21-Day Vegan Restart - Day 5

Hmmmm... It seems that my "Days" for this restart plan are not matching up to the calendar!  Oh well, life and stuff to do seems to get in the way of keeping strictly on the correct day.  So, I'll pretend that this is only Day 5.  

Tonight, actual January 8, I made a delicious addition to my tried and true recipe book.  That means, Fred approved!  

Enter, Penne al Forno!  I have no idea what this actually means in Italian, and really with my alterations to this dish it should be called Rotini al Forno.  My picture-taking skills being somewhat lacking, this picture really does not do justice to the color and beauty of this dish! 

Here is the original recipe from PCRM's 21-Day Vegan Kickstart with my changes noted in BOLD:

Penne al Forno (or rather Rotini al Forno in my world!)

Serves 4

While you don’t need to bake this dish, it finishes off nicely in the oven, helping everything set and giving the sauce a slightly caramelized taste.

8–10 fresh basil leaves (or 1 tsp dried basil)

2 carrots, sliced

2 stalks celery, sliced (left out 'cause Fred hates celery)

2 zucchini, sliced

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

Water for boiling

16 ounces brown rice penne pasta (I used 3 cups of regular old rotini pasta, would use 2 cups next time)

2 roasted red peppers, chopped (I used canned)

3 Roma tomatoes, chopped

6–8 green olives stuffed with garlic, sliced, or ¼ cup pitted whole kalamata olives (I found some HUGE olives stuffed with garlic & the bottle says 1 olive is a serving, so I used 4 olives)

2 cups Basic Tomato Sauce (see below) (I used 2 8-oz cans of Hunts Garlic Roasted Tomato Sauce.  I would definitely sub one can for a low or no sodium variety.)

Options: 2 cups rinsed cooked cannellini beans (I used one can of white cannellini beans rinsed and drained.)

Roll the basil leaves tightly and slice them into ribbons. Over medium heat, sauté the carrots, celery, zucchini, and onion for about 3 to 5 minutes (this will ensure they are soft enough by the time they are done baking and will help all the flavors meld). Bring the water to a boil. Add the brown rice pasta and stir. Cook the pasta until it is slightly underdone (it will finish cooking in the oven). Immediately mix all the ingredients together in deep baking dish. Cover the dish. (I forgot to cover.) Bake the pasta at 350 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes. If you want to add the beans, stir them into the pasta just after it comes out of the oven.

Making It Simple: Slice all the veggies and forgo sautéing them. Just throw it all in a baking dish and bake it for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Tip: Cook the pasta after you are done preparing the veggies so that it does not sit for a long time.

Based on my changes, per MyFitnessPal, calories were reduced to 323 calories per serving, 63 carbs instead of 119, but reduced protein to 13g from 22g.

Per serving:

• Calories: 607
• Fat: 4.4 g
• Saturated Fat: 0.8 g
• Calories from Fat: 6.1
• Cholesterol: 0
• Protein: 22 g
• Carbohydrates: 119 g
• Sugar: 14.8 g
• Fiber: 10.9 g
• Sodium: 133 mg
• Calcium: 88 mg
• Iron: 5.8 mg
• Vitamin C: 103.3 mg
• Beta Carotene: 3853 mcg
• Vitamin E: 3.7 mg

Source:21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart by Neal Barnard, M.D.; recipe by Jason Wyrick of the Vegan Culinary Experience.

Basic Tomato Sauce

Serves 3

Roma tomatoes are the tomatoes par excellence for sauces. They are inexpensive, and you’ll taste their depth of flavor and robustness in the finished dish.

1/2 yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 medium tomatoes (preferably large Romas), chopped

1/4 cup water

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or oregano or 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

Options: 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin; 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or cilantro

Over medium heat, sauté the onion until it turns a rich brown color. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 more minute. Add the tomatoes and then the water and stir. Add the salt, pepper, and thyme/oregano/rosemary. Simmer the tomatoes until they turn into a sauce (only 3 or 4 minutes for a very fresh tomato sauce, and about 7 to 10 minutes for a smooth, heavily cooked sauce). Press on the tomatoes every 30 seconds or so as they cook to help them release their juices. Add extra water as needed to achieve the desired consistency.

Options: If you use cumin, add it along with the salt and pepper. If you are using fresh basil, stir it into the sauce immediately after it comes off the heat. Only cook the sauce for 3 to 4 minutes and as soon as it comes off the heat, stir in the fresh cilantro.

Making It Simple: Instead of chopping and cooking down the tomatoes, stir in 12 ounces of crushed fire-roasted tomatoes and simmer the sauce until it’s warm.

Per serving:

• Calories: 24
• Fat: 0.2 g
• Saturated Fat: 0 g
• Calories from Fat: 6.3
• Cholesterol: 0
• Protein: 1 g
• Carbohydrates: 5.3 g
• Sugar: 2.7 g
• Fiber: 1.2 g
• Sodium: 104 mg
• Calcium: 17 mg
• Iron: 0.4 mg
• Vitamin C: 11.5 mg
• Beta Carotene: 328 mcg
• Vitamin E: 0.4 mg

21-Day Vegan Re-start Day 4

Breakfast:  Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

Serves 2 to 4

These whole-grain pancakes drizzled with pure maple syrup make for a delicious and hearty breakfast. Blueberries and aluminum-free baking powder add a delicious and healthful touch.

*Note: Aluminum’s role in the brain remains controversial. However, because aluminum has been found in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients, it pays to err on the side of caution. Avoid uncoated aluminum cookware and read labels when buying baking powder, antacids, and processed foods.

1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons flaxseed meal
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder*
Pinch of sea salt
1 cup rice milk or other dairy-free milk
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1-2 teaspoons safflower oil, to brush the skillet
Warmed maple syrup, for drizzling

In a medium bowl, combine the buckwheat flour, whole-wheat pastry flour, flaxseed meal, baking powder, and salt. Whisk briefly to blend. Slowly stir in the rice milk and stir just until the lumps disappear. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Heat a cast-iron griddle or skillet over medium heat, then lightly brush with a little of the safflower oil. Add enough batter to form a 4-inch pancake and cook until the edges look dry and bubbly, about 2 to 3 minutes. Gently flip the pancake and cook on the other side until golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. Serve hot, with warmed maple syrup.

Per pancake: 82 calories, 2 g protein, 16 g carbohydrate, 3 g sugar, 1 g total fat, 13% calories from fat, 2 g fiber, 112 mg sodium

Recipe by natural foods chef Christine Waltermyer, C.H.H.C. via PCRM.org

Lunch:  Leftovers

Dinner:  Curried Tomato Lentil Soup.  I liked this, but Fred said it was not his favorite - but he did eat it all!  This would be tasty with Indian garlic naan bread.  

Curried Tomato Lentil Soup (Shorba Addis)

Serves 3

This recipe is based on an Ethiopian soup with a rich, deep curry flavor and complex textures.

Curried Tomato Lentil Soup (Shorba Addis)

Serves 3

This recipe is based on an Ethiopian soup with a rich, deep curry flavor and complex textures.

(I used 1 tsp organic canola oil for sauting the veggies)

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 small carrot, diced

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon curry powder (berbere is preferable) (I think I accidentally used only 1 teaspoon!)

1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

2 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1/4 cup tomato paste

1/4 cup brown or green lentils

1 Yukon Gold potato, diced (I used a medium Russet potato)

1/4 cup whole wheat orzo pasta

(I added ⅜ tsp salt)

Over medium-high heat, sauté the onion until it is brown. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrot, ginger, garlic, curry powder, and fenugreek, sautéing them for about 1 minute. Add the veggie broth and tomato paste, stirring until the tomato paste is thoroughly combined with the broth. Bring the soup to a simmer. Add the lentils and stir. Once the soup comes back to a simmer, cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Cook the soup for 20 minutes. (My lentils were not done after 20 min.) Add the potato and orzo; cook the soup, covered, for 5 more minutes. (I cooked them for 25 more minutes as the lentils and potatoes were not done.  Plus I added ½ cup more water.)  You will need to stir occasionally and watch the temperature to avoid the soup sticking to the bottom of the pan.

The Gourmet Touch: This is an Ethiopian soup, so its flavor is best created using berbere—an Ethiopian curry mix.

Core Concepts: The key to this soup is timing when you add the ingredients. Lentils require time to cook, while diced potatoes and orzo pasta need only a few minutes; these are best added to a soup during the last few minutes of cooking.

Per serving:

• Calories: 202
• Fat: 1 g
• Saturated Fat: 1 g
• Calories from Fat: 4   
• Cholesterol: 0 mg
• Protein: 8.5 g
• Carbohydrates: 42.3 g
• Sugar: 7.7 g
• Fiber: 7.1 g
• Sodium: 157 mg
• Calcium: 62 mg
• Iron: 4.4 mg
• Vitamin C: 17.2 mg
• Beta Carotene: 1799 mcg
• Vitamin E: 1.7 mg

Source:21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart by Neal Barnard, M.D.; recipe by Jason Wyrick of the Vegan Culinary Experience.

Using http://www.myfitnesspal.com, as a recipe analyzer, the addition of oil and salt increased the sodium per serving to 280.6mg.  Fat increased to 2.1g per serving.

21Day Vegan Restart - Eating Out

Eating out can be a challenge for a vegan or vegetarian, unless you're in New York City!

Some of the vegan options in New York City

My husband and I have now had almost two years' experience (our veganversary is April 4!)  To help you out, the lists below come from a very helpful link at NutritionMD.org. to help you choose healthfully while dining out. 

Candle 79 in New York City, 2012

If you live in Bella Vista, we recommend El Pueblito, located on Forest Hills Boulevard.  Recently, we ate there and ordered their vegetarian fajitas - they were wonderful!  Full of ALL kinds of veggies and not as greasy as some restaurants make theirs. 

Here is another article about eating vegan in restaurants:
Eating Vegan at Chain Restaurants

Dining Out: Expand Your Horizons with World Cuisine
Ethnic restaurants often have healthy vegetarian dairy-free menu items. There may even be some in your neighborhood. Check out just a few of the healthy and interesting meals you'll find.

World Cuisine	Staples	Sample Dishes
Mexican	Rice Beans (refried or black) Fresh vegetablesTortillas	Burritos Soft or hard tacos Vegetable fajitas
Chinese	Fresh vegetables Tofu Rice Noodles	Mixed vegetables in garlic sauce over brown rice Tofu and broccoli in black bean sauce Sweet and sour soup with tofu Vegetable fried rice (no egg)
Italian	Pasta Vegetables Tomatoes Broccoli Spinach Eggplant Mushrooms Onion Soups	Pasta primavera Grilled eggplant with marinara sauce Minestrone (with white beans and pasta)
Middle Eastern	Whole grains Couscous Bulgur Pita bread Rice Vegetables Eggplant Zucchini Peppers Tomatoes Lentils Chickpeas	Hummus with whole wheat pita bread Falafel Tabouleh Filfil Rumi Mahshi (stuffed green peppers) Mujadarra (lentils and rice) Dolmas (grape leaves stuffed with bulgur wheat)
Japanese	Rice Vegetables Cucumber Scallion Cabbage Carrot Sweet potato Udon and soba noodles Seaweed Soybeans, tofu, and miso	Vegetable sushi, avocado, shitake mushroom and cucumber rolls Miso soup Cucumber salad Seaweed salad Edamame (whole soy beans) Sesame soba noodles
Ethiopian	Lentils Vegetables Potatoes Cabbage Collards Tomatoes Injera (flatbread)	Vegetarian platter Yemiser W'et (spicy lentil stew) Yatkilt Alitcha (cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and onions) Timatim Fitfit (fresh salad of chopped tomatoes and onion) Yeabesha Gommen (collard greens)
Vietnamese	Fresh vegetables Tofu Noodles Fresh herbs Rice Peanuts	Vegetable Pho (noodle soup topped with vegetables) Nom (grated vegetable salads seasoned with vinegar and chilis) Fresh spring rolls with noodles and cabbage Vermicelli with grilled vegetables and seasonings

Dining Out: Chains and fast food options

The All-American Chain Restaurant

The tips above should help you order at any restaurant. However, here are a few special suggestions for some common restaurants:

• Chili's: Ask them to make you fajitas with grilled vegetables and rice with a side of beans. Other options include a dinner salad and the Guiltless Tomato Basil Pasta.
• Pizza Hut (or any pizza place): Veggie pizza (hold the cheese)
• California Pizza Kitchen: Veggie calzone (hold the cheese)
• Houston Steak House: Excellent veggie burger (hold the cheese)
• Ruby Tuesday: Huge salad bar loaded with fruits and vegetables. They also have a veggie burger (hold the cheese).
• Fuddruckers: Veggie burger (hold the cheese)
• Johnny Rockets: Steamliner Veggie Burger (hold the cheese)
• Don Pablo's: Portobella mushroom and vegetable fajitas
• Baja Fresh: Vegetarian bare burrito or grilled veggie tacos (hold cheese on both); rice and beans platter
• The Wrap: Teriyaki tofu wrap or bowl; beans and rice burrito (hold the cheese)

Fast Food

While fast food is often a less-than-healthful option, sometimes it can work out just fine. If you're stuck on a long road trip or caught with only five minutes to spare before your meeting, vegan options are available at many fast-food restaurants.

• Chipotle: Beans and rice burrito (hold the guacamole, hold the cheese and sour cream)
• Subway: Veggie Delite sub on whole wheat or Veggie Delite salad (hold the cheese, hold the mayo, light on the oil).
• Blimpie: VegiMax, (hold the cheese and mayo, hold the oil)

They didn't mention Wendy's.  At Wendy's we order a baked potato and a side salad.  It would be great if they offered salsa to top the potato, but they don't, and trust me when I say that ketchup is not the same.  (Yuck!).

21-Day Vegan Re-start Day 3 - A hit!

Day 3 of our 21-Day Vegan Re-start:

Breakfast:  Old-Fashioned oats, organic unsweetened West Soy soymilk, cubed raw mango pieces, a little organic evaporated cane juice for extra sweetness.  Oats are my day-to-day standby breakfast of choice because you can add so many different things to it to make it taste different.  

Lunch:  Baked potato at a restaurant with sautéed mushrooms.  Unfortunately, I cheated today and had butter, sour cream and a sprinkling of cheese on the potato as well.  That's ok, I'll jump right back onto my vegan eating plan and forgive myself for eating some animal-derived products.  I believe there are degrees of success.  For me, eating food products that come FROM an animal that you don't have to actually kill the poor animal to obtain fits better with the yogic philosophy of Ahimsa (to cause no harm, nonviolence towards all living beings including animals), than to eat actual meat.

Dinner:  I took pity upon Fred, and made something for dinner that I knew he would love!   I added some Wholly Guacamole single serve (1/2 tub for each of us) on top.

Blue Corn Chip Salad - 21day Vegan Kickstart

Serves 2

4 cups baked blue corn chips (other colored corn chips can be substituted)

1 small head red-leaf lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces

16 ounces cooked black beans, rinsed

1 cup salsa

3 roasted red peppers, sliced into strips about 2" long by 1/2" thick

1 Roma tomato, diced

Options: 1/4 cup pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)

Place the corn chips on the plates first, followed by the lettuce, then the beans, then the tomatoes, then the salsa, and top it off with the sliced roasted red peppers.

Options: If you add pepitas, make them the final ingredients you place on the salad.

Per serving:

• Calories: 380
• Fat: 5.3 g
• Saturated Fat: 0.5 g
• Calories from Fat: 12.1
• Cholesterol: 0 mg
• Protein: 11.5 g
• Carbohydrates: 75.7 g
• Sugar: 18 g
• Fiber: 11.4 g
• Sodium: 1182 mg
• Calcium: 111 mg
• Iron: 6.2 mg
• Vitamin C: 304 mg
• Beta Carotene: 9900 mcg
• Vitamin E: 5.9 mg

Source:21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart by Neal Barnard, M.D.; recipe by Jason Wyrick of the Vegan Culinary Experience.

Namaste'
Carrie

21-Day Vegan Re-Kickstart - Day 2

Day 2 of our Vegan Re-Kickstart:

Breakfast was super easy!  Mesa Sunrise Cereal by Nature's Path with a sliced banana and a tablespoon of hemp seeds.  I love the taste of this cereal plus it's organic and gluten-free!  Hemp seeds are soooo good for you.   Seeds of the plant cannabis sativa, hemp seed, contain all the essential amino acids and essential fatty acids necessary to maintain healthy human life. No other single plant source has the essential amino acids in such an easily digestible form, nor has the essential fatty acids in as perfect a ratio to meet human nutritional needs.  Plus, they taste good!  They have a mild nutty taste even though they are seeds.

Lunch was also an easy task - leftover Amy's Organic Lentil Vegetable Soup and a cup of leftover Couscous Confetti Salad.

Dinner today was Hoppin' John Salad and Kwick Kale.  

HOPPIN’ JOHN SALAD - (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

Makes about 10 1/2-cup servings or 5 1-cup servings

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked black-eyed peas, or 1 15-ounce can black-eyed peas, drained

1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice

1/2 cup finely sliced green onions

1 tomato, diced

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley (optional)

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 - 2 garlic cloves, crushed

Directions:

Combine black-eyed peas, rice, green onions, tomato, and parsley in a mixing bowl.  In a small bowl, mix together lemon juice, oil, salt, and garlic and pour over the salad.  Toss gently.  Chill 1 to 2 hours if time permits.

Nutrition:

Per 1/2-cup serving

• Calories: 91
• Fat: 1.9 g
• Saturated Fat: 0.3 g
• Calories from Fat: 18.5%
• Cholesterol: 0 mg
• Protein: 3.7 g
• Carbohydrates: 15.4 g
• Sugar: 1.3 g
• Fiber: 3.6 g
• Sodium: 68 mg
• Calcium: 20 mg
• Iron: 1.2 mg
• Vitamin C: 5.4 mg
• Beta Carotene: 137 mcg
• Vitamin E: 0.4 mg

Source: Turn Off the Fat Genes by Neal D. Barnard, M.D.; recipe by Jennifer Raymond M.S., R.D.

HaHa!  This picture kind of looks like a quirky smiley face!  Fred was not smiling too much when I served him this for dinner.  I could have sworn that he liked this the last time I made it.  Not so much this time - in fact he said he had to force himself to eat it.  I on the other hand, loved the lemony, vinegary taste of the bean salad.  So, I guess I will have to retire this recipe unless I want to eat it all myself.  

Namaste'
Carrie

21-Day Vegan Kickstart Program - Day 1

Happy 2014!!  I hope that this New Year will bring wonderful things to everyone!

Have you made any New Years' Resolutions?  I no longer make "official" resolutions.  I do like to think about what is really important to me at this point in time and recommit to making time for those things.  One of those important things is healthy eating.  So, just like we did in 2011 when we first adopted a vegan lifestyle, we are jumpstarting or kickstarting our eating plan again using PCRM's 21-Day Vegan Kickstart plan.  Over the past year in particular, we have not been as diligent in eating a totally vegan menu.  It is very difficult when eating out or visiting family to completely avoid ALL animal products (i.e. milk, butter, eggs, cheese).  So rather than making a big fuss about it, and trying to avoid making others uncomfortable with our choices, we have eaten in more of a vegetarian style than vegan.  I will still not knowingly eat any meat, poultry, or fish.

Today is the first day of the program, and I am actually picking and choosing recipes from former and current programs.  For lunch today, we had Couscous Confetti Salad and seasoned Black-eyed Peas (in honor of New Years' Day traditions!)  

Couscous Confetti Salad

Makes about 8 1-cup servings

Couscous is pasta from northern Africa that cooks almost instantly and makes a beautiful and flavorful salad. Whole-wheat couscous is sold in natural food stores and some supermarkets.

1 ¹/₂ cups dry whole-wheat couscous
2 cups boiling water
3 - 4 green onions, finely chopped, including tops (I left out)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 carrot, grated
1 - 2 cup finely shredded red cabbage
¹/₂ cup finely chopped fresh parsley (I used about 1 T. dried parsley)
¹/₂ cup golden raisins or chopped dried apricots (I left this out)
1 juice of 1 lemon
¹/₄ cup seasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 ¹/₂ teaspoons salt 

In a large bowl, combine couscous and boiling water. Stir to mix, then cover and let stand until all the water has been absorbed, 5 to 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Add green onions, bell pepper, carrot, cabbage, parsley, and raisins or apricots.

In a small bowl mix lemon juice, vinegar, oil, curry powder, and salt. Add to salad and toss to mix. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Per 1-cup serving

• Calories: 194
• Fat: 2.1 g
• Saturated Fat: 0.3 g
• Calories from Fat: 9.8%
• Cholesterol: 0 mg
• Protein: 5.2 g
• Carbohydrates: 40.2 g
• Sugar: 10 g
• Fiber: 4.2 g
• Sodium: 283 mg
• Calcium: 33 mg
• Iron: 1.1 mg
• Vitamin C: 40.9 mg
• Beta Carotene: 1157 mcg
• Vitamin E: 0.7 mg

Source: Healthy Eating for Life to Prevent and Treat Diabetes by Patricia Bertron, R.D.; recipe by Jennifer Raymond, M.S., R.D.

Tonight we will have one of our favorite's - Southern Beans and Greens, which I have written about here:  Southern Beans and Greens.

Namaste'
Carrie

Hello all my Yogi and Yogini friends!  Remember to take time out for your Yoga practice - there's nothing like some Yoga to help center yourself during all the madness of shopping and travel during the holidays.

Remember there will be no Yoga class at Metfield in Bella Vista on Dec 24, 26 or 31.  Also, no SilverSneakers YogaStretch on Dec. 23 or 28th.  There WILL be YogaStretch at Branchwood on Dec. 30th, thanks to Peg Corcoran, who will be subbing for me.

Merry Christmas to you all!