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.

I actually did some cooking last week, but failed to blog about any of it.  Well, here it is…

While everyone else is probably sick of Thanksgiving leftovers, I felt like we didn’t get our fair share.  All 3 of us were sick on Thanksgiving, which meant (for me, anyway) no appetite.  Any Thanksgiving dishes that were suitable for us just didn’t taste right, or I only ate a little bit.  Anyway, last Monday when I asked Emma what we should have for dinner, she said we should have “Friendsgiving.”  I had to go to the store anyway, so I picked up a pack of organic stuffing mix (basically some croutons and spices), a field roast, some cranberry sauce and some potatoes.  Normally, I would be more inclined to make everything from scratch, but sometimes there’s nothing wrong with taking a little help from the store (especially since I was still getting over my cold).

The only interesting topic of conversation from our Friendsgiving meal was the field roast.  I’ve never had one before, but the size of it seemed more suitable for 3 people than an entire Tofurkey.  I’ve never had Tofurkey (aside from the lunch “meat” which I like), but I didn’t want anything that big or that expensive– even on sale it was $20!  Anyway, I opted for the lentil sage flavor of the field roast.  It has a very chewy texture and I’m not sure I would buy it again.  It just didn’t appeal to me, but don’t let my opinion keep you from trying it.  It was only around $5.

Whenever I find Dandies marshmallows, I like to stock up.  At $6 a bag, they are pretty pricey, but they are probably the best vegetarian marshmallows I’ve tried.  They are pretty close to the real thing.  Anyway, if you live in or near San Francisco, you can find Dandies at Rainbow Grocery and if you live in or near Sacramento, you can find them at the Natural Foods Co-op.  The problem with Dandies is that once you open the package and there’s no air to pad the marshmallows, they tend to squish into each other forming a gigantic blob.  Once they are in this blob form, it is impossible to pull them apart, which makes them perfect for treat making.  I picked up a box of Brown Rice Krispies (they taste the same as the other ones, but are a little bit healthier).

Vegan Rice Krispies Treats

10 oz. vegetarian marshmallows (1 bag of Dandies)

3 TB Earth Balance margarine

6 cups rice cereal (a 10 oz. box is 6 cups)

In a large pot, melt the marshmallows with the Earth Balance.  When completely melted, stir in the cereal.  Pour into a greased baking sheet and press the treats evenly into the sheet.  When cool, cut into squares.

Lastly, I made some Mexican quinoa (like Mexican rice,but with quinoa instead).  I have to thank my friend Jen for this cooking method because I can’t cook rice to save my life and have tried to make Mexican rice several times but usually end up with a goopy mess.  Once she explained to me how to do it properly, I figured I could do it, but use quinoa instead of rice.  It turned out pretty good!

Mexican Quinoa

1 cup quinoa, dry

1 TB canola oil

1 small onion, diced

1- 8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups vegetable stock, or water

Pinch of S&P

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, toast the quinoa in the oil until golden brown.  Add the onion and saute until the onion is tender.  Pour in the tomato sauce and stock and add the S&P and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer, put a lid on it and cook 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and remove lid and let stand for 5 minutes.  Fluff with fork and serve!

So delicious came out with a line of coconut milks.  I’ve seen them blogged about here and there and the consensus was that they were pretty tasty.  This is the maker of my beloved coconut milk yogurts, so I thought I couldn’t go wrong with the milks.  At the store, I picked up a container of vanilla and original thinking that I’d be all over the vanilla.  As it turns out, I’m more a fan of the original!  If you currently are drinking cows milk but are interested in not having that anymore or are curious to try a tasty non-soy non-dairy milk, give it a try.  The flavor is very neutral– as in it doesn’t taste like anything!  I thought for sure that it would have a coconut taste to it, but it really has no taste at all.  The vanilla, on the other hand, is very vanilla-y and also very sweet.  I don’t think I’d buy the vanilla again, but I’m totally hooked on the original flavor.  I so love it, in fact, that this will be my non-dairy milk of choice from now on.  I’ve used it in cereal and baked goods and it is perfect every time!

But wait, there’s more!  Coconut is actually very good for you.  Check out this website which lists all the benefits of coconut, including the science behind why the saturated fat found in coconuts is so healthy (as compared to other saturated fats).

Pick some up today!  You won’t be disappointed.

Recently, I also picked up a container of the So Delicious vanilla kefir.  I don’t know that I’ve ever had Kefir before and really the only thing I know about it is that it’s kind of like a runny yogurt.  I tried to drink the kefir several times and found it to be too sour for my tastes.  It wasn’t unpleasant or gross, just not something that I would waste the calories consuming.  I would rather use the calories on the vanilla coconut milk yogurt which is so ridiculously good.  If you want a treat, have a carton of that!  Just don’t look at the price. 

EDIT:  Thanks to Katrina, here is a link for a $1 off coupon for Turtle Mountain products (the people behind the coconut milk beverages, yogurts and ice creams).

I haven’t had the motivation to cook lately.  Just one of those funks.  But I feel really bad every night when dinner time rolls around and (1) there’s nothing ready to eat or (2) it’s something easy and lazy.  Last week I decided that I would make a new dish every night from recipes on blogs that I enjoy reading even if some haven’t been updated in a reeaaallly long time (ahem!!!).  It didn’t really work out as I had planned it, but I did manage to make a fair amount of dishes that I’ve never made before.

6 Layer Bean Dip from Disposable Aardvarks Inc.

Dippers were hemp and veggie tortilla chips with flax seeds (hey, you gotta get in those Omega-3s!), and some veggie crudite.  This was good, but I put on way too much sour cream.  I think we all would have liked it better if I’d not been so heavy handed with the sour cream, especially since it has the same consistency of the beans and it was pretty impossible to scrape off.

While on the topic of sour creams, I tried a new brand that I’m not sure I’ve blogged about before:  Vegan Gourmet Sour Cream Alternative.  It was good and I would use it again, but I think I still prefer Tofutti.

Next up are Mini Samosa Wraps from The Veggie Guy.

I left out the crushed red pepper.  Even with that, these still had a little kick to them (good for me because I like spicy).  Emma even tried a few bites and, while she wasn’t wild about them, she didn’t spit it out.  These were good, but it was too much of the same texture for me.  Mushy potato inside and soft tortilla outside.  I was really missing the deep-fried crispy texture of a traditional samosa.  Flavor-wise, these were spot on.

Sloppy Joses over Polenta from One Frugal Foodie.

The original recipe calls for ground turkey, so I substituted a vegan ground “beef.”  Also, I couldn’t find polenta in a tube for some reason, so I had to make my own and it actually turned out really good.  To make the polenta, I used 2 cups of veggie stock and 2 cups of plain, unsweetened soy milk and 1 cup of polenta.  Yum!

This recipe was really tasty (and made excellent taco filling for a leftover night), but my hubby had the brilliant idea of just using corn bread in place of the polenta next time.  So much easier and a better texture.

Chili from Vegannifer.

I didn’t follow the recipe exactly, but I think it still turned out pretty close to the original.  Changes I made to the original recipe:

1. I omitted the cubanelle pepper and tomato.  I just used 1 onion and 2 green bell peppers and added some chopped celery because I had some that needed eating.
2. In place of water, I used veg stock.
3. In place of pineapple juice, I used a tropical carrot juice.
4. I don’t know what Vegebase is and I didn’t have any, so I didn’t use it.
5. I didn’t have red beans, but substituted one 15 oz. can of black beans and one 15 oz. can of garbanzo beans.
6. I omitted the rice.
7. I didn’t have cilantro flakes or chipotle powder and omitted those as well.
8. I had leftover Sloppy Joses and threw that in the pot too (just the beefy part, not the polenta).

After all those substitutions and omissions, this chili recipe was pretty good.  Next time, I won’t add the seitan chicken.  It’s good with it, but we’ve been indulging a little too heavily in the fake meats lately and I feel off.  I’d rather not eat those as often as we have been.  Later this month, I think I’m due for a fast/cleanse of some sort.

Spicy Jalapeno Pizza from Tofu N Sprouts.

I prefer a veggie heavy pizza as opposed to a cheese heavy pizza.  I think this pizza is a good blend of the original recipe and my personal pizza preference.  Please do read through the original recipe as there are LOTS of great vegan pizza making tips.  One such tip: prebaking the pizza dough and then broiling the cheese.  From now on, I will prebake my dough then broil the cheese to melt it, then put the veggies on, then broil some more.  When you try to make a pizza with lots of veggies and vegan cheese, the water in the veggies makes the cheese too wet and it’s not the most pleasant thing to eat.  But, if you broil it first to melt the cheese, then add the veggies, it makes a perfect pizza.

It’s probably also worth mentioning that I just used the Pepper Jack rice cheese and jalapenos.  I didn’t add any of the other stuff to the dough… as I mentioned previously, I am lazy.

I’ve created a chocolate “milk” monster!  Emma will gladly drink a glass of plain rice milk, but she looovves chocolate “milk.”  I spotted this at Whole Foods today and decided to give it a try.  While I adore flax seeds in just about anything (smoothies, baked goods, pancakes & waffles), Emma is a little more picky.  Anyway, I liked that this hemp milk has Omega 3 & 6 in it, as well as calcium and vitamins and such.

I’ve never had hemp milk before and was kinda excited to try it.  I gave it a little taste test before I gave Emma her cup and thought it was okay.  It’s not disgusting, but there is something a little strange about it that I just can’t quite pinpoint.  The milk itself is not super sweet and the chocolate flavor is pretty subtle.  And as the package says, it is really creamy and thick.  I bet it would make a delicious shake or smoothie.

So how does the kiddo like it?  Do you even need to ask!  She loves it, of course.  Since we do eat tofu and edamame pretty regularly, I like to limit the amount of other soy products we include in our diet, including soy milk.  As far as chocolate “milk” goes, I think we’ve found a winner.  For all other “milk,” we’ll stick with rice.

After an exciting family meal last night, I have to give Amici’s a big blog hug.  Amici’s is a chain pizzeria/Italian restaurant here in the Bay Area and we happen to have on right down the street from us.  They’ve always offered a soy cheese, which melted so well and tasted so normal that I just guessed it to be non-vegan.  I have ordered it on occasion, even though I had my doubts about it being vegan.  I was so surprised and elated last night when I opened my menu and saw a little sticker in there proclaiming proudly that “our soy cheese is now vegan” that I nearly peed my pants.  What??? Seriously???!

So I ordered it.  And it was FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!  Like way better than any vegan cheese’d pizza I’ve ever had.  I asked our server what brand they use and it turns out that they use Cheezly brand vegan mozzarella.  I’ve never seen Cheezly in any store near me, but I have seen it online at Vegan Essentials.  You can bet money that I will be ordering some the next time I order my vitamins.  I made a point to tell our server how good it was and how much I liked that they had a vegan cheese.  Hopefully the positive feedback will make Cheezly a permanent addition.

Sorry for the lack of photos, but I didn’t have my camera and this was too exciting to not blog about.  I mean, how many pizza places can you think of that actually care enough to offer a vegan cheese?  This is huge!

Earth Day is almost here, which means you only have a few days left to enter this months’ giveaway.

I’ve tried a few different brands of vegan cheese.  If you’ve ever eaten real cheese, vegan cheese is something that’s an acquired taste.  Yesterday at the store, I picked up a new brand that I’ve never tried before, the Tofutti soy cheese slices.  I got both the American and mozzarella flavors.  As far as vegan cheese goes, these are pretty good.  The American I had on my “bologna” sandwich:

And the mozzarella, I melted over the cannelloni I made for dinner last night:

As far as meltability goes, these slices melt better than most other vegan cheeses.  Smell-wise, there’s something weird about them.  Something sweet-smelling.  They also have a weird, sweet taste to them too.  Not sure that I’d ever purchase again.  But having said that, I think I could go my whole life without eating cheese again (dairy or vegan) and not miss it.

I’ve not been doing a whole lot of creative cooking lately– more of the same, old favorites– but I did make these “cupcapes” last week.

These are the Sexy Low-Fat Vanilla Cupcakes with Fresh Berries from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.  These certainly don’t taste low-fat and this recipe is probably the best vegan vanilla cake recipe that I’ve ever tried.  It’s easy to make and doesn’t require anything special (like egg substitutes, etc).  Since I very easily found the recipe posted elsewhere on the web, I’m going to assume it’s safe to post it here as well.  Enjoy!

Sexy Low-Fat Vanilla Cupcakes with Fresh Berries

(from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World)

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (I used coconut milk yogurt, but you could use soy)

2/3 cup vanilla or plain soy milk

1/4 cup applesauce

3 TB canola oil

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 TB cornstarch

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with liners.  In large bowl whisk yogurt, soy milk, applesauce, oil, sugar, and vanilla. sift in flour cornstarch, baking soda, and salt, and mix.  Fill cupcake liners three-quarters full.  Bake 22 to 24 minutes until a knife or toothpick inserted through the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Top with an all fruit spread or jam and berries.  I used raspberry jam and raspberries.  The icing is made from combining powdered sugar with soy milk until drizzle-able.

And on Tuesday, Emma convinced us to have a party “just because.”  She lives in a fantasy world sometimes and was pretending that Tuesday was her birthday and she wanted streamers, balloons and party hats.  We invited Matt’s cousin, Amy and her husband over for some no-cheese pizza and salad and ended the night with make-your-own sundaes/banana splits.  Yum!

For the ice cream, I picked up some Coconut Bliss Vanilla Island ice cream.  I’ve never tried this before, but have read good reviews of the coconut milk based ice creams and I love the coconut milk yogurt.  On it’s own, I thought it was good, but after having it in the banana split, I thought it had a weird aftertaste.  I can’t really describe it better than that, except to say that I thought it was a waste of calories.

While at Whole Foods, I found this Soyatoo soy whipped cream.  I’m not a huge fan of whipped cream to begin with and could probably go my whole life without eating it again and not miss it, so it’s not surprising that I wasn’t super impressed with this vegan version.  People who enjoy whipped cream may be excited about this product, but I thought it tasted funny.  Also, a waste of calories.

Emma enjoyed her sundae which is all that matters, I guess, since it was her “just because it’s Tuesday” party.

I love spring rolls and I make them a lot, especially during the summer when fruits and veggies are so abundant.  Last night, I decided to make them again, but with a neat, calorie-reducing twist.

Instead of using the rice wrappers, I went with a leaf of napa cabbage.  Napa cabbage is a little more delicate than red or green cabbage with a texture sort of like a hearty lettuce leaf.  It was the perfect “wrap” for our rolls.  Inside the rolls, I used some lightly blanched broccoli (I don’t care for raw broccoli so I had to cook it a little), some grated carrots, radishes, cilantro and mint, and tofu.  Emma even helped with the dinner preparation by pulling all the mint leaves off of the stem!

On the side, I boiled up some soba noodles and topped them with the extra tofu that I had cut up.  The dressing that I made for the rolls and noodles is a peanut flavored one, instead of being peanut based.  I didn’t measure anything at all.  I threw stuff into a bowl and adjusted it until it tasted right, so sorry for not having a real recipe.  I’ll tell you what I used and you can fiddle around with your own concoction:  soy sauce (probably about 1-2 TB), Thai sweet chili sauce (~2 tsp), garlic powder (~1/4 tsp), fresh ginger, grated (~1/4 tsp), toasted sesame oil (drizzle), peanut butter (~1 tsp).  It was really good, peanut-y without being overly heavy with peanut butter.  And even though I’ve sworn off noddles, bread and rice until I drop a few pounds, at least the soba noodles are wheat and my portion was itty bitty.

While I’m on the subject of peanut butter, I want to tell you all about a new one I just tried.  I’m perfectly happy with natural peanut butter– the stuff you have to stir and then refrigerate.  If you’re going to be eating peanut butter, it’s probably the best stuff (be sure to always buy organic peanut butter).  Anyway, I saw this stuff and thought I’d try it, even though it isn’t organic.  It’s a no stir, natural peanut butter from Earth Balance.  It’s soft like how I remember Skippy or Jif being and is good, but I don’t think it’s any better tasting than the natural kind.  Maybe just more convenient because it spreads more easily.  If my choices were between Skippy and Earth Balance, I would definitely opt for the Earth Balance brand simply because all those hydrogenated oils are like a death sentence.  Did you know that people who eat hydrogenated oils are more likely to have health issues than people who don’t?  Back to the butter:  I don’t know that I’d ever buy this again, only because it’s not organic.  With all the weird things sprayed on foods to prevent naturally occuring processes (like molding and pest infestations), I’m not willing to eat the weird stuff just to have peanut butter that doesn’t separate.

It came time for me to order vitamins and every time I order something from Vegan Essentials, I sneak one or two snacks into my order.  This time, I decided to try out two flavors of the donuts, chocolate marble swirl and pumpkin pie.

Both of these had a pretty dry texture, like you might expect from a store-bought donut.  I don’t really love donuts, but I have to say that if a donut shop donut were put in front of me (provided it was vegan), I probably would eat it.  If one of these were placed in front of me, I’m not sure that I would.  The chocolate one was better than the pumpkin, probably because it had an icing on top that helped the cake part of the donut not be so dry.  The pumpkin one tasted fine, but was so dry it tasted stale, so I threw it out.  Does anyone have any requests for what I try next?  Peruse the snack section and leave it in the comment box.  FYI– my stash of vitamins will last a couple of months, so you won’t get your review for a while.