Pizza for Spring

2012-05-23T22:34:11Z

The barbecue and ranch dressing flavors blend with the enticingly springy, new onion flavor of the wild leeks. And don't worry if you can't get wild leeks -- there are some easy substitutions.

Carrot and Mixed Seed Salad

2012-05-23T22:16:54Z

This salad is one of my favorites. It contains 2 of my favorite flavours: sweet and sour. It comes together in a matter of minutes if you use a food processor to grate the carrots. If you grate them by hand, on the coarse side of a box grater, it takes 10 minutes, at the most.

The ‘seeds’ part of the salad is up to you. I used a mixture of sunflower seeds and raw pumpkin seeds (the green ones), but I believe you could use anything you like. I would suggest: sesame seeds, cashews, or pine nuts. I used to purchase my seeds at the supermarket, but lately I have been buying them in bulk at my local health food store. I think they are much fresher and more reasonably priced.

The key to this salad is balance. You have to have equal parts salt, acid, and sweetness. Depending on the freshness of your carrots, the juiciness/tartness of your lemons & oranges, the salad will never come out exactly the same, but it’s worth experimenting with. Eight grated carrots will yield approximately 10 to 12 cup-sized servings. I purchased the carrots, lemons and seeds, yesterday, and I barely spent 5 dollars.

Carrot and Mixed Seed Salad (adapted from a recipe in “Breakfast, Lunch, Tea-Rose Bakery”)

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Keep this in mind for a summer BBQ or potluck…It’s a nice change from boring old coleslaw!

Recipe Tools

Ingredients

1 ¼ cup of mixed seeds (I used ½ sunflower and ½ raw pumpkin)
2 tsp canola oil
Pinch of salt
8 medium carrots, grated
Zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange – finely minced
1 cup chopped flat leaf Italian parsley – stems and leaves
½ cup citrus juice – I used the juice of 1 orange and 3 lemons, but feel free to experiment with the type of citrus, and the degree of tartness.
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp real maple syrup
3 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions

To toast the seeds: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil, and toss the seeds with the canola oil and pinch of salt. Spread in an even layer, and bake approximately 10 minutes, stirring once or twice. When the seeds are lightly brown and crisp, remove them from the oven and set aside to cool.
To make the dressing: Whisk together the citrus juice, 1 tsp salt, pepper, syrup and olive oil.
lace carrots, citrus zest, cooled seeds, and parsley into a large bowl. Pour dressing over the mixture and toss until well combined. Wait 10 minutes, and adjust seasonings.(You may need more lemon juice, or more salt.) Serve at room temperature. Enjoy!

Being Veg on a Meaty Holiday Weekend

2012-05-23T22:25:25Z

Well friends, can you believe we’re at the end of May already?! Well, we don’t have a choice but to believe it because Memorial Day is upon us and the summer is coming up right behind. For most of America, that means a season of grilling carcass, er, meat, on the grill in every which way imaginable.

However, for those of us that want to spare Porky and Petunia pig and their friends, there are many veg alternatives to serve up at the barbeque! Check out the feature from VegNews that serves up some great tips, recipes and activities for the holiday weekend here. My mouth was watering looking through the recipes over on vegan.sheknows.com which you can get here. Can you say grilled banana pudding anyone?!

If you are attending a shindig with meat eaters, don’t be shy about bringing a dish or two of your own to share (or not) with everyone. You will be surprised how many believers in the vegan lifestyle you make simply by supplying good food. It works like a charm I tell ya! The main thing is to enjoy and revel in the fact that there are now alternatives galore to make any and every holiday cruelty-free, fun and delicious! Be safe, be full and have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Photo Credit: arsheffield

Vegan Fare Added to Race Tracks Across the Country

2012-05-23T22:24:45Z

Move over traditional race track food.

New food choices are cruising their way into speedways across the country.

Racing fans can still get their fill of barbecue, fried chicken, hamburgers, and hot dogs, but the NASCAR, IndyCar, and Motorsports Inc. circuits have added vegan fare to their already famous menu items.

Tracks offering the meat and dairy free eats include SMI’s Atlanta Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and the Chicagoland Speedway.

In an effort to be more health conscious, concession stands are serving up Going Green Salad With Fried Green Tomatoes, Summer Vegetable and Tofu Flatbread, and Sloppy Jane — a soy version of the popular sloppy joe.

But the new menu additions have not only caught the eye of race fans concerned with eating healthier, or who don’t consume meat or dairy, but also PETA.

According to an AOL Sporting News article, PETA has awarded High Octane Awards to the racetracks for providing healthy and “cruelty-free” food at auto racing events. The tracks will receive framed certificate and be featured on PETA’s website.

Photo Credit: Bristol Motor Speedway & Dragway

Grilled Veggies

2012-05-23T11:45:22Z

Killer vegetable recipes are all about awesome taste, easy preparation and an eye-appealing presentation ... so read on and learn how simple it really is to make grilled veggies!

101 Veggie Burger Recipes – The Best In Meat-Free Burgers!

2012-05-24T21:27:40Z

Check out this amazing list of all the ways you can make satisfying, flavorful veggie burgers at home!