Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Fun with Figs
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Portland Vegfest
Last weekend was the Portland Vegfest at the Oregon Convention Center and it was wonderful! I learned so much and am anxious to share about it. I apologize for the detour from food & recipes this time and promise to return to it on my next post (I made something tonight I am anxious to tell you about). But I am too psyched and need to write about Vegfest!!
This was our second Vegfest. Last year we attended it as newbies and were in awe of everything. We got there when it opened and stayed till the very end. There were tons of “transition” foods for everyone to taste, restaurants promoting their food, and incredible speakers, chefs & classes. This year it was similar – we still stayed all day, but we were different. We focused more on getting away from the transition foods (usually processed) and learning about eating even healthier than ever.
Last year 4,800 people attended and this year there were 6,700!!! Most of the people there were our age. Not the typical tattooed, spiky hair, pierced everywhere, skinny vegan you typically would expect (although they were there too J). There were even silver-haired elderly people with walkers!!! The word is getting out there and people are ready to get healthy. I once heard Dr. Colin Campbell, the author of The China Study, say that when he first tried to get the message out about a whole-foods, plant-based diet that he spoke to garden clubs, PTAs, anyone that would listen. Now he is the keynote speaker at conferences for medical professionals. Things they are a-changing.
The most exciting speaker was Dr. Neal Barnard (www.nealbarnard.org) . He is the founder and president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine – a group of physicians & lay people that promote preventative medicine (www.pcrm.org) . I love that. Preventative medicine. Responsible Medicine. Music to my ears! I loved his opening quote, “When you see the golden arches you are on the way to the pearly gates.” Dr. Barnard PACKED the giant conference room. Every seat was taken; people were lined up along the sides and back walls.
The biggest message I got from Dr. Barnard is that I need to eliminate processed oils, such as olive oil. I have known that for quite some time, but it is very hard to give up. I am a numbers person, not a science person, but I will try to explain one other thing I learned. We have mitochondria in our muscle cells that burn up calories. Fatty meals turn down the mitochondria after-meal calorie burn. This is an excellent explanation as to why I am still overweight. I stir-fry with oil, make pesto with oil, eat too many peanuts, and eat processed foods with oil.
Another speaker talked about the relationship between dairy and osteoporosis. In the US we consume a tremendous amount of dairy products, yet we have one of the highest rates of osteoporosis. Other countries eat very little or no dairy, yet they don’t suffer from this. Here’s the science I will try to explain and hope not to mess up: Our bodies are alkaline, yet dairy is acidic. When we consume dairy, our bodies work hard to get rid of the acid and they leach calcium from our bones. So it is counterproductive. The more dairy you consume, the more you lose calcium. Better calcium-rich foods to eat are kale, figs (they are yummy!), almonds, black & white beans, and soy foods. I could talk a whole lot more about the issues with dairy (such as why it is so hard to give it up), but I will save that for another day.
We were highly entertained by the comedic Chef AJ. Her recipes are only made with whole foods and a lot are raw. She made three different recipes and WOW they were tasty. I bought her recipe book and am already planning what I want to make. The part that impressed me is that most don’t need cooking and are quite fast. Now THIS is the way to make fast food!
I want to end this post by talking about the people at Vegfest. The people that attend are so ready to get healthy. Everyone was friendly and supportive of each other. We all win eating this way: I win, the animals win, the planet wins. I have learned this is more than just “all about me”. I readily admit I have a long way to go, but I am on the journey and it is one I am proud of.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Four Successes and a Failure (and a fifth success!)
This past week I experienced a lot of successes and a failure that turned out to be, in a way, a success. Got your curiosity up about the latter? Well, I will soon explain. But first, let’s talk about the obvious successes.
We celebrated our eldest granddaughter’s first birthday this past weekend at a beautiful park near her parent’s home. At the party they put out a nice luncheon for everyone. They notified us in advance that the only plant-based food would be fruit, so I volunteered to make a couple salads to add to the spread. For some reason I can’t explain, the “couple” salads turned into four. I just happened to have most of the ingredients on hand and truly wanted to help them out. So, with my husband as sous chef, we both worked in the kitchen the night before and the morning of the party. The four salads were a hit with everyone and my husband and I enjoyed sharing the food that we eat.
Unfortunately, I only have a photo of one salad! I got so busy making the food I forgot to take photos. Next time (and there will be one!) I will post photos. I am putting the full recipes in because so many people asked for them.
Here is the one I have a photo of; it is from my inspiration book “Forks Over Knives”. It is called “Mango-Lime Bean Salad” and it is yummy!!!
For two HUGE servings, combine the following:
- 1 mango, peeled and diced
- One 15 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- Red onion, diced to taste (I used 1/3 of a large onion)
- Cilantro. A lot! (1/2 cup or more - chopped.)
- Zest of 1 lime
- Juice of 1 juicy lime, squeezed (2T or to taste)
The next recipe came from the solid food portion of our juice fast. It is called “Fresh Summer Veggie Mix” and it is yummy!!!
- 2-3 sliced heirloom tomatoes (when seasonal – otherwise, any tomato)
- Large handful basil (chiffonade – a method of cutting it very small)
- ½ cucumber, sliced in half moons
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 tsp sea salt
- Fresh ground pepper
- Balsamic Vinegar to taste
The third recipe also came from the solid food portion of our juice fast. It is called “Corn and Tomato Salsa” and it is yummy!!!
- 4 ears corn, boiled for 5 minutes and kernels removed from ears
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 T lime juice (from fresh lime)
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 T olive oil
- 1 jalepeno pepper (optional)
The last recipe came from a woman I met at a vegan potluck. She was generous to email the recipe to me. It is called “Pesto Couscous” and it is yummy!!!!
- 2 cups dry Israeli couscous (this is also called “pearl couscous”)
- 3 cups water
- ¼ c olive oil
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 large zucchini
- 2 large yellow squash
- ½ cup toasted pine nuts (optional)
- Salt & pepper to taste
Directions: In a large pot, add the water, olive oil, and salt. Bring to boil. Add couscous to boiling water. Cook according to directions on couscous container (about 10-15 minutes). Chop the zucchini and squash and sauté till soft. (I used a non-stick pan and no added oil.)
- 2 large bunches basil (about 6 cups loosely packed)
- 4-6 large cloves garlic
- 12 T raw pine nuts or walnuts (or a combination of the two)
- 1 1/2 - 2 tsp salt, or to taste
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Put all ingredients except the olive oil into a food processor. Process to a finely ground consistency. Add olive oil and process again, until smooth and creamy.
The pesto recipe was from the blog called veganspoonful. Did I mention it was yummy??
Now for the failure/success. Sunday night I ate leftovers of the pesto couscous for dinner. After dinner, I couldn’t stop thinking about food and continued to eat into the evening (nuts, seeds, crackers, potato chips - yikes!- etc.) That evening laying in bed it really bothered me and I remembered an article in my VegNews magazine about food additions – the baffling inability of some people, at some times, to stop eating after they’ve had a moderate (or even immoderate) amount of food. The “flagged” foods that cause this are alcohol (nope), sweeteners (nope), caffeine (nope), chocolate (nope), fats & oils (hang on!!!!!)……did anyone see all the oil in the pesto couscous??? On my plate, I had saved the couscous for last - saving the best for last. Big mistake.
I gave that a lot of thought. So today, I had leftovers for lunch and guess what I ate first? The pesto couscous. I ate the other salads afterwards and what a difference! I got the addictive taste out of my mouth and was able to move on after eating. I don’t know how this will play out in the future, but I really believe learning this lesson was quite a success!!