Grilled these Brussels sprouts with EVOO, garlic, onions and sea salt. Stirred in two table spoons of gluten free Thai peanut sauce. Served over Trader Joe’s brown rice, red rice and black barley and garnished with Korean sweet and spicy sauce.
Ridiculously easy. Ridiculously good.
So, the spirit moved me to get a Vitamix this week. In addition to some pretty awesome sauces and smoothies, I’ve also made soup!
This carrot apple tangelo soup started out as Vitamixtake. I wanted to make a smoothie or a juice but I didn’t add enough water. Don’t quote me on this, but I believe I used two apples, one tangelo and 2-3 carrots. It’s been a few days and my memory is hazy. Anyway, When all was said and done, my “juice” had the consistency of soup. Disappointed, but undaunted, I set it aside in the fridge and decided I would eat it later in the week.
Well, later arrived today. The first task was to tone down the sweetness. I blended the soup with about a 1/4 cup of vegan Daiya cheddar, which darkened the color and made the taste more savory. I took a handful of kale and massaged it to soften the texture. Then, I sautéed the kale in EVOO with three slices of Food Merchant’s polenta, fresh garlic, 1/4 cup red onions and shiitake mushrooms. Meanwhile, I transferred the soup from the Vitamix to a pot on medium heat and added sea salt and nutmeg. When the veggies were done, I added them to the soup.
For the toast, I grilled two slices of gluten free bread in EVOO, sliced them diagonally and arranged in the gorgeous soup. Ground some fresh black pepper over the dish and voila! An incredible, vegan lunch.
Dessert was a peach, apple, ginger smoothie, also made with the Vitamix.. Yum!
So, one of the most exciting things going on in my life these days has been a pretty radical lifestyle change. A month ago, I was sick. In the stupor of this illness, I realized my fridge was bare and that I’d need provisions to recover. Around this time, I also discovered that many of the folks I correspond with on Twitter — academics, nondual types, spiritually minded folks — are also into vegan and raw foods. They made suggestions for things I should add to my grocery cart. People started sharing meal ideas, recipes, books, vegan websites and even documentaries. For reasons I cannot account for, I was particularly open to these suggestions and approached it all with a great deal of enthusiasm.
First, let me explain how I was living (and eating) prior to this lifestyle change. I was drinking 2, 3 sometimes 4 cups of coffee a day (frighteningly easy to do with a Keurig machine). I had not been sleeping well for months and I was feeling very lethargic – something that’s pretty unusual for me. I had a persistent headache and I had put on about 10 lbs in the last quarter of 2012. My meals were heavy in protein and carbs. I love meat, cheese and bread — preferably French. A typical jaunt to the grocery store would have me buying ciabatta baguettes, steak, chicken, creamer (for my coffee), some exotic, expensive cheese. The only vegetables I liked buying were bok choy, brussels sprouts and cabbage. My staple meals were pasta, fajitas, Asian stirfry dishes and the like.
I thought my choices were relatively healthy because I selected whole wheat products, organic produce and grass-fed meat and dairy. I tried to match equal portions of protein and carbs in my meals, following a habit I picked up from past forays into Bill Phillip’s “Body for Life” program. But otherwise, I didn’t follow any rules. I ate whatever I wanted. And I often felt like passing out after those meals. I associated such feelings – being bloated and tired – with satiation. I didn’t know that another way was possible.
In any case, a month ago I decided to tip-toe into a veganish, raw-ish lifestyle. At first, I said I would do it just for a few days – until I got over my cold. Then I extended it for a week, then another week.. and suddenly a month had passed. In the interim, I’ve lost about 12 lbs – effortlessly.
Here’s an overview of the changes I’ve made. In parentheses is the percent of the time I follow these guidelines on a daily basis:
Other than meat, dairy and most gluten products, I can eat whatever I want. When I tell folks this, most of them snark “But there’s nothing left!” Oh, but that’s a myth! There is LOTS and lots of food I can and do eat. I’m having so much fun with discovering new, delicious recipes. I do not feel like I’m on a diet. I am often full and nurture myself with hearty meals. I feel free to do whatever I want (and this sense of liberty is important to me). If there are donuts at a meeting, I will have a bite. But overall, I find myself naturally choosing to make healthier decisions – not because I want to lose weight or reach a certain goal – but because my body feels better when I feed it with raw, vegan, gluten free goodies.
Not all of my meals have turned out well. The whole guacamole-over-cabbage idea was certainly a mistake. But for the most part, I have found it easy and exciting to come up with creative, delicious and nourishing things to eat.
Side effects of this new lifestyle:
Things I typically buy now:
New information I’m learning about myself:
Staple meals and snacks for me now include:
In terms of fast food, I find myself attracted to Thai and Japanese takeout. I’ll get vegetarian sushi (I’ve just discovered sweet potato tempura.. amazing!), dumplings or vegetarian pad thai.
For now, I don’t have any grand goal, but my plan is to pretty much stick to this for the time being. I’m sure I’ll have meat again one day, but that day is not to day.
Aware of Awareness 