Raw Fruit Pie

I really should call this my Raw Fruit Pie.v2, or Pie 2.0, because you may remember my first raw fruit pie post from way back when I first started this blog.  Well, my friend, Stacey, and I had a hankering for it again this weekend.  However, I decided to re-vamp it using a whole different mix of fresh fruit, just to see how it would turn out.

Holy. Moly. YUM.  This one blows the other one away by, like, a million.

Never have I had such a deliciously fresh dessert that is 100% plant-strong (and ssshhh....it is healthy for you!).  Hands down, this dessert takes the cake, er, pie, when it comes to yumminess.  Look at this ingredient list and tell me how you can possibly go wrong?  That's right, you can't.

Raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, kiwi and mango.  Rinse and slice 'em.

Dried, pitted dates, walnuts, cashews, and almonds.  Splash of pure vanilla extract.  Throw 'em in a food processor.

Pulse until you get a grainy consistency.

Press the mixture into a pie pan.  It will be sticky and fun, so just go with it.

Layer the mango first, then the kiwi (this is me just halfway through the kiwi, so go ahead and do a full layer across).

Puree the raspberries (fresh or frozen work just fine since you're pureeing them.  All other fruits must be fresh, though.).  Pour on top of the fruit layers.

Spread evenly with a spatula.

Top with a pretty design of more fresh sliced mango, kiwi, blackberries, and blueberries.

Chill in the fridge for at least an hour.  (I waited overnight, which was tough!) Slice into pie slices and dig in!

I shared this pie with some friends for lunch on a lazy Sunday afternoon. They were absolutely in love with it!  Now I may be called upon to make this regularly for our dinners and get-togethers, for which I will happily oblige (selfishly so I can eat it more often!).  This crowd-pleaser is a keeper!

P.S.  For 8 servings, the nutritional info is as follows (according to MyFitnessPal):

Calories: 220
Carbs: 32g
Sugar: 22g
Fat: 9g (Saturated fat: 1g)
Protein: 5g
Fiber: 5g

Spring Rolls from "My Beef With Meat"

When I saw this recipe in my inbox from Rip Esselstyn at Engine 2, I knew immediately that I had to try them.  I called a friend to come over and we made a night of it.  I just love the freshness of spring rolls.  The crunch of the bean sprouts, the crispness of the lettuce and carrots, the clean sensation of fresh basil, cilantro and mint....you really just can't get any better than that. Add a side of homemade almond butter dipping sauce, and you're in for a satisfying meal!  Yes, this recipe makes enough for multiple meals.  Spring rolls--they aren't just for appetizers anymore!

Thai Spring Rolls from Rip Esselstyn's "My Beef With Meat" (image copied from email):

The only alterations we made were to omit the cucumbers (only because I did not have any--I have a few babies on my vines in my garden for next time, though!), and we sauteed the bok choy with a little garlic and Bragg's Liquid Aminos.

Then we laid out our assembly line and commenced with the assembling.  The first one my friend made was a behemoth....literally it was like two spring rolls in one!  We laughed, then decided to make them smaller from there on out :).  Below you will see the rice paper, rice noodles, bean sprouts, Thai mint (all from our awesome Asian market, Hong Kong Market), and romaine lettuce, carrots, and cilantro.

The process was super easy! Look.

Step one: soak the rice paper until it is pliable, then lay it out on a flat surface.

Step two: layer some noodles and veggies in a line down the center of the paper, leaving space at either end.

Keep layering until all fresh veggies are in there.  I like to have the greens on the top and bottom (the parts that touch the wrapper) in order to keep it smooth and prevent the sprouts or a carrot from piercing the paper when you roll it.

Step three:  fold in the outer sides (sorry for the blurry photo...just consider this an action shot).

Step four: once the sides are folded in, pull one remaining side all the way over, then start to roll up, keeping it pretty tight.

The rice paper will stick to itself once rolled up, and you'll have a finished spring roll looking as lovely as any you will find in a restaurant.  Well, almost :)

Look how many we made!  We came out with 11, but if you count the behemoth (see the one on the far right), it's really more like 12.

I ate three for two separate lunches on the go....so good!

Sadly I do not have a photo of our almond butter dipping sauce, nor can I give you exact measurements for how to make it.  My friend made it ahead of time and just used her creativity to make it up as she went.  That is often how the best foods are made!  I, at least, can share the ingredients with you and you can play around with it:

-fresh ground smooth almond butter

-balsamic vinegar

-apple cider vinegar

-tamari

-black pepper

This sauce was better than the peanut sauce that usually accompanies spring rolls, and that is saying something.  Thai peanut sauce is one of my most favorite things....second only to this almond sauce, now!  

Thanks to Rip's email for sharing this recipe from My Beef With Meat.  I can't wait to add these to my regular rotation for fresh, healthy meals on the go!

Thanksgiving Planning

Less than one week until Thanksgiving!  How are YOU going to make some healthy choices and opt for one or two vegan alternatives to the traditional Thanksgiving fare?  Here are just a few ideas I am throwing around, and of course I'll be posting next week about what the crowd pleasers are.  (Yes, that means I am serving these dishes to my whole family...I am not going to be the ugly duckling.  I am sure there will be no complaints!)

Thanksgiving menu (all can be modified to be low fat/fat free):

My kale salad (of course)

Caramelized Cumin Roasted Carrots

Roasted Autumn Veggies

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Double-layer Pumpkin Pie

Drinks!

Here are some other good resources, too! (not all are vegan, so choose wisely)

Engine2 Plant-Strong Thanksgiving

Well's Vegetarian Thanksgiving 2012

Well's Vegetarian Thanksgiving 2011

Well's Vegetarian Thanksgiving 2010

Healthy Happy Life

Cooking Light

Saveur

VegNews

Food and Wine

What are some of your favorites?  Have I missed some great online resources?  Share them in the comments!

Would-be Day 36

Hi folks.  Is anybody out there?  I cannot tell if anyone is actually reading this or if all my visitors are spam searchers.  Haha.  If you are out there reading this, then thank you!  And please do not let the upcoming pictures of green smoothies scare you away....

So yesterday morning, before heading out to volunteer again at our local market, Hollygrove, I whipped up a fruit and kale smoothie for breakfast.  I only had a few random things on hand, so here's what went in:

Mango, pear, and kale, kale, and more kale.  A little lemon juice, agave nectar, flax seeds, and almond milk, too.

Blend it all up, and here's what you get:

Bright green smoothie-licious!  I must say...it was a little bit tough to get all of this down.  I think the kale to other stuff ratio was too high and I felt like I was drinking sludge.  I also do not have a great blender so even though I ran it until I thought it was going to die, the smoothie was still not totally smooth.  However, I know how to fix that problem, and I did this morning with a slightly modified version:

In addition to the stuff above, I added a half banana (in place of some of the mango), and soft silken tofu.  Voila!

I really think the banana is the key.  It makes the texture smoother and it adds a natural sweetness to the mix.

It is also a less frightening shade of green, don't you think?  This one was dee-licious!  Easy to drink and I wanted more after I was finished.  (Note: you can really add lots of different fruits to this smoothie.  I have done kale with blueberries, blackberries, peaches; I have done kale with banana and a small scoop of almond butter; you can also use spinach or other greens in place of or in addition to the kale to get your veggie fix).

So now back to yesterday.  Here is the haul from this week's produce box (plus some additions I purchased separately):

What was in the box:  a big bunch of green onions, turnips, shiitake mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, arugula, salad greens, parsley, tangerines, baby eggplants, 9 sweet potatoes (yes, 9!), green beans, mustard greens, and satsumas.  Wow.  As if that was not enough, I also added on the creole pumpkin, meyer lemons, cucumbers, dried basil, and some cool beans called wing beans--see below.  Aren't they cool?  They were grown by a local Vietnamese CDC, Mary Queen of Vietnam CDC.

So last night, my friend Stacey and I cooked a big batch of the greens soup that we have made before (a simple version of the gumbo z'herbes from a few weeks ago).  She also got the produce box and was anxious to use up the greens in a way that would leave leftovers for easy meals throughout the week.  It included the turnip greens, mustard greens, collards, green onions, celery, and all the other spices and goodness in the recipe.  It turned out delicious, as always.

Tonight I decided to use up several of the veggies in a stir-fry.  I had so many mushrooms from this week and some left over bok choy (yes, from 2 weeks ago and it was still super fresh) so I threw it all together with some green onions, garlic, carrots, wing beans, and mustard greens.  I also marinated some tempeh in a mixture of Bragg's Liquid Aminos, sriracha, ginger, and peanut butter then threw that in the wok at the end.  It all came together like a Thai peanut inspired stir-fry, which made my peanut-loving taste buds verrrry happy.

Serve over some brown rice and you are good to go!

The wing beans tasted just like green beans but milder.  I threw them in towards the end so they would keep their crunch which was a good complement to the wilted greens and mushrooms.  If I had had some peanuts, I would have sprinkled them on top for some more texture, too.  Next time...!

How do you get creative with veggies you find around the market?  How do you use them all up before they go bad, especially when the weekly box is as big as this one was???  I hope I can make good use of everything!  I intend to make a pumpkin curry with the creole pumpkin, and maybe jazz it up with some greens, green beans, mushrooms...using this as a starting point:  Engine 2 Curry filled Pumpkin

Here's to a good, plant-strong week ahead!

Roasted Veggies and Impromptu Dessert

I still had some leftover veggies from the market last weekend so I figured it was about time to use 'em or lose 'em.  I actually cannot believe these baby squashies were still good, but they were!

See?  Still good inside.

Note:  I did store them wrapped in a produce plastic bag then sealed in a ziploc stored in my crisper drawer.  These babies do not usually last long so generally I would recommend eating them within the first 2-3 days of getting your hands on them.

I then tossed them with sliced green onion, fresh oregano, and fresh ground black pepper and laid them in a baking dish lightly sprayed with olive oil cooking spray.

Then I also found these baby turnips still laying around.  So, into the roasting dish they went!

And just because I love it, I threw in some kale leaves, too.  This is not usually how I do my baked kale.  Usually I fill the whole dish with it (because, well, I love it, in case you did not already know), and spread it out a little more evenly.

The kale chips still came out alright but a few were not as crispy as I like.  I still ate 'em up, though, sprinkled with some nutritional yeast on top.

Roasted squash and turnips.  Pretty simple and delicious.  If I had been hungrier I would have eaten this over some brown rice or quinoa.  But instead, I was saving myself for what is to come next...

Dessert!  I had an apple that was on its last day so I decided to chop it up and bake it.  Tossed in fresh squeeezed lemon juice then drizzled a smidgen of pure maple syrup on the apple pieces and sprinkled with cinnamon, then into the oven for about 25-30 minutes.

Towards the end of the baking, as my kitchen was smelling like the spices of fall, I thought, hey this would be sooo good with some ice cream on top. Lucky for me, I had a frozen banana in the fridge and whipped up some nice cream!

Seriously, folks.  If you have not yet tried this, you just gotta.  Look at that texture.  If I did not tell you it was only a banana, you would never guess it.  It really does have that creamy feel just like frozen custard.  This time I used only a smidgen of almond butter and a splash of vanilla and it was the perfect complement to my baked apple delight.

Say it with me, now....YUM!!!  (and healthy, too!  But in this instance, healthy does not necessarily mean low calorie.  So share with a friend or indulge sparingly.  My estimate is that the dish below has around 300 calories and yes, I ate the whole thing! Just this once...)

28-day Challenge: Complete!

Yay!  Congratulations to all my teammates.  We made it 28 days and I have not heard anyone say one bad thing about how they feel or the food we have been eating.  Great job everyone!!!

Now that the 28 days are over, I cannot imagine going back to eating a non plant-based diet.  I feel great, have plenty of energy, have been sleeping so soundly, and have lost 5 pounds.  I also do not miss that overly full feeling that often follows a rich fatty meal.  You all know what I'm talking about--that greasy, bloated, uncomfortable feeling.  Well, I can safely say that having not felt that way in 28 days makes me even more sure that I will not go back to it :)  The saying is true:  you do not know what you have until it is gone, and in this case, that's a very good thing to have gone!

While I cannot promise to stay 100% plant-based for 100% of the remainder of my life, I do intend to do it 90-95% of the time.  I have to allow some leeway for occasionally eating out at a restaurant, or simply giving in to that pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving that only my mom knows how to make.

I love that I have now learned how to flavor foods with no added fats and very little added salt and sugar.  Whenever I eat out at a restaurant things taste so over-the-top salty!  I also had a bite of birthday cake recently which tasted like pure sugar and almost made my mouth hurt.  Haha.  I will take dates, applesauce oatmeal cookies, and banana nice cream any day over that!  (To be fair, I have always had more of a salty tooth than a sweet tooth. But if you have a sweet tooth, you are in luck!  I know these treats will satisfy you because they do just fine for my accountabili-buddy, Stacey).

That's another thing.  Dates.  I have always "hated" them.  And by that, I mean I ate one once when I was a kid and I did not like it so I always thought to this day that I did not like dates.  Well, I tried one recently and discovered a new favorite (healthy) treat!  Sooo good and you only need one or two to satisfy that sweet tooth.  Thanks to Stacey for opening my eyes to medjool dates.  I also found that I like figs, both fresh and dried, which I also thought I'd never say.  This new diet has allowed me to try new things and I have actually added more variety to my diet.  Not less.  So don't be fooled by the fact that meat and dairy were removed from the diet; that does not mean meal options become limited.

So hey, what does one do when reaching a goal?  Why, celebrate!  Tonight's meal is courtesy of Caitlin, the Healthy Eating Specialist at the Whole Foods in Metairie.  She has fearlessly led our group of Engine 2-ers through the 28-day challenge and treated us to a fabulous plant-strong dinner.  It was vegan chili made with kidney and pinto beans, onions, spices, and bulgur wheat, vegan cashew cream (sub for sour cream), and a fresh salad of bell peppers, cucumbers, and fat free balsamic vinaigrette. Check it out:

And that may or may not be a glass of wine to go with it....

Who says you cannot have delicious, fun desserts?  Bring on the 256th way to use dates that I have now learned:  caramel covered lady apples!

Lady apples are cute little baby apples that we stuck on skewers, dipped in the caramel sauce, and rolled in slivered almonds.  The sauce was made of dates, cinnamon, maple syrup, and a little water (recipe also called for coconut oil, but you can eliminate it). They were so good and fun to eat.  I think kids would love this!

Here is farewell to the 28-day challenge but have no fear, readers.  All 10 of you.  I am still going to keep this up and continue to share my healthy journey.  Come join me!

*********************************************************************************
Oh yeah, I forgot to share my delicious vegan tofu scramble from Surrey's Uptown that I had for Sunday morning brunch.  Be jealous.  It tasted even better than it looks:

I am going to hazard a guess and say that biscuit is probably not vegan.  But hey.  I opted for the potatoes instead of the grits (which are smothered in butter and cream and more butter) so I get points for that, right?

And behold the best hangover cure ever.  In a new flavor, which is now my favorite!  Lavender.  This will be a shock to my friend, Caroline, I know.

Peace!

28-day Challenge: Day 26

Hi strangers.  Sorry for the delay in posting--I was in Minneapolis for work all week and did not have the chance to sit down and write.  Even if I had, I was not cooking up gourmet plant-strong meals in my hotel room so I would not have had anything too interesting to say, anyway! :)

Some of you may be wondering how well I stuck to the diet while traveling.  Traveling is usually the biggest barrier to healthy eating, at least in my experience.  When I am in a new place and I do not have the option to cook for myself, there really is not any other choice than to eat out for almost every meal.  And often the options are limited to what you can easily access around the hotel, which is certainly no guarantee for healthy choices, let alone plant-strong menu items!

So, this time I planned ahead.  I stocked up on portable healthy foods which could get me through four breakfasts, four lunches, and some snacks in between.  Check it out:

 I have satsumas, apples, almond butter, raw almonds, medjool dates, Rip's Big Bowl, Lara Bars, and homemade oil-free oatmeal dark chocolate chip cookies (from the E2 book, made with applesauce.  Thanks, Stacey!!).  This was plenty to get me through and I brought the leftovers home.  Thankfully, this helped me avoid eating fast food during our lunch break at the conference.

Now, I will not pretend that everything I ate while away was completely healthy, but I did stick to the plant-strong diet as best as I could.  On Tuesday night I went with a friend to a friend's potluck bonfire where we ate chickpea salad, veggies and hummus, tofu and veggie spring rolls, and chips and salsa, plus a few beers.  Check these out!  These are not from Minnesota, (I'm sure you can guess where they are from when you see the photo) but I got such a kick out of the labels that I just have to share:

 Polygamy Porter and Provo Girl Pilsner!  Ha!

Anyway....so Wednesday we ate out at a Thai restaurant for dinner where we chowed down on coconut red curry with veggies and tofu, pad thai (I ate around the egg....best I could do), and stir fried spinach and tofu with black bean sauce.  It was pretty good, but they did not have brown rice.  Who doesn't serve brown rice these days?!  Even Thai restaurants in NOLA have that option...harumph.

Thursday night we went to a Mexican restaurant and I had chips and guacamole.  I just can't say no to tortilla chips, so do not judge me.  It's my one vice!  My entree was a watermelon, cucumber, heirloom tomato, and arugula salad which was delicious.  I am lucky it was so good, because it was apparently the only thing on the menu that could be modified to be vegan....

Then on Friday I gave in to temptation and skipped my pre-planned lunch and went out to a Middle Eastern restaurant for hummus, baba ganouj, falafel, Lebanese salad, and veggie curry.  Ok, so this clearly was not oil/fat-free, but relatively healthy and delicious all the same!

I must say, while I was not looking forward to spending a week in Minneapolis, I was pleasantly surprised.  It was a very clean and green city.  There are recycle bins on every corner, some even with an "organic waste" bin for composting, rent-a-bike stations everywhere, and free hybrid/clean air buses that run through downtown.  The weather was in the 50s on the first day then dropped to the 30s for the last part of the trip...it even snowed on Thursday!  I cannot believe I am saying this in public but....I enjoyed the cold.  Yes, there, I said it!  This girl from the South still has a soft spot for the colder weather.  I miss the seasons, the changing of the leaves, and the cute cold-weather outfits.  There are just only so many outfits I can put together with shorts and tank tops down here.  But with sweaters and layers, the possibilities are endless!  Ha.  Anyway, those feelings were fleeting once I fast forwarded my memory to what it is like January through April.  AKA=miserable.  So yeah, it was nice to visit but I'll take the warmth of the South any day.