Meatless Monday Challenge week #3 (Can you feel the power of the plant?)

Raise your hand if  you tried something new on these past Monday’s that you never tried before? If you’re hand is up, not only are you obedient, you’re more intelligent too as studies show that if you try new experiences it makes your brain grow.

By the end of this challenge, you might need a bigger skull.

This week I bring you banana pancakes, farinata (yes, I’m taking you out of your comfort zone and we’re heading to Europe.  for those of you in Europe, please disregard.) and for dinner, black bean burgers with dijon asparagus. Please also check out what Flo has cooking at her blog.

Breakfast comes from one of the sweetest bloggers out there, LiveLearnLoveEat.   I hate to admit it, but sometimes, my daughter and I eat these for dinner…..

photo courtesy of LiveLearnLovEeat

Ingredients:

• 3 mashed bananas
• 1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips (or regular if you’re eating dairy)
• 1 2/3 cup wheat flour (but it’s OK to use non-bleached white if you wish)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Heat skillet on medium heat. In a medium sized mixing bowl, mash bananas until there are no lumps then whisk in the oil, vanilla and add chocolate chips.

In a separate mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and sea salt. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and mix until just combined. (careful not to over mix the batter or the pancakes will not be very fluffy)

Pour the batter about 3/4 cups at a time into the heated skillet. Cook pancake for a few minutes until small bubbles begin to show through the batter, then flip it over and cook a few minutes more until golden.

Serve with plant-based butter and warm pure maple syrup.

Lunch is a versatile and European chickpea “pancake” of sorts but it’s more like a “pizza”.  This recipe can be made to include what you like.  You can use the base to act like a pizza crust and top it with your favorite veggies and/or sauce before you broil it, or you can top it with a pasta salad after it’s cooked, you can just eat it with herbs and sea salt. Either way it’s probably one of my most favorite things to make and you can make it differently every day!  I got this recipe from my friend who spends a lot of time in Italy, but I then saw this post by one of my favorite bloggers, Kellie at Food to Glow.  She gives some great background on this delicious European favorite.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chickpea flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill chickpea and fava flour)
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon room temp water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 tsp salt (I like sea salt)
• 1 tsp chopped rosemary, thyme or oregano leaves (fresh really makes a difference here)
• a good pinch of freshly ground pepper
• optional thinly sliced onion, chopped sun dried tomatoes, chopped spinach, tomatoes, or whatever else you want to put in/on

Sift the flour into a bowl.  Add the water a bit at a time, making a paste at first, then add the rest of the water and oil and whisk until smooth. Mix in the rosemary salt and pepper.

Cover with a dishcloth or plate and leave it to absorb anywhere from 30 minutes  to overnight.  My friend, Mara, told me that in Italy, you can’t buy these until later in the afternoon, because they are all absorbing during the morning hours…a very important part of any farinata.  I sometimes will make the batter and let it sit covered overnight. Then I can make it whenever I like the next day.    If I just can’t wait, 30 minutes will have to do.

This makes 2 cakes in a 12 inch skillet or 4 cakes in an 8 inch skillet .

Heat cast iron  skillet over medium heat. Also heat your oven broiler with the rack in the middle position. Lay thinly sliced onions on the bottom of the skillet as you want (you can skip this step if you don’t like onions) and allow to cook for about 3-5 minutes untouched. Then pour the batter to cover the bottom of the pan. For an 8 inch skillet it’s about 1/3 cup.  Cook without disturbing the pan for about 6-8 minutes.  watch for the edges to brown.

You can add things to the farina on top at this point, like spinach, thinly sliced tomatoes, olives, peppers etc. or you can just leave it plain. Gently press your toppings onto the batter.

I chose roasted red peppers on mine

Place iron skillet under broiler for about 5 minutes until golden brown on top.  Take out of the oven and work one corner until you can get a spatula underneath and push onto a plate.  You can season with additional salt and pepper if you want.

I couldn’t get mine out perfectly (lucky for me I am not obsessive about these sorts of things) so I just flipped it over on the plate.  You can see the oinions that were hidden under the batter now.

You can have this with a cup of soup or side salad but it can stand alone with some great toppings.

Molto delizioso!!

Dinner is black bean burgers with steamed dijon asparagus

Better burgers

After eating cooked black beans, I just can’t eat them from a can anymore.  The taste is far superior and I love the avoidance of the BPA that is in those can liners.

If you’ve never cooked black beans before, I suggest you buy a bag of dried black beans and try it.    I usually buy a big bag, cook the beans, and then store them in 2 cup portions in the freezer for when a recipe calls for a “can” of black beans.

Start the asparagus (see below)

makes 4 burgers

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of cooked black beans (or if you must…one can of black beans drained and rinsed)
• 1 flax egg (see below) or 1 egg
• 1/2 sweet or yellow onion chopped
• 1 cup bread crumbs of choice
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste (I don’t eat a lot of salt and I didn’t need any)
• hot sauce to taste (I’m not a hot sauce person, but it does ad a kick…1 tsp is a good starting place.
• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 6 buns
• toppings of choice…sliced onion, tomato, lettuce, cole slaw, etc.

Place beans in a bowl and mash with a masher or fork.

Make a flax egg by grinding 1 tablespoon whole flax seeds very well. (I use a coffee grinder) and pouring it into 2 1/2 tablespoons warm water. Mix well and let sit for 5 minutes.  Keep the flax seeds whole until just before you grind them or you’ll lose all of the beneficial Omega -3′s that make flax seeds so healthy. Once ground, the seeds lose their “pow”.

Meanwhile cook chopped onions over medium heat in 1 tablespoon of live oil for about 8-10 minutes until limp and transparent.

Combine beans, egg of choice, basil, oregano, salt & pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onions, and hot sauce (if using).  Mix well. Burger mix will be slightly dry, you can add 2 teaspoons of water if needed.  Surprisingly, even though they look dry, they stay together nicely.

With wet hands, form into 4 patties making tight burger shape and flatten a bit by pressing it down against the plate.

Cook in heated skillet over medium heat about 8 minutes until bottom is golden brown then flip and cook other side.  Serve with vegan or regular mayo or ketchup.  I highly recommend Annie’s organic ketchup. Sometimes, I think of things to cook just so I can use the ketchup…it’s that good.  I don’t know what Annie does to it, but I could drink this stuff.  Ok, enough about my sick obsession.

I heart Annies’ organic ketchup

Steamed asparagus

Ingredients:

• one bunch, about a pound of fresh asparagus
• 1/2 cup vegan or regular mayo
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dijon mustard

Wash and trim asparagus.  I don’t know the “official way to trim” but I like to break off the bottom of the asparagus with my hands.  if I can’t break it, I move up a bit on the stalk.  if I can’t snap it, it will be tough to chew, so that’s how I get the best part of the stalk.

I don’t have a steamer, so I set one up on the stove using a metal colander and a large sauce pot.  Place 6 inches or so of water in the sauce pot.  Place the colander on top. Place the washed and trimmed asparagus in the colander and cover.  Boil the water in the pot as you steam the asparagus for about 20-25 minutes until tender.  I cook lots of veggies this way….sweet potatoes, acorn squash, carrots, green beans, onions, etc.

Make the sauce by mixing mayo and mustard. Spoon sauce over asparagus or just season asparagus with a little salt, pepper and lemon juice.

I’ll be posting a dessert later in the week…….or you can just make that fudge that we posted 2 weeks ago that you are now addicted to.

If none of these work, scroll down to the bottom of week #1 for more sources for meatless meals.

Enjoy!! Please let me know how you like everything!

And for a visual feast I will post my very first camellia bloom!

Available in all major bookstores in the USA and Canada and on Amazon.com in August 2013

My new cancer-blasting, relaxing, delicious hot beverage

Yes, my new favorite afternoon-break beverage is all those things:

Fighting cancer never tasted so good!

Dandelion root tea with Turkey Tail mushroom-infused maple syrup and plant-based milk!

When I say dandelion, you probably think “kill it!”, but ironically, dandelions are helping some to live.  A recent study on patients taking dandelion root tea shows that it causes remissions in some forms of leukemia.  It’s cancer fighting properties are being further studied.  (The dandelion leaves are great also as they are extremely high in iron and cancer fighting vitamins. Have some leaves in a salad with your tea!)

That brings me to the turkey tail mushroom extract.  Turkey tail mushrooms are being studied and have been shown to reduce the incidence of recurrence of breast cancer.  Special turkey tail mushrooms are grown just for the study.  I could think of no better way to get my daily dose of turkey tail than in sweet rich Vermont maple syrup!

Top it off with sweet mimicreme or coconut milk and you won’t want it to end!

Cheers to your health!

Meatless Monday Challenge week#2 (You’re healthier this week!)

Monday’s roll around pretty fast, don’t they? We hope you enjoyed last week’s menu. There are no “rules” to this (I hate rules, don’t you?) so relax and have fun with it as it’s all about learning to be healthy.  And you are healthier without meat as noted in this study recently published which states that those who eat processed meats die sooner than those who don’t.  This is the second major such study to confirm this and you can find this recommendation in the American Cancer Society guidelines for cancer prevention.

Cheers to not dying!

Flo and I decided to each have our own menu giving you even MORE options for meals.  Please note that even though Flo and I are giving “dueling menus” this is not a competition. (although I AM quite competitive….) We just thought it would be nice to offer MORE.  If you don’t like what I’m having for breakfast, check out Flo’s menu.

Breakfast today is oatmeal with some power.

Oatmeal’s fiber fills you up and provides essential protein. Pump up the protein with hemp seeds if you want to.  Hemp seeds pack a powerful 11 grams of protein in 3 tablespoons! This is an easy way to get the protein you need and this breakfast will fill you up and keep you full until lunchtime as protein takes longer to digest.

This recipe has 10.5 grams of protein. That’s a good way to start your day!

You’ll need:

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 banana
• 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tablespoons hemp seeds (optional)

Heat 1 cup water in a saucepan until boiling. Add oatmeal and reduce heat.  Stir for 5 minutes until thickened.

In a bowl mash the 1/2 banana. Add the maple syrup and cinnamon and mix well

Add cooked oatmeal and hemp seeds (if using) and mix well.

If it’s not sweet enough for you try adding more cinnamon before you add more syrup.

The banana adds sweetness, so you don’t need a lot of other sweetener

Lunch is a twist on the classic BLT…try a TLT!

This is for those of you thatare adventurous and want stretch your comfort zone it a bit by including healthy tempeh in your diet. Delicious tempeh is loaded with protein and because it’s fermented soy, it’s not in he same class as tofu or soy milk. Recent studies indicate that in moderation this type of soy is safe to eat even with hormonal cancers like breast cancer. (but don’t go against your doctor’s advice)  Tempeh is part of my diet several times a month. You can buy this plain or marinated and sliced for convenience. This is my brand, but there are others. Just watch out for added MSG, and artificial flavors.

There is a bacon flavor, but it contains MSG. The sesame garlic flavor does not contain MSG

Tempeh Lettuce and Tomato sandwich (TLT)

Image courtesy of Peas and Crayons

• 5 strips of marinated tempeh (sesame garlic  flavor is my favorite.)
• dark greens like spinach, red tip lettuce, etc…try to avoid the “anemic” iceberg lettuce
• sliced ripe red tomato, or sliced cucumber, thin sliced red or green peppers, or sprouts of your choice or all of the above.
• 2-3 thin slices of avocado
• bread of your choice (whole grain, no high fructose corn syrup)

Spray pan or coat with a scant amount of oil (I use my table top mister which you can win by liking our facebook page) cook strips flat over medium heat until slightly browned about 3-5 minutes on each side. Set aside to cool.

Assemble sandwich.  You can top with this dressing if you choose:

• 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise or veganaise
• 1/2 tsp pure maple syrup (not maple flavored syrup)
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Mix well and spread on sandwich.

Goes well with kale chips or a baked sweet potato (wash outside, wrap in foil and bake 60-90 minutes at 350 degrees F)

Calories about 520 depending on the  bread used (I figured 100 cal/slice) Protein: 13 grams,

Fiber, vitamin etc. depends how high you can stack it.  This is a good opportunity to get your raw veggies, which are the best.

And for dinner…..

Baked Stuffed Acorn Squash (serves 4):

• 2 acorn squash (1 pound each) halved crosswise, seeded and bottom trimmed so it sits flat.  A good acorn squash feels dense and is all green…not partly orange. Save the seeds for roasting (see below)
  
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil divided
• 1/2 pound portabella, cremini, or button mushrooms, cleaned and diced
• 1 medium yellow or sweet onion diced small
• 5-6 sprigs of fresh thyme or 3/4 tsp dried
• 1 cup of long grain white rice or 1 cup of quinoa
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan or 4 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
• salt and pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  On a rimmed baking sheet (lined with foil or parchment for easy clean up) season cut sides of squash with salt and pepper, drizzle with about 1 tablespoon of oil and turn cut sides down on the pan. Cover lightly with foil roast until tender about 35 minutes. Your fork should pierce skin and sink easily into squash.

2.  Meanwhile, strip thyme leaves from stems and rub between fingers.  In a medium saucepan heat remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and onion and thyme leaves, season with a little salt and pepper and sauté until mushrooms and onions are soft…about 8 minutes. Add broth and rice or quinoa. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to low and simmer covered until liquid is absorbed (for rice about 20 minutes, for quinoa about 15 minutes)

3.  Remove squash from oven and heat broiler. Turn squash over carefully (I use a spatula) USing a spoon scoop out about 1/2 of the flesh from each piece and stir into rice/quinoa mixture. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if desired. Divide stuffing among the 4 squash halves. Sprinkle with parmesan or nutritional yeast and pop into broiler for 2 minutes until top is lightly browned.

Satisfying and nutritious!

Per half: calories: 432, protein: 14 grams (12 if you use the rice) fiber: 6 grams (5 if you use the rice)

White rice is one of the “inflammation promoting” foods, so you should use it sparingly.

You can even eat the skins of the squash as they are very tender and offer additional fiber.

Save the seeds, wash them and mix with a bit of olive oil.  Spread on a baking sheet and sprinkle with cinnomon. bake in 350 degree over for about 20 minutes. Let cool completely.  Great for high energy snacking!

Don’t throw these beauties out please!

Roasted beets with ginger dressing:

Serves 4

• 6 beets (about 2 pounds or so) scrubbed
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (preferably white)
• 1 tablespoon finely grated peeled ginger (dried ginger won’t work here)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup shelled pistachios chopped

Peel ginger using a spoon. the skin is like paper and comes off easily. Peel it as you use it and store it unpeeled in a ziplock bag in the fridge for best results

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (I used the same oven temp as for the squash) Wrap beets in parchment-lined foil and place on a baking sheet. Roast until tender about 45-60 minutes.  Your fork should not meet resistance when pierced.  Let cool so you can handle, then peel gently with a pairing knife. The skins are very thin and you should not lose any beet flesh when doing this.  You can alternatively rub with a paper towel to remove skins.  Cut into 3/4 inch chunks.

Be sure to appreciate the beauty of this root before you eat it

2. Place ginger, oil, vinegar, and a bit of salt and pepper in a small processor or whisk briskly with a wire whisk.  (I have a mini electric chopper that worked well) The idea is to emulsify the ingredients so they are 100% blended and look like this:

This tastes weird alone but it’s perfect on the beets!

Toss beets with dressing and top with pistachios. I think it’s best served at room temp.

Roasted beets with ginger dressing

Beets are loaded with potassium and contain a good amount of vitamin C.

Ginger is a potent anti-inflammatory and cancer fighter.

If you’re up for it, you can make these yummy apple hand pies posted by The Sweetest Vegan for dessert.  Try to use the plant-based butter like Earth Balance, but butter can be subbed in this recipe if you don’t have it. Please DON’T use margarine which contains hydrogenated oils that put you at risk for heart disease and other illnesses and make you body work hard to break them down.

You could also use a pre-made healthy pastry crust. Watch for hydrogenated oils and artificial flavors please. Thank you.

Photo by thesweetestvegan.com

So there you have it! See you next week!

If something doesn’t appeal to you hop on over to Flo’s blog to see what she’s got cooking!

Here’s to healthy eating!

Check out the book!

Week 1 of the Meatless Monday Challenge

Ne rules here. We had a boatload (OK a dingyload) of people sign up for the Meatless Monday Challenge we posed on our Facebook page.

If you want to take it a step further, you can also go 100% plant-based…the choice is yours. It’s really not a challenge at all….that’s the interesting part.

So welcome to Week 1!!!!!!

Here is how it will work: Each Saturday, we will post tips and recipes to both our blogs (Perks of Cancer and The Savvy Sister). That will give you a chance to get all the ingredients you need to make your meals on Monday. If there is not something on our menu that appeals to you, we will also post links to other sites which offer plant based meals. It will be practically impossible NOT to find something that you like!

You may notice that we often use the term “plant-based” as opposed to “meatless”. There is a good reason for that. Let’s say you get up and gobble down two gooey deep fried doughnuts for breakfast; followed by a super-sized McDonald’s fries for lunch; and then a big bag of Lays chips washed down by a coke for supper……technically you had a meatless day. But we love you so much, that we don’t want you to just have a meatless day. We want you to feed that beautiful bod of yours the delicious plant-based nutrition that it deserves!

As a side note, technically dairy is NOT plant based, so please try to eliminate dairy, JUST FOR ONE DAY! But this is supposed to be fun…….so if you’re not ready to ditch the cow just yet, that’s OK ….we still love you.

Breakfast:

Unless you are a person who has bacon and eggs every morning, breakfast will be a breeze! Whole grain toast with mom’s homemade jam, rolled oats, rice pudding, and berry smoothies are among Flo’s favorites. However, you will likely find Susan munching on a banana, apple or similar fruits, almond butter on whole grain bread, or a vegan waffle with 100% pure maple syrup. (Look in the frozen section for waffles made with real ingredients like Vann’s or use this easy recipe.

If you are a little more adventurous, here is a delicious granola recipe you might like to try. (But if you are not up for making granola today, that’s okay, skip ahead to our lunch suggestions.)

Don’t let the looks fool you. The taste is a party in you mouth.  You can use raisins but I love the dried tart cherries and blueberries.

Ingredients:

* 3 cups (300 grams) of old fashioned rolled oats (not instant)

* 3/4 cup (75 grams) of sliced or slivered almonds or chopped walnuts

* 1/2 cup (45 grams) unsalted sunflower seeds…raw or roasted * 1/2 cup (45 grams) raw, shelled pumpkin seeds (also known as Pepitas)

* 1/2 TBS (5 grams)wheat germ or almond meal (optional)

* 1/2 TBS (5 grams) ground cinnamon

* 1/4 tsp (60 mg) salt

* 2 TBS (28 grams) canola or similar oil * 1/2 cup (120 ml) pure maple syrup (Grade A amber organic if possible)

* 1 cup dried fruit such as cherries, cranberries, apricots, dates, figs, etc.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 C)

2. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

3. Mix oil and maple syrup in a smaller bowl and blend well.

4. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and mix to coat thoroughly.

5. Spread on cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray or rubbed with a light coating of oil

6. Bake 30-40 minutes mixing the granola 2 or 3 times to brown evenly. The browner it gets, the crunchier it will be.

7. Remove from oven and let cool. The granola will be soft and sticky when it first comes out, but will crisp as it cools.

8. Once it has cooled add your dried fruit and mix. You can also add fresh fruit…be creative!

9. Makes 5 cups. Store in an air-tight container. It will keep for several weeks. You can double this recipe to make more. You may find you need to bake an additional 5 – 10 minutes and stir more often to brown the whole pans worth.

Nutritional data per 1/2 cup serving : calories: 330, fat: 16 g, fiber: 4.3 g, carbs: 40 g, protein: 7.3 g

Note: Try to use a plant-based milk like almond milk or almond/coconut milk combo. You can also try rice milk. Stay away from soy milk if you can as it is the least healthy when consuming “milks”. Consider your creamer for your coffee to. (There is a wonderful product called “Mimicreme” if you can find it that tastes just like thick sweet cream, but is all plant based.)

Lunch:

If you are looking for easy, a leafy salad topped with your favorite nuts or seeds is the way to go for lunch. Remember, the more colorful your salad, the better. If you are craving something a little “meatier” you might want to try beans. They are high in protein yet low in calories and fat!

However, if you are ready for something a little more exotic, you might want to try this delicious hummus recipe.

Picture courtesy of SimplyScratch.com

Hummus is a great substitute for meat in sandwiches. It offers the protein and filling satisfaction that you need from lunch. You can always buy pre-made hummus if you don’t have time to make your own. If you shop in a healthy supermarket you will be able to find variation on the hummus made with chickpeas (standard). We like this option taken from “Simply Scratch”.com Tahini is sesame paste. This ingredient makes the hummus richer, but is optional if you just can’t find it. We would suggest including the parsley for its abundant health benefits and Vitamin K. This is also one to have sitting in the fridge when you want a snack as it’s great as a dip for fresh veggies.

Ingredients:

A Lemon

2 cans {14.5 ounces each} Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons Tahini (optional)

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

1/2 teaspoon Cumin

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt or sea salt

1 Garlic Clove, pressed through a garlic press

2 tablespoons Pine Nuts {optional}

1 tablespoon minced Fresh Parsley {optional}

Olive Oil {optional}

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Half the lemon and trim off the ends so they will lay flat in an oven-safe dish. Roast for 20-30 minutes then remove and let cool.

In the bowl of your food processor, fitted with the blade, add the beans, tahini, garlic, cumin, salt, olive oil and a tablespoon or so of juice from a roasted lemon halve.

Secure the lid and process until smooth. Taste and check for seasoning.

Note: To toast pine nuts, simply toss them into a dry pan and heat over medium. Toss every so often until they are fragrant and golden. This should take about 5 minutes.

Spread the hummus on whole grain bread or a soft tortilla wrap. Add slices of your choice of veggies. Here’s where you can customize it to your liking. Hummus is great with thin slices of fresh red pepper, spinach leaves, red onion and cucumber. Sprouts also go very well. Try not to just resort to the same old “iceberg lettuce and tomato” for you sandwich toppings….please. Fresh veggies offer the most potent disease fighting factors, so pack them on! Have it with a side of fresh fruit or grab an apple or orange. (Try to avoid canned fruit as they often are packed in sugar even if it is “its own juice”.)

Dinner /Supper:

For your first Meatless Monday, we want to provide you with a recipe that is tasty, yet does not require a lot of time or ingredients to make. This is Flo’s take on a Newfie favorite: fries and gravy.

-Olive oil

*-I large sweet potato (per person), cut into wedges (or a combination of sweet potato and white potato wedges)

-1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

-1 small onion, finely chopped

-2 large portabello mushroom caps, cut into cubes

*- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast

-3 tbsp soy sauce

-1 tbsp cornstarch

-water

-your favorite seasonings….I like sea salt, pepper and “garlic plus”

Here is how you make it:

Fries:

-Place potato wedges in a roasting pan, drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle on your favorite seasonings.  Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F, turning once.

Gravy:

- Sauté in 1 tbsp olive oil for 2 minutes: one finely chopped small onion and one clove of finely chopped garlic.

-Add two tablespoons of nutritional yeast, three tablespoons of soy sauce, and two cups of water.  Simmer for five minutes.

-Dissolve one tablespoon corn starch in a half a cup of water.  Use this to thicken gravy to desired thickness.

It’s that easy!  Add your favorite steamed /roasted/sautéed veggies (preferably two different colors) on the side and you are ready to eat.

Notes:

*-Sweet potatoes are a much better choice for you than white potatoes as they provide you with an abundance of Vitamin A (384% RDA) …an important antioxidant and they are also a potent anti-inflammatory food (inflammation is the root of most chronic illnesses like heart disease and cancer)  White potatoes on the other hand, offer the same amount of calories and carbs,  but no Vitamin A and are a potent inflammation promoter.  But if you have not yet acquired a taste for sweet potatoes, it’s okay to have both sweet and white (but not JUST the white ones, ok?)

*-Nutritional yeast is not cheap but it is tremendously nutritious (hence the name)and it gives this gravy its spectacular flavor!  Don’t scrimp on the nutritional yeast.  You’ll have plenty of opportunity to use it in other plant based recipes over the next 6 weeks.

And now for the best part:

Dessert

Feel free to add chopped nuts, dried fruit or seeds

Healthy Fudge

1 cup of almond butter (or nut butter of your choice)

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 tsp fine salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-Melt coconut oil (It’s solid at room temp) in the microwave on medium heat for 30 seconds or until liquid

-Mix with all other ingredients.

-Place in wax paper-lined 8 x 8 dish (It won’t fit completely, it’s ok, just spread it out best you can) and place dish in freezer for 1 hour.

-Cut into pieces and enjoy.  Keep in fridge or freezer to keep solid

Cut into 9 pieces, each piece has 278 calories, 23 grams of fat and 7.4 grams of protein

CAUTION! This is addicting! You will find yourself going to kitchen for “something” and ending up with a piece of fudge in your hand!

Enjoy this treat! You deserve it!

If our menu just doesn’t do it for you, create your own.  Here are some of our favorite sites:

The Engine 2 Diet

Good Clean Food

Straight Up Food

There are virtually hundreds of recipes on these sites. Take your time and check them out!

Your food should provide you with health but also happiness.  When they provide both it’s pretty sweet.  Try to drink mostly water this day.  While soda pop and sports drinks are technically “non-animal” they are considered a “beast” and will ruin an otherwise healthy diet.  Your body can utilize water immediately.  Any other “drink” has to be broken down first and that takes time and energy away from what your body needs to do to stay healthy.

OK…now we want to hear from all of you……was it as hard as you thought? What were the best/worst part of your day?  Post your comments below, or go to our Facebook page: 

Study is the first to find proof that Omega 3′s inhibit cancer

The Savvy Sister has been saying this, and now one study confirms it: A diet rich in Omega 3 fatty acids reduce your risk of cancer.

The study published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry is the first to provide unequivocal proof that a lifelong diet rich in food high in Omega 3′s can reduce your risk of cancer by 30% and reduce the tumor size by 30%.  Funding for this research came from the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance/Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Ontario Research Fund

Omega 3 fatty acids are found in many foods but in particular walnuts, flax seeds, salmon.  There are also Omega 3 supplements in the form of fish oil capsules, but for those reducing their intake of animal products, chia seeds offer a wonderful alternative providing a hefty dose of Omega 3′s.  They also thicken any liquid so they’re great thrown into your morning shake.

1 tablespoon of chia seeds has the same amount of Omega 3s as five fish oil capsules. The chia seeds taste better, and are waaaaay cheaper!

Plant-based foods to include in your diet that are high in Omega 3:

• chia seeds
• walnuts
• flax seeds (they must ground immediately before eating)
• sprouted radish seeds
• grape leaves
• fresh basil
• fresh spearmint
• alfalfa sprouts

I have always believed that diets containing the right balance of Omega 3: Omega 6 prevented cancer because omega 3 fatty acids reduce inflammation and omega 6 fatty acids promote inflammation.  Inflammation is the root cause of most chronic illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Foods to avoid that are high in Omega 6:

• most vegetable oils: sunflower, safflower, corn, etc (most oils except for olive oil)
• corn products: corn chips, corn meal, corn grits, corn flakes, cereals containing corn etc
• crackers, granola bars, nuts roasted in oil
• margarine
• salad dressings, mayo
• potato chips and snack foods
• chicken, beef fat

You can read the whole story here.

All of you who are eating granola bars thinking that you are doing something good for yourself may be in denial.  Not only do they contain a boatload of Omega 6′s but they are loaded with soy isolates in the form of soy protein which are ruining the health of the masses.

Start reading your labels and avoiding the Omega 6 foods and beef up your disease protection arsenal with Omega 3′s!

Win These Fabulous Healthy Prizes!

I love give-aways! Win these two prizes here.  Nothing to fill out. No survey to answer.  No taste test. Click on the photo and “like” the FB page to be entered.

Win these!!

The Pink Kitchen cookbooks are written by Lisa Grey. Lisa used nutrition to fight her cancer and stumped her doctors by doing it.  She has great recipes and great dietary advice for anyone who wants to not only combat cancer, but anyone who wants to get healthy.

The table top mister is a really great idea for anyone who hates using butane to propel your cooking spray.  Most cooking sprays (like Pam) use Butane gas to propel the oil out of the can.  While you can’t technically eat a gas, I don’t like th idea of my oil being coaxed out onto my skillet by lighter starter.  Pam and other cooking sprays also contain soy products and preservatives.

To avoid all that and just get the oil (thank you) I found this wonderful mister. (Mister Right, I like to call it) I can use whatever oil I choose, and I can even flavor the oil with fresh herbs.  I put the cap on and pump it 7 times to put air into the bottle.  The air forces the oil out when I push the sprayer. It sprays continuously for enough oil to cover a 10 inch skillet or a small salad. When I want another spray, I just pump it again.

I love it so much. I gave them away as Christmas gifts to my sisters!

You can win these fabulous prizes!

Flo continues her vegan challenge ……. she’s got balls.

Plant-based chickballs, that is.

Florence is doing an amazing job sticking to her vegan challenge that she started on February 1st.  Here are her latest adventures:

Flo says:

I can hardly believe it is already day 17 of my 21 day vegan challenge!  So far it has been a piece of cake….ummm, I mean a piece of gluten free, egg free, dairy free cake….let’s just said it’s been a piece of bread (multi-grain bread).   But seriously, I have been enjoying some fabulous foods, with my new favorite being “wheatballs”.  They are so versatile!  I’ve had wheatballs in thai sauce with rice;  barbequed wheatballs ; and my fave, wheatballs and spaghetti!  Since Susan is the recipe lady, I will let her supply you with a healthy recipe for these little delights.

The most difficult thing I have encountered with living a vegan lifestyle is not about choosing new foods, it is about getting OTHER people to accept these choices.  Yesterday I spoke at a Chicken Soup for the Soul Luncheon (where I dined on tomato soup and veggie wraps).  A big part of my talk was about the difference between a positive attitude and a survivor’s attitude.   A positive attitude is a wonderful thing, and I credit it with being instrumental to my healing and recovery from cancer.  Even more important than a positive attitude however, is the survivor’s attitude which I continue to maintain.  A survivor’s attitude combines positive attitude, with positive ACTION!  As a cancer survivor, I am going to do everything in my power to continue to stay healthy and prevent a cancer reoccurrence.  If that means changing my diet, I WILL change my diet.  If that means exercising more, I WILL exercise more.  If that means giving up wine….well let’s not get carried away here.  Wine is vegan after all.

I would just like for people to accept my food choices and understand that I am not turning down your lasagna or cupcakes to be rude, or because I am picky.  I am doing it because I want to stay alive! If there are any stray cancer cells lurking in this body, I want to STARVE them by eating a plant based diet, not FEED them with animal fats and sugar.  So please don’t hate me because I’m veganJ.

Susan, do you have any tips for us this week?  And can you please share a chickball recipe with our readers?

Way to go Flo!  The mind is a complex thing, isn’t it?  Food is not only sustenance; it’s also a centerpiece for social gatherings and offers emotional comfort.  Humans want “belong” to a group and have a sense of conformity and sharing food means connecting.

But I wonder, Flo, if you were diabetic, and didn’t have dessert would they force their cherry cheesecake on you and shun you if you didn’t partake?  Eating a diet to avoid cancer is really the same thing.

We all make choices about our health and no one should feel “weird” because of them.  That’s why I try not to use the word “vegan” as stated before, and prefer the term “plant-based”.

See? I told you vegans can be buff. And just look at the size of those feet!

One blooger even made up his own name for plant-based eaters: “Veganauts” , and his own definition  for the word. (that’s what you can do when you make up your own word)

Here’s how Jason defines it:

ve-gan-aut /VEE-gun-ot/ (n.) 1. a person who is exploring the rewarding vegan lifestyle without actually meeting all of the vegan tenets all of the time.   2. someone who lives like a vegan but makes occasional allowances for transgressions without giving up the vegan lifestyle afterwards.  3. any omnivore who is experimenting with plant-based eating or vegan living. 4. a person who is sick and damn tired of defending their own personal brand of veganism and prefers to have a label nobody can argue with.  An example sentence: Sarah is a veganaut because even though she is almost always vegan, she wears leather shoes and eats cheese fondue once a month with her Mother-in-law and has some turkey on Thanksgiving.

Here are some tips when talking about your new plant-based diet.

1.  Don’t allow yourself to feel different.  You are the ray of light on a new horizon! You are a teacher of health! YOU are the cool one. …yeah you are! “No one can make you feel inferior without your permission” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

2.  Don’t preach.  As tempting as it is, don’t lecture your dinner companions on the dangers of casein (milk protein), and how it’s linked to high rates of cancer.   And never start a sentence with “Did you know……?”  If people ask, keep it simple.  If they want to know more, they will contact you later.

3.  Don’t condemn. I have eaten with vegans at a table and I’ve wanted to slap the “icky faces” off them as they watch their carnivore friend chow down on a plate full of ribs.  Keep your reactions to yourself.  People have a right to choose what they put in their bodies.  If asked, keep it focused on why YOU are vegan not how THEY should be.

4. Realize that at some restaurants, you may be having a salad…again.  If going out to eat with friends, check the menu online and figure out what you can eat beforehand.  Most restaurants will be happy to add or subtract items or cook in oil vs butter if you ask.  Some restaurants (even steakhouses) that I have been to recently have a separate vegan menu.  Aren’t YOU special! And remember, going out to eat with friends is a social thing. Avoid bringing a baggie of food with you.

5. Try to make concessions.  If your neighbor makes you chicken soup because you’re sick, don’t tell her “Oh, sorry, I’m a vegan and I can’t eat this.”  Take the soup, do with it whatever, and tell the person it was delicious and thanks them. If it’s someone’s birthday, have a sliver of cake. Whether you sit there and push it around or you eat it, there’s good energy behind the food, so try not to refuse.

6. Be nice! Not everyone will agree with your decision and some may even tell you that your choices will make you sick. Remember you may be the first vegan this person has encountered and it falls on you to make us all look good.  Just smile a lot and realize that it’s ok because God loves even the idiots.

If anyone has any stories about their encounters with those not accepting of your diet, let us know how you dealt with it.

Here’s the chickball recipe! Enjoy! And Flo..keep up the good work!

Chickballs (options given…do em whichever way you like em)

Always try to use organic ingredients when possible

1 (15.5 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or avoid the BPA in the can by cooking your own)

1 cup chopped white mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 1/2  to 2 tablespoons soy sauce (find a soy sauce without cancer-causing caramel coloring and MSG)

1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil, plus more for cooking

½ cup dry bread crumbs (or use 4 Wasa rye crisp crackers ground in a blender)

½ cup whole wheat flour or chickpea flour (if you use the wheat, you can call them wheatballs if that makes you feel better)

¼ cup of nutritional yeast (optional but consider this high protein/non-yeast source that is usually fortified with B12…a vitamin that is essential but is mostly found in animal products,  so vegan should get it when they can I use Bragg’s, but there are lots of brands out there)

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon salt (Season to taste. I found I didn’t need the salt when using the full 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce)

¼ teaspoon black pepper

If cooking the chickpeas, rinse and place in a pot covered with water. Cover and soak overnight (12 hours). Replace water with twice the volume of the chickpeas, and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer 1 hour. Strain and allow to cool.  Cooked chickpeas can be placed in 16-ounce containers and frozen for 3 months (It’s like having a can in your freezer.  I do this with black beans too.)

If using canned make sure you rinse extremely well.

-in food processor, combine chickpeas, mushrooms, garlic and parsley, and pulse until coarsely ground, but not pureed.  Add the remaining ingredients and pulse to combine.

-with a spatula, scrape the mixture into a large bowl and knead the mixture until well blended, about 2 minutes.

-pinch off  small pieces  of the mixture and roll into one and a half inch balls.

-in a large skillet, cover the bottom with olive oil and fry the wheatballs, turning frequently to brown the on all sides, about 5 minutes.

You don’t really need lot of oil to brown these, and using cast iron is always a healthier way to cook

These wheatballs freeze well and can be used in any recipe which calls for meatballs.  They also passed the “I’m not eating anything vegan” husband test. He gobbled them up in a flash.

Nutritional info

Makes about 17 balls Nutrition per ball when chick pea flour, rye cracker flour, and nutritional yeast options are used ….Calories: 75, Fat: 2.5, Protein: 4.8, Iron: 4.5% RDA,  Fiber: 3.5 grams  Vitamin B12: 13% RDA

Using the rye cracker crumbs vs the breadcrumbs saves calories and also saves you from the sugars, and preservatives that breadcrumbs contain.  The rye crisps contain rye flour, water and salt.  This post is not big enough to list all the ingredients in processed bread crumbs. Go to Wasa for more info

Using chick pea flour instead of wheat flour gives you 5 times the protein, more iron, and 3 times the fiber than using wheat flour. These small changes add up and make your healthy diet even healthier!

Nutritional yeast, while it has yeast in it’s name, is not a live yeast product.  It is the shell of the dead yeast cells that contain an abundance of protein and adds a very unique flavor to anything it touches.  Most nutritional yeast products are fortified with B Vitamins including B12…the one that vegans need to supplement in their diet.

We also have a new website for our book. Check it out if you’re so inclined. Thanks!