Supplementing Sun

One of the down falls of becoming vegan (ok, so it really doesn't have much to do with being vegan, it has more to do with living where the sun doesn't shine in the winter) is that you are recommended to take supplements for certain vitamins. One is B12, this is a big one. The other is vitamin D. 


I'm not a fan of taking pills - even vitamins. I had to force myself to take my pre-natals when I was pregnant. We have had multi vitamins sit on the shelf until they expired (or the jar melted from the heat of the toaster oven). I was looking to find some food based way to add these two essentials back into our diet. The B12 proves a little tricky, but nutritional yeast works (although we haven't really gotten used to the taste yet). I'm still looking for a better one for that. 


Here is the fun part! When I was puttering around online, I came across and ad on someones blog - an ad for a plant based vitamin D. Guess who makes it: DOLE! It's portobello mushroom powder - and its a food based source of vitamin D. Plus, it's like adding spices to your food - mushrooms taste good and add flavor. So its not like taking/eating a supplement at all! I was so excited. 


I haven't had it yet. Whole foods doesn't carry it, so I'm at the mercy of online shopping. But I can't wait to get it in the mail! I'll keep you posted on how it tastes, but I figure it has to be better than the Nutritional Yeast. If you want your own, click on the picture :) 

Rosted Red Pepper Hummus

Mike made an amazing dinner tonight! Stuffed portobello mushrooms, stuffed with herbed, spinach quinoa, sprinkled with nutritional yeast and baked, smothered with wild mushroom gravy. Super yummy! (I'll get the recipe for that later. I think Mike will have to try and figure out what he did for some of it.)

Before we dove into this amazing meal, we had a super yummy appetizer of roasted red pepper humus and pita chips!

Hummus (according to Mike)

2 cloves of garlic - roughly chopped
1/4 c lemon juice
1/4 c water
1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup tahini
1 tsp sea salt
1 roasted red pepper

Place all ingredients in a food processor, and blend until smooth, scraping sides periodically.

I'm telling you, this is the most amazing hummus I've had. The flavor is just so perfectly balanced. You need to make some!

(sorry for the strange looking picture. One, we already ate most of it, and two, my house has terrible lighting.)

Yoga = Balance

I went to stretch/yoga this morning. It felt sooooooo good! I'm sorry that I will miss ballet on thursday, but next week I'll be at both! It feels so good to move. The funny thing, is that I feel like my body was more stretchable and movable even though I haven't been to class in about a month. I just feel so much more balanced. I can't wait for class next week!

Dinner!

Today I was sick of doing dishes, and Mike couldn't decide what he wanted to eat, so we decided to have leftovers. So I heated up one of the leftover veggie burgers from last night, but I wanted some veggies to go with it. I wasn't feeling a salad, so I looked in the fridge to see what might be good to sauté up. Here is what I came up with:

It was pretty basic. I chopped up leeks, brussel sprouts, broccoli stalks, scallions, and kale. I threw in a couple garlic cloves, and some balsamic vinegar, topped it at the last minute with some yellow grape tomatoes, and voila! Dinner is served! It was delicious, nutritious, and filling!  

Recipe Success!

Today I made some veggie/black bean burgers for dinner. They were amazing! I can't say yet that it is my favorite, because it's the first one I've tried. But I would highly recommend it to those looking for a yummy burger. I actually found the recipe on Pinterest! I have found an abundance of vegan/plant based recipes there, and I am really excited to try them. (We have had one flop so far, but i'm sure that won't be the last). Here is the link to the recipe for the burgers. I have to omit corn and whole seeds because of Mike's diverticulosis, but I put everything else in. I used ground oats, and I baked them. 


http://edibleperspective.com/2011/07/the-burger/


I also made an invented dish for lunch today. It was awesome (if I do say so myself). Basically it was pasta with a veggie raggu, but I made the sauce with red lentils to add in some protein and some texture. I chopped veggies - I had onions, mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli stems and yellow pepper - and sautéd them in a pan. I then added about a cup of red lentils to the pan, along with a can of organic diced tomatoes, and a "can" of homemade veggie stock. I put in some spices - I think thyme, oregano, and black pepper and a pinch of salt went in. I let it simmer for 15 minutes (well, I forgot to turn the heat down, so it was a bit more than simmering, but it survived none the less). I added about a quarter cup of pre made pasta sauce, just for texture, and put it on top of some 4 color rotini pasta. Best lunch so far! 


I can't wait to eat all the leftovers!

A New Beginning...

Welcome to my New Life! Here, I will be collecting thoughts, recipes, ideas, frustrations, triumphs, and failures in my adventures in organic and chemical free living. The information I collect is from my own research and reading, and is guiding me (hopefully) to a world of better health and happier thoughts. More to come soon!