Sentiments by Denise

Juicing - on a Regular Basis

Most people enjoy a glass of juice. Fresh-squeezed is usually preferred. How about juice made through a juice machine?

         (the above juice contains carrots, apple, celery, orange & ginger root)

Last year we bought a Waring Pro juicer. It's not the top-of-the-line juicer, but it works for our needs. We try to juice at least twice a week.

I've been trying some new combinations lately, with more vegetables, to get a better balance of nutrients in my diet. For example, this is the juice combination I made this morning:

I combined one Fuji apple, broccoli stems (save those - they are great for juicing and have a slight sweet taste!), 4 carrots, 1 grapefruit, 1/2 cucumber, and some swiss chard.

This is a great little machine - easy to use and easy to clean up (though it is a bit messy, I won't lie!).

Ed helped while I took photos.

Here's my "green juice" with a little tinge of orange! I like the overload of the vegetables, yet it's a taste you have to get use to. I don't particularly care for a sweet juice, as Ed does. His looked like this:

He combined a Golden Delicious apple, Barlett pear, navel orange, and carrots. He prefers his juice to be heavier on the fruit side.

My juicer cleans up easily and goes back to its home above the refrigerator.

If you're thinking that it's just as easy to grab a bottle of juice at your local grocery store, take a few minutes to read this article on what you actually get in those commercial juices.
And if you really want to learn how juicing can benefit your health, there are many resources out there to help - starting with the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead (which can be viewed on Netflix).
Knowledge is power. Consider these things when giving attention to your health.

Love my juice!

Fresh is Best

Most days I try to eat a salad full of fresh veggies and leafy greens. To do this I have to keep a variety of fresh ingredients on hand.

Tonight I was craving a salad, but also something warm. So I sliced up a large sweet potato, tossed it in a bit of olive oil and roasted it in the oven while I prepared my salad.

 

Into my salad spinner went a couple handfuls of baby spinach and spring mix - both organic. After a good rinse and a spin...

 

...I loaded up 2/3rds of my dinner plate with the greens and topped them with sliced cucumber, green pepper, broccoli slaw, cherry tomatoes, a sprinkling of sunflower seeds, a tablespoon of feta cheese and added a drizzle of Annie's Natural organic salad dressing: Papaya Poppy Seed.

The other 1/3 of my plate held the perfectly roasted sweet potato chunks (25 minutes in a 375deg oven).

 
Yum! Tasty and fresh!

Stuffed Roasted Red Peppers

Food is never boring since I started eating a mostly plant based diet more than a year ago. I can honestly say that I've discovered some wonderfully interesting foods that have definitely enlightened my taste buds!

Recent recipe discovery: Ancient Grain Stuffed Red Bell Peppers.

 
Some foods that I eat these days I had never even heard of, or at least wasn't familiar with a year ago. I found this recipe in the sale flyer from Whole Foods (Jan/Feb 2011) and it sounded so impressive, yet very simple. It also gave me the opportunity to try something I've never eaten before: a sea plant.
Arame is a mild sea vegetable, very similar to kelp. Arame is high in calcium, iodine, iron, magnesium, and Vitamin A. It does take some getting use to, but if you're a fan of sushi or other seafood, you'll probably like it.

Stuffed Peppers

1/2 c. uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1/4 c. uncooked amaranth
1 c. frozen edamame, thawed
1 c. arame seaweed, soaked in cold water for 15 minutes, drain well
6 green onions, thinly sliced
3 carrots, grated
1/2 c. roughly chopped fresh cilantro, dill, or parsley
2 T. brown rice vinegar
4 red bell peppers, tops removed and reserved, cored and seeded

Preheat oven to 350deg. Put grains and 1-1/2 cups water into a medium pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium-low; cover and simmer until liquid is gone and grains are tender, about 15 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes fluff with a fork and transfer to a large bowl.
Toss edamame, arame, onions, carrots, cilantro, and vinegar.
 
 Stuff peppers with mixture and arrange in a baking dish, pour 1/4 cup water into dish. Place tops on peppers, cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until tender, 20-30 minutes more.  Serves 4.

**I only used 2 bell peppers cut in half, so I had extra "stuffing" leftover. This might be good in a wrap or pita for a portable lunch. I also left out the cilantro because I didn't have any, but added black pepper and a couple dashes of curry powder for some extra flavor.

I shared this meal the first time with Emilee. Tonight I had a leftover pepper and topped it with some crumbled goat cheese - even better!

This meal was loaded with protein (about 20g per serving) and so colorful!
 
It's great to try new foods - new flavors!

Spicy Salad!

Today would be a perfect day for a bowl of piping hot soup since I'm hunkered down at home admist an ice storm in central Indiana!

But, I decided a salad was a good choice - for one reason only...

Emilee's homemade Smokey Chipotle Zucchini Hummus! You must go to her blog, follow the link and create this wonderful condiment yourself!

I started with an assortment of mixed greens:
 
Baby spinach, red kale, romaine, and leafy lettuce - rinsing and spinning to make them clean and crisp!

Then I rooted around in my fridge, digging out a menagerie of vegetables: mini sweet peppers, broccoli, broccoli slaw, mini plum tomatoes, cauliflower, sugar peas, and 1/2 of a small avocado. I also tossed on some raw sunflower seeds. And then the crowning glory that made this decision a really good one:

 
The hummus, thinned with a bit of water so I could drizzle it over the top. The chipotles in this hummus give it such a great kick! I think this might be a regular salad addition!

There's leftovers (I always over-prep my veggies when making a salad so it doesn't take as long the next day...):

 
The spicy Hummus/Salad dressing sure warmed me up on this icy cold day!

 

I think the homemade veggie soup will still be perfect for dinner tonight!

Stay warm!

Restful Sunday

We slept in this morning (I got 10 hours of restful, glorious sleep!) and relaxed the morning away. We went to church last night again and I really enjoyed Pastor Chris' message conclusion on Philippians - which he has preached from the past four weeks. The 4th chapter of Philippians is my favorite chapter in the Bible, as it contains my life verse (Phil 4:8). God used the sermon last night to speak to me on several things I'm struggling with in my life right now and I know God is really coaching me on my faith-walk these days. Lots of opportunities coming my way to stretch my faith and trust fully on Him!

 
Breakfast this morning was an amazing green smoothie made with frozen banana, 2 handfuls of raw baby spinach, frozen mango, kefir, chia seeds, and almond milk. Served with an oatmeal breakfast cookie topped with almond butter. Good flavors loaded with protein, healthy fats, veggies & fruits, and even whole grains! See - this breakfast has it all!

Emilee came over this afternoon to have lunch with us and, as she usually does, made something delicious! Homemade vegetable soup - with a lot of the great veggies we picked up at Whole Foods Market yesterday during our grocery shopping outing!

 
She came bearing edible gifts, too! Homemade corn muffins - the recipe from her vegan cookbook that we gave her for Christmas. Em loves to bake and has been doing a lot of experimenting in the kitchen lately. So much so that she has resurrected her blog and has begun posting about all her great creations! Check her out here. (She's actually putting me to shame with all of her posts lately...I need to get busy and start blogging more!).

 
The homemade vegetable soup is loaded with some great vegetables like carrots, onions, cabbage, zucchini, celery, mushrooms, red pepper, broccoli slaw, and some fabulous aduki beans! This was tasty today - it will be even better tomorrow when I have it for leftovers! I enjoyed the corn muffin with a couple squirts of honey. The muffins were dense and flavorful, just the way I like them! Perfect with a bowl of soup!

 

It's All About the Vegetables!

People often ask me what I eat since I don't eat meat anymore. My reply?

"Vegetables! Lots of vegetables!

Tonight when I came home from work I knew I needed to use up some food in the fridge to make room for my CSA delivery tomorrow.

I chose some crimini mushrooms, mini sweet peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, red onion, and broccoli slaw. I cut up these vegetables and tossed them into a pan with a bit of grapeseed oil (great for sauteing or stir-frying, as it's suitable for high heat).
Then I added a few wheatberries that I had cooked the other day (these are a great source of fiber), some red kidney beans (more fiber and protein), and about a 1/4 cup of brown rice that was leftover from Ed's stirfry. I seasoned this with a bit of black pepper and my staple favorite - szechuan sauce!

 
Doesn't it look great!?  This is enough for two servings - I'll have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

I love mixtures like this - they are quick to make, very nutritious, and fill me right up! Vegetarian cuisine can be so easy and I find now that I don't center my meals around meat, I am much more creative in my cooking and how I put my meals together. I like them to be colorful (vegetables give me that). I like them to be healthy - choosing a variety of vegetables, legumes, and grains make it so. And I like them to taste great and all of these flavors combined (or combining other flavors - veggies with beans or veggies with grains) really satisfy my taste buds.

Tonight it's cold outside so I think a cup of hot tea might just hit the spot.

 
I'm rockin' the Green Tea - extra special since it tastes like candy canes and is decaf! Love that!