It's apricot time! Yay! Let's all cheer for apricots! I love them so much. We actually had an apricot tree growing up but wasn't as crazy about them then as I am now. And apricot and mint? Such a divine combination. With all that in mind, I set out to make a delicious apricot smoothie this morning. This is so refreshing and yummy.
Apricot Mint Smoothie
1 cup lightly flavored tea (I used Adagio from Lupicia - green rooibos with lemongrass) or water
2 large apricots (3-4 small), pits removed
1 1/2 handfuls of macadamia nuts
1/2 tablespoon chia
1 tablespoon hemp protein
1/2 teaspoon maca
1/2 teaspoon chlorella
2 dates, pitted
2 stems of mint, leaves only
8 or so ice cubes
Blend
all but ice till smooth. With blender running add ice cubes one at a time through hole in
top of blender. Blend till desired consistency. Enjoy!
This morning I wanted something fruity and quick. So I checked out my frozen fruit and saw that I had frozen peaches. Hmmm...and macadamia nuts? And the flavor of peach cobbler? Win win win! This is a tasty concoction I came up with. Try it out yourself! I think you might like it!
1 handful macadamia nuts
1 cup frozen peaches
1 cup water
1 tablespoon hemp protein powder
1/2 tablespoon chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 dates
2-3 teaspoons coconut sugar
6 ice cubes
Place all but ice cubes in blender. Blend well until smooth. Add ice and blend again just until all ice is blended. Serve. Yummy!
How does that sound to you? Doesn't roll off your tongue very easily, does it? But if I had to describe myself, that is what I would say is closest to the way I am eating these days. And after this past week I would say I'm more committed to that way of eating than ever before. Let me explain.
For the past five days I've been in Portland in a hotel working on a meeting with my friend. I was really busy before I left so I really didn't have time to make a bunch of great healthy snacks to fill in the holes while my diet was going downhill fast. We stayed and worked at the Nines Hotel in Portland. It's a cool hotel in the heart of downtown Portland. They have two restaurants in the hotel, one named Departure that's Asian Fusion and the other is Urban Farmer. So, my question to you is what type of food would you expect "Urban Farmer" to serve? When you think of a "farmer" don't you think of fresh produce? Or is that just me? Well, so far I've asked four people this same question and we're all in agreement. Yet when we went there for lunch the first day we were there, what was on the menu? Mostly steak and animal protein with very little vegetables. I later looked up how they define themselves and it says "Urban Farmer redefines the modern steakhouse." So apparently urban farming now means meat farming! Ha! The joke's on me I suppose. I mean I know dairy farmers exist but in an urban setting? I don't think so. At any rate we had little extra time to really get out and enjoy the city and find great restaurants. Also my friend is not vegan at all so it's challenging to find restaurants that serve food that I can enjoy and she can too.
So I ate a lot of salads but also a lot of items that aren't really what I'm used to eating anymore. I was never a really big cheese lover. I liked and probably still do like cheese from Spain and also Gruyere is delicious. But generally speaking for me I never did eat a lot of cheese. So although I wasn't eating vegan most of the time I was eating vegetarian. Well, guess what? I'm not much of a vegetarian. I haven't eaten eggs in a long time nor any butter or dairy. And definitely not cheese. So over the week I would end up eating things like that because that's really all that was available. I did have a bag of nuts and some dried fruit to supplement what I was eating. Luckily I had that because otherwise I would have eaten even more food that really wasn't great for me.
My stomach felt bloated almost all the time. My energy wasn't what it normally is and I wasn't sleeping well. Now some of that I attribute to traveling and staying in a hotel. However, my stomach really didn't feel good. And that was the biggest thing for me. So I have decided to really keep doing what I've been doing because I know that I feel so much better eating the way I've been eating. I couldn't wait to come home and eat right for ME! So I've eaten a lot of whole foods today. The more I learn the more I love to eat this way.
It's easy on my body and easy on the environment. So although I would basically categorize my diet (in the true sense of the word - "manner of living") the same as the title of this blogpost: whole foods plant-based, I don't want to pigeonhole myself and say that's all I eat. I think it's important to everyone to eat what they want to eat but to pay attention to how different foods make you feel. If you eat animal protein and you feel great then I say go ahead and eat it. However if you are looking to feel better, try going back to basics. When I say basics I mean just really anything that is a whole food. I think a great diet for today would be something heavily plant based but still have some meat every once in a while. This frees up some money to buy high quality meat. That's just my opinion. I'm not saying that I wouldn't eat meat but honestly, I probably wouldn't eat meat. So weird for me! Who knew? Particularly because on New Year's Day this year I had such a completely different view of animal protein.
I also continue reading The China Study and other items around the internet about different foods and how they affect you. I guess any reduction in inflammatory foods seems to be the goal. I have kind of made this my goal. Sure I would like to look better than I do but mostly I want to feel amazing so if by changing my eating (and eventually getting my workouts back to something I'm interested in!) I feel amazing and the side effect of THAT is looking better then so be it. But that is truly not my goal for now. I just love finding foods that really enhance my health and it feels good to feel good!
Hope you are all off to a great start for April! I can't wait to get back to my massage school tomorrow. I missed it while I was gone! It has such great energy! In the next couple of weeks I'm going to be getting a new workout plan so I'll let you know how that goes too. And so away we go into the FOURTH month of the year! WOW! Where does the time go?!?
Just a quick post because I have about four minutes before I have to be off my electronics. I just made this lentil soup from my other blog. But I made it vegan which was so easy to do. I forgot how delicious, quick and easy this soup is to make.
As a hint in case you're like me and don't use all your ingredients quickly. You can buy small chilies (like Thai or serrano) and freeze them. They're easy to chop that way and throw in any soup or hot dish. You can throw them in uncooked food too but the texture is a little soft. I also freeze ginger root to grate at any time I need it. It's so easy to use that way and easier to grate too.
I didn't have that many lentils so I had to do a half recipe. This is the half recipe. I would double it if you think you'll eat it a lot. And it would freeze well too.
Vegan Lentil Soup
1 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups vegetable broth
1 serrano chili pepper, chopped (remove seeds for less heat)
1 large tomato, roughly chopped
3/4-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for topping
Combine the lentils, water, and vegetable broth in a
pot, cover and bring to a boil. Add the chili pepper, tomato, ginger,
garlic, turmeric and sea salt. Partially cover and simmer over
medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until thickened, 18 to 20 minutes.
Stir in the cilantro. Thin with water to desired texture. (I didn't thin it because I like it thick.)
Easy, huh? Well, I hope you enjoy. It's really delicious and takes no time at all to make. Truly. And it has that excellent vegetable protein for all of you that think you can't get enough protein with veggies. This was the perfect dish for the cold weather we're having here in L.A. I was cold all day so this was just the ticket for me.
Hope you're all doing well. School is going well. We learned a lot of different strokes in class on Saturday. I have class again tomorrow and I can't wait. LOVE my class, instructor, and environment! So awesome!
Mmmmm...Korean food! That's the most Korean part of me is my love for Korean food. I love the flavor and I was missing the Korean BBQ. But thanks to finding this recipe from Ani Phyo I have found a new happiness! I made these Saturday night and they are just to die for! So delicious and EASY! It took me about 15 minutes to make total time including julienning the vegetables!
And while my food right now is mostly vegan, you could easily add some meat to this and it would be tasty as well. But the vegan version is really tasty, I think! Here's the recipe (and sub-recipes) and the links to the original.
This is a traditional style of sam,
a Korean lettuce wrap recipe. The lettuce and Gochujang sauce are what
tie this dish together. The lettuce wraps are filled with sliced garlic
and pepper for savory flavors that pair with the sweet and salty
marinade of the Mushroom “Bul Go Gi”. Cucumber and carrot add color and
texture.
Fillings
1 batch Gochujang, see recipe below
1 clove thinly sliced garlic
1 Korean pepper, or jalapeño, sliced
1 cup julienned cucumber
1 cup julienned carrot
Bul Go Gi
1 batch Mushroom “Bul Go Gi”, see recipe below
Wrappers
8 red lettuce leaves, or more
To serve, place fillings and Mushroom “Bul Go Gi” into individual bowls. Place lettuce leaves in a stack on a plate.
Allow
everyone to make individual wraps by placing a lettuce in their hand and
stuffing with Gochujang, fillings, and Mushroom “Bul Go Gi”. Wrap and
eat immediately.
Will keep for several days in fridge when all ingredients are stored separately.
Bul Go Gi
is all about the sweet and salty marinade. The beef recipe is popular
in the West and is typically barbequed at the table in restaurants. Bul
Go Gi is served with a stack of red leaf lettuce used to wrap namuls and
kimchi. This wrap is called sam in Korean.
Many
people have requested a raw vegan “Bul Go Gi” recipe, so I’ve created
this version for them. I substitute beef with mushrooms marinated with
the same traditional flavors.
My recipe calls for Asian pear, but you can use any ripe pear instead.
Use
marinated Mushroom “Bul Go Gi” in lettuce or daikon wraps, on top of
noodles and salads in nori rols, on its own, and as an accompaniment to
any dish.
Marinade
3 tbsp Nama Shoyu or tamari
2 tbsp agave, maple, or brown rice syrup, to taste
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
½ tbsp minced garlic
½ cup Asian pear, microplaned or pureed in food processor, from about ½ medium pear
Mushrooms
4 cups sliced shiitake, miyake, oyster, or portabella mushrooms
Whisk
marinade together in mixing bowl. Then, add mushrooms and massage with
hands to mix well. Set aside to marinate for about 20 to 30 minutes,
until softened. Squeeze liquid from mushrooms before using.
Gochujang
is a traditional Korean hot chile pepper paste made by adding powdered
red peppers to miso soybean paste and then aging and fermenting this
mixture in earthen pots outdoors under the sun. The resulting flavor is
a mix of hot, sweet, salty, savory, and sour. Gochujang is the sauce
used to tie together vegetables with rice to make Bi-Bim-Bop and is also
used in noodle recipes and wraps. My recipe keeps for weeks in the
fridge, so keep extra on hand to dress up salads and lettuce wraps and
to use as a dip, too.
If you
have access to a Korean market, you can always buy real Gochujang, which
usually contains sugar. Or, make your own healthier version by
following this easy recipe.
2 1/2 tbs unpasteurized miso, red, yellow, or brown
2 tbs toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup agave syrup
1/2 tsp Korean chile powder, or cayenne pepper powder, to taste
Place all ingredients into a small mixing bowl, and mix well.
Will keep for several weeks in the fridge.
These were so yummy and I liked that I had leftovers so I could eat them again during the week. Although Ani Phyo touts raw food she also talks about not being too strict with that hence the toasted sesame oil.
