Cleansing.

Just one year ago on December 26, 2010 Micah and I made a commitment to begin a vegetarian lifestyle. Fast forward one year and not only did we meet that goal, but we have surpassed it and moved forward into veganism. I am so proud of not only myself, but my partner as well. He has been so supportive, passionate, and willing to learn with me this past year that I can not thank him enough.

It's that time of year again; time to reflect on the past year(reflect, not dwell), think of what may lie ahead, and put your positive energy on blast. Micah and I have a lot of goals we want to achieve this year, but we wanted to began the new year with a clear mind, strong body, and ethereal spirit. So we decided to start the year with a 21 day raw vegan cleanse. I think our eating habits have improved dramatically since that December 26 day, but I know that a good detox can't hurt anything. 

We'll begin on January 9,( in order to allow some celebrations to take place for Micah's graduation ceremony on the 7th!) and end on January 31. We will abstain from any and all alcohol, refined sugars and grains, any vegan meats and cheeses, and try to consume all raw food as much as possible. I think the only non-raw foods we may have to compromise on is nuts, I struggle to find raw nuts without having to pay an arm and a leg for the cost of the nut and to ship. I'll sub unsalted and roasted nuts for the raw nuts if I have to. I'm sure there maybe some other things that aren't neccesarily raw but our goal is about 95% raw vegan nourishment. 

I'm actually really excited to do this. I've been getting my meal plans ready(yes I'm one of those people who plan out every meal of every day, but me wallet loves it!) and I am feeling like we will be keeping a lot of the recipes even after the cleanse is over. We won't be taking any pills to cleanse our bodies, maybe some herb capsules and teas to aid in the detoxifying of our body, but no pills that will make us shit ourselves. Essentially what we are doing is filling our bodies with all the minerals it needs in order to cleanse and detox itself. Along with the minerals, we will be loading up on water and superfoods that help cleanse and replenish the body. Our ninja will be busily producing green smoothies and fruit smoothies several times a day I'm sure, which none of us will be complaining about! 

Annabella will be eating most of the foods we are consuming except most of her raw veggies will have to be steamed. She has her two bottom teeth and her first top one poked through two days ago, HOORAY, but it's still difficult for her to take on hard foods. Luckily, I've found a lot of spreads and snacks that she will be able to chow on too. She will be eating hers with rice, beans, couscous and other whole grains while Micah and I abstain for the period. We plan on purchasing some raw vegan dressings, hulled hemp seeds, and maybe some maca powder from FoodsAlive to aid us on our quest to cleanse! I'll try to blog during that period and share some of our feelings and foods as well. 

I've read a lot about cleansing within the past few months and I've been ready to try it. While our raw vegan cleanse isn't the most detoxifying of all cleanses I feel it's a great starting place for us. I would eventually love to do just a juice cleanse and even a water fast, but not right now.

David Wolfe is pretty popular in the holistic health and nutrition field and he has a lot of great information to offer. I read one of his books The Sunfood Diet and he talked extensively about this great feeling of clarity he experiences during and after detoxing. He's not the only one, there are hundreds of nutritional health books out there that explain the benefits of cleansing.

I know it won't be the easiest thing I've ever done, but I look forward to this goal. What are YOU hoping to accomplish in your new year? 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups...AKA Vegan Reeses!

This recipe is from Alicia Silverstone's book The Kind Diet. As soon as I saw the recipe I knew I was destined to make it. Her book was probably about the tenth book I've read on veganism, so a lot of the information I had learned before, but I did pick up some more useful tidbits.She runs a website called The Kind Life as well that is loaded with information about the vegan lifestyle as a whole. The book contains a large chapter containing lots of great recipes, this being one of them. It is so super simple and ultra delicious! Whether you are full blown carnivore or dedicated vegan you will surely enjoy this recipe as much as the "regular" Reese Cup! 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

1/2 cup(s) of Earth Balance butter

3/4 cup(s) of crunchy peanut butter (preferably unsweetened and unsalted)

3/4 cup(s) of graham cracker crumbs or 10 graham cracker squares

1/4 cup(s) of maple sugar or other granulated sweetener

1 cup(s) of grain-sweetened, nondairy chocolate or carob chips ( I use a brand called Enjoy Your Life)

1/4 cup(s) of soy, rice, or nut milk (I used coconut)

1/4 cup(s) of chopped pecans, almonds, or peanuts ( I purchased honey roasted peanuts, YUM!)

Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Stir in the peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, and maple sugar and mix well.

Graham Crackers.

Kind of looks like barf....delicious barf :) 

Remove the mixture from the heat.

Evenly divide the mixture, approximately 2 tablespoons per cup, among the muffin cups.

Combine the chocolate and milk in another pan.

Stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted.

Spoon the chocolate evenly over the peanut butter mixture.

Top with chopped nuts.

Place in the refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours before serving.

Why my kid is a "dumpster" and I love it!

I'm going to omit any names here because I didn't ask permission to use them. I know you read this and I think you'll know who you are anonymous clever mama.

A wise mother I know once told me "(insert child name) is a dumpster and eats whatever I put in front of him." I read that comment and laughed, then realized my daughter is a dumpster too. After that realization I reveled in the fact that my daughter loves to eat and eats anything.

Annabella, Micah, and I all have very healthy appetites. We enjoy 3 meals a day and plenty of snacks in between. And dessert!!! Who could ever forget dessert?!?! I love the fact that I can put a piece of polenta in front of her, topped with black beans, tomatoes, and spinach and it disappears in no time. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I am just very fortunate to have gained so much knowledge about nutrition while myself, my husband and my daughter are still young. I feel good knowing I am putting the best nutrients into her body and that I am caring for myself in the same way; ensuring a long, healthy life for both of us(well all three of us actually!).

Knowing that our children look to us for advice and guidance means as a culture we parents really need to drop the whole "do as I say not as I do" bullshit and be true role models for our children. We learn by watching and when a child watches their mother scarf down a candy bar yet hand them a plate of veggies the little minds know something just isn't right. No wonder so many parents whine, "my kid will not eat vegetables." Well have you tried eating them? And also who does the grocery shopping? I'm pretty sure you can come up with some ways to show your kids vegetables aren't completely disgusting.

So what I'm getting at is not only feed your children right, but yourself. One must love themselves above all others; this is not selfishness, simply self preservation. Making sure you (and your children) are in great health is the best thing you can do for your family, ensuring you'll be around for the long run because a parents love outweighs any materialistic wishes.

So eat your greens and kiss the wee ones when they eat theirs too!

Banda's Breakfast Burritos

Now I won’t lie, when I was a partying youngster I loved to stop at McDonald’s around 3 a.m. to get a few breakfast burritos and hash browns to help me drift off into my alcohol/food induced coma. But, after I wolfed down my first burrito I’d immediately get that sick feeling, blame it on the alcohol(despite the fact that before the food I felt “great” in my drunken state. Can you say “denial”?!) and continue to gobble down another one and a hash brown to boot!

Well it’s some many years later and while my lifestyle has changed, my need for burritos as breakfast and hash browns hasn’t. I still love to eat these things, just minus the grease, cholesterol and saturated fat. Oh and I’m the one to make them now. Oh and I’m not drunk either. I guess that changes a lot of things from my previous encounters with the beloved breakfast burrito.

I use tofu as an egg replacement and it works out great. Tofu makes a great scrambled “egg”, and adding fresh veggies with mock meat makes it that much better. You can add whatever your heart desires; whether it be zucchini, broccoli, tomatoes, peppers. Don’t let my recipe be your strict guideline, most combinations work very well with this recipe. These burritos are full of protein and deliciousness!

 And if you’re wondering why they’re called “Banda’s”, it’s a crazy name my crazy husband calls me. It always makes me laugh and I thought it was fitting for these breakfast burrito, because they too always bring a smile to my face.

                                              Banda’s Breakfast Burrito

1 tube GimmeLean Sausage

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 14 or 16 oz firm tofu, drained and pressed

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

8 oz mushrooms, chopped

1 tomato, chopped ( I usually squeeze out all the juice with my hands, to prevent watery-ness in the scramble)

Olive oil (or oil of your choice)

Salt & Pepper

Whole wheat tortillas

First you want to cut open and peel the package off your GimmeLean. I then just take a large pinch and roll it into a ball, then squish and make a patty. I like to make patties because if you have any leftovers that you don’t want in the scramble you can eat or save the extras for breakfast and/or a snack.

Lightly oil a large skillet, heat over medium-high heat. Arrange the patties in the skillet and cook until brown and crisp on each side. Set aside on a cloth, break however much you desire into small chunks.

Next heat about a tablespoon of oil in your pan and sauté the onion for about 3-5 minutes, until tender and translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook an additional minute or so.

Toss in your diced peppers and mushrooms and continue to cook until tender.

Now grab your pressed tofu and break off about 1/3 of it. Hold it over the pan and squeeze it through your fingers in order to break it up into small bits. Do this with all the tofu and break up any large chunks that fell into the skillet. Add your squeezed tomatoes and sausage and mix very well. Season with salt and pepper or whatever you desire.

Cook the mixture for about 5-8 minutes, until everything is heated through.

You can warm your tortillas in the oven or on stove top, or eat them right out of the package, whatever you prefer. Add some of your scramble, top it with some nutritional yeast or Daiya cheddar, and munch, munch, munch! 

Yeast..Wait, Whaaaat??

What’s the first thing that pops into your head when you hear yeast? If you imagine an infected private body part then shame on you, dirty pervert! Hahaha, just kidding! Most people think of that, yeast being something that is dirty and gross. Some people who have made bread products know you need active yeast to make a nice and fresh bread. And a lot of people just can’t imagine eating a heaping tablespoon of yeast, but I sure can. At least with nutritional yeast I can, and I do.

Most sources recommend that vegans and most vegetarians supplement their diet with some sort of B12 supplement or eat a lot of nutritional yeast daily. I’ve read some conflicting reports on the subject. Some are very adamant that such people take a supplement every 3 days, while some others expand on the subject of how our body synthesizes it’s own B12 and that it really isn’t necessary to add any to your diet unless you have something called pernicious anemia. This anemia isn’t caused by a lack of B12 in the diet, scientist say, but the absence of a substance called the intrinsic factor. At this point in the game I have been supplementing (when I can remember) with a vegan liquid form of B12 and I also eat quite a bit of nutritional yeast, because it is delicious.

I’m not worried about the whole B12 issue. I know I eat a lot of nutrient dense food, I supplement here and there, and my family eats enough nutritional yeast that we have no reason to worry. We are all healthy, energetic, and happy, as most vegans are! I have never come in contact with any people who follow a vegan lifestyle who are lacking B12 or are strung out to get as much of it as they can.

So what is nutritional yeast? It’s an inactive yeast, yellow in color, flaky (imagine the thinness and flakiness of a goldfish flake), and nutty/cheesy in flavor. I got my first bag of yeast from a company called Foods Alive, and I was very impressed not only with the yeast but the company as well. We met Michael and Ellen Moor             at the Universal Light Expo in October and they were so extremely nice and knowledgeable. They were excited about our newly begun vegan lifestyle, the fact we’d been married for three years, and by our beautiful baby girl! It was nice to have support and encouragement from a complete stranger, yet someone that we made an instant connection with. They make everything themselves and are very invested in the quality of their products. FoodsAlive.com is their website and I strongly encourage you to check out their products. The flax dressings are delicious, especially the Mike’s Special Blend. Oh my goodness that stuff is out of this world delicious! I love supporting companies that are truly looking out for my best interest and who take pride in their products.

My little yellow flaky friend! 

You can put nutritional yeast in or on whatever you please. I love to sprinkle it on burritos, tacos, casseroles, pastas, rice and beans. You can add it to any gravies or sauces, Micah makes our vegan mac ‘n’ cheese with it and every time I eat it I have to search for my socks because those suckers get blown right off! So don't be afraid, swipe you a bag and dig in!!!!