New Orleans and My First Arbonne Party

My fiancé and I went to New Orleans for Jazz Fest and to visit some of our friends that live there. I had all intentions of eating veggie and as healthy as possible, but that went out the window the first day there. I went from not eating cheese to eating cheese with every meal. I love cheese, probably a little too much and it's been hard to limit. At the festival my veggie options were limited. I tried a veggie pita but it was not good. I ended up eating fried taquitos with shrimp and lots of sour cream (my other love that I have recently limited). I drank a LOT of beer after not really drinking, except for the occasional glass of wine. Needless to say after losing 10 pounds and finally noticing it when I got to NO, I gained 4 by the end of the trip! But, we had a good time and I met some new people! 

I had good intentions... ate great while traveling!! 

 Last meal in New Orleans... went out with a bang!

So, I recently started selling Arbonne products, which has a line of Anti-Aging, Skin Care, Cosmetics, and most importantly Health and Wellness items that are organic, vegan and gluten free. I decided to become a consultant b/c 1. I figure I would be my own biggest client, and 2. I think they have good products. I try to limit my soy, and they have protein powder made with rice, pea and cranberry protein which is fantastic. But, I digress. I had my first Arbonne party at my mom's office. I made them a meal that I received mixed reviews on. I have learned that not everyone is accepting to new foods, especially when I say I made a vegan meal. The menu included Black Bean Veggie Burger's from The Quantum Wellness Cleanse by Kathy Freston; Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Mango (I did not include the black beans b/c I made the burgers) from Veganomicon; Avocado and Tomato Salad; and finally Dulce Sin Leche Cupcakes minus the Dulce Sin Leche...with Vegan Lemony Cream Cheese Frosting, from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.

Black Bean Veggie Burgers

These burgers are pretty quick and easy to make. Since I was transporting them I decided not to pan fry them and just heated them in the microwave. I recommend pan frying them as it gives them a crispier crust and more burger like. I doubled the recipe but did not double the jalapeño so they had no spice to them.

 Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Mango

This. is. amazing. My new potluck dish. It was quick and easy. I was unsure about mango, but it adds a little sweetness that really makes this dish. I did not have red wine vinegar, so I used white wine instead. Still amazing.

Recipe:

Serves 4-6 (I more than doubled this and had a lot of it)

1 mango, peeled and cut into small dices

1 red bell pepper, seeded, diced as small as you can get it

1 cup chopped scallions

1 cup fresh cilantro

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar (I used white)

2 Tbsp grapeseed oil (my new fav oil...milder than EVOO)

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled

1 (15 oz) can black beans, dried and rinsed

A few lettuce leaves for garnish

Combine the mango, red bell pepper, scallions, and cilantro in a mixing bowl. Add the red wine vinegar, grapeseed oil, and salt, and stir to combine. Add the quinoa and stir until everything is well incorporated. Fold in the black beans. Serve immediately, or let site for a few hours for the flavors to meld. I made it the night before and it was sooooo good the next day. "This tastes good chilled and is even better at room temperature"



Dulce Sin Leche, minus the Dulce Sin Leche, with Vegan Lemony Cream Cheese Frosting

So, my mom wanted me to make the famous Coconut-Lemon Bundt Cake from Veganomicon, but I have already made it twice and was very excited about the author's cupcake book. I know my mom loves caramel so I chose the Dulce Sin Leche cupcakes that used brown rice syrup as a base to make a caramel like sauce that was baked into the cupcake. I made the batter, and then realize I did not have soy milk powder; it was already midnight and I had no idea how to substitute it. So, I just baked the cupcakes in the batter and then created a vegan cream cheese frosting from the book. The cream cheese frosting includes vegan cream cheese, vegan butter and confectioner’s sugar (and lemon zest). It tasted like normal frosting!!! The cupcakes were a hit, even if they were ad hoc. 

Three Day Fruit Fast Info

I figured I should write a post about the fruit fast in hopes when others who are participating the in 40 Days to Personal Revolution by Baron Baptiste google "fruit fast" they can get some good information. I only found one good blog about the fruit fast.

So, this is my second time participating the program at the yoga studio I practice at. I was required to participate in the program because I am in the teacher training program. Last year when I did the fruit fast I was in a different place in my life and the fast was awful. I was still on caffeine, but gave it up the day before (no caffeine on the fast). I freaked out when I was going to eat next and would the food fill me up. I was hungry, weak and grumpy for three days. First, I panicked going into the fast. I knew in my head that it was only three days and I would not die of starvation, but for some reason leading up to the fast I pigged out on mac and cheese and other crappy things. At the end of the fast I once again pigged out and got really sick for days. I would say this was the start of the awareness of my food issues, which I have been working on for almost a year. Oh, and I also went out and bought hundreds of dollars in fruit from whole foods, most of which I did not eat!

This time was drastically different. Since doing the Quantum Wellness Cleanse by Kathy Freston I am a different person and look at food differently. The cleanse allowed me to actually see how my body reacts to different foods. I only made 14 of the 21 days perfectly, but I think it allowed me to see how gluten and dairy affect my body. The day after eating gluten I felt like I hit a brick wall. I was grumpy, sluggish and just all around awful. I should note that I had hardly any cravings during the first 14 days, and as soon as I ate items with gluten, sugar or dairy I started craving EVERYTHING. The second week I felt amazing and literally jumped out of bed in the morning... the third week not so much. So, very eye opening for me.

I started the fruit fast by upping my fruit intake a couple days before. I was already off caffeine. I recommend going off caffeine a week before the fast, otherwise don't bother unless you want to be utterly miserable. The day before I ate only fruit and homemade protein bars (It was a teacher training weekend with over three hours of yoga so I needed the extra protein). That night I had a light dinner of lentils and rice with naan (it was the FH turn to "cook", so we had takeout from our favorite Indian spot). The next morning I made a smoothie with random fruits and coconut water. I ate a lot of apples and pears with handfuls of strawberries, blackberries, kiwi and grapes, watermelon and occasionally bananas. For dinner I had avocado and lime blended in a food processor (don't like chunky avacado) with grape tomatoes roasted in avocado oil. Note: bell peppers are fruits! This is pretty much what I had every day on the fast.

  It is recommended that you take the time to prepare your fruit instead of buying it prechopped. So, side effects... a lot of peeing and burping. I also upped my intake of water, especially when I got hungry pains. Compared to last fast, this one was amazing. I was hungry a lot, but the pain did not freak me out like it did last time. I ate when I felt hungry after chugging some water. I was hungry a lot. Sometimes I ate multiple times an hour, other times I could go up to two hours before I was hungry. My mind was very clear and I had only a couple small headaches, which was from not enough water. I was able to practice at yoga last night with no issues. I lost just over a pound, and I know it's not water weight b/c over the last month I have lost ~10 pounds from eating vegetarian. I am not sure how many calories I ate each day as I ate until I was no longer hungry. T

Right now I am trying to figure out what to break my fast with. I don't want to eat gluten or dairy just yet, and I don't want to eat out! I will update later what I eat!

On a final note, it is amazing how much I have grown in the past year, and I am excited how wonderful this fast went. I will answer any questions!

Excuse Me, Where do I find Tamarind? And no, I don't know what it is...

Vegan cooking is nothing like omnivore cooking. I have quickly learned there is a big upfront investment when changing eating habits and cooking differently. I spent a lot of money to start "eating clean" and I am spending even more going vegetarian. I went to Whole Foods/Trader Joes/Giant almost on a daily basis when I first started, in order to find a new ingredient that were called for in my vegan cookbooks. And unfortunately for me, I am the type of person who must have every ingredient I come across in a cookbook that I plan to make in the future. I still have a bag of unopened millet, various oils (opened Avocado Oil for the first time tonight since buying it forever ago), etc., that I have not used yet but bought b/c who knows when I might need it!

So, along with my habit of buying every ingredient, I also must by every Vegan cookbook! Since starting this whole process last month I am not the proud owner of seven vegan cookbooks and a magazine subscription to Vegetarian Times. I have made a few recipes out of Veganomicon and they have turned out so fantastic I had to buy Vegan with a Vengeance and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, and then I read more reviews and bough the other three. I have made a few items out of Appetite for Reduction and have not been as pleased, but they were still good.

 So, first two reviews of food...

I made a Lemon-Coconut Bundt cake from Veganomicon and it was delicious!!! I took it to my future in laws and they really liked it. I had to go to a yoga event on Saturday and I made a poppy seed version of it and it was a hit. So, instead of eggs and milk, it had Coconut (lite) milk and soy milk. I used evaporated cane sugar and regular all purpose flour as the recipe called for. I would like to start experimenting with healthier flours, but in both situation I was limited on time and it had to turn out perfect! The cake actually tasted the same, if not better than if it was cooked "the old way". Also, it was very moist. This is why I immediately bought Vegan Cupcakes and already found a couple recipes to try on my FH, the ultimate critic.

This is the first time it came perfectly out of the pan!!!

The other day when I was working from home, my FH wanted tomato soup and grilled cheese. He is a meat eater through and through, by the way. We didn't have any, and I couldn't bear the thought of him going to 7-11 to get canned soup and white bread as he would normally do. So, I went through the three cookbooks I had at the time and found a creamy tomato soup from Veganomicon. Once again, couldn't believe it had no dairy in it. The secret was boiling potatoes and sun-dried tomatoes and then adding fresh chopped tomatoes and then processioning the hell out of it. I was not going to eat grilled cheese with velveeta singles, so I was eating the soup by itself until I remembered I had just cooked quinoa and it was in the fridge! I dumped a bunch in the soup and made Qunioa-Os! It was like eating spaghettios, but less crap...and amazing. 

Not a pretty picture, I know. I had to reheat the soup to warm the quinoa. 

Well, that is all that I have for now in  reviews. I am on day one of a three day fruit fast for 40 Days to Personal Revolution by Baron Baptiste which I am participating in at my yoga studio. I am currently in a 200 hr RYT teacher training program with a focus in the Baptiste style of yoga.  I will most likely talk about yoga in this blog as it has recently changed my life. I have had a lot of issues with food, and yoga has allowed me to acknowledge them and move on, which is one of the major reasons why I have done a complete overhaul of my diet. But, anyways... I just got my new cookbooks tonight and it was such a tease to read and not be able to cook! I am especially looking forward to the The 30 Minute Vegan's Taste of the East!

Hello World!

I've been thinking about start a new blog for awhile, but was unsure of what to write about. I had a pretty successful blog while I was in Afghanistan and I had many unexpected followers from the U.S., that is until I was shut down for saying too much. I was still able to blog, but I knew I was being monitored! Lesson learned!

So, I have always loved cooking and started trying to cook healthier in the last couple of years. I first started with clean eating and recently went vegetarian after trying Kathy Freston's 21 Day Cleanse which consisted of eating vegan (no animal by products), gluten free, sugar free, caffeine free and alcohol free for 21 days. I was successful for two weeks until I went to a family event where I ate couscous (gluten), salmon, bread and cake (eck!)... it went downhill from there. The cleanse taught me so much and has completely changed my eating habits. Since the cleanse I have decided to become a vegetarian. The ultimate goal is to be a vegan, but cheese is my vice right now. My friend Angela said it best with "Life is too short to eat soy cheese".

I realized during the cleanse that I did not miss meat. I lost seven pounds during the first two weeks (I started at 135 which is my all time high being only 5'1"); I felt amazing! I actually sprung out of bed, yes sprung!, during week two (week one was miserable caffeine and sugar withdrawl)... I am not a early riser and usually can't make conversation until I had at least one cup of coffee. But, the day after my family event (start of week 3) where I ate fish and gluten I felt terrible, like I hit a brick wall and I was extremely grumpy. It was a wake up call for me to really notice the effects of food on my body.

So, as I was saying I love to cook and I think I am pretty good at following recipes, but not so good at making things up. My fiance hates my cooking, unless I am cooking for guests. Last get together, everyone told him how lucky he was because the food was so awesome... unfortunately for him I don't normally cook like that for us. Since I started cooking vegan/vegetarian recipes my meals have been a disaster. I attempted to make tempeh meatloaf and it ended up a crumbly mess and in the trash; my vegan gnocchi disappeared in the water and I was left with starchy potato water. I made a lentil shepherds pie which I thought was delish, but the Fiance hated. The list goes on. But, I have made some really awesome recipes lately that received rave reviews. I HIGHLY recommend the cookbooks Veganomicon and Appetite for Reduction. I love them so much I went and bought Vegan with a Vengeance and Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by the same authors Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. These cookbooks among a few others (will post which books later) will be my inspiration for cooking.

The purpose of my blog is to post my experiences with cooking from various vegan/veg recipes. I will post my review of the foods as well as reviews from skeptical meat eaters. I will also post my mishaps while I figure out how to cook with these new (and expensive) ingredients. I hope you enjoy!

Future post:
- Ingredients I Never Heard of Until Reading Vegan Cookbooks and Where to Find Them.
- Critical Kitchen Tools!