I've been offered a challenge, and I accepted.
Today begins the 28 Day Challenge featuring the dietary stylings of Rip Esselstyn, author of the Engine 2 Diet. I have done Engine 2 before, a couple years ago, and stuck with it pretty hardcore for about 4 months. The lingerings of what I learned about plant-based eating formed the basis of how I think about food today... although I am sorely in need of a reboot.
This morning I ordered a book by one of my favorite plant-based bloggers, Lyndsay Nixon of Happy Herbivore. I've found the recipes she posts are tasty and simple, and align with E-2 in their no-oil-ality. E-2 can get a little complex, so having cookbooks like Everyday Happy Herbivore and Appetite for Reduction will be welcome departures.
Speaking of AFR, allow me a minute to sing the praises of Isa Chandra Moskowitz. I love every single one of the books I own by her (I think I have all but 2 or 3, as she has a Vegan with a Vengeance empire by now), and AFR is hugely recommended for anyone trying to get healthy. Girl can cook, for sure.
Alright. Enough talk, let's do this.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
NoPulpLeftBehind Bread
Juicing is fantastic. The amount of end product left behind is not, especially if you plan on tossing it in the garbage. It's a huge waste of nutrients and cold hard cash to throw away perfectly good juicing pulp.
If you've never used a Breville juicer, I'll tell you right now that though I adore the thing, the spent vegetables and fruit spinning out into the pulp collector are not hard, useless fiber rocks. Greens are challenging to juice because the spinning blades tend to juice a more solid item better (carrots and celery, for instance, fare better). Soft citrus fruits give out a lot of juice, but this kind of juicer isn't ideal for them and the juice comes out frothy, the pulp a ravaged but fairly intact moist fruit skin. But even the harder items have a slightly wet pulp, with plenty of vitamins and phytonutrients left amongst the fibrous remains.
Reusing the pulp has become a mission of mine. I love my spicy broth with kombu and cayenne. It fills you up and satisfies you, but let's be real here... you can only make (and drink) so much broth when you are juicing for two people two to three times a day! My dogs have adored the fruit & veggie pulp treats I've made them a few times, and we give them plenty of shredded carrots, beets, and greens with their dinner and they LOVE it. Still, a pile of pulp remains that has much goodness left within.
Last week, I decided to make loaf bread and muffins. We have carrot cake, zucchini bread, and banana loaf, so why not combine aspects from all three, along with my veganizing, oil free awesomeness? I had one banana left which was at the perfect stage of softness, so I mushed that up with just a couple tablespoons of raw honey. I soaked some chia seeds to serve as the binder. I gathered two heaping cups of the best pulp from the morning's juicing--apples, carrots, kale, zucchini, strawberries, and beets--and whisked them with a bit of bottled tangerine juice (we had bought this prior to juicing, not a bad use for it). I grated fresh ginger into that for some bite. Then I whizzed up a flour blend in the vitamix from oats, almonds, flax, lentils, amaranth, and whole wheat. This was a heavy batter, so I threw in big spoonfuls of baking powder AND soda, and seasoned it with cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg, and allspice, and stirred in a teaspoon of vanilla.
I hardly need to tell you that the batter tasted amazing.
Hoping against hope that my calculations of time and temperature would do the trick to fully bake this dense and super moist bread, I put the mini loaf pans in 15 minutes before the muffin tins. When the timer went off and I hesitantly opened one of the muffins, it was steamy inside but set. They had risen just enough, and even though the bits of green that were exposed on top were a little, erm, charred, they were spicy, slightly sweet, and delicious.
My next experiment may be pulp soup. Stay tuned.
If you've never used a Breville juicer, I'll tell you right now that though I adore the thing, the spent vegetables and fruit spinning out into the pulp collector are not hard, useless fiber rocks. Greens are challenging to juice because the spinning blades tend to juice a more solid item better (carrots and celery, for instance, fare better). Soft citrus fruits give out a lot of juice, but this kind of juicer isn't ideal for them and the juice comes out frothy, the pulp a ravaged but fairly intact moist fruit skin. But even the harder items have a slightly wet pulp, with plenty of vitamins and phytonutrients left amongst the fibrous remains.
Reusing the pulp has become a mission of mine. I love my spicy broth with kombu and cayenne. It fills you up and satisfies you, but let's be real here... you can only make (and drink) so much broth when you are juicing for two people two to three times a day! My dogs have adored the fruit & veggie pulp treats I've made them a few times, and we give them plenty of shredded carrots, beets, and greens with their dinner and they LOVE it. Still, a pile of pulp remains that has much goodness left within.
Last week, I decided to make loaf bread and muffins. We have carrot cake, zucchini bread, and banana loaf, so why not combine aspects from all three, along with my veganizing, oil free awesomeness? I had one banana left which was at the perfect stage of softness, so I mushed that up with just a couple tablespoons of raw honey. I soaked some chia seeds to serve as the binder. I gathered two heaping cups of the best pulp from the morning's juicing--apples, carrots, kale, zucchini, strawberries, and beets--and whisked them with a bit of bottled tangerine juice (we had bought this prior to juicing, not a bad use for it). I grated fresh ginger into that for some bite. Then I whizzed up a flour blend in the vitamix from oats, almonds, flax, lentils, amaranth, and whole wheat. This was a heavy batter, so I threw in big spoonfuls of baking powder AND soda, and seasoned it with cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg, and allspice, and stirred in a teaspoon of vanilla.
I hardly need to tell you that the batter tasted amazing.
Hoping against hope that my calculations of time and temperature would do the trick to fully bake this dense and super moist bread, I put the mini loaf pans in 15 minutes before the muffin tins. When the timer went off and I hesitantly opened one of the muffins, it was steamy inside but set. They had risen just enough, and even though the bits of green that were exposed on top were a little, erm, charred, they were spicy, slightly sweet, and delicious.
My next experiment may be pulp soup. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Beeting Heart
I love this photo. Beets have come to be one of my favorite vegetables. They have a quirkiness to them for sure, they stand out once rooted out of the soil... much as they would prefer to blend in and hide. Sweet, bright yet dark, beautiful, unexpected. They leave their mark on everything they touch.
For in depth nutritional info on beets, go here: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=49
For in depth nutritional info on beets, go here: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=49
Friday, March 2, 2012
Ten Pounds
Brief post to say that this morning (the day after I worked a pretty physical eight hour work shift moving and lifting 50 pound boxes all day!), my scale says 123.4 today! I even ate a big no oil hummus wrap yesterday (cut it up and ate it in thirds between juices).
That makes a ten pound weight loss in six days, folks.
*Tapdance*
That makes a ten pound weight loss in six days, folks.
*Tapdance*
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Ramblings on Juicing
You know what's good? Food you can chew! I decided to stop fighting my instincts and start incorporating more food into my days of juicing. So yesterday I had my banana and bit of avocado after I got home from work, before dinner juice. After dinner, I had a couple bites of canned cannellini beans. Perhaps not the highest of culinary escapades, but my god those beans tasted fantastic.
Then there was today. After breakfast juice, I ate half a sumo mandarin, and made a little plate of sweet brown rice with beans, some avocado, tahini cashew dressing I made right before we bought the juicer, and a splash of Papalote roasted tomato salsa (which, by the way, is the most amazing salsa I've ever put in my mouth, for reals). It was a perfect tiny meal, and I followed it the rest of the day with broth I made from last night's dinner juice pulp. After dinner juice tonight I had a few raw cashews and almonds. The amount of real food I actually ate was fairly tiny, but it did feel strangely like I basically gorged myself.
I realize this has gone from blog to food diary, so allow me to steer us back onto the road. Let's talk hoe to juice and why. You should be buying lots and lots of greens, as they are the most nutrient-dense vegetables and are, in essence, a miracle food. In five days, wifey and I have probably gone through a dozen bunches of greens, including kale, chard, and collards. That doesn't include the spinach, cabbage, or beet greens.
By the way, bunched beets are probably the best deal you can find in the produce department. At Whole Foods, one bunch of organic beets is $1.99, and usually you can find a bunch with three huge or four medium beets, with a gorgeous mane of red-blooded greens the size of your typical bunch of kale. Do you realize how happy that makes me? It's like a two-for-one. We've gone through about three or four of these beet bunches. Beets are super sweet and put out a good amount of juice, turn your juice blood red (unless it's a golden beet, still delish without the dramatic flair of color), and the greens of red beets put out red juice as well. If your pee turns red after eating or drinking beets (a condition called beeturia, no joke), you may have an iron deficiency. Fun fact, before I started juicing I used to have beeturia, but it hasn't happened since day one, even though I'm drinking one or two beets a day. That's because I'm consuming so many dark leafy greens--and adding citrus to the greens juice helps your body absorb more iron, so the lemon, kiwi, or oranges have a role to play beyond just being delicious.
The other amazing produce deal is the five pound bag of carrots for under five bucks. We're on our second bag, because carrot juice is amazing and delicious and we juice at least a couple carrots in every juice. Some folks say carrot juice can cure cancer. I also just read that drinking it can solve symptoms of vitamin A deficiency like night blindness, which wifey has, so I'm curious to see if hers goes away after juicing.
Now that I'm essentially a juicing expert (kidding, but I'm really good at it right?), I need to add a workout into the mix. I sometimes run with my dogs on their walks, have a job that usually keeps me on my feet at least six hours a day, and I'm one of those nervous energy types who can't sit still for very long. That's about all I've got. It would be tragic if I end up gaining weight when this juice fast (as it were) ends. Yes, I know I'm playing it fast and loose with the word tragic, but I'm so looking forward to getting back to the weight I was at my wedding, and not be skinny because planning a wedding is harrowingly stressful... but because I'm healthy. Woot.
Then there was today. After breakfast juice, I ate half a sumo mandarin, and made a little plate of sweet brown rice with beans, some avocado, tahini cashew dressing I made right before we bought the juicer, and a splash of Papalote roasted tomato salsa (which, by the way, is the most amazing salsa I've ever put in my mouth, for reals). It was a perfect tiny meal, and I followed it the rest of the day with broth I made from last night's dinner juice pulp. After dinner juice tonight I had a few raw cashews and almonds. The amount of real food I actually ate was fairly tiny, but it did feel strangely like I basically gorged myself.
I realize this has gone from blog to food diary, so allow me to steer us back onto the road. Let's talk hoe to juice and why. You should be buying lots and lots of greens, as they are the most nutrient-dense vegetables and are, in essence, a miracle food. In five days, wifey and I have probably gone through a dozen bunches of greens, including kale, chard, and collards. That doesn't include the spinach, cabbage, or beet greens.
By the way, bunched beets are probably the best deal you can find in the produce department. At Whole Foods, one bunch of organic beets is $1.99, and usually you can find a bunch with three huge or four medium beets, with a gorgeous mane of red-blooded greens the size of your typical bunch of kale. Do you realize how happy that makes me? It's like a two-for-one. We've gone through about three or four of these beet bunches. Beets are super sweet and put out a good amount of juice, turn your juice blood red (unless it's a golden beet, still delish without the dramatic flair of color), and the greens of red beets put out red juice as well. If your pee turns red after eating or drinking beets (a condition called beeturia, no joke), you may have an iron deficiency. Fun fact, before I started juicing I used to have beeturia, but it hasn't happened since day one, even though I'm drinking one or two beets a day. That's because I'm consuming so many dark leafy greens--and adding citrus to the greens juice helps your body absorb more iron, so the lemon, kiwi, or oranges have a role to play beyond just being delicious.
The other amazing produce deal is the five pound bag of carrots for under five bucks. We're on our second bag, because carrot juice is amazing and delicious and we juice at least a couple carrots in every juice. Some folks say carrot juice can cure cancer. I also just read that drinking it can solve symptoms of vitamin A deficiency like night blindness, which wifey has, so I'm curious to see if hers goes away after juicing.
Now that I'm essentially a juicing expert (kidding, but I'm really good at it right?), I need to add a workout into the mix. I sometimes run with my dogs on their walks, have a job that usually keeps me on my feet at least six hours a day, and I'm one of those nervous energy types who can't sit still for very long. That's about all I've got. It would be tragic if I end up gaining weight when this juice fast (as it were) ends. Yes, I know I'm playing it fast and loose with the word tragic, but I'm so looking forward to getting back to the weight I was at my wedding, and not be skinny because planning a wedding is harrowingly stressful... but because I'm healthy. Woot.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Day Three
Today marks my third full day of juicing, a little milestone for me. I planned to do at least three days, see how I felt, and consider my options. Despite a headache yesterday and the evening cravings (which I recognize as NOT hunger due to the fact that my stomach has not rumbled once on this juice fast...!), I feel fine overall and am going to juice again tomorrow. Woot! Check out the gorgeous ingredients that composed our dinner tonight. We used five types of greens (dino kale, chard, beet greens, spinach and cabbage), carrots, tomatoes, asparagus, beet, red pepper, celery, apple, and cucumber. I may even be forgetting a thing or two. It was the most delicious juice wifey has made yet.
Today I had a mostly fruit juice for breakfast, and brought a juice to work again for lunch. I drank that by 11:30 or so (stressful morning--does chugging my juice early count as stress eating?), so I had an iced goji berry green tea on my actual lunch break at 1. We had dinner around 6 and I was mildly hungry at that point, but certainly not ready to kill anyone for a Klondike bar or anything.
I weighed in at 125.6 tonight, a couple hours after my snack of a quarter of an avocado and lots of water. Giving myself the leeway to eat something at night has allowed me to get a little extra nutrition (I think the healthy fats are keeping me sane, to be quite honest) and let me feel that I'm not depriving myself. I actually feel pretty great and that with every juice, I am treating my body to something it needs, and has been craving. And my body has thanked me today by not giving me any more stomach issues, thank you god.
Work comes early tomorrow, so for now I must sleep.
Today I had a mostly fruit juice for breakfast, and brought a juice to work again for lunch. I drank that by 11:30 or so (stressful morning--does chugging my juice early count as stress eating?), so I had an iced goji berry green tea on my actual lunch break at 1. We had dinner around 6 and I was mildly hungry at that point, but certainly not ready to kill anyone for a Klondike bar or anything.
I weighed in at 125.6 tonight, a couple hours after my snack of a quarter of an avocado and lots of water. Giving myself the leeway to eat something at night has allowed me to get a little extra nutrition (I think the healthy fats are keeping me sane, to be quite honest) and let me feel that I'm not depriving myself. I actually feel pretty great and that with every juice, I am treating my body to something it needs, and has been craving. And my body has thanked me today by not giving me any more stomach issues, thank you god.
Work comes early tomorrow, so for now I must sleep.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Cheating
Actually, I cheated last night too, but I cheated more today, hence the title.
After a good strong day of juicing, and a minor headache that felt major because I so rarely get headaches (which I cured with a glass of iced twig tea, low in caffeine but with enough of it to take the edge off), I felt good about this juice fast. I had made two juices this morning, one for breakfast and one to take to work for my lunch. Then, soon after my dinner juice made by wifey--a tomatoey, celery-y, beety and greeny glass of tastiness--I had some sort of intestinal issue. An hour later, again.
I shall spare you the details, as I hope to keep this blog classy.
I will add that I've lost six pounds since the night of my first juice two days ago. I weighed in at 127.6 tonight. Now, my weight normally fluctuates a few pounds anyway, but I do feel I'm being cleansed. For sure. Maybe I've even lost a real pound or two.
I decided that I've been doing super great doing just juice for over two days straight (with a few bites of avocado last night, s'what?), and I was so craving something sweet and creamy. So I ate the other half of the avocado and a banana. They were so delicious.
If you tell me that eating a couple pieces of fresh organic produce during a cleanse is wrong, I will tell you that YOU'RE wrong, friend! I googled it. Bananas and avocados are actually the two fruits that can help make a juice fast safer for people with conditions like diabetes, because they are slow to digest and help stabilize your blood sugar. I don't have any conditions, but that sounds good enough to me.
I do feel as though I've eaten a fairly heavy meal right now, though perhaps those slow-digesting fruits will ease up the effects of this fast on my gut. I don't plan on cheating all the time, because after all, I want this fast to kick-start my metabolism and stabilize my mood, as well as detoxify my body. But if I do, I'm proud of myself for choosing healthy choices that, frankly, would be awful for juicing. Which makes me brilliant, really, for rounding out my juice diet! Like what I did there? I made my puny willpower sound like science.
After a good strong day of juicing, and a minor headache that felt major because I so rarely get headaches (which I cured with a glass of iced twig tea, low in caffeine but with enough of it to take the edge off), I felt good about this juice fast. I had made two juices this morning, one for breakfast and one to take to work for my lunch. Then, soon after my dinner juice made by wifey--a tomatoey, celery-y, beety and greeny glass of tastiness--I had some sort of intestinal issue. An hour later, again.
I shall spare you the details, as I hope to keep this blog classy.
I will add that I've lost six pounds since the night of my first juice two days ago. I weighed in at 127.6 tonight. Now, my weight normally fluctuates a few pounds anyway, but I do feel I'm being cleansed. For sure. Maybe I've even lost a real pound or two.
I decided that I've been doing super great doing just juice for over two days straight (with a few bites of avocado last night, s'what?), and I was so craving something sweet and creamy. So I ate the other half of the avocado and a banana. They were so delicious.
If you tell me that eating a couple pieces of fresh organic produce during a cleanse is wrong, I will tell you that YOU'RE wrong, friend! I googled it. Bananas and avocados are actually the two fruits that can help make a juice fast safer for people with conditions like diabetes, because they are slow to digest and help stabilize your blood sugar. I don't have any conditions, but that sounds good enough to me.
I do feel as though I've eaten a fairly heavy meal right now, though perhaps those slow-digesting fruits will ease up the effects of this fast on my gut. I don't plan on cheating all the time, because after all, I want this fast to kick-start my metabolism and stabilize my mood, as well as detoxify my body. But if I do, I'm proud of myself for choosing healthy choices that, frankly, would be awful for juicing. Which makes me brilliant, really, for rounding out my juice diet! Like what I did there? I made my puny willpower sound like science.
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