The Oil Free Challenge

Hello!

So, Caitlin and I have been cooking frantically all year, but we haven't had time or energy to post on the blog. It seems like the hardest part is remembering to take photos of the food we make, so I decided to just post today without any photos!

There is this great documentary touring the U.S. right now called Forks Over Knives. It's all about how diet can be linked to heart disease, type II diabetes, hypertension, and even cancer. One of my favorite vegetarian celebrities is the star, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. I heard Dr. Esselstyn speak at the vegetarian conference a few years ago, and what he had to say really scared me. Basically, the best way to prevent most diseases is by having little or no oil in your diet, in addition to having a healthy array of leafy greens, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. I have tried several times to get the oil out of my diet, but it hasn't ever worked out for me.

So, this week, I have decided to challenge myself to have an oil free diet all week! I started it yesterday, and so far it has gone pretty well. The hardest part is when I am at the grocery store, or when I want something processed and everything has oil in it. I thought it would be fun to record what I have eaten, and to post the oil-free soup recipe I came up with.

Yesterday, I had a green smoothie, which is our favorite at the moment. It's about a cup of spinach, half a cup of almond milk (or other non-dairy milk), a cup of frozen berries (like strawberries), two tablespoons of ground flax, and a banana. Start with the liquid and then slowly add the other ingredients until you have a smooth and frozen delight. It makes about two cups. Sometimes I add peanut butter or almond butter so that the smoothie is more filling.

Ground flax, by the way, is an absolute super food. According to Dr. Michael Greger, another of my favorite vegetarians, adding a tablespoon of flax a day to your diet is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Flax is really high in the good fatty acid, which actually works to prevent heart disease. Greger says that it's best to have more good fats than bad fats in your diet, because they apparently balance each other out in some way.

Anyway, after that I had steamed swiss chard with quinoa and tamari. I steamed the swiss chard by cutting them into bite size pieces, rinsing them with water, and then throwing them into a very hot wok. You cook the swiss chard until the water has dried, at which point the chard should be soft. If not, add tamari or soy sauce to get a little more liquid in to cook down the greens. Quinoa is a gluten free grain that is light and fluffy, kind of like wheat germ. It has absolutely no flavor, but is really good with flavorful foods over top (or lots of tamari).

Out of desperation, I had soy milk, corn syrup-free ginger ale, some mochi, and a lara bar last night for dinner. I wasn't terribly hungry (I woke up feeling nauseous yesterday morning), so I kept dinner light. Lara bars are wonderful, but they are very expensive! They're essentially dried fruit with nuts and some other flavors, but they are totally oil free!

This morning I have had soy milk and vegetable soup, so here is the soup recipe!

• 2 Carrots, sliced into rounds
  
• 2 Celery Stalks, sliced into rounds
  
• Half a cup of shitake mushrooms, diced
  
• 1 16 Oz Can White beans
• 1/2 Head Cauliflower, cut into florets
  
• 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
  
• 1 32 Oz Carton of Vegetable Broth (organic!)
• 1 Tablespoon of Shao Hsing or Cooking Wine
• 1/2 Cup Cashews
• 1 T Thyme
• 2 t cumin
• 1 t salt

1. Saute the garlic and mushrooms in the cooking wine/shao hsing for about five minutes
2. Meanwhile, steam the cauliflower in a steamer
   
3. Add about a quarter cup of vegetable broth along with the carrots and celery. Saute for another five minutes or so
   
4. Add the rest of the vegetable broth, the cauliflower and the white beans.
   
5. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer.
   
6. Add Cumin, Thyme, and Salt
   
7. Skim about half a cup of the hot vegetable broth off the top. Blend with the cashews until there is a creamy consistency. (Add the cashews first, then blend, then the vegetable broth)
8. Add the cashew cream back to the soup
9. Heat for two more minutes, then serve!

These are pretty rough directions, but then again I made the soup two days ago. The nuts are important because they give the soup some of the richness that it's missing without the oil. Make sure that the vegetable broth is oil free if you are making this recipe! The soup was actually really good, which was shocking because the last time I tried oil-free soup it was a total flop.

Pictures next time!

-Chelsea