Restarting the food challenge

I have struggled with reducing the amount of carbs, sugar, and oil in my diet since I enrolled in college. Unfortunately, cutting food out of a vegan diet is not always as easy as it sounds.

Because of my long term issues with digestion and skin, I have decided to try again. I am going to try the lemonade fast later this week (2T Lemon, 2T Maple Syrup, 8Oz of Water, Cayenne Pepper), and am working on eating only fruits, vegetables, and grains. I will exclude oil, sugar, and wheat products while continuing my vegan diet.

In any event, I wanted to post two very tasty dressing ideas for anyone trying to eat salad without an oil based dressing:

Tahini, lemon, pepper, and water
Tahini, miso, water, soy sauce

The tahini-miso dressing is from Veganomicon, and the lemon-tahini dressing is one of my mom's creations. I should clarify that the type of oil which is most toxic to the diet is free oil; before it is extracted, oils found naturally in foods are a necessary and healthful part of the diet, (as far as I know).

Wish me luck!
Chelsea

Day 4: Super Green Pesto

Hello again!

I'm beginning to feel really hungry all the time, but I've managed to stay oil-free! The hardest part seems to be snacking, but I've gotten more used to eating peanut butter with bananas or fresh oranges as opposed to hummus and chips when I am low on time.

I have been eating more fruit, more raw food, and more sushi since the week began. I think I will add oil back into my diet starting this Friday, but I would like it to be for one meal a day, not all three. I feel energized and athletic!

Today, though, I was craving something really savory. I wanted hummus! Then I had a better idea: pesto! The last time I made pesto, I really hated it. I put silken tofu in it, and I think that's just a bad idea in general (but then again, maybe I'm just crazy). I don't like the way silken tofu tastes as a tip, and it seems that the best thing to do with tofu is cook it.

Anyway, so I made up a totally new recipe. Unfortunately I did not measure out the ingredients, but I want to post it anyway (use your judgement!)

1 C Walnuts
1/2-1C Vegetable Broth
5 Cloves of Garlic (roasted or raw)
1 Bunch Arugula
1 Bunch Basil
1 16 Oz Can White Beans
2T Nutritional Yeast (optional)
2t Cumin
1t Salt (I actually added a lot, so taste it!)

1. Soak the walnuts in warm water for anywhere from 10 minutes to half an hour
2. Blend garlic
3. Add some vegetable broth, and blend to get a smooth cream
4. Add walnuts and blend until creamy. Add vegetable broth if it's having trouble.
   
5. Spoon out most of the walnut-garlic mixture into a bowl.
6. Add arugula to the blender with enough vegetable broth to blend
7. Blend for a smooth consistency
8. Add basil to the blender with enough vegetable broth to blend into a smooth consistency
9. Add the nut-garlic mixture back in.
10. Add White beans, blend
    
11. Add nutritional yeast, cumin, and salt.
12. Taste for salt
13. Serve! Over pasta or just on bread!
    

There are a couple of things I would like to say about this recipe, as it was a tester. The first thing is that I would really recommend cooking the garlic somehow. I used raw garlic because I didn't want to cook with oil, but raw garlic has a really strong bite to it. I would suggest roasting it in foil for about an hour while the nuts are soaking.

Secondly, pay attention to the consistency. I think I added too much vegetable broth, which was verified by Caitlin eating the pesto with a spoon like it was soup (I don't know whether to be pleased that she liked it or disgusted that she can eat so much pesto with a spoon).

My last note is about the greens: please wash arugula in a pot or bowl of water. It is almost always sandy, and you cannot rinse it by running water over it. Immerse the arugula in water, and then swish it around to get all that sand off.

-Chelsea

Day 3

Broccoli with Maple-Miso Glaze

Hello again!

So, last night I had to break the oil free diet because I had previously agreed to go to dinner with a bunch of good friends, and I decided that it was more important that I ate with them than it was that I kept up with the oil-free bit. I ate ahead of time so I would be less hungry at the meal, which was really delicious! They made chana masala, pasta, and date-almond balls.

For lunch yesterday, I had steamed broccoli with a maple-miso glaze, which was 1/4 miso, 2 T Water, 1 T Maple Syrup cooked over a low heat for about ten minutes. I ate the broccoli with polenta, which I cooked in vegetable broth according to the package instructions.

I wanted to say something about how I am feeling today versus after the meal with oil. I feel really energetic and healthy, even though I have definitely been eating too much sugar. The chana masala, although very tasty, was difficult for me to eat a lot of because it felt decidedly heavy. I really like the effect it has been having, and I don't feel convinced that this food isn't as good (although it has certainly been a total pain).

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

Revised Nachos

Hello!

So, after spending two weeks in Perú and five weeks at diabetes camp, I'm ready to post something new! Tonight, I really wanted to recreate a refried bean dish an Egyptian cook at camp made for me (since I was vegetarian), but I didn't want to eat it on chips. So, this is what I made! It was actually really delicious!

I used...

• 2 tomatoes
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 Cup chopped mushrooms
  
• 1 Cup Chopped Lettuce
• 1 16 oz Can of Whole Pinto Beans
• 1/2 Cup Nutritional Yeast Gravy (see other recipe)
• 3 Tbsp Oil

Then...

1. Heat oil over low heat in a large skillet
2. Add spices; I used cumin, curry, and salt
   
3. Add chopped onion and minced garlic
4. When the onion and garlic is starting to caramelize, add chopped mushrooms and tomatoes
5. Raise heat to medium
6. Cook until most of the juice from the tomatoes has cooked out
7. Add beans (rinced) and let cook for another five minutes
8. Add nutritional yeast gravy and cook until all the ingredients are mixed
9. Serve on a plate with chopped lettuce on top

It's actually really good. Something about the juicy tomatoes with the onion flavor in the sauce makes my mouth water...
Until next time!

The Only Way to Cook Brussel Sprouts

Having tried brussel sprouts out a few times at the old folks home where I used to work, I had placed them on the X list of vegetables. I suppose I should have known that boiled vegetables kept warm in water are always bad news.

This year, Caitlin reintroduced me to the nutritious green vegetable. She likes to cut them in half and saute them in oil, then eat them with just salt and pepper. They're quick and delicious that way, but personally I prefer a bit more complicated method we learned from the manager of Columbia's campus grocery.

What you'll need:

• Brussel Sprouts (About 10)
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 Tbsp Mustard (I prefer spicy brown or dijon)
  
• Oil

Directions:

1. Cut out the core of the brussel sprouts
2. Peel all of the leaves and place into a bowl
3. Discard the cores
4. Heat a few tablespoons of oil over medium heat
5. When the oil is hot, add brussel sprouts
6. Saute for 2-3 minutes
7. Add mustard and saute for an additional minute
8. Remove from heat and toss in salt and pepper to taste

They are truly delicious prepared this way! Enjoy!

Best Pizza Ever

This is my mom's perfect pizza recipe. She played with it a lot, and this is her favorite.


Ingredients:

• 3 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 Cups White Flour
• 2 Tbsp Vital Wheat gluten
• 1 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 2 Cups Warm Water
• 1 Tbsp Sugar
• 2 Envelopes dry yeast

Directions:

1. Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm water, and set aside until it foams
2. Measure the flour and add salt
3. Add the yeast and water, mix together
4. Add another 1-2 Tbsp water if needed to make a flexible dough
5. Knead for about 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface, until smooth and elastic
6. Oil the dough lightly, and put in an oiled bowl to rise
7. Cover with a damp cloth and rise until doubled in size (approximately 1 hour) in a warm location, like on top of the fridge.
8. Punch down, knead briefly, and divide into two
   
9. Using a rolling pin, roll the balls of dough on a floured surface into two 14 inch rounds or 10x12 rectangles. The dough should be about 1/8 inch thick.
10. Place on pizza pans
11. While the dough is rising for an hour, make the sauce and prepare the toppings
12. When pizza is assembled, back for 10-15 minutes at 450 degrees.

You can put any toppings you want on this pizza, but if you want to try the pizza pictured above, use mushrooms, fried onions, sliced tomato, and chopped garlic. Since we're vegan, we used miso marinated tofu and nutritional yeast gravy as a cheese sub. Miso marinated tofu is straightforward:

1. Drain one block of tofu
   
2. Mix 4 Tbsp miso (any of the varieties will work) with 2 tbsp of water, or enough to make the miso runny.
3. Crumble tofu into a bowl. Try to drain as much of the water as possible.
4. Mix Miso and Tofu
5. Let marinate for an hour

You could probably marinate it for way less time. I got the idea from Cafe Viva, my favorite vegan pizza in the Morningside heights area. This worked really well, and was really delicious.

Enjoy!
Chelsea