Veganized Lentil Soup

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!

Have a great week!

Vegan Korean Food (Thanks Ani Phyo!)

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.

Mushroom “Bul Go Gi” Lettuce Wraps

From Chef Ani Phyo

Makes 4 servings

 

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.

Mushroom “Bul Go Gi

Makes 4 servings

 

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

Makes 4 servings

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.

Well, it's official...I'm a STUDENT again! And plant-based eating!

Sorry I've been MIA for a while! For some reason I seem super busy and this month is going to be general craziness so I'll do what I can but April will be better! At any rate, last night was my first night of MASSAGE SCHOOL!!!!! And I LOVED it! It was cool and the vibe in the class is good. It's fairly small. There are only nine students, including me and one instructor plus two teacher assistants. That's a good ratio to me.

So, what did we learn last night? Well, important things like class and school conduct, how to set up a massage table, how to drape a client, and how to have them rollover without seeing their nakedness. These are all important things. I think what I like best is the way the class is taught. Sit down and learn a little then get up and move while learning more. Take a short break then back to the floor for more "book" items then maybe do some hands on, etc. That's the perfect learning environment for me. It will be different when we are on the massage table and then have to get off the massage table and practice what we're learning. But it's all good.

My friends and family are going to benefit here because I need to practice often so I'm going to need to get that practicing going. If you are my friend or family and I haven't already asked you to be my guinea pig, feel free to let me know. I need as many bodies as I can get my hands on...literally! Haha!

As for other news in the plant-based diet world, I made the yummiest meal last weekend. I'm going to do a separate post for it because it was that tasty. It was Ani Phyo's Bulgogi Lettuce Wraps. You know me. Representing! For the K's! (That means Koreans for you that aren't in the know!)

I feel like I'm finally getting in the swing of eating mostly plant-based whole foods. It's not an easy undertaking, in my opinion, but I've definitely felt better since eating this way. These are the benefits I've seen so far for me:

• Constant energy throughout the day - no afternoon lull or post-meal comas
• Deeper sleep
• Increased clarity
• Little or no sinus problems
• Cleaner feeling mouth (who knew?)
• Few to no cravings

These are what I would consider hints for introducing more plant-based meals into your life if you have any inkling to go this way:

• Start small - one meal a day (or week if day is too much) have a big salad with lots of fun seeds and/or nuts, add some brown rice or grains, and beans
• Have a "Meatless Monday" (Tuesday, Wednesday, etc) one day a week
• Find a recipe with no meat that sounds divine and make it (maybe try the Black Bean Hemp Patties by Julie Morris...they are soooo yummy!)
• Add a great dessert like Julie Morris's No-Bake Brownies
• Add a side salad to whatever your animal protein dish is and keep increasing the size of the salad and decreasing the size of animal protein

These are the challenges I've faced in this shift:

• For me it was an overnight change so that was more challenging than starting with one meal at a time
• Getting carried away with all the yummy raw vegan desserts you can make (and apparently consume in my case)
• Eating much more carbs than greens
• Eating much more fat in the way of nuts, seeds and avocados
• Eating enough - simply because I didn't know what to eat sometimes or had nothing made. It's like any other way of eating. You have to be prepared to eat right.

I'm very happy with the way I'm eating. I know it's weird to a lot of people because it's unknown and "extreme" to some. To me, the more I learn about the health benefits of whole food plant-based diets the more I never want to eat animal protein again. Some of you may be wondering what am I eating these days and/or what am I not eating. It's going something like this:

Eating: any vegetables, any fruit, any nuts and seeds, whole grains, pseudo grains, legumes, super foods, yacon syrup, agave, coconut palm sugar, whole foods

Not Eating: animal protein including fish and seafood, dairy, eggs, processed foods

So that's about it. I don't like to put myself in a category nor would I say that I will never eat meat again, but if I had to I would be leaning toward Whole Food Plant-Based. I'm not really a vegan per se because I still wear leather and such. It's also not to say that I won't at times eat cheese or butter. The biggest thing that I almost forgot to mention is that since starting this I haven't craved french fries! Those of you that know me know that this is huge! In all honesty, I haven't had much cravings for anything out of the ordinary. I haven't any huge salt OR sugar cravings. Hmmm...I should put that in my bullet list above. Let me do that now...okay...I'm back.

And as a funny note to end on, this is how focused I am on "plant-based". The other night I was playing games on my computer and I looked at my houseplant and thought, "Hm, I wonder if that would be good to eat." Hahaha! Yes, I clearly am losing it but it truly was funny to me and I truly DID have that thought.

Superfoods make me feel SUPER!

No joke! So this morning I knew I was feeling a little less than my best me. I ate my Lemon Coconut Breakfast Bars but I still felt like I needed something with a little oomph! So I checked out all my superfoods and made my own little concoction. Either it was pretty tasty or I'm getting used to the taste of earth and grass! Probably the latter to be honest! HA!

I had some leftover Synergy Guava Goddess Kombucha tea so my fancy concoction went something like this:
4 oz. Guava Goddess
1 scoop acai powder
1/2 teaspoon gelatinized maca
1/2 teaspoon chlorella
1/2 - 1 tablespoon yacon syrup
water

Shake it all up together in the blender bottle and drink. So I thought that was a good idea to get in a bunch of superfoods before my day began. But I truly didn't think it would do what it did. It's now 5:00pm and my energy is awesome! Not only that but I actually woke up early this morning. I could have gone back to sleep but I took that time to make the Lemon Coconut Bars and I'm so glad I did! YUM! LOVE those things! So anyway, it's either the superfood concoction that has me buzzing or it's my natural high. But either way I have no complaints and I'm feeling good!

I also had a great workout yesterday. I've been slacking in the strength training department. I really have no reason but sheer and utter laziness. Yep, that's my reason. But now I'm coming back and it's going to be a slow process. But I need to be okay with that. So yesterday I decided I was going to go back to basics and do an almost completely bodyweight circuit workout. It turned out to be a great workout for me and my hammies and quads are actually feeling it today. It also makes for a nice chance to really focus on form. My form is usually pretty good but I think often I'm focusing on pushing the weight over maintaining great form. Kellie Davis over at motherfitness.com wrote a post about that just today! She's reading my mind...I'm SURE of it! Below is my workout:

Lower Body Bodyweight Circuit
Prisoner Squats
Walking Lunges
Good Mornings (bar only)
Single Leg Hip Thrust
Glute Ham Raise Machine

5 rounds of 12 reps (for each leg on unilateral exercises) each exercise

The first 3 rounds I was good but the fourth was tough and the fifth was really hard for me but I pushed through and got it done! Baby steps is what it's going to be. I need to be okay with that and I almost am!

 Don't you find it hard to accept where you are? I had a hard time accepting where I was when I was super teeny for my comp. And now I'm having a hard time accepting where I am since I'm now the opposite of super teeny. But I need to accept. And be grateful for what I have and all that functions well. Yep, I definitely need to start from a place of gratitude on this one. And so I am and will.

That's about it for now. I'm ready for the weekend. And it's less than 2 weeks till I start massage school! Can't wait! Wahoo!!!!

Lemon Coconut Breakfast Bars & Update

I'm loving finding new foods to eat with my new way of eating. Week before last I received my Superfood Cuisine book by Julie Morris.

One of the recipes in there is the Lemon-Coconut Breakfast Bars recipe. Holy Toledo! Those are sooooo delish! I'm eating one warm out of the oven right now! You could just die at the yumminess!!!!

You can find the recipe here but I'll also post it below because you'll want to get to making them ASAP and you don't want to have to click on a link just to do that!

Lemon Coconut Breakfast Bars

Make a double batch of these bars and refrigerate to have on hand all week.

1 1/2 Tbsp chia seeds

2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted

3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 cup oat flour

1/2 tsp baking powder (oops, I used baking soda)

pinch sea salt

3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp shredded dried coconut, divided

2 Tbsp lemon zest 

2 Tbsp applesauce

1/4 cup agave nectar

1/2 cup packed medjool dates, pitted

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Grease a 8x8” baking pan.

In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and chia seeds. Set aside for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl mix together the oat flour, baking powder, salt, and ¾ cup coconut flakes. Sprinkle in the lemon zest and mix again until distributed.

In a separate bowl, combine the coconut oil, apple sauce, and agave nectar. Mix in the soaked chia seeds. Chop the pitted medjool dates finely, and mix in with the other wet ingredients.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir until blended. Spread the mixture into the prepared baking pan, and use a spatula to flatten out the surface. Sprinkle remaining 2 Tbsp coconut on top, patting them down lightly into the mixture.

Bake for 25-28 minutes, until edges begin to turn golden brown. Cut while warm into squares. Makes 16 2”x2” squares.

I actually wrote this post last week but didn't finish it and so I'm posting it now. Just as a warning, if you make the above recipe beware! They are VERY good! I think I basically ate them all in about 2 days! HA! Impressive!

This brings me to another point that I've recently learned on my journey into a plant-based diet. Eating high sugar foods at night isn't good really. I was feeling so much better the first 2-3 weeks but then last week my body started feeling not as good to me but I realized two things. First, I was eating way more sweets (healthy sweets but sweets nonetheless) than I had the previous weeks. And second, I wasn't eating as many vegetables as in the previous weeks. So this week I'm bringing the veggies back. The biggest reason for that is that I really notice a difference in my thirst if I do or don't eat veggies. The more veggies I eat the more I get my water from my veggies and the less thirsty I am. Fascinating!

I'm really enjoying my new way of eating. Yes, it's been challenging but I'm just finding my way and learning some great recipes and eating some really tasty food. These are the vegan recipes that I have made in the past 4-5 weeks:

Superfood Cuisine and other Julie Morris Recipes:
No-Bake Brownies (online)
Lemon Coconut Breakfast Bars (online)
Mini-Chocolate Cupcakes (online)
Black Bean Hemp Patties (Superfood Cuisine)
Roasted Pumpkin Soup (Superfood Cuisine)
Cauliflower Risotto (Superfood Cuisine)
Smoothies - Clean Start and Protein Packed (The Smoothment at navitasnaturals.com)
Thrive Foods by Brendan Brazier:
Quinoa Falafels
Beet and Fennel with Belgian Endive salad
Hemp and Sunflower Seed Milk
Lentil Soup with Wilted Spinach
Blueberry Chia Pudding
Summer Squash Fettucini with Lemon Pepper Cream
Live Avocado Goddess Sauce
Salt and Vinegar Kale Chips
Thrive by Brendan Brazier:
Spicy Black-Eyed Pea Quinoa Pizza
Baked Apple Cinnamon Cereal

Hemp Milk
Chocolate Almond Smoothie (I think I've had this about 10 times actually)
Lemon-Lime Recovery Drink
Direct Fuel Bites
Garlic Oregano Yam Oven Fries...mmmmmmmmmmmm...so tasty!
Banana Ginger Pear Cereal
Ginger Pear Smoothie
Blueberry Rooibos Antioxidant Smoothie
Mango Coconut Energy Bars - boo! These sounded so great but turned out so NOT great!
Other:
Endurance Crackers from ohsheglows.com
Super Simple Kale Salad


Well, when I list them out like that I realize I've really been making a lot of things. No WONDER my kitchen is ALWAYS a mess! I think that about covers it for recipes but I have thrown a lot of things together. I basically keep kale and spinach on hand at all times. I can't wait for summer to come so I can make my Crunch  A Munch Salad. Oh yeah...it's so delicious and so summery!

I have many more items on my list that I want to make including but not limited to:
Energy Bars - there are a few that I want to make like Walnut Cranberry and also Chocolate Blueberry
Smoothies - Green and this Pineapple Kale one I found the other day

I have bought a lot of hemp seeds, nuts and veggies in the past month or so. I've also bought a few books and many "different" superfood type of foods like maca, mesquite powder, cacao butter, lucuma powder, chia, and amaranth. I've also bought a lot of other things that I want to have on hand like shredded and flaked coconut, palm sugar, agave, and dates, dates and more dates!!

I've learned a lot, shopped a lot and cooked a lot. I'm enjoying the process and that's huge for me! Very important to love what you're doing and eat in a way that works for you. For me, this is the way that works for now. I feel better than I have in a long time and while I may not be seeing big changes I'm seeing changes and feeling better. I've definitely noticed that my allergies seem much less than usual and I don't wake up stuffed up like I do often when I was eating meat products and dairy. It may or may not be coincidence. Time will tell.

One thing I have learned for sure is that I don't like flax seed or flaxseed meal. I can handle it in small doses but usually if the recipe calls for flax seed I'll substitute chia. I found somewhere on line that you can do that but use 1/2 to 1/3 the amount called for in the recipe (i.e. 2 tablespoons flax seed = 1 tablespoon chia). That's been a good swap for me. And because chia has no flavor I can handle that a lot more than the flax. In fact I want to make the Mango Coconut Energy Bars again but make them with chia instead of flax. I am almost positive that I will like them that way. The flax is incredibly overwhelming in that recipe and it's all I could taste! Yuck! 

I will try to get on here more often to share more recipes with all of you. I think the thing I like most about this kind of cooking is that a lot of it seems to involve smashing things up in bowls with your hands and I LOVE that. Talk about getting dirty in the kitchen! It's GREAT!

I'll leave you with this beautiful photo from my day trip to Santa Barbara last weekend. It was so pretty and relaxing. I'm so fortunate to live close to the ocean. It's sooooo therapeutic for me! Have a great weekend!

Santa Barbara Coastline

Dental Health Update, Exciting News, and New House Rule!

So, since I work in a dental office I get to have my teeth cleaned every 3 months so it's fantastic. I got my teeth cleaned yesterday and guess what? My hygienist said that she's never seen my gums so healthy. Isn't that fantastic? She thinks it might be my changing to a plant-based diet but we're not certain. We'll see in another 3 months. I've basically been doing a plant-based diet for about 5 weeks. It will be interesting to see what another 3 months does to the health of my mouth.

Now on to exciting news...are you ready? Today I finally had my interview for massage school! Yes, I'm going to massage school and it starts in the middle of March! I can't wait. It's going to be so much fun. The school, teachers, and students are rather "granola" and "flower child" like but in some ways so am I. It's a smaller massage school and I like that. And I LOVE that half of my class time will be me getting massaged! Win win if you ask me!

And finally some new house rules! I decided that I've become way too sedentary and I need to put a stop to that. So I made a new "house rule" to get myself going. The rule is that if I'm doing something sedentary (watching TV / computer time / reading) I need to get up every 15-20 minutes and do something...anything, just move. Tonight I did just that. I was watching some TV and so I got up at the commercials and did some bodyweight squats, a little dancing, some marching in place, and some planks. I like this new house rule. It's been great. I actually went to the gym the other night to watch my trash TV and walk on the treadmill. It was perfect. I walked at a moderate pace for 45 minutes. I'm not trying to get a "cardio" workout per se, just moving instead of sitting still. I'm trying to extend this new habit at work as well since I sit for a good 8 hours a day.

So that's my brief summary of changes and such happening in my life. Any of you starting something new? Any new challenges you're facing?

Tropical Sunshine Smoothie

Yummy! I made this yesterday and had it again this morning. Delish! I want to go to an ISLAND! And I want cabana boy to bring me this smoothie! Ha!

1 cup coconut water
1 t matcha green tea powder

1 frozen banana
1-2 T hemp protein powder
2-3 frozen peach slices
1/2 - 3/4 cup frozen mango chunks
1/2 - 3/4 cup frozen pineapple chunks
1/2 - 1 cup water
Ice (optional) - use if your fruit isn't frozen

It wasn't very pretty to look at, kind of a puce green color but hey, it was tasty! If you don't have coconut water ad green tea powder, you could always substitute green tea or really any liquid you want. The choice is yours!