Monday, June 25, 2012

Do You Have Diet?....NO!



     A new challenge for me!! I am going to stop drinking diet soda. I work 12 hr night shifts. On a normal day I will only drink about 1 maybe 2 diet cokes a day, but when I work that is a different story.  I will have probably 2 maybe 3 during the night. Not good. We go through a lot of diet coke in our house.

      You may not realize this, but drinking diet pops is doing more damage then you really think. It effects the brain, your risk of diabetes and obesity.  When you drink a regular soda your mind sees it as a treat. It knows that it is getting a food reward that gives your body a quick burst of energy. Diet pop does taste sweet.  Your brain sees that it is not a significant source of anything so your body is not satisfied. Which in the end will cause you to crave more sweet stuff later throughout the day. Not good!!

     So...What should we drink..??? WATER!I know, doesn't sound as good as pop. But thank goodness I am addicted to Pinterest. I found this totally amazing, awesome blog about a girl that lost 135 lbs! that is a lot!! One main thing she talks about is cutting diet pops out. That got me thinking, maybe I should do that too. But then I started thinking, What will I drink? Naturally (Really natural) flavored water. How do I know it is natural? Good question. The answer is I flavored it myself. :) Super, super easy.
First the ingredients are just what you think they are. Water and fruit.
1. All Citrus water- slice 1 orange, lime and lemon into rounds and dump it in the jar. (you can squeeze it a bit to get the juices flowing, but you don't have too) Fill the jar with ice and fill with water. That's it! You are done!! You can replace the water about 2-3x
2. Raspberry Lime- squeeze two limes in the jar and place in jar and add raspberries. Fill the jar with ice and water.
Now the drinks with the herbs, do not tare apart the leaves. Just press the leaves and bruise them. All you want to do is activate the flavor. 
3. Watermelon Rosemary
4. Blackberry Sage
5. Pineapple Mint 

I hope you enjoy your drinks as much as I do! 

Friday, June 1, 2012

Check This Out!

The Vegan Chickpea: Chickpea Salad Sandwich: I love chickpeas. I have been craving a "chicken salad" sandwich and I think this will satisfy my craving! I believe I will make this for lunch tomorrow!

Also, here is a really interesting article I came across about fruit. I usually eat fruit with every meal, but after reading this article I going to try and stay away from that. http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4970/The-Major-Rule-for-Eating-Fruit.html

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Camping

So I am mainly doing this post for myself. This weekend I am going camping. So excited and I cannot wait. I always love camping, but this time around it is going to be a little different. Grilling pretty much goes hand-in-hand when it comes to camping. I am stressing about what I am going to eat all weekend when everyone is chowing down on burgers, hot dogs, and beef jerky..Then it came to me. I can enjoy the same things..vegetarian style..I can grill a veggie burger or dog! And maybe I can convince someone to try one. :) I have been doing a lot of searching and found some great food options while camping.
Breakfast:
Pancakes (surprisingly most are vegan)
Oatmeal
Fruit (if you are able to keep fresh)
Granola Bars
Scrambled Tofu
Lunch:
PB&J
Grilled cheese w/avocado (tastes so much better over fire!)
Soup
Hummus w/pitta or crackers
Dinner:
Veggie Burger/Dog
Chili
Pasta (with roasted veggies, fresh greens, beans..)
Corn
Snacks:
Popcorn (popped over the fire!)
Tofu Jerky
Trail Mix or Nuts 
Fresh Fruit
Now that I made a little list I feel a lot better about going into this weekend. 

Egg Substitutes

Eggs are in everything! Ever since I was a little kid the only time you saw me eat an egg is when it was cooked in something. No egg salad, omelets or egg sandwiches for me.  It even took me a while to eat foods like french toast and fried rice, because I thought it had "to much egg" in them. Eggs are supposed to be good for you. They are heart healthy (egg whites that is)! But honestly, I could not stand the smell. Why would you eat something that smells like rotting food? It's not the fact that the egg could have been a baby chicken. I just don't prefer the taste, smell or texture of them. I have used a few of these substitutes myself, but not all of them. Applesauce and bananas are the only ones I have used. That is only because those are the most common and well known.  Some I don't know much about, like arrowroot powder? and vinegar? That just doesn't sound good to me. I could be wrong though. I am planning on trying the flax seed this weekend. Lately I have been sneaking flax seed in everything! In some things it could alter the taste and texture a bit, but you notice it more when you are tasting for something different. I would suggest make your dish and don't tell anyone. See what they say. :)


Replacement In

With Ingredients like

How to Replace

BrowniesSilken Tofu/ Tofu( 1/4 cup blended silken tofu = 1 egg )Process in a blender until completely smooth and creamy, leaving no graininess
or chunks. You will want to attach other wet ingredients to this mixture to
return with it to blend properly.
Applesauce(1/3 cup applesauce = 1 egg or ¼ cup Applesauce + 1 tsp Baking Powder )If chocolate in the brownies overpowers the flavor of applesauce so it can be safely used, and is in fact, one of the
best egg substitute in brownie mix.
Soy Yogurt/Plain Yogurt( ¼ cup Yogurt= 1 EGG )If you are a vegan, you may opt for soy yogurt. Otherwise plain yogurt will do
the trick. Just beat it well and add it to the brownie mix.
Flax seeds(1 tbsp ground Flax seeds +3 tbsp Water =1 eggGrind the flax seeds in a coffee grinder, and mix with water. Allow it to rest till it becomes gelatinous, then use.
Bananas(½ pureed Banana, abt 1/4 cup = 1 egg)Just mash it smooth, and use it but the addition of banana will alter the flavor of the brownies
Commercial Egg SubstituteUse
as per instructions on pack. Many people who have used this find it to leave behind a peculiar taste. However, there have been exceptions to this case.
BreadsBananas
(½ pureed Banana, abt 1/4 cup = 1 egg)
RecipesBanana Blueberry Bread
Soy yogurt(1/4 cup soy yogurt = 1egg)Soy yogurt works deeply like whiz tofu as an egg replacer.Helps to make it moist
Water(one egg with 1/4 cup water.Recipe:Vegan Banana Nut Bread
Flax seeds(1 tbsp ground Flax seeds +3 tbsp Water =1 eggAdding ground flax seeds to any recipe add Omega-3′s to the recipe! You can buy ground flax seeds in the health section of most grocery stores.
RecipeWhole Wheat Honey Walnut Pumpkin Bread
Cakes 
(eggs mostly serve as leavening agents in cakes, helping to make the end product light and fluffy)
Applesauce
(1/3 cup applesauce = 1 egg or ¼ cup Applesauce + 1 tsp Baking Powder )
Bananas
(½ pureed Banana, abt 1/4 cup = 1 egg)
RecipeWholegrain Banana Cake
Soy yogurt/Yogurt(1/4 cup soy yogurt = 1 egg)Soy yogurt works deeply like whiz tofu as an egg replacer. It makes things moist.
Recipes: Blueberry Boy BaitStrawberry Yogurt Cake
Water(one egg with 1/4 cup water.)
Vegetable Oil(1/4 cup = 1 egg)RecipesBanana Cupcake
ButtermilkButtermilk is one of the preferred egg substitute used for eggless cake recipes. What you need to do is add half a cup of buttermilk (instead of one egg) and follow the same directions as you did for baking regular cakes. The only thing is to add less amount of water for making the dough. With buttermilk, the resultant cake will be very soft and tasty.
Pureed Fruits(3 tablespoons of pureed fruit = one egg )In cases when you don’t like using eggs and buttermilk in cakes then a good egg substitute for baking cakes is, adding pureed fruits. Use 3 tablespoons of pureed banana (for one egg) and follow the same tips for baking cake. Even
without eggs, you will surely serve a soft and delicious cake with pureed fruits.
Gelatin (Non Vegetarian)(1 tablespoon gelatin + 3 tablespoons lukewarm water = 1 egg)Another popularly used egg substitute in baking is unsweetened and unflavored gelatin. Most vegetarians prefer adding Agar Agar instead of Gelatin as a substitute in cake, instead of the other options. For using gelatin in baking cake, mix together one tablespoon gelatin with three tablespoons lukewarm water. Add this mixture for making the cake dough.
Flaxseed(1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil+ 3 tablespoons water = 1 egg)Stir the flaxseed mixture well and allow it to thicken for a few minutes. Strain the seeds by using a muslin cloth and use the filtrate for baking cake.
Vinegar and Baking PowderUse this egg substitute in cake, only when you require more than one egg for baking. Mix one tablespoon each of white vinegar and water in a glass. To this, add one teaspoon of baking powder and stir well until
the mixture blends well. Now, use this egg substitute for your cake recipe.
Potato Starch(2 heaped tbsp potato starch = 1 egg)
Arrowroot Powder(2 heaped tbsp arrowroot powder  = 1 egg)
Soy flour(1 heaping tablespoon of soy flour + 2 tbsp water = 1egg)
Soda PopA regular-sized (12 oz.) can of soda pop can be used as a substitution for 3 eggs in your baking recipes. Additionally, one regular-sized (12 oz.) can of soda pop can be substituted for the oil/egg combo
required by most boxed cake mixes.
Cookies
(eggs mostly act as binding agents in cookies and adding moisture)
Vegetable Oil(1/4 cup = 1 egg)
Cornstarch(1 tablespoon of Cornstarch + 2 Tablespoons of Water = 1 egg)
Soy flour(1 heaping tablespoon of soy flour + 2 tbsp water = 1 egg)
Ener-G Egg Replacer(follow package instructions)It seems to work best surrounded by cookies, or things that are supposed to be a little crispy.Otherwise, there have been complaints that it tends to add certain aftertaste noticeable more in other bakes like a chalky taste.
Muffins
(eggs mostly act as binding agents in Muffins and adding moisture )
Applesauce(1/3 cup applesauce = 1 egg or ¼ cup Applesauce + 1 tsp Baking Powder )
Pumpkin(1/3 cup of cooked pumpkin = 1 egg)This works almost for all baked goods but especially for muffins leaving a subtle Pumpkin flavor in the muffins (depending upon the eggs substituted)
Soy yogurt/Yogurt(1/4 cup soy yogurt = 1 egg)Soy yogurt works deeply like whiz tofu as an egg replacer. It makes things moist
RecipesCranberry Walnut Muffins
Water(one egg with 1/4 cup water.
Vegetable Oil(1/4 cup = 1 egg)
Soy flour
(1 heaping tablespoon of soy flour + 2 tbsp water = 1 egg)
Banana(½ pureed Banana, abt 1/4 cup = 1 egg)Recipe:Strawberry Banana Quinoa Muffins
Flaxseed(1 tbsp ground Flax seeds + 3 tbsp Water = 1 egg)RecipesVegan Pear Walnut Muffins
PancakesFlax seeds(1 tbsp ground Flax seeds + 3 tbsp Water = 1 eggAdding ground flax seeds to any recipe add Omega-3′s to the recipe! You can buy ground flax seeds in the health section of most grocery stores.
Soy flour
(1 heaping tablespoon of soy flour + 2 tbsp water = 1 egg)
Banana(½ pureed Banana, abt 1/4 cup = 1 egg)
Savory Dishes(as binders/ coating)Mashed PotatoesWhen a recipe in any savory dish like Vegetable Loaves or
Burgers calls for eggs as a binding agent, then any of these will work as an substitute for eggs. When used for Frying (as an coating of eggs and flour), you can use a mix of all purpose flour + water to form into a paste and apply that as coating instead of beaten eggs.
Bread Crumbs
Cooked Oatmeal
Cooked Rice
Tomato Paste
Chocolate pies, Quiches, puddingTofuTofu is great for egg substitutions in recipes that call for a lot of egg. To substitute for only one egg in a recipe, whip or blend 1/4 cup soft tofu and add to your cooking.
Salads/ Sandwiches/OmeletTofuDiced or mashed tofu can replace chopped hard-boiled eggs in some salad and sandwich recipes. Scrambled tofu makes a delicious alternative to scrambled eggs.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Eat More Fruit


Kale

Okay lately I have been eating Kale. I was at the farmers market a few weeks ago with a friend and we walked by a stand with a bunch of Kale. We both hadn't tried it before and decided too. I thought it had a different taste then normal greens, but I really like it. You can make a salad or put it in a smoothie. Today I made some kale chips and they were amazing. You just drizzle the kale with extra virgin olive oil, pop it in the oven for 5 mins and sprinkle some parmesan cheese on them! So easy and delicious! Kale is like a super vegetable. It is so healthy for you. It is high in Calcium, vitamin K, C and A. It is also the highest amount of antioxidants in foods that you can get.

Health benefits of Kale:
*Strengthens Bones
*Combats Cancer
*Protects Eyesight
*Aids in Weight Loss
*Boosts Immune System
                                     

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Hungry for Change

"Hungry For Change"
This looks like a really good documentary. I have not watched it yet but I plan on watching it soon.  :)