My Vegetarian Obsessions..

So whilst becoming Vegetarian has proven difficult sometimes, for the most part I am having so much fun.

I pick up vegetables that often times I would have never purchased, just to see what I can do with them. (like a Daikon, I googled the heck out of that.. turns out it's a fancy and delicious radish)..

But there are a few staples that I rely on as a new vegetarian, and I've come to be obsessed with them actually. Here there are:

1.) Spinach! I have never been a fan of cooked spinach (or canned. yuck.) But fresh spinach.. I now crave it. I put it in everything I make for dinner, eat it as a side with a little dressing.. I love the stuff. You need to get in on that green spinachy goodness friends. Vegan, what? posted this nifty photo about how great Spinach is for you. 

2.) Black beans and lentils. I will try to buy anything with black beans in them. There are some great lentil soups and black bean soups out there. They are great fillers in traditional meals as well, too. (Lentil pot pie, black beans in place of ground meat in Mexican food dishes. The options are endless.) Beth has a great recipe for lentil taco's that I love and make frequently.. I throw in a potato as well for more filling. Find it here: Beth's Lentil Taco's. She's also got a yummy looking Mexican Lentil Stew I'm eyeing!

lentils photo courtesy of google search

3.) Yellow squash and Italian squash. I put these babies in everything. Pasta, rice dishes, I made a mushroom stroganoff with these in it. Last night we made veggie fajita's with both types of squash, red pepper, onion and mushrooms. Yum! Not to mention they are super cheap at most stores and good for your health!

photo courtesy of Wiki

4. Lightlife Brand Veggie Burgers & Backyard grillin' burgers. These babies are so good, and Lightlife is a great brand that uses non GMO soy and ingredients. Love them! Lightlife

Other things I am experimenting with that I'm certain I'll be obessesed with:

1. Polenta (there are sooo many delicious looking recipes out there. It seems so versatile!)

2. Quinoa (I know I'm so late. But I'm going to try it!)

3. Tempeh. It's a soy based product that I first tried when going vegetarian, and had no clue what I was doing. I think with a little help and a cookbook I can master it. 

Happy eating!

-Ash 

An Ode to beans.. and Parsley hummus.

Ah beans, I've always loved them. Super healthy for you (talk about protein).. and so versatile. It was a match made in heaven when I gave up meat that I could eat beans all day, every day.

Beans & Spanish rice were my favorite part of eating at a Mexican restaurant (other than the cheese.. mm..) I would joke that I could live off of rice and beans all day. And now, I basically do.

I thought I'd talk a bit about beans & hummus here, and how EASY hummus is to make. You have to splurge on the Tahina / Tahini to make hummus, but I bought a pretty decent size bottle at my HEB for about $5. You can make Hummus tons of times after that, while if you bought hummus at a store once it would be around $5.

First things first, I try to no longer used canned beans. Beth over at Budget Bytes has a great article on "kicking the can.." but I must say that I now make almost all my beans at home, in the crock pot. It's such a better value. A bag of black beasns (1lb) is about .99 cents, and it makes enough for me to freeze. (I usually use 2lbs if I can..) Which is at least two cans of beans.

So easy. To make home made beans in the crock pot (I've done this with Black beans, garbanzo beans/chickpeas, and navy beans. all a success.. ) follow these easy peasy steps. Of course, this can be done in a pot on the stove as well, but I love the "forget about me" aspect of a crock pot.

Dump out your beans on a cookie sheet or flat surface. Sort through them, tossing any broken or bad beans and rocks. (I've only ever found maybe one or two rocks in my time.. but worth the extra step.)

Rinse the beans well in a colander. Get rid of all that dirt & yuck! I don't soak my beans unless they are pinto, personally.

Dump them in your crock pot, and pour in enough water to where there is about two inches of water above the beans. Cook on low 6-7 hours or high 4-5 hours. If you are planning on leaving these to cook while you head to work, give yourself plenty of water in the crock pot for them to soak up, maybe an extra cup or two. You can always get rid of it later, so it's better to use more water than you think you need. I don't add anything else, but you could add salt if you like. 

And that's it! I didn't take an after pic, but let the beans cool, then sort them into tupperware and leave some liquid in the tupperware with them. (For example, like a can of beans has liquid.) I freeze a big batch and then portion them out into dinner sized portions. Viola! No preservatives, no BPA from the can (eew..) and no crap in your food. Plus, you made them!

So now, let's talk about Hummus. I. love. hummus. And honestly, my new favorite hummus is white bean hummus. Hummus is basically bean dip, when you think about it. So you can make it with any kind of bean. I usually make it with whatever beans I have left over, and white beans are my new favorite. 

I like to add hot sauce. I used Frank's Red Hot that I had left over, and wasn't all that thrilled. I prefer my signature Tapatio, or Valentina. Beth likes Siracha. Hummus is so customizable! It's great :) 

So here's the skinny. My favorite white bean hummus recipe:

1 cup cooked white (or navy) beans (you can use almost any bean on hand.)

2 tbs tahini

Fresh squeezed 1/2 lemon

1 small garlic clove, minced

1/8 teaspoon salt, more to taste

Handfull of parsely (optional, but I LOVE the flavor it gave this batch. Fresh parsley is fairly cheap)

Generous amount of hot sauce (I probably used 1/2 tbs or so.) Taste as you go!

Paprika, for garnish

Throw everything into the food processor, and pulse 4-5 times until it is the consistency you like. Taste, and add salt or hot sauce until hummus is the consistency you like. Sprinkle paprika and/or olive oil on top, if desired.

I keep this in the fridge for a week to two weeks, and snack on it with everything!

I am on a Buffalo kick right now, and so I like to eat my hummus with these yummy buffalo wing pretzel crips. Pita chips are delish as well. I hope you get the chance to make some delicious hummus of your own! And experiment until you find your own liking.

Xoxo,
Ash

Vegetarian/Pescetarian, who needs labels, right?

So I have recently made a (fairly) large life changing decision lately to not eat meat. (Most meat, that is.) I decided upon myself that I can have fish and shrimp until I can cut that out completely as well.

I remember a year ago or so my husband and I would laugh at how we could never become vegetarians. "We would be protein deficient!" we would say. But little did we know that a plant based diet can offer much more protein, and in a healthier matter.

If you haven't already, I highly encourage you to watch "Food Inc". and "Food Matters", two extremely informative documentaries on our "FDA" approved meat in this country and the benefits of adding plants to your diet as your main source of food. (both are on Netflix.)

http://www.takepart.com/foodinc
http://www.foodmatters.tv/

It's not saying "you have to be a vegetarian" and it's not one of those graphic Peta videos where you never want to eat again, it's informative and will get you thinking. It will help you to realize why you should buy organic when you can, why you want grass fed beef and hormone free/ free range eggs & chicken. It's full of the important things that this country won't tell you. And that is the scariest part, we as Americans have no idea what is going into our food anymore. Sad, but true.

I made the decision to eat less meat (and eventually cut it out) because of Food Matters. It's an excellent documentary that talks about super foods, what vegetables are great for you, how to cook them to retain the most nutrients, and how we can reverse and even eliminate a lot of common disease in this country if we switch to a plant based diet and exclude meat. But let's get real, we as American's want a quick fix, a cure all pill, that will let us eat how we please and still keep going with heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and more. And that's how the world has us programmed to think, we can do what we want and take a pill to make us keep living. What kind of a mind frame is that? Think about if we all ate better, didn't have preventable disease, and were healthy Americans. You know who would lose? Pharmaceutical companies. And quite frankly, I'm ok with that.

I highly encourage these documentaries, as they will open your eyes on what we are eating and what we should be eating. I personally am keeping fish and seafood in my diet, and will be buying from trusted sources. Be careful about being a vegetarian, as you can still eat tons of cheese, butter, and dairy.. and that is enough to make you gain weight on a veg. diet.

Here's a great article about truth's on eating a vegetarian diet: http://www.udlnewhaven.com/?p=626

I believe everyone's diet is their preference, and I will never judge someone for eating meat. So I hope that I don't face criticism for not eating meat. I've already faced it a bit, but most people in my life have been really supportive (including my husband.. who before watching "Food Matters" wasn't entirely on board."

I'll end this post with the idea of labeling how we eat. I'm not entirely sure why it matters. Like I said, diets are an individual preference. I prefer to include seafood but take out all other meat. One day I plan to go Vegan. But there are so many kinds of "vegetarian" diets out there, that you don't have to succumb to one way of eating. Do what is healthy and best for you personally, and stick by what you choose. (Did you know there are "fruitarians" out there? Me neither until recently!)

Cutting out meat is hard at first. At least for me it was. But I'm learning and experimenting and now I view it as a lot of fun and a challenge. I plan to make all kinds of meals (and already have) that are delicious and meat free. I couldn't have made this decision at a better time, with the spawn of Pinterest to help me find recipes.

These black bean burgers were easy & yum!

I hope all of you out there will sit down and watch a documentary or two on nutrition and food in this country. At least know what happens to your food before you eat it.. (I think we have all seen the pink slime video..). Be in the know. Make smart decisions. You only get one body and one life, so choose wisely what you put into it.

Mad love,
Ash