Great Foodie Film! Everyone should see Food Matters

I just watched the documentary, Food Matters: You are What You Eat, directed and produced by James Colquhoun and Laurentine ten Bosch. Usually, I don't watch documentaries about food because I don't want to be disgusted by video footage of nasty food. I read a synopsis about Food Matters, and it seemed harmless enough. Many of the ideas the documentary proposed are not new, they've just been hiding ever since the invention of the super market and big agriculture.

I really enjoyed watching this film--it was engaging, insightful, and based in science, not belief. The film mentions some breakthroughs in nutritional science that have gone ignored in the medical community because medical doctors study medicine, not nutrition. This is something to consider when we place so much trust in our medical doctors for advising us on how to live a healthy life--isn't food a huge component of good health?!

Using simple economics, if we all ate local, organically grown vegetables, our retailers would have to buy local, organically grown vegetables in order to compete in the retail food market. We would also be supporting local communities and local farmers. We would not have to ship old food from other countries to feed our families (did you know the "fresh produce" at the grocery store usually has aged for a week before it reaches the store?). However, if we continue to buy cheap, old veggies, our grocers will continue to order them. Nothing will change until people start complaining or demanding something different.

If you have time, you can watch Food Matters: You are What You Eat on Netflix Instant Streaming or visit the Food Matters Website for more information about the film.

Enjoy!

Another Great Stir-Fry for a Light Dinner

I forgot to plan meals for today, but fortunately, I had some leftovers for lunch. For dinner, I got lucky that during my last grocery stop, I picked up a couple of zucchini squash without knowing what I was going to do with them. Tonight, I decided to make a light dinner, and this dish was enjoyed by myself and the carnivorous spouse:

Garlic Zucchini Stir Fry (adapted from Mom--Thanks Mom!)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 medium size zucchini squash, chopped into bite size pieces
1-2 teaspoon sea salt
dash of black pepper

Directions:
Add olive oil to a medium or large frying pan or wok. Saute the garlic until it begins to brown (about 1-2 minutes). Add chopped zucchini, salt and black pepper. Cook zucchini until tender (about 7-8 minutes), stirring occasionally to allow all the zucchini to cook in the broth it creates. Serve hot over a bowl of rice.

Serves 2-3

Enjoy!

Quick, Easy Vegan Stir-Fry

I just had a simple, yummy stir-fry for lunch, and I thought some of you might be interested in this recipe. I love it because it allows me to put lunch on the table in a "jiffy." I'm sure there are a million ways to tweak this one, and I'd love to hear how you all are tweaking it.

Here it is:

Mushroom, Tofu, Ginger Stir-Fry
(adapted from Real Vegetarian Thai by Nancie McDermott)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
1" fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/2 box of tofu (about 8 oz.)
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
5-6 button mushrooms, chopped
1-2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Add olive oil to a medium or large wok or frying pan. Saute garlic on medium heat until garlic begins to brown. Add ginger and saute for about 1 minute. Add onion and saute until onions become transparent (2-3 minutes). Add tofu and salt. Saute for about 4-5 minutes. Add bell pepper and saute for about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute for about 3 more minutes or until bell peppers are to your liking. Serve over a bowl of rice.

This recipe is so good, it doesn't require soy or any other kind of sauce. The broth created by the liquids in the veggies should make a yummy sauce on the rice.

Enjoy!

Experimental Fooding

I tested out a new recipe on Friday, and as with all new recipes, it usually requires some tweaking to get it just right. The only thing needing work was my pasta sauce. I admit, I got a little lazy and just threw some tomato sauce in with basil--not a good idea for pasta sauce unless you like slightly sour pasta. Most of the components of the lasagna worked out great, so I'm posting the recipe anyway. . .

Crockpot Vegan Lasagna - adapted from VegWeb.com 

(a GREAT source for vegan recipes!)

Ingredients:

(Ricotta substitute)

1 lb. soft tofu

3 tablespoons lemon juice 

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

(Other ingredients)

2 cups vegan shredded mozzarella cheese

4 cups spaghetti sauce (make your own or jar)

1 (8 oz.) package dry lasagna

1 (12 oz.) package vegan burger crumbles (Boca burger works great!)

Directions:

To create ricotta, combine tofu, lemon juice, sugar, basil, salt, and garlic powder. Process until thick and creamy (Tofu will process better if you cut it into smaller cubes. If any cubes are not mashed up, you can use a fork and mash it by hand). Spoon mixture into a medium mixing bowl and combine with shreded vegan mozzarella. Set aside.

In a 6-quart crock pot, layer lasagna in this order:

1 cup spaghetti sauce

lasagna noodles

1/2 cheese/ricotta mixture

1/2 burger crumbles

1 cup spaghetti sauce

lasagna noodles

1/2 cheese/ricotta mixture

1/2 burger crumbles

1 cup spaghetti sauce

lasagna noodles

1 cup spaghetti sauce

Cover crockpot and cook 4-5 hours on high. 

Regular or no-boil lasagna both work for this recipe. If you like to add veggies to this recipe, go right ahead. As for me, I have to feed a carnivorous family, so I have to trick them into thinking this is not vegan. 

Enjoy!

P.S. When I figure out the perfect pasta/spaghetti sauce (so easy that I just have to throw it together and heat it up), I will definitely post it! If you already have it, please do share.

What's a Vegantarian?

Vegantarian is a new word I've created to articulate my particular lifestyle with regards to eating. I love cheese, eggs, and fish, but in an attempt to eat healthier, I'm limiting my consumption of these products derived from meat. It means I'm mostly vegan, but occasionally a vegetarian.

There are many great reasons for being vegetarian (this encompasses everyone on the continuum of vegan to vegetarian)--including health, religious, environmental, and PETA. My personal reason for becoming vegetarian is a little unusual. Several years ago, I learned that I had a chronic disease and my diet had to be altered. My doctors told me to eat more meat, more refined carbs, avoid too much fruits and veggies, avoid whole grains. I loved many foods, including chicken, beef, grains, fruits, and veggies (not necessarily in that order). For the first two weeks, I was dazed and confused about what to eat and I ate nothing but white rice as porridge. It's been several years and my food journey has taken many twists and turns.

Several months ago, I learned that my condition is gradually worsening, and decided that this diet was not working. I'm having to increase my treatments, so it's time to take charge of my body--it's the only one I've got. However, I know that my health care team will not be too happy with the idea of me cutting meat out of my diet without their approval. I guess, in a way, I'm doing this to rebel against conventional medicine because I've given the conventional medicine path a 4-year trial run. As Albert Einstein said, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." In my case, it's time to do things a little differently. I will still take my medications and calcium supplements, but I'm definitely changing my diet.

At first, I was afraid of becoming vegetarian--What if my doctors and nurses yell at me? What will my family eat? They enjoy their meat, but I do most of the cooking. Finally, I heard a podcast from a nutritionist who talked about how to live with this chronic illness and still be vegetarian. Suddenly, there was a flicker of hope. I always wanted my family to eat vegetarian, but never knew how to get started.

The trick of eating vegetarian is planning meals ahead of time. Fresh veggies don't last very long, so plan meals for 3-4 days ahead. Plan to shop twice a week--which most people already do (or else they eat out at least that much). Plan meals around leftovers, too. I usually do my meal planning on the same day I'm eating leftovers--less work for me and helps with inspiration for meal ideas (Hey, I can't eat leftovers forever!).

So what's this blog about? It's about great vegantarian recipes that I've experimented with (and survived). Keep in mind, my family of carnivores are also eating along with me and acting as my taste testers. They have taste buds inclined toward asian tastes (i.e. white rice, stir-fries, curries, etc.) with occasional cravings for pasta dishes, Mexican foods, and burgers. This blog is also about the journey of fooding in the vegantarian world. I would love to hear feedback and suggestions for different variations from recipes!

So here's my first tested recipe for this blog:

Tofu Balls (or Patties) - adapted from Weimar Institute's Newstart Lifestyle Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 lb. firm tofu, drained & mashed

5 oz. can water chestnuts, drained, chopped fine (found in Asian foods aisle @ Cub)

1 green bell pepper, chopped fine

8 green onions, chopped fine

1/4 cup chopped parsley (I used dry parsley because I didn't have any fresh)

3 Tablespoons Braggs Liquid Aminos

1 1/2 Tablespoons almond butter (I used Earth Balance buttery spread because I didn't have almond butter)

1 cup fine dry bread crumbs (or more as needed)

*Make sure the wet ingredients are as dry as possible (especially the tofu, water chestnuts, and the fresh bell pepper). They will still be a little wet. If the mixture is too soggy, the balls won't hold together well. I used my Pampered Chef Chopper for fine chopping everything--saved me a ton of time! A blender or food processor would probably do the trick, too.

Combine all ingredients except bread crumbs. Mix well. Form into 2" balls (I also formed some patties). Roll into the bread crumbs. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Yields about 10-12 tofu balls.

These tofu balls reminded me of eating eggrolls....I think I ate 4-5 in my first sitting! :D

Enjoy!