Posts Tagged smoothie

VeganMoFo: Vegan in Reno, Take Three

November 2, 2010 at 10:51 am · Filed under Food, vegan ·Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

We’ve gotten in the habit of going to Reno every few months or so, for better or for worse.  (For the record, I do really enjoy going…but my wallet doesn’t always agree!)  We usually hunker down at Silver Legacy and don’t really leave, but during this weekend trip in July I ventured out into Reno to see what I could see.

(My first trip to Reno is documented here, and during our second trip I was on a cleanse.)

For breakfasts, I took a tip from my cleanse in March and brought smoothies, keeping them in the cooler.

The “Great International Chicken Wing Society Cookoff” happened to be going on right outside the hotel while we were there.

While I wasn’t interested in any wings for obvious reasons, I did find this roasted corn, which I sprinkled with Cajun seasoning and lime juice and ate while I walked to my next destination.

Freeman’s Natural Hot Dogs!!!  This cute little restaurant was recommended to me after my first trip to Reno, and I was finally able to make the 15 minute walk to the shop.

I ordered a regular veggie dog with chili and cheese on a sprouted wheat bun, and a Boont Amber Ale.  The hot dog was fantastic, and so worth the extra effort of leaving the casino.  They serve both veggie and regular options, so it’s a great place for mixed company.  Next time I can make it to Freeman’s I want to try one of their specialties, perhaps the Bun Burner?

On a side note, I was impressed with downtown Reno.  The casino area is kind of run down and sad, so this view was welcomed.

A weird/cute fish-shaped bike rack.

And a whitewater park right in the middle of the city!

That night, I may have played my favorite nickel slots game, Kitty Glitter!  I love how the cat on top looks at you with disdain while you play.

Also, we gave each other A’s tattoos while watching the baseball game.  This is Dave’s arm, because nobody needs to see a close-up of my pale, white shoulder!

I started the next morning with another smoothie.

And a soy latte.  Actually, I start every morning in Reno with this soy latte from the coffee shop in the hotel.

And then we decided to go to the brunch buffet before leaving town.  Luckily for me, there were more than just brunch foods available.

Plate 1:  salad, marinated mushrooms, corn salad, broccoli and fruit

Plate 2:  nopales salad, pinto beans and rice, spring rolls, stir fry and tots.  Can’t resist the tots.

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When Life Gives You Lemons…

April 27, 2010 at 9:00 pm · Filed under Food, vegan ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

When I finished classes at the beginning of March I had grand plans – plans to complete my required externship hours as soon as possible, plans to get back to creating new recipes and use my CSA deliveries creatively, and then…life happened, as it tends to do.  I woke up last Sunday and thought that my face felt a little funny.  At first I chalked it up to sleeping in a weird position or something, but after a few hours when I noticed that it was difficult to eat and one of my eyes wasn’t blinking properly, I really started to freak out.  Dave took me to the ER and I was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy, a condition where the nerve that motors one side of your face becomes inflamed.  The visible symptom is that the right side of my face is mostly paralysed – it looks like I’m winking at everyone!  It is certainly no fun, but Bell’s Palsy usually cures itself after a few weeks to a few months, so I’m trying to take it easy and hoping for a speedy recovery.

How this relates to food is that I’ve found it a little difficult to eat, what with half of my mouth not really opening or chewing very well!  So, I have been making foods that I can eat with a spoon or through a straw that don’t require too much chewing, while still trying to take in a good amount of nutrition.  I have been able to eat some solid foods by cutting them into small pieces, but it’s really much easier to just slurp something up.

Mushy is easy for breakfast…

Good ol’ grits with nutritional yeast.

Amaranth with strawberries and coconut kefir.

Super smoothie – First I juiced some red cabbage, celery, ginger and swiss chard, then I blended the juice with a banana, kiwi, frozen strawberries and mango, hemp protein powder and coconut kefir.  Odd maybe, but good!

A coworker mentioned that when her mother had Bell’s Palsy she ate a lot of applesauce, so I took applesauce to the next level.  This is store bought applesauce, warmed up, topped with peanut butter, ground flax and maple syrup.  It was like a warm pb & apple butter sandwich without the bread.

Luckily, I’ve been able to work from home since my diagnosis, so my lunches have been quick and simple.

Broccoli-Avocado-Lemon Soup.  I steamed a bunch of broccoli well then processed it with three small avocados, the juice of one large lemon, dried thyme, garlic powder, salt, white pepper and nutritional yeast.  Yeah, perhaps it looks like something from The Exorcist, but it tasted nice and simple.  I wanted to bulk up the soup, so I toasted a piece of Ezekiel bread, tore it into small pieces, and soaked it in the soup until soft.

Purposely overcooked brown rice pasta with jarred sauce and nutritional yeast.  Appetizing, no?

Dahl for dinner.  I’d never made dahl before (and I was out of curry powder – doh!), so this was my thrown together version with garlic, ginger, fenugreek seed, mustard seed, turmeric, cumin, coriander and cilantro.

With the dahl, I had some of the best mashed potatoes I have ever made.  I cooked baby red potatoes until very soft, then mashed them with a few spoonfuls of Cheddar-Style We Can’t Say It’s Cheese.  So good!  Now I understand why people put cream cheese or sour cream in their potatoes.

And for dinner tonight, to use up some sweet potatoes, I made Sweet Potato-Lentil-Wild Rice Stew, seasoned with ginger, garlic, turmeric, cumin and coriander.  Ginger and turmeric have anti-inflammatory properties, so I’m telling myself that eating them will help my swollen nerve calm down!

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Homework #5

April 6, 2010 at 9:34 pm · Filed under Food, vegan ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Even though I already finished the Natural Chef program at Bauman College,  I still want to catch you guys up on the rest of what I did there.

For our fifth homework assignment, we had to go to a farmer’s market, pick out an organic farm, find out some information about them, and design a day’s worth of recipes using what they had available – two recipes each for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Additionally, two of the recipes had to be raw.

I chose Lopez Farms at the San Leandro Bayfair farmers market.  They’re not certified organic, but they are pesticide-free which is good enough for me.  Here is what they had in mid-December.

(Their lettuce was only $1 a head last weekend – score!)

It was tougher for me to come up with breakfast recipes than lunch or dinner.  I didn’t want to resort to a tofu scramble, so it was difficult to find a way to use multiple vegetables in breakfast dishes.  Here is what I came up with.

Savory Amaranth Porridge

To make a thinner porridge, just add more broth or some water.  I love adding fennel seed to breakfast recipes because it’s reminiscent of a sausage-ey flavor.

8 oz tempeh, cubed
2 Tbs virgin coconut oil
1/2 medium red onion, minced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp fennel seed
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/2 lb brussels sprouts, trimmed and shredded
2 carrots, shredded
1/2 lb cremini mushrooms, diced
1 cup amaranth
3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 Tbs nutritional yeast
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil.  Add the tempeh and simmer 20 minutes.  Drain and allow to cool.  When cool enough to handle, crumble the tempeh and set aside.

2. Place the coconut oil in a large pan over medium high heat.  Add the onion and saute 1 minute.  Add the cumin, paprika, fennel seed and celery seed and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.  Add the brussels sprouts, carrots and a large pinch of salt and saute for 4 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add the mushrooms and continue to cook for 6 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add the tempeh, mix and remove from heat.

3. Meanwhile, place the amaranth and broth in a medium pot and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down to medium and simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Add the vegetable mixture to the amaranth, stir well and continue to simmer for 10 minutes, until most of the water is absorbed.  Remove from the heat and stir in nutritional yeast and salt and pepper to taste.

5. Serve hot, topped with toasted pine nuts.

Servings: 4

Amount Per Serving
Calories 487.93
Calories From Fat (40%) 195.13
% Daily Value
Total Fat 23.17g 36%
Saturated Fat 8.6g 43%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 430.23mg 18%
Potassium 976.63mg 28%
Total Carbohydrates 52.86g 18%
Fiber 10g 40%
Sugar 4.18g
Protein 25.33g 51%

Ginger Beet Smoothie

Beets for breakfast?  Why not?

3 medium beets
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 prunes, chopped
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2-3 tsp agave nectar
1 cup ice

1. The night before, preheat the oven to 400.  Wrap each beet in foil and bake for 1 hour.  Allow to cool and refrigerate overnight.

2. Unwrap the beets, use a spoon to scrape the skin off and cut into pieces.

3. Place the beets and all remaining ingredients in the blender, starting with 2 tsp agave nectar.  Blend until smooth.  Taste and add more agave nectar if needed.  Serve cold.

Servings: 2

Amount Per Serving
Calories 159.65
Calories From Fat (3%) 4.18
% Daily Value
Total Fat 0.5g <1%
Saturated Fat 0.07g <1%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 97.48mg 4%
Potassium 713.39mg 20%
Total Carbohydrates 38.2g 13%
Fiber 4.31g 17%
Sugar 29.95g
Protein 3.05g 6%

For lunch, a little soup ‘n’ salad…

Creamy Cauliflower & Chickpea Soup with Parsley Coulis

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 Tbs virgin coconut oil
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 dash cayenne pepper
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk
2-2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs nutritional yeast
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp white pepper

Parsley Coulis
1 cup loosely packed fresh parsley
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbs water

1. Steam the cauliflower florets for 20 minutes, or until very soft.

2. Meanwhile, heat a large pot over medium heat and add the coconut oil.  Add the garam masala, coriander, cardamom, turmeric and cayenne and cook for 1 minute, stirring and swirling the oil almost constantly.  Add the onion and garlic and cook for 10 minutes or until the onions are soft, stirring frequently and being careful not to let it burn.

3. Transfer the onion mixture to a blender and add the chickpeas and milk.  Blend until smooth and pour back in the pot.

4. Place the cauliflower and 2 cups of broth in the blender and blend until smooth.  If your blender is small you may need to do this in batches.  Pour into the pot with the onion mixture.

5. Add the lemon juice, nutritional yeast, salt and white pepper to the soup and whisk to combine.  If the soup is too thick, add 1/2 cup broth.  Heat the soup, whisking occasionally, until heated through.  Taste the soup and add more salt, pepper or cayenne if needed.

6. Meanwhile, rinse the blender.  Place the coulis ingredients (parsley through water) in the blender and blend until as smooth as possible, stopping to scrape down the sides.

7. To serve, ladle the soup into four bowl and drizzle the coulis over each serving.

Servings: 4
Yield: 4 servings

Amount Per Serving
Calories 321.49
Calories From Fat (22%) 69.56
% Daily Value
Total Fat 8.05g 12%
Saturated Fat 3.55g 18%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 907.59mg 38%
Potassium 1529.58mg 44%
Total Carbohydrates 51.85g 17%
Fiber 15.63g 63%
Sugar 14.08g
Protein 17.02g 34%

Poppy Seed Coleslaw

This stuff is like coleslaw crack.  I easily could have eaten all four servings at once.  So good!

1 small head cabbage, shredded
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 carrot, shredded
1 celery stalk, shredded
1/2 cup cashews, soaked overnight
1/4 cup water
2 Tbs fresh orange juice
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbs white wine vinegar
1 tsp agave nectar
1/8 tsp dry mustard
1 dash onion powder
1 dash garlic powder
3/4 tsp sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp poppy seeds

1. Place cabbage, red pepper, carrot and celery in a large bowl.

2. Drain the cashews and place them in a blender.  Add the remaining ingredients except poppy seeds to the blender (water through black pepper).  Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides if needed.  Taste and adjust seasonings.

3. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and add the poppy seeds.  Mix thoroughly and serve immediately.

Servings: 4

Amount Per Serving
Calories 227.33
Calories From Fat (50%) 113.69
% Daily Value
Total Fat 13.4g 21%
Saturated Fat 2.24g 11%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 412.5mg 17%
Potassium 643.03mg 18%
Total Carbohydrates 24.01g 8%
Fiber 6.82g 27%
Sugar 11.78g
Protein 7.02g 14%

For my dinner recipes, I tried to be a little more fancy.

Lemony Raw Swiss Chard Salad

This tasty raw salad is best the day it is made.

1 bunch chard, stems removed, torn into bite-size pieces
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
5 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 pinches sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
1/4 cup raisins
1 tsp lemon zest

1. Place the swiss chard in a large bowl.  Place the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and a few grinds of black pepper in a small jar, close the lid and shake until well combined.  Taste the dressing and add more salt or pepper if needed.  Pour the dressing over the chard.  With clean hands, massage and squeeze the chard until it reduces in size and feels more tender, a few minutes.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. Place the shallots in a small bowl and cover with water.  Set aside for 1 hour.

3. After an hour, drain the shallots.  Add the shallots to the chard and mix well.  Transfer the chard to a serving bowl.  Sprinkle the raisins, lemon zest and more freshly ground black pepper over the salad.  Serve cold.

Servings: 4

Amount Per Serving
Calories 217.26
Calories From Fat (43%) 92.81
% Daily Value
Total Fat 10.53g 16%
Saturated Fat 1.46g 7%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 410.09mg 17%
Potassium 876.52mg 25%
Total Carbohydrates 30.17g 10%
Fiber 2.49g 10%
Sugar 7.6g
Protein 5.03g 10%

Tofu & Potatoes En Papillote with Leeks & Parsley Pesto

En Papillote is just a fancy term for “in paper”.  The red wine marinade gives the tofu a really pretty rosy color and great flavor.  And, the parsley pesto is good with everything – especially pasta!

1 lb extra-firm tofu
2 cups red wine
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs tamari
2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 1/2 lb yukon gold potatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 leek, halved, rinsed and thinly sliced
Parsley Pesto
1/4 cup walnuts, lightly toasted
1 1/2 tsp white miso
1 Tbs nutritional yeast
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cups packed fresh parsley
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
lemon slices, for garnish

1. Pat excess water off of the tofu.  Place the tofu on a plate and place another plate on top.  Balance a few heavy objects such as canned food on the top plate and press the tofu for 30 minutes.  Drain the excess water.  Place the tofu on its side and carefully slice the tofu into eight thin pieces.

2. Combine the red wine, balsamic vinegar, tamari, lemon juice and smashed garlic in a container large enough to hold the tofu slices.  Submerge the tofu and marinate for at least 1 hour.  Drain.

3. Preheat the oven to 375F.

4. Cut four pieces of parchment paper into 15″ x 15″ squares.  Fold each square in half.  Draw a large half heart shape on each rectangle and cut out.  Open each piece flat.

5. Place one piece of tofu on one side of a parchment heart.  Place two to three potato slices on top, then layer another piece of tofu and a few more potato slices.  Top with one fourth of the leeks.

6. Fold the paper over the ingredients so that the edges meet.  Starting from the top of the heart, fold and crimp both edges of the paper so that the packet is sealed, overlapping the folds and twisting the bottom corner.  Repeat with the remaining paper and ingredients.

7. Place the packets on a baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes.

8. Meanwhile, prepare the pesto.  Place the walnuts in a food processor and process until they are the size of breadcrumbs.  Add the miso, nutritional yeast, garlic and salt and pulse until combined.  Add the parsley and process until finely chopped.  With the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil slowly.  You may not need to use all of the oil.

9. To serve, open the packets and top with pesto and a lemon slice.

Servings: 4

Amount Per Serving
Calories 431.98
Calories From Fat (49%) 210.98
% Daily Value
Total Fat 24.1g 37%
Saturated Fat 3.11g 16%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 230.15mg 10%
Potassium 920.72mg 26%
Total Carbohydrates 40.04g 13%
Fiber 7.46g 30%
Sugar 3.11g
Protein 17.16g 34%

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March Cleanse: Days 8 – 14

March 14, 2010 at 9:48 pm · Filed under Food, vegan ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I’m more than halfway through my cleanse, and so far I’ve done pretty well.  I slipped up one time, but other than that my self-control and preparation have been good.  And, I’ve lost a few pounds!

Day 8:

water with lemon and chia seeds
breakfast juice:  sweet potato, celery, apple, chard and cinnamon
snack smoothie:  banana, pear, kiwi, udo’s oil, almond milk, hemp protein powder and Amazing Grass
lunch salad:  romaine leaves with broccoli-tahini pate from Raw Food Revolution Diet and buckwheat sprouts, two clementines


snack:  carrot sticks and hummus
dinner:  citrus-braised butternut squash and red cabbage with quinoa, chamamile tea

The broccoli-tahini was tasty, although it just kinda tasted like…broccoli and tahini.  I like the technique of pouring hot water over broccoli to “cook” it.  However, Dave said the pate smelled “like farts”, so I may or may not make it again!

Day 9:

water with lemon and chia seeds
breakfast juice:  sweet potato, celery, apple, swiss chard and ginger.  This juice combo was extremely tasty!  Also had earl grey tea.
snack smoothie:  same as day 8
lunch:  same as day 8, but with tangerines instead of clementines
snack:  same as day 8
dinner:  same as day 8, detox tea

Lots of repetition that day…Makes it easier to follow such a strict plan.

Day 10:

water with lemon and chia seeds
breakfast juice:  carrot, celery, apple and ginger, lemon tea
snack smoothie:  banana, kiwi, almond butter, almond milk and flax seed.  This was a surprisingly good combination.
lunch:  chef salad from Smart Alec’s (lettuce, cabbage, chickpeas, corn, carrot, tomato, sprouts, tofu and sesame dressing)
The salad kept me full for a while, so no afternoon snack.
For dinner, I met up with some PPK compatriots at Gracias Madre, a new vegan organic Mexican restaurant in San Francisco.  I had tangerine agua fresca (which tasted like tangerine juice without any agua), and the enchiladas mole rojo, which came with mushrooms, cashew cheese sauce, kale and refried beans.  Muy delicioso!

I got home from the restaurant pretty late, so I didn’t have time to prep much food for the next day.

Day 11:

water with lemon and chia seeds
breakfast:  I was out of good juicing ingredients, so I had fruit salad with apple, pear, oranges and flax seed
smoothie:  Mango Cogo by Columbia Gorge Organic.  There was no added sugar, but it was almost too sweet.

lunch:  raw red pepper soup with avocado and the raw sampler from Cafe Muse.  For the sampler I chose the raw sushi, miso-coconut caesar salad and pad thai,which turned out to be a salad.  The dressing was really delicious on the pad thai salad, and the whole meal was under $12 with tax, so I will definitely go back and try more next time I don’t have a lunch to bring.

snack:  romaine leaves with broccoli-tahini pate
dinner:  same as day 9, wild sweet orange tea

Day 12:

water with lemon and chia seeds
juice:  carrot, celery, romaine, red apple, green apple
snack:  two tangerines, peanut butter, lemon green tea
lunch:  massaged kale salad with balsamic vinaigrette, dried cranberries and flax seed

I sorely underestimated how much food I would need that day, so I was still hungry after this salad and I ate some tortilla chips that were in the office.  They were soooo salty!
snack:  cranberry trail mix, sweet & spicy herbal tea
dinner:  white chili with potatoes.  This soup was really good, but I want to make it again to make it even better before I post a recipe.  I also had some hibiscus flavored kombucha.

Day 13:

water with lemon and chia seeds
breakfast juice:  cucumber, carrot, apple and ginger, mango black tea
smoothie:  banana, strawberries, hemp protein, amazing grass, udo’s oil, almond milk
lunch:  massaged kale salad with balsamic vinaigrette, cranberry trail mix and nutritional yeast, two pickles

snack:  popcorn, apple juice with sparkling water
Then, I caved in and had a few beers.  I was trying really hard to exercise self-control, but we were playing music and I caved!  Alcohol does aid the creative process…just sayin’…
dinner:  white chili with potatoes

Day 14:

I woke up late this morning, plus it was the start of daylight savings, so I skipped right to my smoothie.
smoothie:  same as day 13, lemon ginger green tea
lunch:  raw sprouted chickpea hummus, carrot sticks, broccoli, asian pear, cranberry kombucha.  In case you’re wondering, asian pear and hummus go together really well.

snack:  apple with peanut butter, mango black tea
dinner:  I was planning to have more chili, but Dave came home and wanted to go out, so we had Mexican.  I ordered veggie fajitas with corn tortillas, which wasn’t too bad, but I ate too many chips and salsa, as I always do.  I can’t help myself around chips and salsa.

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March Cleanse: Days 4 – 7

March 8, 2010 at 9:28 pm · Filed under Food, vegan ·Tagged , , , , , , ,

I got through our weekend in Reno just fine!  I haven’t lost much weight on this cleanse so far, but between our weekend activities and the fact that I haven’t been able to exercise as much as I wanted to, I’m not surprised.  It’s been nice that I haven’t really craved coffee much, and relatively easy to forgo gluten.

Day 4:

water with lemon
breakfast juice:  cucumber, parsley, kale and green apple.  It was very green and very tasty!  I also had cinnamon black tea.

snack smoothie:  banana, kiwi, strawberries, udo’s oil, almond milk, hemp protein and amazing grass.  This is one of my favorite smoothie combinations, ever.
lunch salad:  spinach, mixed greens, arugula, chickpeas, broccoli, Organicville goddess dressing and buckwheat sprouts (added after I took the picture).  I was going to use Annie’s goddess dressing but it isn’t gluten free, so I gave the Organicville a shot.  It’s different from Annie’s but still good.

The salad didn’t really fill me up, so I ate my snack of trail mix right afterwards.  I get more hungry during, ahem, certain times of the month and forgot to bring more food on account of it.  After a few hours I caved in and grabbed an Odwalla chocolate chip peanut butter bar from a little store near my office.  It’s cleanse approved except for the dehydrated cane juice in the chocolate chips, so I didn’t feel too bad.
dinner:  same as day 3, detox tea

Day 5:

water with lemon and chia seeds
breakfast juice:  fennel, kale, carrot, celery and green apple, earl grey tea
snack smoothie:  same as day 4
lunch:  same as day 4
snack:  trail mix
We left for Reno right after work, so I brought along some food and drinks.  For dinner I had a packaged Indian meal of dal, tofu-spinach curry and rice that I had bought from Whole Foods.  It was fine, but it was cold and didn’t really satisfy me, so I caved in and got some french fries from In N’ Out Burger, where the boys were getting food.  I had a few beers after we arrived and was getting hungry again and craving something crunchy like crackers or chips.  I exercised self control though, and snacked on cucumber sticks and this Amazing Grass bar.

It was pretty good…tasted like berries.  I’m not a huge “bar” fan, especially when everythings been pulverized into one texture, but it did the trick for taking the edge off my hunger.

Day 6:

breakfast juice:  Odwalla Superfood, which was mostly fruit juice.  I also had green tea.

snack smoothie:  Amazake Hazelnut shake, naturally sweetened and very filling!

I couldn’t find a decent salad in our hotel (Silver Legacy), so for lunch I ordered tofu and vegetables with rice from the “food court”.  The veggies were nicely cooked, but there were all of three pieces of tofu.

I was full for a long time, so I didn’t eat again until dinner.  We were tossing around the idea of going to the buffet, but some of us didn’t want to pay that much so we scoped out a taqueria across the street, Los Gallos Taqueria.  The girl at the counter knew right away that their refried beans weren’t vegetarian but their whole beans were, so I got a taco (corn tortillas, beans, lettuce, guac and tomato), rice and more beans.  We also had chips with pico de gallo and spicy avocado sauce.  It was extremely tasty and filling, but I noticed after sitting down that they had a big picture of a cock fight on the wall, which made me sad.

I stayed hydrated throughout the day with this kombucha – raspberry, ginger and lemon flavored.

Day 7:

breakfast juice:  all manner of veggies.  This blend actually had some beet juice in it, which made me wary, but I drank it with no problems.  So, I think my beet juice issue last week was maybe because it was so MUCH beet juice in one glass.

The boys wanted to get breakfast before we left for home, and I was getting hungry so I ordered some oatmeal with sliced banana, and drank some pekoe tea.  That only held me for a few hours before I wanted solid food again, and the best I could find on the road was a burrito bowl from Chipotle with rice, beans, salsa, guacamole and hot sauce.  I enjoyed an Odwalla Red Rhapsody smoothie during the rest of the car ride, and also munched on a Jocolat mint chocolate bar.

dinner:  After arriving home I wasn’t very hungry, but I knew I needed to eat some form of dinner so I had some carrot stucks, hummus and a pickle.

Then suddenly, just before bed I became ravenous and the best thing I could find in the pantry was some oil-free popcorn, so that was my snack along with detox tea.

And today, I’m back to my raw veggie and sprout eating ways!  I didn’t look too hard for vegan options in Reno since I brought some of my own food, but I did notice a veggie burger on three separate menus, so maybe Reno is coming along a little in the veggie-food department.

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August Cleanse: Days 22-30 & Wrap-up

September 7, 2009 at 9:12 pm · Filed under Food, vegan ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I’ve been putting this post off because I knew it was going to be a monster, and also between preparing for a friend to visit, said friend’s visit, and preparing for Dave’s birthday party this weekend I’ve been a very busy girl.

Day 22

This breakfast smoothie had banana, strawberries, peanut butter, flax, cocoa, agave, coconut milk.  This is probably my favorite smoothie combination, and for that reason I don’t let myself have it very often.  Saturday mornings are a good excuse!  I also took my multi and coQ10 and had coffee with coconut milk.  After breakfast I headed to the farmers market with no particular plan in mind.

kale, spinach in the back, persian cucumbers, celery, corn and okra

blueberries in the bag, peaches, baby eggplants, carrots, shallots, zucchini (they’re yellow and light green!), multicolored potatoes and a canary melon

When I returned home I had napa cabbage salad with spicy peanut sauce and smoked tofu.  I skipped my morning and afternoon snacks to keep it light in preparation for the evening’s activities – a vegan potluck housewarming party hosted by Megan and Kelly, The Sisters Vegan!  I decided in advance that I was going to cheat on the cleanse a little bit (how could I resist trying everything at a vegan potluck???), so I tried to make my contributions as healthy as possible.  I made my Potato & Fava Bean Salad with Miso-Mustard Dressing, except there were no favas at the farmers market so I went with lima beans instead.  A good substitution, but not at all the same as favas.  I didn’t get to snap a picture of the dish because I was running late.

I also wanted to make a wheat- and sugar-free dessert, so I consulted Diet, Dessert and Dogs and found a good looking recipe for Jam-Filled Turnovers.  Of course, I didn’t have any sugar-free jam at home, so I made my own and it probably wasn’t quite thick enough.  I also didn’t have coconut oil and couldn’t get any without driving almost an hour round trip, so I substituted canola oil and hoped for the best.

They didn’t turn out so well.  I could tell when I rolled out the dough that it was much too oily and soft, but I tried to put together some cookies anyway.  They were edible for sure, but not potluck party worthy, so I bagged ‘em up and left ‘em at home.  I don’t think this is the recipe’s fault at all – I think it’s a good recipe and I just made bad substitutions.

Oh, did I forget to mention that while I was baking and cooking I had two vodka tonics?  Yeah?  Well, there it is.  Again, that’s what Saturdays are for!  I had a great time at Megan and Kelly’s place, their house is super-cute!  Here’s my plate o’ food.

Sorry for the crazy redness, I couldn’t get my camera to take it any other way.  From top left going clockwise, this is hummus and some jalapeno sauce with pita chips, a delicious bagel bite with the new Daiya cheese made by Melisser, fruit salad, pesto pasta, my potato-lima bean salad, part of a sundried tomato scone, part of a blueberry muffin, and TWO types of corn dog nuggets with an awesome spicy-sweet mustard.  (Thanks for sharing wheat products with me Melisser!)  This was a really great meal, and far more than I should have eaten.  Now I see why people rave about those sundried tomato scones – so good!  I didn’t take a picture of dessert, but if memory serves me I had a snickerdoodle, a small chocolate thing (truffle?), a brownie, and there may have been another cookie involved.  This is why I shouldn’t wait almost three weeks to write blog posts.  Aaaand I had a few beers at the party too.

Day 23

Sunday morning, I didn’t have anything I wanted to put in a smoothie, so I made fruit salad.

Strawberries, banana and grapes with flax meal.  I also had coffee with coconut milk, a multivitamin and b complex supplement.  Lunch was napa cabbage salad with spicy peanut sauce and smoked tofu, along with spirulina and (four) jam turnover cookies.  Afternoon snack was a grapefruit.  I was planning on leftovers for dinner, but when I went to pick Dave and a friend up from bart and he suggested that he might pay for taqueria if I took them…

…this happened.  Rice, beans, salsa and chips.  It’s technically cleanse friendly, except for the rice not being whole grain.  It was also technically delicious.  Along with dinner, I had a beer or two.

Day 24

I woke up with a raging headache Monday morning and decided to stay home from work.  I don’t get migraines or anything, but I could tell this was the kind of headache that was going to stick around all day.

Luckily, I had already prepped my smoothie with spinach, banana, raspberries, chocolate hempshake, udo’s oil and coconut milk.  I also took my multi and coQ10 and had blueberry green tea.

For a snack, I cut into the canary melon from my CSA.  I had never had canary melon before, but apart from the bright yellow rind, I’d say it’s really similar to honeydew.

Lunch was the last of the napa cabbage salad with spicy peanut sauce and smoked tofu, as well as a probiotic, two blueberry jam turnovers and wild sweet orange tea.  My afternoon snack was also what I had prepped to take to work – carrot sticks, squash slices, red bell pepper and cucumber with white bean pesto dip.  Dinner was the last of the sesame tofu scramble with greens, yams, mushrooms and dulse over savory oat bran, two blueberry jam turnovers and camomile tea.  I was feeling much better by the end of the night and was able to work on some food for the next day.

Day 25

I was running late for work, so no picture of the smoothie, but it had spinach, banana, strawberries, berry pomegranate hempshake, udo’s and coconut milk, and I took a multi and b complex.   Morning snack was canary melon, a nectarine and black tea.  Also no picture of my lunch salad, which had leaf lettuce, baby romaine, mexi-millet from Veganomicon, black beans, guacamole and salsa.  There’s a picture below under Day 26 of basically the same salad.  I also took a spirulina with lunch, and my afternoon snack was carrot sticks, red bell pepper and cucumber slices with white bean pesto dip.

For dinner, I made a curried stew with many of the veggies I bought at the farmers market, plus some stuff hanging around the fridge.  This stew included onion, garlic, ginger, red jalapeno, curry paste, zucchini, eggplant, okra, corn, swiss chard, coconut milk, tofu and cilantro.  I was really happy with how this turned out and kind of wished I had written down a recipe.  After dinner I had two blueberry jam turnovers and wild sweet orange tea.

Day 26

This very tasty smoothie included spinach, banana, raspberries, vanilla rice protein, almond extract, udo’s, almond milk and agave.  I really liked adding the almond and vanilla flavors, and also took my multi and coQ10.  The morning snack was a peach, canary melon and black tea.

Here is a picture of the salad mentioned above – leaf lettuce, baby romaine, mexi-millet, black beans, guacamole and salsa, with bonus cilantro and green onions.  I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the mexi-millet, but I quite liked it.  It was nice and flavorful and moist.  With lunch I took a probiotic, and had almonds for an afternoon snack.

The curried stew thickened significantly sitting in the fridge overnight, but still tasted great.  After dinner I had the last four blueberry jam turnovers and sugar plum spice tea.

Day 27

Thursday was a great day, if only because I was taking Friday off to hang out with our friend Mike who was visiting from Florida.  This smoothie was made from spinach, banana, strawberries, chocolate hempshake, udo’s and almond milk, and I took my multi and b complex.  At work, I had coffee with almond milk and more canary melon.  Lunch was a similar salad to the day before, with leaf lettuce, baby romaine, mexi-millet, black beans, avocado, salsa and lime juice, and I had almonds for an afternoon snack.

After work I headed downtown to pick up Dave and Mike, who had been afternoon-bar-hopping, and went straight home to have time to prepare for our first fantasy football draft.  I always get really nervous before drafts for some reason, so I cracked open a beer pretty soon after arriving home to sooth my nerves.  After a few beers and what I consider a pretty good draft, I had more of the curried summer veggie stew.

Day 28

Friday morning I slept in, and we were too busy chatting and planning our day’s activities for breakfast.  To introduce Mike to the taqueria experience, we went pretty soon after they opened for what would have to be considered brunch.  I had chips and salsa and a taco salad (lettuce, tomatoes, rice, beans, guacamole, salsa).  I took only a few nibbles of the fried tortilla taco shell.  We stopped by the grocery store to pick up tailgating supplies for the Giants game, and upon returning home I had coffee with almond milk.

We left for San Francisco in the early afternoon to meet Dave’s bandmate Brendan at Anchor Brewery, where he works.  He was finishing up a tour, just in time to give us a few samples and our own private tour!  It was very cool to see the inner workings of Anchor.

My food at the tailgate and game weren’t nearly as interesting as the game itself.  For a snack and dinner I brought a peach, a banana and leftover curried summer veggie stew.  In the game I snacked on some peanut, pistachios and a few garlic fries, and of course I had a few beers.

Photo essay on the wonder that is Tim Lincecum:

I love watching Lincecum pitch, but I’ve gotta say that the kid needs a haircut!

Dave and me after the game.

Day 29

I was seriously running out of fresh fruit by Saturday morning and had no time to shop, so this smoothie included baby romaine, banana, blueberry jam leftover from making the turnovers, mango pomegranate amazing meal, udo’s and  almond milk.  We were leaving for the whole day, so I took all my supplements in the morning too – multi, coQ10 and probiotic, and had coffee with almond milk.

The reason we were leaving was to go to our second fantasy football draft, at Dave’s cousin’s house about an hour away in Manteca.  Manteca also happens to be home to Taqueria Menteca, the sister restaurant to Taqueria Ripon, which is my second favorite place for Mexican food in the world next to Las Margaritas in Gainesville, FL.  I had had enough with taco salads and just went for the burrito.  However, I still tried to be good by cutting it in half and saving part for later that night.  It was nice to have leftover burrito, but that didn’t stop me from grabbing some handfuls of pretzels and tortilla chips.  We had some beers during the draft, and afterwards headed to a luau party also going on in town.  I did the limbo, tried to hula hoop, and had two veggie spring rolls prepared by the hostess for me and the one other vegetarian there.

Day 30

We got home really late Saturday night, and I slept in far past breakfast time on Sunday.  I was really, really out of fruit anyway.  I skipped straight to lunch and had another mexi-millet/avocado/black bean salad, as well as my multi, b complex, spirulina and coffee with almond milk.  Even though our guest was still in town, I needed to go grocery shopping to prepare for the coming week.  He wanted to go shopping for souvenirs, so we headed to Berkeley and he explored Telegraph Ave while I went to Berkeley Bowl.  When I picked him up we were both hungry and feeling too lazy to cook, so we picked up some Japanese food from a place just north of campus.  I had inari sushi and soba noodle soup with tofu and veggies.  It was quite bland, but I was hungry enough to not care much.

Conclusions

I figure I’ll report some conclusions, for anyone who might want to do a cleanse like this, or just for anyone who is curious.  I gained a bit of weight the last week (I suspect it was the lack of exercise and extra beers while our friend was visiting), but overall I was still just over three pounds down which is pretty good for a month.  After going back to “normal” with exercise and eating I dropped back down a bit fairly quickly.

Energy-wise, I didn’t feel any difference.  This was one area I was hoping to see a difference.  I get a good amount of sleep and have decent energy all the time, but I was hoping between the b complex and coQ10 supplements, healthy eating and exercise I would feel energized.  Not so.  I still needed my caffeine every morning and had those evenings here and there where all I wanted to do was sit on the couch.

Digestion.  I thought for sure my digestion would be great on this cleanse.  In reality, my digestive system was…ahem…unhappy the whole time.  Soon after starting the cleanse I noticed my…ah…number two was not in a good state, and this continued through the whole month.  For someone who normally does well in this area, this was a definite negative result.  I also had digestion pains a few times, probably from increasing the amount of raw vegetables I ate.

The other negatives were the amount of time spent prepping food, and the amount I spent.  My grocery bill was a full 30% higher than normal for the month.  I’m sure this was due mostly to buying supplements and a ton of fresh, organic fruit.  I felt like I spent a LOT of time prepping, especially for my daily lunch salads.  I was very happy when I could go back to taking dinner leftovers for lunch.

One positive was that cutting out wheat forced me to try new grains.  I tried buckwheat for the first time ever and liked it, and gave millet another shot after having it only once and not being a fan.  I will keep these grains, as well as spelt flour, regulars in my diet.  I was also shocked to find out how many products I was eating regularly had sugar.  All types of soy yogurt, for instance, are made with sugar.  So is soy creamer, and a few other products that I regularly consumed.  I’m going to stay off yogurt and take a probiotic supplement every once in a while instead, but I’m going back to creamer full force.  Coffee is just no good to me with “regular” milk.  Creamer is a deal breaker.

One rule I will continue to stick with for weight loss purposes is alcohol on weekends only.  It’s a good policy for me that keeps me from having a glass of wine on Tuesday here, a beer on Thursday here…it certainly aids in keeping my calories down.  I’m also continuing to exercise four to five days a week, and have started weight training again in addition to cardio.

Overall, I’m happy I did the cleanse (even though I “cheated” more times then I would’ve liked to), if for no other reason than to prove to myself I could do it!

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August Cleanse: Days 19-21

August 24, 2009 at 2:04 pm · Filed under Food, vegan ·Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Day 19

My Wednesday morning smoothie had baby spinach and red chard, banana, strawberries, almond butter, chia seeds and coconut milk, and I took my multi and b complex.  My morning snack was two nectarines, figs and chai tea.  For lunch I had a semi-repeat of the roasted chickpea salad from the days before, except I was out of roasted chickpeas.  This salad contained leaf lettuce, sliced carrot, squash, radish and persian cucumber, chickpeas and an everything-in-the-pantry balsamic vinaigrette, and I took a probiotic supplement.  For an afternoon snack I had carrot sticks, green bell pepper strips and pistachios.  Exciting, I know!

I’d been wanting to make some breakfast for dinner, so I turned to Vegan Brunch and picked out the Sesame Tofu Scramble with Greens and Yams.

Honestly, if you had asked me after my first reading of Vegan Brunch what the first ten recipes I would try would be, this one wouldn’t have even been close.  I thought it fit best in my cleanse though since it has everything in a bowl, and I’m really glad I made this because it’s a spectacular recipe!  It’s less of a tofu scramble, I’d say, and more of a delicious, Asian-inspired, make-your-tummy-super-happy kind of dish.  I served it over savory oat bran which may seem like an odd choice, but the creaminess was actually a perfect texture foil to the scramble, which was soft but chunky.  I should also say that I added baby shiitake mushrooms and dulse, and I’d do it again because they were the perfect complements to round out the meal.  After dinner I had apple cranberry tea.

Day 20

Another fuzzy smoothie picture.  After this was taken, Dave bought and installed a bunch of new lightbulbs in the kitchen and living room, which have bettered my pictures.  I knew we had lightbulbs out and that I was having trouble focusing on some pictures, but hadn’t put two and two together.  Doh!  Anyway, this smoothie was made from baby spinach and red chard, banana, strawberries, berry pomegranate hempshake, udo’s oil and coconut milk, and I took my multi and coQ10.  At work, I had two apricots, a plum and coffee with coconut milk.

Since I had made dinner the night before and didn’t have the energy to prep another whole meal, and I was out of salad fixings, I decided to buy a salad for lunch.  Gasp!  Luckily, there is a restaurant near my office, Smart Alec’s, who claim they are “healthy fast food” and offer a few salad options, as well as a downright decent veggie burger and air-baked fries.

Sorry for the awful photo, I forgot to bring my camera so this is from a cell phone.  I chose their Sesame Tofu Salad, which is kind of funny because I had just had sesame tofu for dinner the night before, and the salad that I was supposed to bring but was too lazy to prep was an Asian-y cabbage salad.  I guess I really wanted sesame and tofu!  This salad had lettuce, a wee bit of red cabbage, baked tofu, crispy rice noodles and sesame dressing.  The tofu was hot when they put it in the container so it wilted the lettuce a little, which I actually like.  My only complaint about this salad is that it could’ve used more veggies, but overeall it was quite good.

The afternoon snack of the day was carrot sticks, cucumber slices and bell pepper strips with White Bean Pesto Dip from Versatile Vegetarian, which sounds uneventful save the fact that while I was slicing the cucumber that morning I sustained my first cooking injury!  I cut my thumb.  Not so bad that it needed stitches, but bad enough that it bled quite a bit and I felt a little woozy.  I was kind of excited to go into cooking school next month never having cut myself (I’m sure it would’ve happened eventually, possibly AT school), but I also kind of feel like I went through some sort of rite of passage into becoming a real chef.  So much so that I felt the need to document my battle scar.  Click here ONLY if you’re a bit morbidly curious and don’t mind the sight of blood.

For dinner I had more sesame tofu scramble over oat bran, and I took another picture because I thought the first one from the night before was too covered in sesame seeds.  For this one I mixed the seeds in first so you can actually see what it looks like.  Before bed, I had camomile tea.

Day 21

I had planned to make Friday morning’s smoothie with some blackberries, but upon taking the berries out of the fridge they had gone moldy.  So I went to plan B and included baby spinach and red chard, banana, frozen mango, mango pomegranate hempshake, udo’s and coconut milk.  This smoothie turned out fantastically, so apart from wasting berries, I was kind of glad I couldn’t use them.  I also took my multi and b complex.  For a morning snack I had a pear, a plum, figs and coffee with coconut milk.

For lunch, I made Napa Cabbage Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce from Cooking Thin with Chef Kathleen and added cubed, smoked tofu.  I feel this salad wasn’t named appropriately, because there’s no peanut sauce anywhere.  It’s really a sesame-soy dressing over cabbage with chopped peanuts sprinkled on top.  The flavors were good, but it was a whole lot of cabbage to eat at once.  The recipe called for the salad to be dressed just before serving, but I feel like it may have benefitted from the cabbage sitting in the dressing, like a slaw.  My afternoon snack was carrot sticks, squash slices and red bell pepper with white bean pesto dip.

On the way home from work I picked up some black cherry and citrus vodkas and diet tonic water to have some flavored vodka tonics.  I had one of each, and more sesame tofu scramble over oat bran for dinner, then we spontaneously decided to go to Oakland to see a friend’s band play.  I had two beers there, and when we got back home I was starving.  I wanted a crunchy snack and didn’t have much in the way of cleanse-friendly snacks that weren’t nuts, so I popped some popcorn and seasoned it using Bianca’s tip (see the comments of this post).  It worked!  I seasoned with nutritional yeast, dried dill, salt and probably too much black pepper.

You may remember that i was disappointed to gain a bit of weight during the second week.  Well, the good news is that I lost 2.5 pounds this week!  Yay!  That makes 4.7 pounds total in 3 weeks.  Not bad, for me at least.

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August Cleanse: Days 15-18

August 19, 2009 at 6:58 pm · Filed under Food, vegan ·Tagged , , , , , ,

Onward and upward!

Day 15

I was all out of greens on Saturday morning, so my smoothie had banana, strawberries, chocolate hempshake, almond butter, chia seeds, almond milk.  I also took a multi and b complex and had some coffee with almond milk.  For lunch I had a repeat of the Polynesian salad, but without banana and cucumber.  It was a fairly unsubstantial salad, but it was the weekend so I wasn’t too worried about getting hungry again quickly…until I went grocery shopping for an hour and a half and found myself starving at Whole Foods!  I was hoping they would have a selection of juices at the coffee/smoothie/juice counter, but they only had two – wheatgrass, and a ginger refresher with honey.  So I ended up getting a smoothie of banana, blueberries and pineapple coconut juice.  It didn’t occur to me until after I ordered that the juice probably had sugar in it – I got a little buzz from the smoothie.  Oops!  When I got home I had another snack of zucchini slices and red bell pepper with black bean and orange hummus.

I had bbq sauce leftover in the fridge from my grilled Thursday dinner and had been trying to think of a way to use it other than just brushing it on something grilled.  I also had a bunch of tomatoes that needed to be used before they went bad, and my mind went to bbq chili, which I served over brown rice.  It’s really simple, and really tasty.  Along with my chili I had a few beers.  Ahhhh, the weekend.

BBQ Chili

1 Tbs canola oil
medium yellow or white onion, diced
green bell pepper, diced
jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 cup bbq sauce
2 cups veggie broth or water
3 cups diced fresh tomatoes or 2 cans diced tomatoes, drained
1 1/2 cups or 1 15 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups or 1 15 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
optional toppings:  shredded vegan cheese
chopped green onion
diced avocado

Heat oil in a large sauce pot over medium heat.  Add onion and saute 5 minutes.  Add green pepper and jalapeno and continue to cook for 5 minutes.  Add garlic, chili powder and cumin and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly to make sure it doesn’t burn.  Add all other ingredients except toppings, raise heat to high and bring to a boil.  Lower heat to medium low and simmer at least 30 minutes.  Ladle into bowls and top with toppings.

Serves 4.

Day 16

I didn’t have much time Sunday morning between waking up and rushing out the door to run some errands, so I just ate a peach and a banana, and took a barrage of supplements – multi, coQ10 and spirulina.  I also had some coffee with almond milk.

Upon returning, I prepared this pretty salad.

It’s leaf lettuce, baby arugula and mustard greens, shredded carrot and squash, sliced radish and persian cucumber, Cheesy Roasted Chickpeas from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan and goddess dressing.  I was going to make a homemade tahini dressing, but was again pressed for time.  This salad came together really well!  Of course, goddess dressing makes everything taste better.  The shredded squash kind of looked like shredded cheese, which was fun, and it didn’t taste squash-y at all.  I didn’t taste a chickpea on its own so I can’t attest to the cheesiness, but I can say that I really like their texture.  They get kind of chewy, in a good way.

The reason I was in a rush was because we were heading off to Golden Gate Fields to watch the horse races.  Not vegan, I know, but Dave has taken an interest in gambling on horse racing as a hobby, and none of his buddies could go so I said I would go to check it out and see how I felt about the whole thing.  I actually ended up having a really good time and gambling a little, and we placed a large bet on the last race and made quite a bit of money!  However, after doing some reasearch on how the horses are treated, especially the ones that don’t perform, I don’t think I’ll be going back.  I’m a little torn on the issue because I really enjoyed going and it’s a nice time for me and Dave, and I’m sure that some of the horses are treated very well while they’re in racing condition, but I don’t think I can overlook some of the business practices that go on in the horse racing industry.

Oh, while we were at the track I snacked on some peanuts and had a few of their teeny dollar beers.  When we got back I had more bbq chili and brown rice for dinner, and two glasses of red wine before bed.

Day 17

All stocked up on smoothie supplies for the week, this one included baby spinach and red chard, banana, blackberries, amazon acai hempshake, udo’s oil, almond milk, agave nectar.  It was impossible to get a good picture of it.  I also took my multi and b complex.

My morning snack was some grapes and English breakfast tea, and lunch was an exact repeat of the salad from the day before, along with a probiotic supplement.  The afternoon snack of the day was carrot sticks, bell pepper strips and cucumber slices with black bean and orange hummus.

Immediately after work we went to the Coliseum to meet our friend Tom and his sister who was visiting for an A’s game.  Well, she wasn’t visiting FOR the game, she was visting and we happened to go to a game.  A game where the A’s shut out the Yankees!  There were some Obnoxious with a Capital O Yankees fans there, although I probably shouldn’t talk because the game last night went a different way and there’s still one more in the series.  Anywho, I had some peanuts and pistachios at the game, as well as some bbq chili and brown rice that I packed, topped with avocado.  I also had a Diet Dr. Pepper, which is against my cleanse rules.  I was determined not to have any beer, and considering I almost always have at least one beer at every game we go to, I wanted to have a different beverage in my hand so the temptation was lessened.  I also wanted the souvenier cup.

Day 18

It was also impossible to get a good shot of this smoothie, which had baby spinach and red chard, banana, blueberries, a peach, vanilla rice protein, udo’s and almond milk.  My smoothie-picture-taking-skills seem to be going downhill.  I also took my multi and coQ10.  For a morning snack I ate a pear, some figs and had darjeeling tea.  I think I may have some issues with figs – I got some mad stomach pains after eating this snack, and have noticed headaches after eating a meal with figs before.  I could be coincidence, but I’m kind of scared of figs now.  It seems to be okay if I only have two or three at a time, so perhaps I’ll stick with that and see how it goes.

For lunch I had another exact repeat salad.  Why mess with something so good?  My afternoon snack was more carrot, bell pepper and cucumber with the last of the black bean and orange hummus.

My dinner was the last serving of bbq chili and brown rice, topped with avocado and green onions, which is how I had intended to eat it each time but didn’t.  Avocado is always good, and the green onions really perked the chili up.  Afterward while doing the dishes, I enjoyed some wild sweet orange tea.

I’m starting to have cravings for wheat, especially for a burrito or sandwich.  Every time we pass a taqueria I want a burrito BADLY, but it’s nothing I can’t hold off on for another few weeks.  I’m pretty sure I’m going to get a big burrito on September 1st though, maybe I just won’t eat the whole thing in one sitting!

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August Cleanse: Days 11-14

August 16, 2009 at 7:17 pm · Filed under Food, vegan ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Day 11

I started the day off with some repeats from Day 10 – the smoothie of the day was spinach, banana, mango, strawberries, udo’s oil, almond milk and amazing meal, along with a b complex and multi.  My morning snack was cherries and constant comment tea.  Lunch was a repeat of the Greekish salad.

For an afternoon snack, I ate some zucchini slices, carrot sticks and red bell pepper slices with the Black Bean & Orange Hummus from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan.  It’s an odd combination, but just like the author says, it goes together really well.  You can taste the black beans, orange, garlic and almond butter without anything overpowering the rest.  It’s very good!

Dinner was leftover tofu vindaloo with buckwheat and sugar plum spice tea.

Day 12

This delicious smoothie had spinach, banana, cherries, chia seeds, chocolate hempshake, almond milk, and I took my multi and coQ10.  I really like using the chocolate hempshake, especially with cherries, strawberries or raspberries.  My morning snack was figs, an apple, and darjeeling tea, and lunch was another Greekish salad except this time with avocado, dried oregano and fresh parsley, and a squeeze of lemon juice for dressing.  The salad was so big and filling that I couldn’t even finish it and wasn’t very hungry for an afternoon snack, so I just had a small piece of canteloupe and a few strawberries at a work event.  Dinner was the last of the tofu vindaloo and buckwheat, and afterward I had camomile tea.

Day 13


This green smoothie was made from spinach, half a banana, peach, kiwi, amazon acai hempshake, udo’s and almond milk, and I had my multi and b complex.  I had a snack of fruit at work, but for the life of me I can’t remember what it was.  I also had some coffee with almond milk.  I must say, soy creamer is one thing I’m definitely missing on this cleanse.

I had gotten an e-mail from VegWeb the day before, and while I don’t normally pay too much attention to their e-mails, this Polynesian Salad with Curry Dressing caught my attention because I needed a salad for the next day, I happened to have all the ingredients called for, and it just sounded good.  I wasn’t too sure about bananas in a salad, but this is one fine salad.  I didn’t have walnuts so I subbed pecans, and the contrast of textures and flavors in this salad definitely makes it a winner.  The only small issue was that it didn’t keep me full for very long.  I ate my afternoon snack of zucchini slices and carrot sticks with black bean and orange hummus earlier than I normally snack.

I had a plan for when I got home to exercise, shower, make dinner and take care of a few things on my to do list.  When I got home I was in a bad mood though, and these were all the last things I wanted to do.  I didn’t even have the energy to take pictures of my CSA delivery, for the first time ever.  I grabbed a handful of dill pickle cashews to appease my growling tummy, went to the store with Dave, and grilled up some dinner.

This is bbq tempeh and eggplant with portobello and steamed broccoli, all over a baked potato.  The bbq sauce was an on-the-fly concoction of tomato sauce, agave nectar, molasses, maple syrup, vinegar, onion and garlic powder, allspice and ground red pepper.  For throwing a bunch of stuff in a bowl, it turned out pretty well – it even got all sticky on the tempeh while it grilled.  I also “cheated” a little bit and had two glasses of wine on a Thursday night (I’m supposed to only have alcohol on the weekends), but at the end of the day I felt much better than I would’ve forcing myself to do things I didn’t have the energy for.  Sometimes it feels good to have a plan, then completely ignore that plan and do whatever you want.

Day 14

My smoothie on Friday had half a banana, blueberries, plum, orange, vanilla rice protein, udo’s and almond milk, and I took a coQ10, multi and probiotic.  It sounds like an odd flavor combination, perhaps, but it actually worked quite nicely.  Orange and vanilla are a natural match, and the blueberries and plum just kind of joined the party.

We had a large event at work that I knew was going to keep me busy all day, so I didn’t bother to take any snacks because I knew I wouldn’t have time to eat them.  I should’ve known that this was a silly move, because by lunchtime I was starving and the salad I brought alone wasn’t going to cut it.  I ended up eating a veggie dog on a bun from Top Dog, who was catering our event, and it was pretty much entirely made of wheat.  So, I cheated (again), but I had to make a decision and having food in my belly was a better choice than being out in the sun all afternoon running on just a salad.  It was another Polynesian salad, by the way, and again it was very tasty.

After work Dave and I went straight to the Coliseum for the A’s game.  I had brought leftovers from the night before (bbq tempeh, eggplant, portobello, baked potato and broccoli) to eat as dinner in the parking lot before we went in.  I also had a few beers – the beers inside the game are EXPENSIVE so we like to have some cheap ones before we go in.  Watching the game, I ate some peanuts and pistachios as a snack.

So I had a few missteps this week, but all in all I feel I did pretty well.  The food prep is getting easier; I’m getting used to putting a salad together every night before work.  I actually gained 0.7 pounds this week which I don’t understand since I’ve been eating well and exercising, but maybe I can make up for it next week.  Until then!

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August Cleanse: Days 8-10

August 12, 2009 at 8:46 pm · Filed under Food, vegan ·Tagged , , , , , , ,

Day 8

Saturday was a day of much repeated food, finishing up leftovers before cooking some more.  I started the morning with a smoothie of kale, banana, strawberries, peanut butter and udo’s oil, along with my coQ10 and multivitamin.  I love the cute little bubbles on top of this smoothie!  I also had some chai tea to wake me up before a big grocery shopping trip.  I tend to sleep in on weekends when possible, so no morning snack was required.

Upon my return from the grocery store and unloading what felt like a massive amount of groceries, I had a salad with leaf lettuce, shredded carrot, red pepper, sauteed cajun tofu and non-honey honey mustard, and brewed some cinnamony coffee then added almond milk, cause the tea just didn’t do it for me.  My afternoon snack was two apricots, half a cantaloupe and some pistachios, and I also had a few beers because Dave and our friend Tom were brewing in the kitchen, and how could I NOT have beer while the whole house smelled of it?  For dinner I ate the last of the brown rice ‘n’ beans jumble-aya and steamed green beans.  Due to getting up later on the weekends I also tend to stay up later, and I became ravenous a few hours after dinner so I popped some no-oil-added popcorn in the microwave.  I tried to stick some seasoned salt and nutritional yeast on the popcorn with a new olive oil sprayer I got, but it still didn’t work!  Most of the seasoning ended up in the bottom of the bowl.  Anyone have a trick for getting seasoning to stick to popcorn other than dousing it in Earth Balance?

Day 9

This nice purple smoothie contained kale, a whole container of blackberries, a peach, udo’s, almond milk, mixed berry rice protein powder and agave nectar.  The taste was good, but I put in the whole packet of rice protein powder which I shouldn’t have done since it made it kind of powdery.  I normally use only half a packet in each smoothie.

My lunch salad was inspired by trying to figure out what to do with the cherry tomatoes provided by my CSA.  I reeeally don’t like cherry tomatoes raw, either whole or halved.  There’s something about the taut nature of the skin, with the juicy inside and how they pop and all the raw tomato flavor.  Blech.  I remembered reading somewhere that you could slow-roast tomatoes, so I found this instructional online.  With as much as the author raved about them, I figured I couldn’t lose.

before…

…and after…

…and a close up.

Boy, do these tomatoes deliver!  All the weird texture that I dislike disappears and leaves a chewy, tasty little tomato.  I went for simple and left out the garlic and herbs called for, spraying the baking sheet and tomatoes with olive oil and seasoning simply with a little kosher salt and fresh black pepper.  These guys really don’t need a lot of help to taste good.  I took the smaller ones out of the oven after 2 hours but left most of them in for 2 1/2.  This will probably be what I do with any more small tomatoes I get from my CSA this summer!

To use my tasty tomatoes, I made what I am calling a Greekish salad.

This lovely plate has leaf and romaine lettuces, cucumbers, chickpeas, red onion, artichoke hearts, slow-roasted tomatoes, Sunflower Feta from Yellow Rose Recipes and an herb vinaigrette.  I’m not a huge fan of this feta.  The texture is feta-like and worked in the salad, but the taste alone just kind of tastes like tofu, lemon juice and sunflower seeds.  I think I’d like it better with cubed tofu that marinates or brines for a longer time.  Along with lunch, I took a spirulina tablet that I bought on Saturday to start taking a few times a week.  My afternoon snack was a pear and half a cantaloupe.

For dinner I made Tofu Vindaloo from Vegan Planet.  In the spirit of trying new grains, I cooked up some buckwheat.  Good news – I like buckwheat!  It has no actual relation to wheat, is ready in 15-20 minutes, and is quite good for you nutritionally.  I think I overcooked the buckwheat just a tad, so I’m looking forward to trying it again soon.  The vindaloo was just okay.  I liked the large amount of fresh ginger and spicy kick but hoped that there would be more of a sauce.  This was more like well flavored tofu and veggies with some juice in the bottom of the bowl.  After dinner I had two beers, to kind of say goodbye to the weekend.

Day 10

This was a great smoothie that I couldn’t get a good picture of:  spinach, banana, mango, strawberries, udo’s, almond milk and amazing meal powder (original flavor).  Using spinach as my green resulted in a MUCH smoother consistency than using kale gave me.  I also took coQ10 and my multi.

I was so excited about my morning snack that I took a picture while packing it up – figs and cherries.  Yum!  To perk me up, I drank some darjeeling tea.

For lunch I had the same exact Greekish salad as above, with some added capers and a probiotic supplement on the side.  I wanted to include capers the first time but couldn’t find them in the fridge!  My afternoon snack was an apple with peanut butter, and dinner was tofu vindaloo with buckwheat and chilled camomile tea.  It was much, much too hot for hot tea.

Well, that’s days 8-10.  I’m not hungry all the time any more, and I don’t know if it’s because I’m unwittingly eating more calories or if I’m getting used to lightening up my diet.  Jessy told me she wasn’t hungry all the time after her first week on ACT, so perhaps it’s psychological!  I haven’t seen any more weight loss, in fact I think I may have jumped up just a bit, but it’s only part way through the week so we shall see.

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