Whole Wheat Pita Sandwich and Aspargus

This pita has red peppers, onions, mushrooms, chick peas (protein) and soy cheese. I put everything in the pita then I put it on my george foreman grill to heat it up. Added some steamed asparagus to finish it off.

Falafel, asparagus and mushrooms

Here is a yummy really quick meal. I cooked the asparagus in water and when it was almost tender I threw it in to the pan where the falafel was cooking in 2 tbsp's of olive oil, just to sautee it a little bit. Falafel is high in protein and is REALLY yummy!

20 Worst Drinks in America

This is absolutely DISGUSTING!!! Please look at it so you learn what you are drinking, or what your children are consuming!!!

http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slide/worst-water?slideshow=184612#title

Asparagus, Collard Greens, Chick Peas and CousCous

This is one of my quick lazy meals, but it is still really good. I don't like doing dishes or cooking really, so I just sauteed up some asparagus, Collard greens, chickpeas then added in the left over couscous to warm it up. I only had to dirty one dish to cook it and it took about 15 minutes!

Roasted Veggies with Spicy CousCous

Roasted Peppers, carrots, mushrooms, few potatoes, asparagus. I put them in a bowl and mixed some olive oil, fresh garlic, oregano and mixed it up. Baked them for about 35 minutes at 400, then took it out and added chick peas for a higher protein, then baked for another 25 minutes. The couscous is plain but when I made it I mixed some of my epicure Malaysia spice into it, perfect spicy kick! I could eat this every day if I had the time!

Rice paper wraps + Mocha Frap

So I haven't updated this in quite a while, and I honestly don't remember exactly what was put in these. I know there is lettuce, carrots, bean sprouts, onion, peppers and a little bit of soy sauce, then I just wrapped it up in Rice paper wraps that I soaked for a few seconds. This was so easy, basically salad in a wrap, easy for an on the run meal.

The Mocha Frap is from Starbucks and made with Soy milk. YUMMMMY!!

Fav new breaky

Oh so simple. Peanut butter and Jam on toast.... Only not jam, real strawberries (or other favorite jam fruit!!). I also do this with raspberries.

SWEET FREEDOM!!!!

How awesome is this cookbook?? I am definitely ordering this one, these desserts look amazing!

http://sweetfreedomcookbook.wordpress.com/

I haven't posted much in the last few weeks. We have been very busy, which makes me not very creative in the cooking aspect. I have mostly been eating things that were posted here, or a version of it. Tons of Veggies, brown rice, and a new favorite Whole Grain Toast with Peanut Butter and Strawberries!! It is like Jam, but better :)

For local meat eaters!

So in my quest of finding the healthiest way to eat for myself and my family I have been trying to find a way to get Cole and Chad eating healthier. Chad is not willing to give up meat, and Cole wants to do what Dad does. So since I am absolutely disgusted in how the animals are treated and fed in feed lots along with all the antibiotics and hormones injected into them, I have been wanting to buy locally.

I found a ranch in Creston BC that raises cattle and sells meat. They have cattle that are strictly grass fed, which is the healthiest as that is the way a cow is supposed to eat. They are not meant to eat grain, which is all they get in feed lots. They also have cattle that is grain finished and is a little cheaper. I am sure they are not fed nearly like a fed lot, so would still be a lot healthier to ingest, but I am sticking with the grass fed cattle.

They also have naturally grown and fed chickens and turkeys. This is where I will be purchasing my meat from now on. Please check out their site!

http://kootenaynaturalmeats.com/

Recipe

I am going to start putting the recipes of everything I make on here, I am not going back and putting them all in here, but if you would like one let me know and I will post it.

Here is the recipe for the Oat Bran Muffins:
1.5 cups of Soy Milk
1.5 oat bran
1.25 cups of flour
1tsp of baking powder
1tsp of baking soda
1/3 cup of vegetable oil, or which ever you use
1 tbsp of egg replacer
.5 cup of agave nectar
tsp of vanilla
1 cup of blueberries fresh or frozen, or which ever you would like in there.

Couscous stirfry?

Lately I have been just throwing together what ever is in the fridge and making some type of meal. This is sauteed Bok Choy, Mushrooms, Onion, Bean Sprouts in a tbsp of olive oil, couple cloves of garlic and black pepper. Then I just put the couscous in the pan just long enough to warm it up. I really enjoy it, but some may find it boring.

Falafel Burger with sauteed asparagus and mushrooms

I didn't make the falafel from scratch, I just got the mix where I just had to add water. It make quite a bit, 3 burgers, and 1 filled me up, but I will have lunch for tomorrow.

Burger night!

I LOVE this meal. These sweet potato fries are perfection! Cut them up, put a little bit of olive oil in the bowl, few cloves of garlic and some oregano, stir and bake for 45 minutes at 405 F. I had a vegan burger with soy cheese on toasted bread with all the typical burger toppings.

Lunch for Cole and I

I have an Avocado, Cucumber and rice in a Nori wrap. It was pretty tastey, I am not a sushi maker, but it had the ingredients and the wrap. I quite enjoyed it. Cole had Veggie Nuggets with Brown rice and cucumber slices. He wasn't to sure about the nuggets but had 2 of them.

Oat bran muffins with Blueberries and raspberries

These are pretty good, Cole loves to have them for breakfast.

Changes I have noticed

Well, it has been over a month since my decision to eliminate meat, and all dairy products. I feel great, have a lot of energy. I have lost 24lbs, which makes me very happy. I still have a long ways to go, but I don't feel defeted, or that it is impossible. This is not like any diet I have tried, it is easy. I don't know how to explain it, but I don't crave anything, I don't care to have pizza or a cookie. I am completely focused.

I have noticed that my eczema is pretty much completely gone. I don't have to use any concealer under my eyes as there is never dark skin there. I noticed the other day after the shower that I haven't had to clean wax out of my ears. But the change I have noticed is my energy, my body needs 7 hrs of sleep, and absolutely no more. I wake up 7 hrs after I went to bed, and feel perfectly refreshed. I couldn't sleep in if I tried.

Soft rice porridge

I think I may have this for breaky every day! I had left over rice so I cooked it again to make it really soft, I cooked it with some raisins then strained it and added a tsp of Maple syrup, it was really good. I also made some vegan sausages that were pretty good.

Baby Bok Choy with Garlic rice

This looks pretty plain, but is probably one of my favorite meals I have had. Loving the baby Bok Choy!! I steamed it and drizzled a little bit of olive oil and red wine vinegar on top with some black pepper. The rice is brown rice with garlic and a little bit of soy sauce.

PIZZA!!!

I was craving pizza badly, really badly. It was the first real craving I have had since starting to eat like this. I made my own dough, which was pretty thick, I should have spread it out more to make it thinner. It is made with whole wheat flour, water, yeast and some olive oil, pretty simple. Then I put Peppers, mushrooms, kale, onion, and zucchini on top with a little bit of soy cheese. It definitely hit the spot!

Kids love fried Eggplant!

Well, Cole loves it anyway. I got the idea on line. Cut the eggplant into .5" thick stripes and run under water then coat with a pancake batter (without sugar, milk or eggs) and put in frying pan with some olive oil. After they were nice and crispy I let them sit on paper towel to soak up excess oil and then fed them to Cole. They were really tasty. I imagine you could do the same thing with Zucchini.

Stuffed peppers and pasta dinner

This is a big meal! It was a hit with my Dad and Joanne, but not with Chad and Cole, lol.... It is Peppers stuffed with Zucchini, tomatoes, onions and buckwheat. The pasta is brown rice pasta with sundried tomatoes, asparagus and mushrooms in a creamy soy based sauce..... SOOOO GOOD.

Avocado Salad and Burrito

Avocado Salad, with tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and cilantro and a little bit of lemon juice for dressing. It looks pretty small, but it was just a really large plate.

The burrito was SOOO good. It was a spicy refried beans and brown rice with some fajita seasoning. I put a little bit of Salsa in it as well but it would have been just as good with out the salsa. Cole didn't enjoy the refried beans, they were a little to spicy for his liking, I didn't realize the were that spicy.

Rice pasta with Sundried tomatoes, mushrooms and asparagus

I had some left over pasta so wanted to do something with it for lunch. I have a recipe that I was planning to make that required sun-dried tomatoes, so I threw this together. I just used a little of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes to saute them and the mushrooms and asparagus then just mixed it with the pasta. It was delicious.

Sushi

I LOVE sushi, so I was a little worried that when I ate it I would be disappointed and want the dynamite roll and spicy tuna roll that I used to love. However, I was extremely happy with what I got. I got a Cucumber Roll, Spicy Veggie roll, and a unbelievably good avocado roll. I liked it so much when I went last week, I got an order to go last night for supper.

The soy sauce I used to have had tons of preservatives in it, so I got some from the health food store, that is the same price, but doesn't have the crap in it.

Chocolate Soy Milk

So in my quest to help my family get eating healthier I decided to get some chocolate soy milk for Cole. It was a hit!! It has the exact same look and consistency, a little bit different taste, but Cole liked it. I am pretty excited about this :)

This morning I compared the ingredients in the soy and rice milk to the cow milk. Soy and Milk is lower and fat, and has no cholesterol. Since soy and rice are fortified they have the same amount of calcium and the soy had higher iron and vitamin B12 amounts. The soy milk has less protein, but that was really the only thing I noticed that was lower.

Snack

Here is a snack that I had the other day. Yummy organic strawberries, and 2 maple cookies. The cookies have Maple syrup, flour, vanilla, egg replacer and vegan margarine. Cole LOVES these cookies :)

2 bean chili

This is a great meal to have handy if you are short on time. I make a bunch then have it in serving sizes in the freezer, so if I don't know what to do for lunch I just grab it and it thaws by lunch. There are black beans, kidney beans, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, mushrooms, green and red peppers, jalapeno peppers, corn and onion in it. Very yummy and high in protein! Sorry about the quality of the pic, it doesn't look nearly as appetizing as it is.

Avocado sandwich and Edamame

For supper today I had a Avocado sandwich with Tomato, red onion and lettuce on a vegan multigrain bread. I also had a side of edamame, This is quite a big supper but I was going for a big hike in the evening and wanted to make sure I had the energy.

Yummy lunch

Today I made a salad for lunch. Lettuce, broccoli, kale, cucumber, red onion, tomato, strawberries, pumpkin seeds and vinegar and olive oil dressing. I also have a vegan oatmeal bar for dessert. There is oatmeal, flax seed meal, walnuts, agave nectar, raisins, egg replacer and cinnamon in these bars. YUMMY!!!

New Goal to purchase locally

After learning the hormones and crap that is injected into animals and produce to make them bigger my goal is to try and purchase local meat and produce. I will let you know how this goes since Cranbrook isn't exactly a city full of options.

Have you ever noticed the size difference between a head of lettuce and an organice head of lettuce??? Not just lettuce, everything even the cucumbers are half the size. Kinda makes you wonder.

Hello!

After reading "Skinny Bitch" on March 28/10 I was thoroughly disgusted with what I read. The antibiotics, steroids, growth hormones that are in our food is awful. What I read in that book made sense to me. Why would we drink milk? We are the only species that drinks milk after being weaned, nevermind another species milk. I also read about how to live healthy with out meat and dairy, and how it is not necessary to be healthy. There are lots of other ways to get the calcium, protein and iron.

So that was the day I decided I was going to try and eat Vegan. I say eat Vegan, because I am not a 100% Vegan. I decided to not eat sugar, dairy, or meat products including fish and eggs. Since then, I have never felt so great in my life. I have tons of energy and have lost 17lbs. I have the energy to wake early every morning and walk, I never had this type of energy before. For the past 12 years I have had eczema on my shins and on my right hand. Since I eliminated these foods, it is gone.

I don't want to preach, I don't want to push people to eat this way, I just want to be the healthiest I possibly can. I know a lot of people that think I am being absolutely ridiculous, some people I haven't really told because of this reason. So the people that are interested in what I eat, where I find these foods ect, can visit this blog to find out. I will try and post photos, so people can actually see what the foods look like.