The Vibrant Table: Recipes from My Always Vegetarian, Mostly Vegan, and Sometimes Raw Kitchen

I’m going to be honest with you, I don’t typically follow recipes when I cook. And when I do cook from recipes, I don’t usually make my way through just one book at a time. I have a hard time sticking with the script and not doing a little bit of improvising of my own.

So I generally just flip through cookbooks to gather inspiration, whether it’s for recipe ideas, a unique way of plating something, or a new way to use an ingredient. I especially drool over cookbooks with eye-catching, colorful food photography. And that is definitely an area in which this cookbook does not disappoint.

The photographs in this book (oh my god, the photographs…) are simply stunning. Stun. Ning. It’s a cookbook you want to leave out on the coffee table. In a nod to the title of this book, the food that’s pictured in these pages can only be described as vibrant. The food photography is really exceptional (I have so much to learn!) and the mouthwatering photos instantly sell you on the food. I dog-eared so many pages of recipes I wanted to try because the photos legit had me drooling.

The recipes themselves are deliberately healthful and nutritious and often pretty unique, featuring flavor combinations I’d never considered before and ingredients I don’t often use. Like the book’s subtitle suggests, all of the recipes are vegetarian and most are also vegan and gluten-free. That’s great for the truly health-conscious cook!

However, most of the recipes featured in this cookbook are on the complex side. They often involve a long list of ingredients, some of which may be hard to find in your average grocery store. The instructions, while thoughtfully detailed and thorough, frequently take up more than one page, which can be intimidating for less experienced cooks. The majority of the recipes are neither simple nor quick or easy to make. So you’ll have to be a little adventurous with this one.

I adapted one of the recipes from The Vibrant Table here on the blog. The Miso and Raspberry Forbidden Rice Salad was a pretty tasty and unique combination of ingredients that ended up being crazy, insanely nutrient dense. Like, holy hell, those nutrition facts though! That salad was beautiful, nutritious, and tasty (although it proved to be a little too daring for my pint-sized taste testers to want more than a bite of).

I was hoping to share more recipes from this cookbook but unfortunately, the other recipes I tried were underwhelming. I thought that the Fingerling Potato and Rosemary Flatbread Pizza fell flat flavor-wise, even though I took the liberty to add some extra herbs and spices. I also found the Beet and Buckwheat Gnocchi to be regrettably bland as well as texturally unappealing. I wanted to love the Earl Gray Poached Pears with Hazelnut Panna Cotta, but the mouthfeel of the non-dairy panna cotta was quite off-putting. And the Butternut Squash and Sage Fritters, which sounded like they’d be a home run, were good… but not great. While my disappointment may certainly have been due to a matter of personal taste, I felt that the flavors simply didn’t justify the amount of time and effort that these dishes took to make.

In my personal cooking philosophy, I tend to strive for a balance between nutrition, flavor, and ease of preparation. While all of recipes in The Vibrant Table are incontestably nutritious, they tend to make it at the expense of either the overall flavor or else the time and ease of preparing them. Although I realize that flavor preferences are purely subjective and can often be easily remedied by making adaptations to suit your specific tastes, I don’t feel that many of the recipes in this book would please picky eaters. And while I love the emphasis on nutritious plant-based foods, I think that it’s not exactly the most beginner-friendly cookbook for those new to cooking or eating a more plant-based diet.

That being said, not all of the recipes are super complex, and many are undoubtedly delicious. The introduction of the book features some really great information about the specific healthful ingredients that the author uses in her cooking. She also includes some excellent basic recipes for ingredients such as homemade ricotta cheese, almond milk, and vegetable broth. The Vibrant Table is a well-written, thoughtfully composed cookbook for any intrepid health-conscious cook with an adventurous palate and the patience and know-how to tackle its unique recipes. And if nothing else, it’s definitely worth checking out even if only for its stunning photographs. If you’re into that kind of thing.

With all that being said, I was still totally inspired by this cookbook. You guys need to check out Anya Kassoff’s recipes on her beautiful blog, Golubka Kitchen. I dare your mouth not to water.

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You guys, it’s citrus season. I friggin’ love citrus season.

I’m so grateful that my job has me working with produce every day because I’ve had the opportunity to try so many delicious new varieties of citrus fruit. One of the things I’d never tried until this year was kumquats. Not gonna lie, the first time I tried one, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. (I mean, you eat the whole fruit, peel and all – it weirds some people out.) But they very quickly grew on me and now I pop those little suckers like candy.

If you’ve never tasted a kumquat, you’re in for a treat. The juicy inner flesh is pretty tart and tangy, but the peel is super sweet and packed with intense citrus flavor. While I’ve grown to love kumquats on their own, I’ve also found that they make a delicious addition to many salads!

Enter this salad. This salad combines quinoa with sweet, earthy roasted beets, rich and buttery avocado, tangy kumquats, and nutty pumpkin seeds. Dressed with a citrus and sherry vinaigrette, this highly nutritious salad has no added oil or sugar and is chock full of both flavor and nutrients.

I mean, talk about nutritious. (Check out the nutrition facts at the bottom of this post!) This tasty quinoa salad boasts a full day’s worth of Vitamins C and K! And it’s packed with protein, fiber, and healthy fats so it’s super filling. It can totally be a stand-alone lunch as well a nutritious side to dinner. You really can’t go wrong with this one. 

(Making this salad out of season and can’t get your hands on any kumquats? That’s okay! Just substitute with your favorite citrus fruit.)

Avocado Beet Quinoa Salad with Kumquats and Pumpkin Seeds

 

Print

Prep time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

A delicious and highly nutritious quinoa salad that features earthy roasted beets, buttery avocado, tart and tangy kumquats, and nutty pumpkin seeds. Dressed with an oil-free citrus vinaigrette, this healthy, filling salad is chock full of both flavor and nutrients.

Author: Magda | ideliciate.com

Recipe type: Salad

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

Dressing:

• ½ cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1½ tablespoons sherry vinegar
• ⅛ teaspoon salt

Salad:

• 3 cups cooked quinoa
• ¼ cup diced red onion
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1½ cups arugula
• 8-12 kumquats, thinly sliced*
• ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1 large ripe avocado
• 1 large, 2 medium, or 4 small beets, roasted**

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, combine orange juice, lemon juice, sherry vinegar, and salt and whisk well to combine.
2. In a large bowl, combine cooked quinoa with red onion, parsley and cilantro.
3. Gently fold in arugula, kumquats and pumpkin seeds, reserving some for a garnish if desired.
4. Peel and chop the avocado and roasted beets.
5. Just before you are ready to serve the salad, add in the chopped avocado and beets and toss gently to combine. (If you are using red beets, they will turn the salad a pretty pink color; if you do not want the color to bleed into the quinoa, simply leave the beets on top as a garnish after you mix in the avocado.)
6. Garnish with any reserved pumpkin seeds or sliced kumquats. Enjoy!

Notes

*Making this salad out of season and can't get your hands on any kumquats? That's okay! Just substitute with your favorite citrus fruit.
**To roast beets: Wrap beets in aluminum foil and roast for 45-60 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, until beets are tender when pierced with a fork. Allow to cool slightly before gently peeling the skin off the beets.

3.5.3208

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Good health is as much about fitness as it is about food.

Last year, I really focused on getting healthier through food, mainly by cooking more at home. This, by default, led me to eat more whole, healthy foods – and I definitely felt the effects of it. When I compare how I felt throughout the last year to how I felt in the year prior, it was really obvious that that one simple change I made – a small effort to cook something every day – really had a massive impact. I had more energy, felt happier and less depressed, and got sick WAY less. (Like maybe once? The year before I was catching a cold like clockwork almost every month!)

I’m still cooking every day, and I’m still making it a point to eat healthfully. Hopefully, I always will! But this year, I’m shifting my focus back to my physical fitness.

I’ve had an interesting relationship with fitness and exercise over the years. I never did any sports growing up and I used to consider myself the least athletic person I knew. Then, when I was 23, completely out of nowhere, I decided that I was going to run a marathon. And somehow, despite all odds, I did. (I wrote a little bit about it in this post.) That experience totally changed my perception of myself. It made me realize that I was only ever going to be as fit and as strong as I allowed myself to be. It showed me that my limits are mainly in my own mind. And it also opened the door to my making exercise (and physical challenges in general) a more regular part of my life.

Although… I have to say, I’ve always struggled with that “regular” part. I’ve found that I tend to have an “all or nothing” mindset towards exercise. I’m either really disciplined for months on end, hitting the gym almost every day, or else I don’t go at all – also for months on end. I’ve finished 7 marathon-distance (or more!) races in 2 years but then really struggled hard to get back into the next couple before I ditched running altogether. I tend to go “all in” on either running OR weightlifting OR yoga, while mostly neglecting any other type of exercise. And that’s what I’d like to change.

Because fitness isn’t all or nothing. Just like with food and nutrition, every little bit helps – and the more variety the better.

My biggest breakthrough has been loosening up my definition of exercise and making a point to not only move more, but in as many different ways as possible. It’s not rocket science. Different types of exercise stress and strengthen your body in different ways. If you stick with just one, you’re much more likely to get injured or burned out. If you switch it up, your whole body will get stronger, fitter, and more flexible.

I made similar resolutions this year – to just do a little bit every day. And yet I’m not even three weeks in, and already I’ve logged as much time practicing yoga as I did in the whole of last year. At this rate, by the end of January, I’ll have put in more time exercising than in all of 2016. And already it’s paying off big time.

We all know that exercise is good for you. And we (hopefully) all know that regular exercise improves cardiovascular health, speeds up your metabolism, increases muscle mass and bone density, and aids in fat loss. But there are countless other benefits as well. So whether or not you already have an established fitness routine, here are 10 somewhat surprising benefits of exercise to give you that extra bit of motivation to get out there and break a sweat.

1. Physical fitness is linked to improved academic performance, cognitive function, and language skills.

Exercise actually alters brain structure, improves various types of brain functions, and leads to better cognitive performance in a variety of different areas. Physically fit children process information more quickly and have better language skills. Studies have also shown that exercise can enhance and facilitate learning and improve academic performance. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278262614000608

2. Exercise increases the diversity of gut microbiota.

Lots of exciting new research has been coming out recently showing how the types and overall diversity of the microflora of the gut affects various components of a person’s health. A low diversity of gut microbes has been linked to obesity and other health problems. Greater diversity, on the other hand, has been associated with stronger metabolic and immune system responses.  http://gut.bmj.com/content/63/12/1913

3. Exercise can prevent and relieve stress-induced depression.

It does this by causing changes to occur in within the muscles that lead to the production of an enzyme that gets rids of harmful substances within the body, particularly those that accumulate during stress and are harmful to the brain. http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=145612&CultureCode=en

4. Even a single exercise session may improve the body’s reaction to oxidative stress.

At least in younger adults, “just one exercise session may improve the body’s ability to overcome stressors by potentially boosting the antioxidant system… Improving the body’s reaction to oxidative stress could lower the risk for many chronic diseases.”  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141216211811.htm

5. Exercise can actually decrease fatigue and make you feel less tired.

Just because you expend energy while exercising doesn’t mean it has to tire you out. Low and moderate levels of exercise significantly improved feelings of energy in sedentary adults with persistent fatigue. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18277063

6. Exercise can successfully treat depression.

Studies have shown that exercise can be just as effective as psychotherapy and antidepressant medications in treating clinical depression, and in many cases, the effects are longer lasting than alternative therapies. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC474733/

7. Exercise is strongly linked to mental health.

Regular exercise can increase feelings of self-efficacy, reduce anxiety, and boost your mood, making you feel happier as well as healthier. The great thing is that many of these mental benefits are noticeable more immediately than the physical benefits. http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/12/exercise.aspx

8. Exercise improves memory and reduces the risk of dementia.

Regular exercise may slow or reverse the shrinking of the hippocampus that occurs with age. As a result, physical activity can be critical in preventing dementia and age-related memory loss. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21282661

9. Exercise may prevent or delay the fundamental process of aging.

Research has finally shown that exercise can prevent or delay the process of cell death, or senescence, and associated inflammation. In this way, exercise can help counteract other unhealthy lifestyle choices (not that you should be in the habit of making them) and slow the aging process. http://www.newswise.com/articles/road-to-the-fountain-of-youth-paved-with-fast-food-and-sneakers

10. Lack of exercise is responsible for twice as many early deaths as obesity.

A study of more than 334,000 men and women found that twice as many deaths can be attributed to lack of physical activity than to obesity. The good news is that even a small increase in physical activity, such a brisk 20 minute daily walk, could reduce a person’s risk of early death by as much as 30% and could lead to other significant health benefits. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2015/01/14/ajcn.114.100065

Committing to regular exercise doesn’t mean you need to be chained to the treadmill for an hour or sweat your way through a heart-pounding class at the gym. Many of the above benefits can be gained by simply engaging in light to moderate-intensity physical activity on a regular basis. That can be as little as taking a walk around the neighborhood after dinner, signing up for a dance class, following along with a yoga video on YouTube, or challenging yourself to do some squats and pushups each day.

Find what works for you, and make it fun. Fitness doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing, and it certainly doesn’t need to be complicated.

Just get moving, get healthy, and get happy. ‘Nuff said.

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Well, it’s that time. It’s time to look back at the year that’s passed, evaluate the progress (or lack of progress) I’ve made towards my goals, and set new goals for the coming year!

This year, the focus of Project Delici8 was food. I read books about nutrition and food issues, I watched documentaries about health and the food industry, I learned a lot, I cooked a lot, I ate a lot, and it was delicious.

A big goal of mine this year was starting a “food blog” and consistently creating and sharing recipes here. I feel like I did alright with that – I posted 37 unique recipes to my blog, and I’m pretty proud of that. I know that I could have done more, but I also did a lot of other things with my time this year.

I mean, whew. What a year. 2016 was a big year for me in a lot of ways. I dealt with a lot of not-so-fun things (because that’s life) but I also made a ton of unforgettable memories.

I checked off two of my bucket list goals this year: the first when I spent a couple of nights camping in a fire lookout in August, and the second when I climbed to the summit of South Sister in September. I’m ahead of schedule for my goal to read another 100 books, and I also got a pretty good start on my quest to jump in 100 lakes.

I hiked hundreds of miles through some of the most beautiful places in the Pacific Northwest (and Hawaii!). I introduced two of my friends to backpacking. I took thousands of photographs. And I started a second website, Wildernecessity, which (while still a work in progress) is focused exclusively on nature, the outdoors, hiking, backpacking, and outdoor recreation. I wandered. I adventured. I explored.

I also cooked. A lot. I think I consciously did more cooking this year than I ever have. However, I did not cook every day this year, so I actually failed at this one of my bucket list goals, despite starting and restarting it four times when I got off track. You guys, it is SO hard to do anything every day…

But you know what? Even if you don’t achieve a goal, you can accomplish a lot by simply striving to achieve it. My longest unbroken streak of daily home cooking was 79 days. It’s easy to look at that number and think about how far from 365 it is. But it’s also important to realize that it’s so much more than I’d probably every done in the past. It’s 79 days of salads, soups, and smoothie bowls, pancakes at midnight, and brand-new recipes I’ve created. It’s 79 straight days of real, good food – food that didn’t come from the microwave or a takeout place. And despite my restarts and setbacks, I still ended up cooking for myself over 300 days this year! Maybe that’s good enough. Maybe I’ve taken away all that I could from that goal that I’ve set for myself. Or maybe I just need to try again.

2016 in Numbers

Read 19 books, 6 of which were about food, food issues, or nutrition

Published 41 blog posts, 37 of which were recipes!

Longest streak of cooking every day: 79 days

Jumped in 14 lakes
Spent 23 nights camping under the stars (10 of them while backpacking)

Hiked 253 miles on 58 hikes with 58,336 feet of total elevation gain (That’s like climbing from sea level to the summit of Mt. Everest. Twice!)
(Backpacked 126 of those miles – with 26,080 feet of elevation gain)

Apart from hiking, I spent 20 hours and 17 minutes formally exercising
Of that time, I spent 9 hour and 17 minutes practicing yoga
And I ran 38.5 miles 

Okay, so I’m going to have to work on that last bit. It’s a good thing then that this year, the second year of Project Delici8, is the year of fitness. This year, I’m going to really focus on moving more, in as many different ways as possible.

I’ve made three long-term resolutions for the whole year, the first two taken straight from my bucket list. This year, I am committing to practice yoga AND to exercise every damn day. My minimum each day is 15 minutes of yoga, 15 minutes of some additional exercise that isn’t yoga (this can be anything – cardio, running, dancing, weightlifting, or bodyweight exercises) and 10,000 steps – no matter how I get them. I know from last year’s resolution (which I’m currently attempting again for the fifth time) that the real challenge is going to be finding ways to fit it in when I’m crazy busy or sick or travelling and away from home and my regular routines.

Other goals for the year: I have over a dozen fitness-related goals on my bucket list, from mastering the handstand and doing 100 consecutive pushups to participating in a scavenger hunt style race and going paddleboarding for the first time. I want to start running somewhat regularly again and finish some races in the distances I kind of skipped over when I dove into marathoning all those years ago.

I’d love to inspire others to move more and to find the way of moving that really resonates with them.

I’ve spent the last year focusing on physical health as it relates to food, diet, and nutrition, and I’m taking that a step farther this year by looking at it from the perspective of physical fitness. I’m hoping to continue publishing recipes and writing about the food issues I care about, but I’ll also be taking on some fun fitness challenges along the way.

So follow along, join in, leave a comment, and stay tuned for more… Here’s to a year of moving more, eating better, and making even more fantastic memories!

The post Project Delici8 Update: Looking Back at 2016 & Looking Forward to 2017 appeared first on I Deliciate..

Whenever winter rolls around, I get on a major chai kick. Oh my goodness, I just LOVE that warming, soothing blend of chai spices when the weather gets cooler and days get shorter. Inspired by the classic, creamy Indian spiced tea, Chai-style spice blends can vary a bit, but typically include ginger and cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves, and – if I have it my way – plenty of cardamom. I kind of have a thing for cardamom.

Between work and home, I’ve had a lot going on this week. I don’t know about you, but when I get busy, my meals get very simple. Lots of quick and easy stir fries and salads and sandwiches. And snacks – lots of snacks. Sometimes I end up just grazing all day and come to realize that I haven’t even sat down for an actual meal. Which really isn’t so much of a bad thing as long as you’re snacking on healthy foods.

That’s where these pepitas come in. They’re a delicious, satisfying snack that’s also good for you. Pumpkin seeds are loaded with minerals and protein.

Pumpkin seeds are a very good source of magnesium and zinc. They’re also high in tryptophan, an amino acid which can help regulate your appetite, improve your sleep, and elevate your mood. So snack away!

These pepitas are made with some chai-inspired spices, a touch of sweetness, and a hint of salt. They’re lightly roasted to maximize both flavor and nutrition, and they make your kitchen smell all kinds of wonderful while they’re in the oven. And they’re reeeally quick and easy to make, for those times when life gets a little bit busy on you.

Chai Spiced Pepitas

 

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Prep time

3 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

23 mins

 

Lightly roasted pepitas with chai spices, maple syrup, and a touch of salt. An easy, delicious, and healthy snack.

Author: Magda | ideliciate.com

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw pepitas
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
• ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a medium bowl, mix pepitas and maple syrup until well coated. In a small bowl, combine salt and spices. Sprinkle the spice mixture over the syrup-coated pepitas and mix well until spices are evenly distributed.
3. Spread pepitas into a thin layer on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until aromatic and lightly crispy.

3.2.1275

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This bean salad is so simple, but so, so good. It’s nothing too fancy, but it totally works – a little bit of onion and garlic, some oil and vinegar, a fresh herb, and some salt and pepper. How can you go wrong with that? With just a few ingredients, it really showcases the beans, so I recommend using a good-quality bean. You can use any type of bean you like – I used a mild-flavored, heirloom variety called Steuben Yellow Eye (or Butterscotch Calypso). 

Beans are good for your heart after all… They are loaded with fiber, including the soluble fiber that’s great at lowering cholesterol. They’re also rich in folate and magnesium, both nutrients that can significantly reduce your risk of having a heart attack and cardiovascular disease in general.

I’ve included how to cook the beans from scratch in the recipe because I not only think they’re healthier and more delicious when you make them yourself, but they’re also much less expensive (not that beans are at all costly to begin with). But you can just as easily use canned beans, which makes this salad super quick to throw together.

And it’s a great make-ahead dish for a dinner or potluck. Another big bonus? This salad is made up of only a few ingredients that can readily be found in most pantries, so it’s one of those standby recipes for when the fridge is looking a little bare and you can’t seem to make it out to get groceries. I know I’ve had my fair share of those kinds of days lately…

Easy Bean Salad

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

A simple, delicious bean salad you can throw together with just a few ingredients from the pantry.

Author: Magda | ideliciate.com

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 3-4 cups cooked beans
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 3-4 tablespoons minced red onion or shallot
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1½ teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. When starting from dry beans, use about ⅓ of the amount of cooked beans called for (so for this recipe, 1 to 1⅓ cups of dry beans). Rinse and pick through your dried beans, place into a large pot, then cover by about 2 inches of cold water. Soak overnight or for 24 hours. Alternately, you can also bring the beans to a boil for several minutes, then remove from heat and allow to soak, covered, in the warm water for 2-3 hours. Drain, rinse, and then refill the pot with cold water, covering again by about 2 inches (I like to add a few bay leaves). Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a simmer. When beans start to become tender, add a large pinch of salt. Continue to cook until beans are soft, checking on them every 15-20 minutes, and making sure not to overcook.
2. While cooking beans, combine remaining ingredients in small bowl and set aside. When beans are done cooking, drain them, transfer to a medium bowl, and add the other ingredients. Toss gently to combine. Season to taste.

3.2.1284

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When Dr. Michael Greger was a child, his grandmother, who had struggled with heart disease for years and had undergone so many coronory bypass surgeries that another was out of the question, was all but written off by conventional medicine and, at age 65, given only weeks to live. As fate would have it, she happened to see a segment on TV about a physician who was successfully reversing terminal heart disease in his patients through diet and lifestyle changes. In desperation, she soon checked herself into his program, arriving with crushing chest pain and completely wheelchair-bound, unable to even walk without pain. Within three weeks, on a healthy diet and new exercise regimen, she was walking ten miles a day. She went on to live another 31 healthy years to the age of 96.

Dr Greger credits his grandmother’s dramatic turnaround as a primary source of inspiration for his desire to become a physician as well as a large influence on his belief that diet plays a major role in determining one’s health outcomes. He’s been trying to spread the word ever since.

The founder of the website NutritionFacts.org, Dr. Greger has been attempting to educate the public about nutrition and the effect of diet on health throughout his whole career. I find it inspiring that he does this mainly as a labor of love, because he’s truly passionate about spreading this information and not because he’s trying to make a buck by jumping on the fad diet bandwagon. He either donates all of his proceeds from his books and speaking fees to charity or uses them to support his informative not-for-profit website. I think that’s pretty cool!

You know, there’s not much money in publicizing the beneficial health effects of… well, vegetables. And the fact of the matter is that our health system and the medical industry as a whole is profitable only when people are not healthy. That’s why you will rarely get real, unbiased dietary advice from your doctor. Not only do physicians receive little to no education on nutrition in medical school, but they make their living by prescribing medications or medical procedures, many of which are less effective than simple dietary changes (and often dangerous to boot).

Even though the scientific literature has proven that you can actually reverse heart disease through diet alone, there’s not much of an incentive to the medical community to publicize this information. I mean, did you know that you can cure the leading cause of death in the United States (and many other industrialized nations) simply by changing the way you eat? Not everyone does. But they should.

Dr. Greger’s book, How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease, is all about the link between food and health. It’s a long read (or listen – you can also find it as an audiobook), but it’s chock full of tons of really interesting facts about food and nutrition and it’s still totally readable. Dr. Greger’s writing style is personable and he writes with a sense of humor, so it doesn’t feel textbook- or lecture-like.

How Not To Die: How to Avoid the Most Common Causes of Death by Changing the Way You Eat

Part 1 of the book consists of 15 chapters on each of the 15 leading causes of mortality in the United States. Each chapter explores the link between one’s personal dietary choices and the development, prevention, or even reversal of the conditions or diseases in question.

This book is very science-based, and there is a clear and transparent examination of the relevant scientific literature throughout. The appendix that cites all of the studies and sources that were referred to is 132 pages long! (And in small print, I might add.)

Dr. Greger provides many specific recommendations as to what foods he would advise patients to eat or avoid in order to prevent or treat each of these particular conditions, but he mainly leaves the reader to draw their own conclusions based on the presented evidence. However, I also think that he does an exceptionally good job at reminding readers of the limitations and biases of specific studies. You get the sense that he’s trying to remain as unbiased as possible.

The Daily Dozen: What to Eat to Add Years to Your Life

Part 2 of the book gives more detailed recommendations on what to eat, based on Dr. Greger’s “Daily Dozen” – specific categories of food (plus a daily dose of exercise) in the servings that the science has shown to be most conducive to optimal health.

I love that, once again, he backs everything up with scientific findings so that you know exactly why he’s making the recommendations he’s making. This book perfectly outlines what I like to think of as “evidence-based eating.”

And here’s what I like most about his approach: it’s not a “diet”. At no point does he say that you have to give anything up. And while, by the end of the book, you might feel as though you’ve been beaten over the head with all of the evidence ever that plants promote health while meat and dairy promote disease, it doesn’t at any point feel as though Dr. Greger has an agenda to convert anyone to vegetarianism or veganism. He emphasizes that there are no good or bad foods, only better and worse food choices.

What I especially love about his “Daily Dozen” is that there is absolutely no emphasis on exclusion of any foods whatsoever. In fact, I find that focusing on the inclusion of particular foods crowds out the less healthy stuff just by default, without leaving you with the feeling that you’re depriving yourself because you can’t have something. You can still eat a cupcake or a steak or a bag of potato chips – it just doesn’t count for anything, and you’re not deluding yourself by thinking it’s one of the better choices you could have made.

Overall, you’re left with the conclusion that can be drawn from many similar recent publications. The best, most nutritious, most health-promoting diet is one that is made up of unprocessed whole foods – mostly plants. And we would all do well to eat more plant foods while cutting back on the amount of animal foods we consume – at least if disease prevention, health, and longevity is something that we are at all interested in. As we should be. Because, you know, we’re alive. And I don’t know about you, but I’d sure like for it to stay that way for a good long while yet.

…

I loved this book and I want you to love it too, so I’m giving one away for free! Enter for a chance to win your very own copy below. Good luck!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post contains Amazon affiliate links for the reviewed product. (When you click on one of the links and make any purchase from Amazon, I get a tiny kickback at absolutely no charge to you. If you’ve gotten anything of value from this site and want to say “thanks,” you can click through to Amazon from one of these links and any purchase you make will help support my blog. Thank you!)

The post How Not to Die (Book Review + Giveaway!) appeared first on I Deliciate..

If you like to cook and get a little creative in the kitchen, then you’re probably a little like me in that you draw a lot of inspiration from other cooks, food blogs, magazines, and cookbooks. The fact that you’re even reading this post on this little blog of mine makes think I’m at least a little bit right about that. I know I’m more than a little guilty of getting lost in a copy of Bon Appetit and spending way too much time on Pinterest and Foodgawker drooling over the beautiful images. And my nightstand is always, always covered in a ridiculously large stack of cookbooks on loan from my local library. What can I say? I like food.

And I’m such a sucker for a good cookbook. I’ve been wanting to do cookbook reviews for quite some time now, so that I can share some of my favorites with you guys. So today I’m doing something a little bit different.

I’m featuring a recipe that is slightly adapted (with a just a few of my own little tweaks) from a cookbook that caught my eye. I’d like to feature at least a couple of recipes from each cookbook and then follow them up with a review of the book as a whole.

This particular recipe is adapted from Anya Kassoff’s “Miso & Raspberry Forbidden Rice Salad” from her cookbook The Vibrant Table: Recipes from My Always Vegetarian, Mostly Vegan, and Sometimes Raw Kitchen. (Check out my full review of The Vibrant Table here!) This is a unique salad that’s absolutely stunning with its mix of bright, rich colors.

The chewy, nutty black rice pairs with sweet, earthy golden beets, tart red raspberries, and crisp, spicy pink radishes, with some buttery green pistachios as a garnish. My version substitutes sweet and tender mache for the watercress in the original recipe and use a combination of blackberries and raspberries. I’ve also added orange juice and fresh ginger to the miso dressing for an extra kick of flavor. And watermelon radishes! Because I’m obsessed with watermelon radishes.

This a great end-of-summer salad to celebrate the transition of the seasons. It’s hearty enough to eat on its own for lunch or it can be served alongside a light dinner. You can also cook the rice, roast the beets, and make the dressing ahead of time and then throw everything together at the last-minute if you’re prepping for a picnic or a barbecue. I dunno, I just get the feeling that this salad is probably way tastier when eaten outside. It screams for a checkered tablecloth and burlap placemats and fancy drinks in mason jar mugs, am I right? No? That’s just me? Well, have it your way.

Black rice is the most antioxidant-rich type of rice out there! It is absolutely loaded with anthocyanins that can help to reduce inflammation in the body, prevent heart disease, and fight the free radicals that can contribute to some cancers. Black rice also has more protein, fiber, and iron than brown rice. And it’s pretty, too!

Black Rice, Beet, and Berry Salad with Citrus-Ginger-Miso Dressing

 

Print

Prep time

1 hour

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

1 hour 15 mins

 

This unique salad is absolutely stunning with its mix of bright, rich colors. Chewy, nutty black rice pairs with sweet, earthy golden beets, tender mache greens, tart red raspberries, and crisp, spicy pink radishes. It's garnished with buttery green pistachios and drizzled with a dressing made from fresh orange juice, ginger, and miso. This recipe is adapted from Anya Kassoff’s “Miso & Raspberry Forbidden Rice Salad” from her cookbook The Vibrant Table.

Author: Magda | ideliciate.com

Recipe type: Salad

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Salad

• 3 small to medium golden beets
• 1 cup black rice, pre-soaked if possible*
• 1 bunch (about 2 cups) mache (can also substitute watercress or any other tender leafy green)
• 4-8 small to medium radishes, thinly sliced
• 1 cup raspberries and/or blackberries
• ¼ cup pistachio nuts, crushed, for garnish (optional, omit to make nut-free)

Dressing

• ¼ cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1½ tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 2 tablespoons miso paste (I used chickpea miso to make this soy-free)
• 1 tablespoon honey or agave
• 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Scrub beets well, then wrap each beet in aluminum foil and roast for 60-90 minutes until tender. Remove from oven, unwrap, and allow to cool slightly.
2. While beets are cooking, rinse the black rice well, then place in a small saucepan with two cups of cold water and bring to a boil. Cook for 30-60 minutes until the rice is fully cooked and chewy.
3. To make the dressing, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. (Tip: Dissolving the miso paste in a small amount of the liquid before adding to the rest of the dressing will make it much easier to incorporate in.)
4. Once beets and rice are cooked and cooled, slice the beets into ¼ inch slices, then assemble the salad by layering the vegetables and greens over the rice and drizzling with the dressing.

Notes

*Black rice takes longer to cook than other rice due to its denser texture and unrefined nature. For best results, to cut down on cooking time, and to make its nutrients more readily absorbable, pre-soak your black rice for at least one hour (and ideally for a few hours) prior to cooking it.

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This recipe was adapted from Anya Kassoff’s recipe for her Miso and Raspberry Forbidden Rice Salad from her cookbook The Vibrant Table: Recipes from My Always Vegetarian, Mostly Vegan, and Sometimes Raw Kitchen. Check out my full review of The Vibrant Table here!

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. (When you click on one of the links and make any purchase from Amazon, I get a tiny kickback at absolutely no charge to you. If you’ve gotten anything of value from this site and want to say “thanks,” you can click through to Amazon from one of these links and any purchase you make will help support my blog. Thank you!)

The post Black Rice, Beet, and Berry Salad with Citrus-Ginger-Miso Dressing appeared first on I Deliciate..

Okay, so sometimes I forget to plan ahead for my blog posts, so I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to make, so I don’t buy groceries, so I just have to wing it with what’s on hand. This was one of those moments. Substitute “blog posts” for “meals” or “sustenance” or even “life” and you basically get the last few months of my life.

But hey, you know what’s always on hand? Potatoes. And onions. And garlic. I throw in some herbs and greens from the garden, and I’ve got myself some sustenance! And oh how delicious simple sustenance can be…

Anyone who knows me knows I love potatoes. And fingerling potatoes? My fave. These are some quick and easy pan-fried fingerlings with tuscan kale, onions, garlic, lemon juice, and fresh rosemary. You just can’t go wrong with that.

Rosemary + Garlic + Potatoes = Bomb.

And they couldn’t be easier to make! I don’t even pre-boil my potatoes because 1) it’s’ not necessary, 2) that’s just more dishes to wash, and 3) ain’t nobody got time for that. Just one pan and twenty minutes and you’ve got potatoes in your belly. Hell, you can even eat them right off the pan like some sort of uncivilized person who doesn’t own plates or something. (I clearly own plates and yet I do this. All. The. Time.) They are absolutely perfect for those lazy weekend mornings when you put off breakfast because you just don’t want to get out of bed and then breakfast magically turns into brunch. Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.

Lemon-Rosemary Fingerling Potatoes with Kale

 

Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

Quick and easy pan-fried fingerling potoatoes with tuscan kale, onions, garlic, lemon juice, and fresh rosemary. Simple, hearty, and delicious, they're perfect for brunch!

Author: Magda | ideliciate.com

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1½ pounds fingerling potatoes, cut in half or quartered
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• juice of ½ a small lemon
• 1 bunch kale, chopped
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the onion, fingerling potatoes, and a generous sprinkling of salt. Cover with lid and cook for 6-12 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, making sure to toss occasionally throughout the cooking process.
2. Once potatoes are tender, add garlic, rosemary, and half the lemon juice and saute for another minute or two, adding more olive oil if necessary.
3. Add kale and remaining lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, and toss well. Saute for about one more minute or just until kale is wilted and tender.

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You guys. I left a piece of my heart in the Wallowas. This August, I spent five surreal and glorious days backpacking through the Eagle Cap Wilderness and its Lakes Basin. I fell in love with that place.

The scenery out there was an 11 out of 10. It just wouldn’t quit. The wildflowers were endless, just like the views. And the landscape kept on changing, both gradually and suddenly – every day it was completely different. There were the most picturesque streams and rivers and lakes and forests and meadows and mountains and wildflowers and sweeping views and valley floors… I just can’t. The place is breathtaking, and it’s impossible to describe.

I had a moment about halfway through the second day. We’d been treated non-stop to the most amazing views all day long – a pristine, deep blue alpine lake with a backdrop of mountains, crystal clear streams weaving through alpine meadows, layers upon layers of mountain ranges in the distance, and slopes that were so thoroughly blanketed in wildflowers that it felt almost ridiculous. We’d spent the whole day in complete solitude as we hadn’t come upon a single hiker once we got on the trail. It was kind of magical.

And when I finally made my way to the top of Polaris Pass and caught view of the mountains and valleys and distant lakes and rolling green hills on the other side, it literally brought tears to my eyes. Sometimes you’re just blown away by the place in which you’ve found yourself. Sometimes you just can’t believe where you are and what you’re seeing. Pinch me. I’m in a dream world.

And then we entered the Lakes Basin. Oh my God, you guys… the lakes. I just can’t with all the lakes.

You would think that with so many lakes so close together, they would start to all look the same after a while, but that was most definitely not the case. Each lake had a completely different feel to it – a different personality. I remember reflecting on them one by one with my friend Cody on our last night out there. It’s impossible to pick a favorite – they all left a lasting impression on me, and each was uniquely breathtaking in its own way.

Aneroid Lake was stunningly picturesque and incredibly peaceful as the sun was going down behind the mountains and the fish were jumping like crazy.

Frazier Lake was a mystery of a black hole when we got there in the dark and a welcome surprise in the morning – it was bizarrely shallow for its size and absolutely teeming with more tadpoles than I’ve ever seen in my life.

Glacier Lake – oh my God, Glacier Lake makes quite the entrance and is so shockingly beautiful as you catch sight of it that it feels absolutely otherworldly with its namesake glaciers rimming the shoreline and its backdrop of granite mountains.

Moccasin Lake felt like a breath of fresh air, surrounded by so much lush green in its perfect little valley.

Mirror Lake felt open and vast and majestic.

Douglas Lake was moody and a little mysterious, unknowingly deep and rimmed by tall cliffs.

Horseshoe Lake was serene and inviting and peaceful and calm.

Lee Lake felt a bit… aloof.

And Ice Lake? Ice Lake felt like a secret, like it could have been a small ocean trapped in a little basin at the base of some rugged and massively beautiful peaks. Ice Lake felt like an oasis in the mountains, a place where you can hang up a hammock and just be for a while.

Hell, they all felt like that, like big or little oases in the wilderness. I could have spent a night and a day at each one of them and I probably still wouldn’t have felt like I’d had nearly enough time out there.

Wallowas, I’ll be back for you. I’ll be back again and again and again.

Postscript:

Oh hey, and guess what? I thought my backpacking trip through the Wallowas was the perfect opportunity to kick off my bucket list goal of jumping and/or swimming in 100 lakes! I didn’t get to swim in all of them, but I checked off seven, which is a pretty damn good start!

I can be such a wimp about cold, and it wasn’t easy getting into some really icy lakes. But it was always, always worth it.

Because I have to say, floating in those lakes and taking in the surrounding views from the water, physically immersing myself in something so remote and wild and pristine – those were hands down some of my most favorite experiences from my trip. And they’re memories I’ll carry with me forever.

That’s 7 down and only 93 more to go!

This post was also published on my other website, wildernecessity.com, where you can view a slideshow of ALL of the photos from this trip and find lots of other cool stuff. Check it out!

Want to experience this trip for yourself? Get all the info you need in my backpacking guide for this trip!

Or want to know more about this wilderness area and the hikes you can do within it? Check out my hiking and wilderness guide for the Eagle Cap Wilderness!

The post Five Days in a Dream World: Backpacking the Wallowas’ Eagle Cap Wilderness appeared first on I Deliciate..