2010 April | Healthy and Sane

Meatless Mondays – I’m on board!

April 27th, 2010

I finally joined the Meatless Monday movement. I know a lot of you are already on board, but I was hesitant. You see, over the past year I’ve significantly increased the number of vegetarian meals in my diet (and by default – my husband’s). It was driven by a conscious decision to purchase mostly organic poultry and meats as well as grass-fed beef, which of course we can’t afford for every meal. Instead of filling in the rest of the meals with antibiotics filled, inhumanely raised meat, we decided to go meatless more often!

Everyone has their own reasons to “go meatless.” I believe that one can maintain a healthy body on a carnivore diet (with lean meats, omega 3 rich fish and of course portion control and a balance with veggies, fruit and whole grains) but I strongly believe in incorporating more meatless dishes into our weekly repertoire because of the impact this has on the environment.

From the Meatless Monday site… Why Meatless?

REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization estimates the meat industry generates nearly one-fifth of the man-made greenhouse gas emissions that are accelerating climate change worldwide . . . far more than transportation.[3] And annual worldwide demand for meat continues to grow. Reining in meat consumption once a week can help slow this trend.
MINIMIZE WATER USAGE. The water needs of livestock are tremendous, far above those of vegetables or grains. An estimated 1,800 to 2,500 gallons of water go into a single pound of beef.[4] Soy tofu produced in California requires 220 gallons of water per pound.[5]
HELP REDUCE FOSSIL FUEL DEPENDENCE. On average, about 40 calories of fossil fuel energy go into every calorie of feed lot beef in the U.S.[6] Compare this to the 2.2 calories of fossil fuel energy needed to produce one calorie of plant-based protein.[7] Moderating meat consumption is a great way to cut fossil fuel demand.

Every single person can help reduce the demand for meat (especially inhumanely raised meat) by going meatless more often. I knew I was already doing my part (I know I could always do more by becoming a vegetarian but it’s just not realistic for my lifestyle – we can only do our personal best) but committing myself to a Monday seemed limiting. Well, I’m taking on the challenge!! I like that I can plan a whole day of meatless eats (not just a random meal here and there). I think it happens by mistake once in a while but being more conscious about it made it fun. And you know what? I had some kick-ass eats today. Let’s review them!

BREAKFAST

Breakfast pizza + coffee

Ww tortilla, Barney Butter, nonfat yogurt, mango, Kashi golean cereal, shredded coconut + choc chips

So yummy!

MID-MORNING SNACK

LUNCH

Star ingredient #1: Ellie Krieger edamame “hummus” (recipe can be found here)

It was super galicky and very delicious. I used my vitamix so it was super creamy too. Love it!!

Star #2: grill… well a grill pan for now

Whole wheat Tuscan pane with edamame hummus, heirloom grape tomatoes, grilled zucchini and goat cheese – all pressed together

OMG – seriously I couldn’t get over this deliciousness. Goat cheese + grilled veggies is seriously the best combo on earth. Love <3

MID-AFTERNOON/PRE-WORKOUT SNACK

Clif mojo mountain trek mix bar

WORKOUT

I’m still getting over (or into?) a mild cold so an intense cardio workout was just not in the books. I attended a Body Pump-type class and it was tough. I sweated like crazy and loved every minute of it. What else is new?

DINNER

A little snack while prepping dinner: Doctor Kracker “flatbread” with edamame “hummus”

+ a meatless dinner – ma po tofu with steamed broccolini (recipe can be found here)

I used light tofu, omitted the beef and rice and added broccoli to the broccolini to bulk it up. This made 3 good servings with these lighter substitutions.

I LOVED this meal. It was quite spicy (I used 1T of sriracha) and tasted super authentic. I could see myself ordering it at a Chinese restaurant and being a very happy camper. Some brown rice would have been great to soak up some of the sauce but I thought we’ve been eating too much rice lately so that’s why I omitted it this time. I wouldn’t hesitate to make it again… and you shouldn’t either!

A lovely super charge me cookie to end a lovely day of meatless eats

What do you think of the Meatless Monday movement? If you’re interested, you can pledge to go meatless on Mondays here.

Parties, grills and cake

April 26th, 2010

I’m trying something new these days – instead of giving into my mile-long to-do list, I’m trying to go with the flow and enjoy the days as they come. One may call this procrastinating, but I decided that this in fact is a healthy approach because none of the things on the list are urgent and there is no way to treat them as such. They will get done eventually and in the meantime, I may actually enjoy my weekends. Imagine that.

This weekend was sure action packed. Adam and I attended my friend Molly’s good-bye party on Friday night (she’s opening a frozen yogurt shop in Northampton, MA). It was bitter-sweet. I’m super excited for her but I’m so sad she’s leaving. I could go on and on about what a large part of my life Molly has played in the past year, but I’ll just leave it at wishing her lots of luck. She knows how I feel. And Molly, I can’t wait to come visit!! Seriously, how many of us would dream of doing something like that?!!

Saturday was Josh’s birthday party (ha, I think it’s funny that more and more of my friends now have links to their names – blogs, sites, etc.). We first met Josh and Melissa at Josh’s beer tweetup, then again for dinner at American Craft. We learned that Josh loves bbq and poker so naturally Adam was game for attending his birthday party.

At the party, we enjoyed some snacks…

cheddar and bass beer bread…

Sweet potato (baked) fries

… and of course beer

And bbq. This was the best bbq spread I’ve had in my life. I opted for the vegetarian option and it did not disappoint (both Josh and Melissa are vegetarians so they know that veggie burgers are not the only thing you can make on the grill).

Salad of mixed greens, walnuts, cranberries and feta + grilled sourdough bread (with a drizzle of EVOO) with feta, grilled peppers, zucchini and yellow sqush. OMG – this meal was mind-blowing. I cannot wait to recreate it!!!!!!

Side note: we bought a grill on Sunday!!!! Our first one – what’s your favorite grill recipe? I want to put this baby to use!

Back to the party. I brought my vegan cookies and everyone loved them. This guy was double fisting both kinds while mmmm-ing. That’s a good review in my book

There was also some rock-band action. I did not partake but Adam rocked out on a guitar.

And of course there was birthday cake. Actually two! Black forest cake:

Double chocolate

I had a few bites of this guy. Wowza, that’s a lot of frosting!

Sweeter than the cake were the FOUR cookbooks Melissa gave me. She’s built up quite the cookbook collection and is actually running out of space in her living room. I made out like a bandit, that’s for sure. Thanks, Melissa, I’m SO excited to put these to use!!!

Sunday was a lot more chill yet somehow I still had no time to blog. Let’s run through the days eats quickly, ok?

BREAKFAST

+ banana walnut muffin & coffee (to-go)

LUNCH

Teriyaki chicken wings + carrots and turnip (baked) fries

Adam has been craving wings for weeks so I told him I’d make him some. No need to feast on the fried version when you can satisfy the craving at home. I made a homemade teriyaki sauce that tasted awful so I dug deep into our fridge and grabbed bottled teriyaki sauce instead. Hey, I tried! I marinaded the wings for 4 hours in 1 cup of bottled teriyaki sauce + 1/4 cup of water (the sauce is soooo salty, I wanted to dilute it. I bet you can use an even higher water/sauce ratio). Then I broiled these babies for 5 minutes on each side, while reducing the marinade down on the stop-top. Note: if you want to baste the marinade onto the chicken, make sure to reheat it so that you kill all the raw-chicken bacteria. Then I covered the wings in sauce and baked them at 375* for 30 minutes (25 mins covered, 5 uncovered), basting them with the marinade after 10, 20 and 25 minutes. Time consuming but that’s how you get this sticky glaze. Adam was in heaven. Mission accomplished!

In my second oven, I baked a pound of carrots and a pound of turnips with 2 tsp of coconut oil and S&P – baked at 450* for maybe 30 minutes. Between me, Adam and his dad, we consumed TWO pounds of veggies. I think Adam did most of the heavy lifting (I ate 4 wings as well).

A super-charge me cookie for dessert

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK

Mango + walnuts – who took this awful photo?

DINNER

Thai green curry mussels (recipe can be found here – I added spinach to the sauce and raw tomatoes to finish)

The sauce was too mild. I added extra green curry paste, salt and pepper to the leftovers. Hopefully that does the trick!

Dessert: Barney Butter stuffed banana

… and a little later: a serving of TJ’s nutty american trek mix <3

Let’s quickly talk about activity. I’ve been trying to implement the 20-minute rule but didn’t make exercise a priority this weekend (I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather). Saturday morning before the party I got Adam to go for a walk with me. We walked for quite a bit and ended up stopping for a slice of heaven.

Ernesto’s portobello mushroom + garlic slice (yes, this is one slice – 1/4 of large pizza – Adam and I split it) – it was amazing!

Needless to say, after this I had no chance in hell of convincing Adam to turn the walk into a run. Better luck next time! Sunday I didn’t even get 20 minutes in. Time totally got away from me. I feel strongly about the fact that you always have 20 minutes for at least a walk. I need to make sure to make it happen. No excuses!!

How was your weekend? Do you use the extra time to check things off your to-do list or is it all about fun?

Better late than never

April 24th, 2010

This week’s CEiMB recipe for soft Asian summer rolls with a sweet & savory dipping sauce was hosted by A Blog About Food. CEiMB recipes are usually featured on Thursdays but since this Thursday my dinner ended up being froyo and cookies, I made the rolls for lunch on Friday. Adam worked from home so we got to enjoy these as a light meal mid-day. Better late than never, right?

I’m going to be honest. I wasn’t sure about these guys. Fresh basil and mint scares me in large amounts and the herbs were sure to stand out with such a short ingredients list. Furthermore, right before heading home to make these for lunch, I read Liz’s less-than stellar review of these and got scared even more. I am happy to say everything went without a glitch!

I cut the amount of rice vinegar in the sauce by half (saw the too-vinegary complaint in several reviews) and the sauce was perfect. Nice and spicy (and a little sweet), well balanced. The rolls were an ease to roll too – way easier in fact than I thought they would be. I made sure to soften the rice paper one at a time, and then quickly stuffed it with all the cut-up veggies, shrimp… and noodles?

Oh yes, noodles! After taking the above 3 photos, I realized I forgot about the noodles. I made them, but they were on the other side of the table and totally escaped my mind. So now that I caught this little mistake, the other 3 rolls had their noodles. See the 2 rolls on the left in the pic below? Yes, much better!

Last thing I forgot to mention, I used my mandoline to finely cut the carrots and decided to do the same with some fresh zucchini I had in the fridge. It was a good call, I’d do that again. And yes, I would make these again. Go light on the mint, heavier on the shrimp (1/roll is not enough!) and definitely keep the zucchini addition. Adam’s only complaint was that there weren’t more of these. Success!

I can’t wait to make other types of summer rolls too since I now have about 300 rice paper rounds left. Any filling ideas?

****

After work, I got back to my kitchen to bake some cookies. Adam and I are attending 2 parties this weekend. What better gift to bring than some freshly made vegan cookies!

First party – all ready for travel!

Dreena’s super-charge me cookies

I used a combo of raisins and cranberries as dried fruit. I’d add even more dried fruit next time – maybe some tart dried cherries? Mmm, cherries.

And Dreena’s “you got peanut butter in my chocolate” cookies (also from Eat, drink & be vegan; recipe can be found here)

.. and then I went a little crazy with the photo-shoot.

So here is the verdict on these 2 recipes. I liked the super-charge me cookies. I enjoyed the oats and the combo of the choc chips with dried fruit. I really think some tart cherries will be perfect in these. I’d even add more than 1/2 cup as per the recipe. Load ‘em up!!

The choc/pb cookies came out pretty flat and tasted a bit burnt to me. I cooked them for exactly 11 minutes as per the recipe, so I’m not sure if this was the intended taste or if something went wrong in my kitchen. I *may* make them again. We’ll see. Everyone at the first party we went to liked my cookies. We’ll see what the other reviewers will say tonight.

Have you ever made vegan cookies before?

Any fun plans for this weekend?