Making the Transition to a Healthy Plant-Based Diet

I talk to so many people who say things to me that go something like this:

“I have read The China Study and I know I should change my diet but I just can’t do it. The idea of giving up cheese makes me crazy. I can’t imagine pizza without cheese no matter how good you say it is. Sure I believe that meat, dairy, meat and sugar are bad for me but my family won’t read The China Studay and they won’t eat this way with me. I am too busy to make 3 different meals every day, one for the kids, another for my husband and then one myself.”

This was a real world example that I clipped from an email of a person who wants to remain nameless. What was your reaction when you read this? Do you think this lady is ready to change, or does she need just a little help to cross the goal line as it were? What would you say to help her since she is clearly asking for guidance? Why do you think she hasn’t changed? What advice would you give to this lady to help her incorporate more healthy vegan meals into her life and the lives of their family?

I have some thoughts on this which I have already shared with this lady but I want to hear your thoughts. The reason I posted this was that I get emails like this all the time. I suppose I am a safe to talk for a number of reasons. First I am reasonably anonymous so they don’t have to run into me later unless they choose to. Next I am not going to jump on them for eating meat because I do believe that while a healthy plant-based diet is the best answer I also realize that most people aren’t going to go there. I suppose I am in the minority vegans that thinks that every small change should be celebrated.

I know that this woman isn’t alone. She is not the only one that has this same problem based on the email I get. The most common thing I hear from women is that their husbands won’t eat a vegan diet. In fact it is so prevalent that I can only think of 5 women whose husbands actually eat vegan at home, and 3 who are married to other vegan. Since I am sure there are many of you who have experienced this first hand I am sure you have some thoughts on this what would help this woman. Please share what you have discoverd so that we can all learn from each other.

My week:

Wow, how can it be Friday already? This week has flown by at a very quick pace. It seems like it should be Wednesday today. I guess that is a good thing except that I haven’t gotten nearly enough things crossed off my to-do list. *sigh*

On the bright side Dan and I had a nice chat about him taking care of himself which was my way of bringing up his lack of exercise. Dan agrees that exercise is good for him and has been joining me for long walks before work this week. :-) This is a very good thing! Now I need to get him home from work early enough so that we can get back to the gym in the morning.

This is one of my quick meals from Wednesday. I roasted zucchini, portabellas, bell peppers and potatoes and topped them with a spicy roasted red pepper sauce with chili garlic sauce and raw cashews. This is a great dish because you can make it all ahead of time and then have it cold as leftovers. I love meals like this.

I had my phone call with my coach this week which was a little sad. It is extremely nice to have someone to talk to who shares so many of my goals and values. However I am grateful for making the connection and I am certain we will be keeping in touch! *waves hi to Janet* :-)

Thursday afternoon my girlfriend Deirdre texted and announced that she was starving and wanted to know if I had lunch. What lunch at 1:30 of course I hadn’t eaten yet. Heck I didn’t get home from my 4.5 mile trek until 10 something and then I still needed to use my TRX and shower before breakfast ... needless to say I typically eat a late breakfast. So 20 minutes later I was running out the door to meet Deirdre at our usual place. I am not kidding when I say we all end up spending more time with Ian than we do our families. ;-)

Deirdre had a tough morning of neuropsychology so she just wanted to kick back and relax and who could blame her. We chatted briefly about healthcare and traumatic brain injury and then shifted into laid back mode which involved talking about boys.

I forgot to shoot pictures of Deirdre’s lunch but she had the lamb sausage pizza with roasted red peppers, feta, olives, harissa and tomato sauce. It looked really good but Ian does make fantastic pizza.

I asked him to make me a veggie and hummus wrap which I really wish he would put on the menu…I am still working on that. This was a monster sandwich with a big pile of roasted white and sweet potatoes. Needless to say half the pizza and sandwich were boxed up for us.

That doesn’t mean Deirdre didn’t have room for dessert .., she loves dessert. ;-) This time she had chocolate mousse cake and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. LOL only Deirdre, I wish I was 32 again and could eat that way and not blow up.

As we were finishing up lunch it started to pour down rain complete with hail the size of garbanzo beans. We both looked at other and said "I really don’t want to leave yet "because we had not bothered to bring umbrellas with us. So what did we do? Since we were impersonating “ladies who lunch” we ordered a bottle of sparkling rose and sat under the roof on the patio watching the rain and sipping wine. I know it is a rough life. LOL

While we were sipping wine we talked with everyone who was coming in for the dinner shift, continued talking about boys, school, sailing, etc. In other words we were goofing off and relaxing big time. David (our eveing server) is possibly leaving for Germany on Wednesday (he has his ticket) or he may change his mind. because this is what he does *shakes head* I was really surprised to see David at work on Thursday since he had been in NYC in the morning. Yes I realize that I know too much about what happens with everyone at the restaurant.

The craziest thing happens around here when it rains people seem to stay home; I kid you not they actually don’t venture out in the rain! The restaurant wasn’t very busy Thursday night and most people who came out opted to sit inside. *wimps* Since we weren’t keeping David from turning the table we ordered a second bottle of wine. I know you are shocked right? It was a very low alcohol wine, 5% to be specific, and by this point we had been at the restaurant for literally 6 hours. Dan ended up meeting us for "dinner" and he ordered an individual pizza which included roasted red peppers, roasted onions, red potatoes, basil, and tomatoes while Deirdre and I drank wine.  *hiccup*  Okay that was just to be funny, with the amount of time were were at the restaurant (8 hours) and the low alcohol content we were both sober.  This particular wine was probably about the same alcohol content as a wine cooler.

Friday evening we were back to the restaurant for dinner. What? I know, we need a new wife this one is just falling down on the job of cooking. ;-)

Dan started with a samosa because as you well know by now he loves them. I got my one bite and the rest of the samosa was all for Dan.

Then we ordered a new salad from the menu only without the parmesan. This salad was a sweet and sour butternut squash over baby arugula topped with roasted cloves of garlic (which were sweet and delicious, BTW), and pistaschios. I had to order this because I make a sweet and sour butternut squash that I wanted to compare to Ian’s.

After the butternut squash we also ordered the antipasti platter made vegan. This one really has become a family favorite. Our platter included roasted portabellas, olives, house-made pickles, roasted peppers, artichokes with dill, spicy chickpeas and topped with basil threads. This is served on top of very thin and very crispy semolina flatbread. I may have to make the flat bread soon just because I have never put that on the blog and they are really good because they are thin and crispy like crackers and you can make them on top the stove which is perfect in the summer. Feel free to remind me of this if you don’t see them in the next few weeks.

Our last dish was a fruit salad of melon, strawberries, grapes and oranges on baby arugula topped with balsamic glaze.

We ever one of the last few tables out of the restaurant on Friday, not that this is shocking since it is usually the case. We chatted with everyone and because we hadn’t seen most of them since Thursday. Hey, a lot can happen in a 24 hours. ;-) Are you starting to see why they make special dishes for us? We really do spend a lot of time at the restaurant.

Happy thoughts:

• It was wonderful to spend most of the day with Deirdre on Thursday. I am really enjoying having her live within walking distance. When Deirdre lived in Annapolis I didn’t see her very often which wasn’t good.

• I am totally thankful that today is Friday! *woo hoo* I love my weekends. :-) You will not be surprised to hear that I am looking forward to the weekend with my hubby. Now if he just doesn’t have to work this weekend I will even happier.

• We only have a few must do items this weekend which also makes me happy. I am looking forward to relaxing at least part of weekend.

• My girl Aimee should be back from Florida by now. I can’t wait to see her and hear about her vacation. Dan and I both adore Aimee whom we consider our “non-adopted daughter.”

• We dropped off “how-to” sailing videos for Jenn on Friday. We wanted to make certain that is we used any sailing terminology it was at least familiar to her. It is so much fun for us to have someone who wants to learn how to sail. Both Dan and I enjoy sharing our love of sailing.

• My precious little fur children are completely back to normal which is wonderful. Both babies (Luca and Masi) have recovered completely from their dental procedures. Additionally Massimo’s vomiting has disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. I am thrilled to have them back to their old selves.

• Friday was a very busy day for me. Dan was extremely sweet to offer to take me out to dinner so that I could relax. I am a very lucky girl to have the world’s most understand and generous husband. Additionally I am also lucky to have Ian and the gang who go out of their way to make us vegan food even though they are not a vegan restaurant.

Signing Out:

It has been a long week but it has also been a good week. I was productive this week but I am also looking forward to a little relaxing time. Next week will be another busy one with Dan having meetings in DC and Richmond and both of us having our physicals.

Are you doing anything fun or relaxing this weekend? If the weather holds up we may have a picnic down at the harbor or just hang out by the water at sunset. I love spending time at the water and the weather has been so nice this week that if it holds up I think that would be great time to do at least one day this weekend.

Talk with you again soon.  :-)

Cooking Class, Green Juice and Baltimore Pics

Thank goodness I caught up on my rest Wednesday night. I never sleep 9.5 hours but I did last night so apparently I really needed it. I woke up feeling SO much better than yesterday. Woo hoo!

Dan had his usual oatmeal with wild blueberries this morning for breakfast.

After he left for work I did a couple of things and then headed out for a walk. I didn’t have much time today so I only did 3 miles but it was enough to get a little fresh air and ramp up my immune system. I took a few pictures for you while I was out.

Today I walked back through the side streets in the neighborhood that people don’t see unless they are local. The photos above are a few of the ones I took that I enjoyed. It is definitely spring time in Baltimore and I love that!

When I came home I made myself a blender full of green juice inspired by a soup Emily mentioned having at her mom’s house recently. Here is my rendition of that recipe but in a breakfast format:

Parsley and Veg juice
Serves 1 hungry vegan

Ingredients:

¼ cup raw cashews
1 cup fresh parsley
½ English cucumber, cut into rough chunks
1 lemon, zested and then peeled and seeded (using all of the flesh of the lemon and the zest)
1 tablespoon wheat germ
1 tablespoon chia seeds (could have just a well been freshly ground flaxseeds or hulled hempseeds)
1 clove raw garlic
water enough to process (somewhere between 1 1/2 - 2 cups)

Directions:

Toss everything into your high speed blender adding as much water as is necessary to process. Serve cold.

Nutritional information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 265.73
Calories From Fat (45%) - 119.64

Total Fat - 14.49g
Saturated Fat - 2.4g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 59.78mg
Potassium - 960.36mg
Total Carbohydrates - 36.13g
Fiber - 12.55g
Sugar - 4.46g
Protein - 11.46g

Comments:

I thought this juice was amazing but also understand that it isn’t for everyone. I used parsley because I had too much on hand not for any other reason but the flavor it added to this was great. I will be trying this soon with kale to let you know how that changes the flavor and texture. However I am also curious about the change in nutrition since I will share that as well.

Next it was time to run by Whole Foods for tempeh to drop off with Ian. Since he had agreed to make it for me but couldn’t get it from his food vendor I decided to help by dropping it off, before he forgot his promise. ;-) Can you tell how excited I am that he is going to try working with this for us?

After hanging out at the restaurant for a little while and chatting it was time to head to cooking class. Since I was very early I called my friend Sue to see if she wanted to do a little ethnic food shopping and thankfully she was available.

First we went to Lily’s Mexican Market where I bought a lot of stuff. I picked up cuitlacoche (corn fungus) that Rick Bayless is always talking about. I have never used it but what the heck, it is only food right? I picked up one for Ian too so he could play around with it. They also had interesting dried beans which I had never seen before as well as interesting spices.

Next we went to Nazar Market where I bought more things that were completely new to me. My friend Walid had brought me back an Egyptian cookbook a few years ago that had things listed liked “meat spices” which I had no idea what that meant. When I asked Walid he said it was sold that way which was no help to me. What did I find at this market in the Middle Eastern section but ... meat spices, fish spices and chicken spices? I had to buy them just to try out the combination. The meat spices contain: allspice, black pepper, cinnamon, mahlab, ginger, cloves and green spices.

Both of these stores were great and carried things that you never seen in traditional grocery stores like: grape molasses, Turkish eggplant and mushroom salad, cardamom tea, spicy fermented purple carrot juice (which was low sodium) and bulgur with sun-dried tomatoes. I love going into ethnic markets since they always have unusual ingredients.

Cooking class was also fun last night since this one was on homemade pasta. Being Italian I love to make homemade pasta even though I haven’t done it in the last year and a half since I stopped using flour at home for health reasons. I still love getting my hands into the pasta dough. All three recipes for pasta dough were vegan this evening, as were the sauces. Donna did finish the dishes with cheese or meat, except for ours of course which we appreciated immensely.

Here are the three dishes from last night:

The first dish was 100% whole wheat pappardelle with spring vegetables. In classic southern Italian tradition this was finished with bread crumb (in lieu of cheese) which is delicious. I recommend toasting the breadcrumbs for a nuttier flavor. In my less healthy past I would have added olive oil and garlic to the bread crumbs which is delicious if you use olive oil. This was Dan’s favorite since he likes the flavor of whole wheat now. Who is this man?

The second dish was Tuscan hand rolled pici which I haven’t made in a few years. The beauty of this pasta is that you don’t need a pasta roller which makes it a cinch for everyone to prepare. I will make this and show you how but is very easy ... I think you will be surprised. This was served with mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and topped with walnuts.  It was also fabulous.

The final dish was my favorite it was the Sardinian malloreddus. It is made exactly like I prepare potato gnocchi only with a semolina and saffron pasta dough. Brilliant! I thought this was a blast to make and very quick since I have made so many gnocchi in my past. It was served with a tomato sauce with artichokes (doesn’t that sound familiar?). Gee, I wonder why that was my favorite. LOL

After class of course I had to chat and then drop Sue off and her house before trekking back to Baltimore. It was a long day but a great one as well.

Happy thoughts:

• This morning my walk through the neighborhood was absolutely gorgeous. Temperatures were a little cool but the scenery really could not be beat. Additionally I am still always surprised by how nice everyone is here. Every person I pass when I am out walking says good morning or hello. How lucky am I to have so many great neighbors?

• I am still swamped but also getting a lot accomplished and that is a very good thing. I LOVED the small ethnic markets Sue introduced me to on Wednesday. There is nothing I love more than buying unusual food and spices. ;-)

• Today I am grateful for Ian and his willingness to make things that are outside his comfort zone. He is so wonderful to us and I appreciate that he will be making us tempeh in the next couple of day. I hope you all can see why when we got out to eat most of the time we are stopping to see Ian. Seriously, both Dan and I feel like we are part of the family. Everyone (in the front of the house and in the kitchen) at the restaurant is very friendly and accommodating. We are very fortunate to have them in the neighborhood.

• Cooking class was a lot of fun. I had not realized how much I missed making pasta until class. Since I am Italian and have made pasta many times before I helped prepare pasta during class. I swear I think pasta making is my blood; it must be an Italian thing.

Signing out:

Thursday was another busy day but it was a good one again. I had a few errands this morning and ended up walking the restaurant. The weather today was glorious. Any day when I don’t need a coat is a good one in my book. Also I loved being outside so much of the day today. There is really nothing like a nice long walk up and down hills to get my blood flowing.

It is time for me to get myself into the kitchen and get something going for dinner. I wish I had some idea what I was going to cook, but since I rarely do it isn’t a big problem. Hopefully you are having a great week and are looking forward to the weekend. I have some good stuff planned which will be great.

Talk to you again tomorrow!  Happy Thursday guys!

Sunday at the Market

(pictured: Lunch today, salad with falafel)

This morning starting like every Sunday with a trip to the local farm market downtown. As usual I purchased an almost ridiculous amount of fresh vegetables. There are three different types of squash, kale (for kale chips), bok choy, green onions, tomatoes, eggplant, fresh shitake, purple broccoli, mesclun, leaf lettuce (for lettuce wraps), onions and turnips. We walked out of the market with six reusable grocery bags stuffed full of fresh produce. How two people manage to eat all of this each week (plus more from Costco) I have no idea. I love buying local produce each week. It will be very sad when the market closes for the season. We have gotten very accustomed to the quality local organic produce and I always hate when the market closes for the winter.

Given all the produce from our trip to the market this morning, we had a big salad today for lunch today. I am not going to post the recipe because I didn’t measure anything. As usual I topped the salad with something warm, in this case falafel from the freezer that I reheated in the microwave. The salad also contained, mesclun, fresh tomato, cold cooked tomato sauce, cucumber, shelled hempseeds, avocado and creamy pesto dressing. Hempseeds were added for omega 3 fatty acids. Avocado was included for monounsaturated fat. Since avocado has been linked to prostate health I like to add it salads so I know my hubby eats it (he isn’t a fan so I always wonder what happens to the avocado when I send it in his lunch).

If you are wondering why I would add cold cooked tomato sauce to a salad that is something I tried last week. We were low on fresh tomatoes and I had some leftover sauce in the refrigerator so I added it to my salad. Much to my surprise it was better than raw tomatoes. My red sauce had a bit of a punch from the red pepper flakes, and that is nice in a salad. Additionally it moistens the salad without adding fat. I tried it on the hubby this weekend and he has decided he prefers this to a salad with only fresh tomatoes too. Since the lycopene in cooked tomatoes is more bioavailable this is another reason to add it to your salad. I know it sounds odd, but it is really good. The next time you don’t have fresh tomatoes, but you do have chunky tomato sauce give it a try. You may be surprised how good it is.


(pictured: Dinner last night, apple leek seitan sausage with dijon cabbage)

Last night for dinner we had a quick ten-minute meal, which is why I didn’t post the recipe. All I did was reheat two apple and leek seitan sausages in one pan and make a fast cabbage dish in another pan. The cabbage dish included water sautéed red onion, 8 cups of shredded green cabbage, 1 teaspoon of cumin seed, 1 teaspoon of fennel seed and 3 tablespoons of Dijon mustard. This was cooked until tender, or about 5 minutes. My husband loved the apple and leek seitan sausages as much as I did. In fact he wants me to make more this week for the freezer.

I am cooking dinner for my husband and I and my parents this evening. There will be two or three recipes from dinner tonight, although I may not get them all posted until tomorrow. It will all depend on whether my husband decides to work after dinner tonight or not. If he decides to take a break we will watch a movie this evening.

I hope you are all having a good day.

Blended Salad of Cucumber, Celery, Green Bell Pepper and Spinach

If any of you have read either “Eat to Live” or “Eat for Health” you know that Doctor Fuhrman is a big believer in eating at least a pound of raw vegetables and fruit a day for optimal nutrition. We try to eat a couple of big salads each day but somehow I always think we need more veggies in our diet. According to Doctor Fuhrman your body is better able to absorb the vitamins if the food is very well chewed, or completely processed in a blender. Sometimes I find it much easier to drink my vegetables like a few minutes ago.

Rose at Dandelion recommended a book that I have been reading over the last couple of days titled “Never Be Sick Again”. This book also advocates consuming as much raw food as possible.

Being continually reminded to eat more raw veggies and fruit sent me into the kitchen to make a blender full of “blended salad” as Doctor Fuhrman calls it. The taste of this blended salad is very mild. It is somewhat of an acquired taste, but it isn’t bad, it is just different.

Blended Salad of Cucumber, Celery, Green Bell Pepper and Spinach
Serves 1

Ingredients:

1 cucumber, roughly chopped
3 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
2 cups raw spinach
1 cup water

Directions:

Combine everything in the blender and process until smooth. Drink immediately.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 101.66
Calories From Fat (10%) - 10.35

Total Fat - 1.21g
Saturated Fat - 0.22g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 173.07mg
Potassium - 1364.19mg
Total Carbohydrates - 19.62g
Fiber - 8.12g
Sugar - 10.49g
Protein - 5.73g

Comments:

This drink is high in potassium, which helps to reduce blood pressure. It also contains almost 7000 IU’s of vitamin A. The drink is also high in vitamin C (147 mg), calcium (178 mg), folate (222 mcg), and vitamin K (362 mcg). I drink the blended salads because they are such a nutritional bang for so few calories.