Healthy Food on a Time Crunch

Today's post is how to enjoy a healthy diet when you only have a few minutes of free time a day. Having three jobs is cramping my cooking style a little bit lately, but I've found ways to have healthy food when time is tight. The key is preparation. Making things in advance that you can freeze is really helpful.

My latest little experiment was concerning juice. I love juicing, but I don't love waking up an hour early to prep the fruits and veggies, make the juice, clean the juicer, and put everything away. So I thought, why can't I just make this in advance? So that's what I did, but fresh juice only stays fresh for a couple of hours, so I couldn't just leave it in the fridge. What I did was, I made all the juice at once and froze it in ice cube trays overnight. Then I transferred them into zip top freezer bags. I know that each juice cube is one ounce so when I want a glass of juice, I just take out eight cubes from my little baggies and defrost them over night. The next morning I have a fresh glass of juice without having to break out the juicer. I did every fruit and veggie individually so I could mix and match my flavors. The ones I chose were: watermelon, beets (with their greens), red grapes, lemon, lime, grapefruit, orange, green apple, carrot, celery, kale, spinach, collard greens, and rainbow chard. When I take my cubes out to defrost, I include a lemon or lime, three more fruit cubes, and 4 veggie cubes. That way I know I'm getting a healthy mix. This worked out so well. I made so much juice it would make your head spin. I filled an entire shelf in my freezer. I'm going to have juice probably forever. It's going to be great.

This juice option is much easier for me than making it everyday, but it's also way cheaper than buying it everyday. They have some juices that have become popular lately that, while super tasty, at $8 a pop, just aren't worth it to me. Plus they've been processed so they can sit in grocery store refrigerators, so they've lost a little nutrition too.

My next little helpful tip is to spend one day every two to three weeks cooking up a ton of stuff. I make at least two kinds of soup, spaghetti sauce, veggies for stir-frying, brown rice, oatmeal, roasted sweet potatoes, mini fritatas, veggie burgers, baked pasta dishes, and marinated chicken or steak. For the stir fry veggies, I blanch them all really quick in a big pot and then portion them out in zip top bags to be frozen. Then when I want stir fry, everything I want is in one bag premixed with everything I like. I also freeze the soup and spaghetti sauce in individual portions. Same with the marinated meat. You don't even have to cook that, just put it in a freezer bag and take it out before you're ready to cook it. I do brown rice and oatmeal in huge batches and then portion those out. Once their defrosted, they reheat really well so you don't have to spend forty minutes cooking rice. The mini fritatas, potatoes, and veggie burgers can be thrown in the oven without defrosting to reheat for a quick meal. That's what I'm eating currently. Sweet potatoes with pinto beans and some salsa. Delish. And I made it like a month ago.

I am also a huge fan of smoothies. If you have one of those personal sized blenders, you can whip up a healthy breakfast or snack in no time. Throw in some frozen fruit, a little almond milk (or whatever it is that you drink) and maybe a little protein powder or flax seeds, or greens, and you've got yourself a meal.

If you haven't noticed my theme yet, it's that for all you time crunched friends, the freezer is your friend. The freezer keeps everything fresh longer, which means it will taste good for awhile and you don't have to cook every day. And spending one day making it yourself means it will be wayyyyyy healthier than that frozen, salt laced, preservative filled crap at the grocery store. You know exactly what's going in to it. Also, you can customize it to what you like.

But you can't live on frozen food alone. One day a week I also make fresh food in huge batches that can hang out in my fridge for a few days. I always make a big batch of salad and a big batch of fruit salad. And I may be known to make sandwiches a couple days ahead in weeks where I know I won't have 5 minutes to spare. They're all super handy for when you want to eat something nutritious and delicious, but you also need to leave the house in four minutes. I also usually make a batch of tabbouleh because it's sooo good, and I end up eating it all by the end of the day.

Lastly, I just want to share a couple of things that make your life much easier when you don't have a lot of time on your hands. When you get home from the grocery store, prep everything. I always chop my veggies and store them in containers with a little water to keep them crisp. That way, whatever carrots and celery I don't use for salads or stir fry end up precut into veggie sticks for dipping in hummus when I want a snack. Individually portion (or portion for the family if you're cooking for more than just yourself). Break everything down into what you would use for one meal. That way you don't have to defrost everything and waste it. Single serve yogurt with some fruit is a good breakfast on the go. For me at least, it helps when everything is already prepped and ready to go. Because anyone who knows me, knows that I would rather starve than wake up 20 minutes early to make breakfast.

So those are all my helpful hints for being healthy when you don't really have time to be. All it takes is an afternoon once a week to save you time all month. Or to save you from spending every night slaving away in the kitchen. Do you guys have any other tips that I missed? Please let me know. I can use all the help there is!! :)

I Might Be a Little Obsessed With Breakfast

I loooooooove breakfast. Okay, maybe I love breakfast foods, but I hate waking up to actually make breakfast at regular breakfast hours. So sometimes I have breakfast at strange hours of the day. I have also been known to throw a breakfast for dinner party every once in awhile. Seriously, there are so many spectacular breakfast foods. I can't even pick my favorites. But what I can do is show you two, yes TWO, breakfast recipes that you can enjoy any time of the day.

I recently became the proud owner of a lovely little waffle iron. It's amazing. I'll probably never eat a pancake again. Okay maybe that's not true, but why would you have pancakes when you can have waffles?! I whipped up a few different kinds of waffles, which was super easy because I am also the proud owner of a beautiful Kitchen Aid mixer. Probably the best Christmas gift I've ever received. I've wanted one forever, so now maybe I'll actually enjoy baking.

Anyway, back to the waffles. I made a really simple waffle batter and made a few plain waffles. Then I took some of that batter and folded in a few chopped strawberries. Then I added chocolate chips to some more batter. I also used waffles as bread for breakfast sandwiches. It was pretty great. But then I learned that you can make omelettes in your waffle iron. Yeah, that's a thing. It makes one of my favorite breakfast foods into another favorite! Also, once you've made the omelette waffles, you can freeze them and reheat them in the toaster. Waffles anytime!!! So here's the recipe!

Omelette Waffles
6 eggs
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
1 green onion
salt and pepper
A little oil or butter to grease the waffle iron
Any other veggies you want to add like zucchini, spinach, tomatoes, broccoli, or bell peppers.

Preheat the waffle iron and grease it with the oil or butter. Beat the eggs and then stir in the remaining ingredients. Add 1/4 cup of egg batter per waffle. It won't look like much, but it expands A LOT. So don't overfill it or you'll have eggs running down your iron and onto the counter and there will be eggs everywhere and it will be a huge mess. Trust me, it's not great. Cook the waffles for about 2 minutes, until the eggs are cooked through. It's different for every waffle iron, so you might need to do a test one. This recipe makes about 6 waffles in my iron. When you're done cooking all your omelette waffles, you get to eat them! I topped mine with a little salsa. I'm not sure if this is easier than just making an omelette, but it looks pretty cool so I'll probably keep doing it.

Recipe number two is a pretty easy one, but it was super tasty so I have to share.

Arugula and Fried Egg Sandwich
1 whole wheat bagel thin
1 cup arugula
1 slice of cheese (I used colby jack)
1/2 tsp + 1/2 tsp olive oil
1 egg
salt and pepper

Toast your bagel (If you want. Apparently some people don't like toasted bagels? I don't get it, but to each their own). In a small pan heat 1/2 tsp of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the arugula and saute until it's a little wilted, about 2 minutes. Place the cheese on the bagel and then the arugula over it, so it melts a little. In the same pan, or a cute little egg pan like I have, heat the remaining oil over medium heat. Crack open your egg and fry it in the oil until the top of the white is cooked. Add the salt and pepper. You could also scramble your egg if that's what you like. Put the egg on top of the arugula and add the top of your bagel and eat up! It would also be really tasty if you added some avocado or tomato or the jalapeno relish that will be appearing in my next post. This was super easy to make. So easy that I actually made it in the morning before work. If you wrap it up in foil, it travels pretty well too. I had it with some fruit salad on the side. I usually make a big batch of fruit salad and eat it for a couple days. Mine had watermelon, apples, oranges, tangerines, grapefruit and blackberries. Yummy!

I also recently got a French press to make coffee, and that's pretty great too. It makes super strong coffee, plus it's fun to do. I bought my coffee from the farmer's market and they ground it for me so it would be the right coarseness for the French press. Pretty cool. Also, how pretty is my mixer?! I love it!

Don't think this is the last of my breakfast posts. There will probably be a few more waffle inspired recipes coming your way.

Honey Lemon Chicken Salad

Hey guys! I moved in to my new apartment this week! I'm so happy!!!!! I love living by myself and having this amazing kitchen all to myself. Plus I feel like a real adult now. So since I've been here, I've been cooking a lot more, and tonight I made the most amazing salad. It has a lot of components, so it might look complicated, but all of them are super simple. I'll just get straight to the point and  just give you the recipe now. :)

Honey Lemon Chicken Salad
Greens, lettuce, and whatever else you like in your salad. Enough for 2 people
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
1tsp chili powder
2 tsp olive oil
1 cup quinoa
1 cup each water and chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup frozen corn
1 small tomato, diced
1 avocado, cubed
1 orange, segmented
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Rub 1tsp of oil on the chicken and place in a baking dish. Combine the soy sauce, 3 tbsp of the honey (I just eyeballed it and went with a very generous drizzle), the juice of half the lemon, the garlic and the chili powder. Pour over the chicken and bake for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked all the way through. When it's all done, let it cool a little bit and slice it. Meanwhile, combine the water, broth, and quinoa in a small pot and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 10 more minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy. In another pan, heat the remaining 1 tsp of oil over medium heat. Toast the corn until it's a little bit charred. Put the greens in 2 big bowls, or on plates and top with the sliced chicken, quinoa, corn, orange, tomato and avocado. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and cilantro, then drizzle with the juice of the other half of the lemon and a little more honey.

I had some leftover salad from last night's dinner with mixed greens, carrots, celery and cucumber so I just used that. You can adjust the ingredients to whatever you like. If you want to swap the chicken for tofu, go for it. If you want to add black beans, I think that would be delicious. In fact, I wanted to add black beans, but I can't find my can opener and I don't have any that I cooked. If you want to leave out the orange because you think it's weird, be my guest. If you don't like cilantro (which is apparently a common thing that I just don't understand), leave it out. And maybe top it with some tortilla chips or toasted pumpkin seeds. This salad is your playground, my friends.

So freaking good. You can thank me later ;)

Tis the Season... To Eat!

Depending on where you are in the country, you may be experiencing some wacky weather. What's even wackier is that there isn't much of a difference in what you find in the produce section of the grocery store. Pretty much any time of the year, you can find the same foods, even though they are not grown year round.

The way that happens is food is grown around the world, maybe tens of thousands of miles away. It gets picked when it's not quite ripe, then sprayed down with preservatives.Then it gets shipped to your grocery store. You may notice the food tastes a little off, the tomatoes aren't quite red. The berries are shriveled and a little lightly colored. That's because if the food is picked when it's ripe, it would go bad by the time it makes its way to grocery store shelves.

One way to ensure you are getting the freshest and best tasting food is to eat what is in season. Eating what is grown seasonally keeps your grocery costs down as well as reducing the carbon footprint it takes to get your food to your plate.  Plus the food tastes way better! A great way to see what's in season near you is to check out the farmer's market and see what they have. (For all my fellow Las Vegans, there's one at the Whole Foods on Las Vegas Blvd every Friday from 3-7.)

If you can't make it to a farmer's market, you can check out this list I compiled. The list obviously varies by region, but I think it's pretty general for the U.S. at least. So here is a list of the foods that are in season each month:

January:
Apples, citrus (especially tangerines, blood oranges, clementines, grapefruit), pomegranates, pears, beets, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, kale, leeks, potatoes, rhubarb, winter squashes (acorn, butternut)

February:
Bananas, citrus (blood oranges, lemons), pears, pineapple, pomegranate, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, artichoke, parsnips, potatoes, spinach, turnips

March:
Bananas, blood oranges, lemons, kiwi, pomegranate, mangoes, rhubarb, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, leeks, green onions

April:
Asparagus, broccoli, kale, lettuce, radishes, rosemary, spinach, green onions, garlic

May:
Apricots, cherries, artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, new potatoes, radishes, spinach, watercress

June:
Apricots, cherries, melon, strawberries, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, fennel, lettuce, peas, watercress, zucchini

July:
Apricots, blackberries, blueberries, melons, nectarines, peaches, raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes, cucumber, fennel, green beans, lettuce, onions, peas, sage

August:
Apricots, blackberries, blueberries, melons, peaches, raspberries, tomatoes, basil, cucumber, green beans, kohlrabi, onions, peas, zucchini, eggplant

September:
Apples, blackberries, figs, grapes, melons, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums, tomatoes, beets, butternut squash, carrots, celery, cucumber, kale, leeks, peppers, radishes, corn, wild mushrooms

October:
Apples, figs, grapes, pears, tomatoes, butternut squash, celery, mushrooms, onions, potatoes, pumpkin, turnips, sweet potatoes

November:
Apples, cranberries, passionfruit, pears, artichoke, parsnips, potatoes, pumpkin, turnips, wild mushrooms, sweet potatoes

December:
Apples, clementines, cranberries, passionfruit, pears, pineapple, pomegranate, tangerines, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, celery, chicory, kale, leeks, parsnips, red cabbage, turnips

For a great seasonal salad, check out my previous post "Smart Swaps" from May 2012. It's a warm kale salad with all kinds of winter seasonal ingredients. (It's delicious any time of year, which is why I was making it in May.) Fruit salad with apples and citrus with some fresh mint chopped in is also yummy.

Let me know if you have any other seasonal recipes!

Happy New Year!

Hey guess who's back!?

...

Me :)

It's a new year which means review last year and figure out how this year is going to be better. Let me just say, 2013 was filled with some highs and some lows. I have mixed feelings about this year, especially today because it is exactly six months since we lost such a sweet kid and part of our family. But I am thankful to have had him in my life and to celebrate his. <3

A new year is always filled with resolutions and people wanting to get healthier. And I am no different. However, my resolution is not just for myself, but for you too! I have many resolutions, but the one I know I can and will stick to is to not let this blog disappear for months again. I promise to update at least once a week from now on.

I definitely fell off the healthy wagon this year. Uh, by the way, I'm not a vegetarian anymore. Oops. Also, I haven't really been cooking very much. I got a little part time job or something like that, so I have been really busy. Not that that's an excuse. And by the time I get home from working all day, I'm so tired that I haven't been working out either. So basically my healthy life is nonexistent. I think everyone gets off track every once in awhile, but this is OUT OF CONTROL.

Anyway, I have a plan to make sure that 2014 is healthier and happier than 2013. Here are my resolutions and how I plan on keeping them.

1. Keep up with my blog. I'll be accomplishing this by setting aside Saturday afternoons to write a post. I don't usually tutor on Saturdays so I should have extra time to get this done. I also have a little list in my phone of ideas to write about whenever inspiration strikes me.

2. Make sure I eat healthy meals. The hardest part of this is not being prepared when I'm running around all day and I'm not home for 15 hours at a time. So I need to work on having something with me all the time, so I don't have to stop and buy something crappy. I do have stuff that I make in bulk and freeze, but I am not so good at bringing it with me. I just need to work on getting it ready the night before and always having something healthy. Plus I got the most amazing kitchen gadgets to motivate me to make healthy stuff.

3. Get some kind of exercise 5 times a week. This goes back to being prepared. Making sure I have my gym bag with me everyday will make me more likely to hit the gym or yoga on my way home. Even if I don't make it to the gym, just going for a run, or doing a simple workout at home would suffice. And now that it's warming up a little, I might be a little more willing to go for a jog.

4. Create a budget and actually stick to it. I don't just need to get my body healthy, but my bank account to. It's been sick for awhile now. Now that I'm writing these out, I'm sensing a trend. I need to work on preparedness. Stopping every day to buy food is not doing good things for my wallet. I've written out a budget and I need to make sure I pay my bills right when I get paid and make saving another mandatory bill.

5. Be more positive. I find myself being a whiny, complainy bitch sometimes, and that just needs to stop. Looking at the glass half full will make me and the people around me much happier. So this year, I'm going to make a conscious decision of the words that I choose and try to see the good things more clearly.

I think five is plenty of resolutions to have and hopefully it will help other parts of my life to fall together as well. What are your resolutions? What do you want to do this year? Let me know and also if you have anything you'd like me to write about!

Zucchini Lentil Burgers

Hi again!! It's been a very busy couple of weeks, but don't worry, I have a couple of recipes coming at you soon. Today's inspiration came from my stomach. You know how you're never supposed to go to the grocery store hungry?? I went when I was starving. But luckily, I have been watching a ton of food documentaries lately, so I was able to resist temptation and only buy good food. I just bought a ton of it and couldn't stop thinking about what I was going to make when I got home. I'm trying to really clean up my diet and crack down on the gym (so far 0 for 2), so this is a super healthy, delicious meal that was actually pretty easy to make. So without further ado...

Zucchini Lentil Burgers
1/2 cup dry green lentils
1 1/2 cups water
1 zucchini, shredded
2 cups frozen spinach
1/4 cup oatmeal
3 tbsp flax seeds
1/4 tsp each salt and black pepper
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

In a medium saucepan, combine the lentils, the water, and the spices. Bring to a boil and then turn it down to a simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the frozen spinach and then simmer for another 5 minutes. The lentils should be tender and the water should mostly have evaporated now, but if not keep simmering until they are. In a food processor or blender, combine the oatmeal and flax seeds until they are a fine powder. Set aside. Then blend the lentil and spinach mixture. It doesn't have to be super smooth. I just pulsed mine a few times. This will look repulsive. I'm warning you now. Lentils are not pretty when they're blended, but get past it because it tastes delicious. Combine with the oatmeal mixture and the shredded zucchini. If you have any other veggies you want to sneak in there, feel free. I was thinking about adding carrots, but I didn't want the recipe to be too busy. Form into patties while you heat a pan over high heat. Spray your pan with some cooking spray or really lightly oil it so the burgers don't stick. I made my burgers about 4 inches wide and it made 8 patties, but make them whatever size you'd like. Cook in the pan for about 4 minutes on each side until they are lightly browned. Serve with one or both of the sauces below!

Mango Apple Chutney
1 ripe mango, diced
1 green apple, diced
1/4 small onion, diced
1/4 jalapeño, diced, seeds and ribs removed
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
juice of 1/2 lime
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp water

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until the apple and onion are tender. You can use two mangoes instead of one mango and an apple, but I only had one, so I improvised. It worked out pretty well. If you don't like cilantro (then you're weird), you can substitute fresh mint.

Mint Yogurt Sauce
1 small container of Greek yogurt (pretty sure it was 8 oz. but not sure. It was the single serving one, whichever size that it)
2 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste

Mix up all the ingredients and top your burger with it. Bam. That easy.

I used both sauces, because that's how I am, but it was delicious with either one alone.

Hope you like it!!!

Vegan Jackfruit Carnitas

Hi my name is Amanda, and I'm the worst blogger ever. I fall off the face of the Earth for weeks with no explanation, and then come back, begging for you all to forgive me. I'm so sorry! It's been a hectic couple of weeks for some reason and I just haven't been on top of my game. But I do promise to make it up to you right now with, not one, but two, spectacular recipes.

Nothing screams summer to me quite like Mexican food (and margaritas). Something about it being 8,000 degrees outside makes me want to cool off with spicy food. I don't know. Riddle me that. One of my favorite dishes used to be when my mom would make Spencer's carnitas. Spencer has since closed his amazing restaurant in Mexico, so her version is all we have left of the delicious, sweet, tender goodness. But, since I don't eat meat anymore, I have to drool from afar. Well, no longer my friends. I have made a vegan version!! Plus this version doesn't have any artificial ingredients. If you saw my recipe for jackfruit pulled "pork," this is similar.

P.S. You can get jackfruit at the Asian supermarket.

I felt that it needed a fresh little topping so I made a roasted corn and avocado relish. I hesitate to call it guacamole because a) I didn't mash the avocado, b) I hate tomatoes in my guacamole so I didn't want to contradict myself, and c) if it's not my mom's guac, well, it's not really guac at all. So I created a different name.

So here are my recipes. I hope you like them and you forgive me for being MIA, and you come back to me and my tasty treats.

Jackfruit Carnitas
2 cans young jackfruit in water (I used the ones in brine last time and they were too vinegary or something, so this came out much better)
1/2 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup maple syrup (the second time I made these, I used a little less maple and substituted with a little apricot preserves, you know, just because)
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne (cut back if you're crazy and don't like spicy)
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Rinse and drain the jackfruit. Put it on your cutting board and chop it up into smaller pieces. It will shred when you cook it, but sometimes the middle pieces can be a bit finicky, so I do this as a precaution. Heat the oil in a large pot over high heat. Add the onion and sauté for a minute or so. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Stir it up so you cover all the jackfruit with the spices and the syrup. This will also help break up the jackfruit. After about 20 minutes, all the syrup and liquid will be absorbed. Keep cooking on high for another 10 minutes or so, stirring halfway through. This will get a little char on the jackfruit that's indicative of tasty carnitas. And that's it! Super easy.

Roasted Corn and Avocado Relish
1 ripe avocado
1 cup corn (I just used frozen)
1/4 cup cilantro
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped (I used grape tomatoes and just halved them)
1/2 jalepeno (adjust to your spice preferences)
juice of 1 lemon
1 green onion
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt

Heat the oil in a pan, over high heat. Throw the corn in there and get it a little toasty for about 10 minutes, stirring every once in awhile. You should start to see brown or black spots, meaning it's getting yummier. Dice the avocado and toss that in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients, including the corn. Mix very gently so you don't mash the avocado. Top your carnitas with this, or eat with a spoon. Whatever you please.

I made a little burrito with a whole wheat tortilla, some black beans warmed in the same pot as my carnitas, and the two dishes above. Yummy!!!

Enjoy with a margarita or two ;)

I promise to be better about posting from now on. Tell me you still love me??

Better Than Takeout

I made a delicious dinner tonight. One of the most delicious things I've made in awhile. It wasn't a super complicated meal, but it's worth sharing. This was my take on orange chicken, but since I don't eat chicken, I used tofu. If you do eat chicken, you can totally use that the same way. Or any kind of meat for that matter.

I never used to like tofu. I thought it was mushy and flavorless and gross. Now that I've learned how to cook it, I love it! This application was especially delicious because not only was it crispy and crunchy on the outside, it soaked up the mouthwatering sauce and was loaded with flavor. So without further ado, the recipe:

Orange Glazed Tofu and Veggies
1 block extra firm tofu, cut into triangles
3 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 cup orange marmalade
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
3 tbsp sriracha
2 cups broccoli
2 carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
1/4 large onion, diced
2 green onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp chopped lemonbalm (I used this from my garden so if you don't have any, you can use mint or Thai basil)
brown rice for serving

Heat the oil in a large pan over high heat. Place the tofu in the oil and cook for 5 minutes. Flip the tofu to the other side and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Remove the tofu when it's golden brown and crispy and set it aside. Lower the heat to medium and add all the veggies, except the green onion and the lemonbalm. In a bowl, mix the marmalade, soy sauce, vinegar, sriracha, and red pepper flakes. When the veggies are just cooked through, after about 5 minutes, pour the sauce into the pan. Add the tofu back in, and stir to make sure everything is coated. Stir in the green onions and lemon balm then turn off the heat. Serve over brown rice.

Drooling. Really.

Aside from cooking the rice, the rest of the meal cooks up faster than you could order Chinese and go pick it up. Plus, I'm willing to bet my version is much healthier. And, you don't have to put pants on to leave the house (definitely made this in my pajamas)! The only downside to this is that there aren't more leftovers.

Vegan Barbecue!!

Since I've stopped eating meat, really the only thing I miss is pulled pork sandwiches. During the summer, they used to be my favorite thing. I would scope them out and devour them. I haven't missed anything else, I make pretty good substitutes, if you ask me. But this is a hard texture and flavor to recreate. Well guys, sound the alarms. I found a solution. Jackfruit.

Yeah, I had never heard of it either. Until recently. In the past few months, I've seen countless recipes using jackfruit as a shredded pork substitute. I found a can at the Asian supermarket (make sure you get the green jackfruit in brine, not the ripe one in syrup). Jackfruit is the world's largest tree fruit. It's green and spiky looking, and it tastes kind of like a mango when it's ripe. When it's not ripe, it pulls apart and looks just like pulled pork!! It doesn't really have a flavor so it lends itself well to absorb whatever flavors you cook it with. So I whipped up a vegan pulled pork sandwich, complete with cole slaw and sweet potato fries. So yummy!!

Vegan Pulled Pork Sandwiches
1 can young green jackfruit, in brine
1/3 cup barbecue sauce, either store bought or homemade
1/2 cup water

For the cole slaw:
1/2 green cabbage, shredded
3 carrots, shredded
1/3 cup veganaise
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp dijon mustard
black pepper to taste

Sweet potato fries:
1 sweet potato, sliced into fries
3 tbsp oil (I used safflower oil)
1 tsp each salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Drain and rinse the jackfruit. Pull the pieces apart and shred them with your hands. Put these pieces in a saucepan with the barbecue sauce and water. Simmer this on low for an hour. If it gets dry, you can add more water. While this is getting barbecuey and delicious and tender, get started on your potatoes. Coat the potatoes in oil and spices and spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Pop those bad boys in the oven for about 30 minutes until they are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. For the cole slaw, mix the veganaise, mustard, vinegar, and pepper in a small bowl. Then pour this over the cabbage and carrots. You could add other veggies too. My dad used to use bell peppers and onions and jalepenos, but I decided to skip that. Whatever you have on hand will work. Then get some toasty bread or a bun or something, and put a pile of jackfruit and a scoop of cole slaw on there. Then have some sweet potato fries and teleport to a summer barbecue.

Next recipe, jackfruit carnitas!! Nomnomnomnom

A Taste Of Greece

I've been in such a mood for Mediterranean food lately. (Did you guys see my post about my homemade tabbouleh?!) I think it's probably because I have inspiration from all the yummy herbs growing right outside my door. So I have two super delicious recipes for you. 

My first recipe is my new favorite lunch. It's really simple and really, really good. I get cravings for it. I don't know what to really call it. I'm usually too busy thinking about eating it to think of something to call it. Anyway, here's recipe number 1:

Avocado Cucumber Salad (it's the best I could come up with)
1 avocado, diced
1 cucumber, diced
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (basil is good too)
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Mix everything together in a big bowl. And that's it. Really. I usually put it inside a wrap or a pita, but sometimes I just put it on top of a salad. Either way it's delicious!!

Recipe number two came from scrolling through other posts and seeing a picture of falafel. It looked so yummy and golden and crispy and delicious that I had to make it for myself. I had all the ingredients on hand so I just threw it together. I always see falafel mixes at the store, and now I'm wondering why. It was so easy to make from scratch! I cooked the beans from scratch, but you can use canned too. 

Falafel
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup ground flaxseeds
1/3 cup chopped fresh herbs, I used a mixture of parsley and lemon balm
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Put the chickpeas in a food processor and blend until smooth. In a big bowl, mix all the ingredients, except the oil, together with a fork to keep the mixture fluffy. Roll the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and flatten slightly into patties. Heat the oil in a pan over medium high heat. Cook the falafel for about 3 minutes on each side until golden and crispy. It made a lot of falafel, so you'll have leftovers all week.

I had mine over salad with a lemon vinaigrette, and stuffed some of that into a pita, but you could be more traditional with tahini, hummus, tzaziki, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Or, OMG, you could put it with the avocado cucumber salad in a pita!!!!! I'm drooling just thinking about it. Looks like I'll need to buy some more cucumbers. And tomatoes. And pita bread. Hmmmmph.

Anyway, who knows what the flavor of next week will be. I haven't done Mexican food in awhile! What's your favorite kind of food?? Does it change weekly like mine?? Have a wonderful Meatless Monday everyone!!

Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies!

So I'm sitting here after my workout, watching Chopped and procrastinating my studying, and I get a sudden craving for something chocolate. Buttttt I don't have any chocolate. Or anything sweet for that matter. So I opened my pantry and saw some peanut butter. It looked back at me and said; "Put me in some brownies, PLEASE!" And that's why I just had to do it. It's what the peanut butter wanted. I normally don't like peanut butter in my desserts, but you can't argue with the food.

Here's my recipe :)

Vegan Peanut Butter Brownies
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup oat flour (oatmeal put in the blender until it creates a really fine powder)
2/3 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey's special dark and OMG!)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter, divided
1 cup coconut oil, warmed
6 dates, pitted and soaked in 1 cup hot water
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly oil an 8 inch square baking dish. Sift together the flour, oat flour, cocoa powder, sugar and baking powder. Blend the dates with the water until it is smooth. Combine this with the oil and stir into the flour mixture. Stir in half the peanut butter. The batter will be really, really thick. Don't worry, you didn't mess it up! Gently stir in the rest of the peanut butter but don't combine it so you still have ribbons of peanut butter going through the chocolately goodness. Bake for 40-45 minutes until they are cooked through and delicious. If you're feeling extra sinful (and let's be real, when it comes to dessert, a little extra sin is always ok), top with some vegan coconut whipped cream.

I would post a picture, but the one I ate didn't look very pretty. But let me assure you, they tasted amazingggggg!! Sometimes you just have to let the food speak to you, so thanks for this awesome recipe, peanut butter!!

Coo Coo for Cookies :)

A few weeks ago, I wanted to celebrate my Sunday fun day with cookies, but not just any cookies, the chocolate chip cookies from the Red Velvet Cafe. I don't know how they fit so much delicousness into 27 calories of vegan heaven, but they make me so incredibly happy. They are the best cookies I have ever had. So I set out on a mission to recreate them. I first started by googling "Red Velvet Cafe recipes," no such luck, but hey it was worth a try. So I researched all kinds of vegan cookie recipes. Then I bought some of the Red Velvet Cafe ones to see the ingredient list (definitely not to eat in the car on the way home, I need instant gratification okay?!). I bought three kinds of flour and a giant jar of coconut oil. Yay!! I went home and started baking.

Then I failed miserably. I've been baking chocolate chip cookies for weeks to no avail. At least 15 unsuccessful batches of cookies. I can't get anything even remotely similar to those pillowy bites of heaven. Nothing even edible. So I've given up for now.

But no worries friends! I have a different solution. The best part of making cookies is eating the cookie dough throughout the baking. So while searching for cookie recipes, I came across a cookie dough recipe, which gave me the inspiration for these healthy, easy raw cookie dough bites. Prepare to have your mind blown.

Vegan Cookie Dough Bites
1 cup oat flour (put oats in the food processor until it becomes a fine powder)
1/3 cup dates, pitted and soaked in warm water for a few minutes, then drained
3 tbsp vegan butter
3 tbsp coconut oil (you can use all oil or all butter or any combination of fats, I just liked the flavors of these two)
3 tbsp applesauce
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

Combine all ingredients except the chocolate in the food processor until really well combined. Then stir in the chocolate chips, roll the dough into 1 inch balls, refrigerate or freeze, and eat!! If you're feeling really chocolatey, like I was when I made them, you can dip them in melted chocolate and serve them with chocolate covered strawberries.

While I continue my search for perfect vegan, whole grain cookies, these will provide a fine substitute for my chocolate chip cookie craving. 

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, How Does Your Garden Grow?

I've been working very hard lately to keep lots of little plant lives alive! I've never really had much of a green thumb, but so far, there's only been one casualty (sorry dill). Since I stopped working nights and had a little more time on my hands, I really wanted to start growing some of my own produce. I especially wanted to have an herb garden. Fresh herbs can be expensive to buy, but they are such a great addition to so many dishes and I love cooking with them. So I decided growing them would be really awesome. 

I also wanted to make my garden portable since I'll be moving in a few months. So I got some window boxes to plant my lettuce and herbs, some big barrels to plant my peppers and zucchini, a little pot for my aloe vera, a dish for some wheatgrass, and some hanging baskets for tomatoes and lavender. I went a little crazy and planted a lot of stuff so I'll need to thin out the little window boxes when the plants get bigger, but for right now they're fine.

I've been so excited to take on this project and grow my little garden. It's fun to see the seeds sprout their little green leaves and then turn into real plants! My herbs are getting really full and I can use them in my cooking now. My lettuce leaves are still too tiny to use, but hopefully they will grow big and strong soon. It's actually been a pretty relaxing and therapeutic process. It takes patience, which I generally have very little of, but it's really fun to watch. I did a lot of research and found that you can grow a lot of things by container gardening, so once I get the hang of it, I want to grow carrots and onions and all kinds of stuff, but that will probably have to wait for San Diego.

Here's what I did for my portable little garden. I ended up planting oregano, sweet basil, Thai basil, mint, rosemary, thyme, lemon balm, chives, cilantro, parsley, six varieties of lettuce and greens, chamomile, lavender, quinoa, zucchini, jalepenos, bell peppers, grape and roma tomatoes, aloe vera, wheatgrass, and strawberries! I bought some of the herbs as plants and some as organic heirloom seeds. The lettuce I bought all as organic seeds. The tomatoes, peppers strawberries, and aloe I bought as plants that just needed to be potted.  I also bought a lot of organic potting soil and some organic peet pods to sprout my seeds. Those were basically in a tray of 72 little pods of soil that you put the seeds in until they sprout.


I decided the arrangement that I wanted to plant everything in, and got started. For the plants, I just potted them in their various containers, but the seeds took a little more work. For everything except the wheat grass, I had to read the labels and do a little research and figure out the best way to get them to sprout. Some required soaking for different periods of time, they all required a different number of seeds per pod, and different watering schedules so I had to keep track of which seeds were where and what they all needed. After a few days, I saw little peaks of green poking through the soil. Once the sprouts were big enough, I transported those to the window boxes as well. I kept them inside until they grew a little stronger, then I moved them outside. For the wheatgrass, I just filled its container with soil and sprinkled the seeds over top, then a little more soil. Within days, the grass started growing, and now it's about 8 inches tall, and I juice it into my morning juice!!

Now that I have a robust little herb garden, I can use it in my recipes! Here's one that I can't stop eating lately!

Quinoa Tabbouleh
1 cup quinoa, uncooked
2 cups water
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
1 cup kale, chopped
1 cucumber, diced
1 roma tomato, diced
1 green onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Add the quinoa and water to a saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook for about 12-15 minutes until all the water has been absorbed. Let this stand, covered, while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Mix everything into a big bowl, and it's ready to eat! Refrigerate the leftovers (if you don't eat it all!). It gets even more delicious the longer it sits so it's really yummy the next day. It's not traditionally made with quinoa or kale, but quinoa cooks really fast so I use it for everything, and I had kale in my fridge that needed to be used so there you go. That's what is great about this salad, you can add whatever you like or have on hand.

I hope you enjoy and I've inspired you to maybe grow a little herb garden yourself. You don't have to go all crazy and grow as much as I did, but you can even bring a little green into your life and grow some herbs on your countertop! Good luck green-thumbed friends :)

Diet of the Day

I'm going to start this post with a warning: I am not a nutritionist, a dietician, or a doctor (yet!!). I'm just a little self-educated blogger. This post is purely my opinion from personal research and experience so take it with a grain of salt. :)

"To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art." - La Rochefoucald

It seems like every day, there's a new fad diet. From paleo diets, to low carb diets, to gluten-free, to raw food, to South Beach diet, to the Mediterranean diet, there are so many conflicting opinions on which diet is best for us. So I'm here to break it down and tell you the basics, as well as the pros and cons, to some of these diets that we've been hearing so much about.

Paleo Diet
Overview: This is a fairly new craze that focuses on eating lean cuts of unprocessed meats, vegetables, and fruits, and limits grains, dairy, sugar, salt, oils, and processed foods. It has a relatively low percentage of calories coming from carbohydrates because of the limitations on grains and sugar.
Theory: Since our bodies haven't changed too much in the past million years or so, supporters of this diet suggest that we eat food that we would have eaten a million years or so ago. Basically it's a caveman diet with food that we would have eaten before the development of agriculture.
Pros: I love that this is a diet that focuses on whole, natural, unprocessed foods and limits unhealthy sugars, oils and processed foods. I also like that while the diet is naturally low in carbohydrates, it doesn't completely restrict them, or completely restrict any particular macromolecule. It has a little more freedom in what you can eat than some of the other diets you'll see below.
Cons: I don't love that it is a diet with it's focus on animal protein. Animal protein can be high in saturated fat and is acidifying and hard to digest for the body.

Gluten-Free Diet

Overview: Gluten is a protein that is naturally occurring in wheat, barley and rye (and products containing these grains like bread, pasta, and baked goods). This diet basically eliminates those foods.

Theory: People with celiac disease cannot digest wheat, and some people have sensitivities to gluten even if they don't have celiac disease. Supporters of this diet also claim that wheat is an inflammatory and that most people can't digest wheat fully. They also say it can cause toxins to leak out of your digestive system and into your bloodstream.

Pros: If you have a sensitivity to wheat, this can really help you and make you feel much better, clearing up your skin, relieving stomach issues, and reducing asthma symptoms. 

Cons: Many gluten-free substitute products are now being marketed to keep up with this diet craze, but without whole grains, a lot of these foods are nutritionally deficient and can have more calories and fat with less fiber and vitamins. 

Raw-Food Diet

Overview: This diet is basically what it says. You eat raw food. Nothing is cooked over 115 degrees. Most followers are vegan, however some eat raw unpasteurized dairy products and fish. 

Theory: The theory is that essential enzymes are destroyed by the cooking process, and by eating raw food, you are eating food that is more "alive" and healthy. 

Pros: This type of diet focuses on lots of fruit and veggies and nuts and lots of good stuff. It naturally cuts down on calories and fat.

Cons: There is a TON of prep work and special equipment needed for this type of diet. Also, some nutrients are better absorbed when they're cooked, like lycopene in tomatoes, for example. And I like soup. And cold, raw soup just doesn't appeal. But you know, that's a personal thing. Maybe some people like cold soup. 

Atkins and Other Low Carb Diets

Overview: These low carb diets were very popular a few years ago. They involved limiting carbohydrates to almost none.  

Theory: When your body has extra carbs, it stores them as glycogen in your liver until you need them. When you need energy and you don't have any glycogen stores, your body breaks down fat to use as energy. One of the products of this break down is Acetyl-CoA. If you're still low on carbs this gets converted to ketone bodies in the liver to be used as fuel. This is known as ketosis. Developers of this diet claim that this can help you lose weight by burning fat. Eating less carbs also causes your insulin to not spike so your blood sugar is at a more constant level.

Pros: Initially this diet can help burn fat from your body. 

Cons: Fruits and vegetables are mainly carbs and cutting those out is never a good thing. This diet has more of an emphasis on protein, fats and processed foods, especially meat. Carbohydrates are the only fuel your brain can use. Cutting them down to such an extreme level can be dangerous. Ketosis is acidifying for your body and can be hard on your kidneys. Besides, carbs taste good. 

South Beach and Similar Diets

Overview: This is a less extreme version of the really low carb diets. This type of diet reduces, but doesn't completely eliminate carbs. It focuses on healthy fats and carbs with lower glycemic indexes (i.e. not super starchy or sugary foods). It allows healthy whole grains and unsaturated fats. 

Theory: Similar to the theory of Atkins.

Pros: This type of diet causes a person to see food items individually. Not just "carbs are good"/"carbs are bad," but instead "this kind of carb is healthy and this kind is less healthy."

Cons: These types of diets still criminalize one type of food, which are essential for a healthy diet. 

Mediterranean Diet

Overview: This is a diet that focuses on heart healthy fats, fruits and vegetables, red wine, seafood and whole grains. It suggests limiting sweets, meat, and processed foods. 

Theory: All the foods encouraged by this diet are foods foods that help keep your heart healthy. 

Pros: This type of diet makes you think about healthy foods in general and isn't complicated with what you can and can't eat. And any diet that tells me I need to drink more red wine is one I can get on board with. 

Cons: The only con I can think of is that you should watch which seafoods you choose because some can have high mercury levels and you want to make sure to keep those in check.

I have a previous post on vegan and macrobiotic diets if you want to check those out too. 

My ideal diet would be a kind-of-paleo, sort-of-raw, almost-vegan, nearly-macrobiotic, semi-Mediterranean,  one. There are aspects of all of these diets that I love, but I don't agree with any one in particular. I like the whole, natural approach of the paleo diet. I like the focus on fruits and veggies of the raw diet. I like the health benefits of the vegan diet. I like the balance of a macrobiotic diet. I like the focus on specific nutrients of the Mediterranean diet. I would like to have a diet that consists of vegan, natural, whole ingredients that are kept in their purest form to create a balance of the essential nutrients we need! Whew wouldn't that be awesome?! 

Food is a science to me. Perfecting a diet is difficult, and it's ok to not be perfect all the time. What is important is to keep the basic principles of nutrition in the forefront of your mind for most meals. You don't have to pick one of these diets and stick to it. You can make it your own and tailor it to your needs. And although achieving a perfect balance may be complicated, keep your food simple. The less processed it is, the better it is for you. Period. 

What's best for me may not be best for you, so if there is something you like from one of these diets, than incorporate that into your life. Experiment until you find a balance of nutrition that makes you feel good. Fueling your body with good stuff will improve your life in so many ways. Good luck everyone!! :)

Frankenfoods

This post came by request for a description of these chemicals in our food that you hear about in health articles and on the news. If you have any requests for a post, or something you'd like to learn more about, let me know and I'll work on it!!

One of the main reasons I choose whole, natural foods over more processed foods is the amount of chemicals and ingredients that can be added to these products. Many ingredients that are allowed by the FDA have been proven to cause all kinds of health risks. To avoid these yucky chemicals, it's best to choose items that have less than six ingredients, all of which you can pronounce. Anything that sounds like it's been made in a lab, is probably not good for your body. To avoid buying any potentially dangerous products, I'm going to tell you about the scariest ones. I've already mentioned artificial sweeteners and partially hydrogenated oils (trans fats), and I don't want to be too repetitive, so see my previous posts for that.

Sodium Nitrate and Nitrite
These chemicals are added to meats to preserve color and prevent botulism. They are also found naturally in small amounts in fruits and vegetables. Nitrate easily converts to nitrite so they are basically the same thing once inside your body. The problem is the quantity in which they are added to our food. Since these compounds are naturally in our bodies and food, we can metabolize them and they are safe, however, at high levels, they can be toxic. High nitrite levels have been linked to respiratory diseases and migraines. The bigger problem is that when these chemicals are in an acidic or very hot environment, like your stomach or the fryer, they convert to nitrosamines, very powerful carcinogens. The most common place to find nitrates or nitrites is in cured meats like hot dogs, salami, pepperoni and bologna. Try to buy these products made without nitrates if you can.

High Fructose Corn Syrup
High fructose corn syrup, or corn sugar, as it is now being marketed, is corn syrup that has been processed to convert some of the glucose to fructose to make is sweeter. It is commonly used in a lot of processed foods mainly because of the cheap cost of production. The government subsidizes corn production, as well as taxes imported sugar, so that makes it more appealing to big companies. Nutritionally, HFCS and sugar are similar, however, HFCS consists of glucose molecules and fructose molecules, while cane and beet sugars contain sucrose which is a molecule of glucose and a molecule of fructose chemically bonded. Because HFCS is an unnatural, processed substance, our bodies process it differently. HFCS is harmful because it disrupts your body's natural appetite functions. It makes you crave more sweet foods and spikes your insulin production. All sweeteners have similar effects, but it is better to choose more natural options, or better yet, choose whole natural foods that are unsweetened and unprocessed.

Monosodium Glutamate
Monosodium glutamate, or MSG, is a salt of the amino acid glutamate. It is used in foods to create the "umami" flavor or as a flavor enhancer to other tastes. Many people are sensitive to MSG and can get headaches, tightness or pressure in the face, rapid heartbeats, numbness in the limbs, chest pain, or trigger asthma symptoms. It has also been linked to obesity. Avoid buying products with MSG or hydrolyzed yeast or vegetable protein, which contain MSG.

Artificial Coloring
Foods marketed to children have to be fun so kids will want to eat them. Companies use artificial colors and flavors to make these foods more appealing. Red 40 and Yellow 5 and 6 make up most of the food dyes that are used and have been linked to hyperactivity and ADHD in children. These are the most common artificial colors, but not the only dangerous ones. Blue 1 & 2 and Red 3 may also cause cancer. Many brands now use fruit juices to color their products so try to find those varieties and avoid these yucky chemicals.

Bisphenol A
Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a synthetic hormone often found in canned foods. Because of it's chemical structure it's used to make plastics. It has been banned in baby bottles and has been labeled a toxic substance. People are most sensitive to this chemical during development because it can bind to the same receptor as natural estrogen and mimic its effects. It can also affect your thyroid. Make sure food containers and canned food you buy are BPA free. Also, this chemical is naturally made when acid from tomatoes react with can linings, even if the cans are BPA free so try to buy tomatoes in jars or cartons. Phthalate are another group of similar chemicals that should also be avoided.

BHA, BHT and Propyl Gallate
These three chemicals have been shown to cause cancer and are used as a preservative to keep fats and oils from going rancid. These are used in butter, shortening, cereals, chewing gum, dehydrated potatoes and packaged baked goods. The same properties that make these chemicals good preservatives are the properties that make them bad for you. They are easily oxidated and can cause cancer. They are hard for your body to process and eliminate. So again, avoid products with these substances.

Moral of the story: Buy whole, unprocessed foods and avoid additives that you can't pronounce. If it sounds like it will give you cancer, it probably will.

Homemade Kombucha!

I have shared my love for kombucha before, but I'll repeat myself. I LOOOOOOVE kombucha!!! It is so spectacular. It makes me feel great and it tastes so good!!! What I don't love is that it costs so much! It's tea! Why does it cost $4 a bottle?! So I did some research and figured out how I can make my own. And then I made it! And now I don't have to pay $4 a bottle and I have fresh, homemade kombucha in my fridge all the time!!

In case you haven't heard about the magical heavenly beverage, I'll give you a tiny little summary. Kombucha is a fermented tea. It is slightly, naturally carbonated and a little vinegary from the fermentation process. It is really detoxifying for your body and the natural bacteria in it are probiotics and good for your digestion. It contains glucaric acid that researchers have found can prevent and fight cancer.

So here's how I did it. It's a two-part process. The first part is growing the SCOBY and it takes about 6 weeks. The SCOBY is a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast. It is what ferments the sugar to create the unique flavor and benefits of kombucha. You can buy one online or get one from a friend (I'll have an extra every week for anyone that wants one!). The second part is just brewing the tea, and that just takes a week, so I have a new batch of about 8 bottles each week.

Growing the SCOBY:
This takes a long time, but it's not a hard process. It just takes a couple ingredients and a little equipment and a lot of patience.
You'll need:
6 green or black tea bags
1/3 cup regular sugar, don't use sugar substitutes, or any other sweeteners. This is what feeds the bacteria.
1 quart of filtered water
2 bottles unflavored kombucha
1 gallon glass jar
cheesecloth or paper towels
a rubber band

In a stainless steel pot, boil the water. Add the tea and let it steep for 15 minutes. With a wooden spoon, stir in the sugar and dissolve it. Let it cool to room temperature. Let the kombucha sit out so it can come to room temperature too. Make sure the jar is really clean. Pour the tea and the kombucha into the jar and cover the jar with the cheesecloth or paper towel and secure it with the rubber band. Let this sit in a warm, dark place for 5-7 weeks. When it's colder, it takes longer, but you should be able to see the SCOBY growing on the surface. When it's done, it will smell really vinegary. Make sure there's no mold or anything else growing on it. It looks like a white, rubbery disk when it's done.

Brewing the Kombucha:
After you have a SCOBY, you're ready to make the actual kombucha!!! This only takes about a week.
You'll need:
A SCOBY plus 2 cups of the liquid it grew in (starter liquid)
1 gallon filtered water
8 green or black tea bags (I used half of each)
1/2 cup sugar
Jar, cheesecloth, and rubberband

Boil the water in a stainless steel pot and add the tea bags. Steep for 15 minutes. Stir in the sugar with a wooden spoon. Let this cool to room temperature. Pour this into the jar. Pour in the starter liquid. With very clean hands, place the SCOBY in the jar. Cover with the cloth and the rubber band and let it sit in a warm, dark place for a week. Then you just pour the kombucha into glass bottles and refrigerate. I saved the bottles from the store bought kombucha and used those. If you want to flavor it, this is when you do that. I added some fresh grated ginger to mine. It made 8 bottles! Now I have some everyday!!

Each time you brew a batch of kombucha, a new baby SCOBY grows so you have 2 at the end. I'll have an extra to give away every week now, so if you want one just let me know!!

Thinking About Teeny Tiny Bikinis

After months of cold weather, hot tea, sweaters, and fireplaces, January has us thinking about swimsuits. Not because it's warm enough to go for a swim, but because most of us, myself included, made a resolution to look better this summer. Most of my posts are about nutrition, but that's only half the battle of a healthy lifestyle. Exercising is a necessary part of looking good in those short shorts on the beach. If you've made a resolution to lose weight and work out more this year, that is awesome. It's always great to want to be a better version of yourself, but just wanting to work out isn't going to give you results. You have to come up with a plan and stick to it.

The first step is to come up with a long term goal. My goal is to lose 30ish pounds. I'm going to see how I feel after 25 and decide if I want to keep losing or just maintain. It sounds like a lot, but just 2 years ago that's the weight I was, and I was totally happy with it. It started creeping up more at the beginning of last year, after a few too many nights out drinking all night and eating nachos at 6 in the morning. I'm not too focused on the number on the scale, but more about how I look, feel and how my clothes fit. I can't wait to get back into my favorite jeans.

Make sure you know your body, and you pick a goal that is reasonable and attainable. Losing 50 pounds in a month is not realistic. Being 100 pounds and 6 feet tall is also not reasonable. Pick something that will keep you healthy. A reasonable number to think about is 2-3 pounds a week. Losing more than that is not sustainable and probably means that you're losing weight in an unhealthy way. Just keep that in mind when you're deciding your big goal.

The next step is to consider why you want to achieve this goal. What's your motivation? It has to be more than"I want to look like a Victoria's Secret model in my swim suit." You need to find a deep desire to want to achieve your goal, so that you'll stick to your plan. Mine is two-fold. This summer I'm going to Hawaii!! I don't want my pictures from that trip to piss me off and make me lose focus on my awesome trip. So, maybe looking like a swimsuit model would be ok. But my bigger, better source of motivation is you. Anyone who's reading. How can I possibly give you advice on leading healthy lifestyles if I'm not doing so myself? If I want this to be my career and my passion, I have to make sure that I am living it all the time. I would love to be inspiring and motivating to you, and I can only do that if I'm happy and healthy in my own life.

After you've picked your big, main finale goal and your reason for wanting to achieve it, you should think of a couple mini goals and a reward for achieving them. Since I wanted to lose 30 pounds, I thought I should break that up into 5 little mini goals of 6 pounds each. You could also choose fitness goals like how long you can run without stopping, how much you've increased the weight you're lifting, or how flexible you're getting from yoga and pilates!

The harder part than picking your mini goals, is coming up with a way to reward yourself. I think that if you know there's a little reward coming if you just push yourself a little more, you'll be more willing to want to do it. It's much easier to think about losing 6 pounds than 30. Or running for 15 minutes without stopping rather than running a marathon. So breaking it up gives you an attainable step towards your more daunting aspirations. I wanted my rewards to encourage my goal and not fight it. So instead of choosing a reward like getting to eat a boatload of nachos, I chose rewards that would encourage me to work out.

My first reward was a new workout outfit. New clothes would encourage me to want to go to the gym and show them off. I always get so excited by new clothes and want to wear them right away. My second reward was a new yoga mat. This is gross, but the one I take to hot yoga gets super sweaty, and I wanted another one to use at home or for regular yoga classes at the gym. Also, this way, I can keep my hot one in the car and my new one at home in my little home gym I set up in my bedroom. I've already accomplished these first two (yay!!!). My third reward is the one I'm working towards now. Variety is the spice of life, so I am going to treat myself to a new workout. I'm thinking I'm going to buy a Groupon I've been eyeing for some crossfit classes. My friend that helped me come up with this plan really wants to take Barre classes, the ballet inspired workout. If this is a reward you choose, make sure it's something that you'll really look forward to. The next reward is a snowboarding trip! I'm excited because I've only been once, and I really want to go again. The final treat for myself is a bicycle. I am DYING to have a bike. I want one soooooooo bad. I'll ride it everywhere, I promise. I've been wanting it for a year now, so this is great motivation when I feel like laying on the couch eating chips and salsa.

The next thing you should do is set yourself up for success. Write down your goals and put them up somewhere you'll look at them everyday. I keep mine on my closet door, right next to my mirror. Right next to it, I put the schedule for the classes at my gym and yoga studio. Plus, I pack my gym bag and take put it in my car everyday, so I always have workout clothes to take to the gym whenever I'm done with my daily errands. I also set up a little gym in my room, so I have to walk by it everyday, and it makes it really hard to ignore a workout. I put my new yoga mat, a pull-up bar, my hand weights and my resistance bands all set up, so not having time to exercise is never an excuse.

Here's a plan I came up with to make sure I actually achieve my goals. Since I have a gym membership, a hot yoga membership, a beautiful running path in my neighborhood, countless workout DVDs, and plenty of workout equipment at my house, there is no excuse for me to not get a workout in every single day. My usual run takes me between 20 and 30 minutes (depending on how hard I'm working) so on really busy days, even that would be a little step towards a big goal. I'm aiming for 2 workouts a day, one in the morning or afternoon and then usually heading to the gym after work. Ultimately, I would be really happy with 10 workouts a week. This means that most days I would need 2 a day, but sometimes, life happens and it's not possible so a quick workout would be fine, as long as that's the exception and not a regular occurrence.

I have so many different things I can do so I'm not getting bored doing the same thing. I'm also trying not to wear myself out by pairing my workouts accordingly and giving each muscle group a day to rest. Most days, I'll do yoga in the afternoon, and then some cardio and weights at the gym at night. Or maybe a little jog with the dog in the morning and the gym at night. Or P90X and hot pilates. The possibilities are endless.

Again, it's really important to know your body. I love doing yoga. I love how I feel after, and I love how flexible I've gotten, and I love that it's a mind and body workout, and I love the environment, BUT I know that my body responds better and looks better when I'm doing a little cardio (about 20-30 minutes a day) and lifting weights. So to look and feel my best, I know that I should do both. Since I really love yoga (did I mention that) and I'm acquiring a new found love for the gym, this really is attainable for me. I also know that workout DVDs, while convenient in a pinch, are not right for me. I need accountability. I need to walk into the gym and start working out. Mostly because after you start working out for 10 minutes, it's a real bitch move to leave after that. But it's so easy to turn the TV off 10 minutes into a workout DVD.

Which brings me to my last thing! (Whoo finally, I know this has been a long one.) A sure fire way to stick to your goals and your plan, is to have some kind of accountability. Tell anyone who will listen and care about what you're going to do. Post it here, tell me, I'll listen! :) Tell your friends, or better yet, find a friend that wants to do it with you. Surrounding yourself with people who will motivate, and not criticize, is a huge help. If that doesn't work, there's an App for that. I use MyFitnessPal on my phone. You can track your workouts, your weight and your meals to keep yourself on track. It even sends you reminders to track it and gives you some feedback. I also get health tips sent to my phone. Telling people about my goals is really what works for me. I'm less likely to slip if I know people that people are encouraging me.

Hopefully this helps you all stay on track for your New Year's Resolutions. We'll all be looking much better on the beach this summer! Feel free to use this page to post your plans to get into shape and share your tips here. Everyone, including me, can benefit from other people's points of view. And always feel free to email me with any questions or comments at naturallyhealthyplease@yahoo.com Thanks everyone!!

Sleeping to Dream

Not only does this post share a name with my absolute favorite Jason Mraz song, but it talks about one of my favorite activities. Sleep! I love to sleep. I'll be the first to admit that between work, social activities, working out, and life in general, I don't get as much sleep as I should. My work schedule is split so I have just enough time to get my 8 hours, but I've been going to the gym at odd hours lately (2 or 3 am, weird!) so by the time I get home and get into bed, I really only have time for 6 hours or so. I try to make up for it by ensuring that those 6 hours are quality sleep time. Working out a lot has helped by tiring me out so by the time I crawl under the covers, I'm exhausted. I also make sure there's nothing in my room to distract me, like the tv or the phone. Ending the night with a little ritual helps too. It gets your body into a routine and signals that it's bed time. A little afternoon nap helps me out too. :)

Getting enough sleep can help improve your memory, reduce inflammation, increase your attention span, lower stress, lose weight and even help you live longer! Plus, we all look a little ragged when we haven't slept properly. They don't call it beauty sleep for no reason! When you sleep, your body produces more skin, making you look healthier. Growth hormone also increases in activity while you sleep, building muscle and shaping our bodies. And really, everyone looks better without bags under their eyes.

There's a good reason sleeping in makes us so happy. Sleep is your body's time to repair itself and fix all the damage that we've done all day long. When you get enough sleep, your body's hormones are more balanced, your memory is improved, and you are able to think more clearly. Most of us have seen the effects of staying up too late and not feeling our best the next morning. It feels so much better to wake up feeling rested.

During flu season especially, it's important that you get enough sleep. There are many different kinds of cells that are involved in your immune system, and basically when you don't sleep enough, the number of these cells changes and it's easier for you to get sick. Also when we get sick, our bodies try to fight off whatever is making us feel like crap. That's why we get fevers, to try to kill the viruses or bacteria that is making us sick. When you sleep, your body gets better at regulating your temperature and your fevers. There are also links to sleep deprivation and heart disease and cancer.

Here's how sleeping more can make us skinnier. When your body is sleep deprived, it goes into a state of stress. Stress hormones are released, like cortisol and norepinephrine. These hormones cause your metabolic system to temporarily be put on hold while you deal with a problem. Cortisol especially can cause energy from food to be stored as fat, especially around your tummy! There are a ton of chemicals that affect our very complicated metabolic process. Two more important hormones are ghrelin and leptin. Leptin is released by fat cells and suppresses our appetite and increases our metabolism. Ghrelin is released by the stomach and makes us hungry and causes energy to be stored. When we are sleep deprived, leptin levels decrease and ghrelin levels increase, making us hungrier and slowing down our metabolism. People who are lacking sleep also tend to crave carbohydrate heavy and sugary snacks. Plus the more hours you are awake, the more energy your body needs to keep moving, causing you to eat more. So the more you sleep, the more you keep the chemical balance in your body, and the healthier you will be.

The best way to make sure you're getting quality sleep is to go to bed and wake up at about the same time everyday. I know it's not really realistic to think you can do this every single day, but it really does help! Here's how I keep my bedtime and morning rituals so I can make the most of my sleep. When I get home from the gym, I shower and get ready for bed and sip on some peppermint tea while I get my things ready for the morning. I know that I am always rushing in the morning, so the only way I know things will get ready is if I do them ahead of time. I pack a gym bag and get anything I need together for work or school. This has been a huge help in motivating me to actually make it to the gym and making sure I have no excuses to avoid it. The last thing I do, if something is bothering me, or stressing me out I'll write it down, or make a to-do list. Having it on paper calms me down and let's me focus on, well, nothing, so I sleep much better.

Mornings are not my strong suit. I never have been good at waking up on time. My morning ritual is a little frantic. A goal I have for myself this year is to stop pressing the snooze button. I press it way too much and then I'm left running around in a hurry, scrambling to get out of the door. I've been much better about it lately. I try to start every day with some hot water with lemon and ginger. It jumpstarts your metabolism, it's very alkalizing for your body, and it's good for your digestion. Then I make myself a healthy breakfast and take my vitamins, and since all my stuff is ready, I just have to get ready and run out the door. Somehow, this sounds a lot calmer than what actually happens.

We all have heard a million times that sleeping is good for us, and that we need more sleep. Just like eating healthy and exercising regularly, things that seem like a hassle now, will really pay off in the long run and help us to live longer, healthier lives. Goodnight everyone! This girl needs her beauty sleep :)

Decoding a Nutrition Label

I started this post in November, but for some reason, I never posted it! Silly me. Anyway, this post is to help us decipher our confusing food labels, that are getting more misleading by the second.

Much to my dismay, Prop 37 in California did not pass. I was really hoping that this could have been a catalyst to inspire us all to be more truthful and informed about our food choices. Unfortunately, we have to sort through the misleading information ourselves now.

The reason I'm so upset is not for people like me who are OCD about their groceries, and probably not like you who care enough to still be reading. I'm upset because the vast majority of Americans are not informed. This law would have made it easier for people to understand what they are buying.

People are becoming much more concerned with their health and nutrition, but a lot of products and claims can be misleading. Some of my favorites include: "all natural," "low carb," and "gluten free." These labels trick you into thinking something is healthy, but really, they don't mean much.

Here's what you can do to buy the most healthy products available.

First of all, the easiest way to avoid chemicals and GMOs and other yucky stuff, is to buy organic produce. Nothing bad can get in there!! But let's be real, no one survives on kale alone. Everyone buys packaged products.

This gluten-free craze is one of the worst offenders. If you really do have celiac disease, and your body can't tolerate gluten, then these labels are important to you and do matter. However, most of the world is not gluten free and people think that when they see this label, it means they are eating something healthier, but gluten free versions of certain foods can be worse for you than regular versions. If you are not gluten intolerant, there is no reason to avoid gluten. Gluten is just wheat protein, so things that are made from wheat like bread and pasta have gluten, but they can be a part of your healthy diet (as long as you get the whole wheat kind and not the more processed versions). Food companies are now slapping the "gluten-free" label on everything. Even things that never contained gluten in the first place. This is leading consumers to pick things up that are probably not the healthiest choice, and think, "Oh this must be healthy, it's gluten-free!" If you really do have a gluten sensitivity, there are a lot of breads and grains made from brown rice or quinoa that would be an equally healthy option. Just make sure you're actually choosing a healthy item and not buying it just because it's gluten-free.

A few years ago, everyone got into this low-carb diet frenzy. If you look at what this entails, there is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY that this can be a healthy, sustainable diet. Carbs are the basis of the healthiest foods there are. Vegetables, fruit, whole grains: CARBS. This diet focused on a high fat, high protein diet. It encouraged eating lots of processed foods and a lot of meat and cheese, and basically that's it. Carbohydrates are not evil. They are actually the only source of fuel that your brain can process. This high-fat diet is also terrible for your heart and your kidneys. A healthy diet is full of vegetables and fruit and the fiber and vitamins in them. What's worse is when you take a food that normally has carbs in it, and you take them out, like they do in the processed foods they created for these diets, they actually have to replace them with artificial ingredients, usually artificial sweeteners (see my previous posts for the dangers of those bad boys), and added fat, sometimes trans fats. Honestly, I'll take good old carbs over processed, artificially sweetened, trans-fatty crap any day.

And here's where Prop 37 would have come in. The "all natural" label. Basically right now, if something says "all natural" it means absolutely nothing. It could come straight from the factory to the grocery store shelves never actually seeing the sun and still end up with an all natural label. The only things that can't be added to food for it to be considered all natural by the USDA and the FDA are artificial coloring and artificial flavors. However, most "natural" flavors, are not really very natural. This label also gives no indication of how the product was made before it was processed. For example, meat that was given antibiotics or that was feeding on GMO corn can be labeled all natural. Produce that was doused in chemical pesticides and sprayed with food wax can be labeled all natural. The only way to know if what you are eating is really natural, is to read the label and know your products. Check the labels for anything you can't pronounce. If you can't say it, they probably didn't grow it. Also, buying organic products eliminates a lot of these harmful ingredients.

Speaking of organic, there are some confusing terms when it comes to these labels too. "100% organic" means that all of the ingredients have been certified organic and all of the processing follows the USDA"s guidelines for preparing the food. "Organic" means that at least 95% of the ingredients are certified organic and the processing follows the USDA guidelines. "Made with organic ingredients" means that at least 70% of the ingredients are organic. Any amount less than 70% can only be listed on the ingredient label as organic.

I know this is really confusing, and I know it can be expensive to buy everything 100% organic, but there are a couple shortcuts. And remember that while it may seem expensive now, keeping your body healthy will save you money in the future. One of the shortcuts that will help you is to remember the "dirty dozen" and the "clean fifteen." If an item is on the dirty dozen list, you should always buy it organic. These products have shown to have the highest levels of chemical pesticides. The clean fifteen are items that have a relatively low risk of pesticides, and you can buy these conventionally.

Dirty Dozen: apples, celery, bell peppers, peaches, strawberries, nectarines, grapes, spinach, lettuce, cucumbers, blueberries, and potatoes.

There are also a few items of concern that should probably also be bought organic: beans and leafy greens.

Clean Fifteen: onions, sweet corn, pineapple, avocado, cabbage, sweet peas, asparagus, mangoes, eggplant, kiwi, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, grapefruit, watermelon, mushrooms.

Although sweet corn is on the clean fifteen list, I would buy that, as well as soy products organic. These foods are the most genetically modified foods in the U.S. so if that's a concern for you, organic would be a better option.

I hope I've cleared things up, rather than making them more confusing. Hopefully sometime soon, there will be more accountability in regards to what food companies are telling us, but at the end of the day, they want to make money by selling their products. It's up to us to research and figure out exactly what we put into our bodies, and I hope this will help you all do that.