Lots of traffic sometimes means road rage…..
I’ve gotten some viral “action” (100,000 hits just today May 16th, 2013) on a previous post I did reporting about Johnson & Johnson releasing a statement that said they were removing the formaldehyde and other harmful chemicals from their baby shampoo and other product lines (they also manufacture Aveeno and others)
The thing about getting 100,000 visitors to your site is that even if 1% of them are angry and nasty, that’s still 1000 people! (It’s OK…I’m just killing them with kindness and abundant “Namastes”)
Most of you who have been following me for some time know that I tend to be a bit sarcastic (ya think?) and that my only….and I mean ONLY reason for taking the time to blog and share information is to share health and wellbeing. (’cause I love you guys)
image courtesy of:
http://www.turnerusd202.org
So WELCOME new followers! Please read my “about” page so you know who I am and why I am doing this. Hard as it is to believe I have no agenda…no political ties…and no problem speaking my mind to whomever will listen. If you’re here to find out simple ways to healthy living, then please stay!
Welcome!
Comer sus verduras!
Today The Savvy Sister is part of the Annual Virtual Vegan Potluck! If you’ve never attended a virtual pot luck before, let me explain how it works: All recipes are posted on participating blog sites for you to follow from one to the next. You can start here (click the “here”) at the beginning, or just move onto the next recipe from mine by using the links at the bottom of this post.
If you try really hard, you can virtually smell the delicious virtual food that everyone has virtually prepared. The food follows in order of categories. Right now you are in the middle of the main dishes,, but there are also appetizers, beverages, breads, salads, sides, soups, and desserts! Over 170 recipes in all from all over the world! Even veggie-haters can find something here!
Comer sus verduras! Translation…..eat your vegetables! Even if they’re disguised as Mexican food.
Cinco de Mayo in your mouth! (but hold the real mayo)
Welcome to the Savvy Sister’s “La gran fiesta!” Here you’ll find a great recipe for “Not yo Cheese” and “Cool Beans Burritos”. And I’ll also give a quick lesson on how to avoid canned black beans and all the BPA they possess.
This post is best read while listening to a Mariachi Band. If you don’t have one handy, just click below.
Not yo Cheese:
Try this amazingly creamy and tastes-just-like-nacho-cheese plant-based sauce.
Not yo Cheese Sauce:
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 cup raw cashews soaked for al least 1 hour (or overnight in the fridge… which is better)
- 4 ounces or jarred roasted red peppers (jarred are nice an mushy)
- 3/4 -1 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons corn starch OR 4 tablespoons of tapioca starch
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste (I start with 1/2 tsp and add later to taste)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
Put everything in a food processor, blender or Vitamix, Ninja or any other blending device and process the crap out of it until smooth. It will be very watery.
Transfer to a saucepan and on medium-high heat, whisk constantly for about 5- 8 minutes until the sauce thickens. It will thicken more when it cools slightly.
I really love this as a dipping sauce and I eat it with flax crackers or fresh red pepper all the time. The recipe makes 3 cups. The really nice thing is this sauce has 58 calories in 1/4 cup and only 3 grams of fat.
Roasted Corn Salsa
- 1 large ripe avocado
- the juice of 2 limes (about 3 tablespoons)
- 4 ears of corn
- 10 cherry or grape tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar or honey (optional)
Set cleaned ears of corn in a baking dish and cover with the juice of 1/2 lime (1-2 teaspoons). Season lightly with salt and pepper. Roast corn for 12-15 minutes under the broiler turning every few minutes until browned. Set aside to cool.
Keep an eye on the ears
The taste far surpasses canned or frozen corn so don’t even think of side stepping this step. When corn is cool enough to handle, cut off the cob.
This is a picture-perfect avocado…very dark green on the outside and gives to pressure but is not mushy. The gorgeous “1970′s kitchen appliance-color” inside tells you it’s gunna be good!
Cut your avocado around the pit and then twist it to open. Criss cross cut and scoop with a spoon for perfect chunks.
Mix garlic, vinegar, sugar or honey (if using), cilantro, salt and pepper, and the remainder of the lime juice (2 1/2 tablespoons) in a small bowl. Mix avocado, corn, and tomatoes together and pour vinegar mixture over salsa and mix well.
I don’t like cilantro so I left it out
For burrito:
- 1 small sweet potato (about 1 cup) soft cooked
- 1 medium onion
- 1 1/2 cup cooked black beans (see below)
- 1 cup cooked quinoa (1 cup quinoa plus 2 cups vegetable broth simmered for 15 minutes covered)
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 4 burrito sized flour or any other type tortillas wraps
The best way I have found to cook a sweet potato is to scrub it but leave the skin on, wrap in foil and place in oven 350 degrees F for 90 minutes. (you can do this the day ahead) If you can’t wait, you can peel and cut potato into 1 inch chunks and steam for 20 minutes. It just has to be super soft)
Dice the onion and saute for about 8 minutes in a pan (preferably cast iron) sprayed with olive oil.
Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
Now assemble:
Heat tortilla in 200 degree oven for 1-2 minutes so it is bendy-er. Place burrito on table and fill with 1/4 of the filling that’s in the bowl. Pour 1 tablespoon of cheese over bean mix.
Fold the sides in. Then start rolling from the bottom until you’re done.
I like to heat these in the oven after they are assembled, covered at 300 for 10-15 minutes to let them get nice and hot. Then I top with the warm cheese and cold salsa.
Mucho tasty!
A word about black beans: (OK several words)
Canned anything sucks. The can liners contain BPA, a plastic by-product (linked to cancer and many other diseases) that leach into your food. A recent study showed that those who ate canned soup had over 1000% (yes one thousand) more BPA in their urine than people who didn’t eat canned goods.
The convenience of having freezers makes it easy to cook your black beans and still have them on hand for recipes. Here’s how:
Rinse dry beans in a strainer.
Take 2 pounds of black beans and put in a large sauce pot covering well with water. Bring to boil, boil for 2 minutes, then turn off heat and let sit for 1 hour.
Strain and rinse.
Fill pot with new water and place water and beans back on stove. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer about 90 minutes with lid tilted stirring once or twice but gently so you don’t make mush. Strain and rinse well under cold water.
Fill your re-usable containers when cooled and freeze. Take out of the containers when re-heating to avoid further plastic exposure that sometimes occurs with heating.
This is 2 pounds of black beans ready for the freezer
This is really easy to do on the weekend, and it gives me black beans for all my recipes for the next week or two at least. And there is just no friggin comparison to the taste of freshly cooked vs canned….no friggin comparison I say.
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You have the power… just turn on the tap.
Water is powerful and can talk to us (as you’ll read later).
I started drinking my water this way for the past couple of weeks and I love it. I can drink so much more water than when I just drink water alone.
Start with chlorine filtered tap water or any chlorine-free water of your choice (but jeeze…NOT Vitamin Water). Then take fresh sprigs of rosemary and fresh mint and tap them gently with a knife to open the leaves so you’ll get the flavor in the water. Add a slice of lemon (Make sure you wash the outside of the lemon before you slice it). I don’t need any sweetener with this water because the mint tastes sweet. You can switch up the herbs as you like.
herb water
Use a washable reusable straw as disposable straws never biodegrade. Never. The herbs will float, so drinking it with a straw, you won’t get any “stuff”. (although it’s kinda nice if you get a bit of mint)
Don’t add ice, as your body will use energy heating the water up inside your body. Try to drink room temperature water and save that energy for healing.
Now for the most important part.
Say something nice to your water before you drink it. Even saying the words “love” or “peace” will do the trick. Or a nice blessing…
“Bless this water and allow it to infuse my body and soul with health and happiness.”
or
“As a child of God, I bless this water that it may nourish my soul and enrich and heal my body.
or try Dr Masaru Emoto’s blessing:
“I love you water, I thank you water, I respect you water.”
Dr Emoto is from Japan and has done research on the powerful healing vibration of water. He discovered that when water is frozen it forms crystals (no big shocker there) but the interesting thing is that the crystals form beautiful patterns when exposed to loving words or beautiful music, but form grey blobs when exposed to hateful words or ignored.
“Love and gratitude” crystal
“You make me sick” crystal
Dr Emoto explains that everything has resonance and so do emotions and intentions. You can transfer the positive vibrations to other things. he says, “We all have the ability to love. We can transfer this energy to anything.”
While some may think this is pure rubbish, what harm would it do to think loving and peaceful thoughts directed at the one liquid that is responsible for your life and health?
Think about the real sanctity of water. You are made of mostly water. It makes up most of our planet, and it is everywhere…from clouds, to dew to rivers, lakes and streams. The very air you breathe is infused with it.
It loves you. Take a moment to love it back.
Water blessing
The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without trying to.
~ Lao-Tzu
Water is life’s mater and matrix, mother and medium.
~ Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
The Rice Experiment (two of the same jars of white rice infusing with opposite emotions to see the result)
Oncologists jailed for accepting payments for chemo?
That’s what could potentially happen now since the Obama administration has chosen to sequester all cancer care services…including lifesaving chemotherapy drugs.
I normally write about survivorship and give cancer -based health tips, but when I got an e-mail from my oncologist asking me and all her patients to sign a government petition, I felt I had to change my format this once.
As of April 1st, 2013 Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement for chemo agents given in doctor’s offices and small clinics were cut making it so that the doctors would actually lose money if they chose to treat you with these life-saving drugs. If you chose to pay the balance, or if the doctor “writes off” the balance or doesn’t charge you, that doctor could face jail time.
So senior patients are being turned away from their chemotherapy treatments. Some right in the middle of their therapy.
“A lot of us are in disbelief that this is happening,It’s a choice between seeing these patients and staying in business.” said Jeff Varicam chief executive officer of North Shore Hematology Oncology Associates in New York.
To get your chemo treatments you would have to go to a hospital setting where care would be more expensive, putting the burden of paying the balance on the patient . But the influx of patients needing chemo might break the hospital system as it is estimated that 66% of Medicare patients receive treatment in doctor’s office clinics.
Please read the entire article here in the The Washington Post
Then get on over to the petition here and please make your voice heard. (You still DO have a choice to sign the petition….today) Many signatures are still needed to reach a April 27, 2013 goal of 100,000.
This is just the beginning, folks as the effects of Obamacare start rippling across the country. Some say the sequester pushes patients to be treated at the bigger hospital institutions where treatment choice can be better controlled by the government. Hospitals will choose the services they offer based on the amount of reimbursement they receive from the government. If hospitals don’t offer the service you need (bone marrow transplant, for example) you won’t be able to get it.
There has to be a better answer…..
UPDATE APRIL 12, 2013
According to a new article, President Obama has proposed a solution to the sequester…I guess we need to stay tuned.
(taken from an article published by Medscape written by Robert Lowes)
President Barack Obama today released a proposed $3.8 trillion budget for fiscal 2014 that would shrink the federal deficit by $1.8 trillion over the course of 10 years, but not on the backs of physicians. Instead, they are on the receiving end of some federal largesse.
For starters, Obama’s deficit reduction, similar to that in the budget plan approved on March 23 by the Democratic-controlled Senate, would replace the automatic, across-the-board cuts called sequestration that include a 2% decrease in Medicare reimbursement for physicians.
In addition, as in previous budget plans, Obama would perform a “doc fix” on the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula for setting Medicare pay rates. That formula, hated by organized medicine, will trigger a 24.4% cut in physician pay on January 1, 2014, unless Congress steps in to prevent a collapse of the federal program. Under the Obama plan, physician pay rates would be frozen at their current level. The administration supports several years of fee-for-service “payment stability” that would give the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services more time to develop various pay-for-performance models from which physicians eventually could choose. The goal is to “provide predictable payments that incentivize quality and efficiency in a fiscally responsible way,” the budget plan states.
Here’s a link to the story from the Empowered Doctor website.
You Made It! The 6th Week of the Meatless (secretly vegan) Challenge
Wow! We are already at week #6 of the 6 week challenge! Time flies when you’re eating healthy plant-based food and feeling better, doesn’t it?
These recipes reflect my confidence in your ability to think outside the fast food bag, so I hit you with some kick ass food to wrap this up. And speaking of wrap…..you will be wrapping up your meals for lunch and dinner this week!
Lots of photos folks!! (because this food was sooooo pretty)
Breakfast is that beautiful cookie in the top picture.
Lunch is Veggie Qunioa Sushi
And dinner is delicious Spicy Black Bean Burritos with Nacho (not yo) Cheese
Breakfast:
Let them eat cookies! I mean, you’re an adult, you can do whatever you darn well please. And that includes eating cookies for breakfast. OK call it a “breakfast cookie” if you must, but this is one delicious way to start the day. The advantage here is that you can make a batch and it will last you through the week. It’s a quick-grab breakfast that will fill you up without weighing you down.
breakfast cookie
Adapted from the “I heart Trader Joes Vegetarian Cookbook by Kris Holecheck Peters, this light but satisfying treat breakfast is quick and easy to make.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup white/wheat flour
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp aluminum-free baking power
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 very ripe banana gently mashed but still a bit lumpy
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil (you can sub applesauce here, but the cookies will be a bit dry)
- 4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup raisins, chopped walnuts, dried cranberries etc….your choice!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Side note: parchment paper is great because your items cook evenly and the bottom doesn’t get greasy from spraying. Parchment paper is not waxed paper.
In a small bowl, combine oats, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
In a large bowl, combine banans, almond butter, maple syrup, and vanilla until smooth
Take your banana peels and bury them in your potted plants to make them happy and healthy too!
The peels will feed your plants perfectly!
Add the dry to the wet and mix until dough is uniform. Add the walnuts, raisins, or whatever “stuff” you want.
Spoon out dough in large scoops (about 2 tablespoons) and flatten slightly onto baking pan.
Bake until set…about 16-18 minutes until brown on the edges. Let cool for about 10 minutes before handling.
You can make regular sized cookies and bake for 10-12 minutes if you want. You won’t believe how good breakfast can be.
Makes 8 cookies.
Nutrition per cookie: Calories: 305 Protein:5.5 grams Fat: 16 grams Fiber: 2.3 grams (more if you add in nuts or raisins)
Contains 10% of your iron for the day.
Lunch: Thinking outside the box.
C’mon…you’re ready for something fun this week.
Vegetable Quinoa Sushi!
Vegan sushi
Ingredients:
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tsp agave nectar
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup black beans
- 1/4 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 sheets of nori
- bamboo sushi mat or parchment paper
- veggies (I used cucumber, carrots and red cabbage)
Mix qunioa and broth together in a saucepan and cover. bring to a boil, then lower heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
Shred approx 1/2 cup veggies and set aside.
Mash black beans with a fork. Add sesame oil, soy sauce, and salt. mix well.
When quinoa is done, fluff with a fork. Then transfer to a flat container and spread the qunioa out. Mix rice vinegar, agave and salt together and sprinkle over hot quinoa. Mix gently to combine and keep mixing until quinoa is cooled. (You can fan it with a magazine or paper plate)
Place the sushi mat shiny side down and place one sheet of nori with lines vertical.
Then, after the quinoa is cooled, spread a thin layer of quinoa on the nori.
If you like spicy, place a thin layer of wasabi across the middle of the quinoa. I like sweet, so I used plum sauce. then place a thin line of black bean mix across the center.
Then arrange a thin layer of veggies across.
Now comes the fun part….Keeping everything in the roll, start to roll the sushi away from you using the mat. Keep rolling and squeezing to pack the roll together.
As you can see, I used a bit too much quinoa and it squeezed out the sides. no big deal…
Rinse the knife before you make each cut so it glides smoothly across the sushi roll.
A dab of soy sauce and you’ve got a perfect lunch. I would pair this with some stir fry veggies or a simple salad.
This will make 2 complete rolls…about 14 pieces.
Dinner:
Spicy Black Bean Burritos
You can use your own cheese sauce, or if you want to keep it totally plant-based you can try this amazingly creamy and tastes-just-like-nacho-cheese plant-based sauce.
Nacho Cheese
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup raw cashews soaked for al least 1 hour (or overnight)
- 4 ounces or jarred roasted red peppers
- 1 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons corn starch OR 4 tablespoons of tapioca starch
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
Pu everything in a food processor or blender and process the crap out of it until smooth. it will be very watery.
Transfer to a saucepan and on medium-high heat, whisk constantly for about 8 minutes until the sauce thickens. It will thicken more when it cools slightly.
You can use this cheese sauce for dipping chips or veggies too. It’s great! Makes 2 1/2 cups.
Serving size is 1/4 cup and has about 55 calories and 3 grams fat.
Roasted Corn Salsa
- 1 large ripe avocado
- the juice of 2 limes (about 3 tablespoons)
- 4 ears of corn
- 10 cherry or grape tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar or honey (optional)
Set cleaned ears of corn in a baking dish and cover with the juice of 1/2 lime (1-2 teaspoons). Season lightly with salt and pepper. Roast corn for 12-15 minutes under the broiler turning every few minutes until browned. Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile chop avocado and tomatoes and crush garlic and place in a bowl with chopped cilantro if using.
This is what a prefect avocado looks like. It’s very dark green on the outside and gives when squeezed. You should not feel any pockets of air under the skin or see any grey areas on the skin. Store green ones on the countertop until ripe.
Wash avocado and cut all the way around. Twist to open. Cut criss cross and scoop out with a spoon.
When corn is cool enough to handle, cut kernels off cob and place in bowl. (You could use canned corn, but the flavor from the roasted corn is so worth the effort)
Mix vinegar remaining lime juice and sugar well in a small bowl. Pour over everything and mix well. This also goes great on a salad!
I don’t like cilantro so I left it out
For burrito:
- 1 small sweet potato (about 1 cup) soft cooked
- 1 medium onion
- 1 1/2 cup cooked black beans (see below)
- 1 cup cooked quinoa (1 cup quinoa plus 2 cups vegetable broth simmered for 15 minutes covered)
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 4 burrito sized flour tortillas
The best way to cook a sweet potato is to wrap in foil and place in oven 350 degrees F for 90 minutes. (you can do this the day ahead) If you can’t wait, you can peel and cut potato into 1 inch chunks and steam for 20 minutes)
Dice the onion and saute for about 8 minutes in a pan (preferably cast iron) sprayed with olive oil.
Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
Now assemble:
Heat tortilla in 200 degree oven for 1-2 minutes so it is bendy-er. Place burrito on table and fill with 1/4 of the filling that’s in the bowl. Pour 1 tablespoon of cheese over bean mix.
Fold the sides in
Then start rolling from the bottom until you’re done.
I like to heat these in the oven, covered at 300 for 10-15 minutes to let them get nice and hot. Then I top with the warm cheese and cold salsa.
A word about black beans: (OK several words)
Canned anything sucks. The can liners contain BPA, a plastic by-product (linked to cancer and many other diseases) that leach into your food. A recent study showed that those who ate canned soup had over 1000% (yes one thousand) more BPA in their urine than people who didn’t eat canned goods.
The convenience of having freezers makes it easy to cook your black beans and still have them on hand for recipes. Here’s how:
Rinse dry beans in a strainer.
Take 2 pounds of black beans and put in a large sauce pot covering well with water. Bring to boil, boil for 2 minutes, then turn off heat and let sit for 1 hour.
Strain and rinse.
Fill pot with new water and place water and beans back on stove. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer about 90 minutes with lid tilted stirring once or twice but gently so you don’t make mush. Strain and rinse well under cold water.
Fill your re-usable containers when cooled and freeze. Take out of the containers when re-heating to avoid further plastic exposure that sometimes occurs with heating.
This is 2 pounds of black beans ready for the freezer
Beans of any kind are a staple of my vegan diet.
Easy peasey Mr Sneezy.
Please post any changes or thoughts about the meals this week and…….
CONGRATULATIONS! on completing the 6 week Meatless Monday Challenge!
Here’s your certificate! We are very proud of you! We hope that we’ve exposed you to some way of eating that you may not have thought of before. Our hope is that you’ll take what you’ve learned and expand on it to further your health and wellbeing.
Here’s to your healthy and happy life! Cheers!
Week #5 of your 6 week Meatless Monday Challenge
You’re almost there!
This week’s meals are going green. Green for spring…green for health…green for new beginnings.
Jump (like a green frog) over to Flo’s blog for the recipes where you’ll love being green with us!
Next week is the last week in your 6 week challenge! Way to go!
Mexican Quinoa Stuffed Green Peppers
Meatless Monday Week #4 (Is it getting easier?)
Hopefully by this week, you’ve gotten some good tips and basics on how to eat meatless. It’s really not that much of a “challenge” now, is it?
This weeks menu comes from Newfoundland, home of the Newfies (hope I spelled that right). Flo has made nuts, those tiny morsels of energy, the theme in tomorrow’s recipes.
Just two more weeks to go!! You can do it!
Please enjoy!
Click here to see your delicious recipes!
