Recipe : Bean & Rice Gumbo

Oh my goodness. This was pure awesomeness. I used to make something similar with sausage, chicken, and shrimp, but I didn't even miss those things! This was so simple to make and very filling. I love recipes where I often have a majority of the ingredients on hand and this is another one of those. As usual, lots of yummy leftovers. :) I made mine fairly flavorful so I will likely mix a small amount in with lots of brown rice for the baby to try tomorrow. I followed a recipe from Dr. McDougall's Quick and Easy Cookbook, but tweaked it a bit:

Bean & Rice Gumbo

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown rice (dry)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 4 cups veggie broth
• 1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 15 oz can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
• 1-2 tablespoons creole seasoning (recipe below)
  
• 1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
• 1 16 oz bag frozen okra

Creole Seasoning

Ingredients:

This makes quite a bit, so you'll have some to save for later.

• 2-1/2 Tbsp paprika
• 2 Tbsp salt
• 2 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp onion powder
• 1 Tbsp cayenne
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1 Tbsp dried thyme

Cook the rice separately (2 cups water to 1 cup rice, for about 45 min.) and set aside. I'd start cooking the rest when the rice has about 25 min. or so left.

Place the onion, pepper, celery, and garlic in a large pot with 1/2 c of the broth. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.

Add the remaining broth + 1 cup water, the beans, and seasonings (you can adjust the seasonings to be as spicy as you'd like so keep tasting until you get it how you'd like it).

Bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Add the frozen okra and lightly boil for an additional 5-10 minutes. Stir in the cooked rice.

Daily Menu

Someone asked if I would post a typical day's or week's menu.

I fall somewhat in the middle of meal planner. I'm not anal about it, but I do like to shop with some recipes in mind. I generally hit Whole Foods on Saturday or Sunday and then again in the middle of the week, usually Wednesday because they have free music in the mornings for kids. So I just browse through my cookbooks and online sources and pick out a couple recipes I want to try, along with some tried and true recipes and staples. I make sure I have all the ingredients I need and then depending on how my day is going I will make certain things.

One big thing for me is leftovers. I always cook plenty of leftovers (which is possibly why I am really drawn to soups, casseroles, pasta and rice salads, etc) so that I have healthy & yummy meals stocked in my fridge. It's not uncommon that I eat leftovers for breakfast and lunch (not the same leftover).

Anyway, some staples that we usually always keep in our house (99% of these things we buy organic):
grains (brown rice, 100% whole wheat pasta, brown rice pasta, quinoa, millet, barley, whole wheat couscous, etc)
steel cut oats
unsweetened applesauce
rice milk
hemp milk
dry and canned beans in various kinds
tons of different spices
jarred fat free spaghetti sauce (WF makes an organic FF one that is great!)
Morning O's (WF 'cheerios')
fresh fruits and veggies (just depends on what looks good that day or what is in season. I always have onions and potatoes, both Yukon Gold and sweet)
frozen corn
frozen peas
frozen mixed veggies
frozen okra
frozen broccoli
frozen Ezekiel bread
Dr. Preagger's spinach littles (these are NOT vegan b/c they have egg white in them, but they are one of the only veggies my 14 month old will often eat, so I pick my battles. They are very simple ingredients (spinach, potatoes, egg whites, spices) and I have been trying to make my own that he'll eat with no success so far. Still workin' on that!)

-okay, so those are our big staples. More things get added to the list, depending on what I plan to make that week, but it's a start. many of these things we don't have to buy every time we're at WF.

So, now that you know I make large quantities for leftovers, a typical day is pretty easy.

It's rare that I drink something other than water, so I'm not going to comment on drinks for every meal.

Typical Day for Me:

Breakfast: freshly made steel cut oats (just can't do them leftover). I make 1/2 c (dry) and then I eat most of them. I add a dollop of applesauce, cinnamon and about 10 dried cherries.

Lunch: leftovers. Right now, I am eating leftover veggie korma with brown rice. However, I also had lentil and kale soup to choose from, and this quinoa/pea salad I had made the other night. If I don't have any leftovers (rare) or nothing sounds good, I will make a baked potato (or a couple if they're tiny) with some steamed broccoli and seasonings. I always keep cooked brown rice in my fridge so that makes any easy meal with some veggies added as well.

Snacks: a small amount of another leftover, brown rice cakes, fresh fruit, etc. A good treat is a rice milk smoothie made with that and fruit.

Dinner: a recipe that I make. I have some staples I make a couple times a week (the tostados, veggie and lentil stew, pasta with tomato sauce and salad, etc) If I really don't feel like cooking or something I will just have some leftovers or have my husband cook something he's picked out for the week.



Our 14 month old is a little more picky. Sometimes he loves things I make (lentil and veggie stew is usually a hit, but sometimes not!) His typical day:

Breakfast:
-bottle (yes, he still gets bottles and I don't care. Breastfeeding was traumatically and violently taken away from him at 6 months and I won't take his bottles away, now that he finally likes them, until he's ready) 5-7 oz. hemp milk.
-a few morning o's here and there while hanging out
-a small bowl of steel cut oats with cinnamon and applesauce
-sometimes he'll have some berries or banana in the morning or some later for a snack

Snacks throughout the day: fruit (he loves berries and really love matchstick sliced apples right now), brown rice cakes, Barbara's vegan cereal bars, O's, organic graham crackers, something yummy I've made like those pumpkin muffins.

Lunch:
He really likes this brown rice/quinoa mix we buy, but I try not to give him a ton b/c it has added oils, but he loves it. or
brown rice pasta with spaghetti sauce (a favorite) and/or
hummus spread on rice cake pieces or
PB&J sandwich and ww bread (he's not a huge fan of this)
sometimes he will eat some steamed broccoli

Another hemp milk bottle at midday nap time

dinner:
either what we're having or
spinach bites or
some of the lunch options - it just depends on what we have, what is made, what he ate for lunch
more pasta

another bottle with bed. He drinks water, only, in a sippy cup throughout the day and I'd guess he drinks about 10-16 oz of water.


So that's about it. I pretty much offer the baby whatever we are eating usually. Sometimes he likes it and sometimes not, but there are always healthy back ups for him.

Recipe: Vegetable Korma

I love Indian Food. I never thought I did, and there are certain tastes I don't care for, but I do now! My husband and I used to go to this great little Indian buffet near my midwife when I was pregnant I became seriously addicted. Of course, it's filled with meat and dairy. It's pretty far away so my husband found this recipe for chicken korma which I LOVED when he made it. I was really missing this dish, not because of the chicken but because of the flavor. So why not make it with veggies instead of chicken. With a few substitutions here and there, I now have a fabulous (and simple!) vegetable korma recipe that tastes just like my husband's original.

Vegetable Korma

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• one bag (16 oz) frozen okra, steamed just a bit
• one bag frozen broccoli, steamed just a bit
• one can of chick peas, rinsed and drained
  
• 1/2 c water
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala, or to taste
• 6-7 oz rice milk (or your milk sub. of choice)
  

Saute the chopped onions on a medium-high heat until the onions are soft and slightly brown. To do this without oil, just add a little water as needed to keep from sticking/burning during the process. I add a small amount, wait for them to start getting brown, then add a tiny bit more, and keep that process going until they are "fried" enough for my liking. Add the garlic and cook for a further 1 or 2 minutes. Add the salt, turmeric and ground cumin.

Turn up the heat and further cook for another 1 minute. If things start to stick too much, add a little of the water here. Then add your lightly steamed vegetables and chick peas. It is very crucial that the spices are mixed within the pan at this point and stirred to ensure that the veggies and beans cook with texture and flavor. Add water after stirring the veggies/beans into the spices. Turn down the heat slightly and stir in the garam masala and rice milk. Simmer for 5 minutes. Serve over brown rice.

Adapted from The Food Network

This will totally be a weekly occurrence at our house. I love this recipe and I generally have every single one of the ingredients on hand at all times. You could also sub different veggies and whatnot.

Biggest Loser - Bob's Vegan Meal

Do you watch this show? It's so mainstream so I'm sure many of you reading (you know, all 2 of you :) ) have watched it at some point.

I used to be a huge fan of the show. I mean, it is pretty cool seeing people so obese totally change their lives (sometimes!) I've always loved Bob, one of the trainers. He just seems like a cool person, laid back, but motivating, a little on the eco friendly/green side which appeals to the tiny hippie in me, and let's face it, the guy does yoga with his trainees! Pretty sweet.

One thing I've always disliked about the show are the product pushes. It would be one thing if they were for truly healthy products, but things like processed ground turkey? SUGAR FREE gum? Are you kidding me? The sugar free gum really pissed me off because I can't believe anyone in the health industry could actually push that kind of crap. (Artificial sweeteners are bad, very bad for you, my friend!)

Anyway, on last night's episode Bob invited some of the contestants over to his own home for a vegan meal! He explained that this is how he eats all the time and that their entire meal was cooked without any sort of animal product. No meat, no butter, no dairy, etc.

And you know what??? It sure looked better than a damn turkey sandwich from Subway!!! It was beautiful. Colorful. NUTRITIONALLY LOADED. Did anyone ever stop to think that, sure eating makes us full, but we eat to gain our nutrients? Did you know they're not supposed to come from a little pill that scientists are now saying may not even deliver the nutrients stated on that bottle? They are supposed to come from a colorful, variety of plant-based foods.

Everyone seemed to really enjoy the meal and be impressed that it was that healthy and that good. One woman went on to say that she often orders a $5 pizza for her and her 2 kids a few times a week. Bob said he couldn't compete with $5 pizzas, but then explained how cheap rice and beans are. For $5 worth of rice and beans (and maybe add in a little fresh or frozen veggies) you could make SO. MUCH. FOOD. And it would cost less in the long run b/c of your health.

That is what I hope to show here. Eating a plant-based diet (vegan) doesn't have to be boring and without flavor. I hope to share some of our favorite recipes around here, especially things that we used to make with animal products but don't anymore and taste just as good! I have one coming up later today...

Here is a link to more about Bob and his vegan diet!

Why No Oil? Isn't it healthy?!

"My question to you is, why oil?

Due to very effective marketing and advertising, we have become convinced that oil is not only a food, but a health food. This is crazy. To be a food, something must be able to support healthy life and be of some benefit.

Oil is a highly refined processed and extracted food "product". It has no protein or essential amino acids (which we need), it has no carbohydrates, or sugars (which we need), it has no fiber (which we need), it has no minerals (which we need) and has virtually no vitamins (which we need) except for a small amount of Vit E and some phytosterols.

But, on the other hand, it is pure fat and the most calorie dense food on the planet. While all oils have a mixture of mono, poly and saturated fat, most oils are very low in the essential fat omega 3 (which some of us may need more of), very high in the omega 6 (which most of us need to lower) and most oils also have high ratios of omega 6 to omega 3 (which most all of us need to lower).

So, basically you are getting lots of calories (oils has almost 2.5 x more calorie per TB than sugar). lots of omega 6s, some saturated fat (depending on the oil) and virtually no nutrients.

The definition of a junk food is a food that is high in calories (and/or fat, sugar, salt) and has little if any nutrient value at all.

IMHO (and by definition), Oil, is more of a junk food than sugar. And, I hope that in a few years, we will all come to understand it and see it, as such." - Jeff Novick, MS, RD

Recipe : Tostados

Okay, so there are some nights, after hanging out with my almost 14 month old all day, that the thought of cooking sounds less than appealing. This is my super satisfying way to feel like I'm eating tacos.

What you need:
-organic corn tortillas (mostly everything in my recipes will be organic because that's how we roll, but I stress this in these. I always stick to organic corn!) (I get them at Whole Foods).
-fat free re-fried beans (I try to limit canned products b/c of BPA, but I haven't experimented much with creating my own yet)
-various toppings (salsa, fresh tomatoes, fresh onions, olives (if I am allowing myself a some fat), etc).


All you do is bake the tortillas at 350 degrees while warming up the beans on the stove. The tortillas are done when they are no longer soft, but harder (and sometimes curled up around the edges) like taco shells. Spread each one with beans and top with your favorite toppings! If you are open to adding a little more fat to your diet than I am right now, you can top with avocado, olives, and non dairy, non soy cheese - YUMMY!

Recipe : Mexican Pinto Beans & Brown Rice

I add some veggies to this (broccoli or okra usually) on the side and it's a great meal! This has a ton of flavor and quite a bit of heat depending on how much chipotle peppers are used. A really quick and easy recipe if you have leftover brown rice too!

Mexican Pinto Beans & Brown Rice

1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cinnamon
1 TB chili powder
1 med onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 C COOKED brown rice
4 C canned pinto beans (or cooked from dried), drained and well rinsed
1 1/2 -2 C veggie stock
3 TB chipotle peppers,chopped, plus some of the sauce
2 TB tomato paste
1 tsp sea salt

1. Heat a little water or broth over medium heat and add spices until fragrant.

2. Add chopped onion and cook until soft. Add garlic and cook a few min,. more.

3. Add cooked rice and rinsed beans, stock, chipotles, tomato paste and salt. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 min. Serve Hot.

Adapted from : Eating Clean