I was sent some samples a while back of Dr. McDougall’s Asian Entrees. These are vegan, gluten free, non-GMO and relatively healthy for a meal that comes in a Cup-O-Noodle package. All were around 300 calories.

This is how the box arrived to me. Isn't it packaged so cute?!

I received 3 different flavors to try: Pad Thai Noodle, Lentil Curry Pilaf, and Masala Lentil Pilaf. As I said above, the packaging is exactly like Cup-O-Noodle with a separate flavor packet inside. All can be “cooked” by adding cold water and microwaving or by adding boiling water and allowing it to sit for several minutes.



The first flavor I tried was the Pad Thai Noodle. It’s made with rice noodles, freeze dried vegetables and some freeze dried tofu. I enjoyed this one very much, although it didn’t taste very much like Pad Thai to me. Instead of being a peanutty flavor (which is what I associate with Pad Thai), it was more like spicy tomato. Good, yes, but if you’re expecting a Pad Thai peanutty flavor, you might be in for a surprise.



Next up, I tried the Masala Lentil Pilaf, which was my favorite of the three. There was spice from the masala spice packet (spicy, but not hot), sweetness from the raisins, and the lentil/rice combo was more filling than just the rice noodles from the Pad Thai.



And for dinner last night, I gobbled up the Lentil Curry Pilaf. I was expecting it to be like the Masala one, but it wasn’t and so it was just ok. It was good and filling, but I preferred the flavor of the Masala to the flavor of the Curry.

These are so easy to make that they would be great for camping. If you’re a student, these are perfect for throwing into your backpack. Or if you just want to have something shelf-stable lurking in the cabinet for the times you don’t want to cook anything, these will definitely do the trick. I will for sure be buying the Masala flavor because I liked it so much (and will look for other flavors and McDougall’s products to try). Another great use for them is in your Emergency kits (hope you all have those in your house and cars!!). All you need is boiling water so you could really eat these anywhere you can boil water!

I just can’t get enough of my lentil burgers. They’re so easy to make with ingredients that I normally keep on hand that it’s been my go-to when I don’t know what else to make. They are good on top of bread, with salad, or eaten plain dipped in ketchup. To stretch the recipe even more, I made them with brown rice last time and they held together even better than when I make it without. I may add the brown rice from now on. This last time, I also dredged them in some rice flour before pan frying. It made the outside extra crispy.

Lentil Burgers with Brown Rice

1 cup dry green/brown lentils (about 2 cups cooked)
1 cup brown rice, uncooked
1 small onion, peeled
1 medium carrot, peeled
1/4 cup raisins
2 TB hemp seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 TB garbanzo bean flour

1. Begin by cooking the lentils and rice: bring 4 cups of water to a boil, add lentils and brown rice, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes or until water is absorbed and lentils/rice are tender. If lentils and rice are done cooking before all the water has been absorbed, just drain off any excess.
2. Meanwhile, chop the onion and carrot in the food processor. Throw them in, pulse a few times until finely chopped and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add raisins, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, salt and pepper to the mixing bowl.
3. When lentils/rice are cooked, drain off any excess water and pulse a few times in the food processor. Transfer to the bowl of ingredients and stir to combine, adding enough flour to hold everything together. You’ll probably need about 2 TB, but may need more depending on how wet your veggies are.
4. Form into patties and either pan fry or bake in the oven. I pan fried mine in a teeny bit of oil after dredging in rice flour first. If you opt to bake them instead, you may want to brush both sides with a little oil so that they get crispy.

In the photo, mine is on top of a slice of Rice Pecan bread that I found at Whole Foods. With the whole gluten-free thing, I’ve had a hard time finding breads that don’t have egg in them. This type of bread is one that I tried and liked and is also vegan. It’s kept in the freezer section. It’s a little bit denser than wheat bread (as I’ve found is the case with all gluten-free baked goods), but it’s pretty good and makes fine toast. I don’t eat a ton of bread as it is, but it’s nice to have some type of convenience food on hand to keep me on the gluten-free path. An update on my road to gluten-freedom coming soon! EDIT: Update can be found here!

I remember so vividly the day I went vegetarian. It was just a couple of days before Thanksgiving after having sat through one of my college classes where we were discussing the book Diet for a New America. Want to know where your “food” comes from and have a good cry all at the same time? Read that book and change your life forever. I vowed that day to never eat meat again and haven’t regretted the decision one bit. That was 8 years ago and in these last 8 years, I’ve never had a Tofurky for Thanksgiving. Truthfully, I don’t really enjoy traditional Thanksgiving foods that much and I was always fine with eating whatever vegetarian side dishes were offered. Now that Thanksgiving is almost upon us, I was considering picking up a Tofurky roast this year for a couple of reasons:

1. We usually spend the holiday with family, making stops at both my and Matt’s family feasts, but this year we’re staying put. We live about 80 miles away from our families, a drive that has taken us up to 5 hours with all of the holiday traffic. Seriously, traffic on Thanksgiving is worse than any other holiday, at least in the direction we are traveling. And besides all that, there is a slight possibility that Matt may end up having to work some or all of the holiday weekend and we need to be close to work in case he can’t do what he needs to remotely.

2. I would like to enjoy a family meal, something that we don’t get to do very often at all anymore, but I don’t have the time to prepare anything super complicated. My days are jam packed with baby feeding, butt wiping, and chauffeuring, so my time in the kitchen is pretty nonexistent.

Tofurky and I have had a love affair that has lasted since I first went vegetarian. I really like the Hickory Smoked Deli Slices and am in love with their new-ish line of frozen pizzas. Really, anything from them that I’ve tried has been good so I thought why not? Why not, indeed, since I was offered a coupon for a free sample: a Tofurky feast that includes a roast, gravy and stuffing that’s boxed with some organic chocolate cake from Amy’s Kitchen. You’ve got your main dish and your dessert all in one, saving you tons of time come Thanksgiving (or Christmas) day. Whip up a couple of side dishes and you’re all set to spend time with your loved ones instead of slaving away in the kitchen.

Because I was so excited to try it and because I wanted to get this post up before Thanksgiving so that you all can run out and get your own Tofurky, we enjoyed our Thanksgiving feast a week early. Preparation instructions are really simple: all you gotta do is prepare a simple basting broth and wrap it up in foil. It bakes at 350 degrees for 1.5 hours. That’s it! While that was doing it’s thing in the oven, I prepared a few simple side dishes: mashed potatoes with chives, homemade cranberry sauce and roasted Brussels sprouts. Then I heated the gravy that came with the roast.

After baking, I sliced it up pretty thin. It’s pretty impressive how much stuffing there is inside there (it’s a wild rice type stuffing, by the way, not a bread one).

My potatoes turned out really yummy. I had an open container of plain coconut milk yogurt and I added a few heaping spoonfuls to my potatoes as I was mashing. It made them super creamy. I don’t particularly care for Brussels sprouts (the hubby loves them!), but the recipe I followed– linked above– was really good. I enjoyed them quite a bit. The Tofurky wasn’t bad. Please note that I am not a fan at all of seitan and, as I said above, I don’t really like traditional Thanksgiving foods, but I did think it was okay. It’s not something I would ever have a craving for, but I would eat it if it were served to me. I have a lot of it leftover and have a few ideas in mind of some creative ways to use it up. The best part of the entire meal was the gravy. It was the best vegan gravy I’ve ever had. Yum!

And the best part of any meal: the dessert. As you might have guessed, I’m a bit of a cake snob. For a store bought, frozen cake, it was actually really good. I whipped up a super simple espresso glaze to top it with (because cake isn’t cake unless it has some kind of frosting on it, right? Isn’t a cupcake without frosting just a muffin?). The cake is really moist and very flavorful and that espresso glaze tastes just like melted coffee ice cream. Even though I liked it so much, I only had one piece. I’m pretty proud of myself for that.

If you’re interested in picking up a Tofurky feast for your family, you can find them at pretty much any store that sells Tofurky products. I got mine at Whole Foods in the freezer section. Price-wise, you’re looking at $20 for the feast box (the roast, gravy and cake), which serves 6.

Oh! Funny story– the feast box also comes with some Tofurky jurky “wishstix.” When I opened the box, I was like what the hell is this for? and I tossed it aside. I seriously couldn’t figure out what it was and then it donned on me: it’s the vegan version of a wishbone! LOL! It’s been so long since I’ve feasted on turkey carcass that I had forgotten all about that tradition of making a wish and pulling apart the wishbone.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I’m curious, what do you look forward to most at Thanksgiving time? Is it the food? Time with the family? All the awesome deals on Black Friday?

This year, I’m most looking forward to spending a relaxing long weekend with my husband and kids. We don’t have any plans aside from enjoying each other and maybe seeing Tangled. (Yep, when you’ve got kids, you look forward to seeing the newest Disney film in the theater. How times have changed!) Everyday I’m so very thankful to be surrounded by unconditional love. I have the best life!

I was offered a free sample of Kirkland Signature Nature’s Path Organic Ancient Grains Granola with Almonds. This granola is a little different than others out there in that it’s made from high fiber whole grains including spelt, kamut, amaranth, quinoa and oats, as well as almonds and a touch of cinnamon.

Our package came last week and we’ve been enjoying it every day since. Emma really likes it– she’ll snack on it dry and have it with some rice milk for breakfast. For me, I find it a little too sweet to eat straight up, but I really like it on top of my oatmeal.

I make oatmeal like normal, add in some raisins and top with the granola. It was really good and super filling!

Granola not your thing? Nature’s Path has a whole bunch of products to suit everyone’s tastes. Emma likes pretty much everything from the EnviroKidz line; her favorites are any of the Crispy Rice Bar flavors and the Gorilla Munch cereal. For a special treat, I sometimes have the flax waffles for breakfast. They even have an impressive selection of gluten-free products, which is something that is important to several people we know. I try to make a mental note when I come across these GF snacks so that we can bring snacks for everyone to share when we have playdates and gatherings with friends who don’t do gluten. I’ve even considered going GF myself. When I say Nature’s Path offers something for everyone, I really mean it. Check out all of their products here.

The folks at POM Wonderful contacted me about trying their product.  We like juice here, so I took them up on their generous offer… on one condition…

Before going any further, I have to address the elephant in the room.  Some of you probably know that POM used to test on animals, but most of you are probably unaware.  I happened to know that they did and I would only accept their product if they could guarantee that they do not test on animals for any of their products, not just for the pomegranate juice that they were offering to send me.  I was told that they have stopped their animal testing and have not resumed.  If you’re interested in learning about some of the cruel tests they used to perform on animals so that they could assert certain claims about their product (pomegranate juice… not like a cure for cancer or anything), you can read about that here, here and here.  And, for the record, I won’t support a company that tests on animals, but I also won’t necessarily continue my boycott of that company once it has stopped.  This doesn’t mean that I go out of my way to buy their products, though.

Back to the juice.  We received several bottles of it (an entire case). The ingredients list is pretty simple:  100% pomegranate juice from concentrate.  No sugar or other additives, but the “from concentrate” part threw me for a loop.  When a juice concentrate is made, it’s basically cooked to death into a syrup before being reconstituted back into a juice.  And then the bottle is pasteurized (more heat).  How this retains any nutritive properties of the pomegranate is anybody’s guess.

Emma enjoyed hers mixed with apple juice.  In fact, she now requests it that way since we have a few bottles of it leftover in the fridge.  We also used a bottle to make a refreshing smoothie of POM juice, banana, cherries and strawberries.  This was Emma’s concoction and it turned out pretty good.  She made it by herself with some supervision from me.  I think it would also make a good spritzer if mixed with some soda water or sparking wine.

The million dollar question:  would I buy this?  Sorry, POM Wonderful, but probably not.  I checked it out and the small, 8 oz. bottle of this at the store is $5.  No joke.  $5!!  I understand that it takes A LOT of pomegranates to fill that little 8 oz. bottle with juice, but $5 is more than I’m willing and/or able to spend on 8 oz of juice on a regular basis.  Also, I’m not sure that I buy all of their claims of the health benefits of concentrated/reconsituted/pastuerized juice.  If I really want the health benefits of pomegranate, I’m probably going to spend that $5 on whole, fresh pomegranates.

Like I said above, while I won’t continue my boycott of a company that previously tested on animals, I won’t necessarily go out of my way to buy their products either.  I’m not trying to bash their product or their company, but I do have to give my honest opinion here.  The juice was good, but I didn’t do back flips for it and the fact that they used to torture animals just doesn’t sit well with me, even if they don’t do it anymore.  They boast that they’ve spent $34 million on “medical research” and it is a big selling point for this product, so in a way, they are still benefiting from their previous animal experiments, right?

One word:  DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was sent a coupon to try the new line of Tofurky frozen pizzas.  The problem– it’s not that widely available in stores and I was growing impatient waiting for it to show up locally, so I had to make a trip up to Rainbow Grocery in SF to snag one (review of that store coming soon… oh how I miss SF!).  Yesterday was my day.  I loaded up my kiddo and we drove the 25 miles to SF to get our pizza and some other things.

I headed for the frozen food section and scoped things out.  They were well stocked on all three flavors:  Cheese, Pepperoni and Sausage.  Now, I only had one coupon, so I ended up buying a second pizza.  One pizza is a good amount to feed two people if you are also having a side salad or something, otherwise one hungry person might be able to eat a whole one.  One pizza definitely wasn’t going to be enough to feed all three of us and besides that, I couldn’t resist trying out two flavors.  I got the pepperoni for Matt and I and the plain cheese for Emma.

Like any other frozen pizza, these stay in the freezer until ready to cook.  You simply preheat your oven and slide it on in.  Cooking time according to the box is 10-12 minutes, but I think mine took about 20.  I’ve noticed that the Daiya cheese (which tops these guys) doesn’t melt very well when you try to use it frozen, so don’t expect the cheese to get super melty.  It melts somewhat, but not like the picture on the box.  That’s not super important or anything, but definitely worth mentioning since that’s the sign some people look for to judge whether or not the pizza is done.  If you waited for that to happen, your crust would be black.

Emma ate almost the entire cheese pizza by herself.  I’m not kidding… and this kid is only lukewarm for vegan cheese.  She digs Daiya more than any other brand, but I have never seen her chow down on something like she did last night (and she also ate a green salad and some pasta salad with it– it’s not like the pizza was the only thing on her plate).  Truly unbelievable!  I did get one taste of the cheese pizza and it was really good– no funky vegan cheese taste at all.  Some vegan cheese is pretty funky, but this Daiya is good stuff and it’s delicious on these pizzas.

The pepperoni pizza was also really good.  The pepperoni pieces themselves tasted exactly how I remember pepperoni tasting (but I haven’t had it in probably 10 years) and they are really plentiful on top of the pizza.  All in all, I found both pizzas to be the right combination of crust, sauce, cheese and toppings where one didn’t overwhelm the other.  If given the choice, I would choose the Tofuky frozen pizza over an Amici’s pizza any day; although, my husband disagrees with me on that point.  And, the leftovers were really good today just heated a few seconds in the microwave.

One thing that I haven’t mentioned is the price.  Yes, these are a little expensive at almost $8 each, but still cheaper than take-out pizza, especially at any restaurant that offers vegan cheese. I really can’t wait for them to become available in more stores.  Hello, Whole Foods… you need to start stocking these ASAP!

And, hey Tofurky… thanks for the pizza.  If you want anything else taste tested, I’m your gal!

I was contacted about sampling some products made by Helen’s Kitchen.  I had never heard of the brand before, but I often don’t buy many convenience meals beyond the Amy’s brand.  Of course, I’m always game to try new things, so I eagerly took my two coupons to Whole Foods to pick out two of their products.  From their website:

We are the producer of a variety of convenient frozen products including Tofu Steaks (GardenSteak™ and Vegetarian Chicken) and a line of Frozen Meals featuring Helen’s Tofu Steaks: Mexican Cheese Enchiladas, Indian Curry, Thai Yellow Curry and an Italian Farfalle with Basil Pesto. A complete meal experience that is delicious, organic & gourmet.

My Whole Foods has the Helen’s Kitchen products scattered around the freezer section– some are with the faux meat products, while others are located within the section for their respective cuisines.  I was slightly disappointed at the lack of selection at Whole Foods (which is likely the fault of Whole Foods and not Helen’s Kitchen).  The only products available at my Whole Foods were: Thai Yellow Curry, Farfalle & Basil Pesto with Tofu Steaks, Mac & Cheese, and Cheese Enchiladas.  Whole Foods also had two varieties of the Tofu Steaks as well as the Vegetarian Ground Beef.  Of the prepared meals, only one of the selections was vegan (the Thai Yellow Curry), so I settled on that and on the GardenSteak Tofu Steaks.  It should be noted that Helen’s Kitchen makes several vegan meals, but WF only had the ones mentioned above.

The Thai Yellow Curry meal is a mix of the Helen’s Kitchen signature Tofu Steak and vegetables (broccoli and red bell pepper) in a sweet and spicy yellow curry over rice.  I liked that the curry and rice come side by side in the container and not curry on top of the rice because I sometimes like bites of plain rice when I eat Thai or Indian food.   The curry sauce is really thick and deliciously coats each vegetable or piece of tofu and is the perfect blend of sweet and spice.  It does have a little bite to it, but isn’t overly spicy.  The tofu steaks are also the perfect texture– sort of meaty, in fact.  I often find when I purchase these types of meals that have frozen tofu in them that the tofu turns sort of soggy and watery once the meal has been heated, but that’s not the case with the tofu steaks in these.

My final verdict is that this one is AWESOME and I would totally buy it to have in my freezer for those times when I can’t/don’t want to cook anything.  It is ready to be eaten in 3-5 minutes, so it’s perfect for people to keep on hand at work to heat up for lunch too.  I also really like that the food comes in a cardboard dish for microwaving, instead of plastic like some of these meals tend to be packaged in.

For dinner last night, I prepared the Tofu Steaks to go with our steamed artichokes and baked potatoes.  I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them because, as you can see on the box, it looks like they should be made into a sandwich and I didn’t have any sandwich fixin’s on hand.  I decided to give them a go plain and served from organic BBQ sauce on the side.

These are simple to prepare– just take ‘em out of the freezer and throw them into a hot skillet that has a little bit of oil in it.  These steaks seem to have been marinated in some yummy seasonings and have some sort of a crispy coating on them.  Just like the tofu in the curry dish, this tofu had a really pleasant, meaty texture.  They come 4 to a box and within the box, the steaks are wrapped in packages of two (which is great if you are only cooking two because then you aren’t left with an open pack that is going to get freezer burn).

Both my hubby and I really enjoyed these.  I have to say first that we are a tofu-loving household, so any kind of tofu usually goes over well with us.  Since these are marinated, though, there’s isn’t much of a tofu-taste to them and I would highly recommend these to people who are (1) just trying tofu for the first time or (2) find something about tofu to be unpleasant (the taste or texture).  If you are transitioning to a vegetarian or vegan diet, or if you just want to eat more plant-based proteins, I would highly recommend these.  For us, we really like tofu on it’s own, and I’m not sure I personally would spend $4.25 on a box of 4 when I could get a big pack of plain tofu for the same price.  Having said that, these are really tasty and I would recommend that you all try them.  I am curious to try the other flavor of these steaks now.

Woohoo! I was at Whole Foods this morning and look what they had finally put out on their shelves:

Please pardon the crummy iPhone pic– it’s all I had handy at the time and I really wanted to capture the moment.  Daiya… at my local Whole Foods… FINALLY!!!  I’ve had the mozzarella at our local pizza place and, for vegan cheese, it’s pretty good.  I really, really like that it’s vegan and allergen-free (no nuts, soy, dairy of any kind, gluten, etc.).  What is in it, you’re asking yourself… well, some starches, oils, random stuff.

I bought a bag of each and could hardly wait to get home to try it.  Since I’ve had the mozzarella and know what that tastes like, I dove right into the cheddar.  I toasted an English muffin, topped it with an Yves brand sausage patty, then topped it with the cheese.  A quick pop under the broiler and my breakfast was done!

After tasting it, I have to say that the cheddar doesn’t taste much different from the mozzarella.  It was good and I would definitely buy and eat it again, but my favorite vegan cheese is still Cheezly.  I’m sad that I can’t buy Cheezly at any store around here and, until I can, I’ll be perfectly happy and fine with Daiya.  There is one thing that I don’t like about Daiya and it has to do with their packaging.  I don’t like that it doesn’t come in a resealable bag.  Once you cut it open, you have to put it in another bag that does close or some other container, which either creates more waste or more dishes for me.  It’s a minor complaint, but I do hope the company decides to integrate a zipper into the top of the pouch of cheese.

For dinner tonight, I made my Emma a quesadilla with the cheddar variety.  Her verdict:  “Mommy, the cheese doesn’t taste very good.”  Ah… you can’t please everyone, can you.  She is completely unaccustomed to vegan cheese and her reaction does not surprise me.  Vegan cheese is nothing like dairy cheese, which she does have on occasion.  Now that we have easy access to Daiya, I’m hoping to transition her to it instead of dairy cheese.  She sometimes gets an itchy rash on her arms and legs and I’m pretty sure it happens when she’s eaten too much dairy.  In our everyday life, she only has real dairy very seldom– usually when we eat out and there isn’t any other kid-friendly, vegetarian option on the menu.  Anyway, it does take some getting used to when you quit eating dairy cheese and transition to a vegan cheese, so I just have to give her some time.

If you happen to see some at your local grocery store, I do recommend picking some up and trying it in place of regular cheese.  You just might be surprised!

EDIT: Daiya even melts nicely in the microwave!

UPDATE: What a weird coincidence!  I was catching up on my blog reader when I saw that Bianca over at Vegan Crunk posted a review of Primal Strips yesterday.  She liked them and describes each flavor much better than I did, so I’d suggest heading over to her blog to check out what she’s got to say.

A while back, I was contacted by the makers of Primal Strips about trying some free samples.  The product was described to me as being “delicious vegan jerky snacks made from soy, seitan and shiitake mushrooms.”  They are also all natural and non-GMO.  I took them up on their offer and received 2 sets of all of the flavors they come in: Hickory Smoked, Thai Peanut, Hot & Spicy, Teriyaki, Texas BBQ, and Mesquite Lime.

Upon opening the box when it arrived in the mail, I was surprised to see the product packaging.  The image that I had in my mind of jerky didn’t match what was in the package.  These strips come in a package similar to– and this is a horrible description given that this is a vegan blog– sorry!!– string cheese.  And they look sorta moist, not dry like I remember jerky being.  In my mind, I was expecting small bits of chewy dried stuff.  You know, like jerky.

Since I had so many of these things I didn’t want to hog them all for myself.  To spread the goodness, I tested them out on some friends.  One friend who tried it (Mesquite Lime) didn’t mind the taste and texture, but it wasn’t something that he’d do cartwheels over.  Another friend tried the Hot & Spicy and didn’t mind the texture so much, but had an issue with the flavor.  There was a bit of sweetness to it and she didn’t care for, but all in all, seemed to enjoy the product.  It should be mentioned that both sets of guinea pig friends are meat-eaters.

I wondered how my experience with them would compare… I haven’t eaten meat in over 8 years and I don’t particularly care for seitan or other faux meats:

Smell: The smell of Hickory Smoked flavor and possibly the Texas BBQ too permeates the package and will singe your nose hairs.  I’m not a super huge fan of smoky foods and I found this smell to be overwhelming (like I could smell it without even getting close to the package) and somewhat offensive.  If I’m going to be completely honest, some of these things smell like dog treats and I couldn’t get past this smell to try some of the flavors.

Texture:  I thought that the teriyaki would be my best bet at finding a flavor that would appeal to me, given that it’s not a smoky, BBQ flavor.  When I opened the package and cut a small piece off, I was surprised to see that it is stringy like meat (imagine shredded chicken).  The texture in my mouth was firm, like a seitan-based faux meat.  It was just ok– didn’t knock my socks off, but I didn’t need to spit it out either.

Taste:  The taste was pretty mild.  There was nothing really overpowering about it.  Again, it was just ok.

Verdict:  Not bad.  I don’t think that I would purchase these things for myself, but someone who enjoys vegan meats may really enjoy them.  You can eat them straight out of the package or cook them in a variety of dishes– burritos, stir fry-type things, etc.  They’re super versatile and shelf-stable and would be a really great addition to any vegan or vegetarian emergency kit.  Since I was only lukewarm about the one I tried, I wasn’t brave enough to attempt a cooked dish with it.

Wanna try some yourself? I’ll share!  Post a comment here with a valid email address and I’ll contact you to get your mailing address.  Just because I’m not crazy for them doesn’t mean you won’t like them.  Again, if you are a fan of meaty things, I bet you’ll like these.  My remaining samples will be given out on a first come, first served basis.  This is not a giveaway– just me sharing what I have left.  If I don’t get any takers, they’ll end up in my earthquake kit.

I got a great book for Christmas that is all about green smoothies (Green Smoothie Revolution: The Radical Leap Toward Natural Health) and have been on a smoothie kick lately.  I try to have one quart of green smoothie per day and I also make sure to rotate my greens for maximum nutritional benefit.  For example, if one week is kale week, the next week is chard week (or spinach or collard greens).  Any kind of dark leafy green is perfect for smoothie making.  When combined with yummy, sweet fruits, the “green” taste of the vegetable can’t be tasted at all.  Really, give it a try!

When making smoothies, I like to add in a couple superfoods.  To expand my knowledge, I decided to read Superfoods: The Food and Medicine of the Future by David Wolfe.  His book is very informative, but also easy to read and it contains several recipes for each superfood.  I highly recommend it and it’s only $10 on Amazon (or check your library to see if they have it).  For this post, I will focus on the superfoods that I use most (there are 10 outlined in the book).  If you want more information on superfoods, I guess you’ll just have to read the book.  Here are a couple of videos I was able to find where he is discussing superfoods and how awesome they are (I couldn’t find Part 3):

Part I

Part II

Superfoods are something that you should try to eat a little of every day (thus adding them to a daily smoothie is a great way to make sure that you do).

Goji Berries

Goji berries look like fiery red raisins.  To me, they taste sort of like a dried apricot, but are much smaller.  Goji berries can be eaten straight up, but I prefer to add a handful to my smoothies.  My blender is not fancy and it is able to blend them just fine.  When buying goji berries, or any superfood for that matter, go for the organic and Raw option.  They are superior in quality and nutrition.  Goji berries are a complete protein source, containing 19 different amino acids and all 8 essential amino acids.  They typically contain 2-4 times the amount of antioxidants found in blueberries.  Goji berries also boost the immune system, support adrenal glands, improve eyesight and deliver anti-aging compounds.

Cacao (Raw Chocolate)

When you hear about the antioxidant properties of chocolate, this is what they’re talking about!  Not Hershey or Ghirardelli or some other chocolate that has been roasted and combined with tons of sugar and sometimes dairy.  Just so we’re clear that processed chocolate really has no nutritional benefit.

Raw chocolate, cacao, on the other hand does!  It contains the highest concentrations of antioxidants of any food in the world.  It’s also high in minerals and contains Omega-6 fatty acids.  Be sure to buy cacao that is Fair Trade or that is labeled as not being harvested by slave labor.  Nibble on a handful, or add some to a smoothie.

Hemp Seeds

I add at least 2 TB to a quart of smoothie.  Sometimes I add a little more if I’m planning to share the smoothie with someone else.  Hempseeds are one of the best sources of plant protein and fat.  They contain significant amounts of Omega 3 (ALA) and Omega 6 fatty acids, as well as a variety of vitamins and minerals.  If you’re currently using flax seeds in your smoothies, I suggest switching to hemp; likewise if you are using flax oil.

Coconuts

Most pe0ple avoid coconut products because they are high in saturated fat.  Yes, they are, but their kind of saturated fat is good for you.  Unlike saturated fat from animals, coconuts are comprised primarily of medium chain fatty acids which help to protect against heart disease.  Medium-chain fatty acids=good.  Saturated fats from animals=very, very bad.  According to the American Heart Association, saturated fat is the main dietary cause of high blood cholesterol.

Interestingly, coconut water is nearly identical to blood plasma. During World War II, it was used as a substitute for intravenous plasma.

In smoothie making, you can crack open a young coconut (pictured above; the ones you can purchase at the store generally shaved down like the white one on the bottom right) and add the water to your smoothie.  You can also add the flesh, if you want.  Blending the flesh together with the water to produce a “milk” would be tasty and would produce a creamier smoothie.  Please note that I am not referring to any kind of canned or otherwise preserved and pasteurized coconut product.  Something that is processed and canned does not have the same nutritional benefits of fresh, living foods.  The brown mature coconuts are good too, but the flesh is tougher and not as digestible.  The many benefits of coconuts are listed here.

And here is an easy way to open coconuts:

The most interesting part of this book, for me, is that several of these superfoods support and help restore thyroid function.  I have been on thyroid medication for almost half of my life to treat my hypothyroidism.  (Interesting tidbit:  fluoride is thought to impair thyroid function, which is why I really want a water filter that removes fluoride from my drinking water.)  I have thought many times of trying to get off of the medication (seriously, who wants to take medication for something that can be fixed through a natural means… okay, nearly all Americans do, but that’s not the point).  For the remainder of 2010, I’m going to thoroughly research this topic and talk to my doctor about it.  I may even seek the advice of a naturopathic doctor.  Then next year, if I feel that I can successfully do it and if my doctor is behind me, I’m going to attempt to come off my medication.  I do not recommend this for everyone and I’m not a doctor or nutritionist, but I do firmly believe that most medical conditions can be improved or cured through a plant-based diet.  If you are tired of taking medications for all that ails you, start researching.  I was thinking the other day that I don’t know anyone in my parents generation or older who is not medicated for something.  When Emma is my age, I hope that my husband and I are two people she knows who don’t need medication for everything under the sun.  I guess that would be another blog topic for another day, though.

Here are some tips for yummy smoothies:

• If you are new to smoothie making, try using juice as a base (or half juice, half water) since it does produce a sweeter smoothie.  I only use fresh squeezed and find this to be a good tactic to getting Emma to drink the smoothie too.  When I’m making a smoothie just for me, I generally just use water.
• Add the liquid first, then add the goji berries on top of that while you are preparing or adding the other ingredients.  This gives your goji berries some time to soften up a bit, making it easier for your blender to blend them smooth.
• Use frozen fruit and/or add ice.  Cold smoothies always taste better.
• Bananas are the best fruit I’ve found to use in green smoothies.  Their sweetness masks the bitter “green” taste from the leafy greens.  If you make a smoothie and find that it is too “green” tasting or not sweet enough, add some ripe banana.