Adventures in Eating

[bunsofaluminum]

mmmm I feel like I'm watching a food show on TV... everything looks so yummy. I remember a broccoli roasted garlic sauce for pasta...now I think I may have to make some for din-din tonight.

Keep us posted on the soy yogurt! wow!

[Lyndzie]

Buns, there definitely needs to be a WFPB cooking show. I'm not a person who can eat the same dish day in and out. Variety keeps me on track! I've got to stay happy with what I can make at home, because otherwise all those other tempting dishes reel me in.

I've been really enjoying the clips that Ann and Jane Esselstyn are posting on YouTube. The other night they posted a quick way to cook your greens with your pasta, so I gave it a go. Here's the clip: https://youtu.be/xapJW8dulfI



I had already started eating when I snapped the pic, hence the messy bowl.

It was really delicious! I cooked whole wheat shell pasta, added about 6 oz pre-chopped kale with 4 min to go. I drained a can of cannellini beans in the colander, then left them there and drained the noodles/kale on top. This warmed up the beans perfectly. Mix with your favorite sauce, top with any toppings you choose (I like kalamata olives, capers, pine nuts and red pepper flakes).

THE KIDS ATE IT! Well, kid. The 5 year old loved it. The 4 year old complained about the green stuff, so she gave it to me. She ate the rest of it, so that's a win in my book.

Also: the coconut milk yogurt was a fail. Next I'll try quinoa milk yogurt.

[Lyndzie]

I've also been making GRANOLA!



When I made the yogurt, I realized that granola was next. I found a McDougall recipe and went from there. Here is the McDougall recipe: https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2015nl/dec/recipes.htm

It wasn't as sweet as I wanted, and the clumps didn't hold together. Jeff made a good comment about this just being a vehicle for sweetners, which is true. If you are avoiding sugar, don't eat this.

NO OIL GRANOLA
5 c oats
1/2 c sliced almonds

1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c applesauce

1 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 c ground flax

Put oats and almonds in a big mixing bowl. Stir in brown sugar and applesauce until well combined. Sprinkle flax and cinnamon and toss to coat. Spread in a thin layer on a baking sheet, and bake at 350 F for 30 min. DO NOT STIR. Remove from over and allow to cool. This will make nice clusters.



This was my breakfast this morning. DISCLAIMER: this is technically compliant under the rules of no oil, no animal, but there are definitely better breakfast options, especially if you are trying to lose weight or are avoiding soy, nuts and refined sweetners.

That being said, my husband is eating this granola, which is a HUGE improvement over the CRAP he was consuming. He's been doing this Paleo thing, and eating 3 bags of the Paleo granola a week, which is made out of nuts, coconut oil and maple syrup, and costs $10 a bag. If I can make an oat-based granola for less than $5 a week that feeds a family of four, this is a win for our family. This moves saves us roughly $100 a month.

I picked up a jar of the Bee Free Honee to try out. It's a bit pricy, but a really good substitute for honey. If you are gung-ho on honey and looking for an insect-free alternative, this is a good option. When this jar runs out, I might try making it myself. It's just concentrated apple juice with sugar and lemon juice, and multiple people have posted versions online. The price tag of the stuff is a little steep, I picked it up on sale for $5.49 for a one cup jar, and can easily make four times that amount for the same price homemade.

[bunsofaluminum]

Homemade granola! I've done that...when I realized that store bought was 1) slowing down my weight loss and 2) EXPENSIVE, I went through a granola phase...once a week or so, oatmeal, brown sugar/cinnamon blend, raisins, other dried fruits, etc and bake it real slow on a flat pan. I left the almonds out, and also ate it with apple juice instead of almond milk, in my efforts to keep all my intake at 10% fat or less. May I say, granola with apple juice instead of nut milk is GOOD! so is Grape Nuts.

You are sure enjoying your food prep. Inspirational!

[Lyndzie]

I made a HUGE batch of granola yesterday. It's so interesting the volume of food needed to feed four people, as opposed to just one. My husband is one of those thin guys that eats an extraordinary amount of food a day, and it's a little daunting to keep up with.

ENOUGH GRANOLA FOR AN ARMY - makes 16 cups
1 container old fashioned oats (42 oz/2 lbs 10 oz)
1 c sliced almonds

1 1/4 c unsweetened applesauce
1 c brown sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon

1/2 c ground flax

Combine applesauce, brown sugar and cinnamon in bottom of the largest mixing bowl you own. Pour oats and almonds on top, stir to combine. Curse the fact that this bowl is not big enough. Sprinkle flax on top and combine. Evenly divide among two baking sheets lined with parchement. Cook for 30-ish min at 350F, rotating pans halfway through. Check for doneness, it might need a little more time, like another 5-10 minutes, so that it's thoroughly dried. Remove from oven and allow to to cool completely before crumbling.

[Lyndzie]

My sister made the most delicious salad recently. It's from the Oh She Glows Cookbook. It's super tasty, and has a really interesting combination of ingredients, but also includes a ridiculous amount of oil. I simply doubled the amount of dressing, minus the oil, and it's great. I'm thinking about making it for my next pitch in.



QUINOA CHICKPEA SALAD
1 c quinoa, uncooked (or 3 cups cooked quinoa)
1 can chickpeas (or 1 1/2 c cooked chickpeas)
3 c kale, stemmed and chopped
3 carrots julienned (or 1 1/2 c shredded)
1/2 c chopped scallions
1/2 c parsley, chopped
1/4 c sun-dried tomatoes (no oil, of course), chopped

VINAIGRETTE
1/2 c red wine vinegar
2-4 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp maple syrup (optional)

GARNISH
Toasted pepitas
Hemp hearts

Cook quinoa. (In instant pot, put 1 c quinoa and 1 c water, set on Manual for 1 min, NPR, and ta da, you're done!)
Mix together vinaigrette ingredients in the bottom of a large mixing bowl. Add kale and massage until tender. Add remaining salad ingredients and toss to combine. Serve up, and top with garnish, if desired. Enjoy!

[Lyndzie]

Sometimes I want to eat some chocolate. Yes, of course chocolate isn't an ideal food for a variety of reasons, especially anything that comes in a bar form, but I'm trying to navigate a world with salted caramel mochas and death by chocolate cake. I'd rather have an alternative that is "legal" instead of going completely off the rails in the frozen aisle at the grocery store.



Patty posted this recipe for chocolate date balls a while back and I've used it multiple times. It's similar to a Larabar, but includes oats and is rolled into balls. I've made them with dates from multiple different stores, and different kinds of nuts, including cashews, almonds, peanuts and walnuts. My favorite combination is dates from Trader Joe's and walnuts. Trader Joe's has the moistest dates, which blend up quickly and have a great texture. Instead of chocolate chips, I add a couple tablespoons of cocoa nibs towards the end for rich chocolate flavor and a little bit of crunch.

https://ucdintegrativemedicine.com/reci ... gs.pmNy8FY

Fair warning, though, is that these are for emergency situations only. It's too easy to finish off the whole batch by yourself in a day, so make sure you have someone to share with.

[Lyndzie]

We went to a local restaurant for breakfast on Monday. Since my 5 year old decided to give up eggs and dairy (she already was vegetarian), I've been a little stumped when it comes to breakfast in restaurants. We don't do it very often, but it does happen. She likes pancakes, waffles, you know, all the kid favorites, but those are definitely not without eggs or milk (and we're not even addressing the oil!)

She's the kind of kid that will literally eat dry oats with a spoon - ridiculous, and kind of gross, but true. I don't want to take her to a restaurant and just give her the same old oatmeal she has all the time at home.



We went to Cafe Patachou, which is a local restaurant that has multiple vegan dishes on the menu, including a few without oil. They even had a chickpea "omelette,' which I'm really interested to try sometime.

My 5 year old got Vegan Coconut Granola with almond milk, my 4 year old got whole wheat toast with blueberry jelly, and I tried out the 10 grain porridge with brown sugar and bananas. We also got a bowl of fruit to share. Overall, it was a good experience, despite the steep price tag - $35, not including tip! We'll do it again, for sure, but not too often.

[Lyndzie]

I've been cooking like usual, but just haven't had the time to post. Yay for insomnia! It's a great opportunity to get caught up on little things and spend the next day wandering around like a zombie.

At our local WFPB pitch in a couple months ago, someone brought a pasta salad. It was so good! I finally had a chance to get the recipe, and it's another delicious dish from Fat Free Vegan. I remember the first time I came across that blog. All I could think was, Why on earth would someone want to cook without oil? That's ridiculous! Haha, how my perspective has changed!



I used cavatappi noodles and added asparagus, orange bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, canned artichokes, kalamata olives, and zucchini. I did not make tofu, and instead added a can of cannellini beans. Chickpeas would probably be good, too. In the future I'll skip the artichokes and olives, even though I love them, their flavor wasn't right in this dish.

I made a homemade Italian-inspired dressing of simply red wine vinegar, onion powder, Italian seasoning and sugar. I checked out the options in grocery store, and the pre-made fat free ones looked just plain gross, so I looked at the powder mix and realized that they were pretty much just salt, sugar, garlic powder and onion powder, plus some additives. The onion powder was really key to getting that American version of Italian dressing (which, interestingly enough, is not in Italy. They serve their salads with olive oil and balsamic).

This is great to keep on hand for a quick lunch, or to take to a pitch in, just probably up the salt and sugar for the masses.
https://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2007/02/t ... salad.html

[Lyndzie]

Well, it’s been quite a few months, but I’ve been a little bit busy being pregnant, birthing a baby and nursing said newborn while caring for my two other young children. I’m finally getting my feet back underneath me and ready to make some magic in the kitchen.

A couple weeks ago I had lunch at a local restaurant that I hadn’t visited since high school. They have the best vegetable soup, and it was just as good as I had remembered. I made note of the ingredients, and whipped up a batch when I got home.

The secret to the soup is using V8 vegetable juice in place of broth. I picked up a six-pack of the cans for more flexibility. Make sure to use the low sodium V8!! The original stuff is ridiculous. Using a combo of fresh, frozen and canned ingredients make this soup come together in minutes.



ILLINIOS STREET FOOD EMPORIUM VEGETABLE SOUP
Low sodium V8
NSA diced tomatoes
NSA kidney beans
Cabbage
Celery
Carrot
Red potatoes, diced
Green beans, frozen
Corn, frozen

Put everything in the pot, and cook. You could probably instant pot this. Season with a generous amount of black pepper.

[JeffN]

ILLINIOS STREET FOOD EMPORIUM VEGETABLE SOUP
Low sodium V8
NSA diced tomatoes
NSA kidney beans
Cabbage
Celery
Carrot
Red potatoes, diced
Green beans, frozen
Corn, frozen

Put everything in the pot, and cook. You could probably instant pot this. Season with a generous amount of black pepper.

Looks like a great soup.

If you have never tried it, here is my favorite alternative to V8 low sodium or regular. My favorite is the low sodium.

Knudsen Very Veggie (regular or low sodium)
https://www.rwknudsenfamily.com/product ... um-organic

You should be able to find it locally or at WFM

In Health
Jeff

PS come to think about it, I need to add it to my list of The 10 Healthiest Packaged Products under the tomato section. It’s been around a very long time and it is excellent.

[Lyndzie]

Thanks for the tip, Jeff! I’m planning to swing by WFM tomorrow and will pick one up, along with my stockpile of NSA beans.

[f00die]

awesome, we eat soups that look just like that daily
i had 8 cups of that just today
on different days ill add stuff like
frozen baby lima beans or
purple hulled peas or
frozen peas
mix it up
its awesome (did i say that already?)
good one lyndzie

[Spiral]

Lyndzie,

Yum. I am going to have to try that soup recipe. I can't believe I had not seen this journal of yours until now. Great pictures of great food.

[keithswife]

I just found your journal and I am amazed! Please don't stop with all the incredible food pictures. I need the inspiration