Vegan Mac and Cheese

I am a sucker for mac and cheese and its existence is perhaps one of the reasons I previously had trouble becoming vegan. So cheese lovers, here you go. Enjoy it to the fullest.


Ingredients:

8 oz whole grain elbow macaroni or any other pasta you desire....gluten free, shells, your choice

3 tbsp earth balance

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

2 cups rice or soy milk

3 cups daiya cheddar cheese

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp non-gmo cornstarch

sea salt to taste

Directions:

Cook the macaroni as directed. Place earth balance in a sauce pan and melt. Once melted, add nutritional yeast and pepper. Add rice or soy milk, daiya and cornstarch. Cook on low to med/low till cheese is melted. Mix cheese sauce with macaroni and there you go. SO good.....even for non-vegans. Teenager, child and carnivore approved.

Options:

If you want to spruce it up, there are several options.

• Add meatless crumbles and/or...



• a veggie like peas, chopped asparagus or broccoli



• make it tex-mex style with meatless crumbles, corn and salsa



• Make the sauce only and pour over a baked potato, nachos...use your imagination



• Leave the recipe as is but top with bread crumbs and vegan Parmesan (I use galaxy brand) Then throw it in the oven at 350 till the top is crispy.

Garden Vegetable Soup

We've had some cold mornings the past few days. Yesterday, when I woke up it was 26 degrees and today not much warmer at 33 degrees. It seems to take me forever to warm up once I get that cold. I went to yoga where I was actually able to be a student and not a teacher and warmed up nicely but once I walked back into the elements, I felt frozen to the bone. I picked up my Kindergartner and wanted something really grounding and highly nutritious for lunch and I couldn't think of a better meal to fit my needs today but a large pot of homemade soup. So I decided to invent a really hearty, palate pleasing soup. I was so pleased when not only my husband really liked it but the teenager did too. She dished herself up a bowl before leaving for track practice and said she wasn't that hungry but it tasted really good so she kept eating it. Makes my heart smile. :)

Ingredients:
6 cups filtered water
3 Organic Gourmet vegetable bouillon cubes
1 can undrained diced tomatoes with basil (try to find the Eden Organics brand
3 small zucchini
3 carrot
2 red potatoes
3 stalks celery
1/2 of a large onion
1 cup to 1 1/2 cups crimini mushrooms
6 oz broccoli (I used half of the bag that is pictured)
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen peas
1 strip of kombu seaweed
1 cup coconut milk
1 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley
garlic salt and crushed black pepper to taste

Directions:

Chop all the vegetables as desired except seaweed. Place water in soup pot and bring to a boil. Turn off heat. Add bouillon cubes and stir with a wire whisk until dissolved. Add the can of tomatoes. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring soup to a boil and then lower to a simmer and cook uncovered 30-45 minutes until veggies reach desired texture.

Now warm up and enjoy!

Blackened Chipotle Tempeh Fillets

My husband is amazing with tempeh! This is so good!

Ingredients:

• 1 package tempeh




• 3 tbsp vegenaise




• 2 tbsp agave plus 1 tsp




• 2 tbsp olive oil plus 1 tbsp




• 2 pinches of crumbled nori




• 1/2 tsp garlic salt




• 1/4 crispy dried onions, crushed or crumbled




• 1/4 tsp chipotle pepper

Directions:

Grate tempeh into a bowl. Add 2 tbsp oil, vegenaise, 2 tbsp agave, nori, garlic salt. Mix. With a heavy object or "meat" tenderizer smash mixture 1/2 cup at a time on a cutting board till it meets the consistency of shredded tuna. Form into two fillets. On a plate pour remaining olive oil, remaining agave and chipotle pepper. On a separate plate, spread out crushed crispy dried onion. Dip one side of fillet in oil mixture and dip the top side in the dried onion. Place fillets in a skillet sprayed with oil and cook on low for 10 minutes on each side. Tempeh will begin to blacken from the cayenne; this is not burnt. After you cook slow, cook for 4 minutes per side on high heat.

Serve on a bed of warmed apple sauce with a side of grilled or steamed asparagus. Enjoy!

Change is the only constant in this journey of life.....

The latter half of this year has been an amazing ride. The first part of 2011 was somewhat lukewarm and uneventful. I felt myself settling into a routine that did not challenge me in any manner. However, as the end of summer approached, changes happened and my zest for life was once again awakened. Philip McCluskey on facebook posted this quote a few weeks ago, "Detours, challenges, and crisis, are simply covers for miracles that had no other way of reaching you." That is simply beautiful. My detours and challenges occurred on many levels and one or tow I will share and some were very personal that I will keep to myself.

One of these challenges not only involved me but my husband as well. And I would love to share. My husband paid a visit to the dermatologist to have a spot on his back checked out and found out it was basal cell carcinoma. Of course, it was removed. The results of this information have been life changing as my husband decided to adhere to a first vegetarian diet and later to a vegan diet. He wanted to try out the veg thing for a month or so which is quite a decision for him since he loved his meat. He LOVED ribs, prime rib and large steaks. He had cut way back on consumption of meat for the past few years but I NEVER thought I would see the day that he would give it up completely. During those first thirty days, I bought the book Skinny Bastard for him. We also watched the documentaries Forks Over Knives as well as The Gerson Miracle. Both of these films are usually available on Netflix live streaming video. After watching these videos not only was he committed to being vegetarian, it was on to veganism. Amazing changes have occurred not only for him but for me and my entire family as well. I have been vegetarian since 2009. I tried as best as I could being vegan but I would cave at times. This was mostly in part because I was the only one in my family trying to follow this diet. So, if they were eating an organic cheese pizza, I would sneak a few bites after I finished my pizza with Daiya Cheese. If something had a little milk or egg in the ingredients, I would say, oh no big deal. and eat it anyway. I suffered from allergies that I contributed to dairy but I didn't think that a tiny bit of organic dairy would make a difference. Little that I knew it did. My husband had the same problem. He contributed this to seasonal allergies but the strange thing was is that he would really flare up in November/December. Not a lot of pollen in the air during that time of year. He would take an Advil Sinus or something of that sort almost daily just to cope with sinusitis. He went vegan and my world was turned upside down in such an amazing way. No allergy flare ups for either one of us. I became more committed to what I knew was the right thing for my body. Not only was it Jason and I following this diet but we passed it on to our girls as well. My oldest still eats meat and dairy usually at school or when she is out and about but a large percentage of her diet is vegan. She is in pre-season track and is showing an amazing amount of strength in her workouts. Jason has lost 15 lbs since the change and is stronger than ever. He looks amazing....hair, skin....the whole package He has the six pack he's been searching for since he was 16. :)

Jason discovered cheddar Daiya Cheese and then something wonderful happened. He became the most amazing vegan cook. He imitated unhealthy horrifically bad food and made it healthy and vegan. For the remainder of this month, I will be giving to you (what a better season to give the gift of health) the recipes of some of our amazing vegan food. We work together at times in the kitchen coming up with the most bomb food you've ever tasted. I cannot commit to a daily recipe but I will commit to a few each week.

There you have it. One of the changes in my life, that makes my heart beat stronger and has allowed me to see life in a whole new dimension.

Stay tuned for some awesomeness that will make your taste buds soar to new heights. 'Tis the season.

Power Up Your Morning!

It's been quite a while since I've posted any pictures of food or recipes so I think that this post is long overdue. I've been eating this yummy and powerful breakfast a few times a week for a month or so now.


I'm not sure what I should call it....raw cereal, maybe. I don't know. Perhaps- give me some feedback.


Here it is.

1 banana, sliced
1 peach, cut into chunks
1/2 cup of raw granola- I use Kaia Foods Buckwheat Granola, Cherry Pie
1/2 cup non-dairy milk or raw nut milk- today I used Silk Pure Coconut Milk, vanilla

So it's basically pretty simple. Cut up your fruit and place in a bowl. Top with granola and your favorite milk and enjoy slowly....savor each bite because it is delicious.

This is a power packed meal weighing in at about 373 calories....depending on the type of milk used. You can raise the protein content by adding various superfoods (like hemp or chia seeds) and using homemade hemp milk instead.

Protein- 8 grams
Fat- 9.5 grams (mostly MCFA, you know the healthy stuff)*
Carbohydrates- 70 grams (yes we need them- do not fear)
Cholesterol- 0 grams
Sodium- 31 mg

This meal is nutrient dense and provides:

• Vitamin A, C and D




• Calcium




• Iron




• B12 (completely vegan source- in fact 50% of your RDA)
  
  


• Potassium
  
  


• Magnesium
  



• Many others

*MCFA's are Medium Chain Fatty Acids. Coconuts are one of natures' best sources of them. These type of fats are healthy special fats that are more easily burned as energy than other fats. Here is some additional information on the topic. http://www.nutritionreview.org/library/mcts.php

Reflections: Restore, Love and Understand

It is Monday morning in early August. This week there will be a shift that occurs in my schedule as my husband and two of my three daughters return to school for the next 10 months. It's funny how we get into a routine and sometimes change can make us feel uneasy. That is truly what I felt as this past June came around. I was in a routine and then overnight, it changed. With everyone in my family home, I had to adjust my schedule. For the first few weeks, I was beyond uncomfortable, however as the weeks progressed we all were in alignment. It was as if our little family paid a visit to a chiropractor and all was right.

Personally, I grew in so many ways over the summer. I definitely felt like my heart became more open. I gave specific focus in my personal yoga practice to opening my heart and throat chakras. I feel now as if I can love more deeply and communicate more effectively. The most wonderful aspect of this is that I can continue to grow. As a family, we chose to downgrade, de-clutter and begin the path to a simpler existence. I will forever be thankful for these past few months and this time will have a powerful impression on my heart for the rest of my life. There wasn't anything too dramatic that occurred but it was the little things that assisted me in opening my heart, loving more, expressing myself and understanding others on a different level. Friendships were strengthened, relationships were mended and minds were opened.

This summer was restorative for me. It was not something that I planned, it was something that just happened. Almost as if everything in the universe aligned for me whether I felt I was ready for it or not. Interestingly enough, I remember the moment when the restoration began. Not a moment I will publicly share, but it was simple, yet grand. I feel like now I can continue to evolve into the person I was meant to be. There was so much in the way that this evolution could not proceed. Now that this "de-cluttering" has occurred, I can proceed. I will not change but simply evolve and bring forth the most positive energies within me and most importantly LOVE deeply.

My Heart in the Sun

Life carries on. So it does. I laugh as I read my last post titled "Absence" as I have been absent from posting again. Sometimes forcing yourself to be in a space is not conducive to your existence and is counterproductive. If our hearts are not open to being in that space then we should refrain. This morning I woke up quite early and found myself just before the sun rose on my yoga mat in the back yard with David Newmann's kirtan making way into my heart via my ipod. I set an intention for my day to go forth with mindfulness, love, devotion and tolerance in every action and every thought. The music had spoken to me in a way that magnetically connected my mind, body and spirit. My body was led by the rhythm of the music and the flow of my breath. Even though the air was crisp, my body began to warm through several rounds of sun salutations. Even though the sun had not quite peeked its head over the horizon, I could feel its solar warmth within the core of my body. I began to sweat. I felt such a sweet sensation of alignment and release. I felt the need to downsize my life in such a way that I could focus not only this day but each and every day on these very important intentions that I had set. After completing several breaths in a headstand, I could hear the sweet voices of my two youngest daughters. That was my call to savasana. I turned Shanti (peace out) by MC Yogi on my ipod as I melted into this pose....into this space that my heart was so open to. My breath began to slow but I could feel the strong beat of my heart. With each beat I could feel goodness and light radiate from me. I rolled my shoulders underneath my body to have that upward lifting heart. Open and willing. At the close of the song, MC Yogi whispered such wonderful words into my ear, "Peace in, Peace out." By aligning my heart with my space and with my intentions, I could feel peace within me with each inhale. It is then that peace will flow out of me and touch those around me...with each exhale. As I rose from savasana, the sun had made its way over the horizon and shone upon my face with such beauty and grace that I could only simply smile. I felt as if I could embark upon my day with this energy from the sun. Just as it warmed my heart from deep within I felt that I could truly be in a space where I could be mindful in all that I do, love from depths of my heart, show true devotion to all those around me, and tolerate all individuals and understand that each and every path is unique. Love and Light.