Crazy Sexy Living

Kris Carr is my new hero.

If you're not familiar with Kris Carr, allow me to share... At the age of 31, she was diagnosed with a rare cancer (I don't think there's enough room in the post to spell out what she has!) after lesions were found on her liver and lungs. The cancer was in stage four. There is no stage five. If there was one good thing about it, her cancer was a slow moving one. Long story short, she took her life into her own hands and empowered herself to make choices that would lead to a healthy and happy life. Eight years later, she still technically has cancer but she has essentially stopped it dead in its tracks because of the lifestyle choices she has made. Here is a preview of her movie that was on TLC some time ago...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8ylpgN_5mg

Crazy Sexy Kris is the embodiment of empowered living! And one of the things I love most in her message is that the grocery store is her pharmacy. But for Kris Carr, it's not just about food-- it's about attitude; making choices to live a happy, positive, compassionate life.

I recently picked up her latest book Crazy Sexy Diet (thanks for the recommendation Jyoti!) and am devouring it as we speak. I have also added her blog, "Crazy Sexy Life," to my blog list (upper right hand corner). Check out some of the articles from her blog and I guarantee you will adore her and feel like grabbing life by the horns (or by the shovel in our case today!). Have a great day!

Veganomicon

All I have to say about this cookbook is... YUM! Before I bought it, I was told that Veganomicon is the bible of vegan cooking and I can see why. I have only cooked several things from it so far but they have been very successful and my tummy has thanked me. Tonight, Brian and I had spinach linguine with basil-cilantro pesto and artichokes and it was delicious! This recipe is definitely a keeper! Sometimes I shy away from making my own pesto--I prefer to buy it pre-made at the store. But I made this pesto (with the help of my son) and it was great. Here are the recipes for the pesto and the pasta...

Basil-Cilantro Pesto
2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro
1/3 cup slivered or sliced almonds
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1/2 lemon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Place everything but the olive oil in a food processor and blend until pasty, scraping down sides occasionally. With food processor on, slowly drizzle in olive oil. Blend until smooth with no large chunks of almonds left.

Spinach Linguine with Basil-Cilantro Pesto and Artichokes
1/2 pound spinach linguine (I used a full pound)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, sliced into half-moons
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced (I used 5 cloves--I always add more garlic to everything I make!)
2 tablespoons white cooking wine (I used Sutter Home Chardonnay)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
1 recipe basil-cilantro pesto
1 (15 oz.) can artichoke hearts, drained and sliced in half (use the kind packed in water, not oil)

1. Cook pasta. While it is cooking, saute onion in a skillet with olive oil about 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and saute for a minute more. Add white wine, salt, and pepper and cook for another minute or two.
2. When linguine is ready, don't drain it. Use a pasta spoon to transfer it in batches to the skillet with the onions. When you add a scoop of pasta, add a spoonful of pesto at the same time. Mix it evenly and repeat until all the pasta and pesto are used. If the mixture seems dry, add a little pasta water to it.
3. Add artichokes and toss to coat. Cook gently over a low heat for about 3 minutes and serve.

This book also includes a recipe for chocolate chocolate chip cookies that are to die for. I highly recommend getting this book, if for nothing else, then for the cookies. You will forget all about any previously held, negative ideas you had about vegan cooking when you try the recipes in this book!

Brrr!

Okay, I'm all about spending time in the great outdoors, but 9 degrees is a little too cold, if not for me, for my little man and my dog. So during CJ's nap time today, I am making myself a nice cup of vegan hot chocolate! The recipe is from Alicia Silverstone's cookbook The Kind Diet and this is certainly not the first time I've made it...

1 cup soy/rice milk blend
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon (eh-hem, or more!) of nondairy chocolate or carob chips
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon maple syrup
Optional toppings: vegan marshmallows, nondairy whipped topping, chocolate shavings...

Whisk all the ingredients (except toppings) in a small saucepan over medium heat until the chips melt. Add toppings if desired.

And now I will curl up with a nice book and enjoy my hot chocolate! Thanks Alicia!

Candle 79

For my birthday this holiday season, I was fortunate enough to be in New York City where my husband took me out to Candle 79 for a gourmet vegan dinner! It was so fun to go to a restaurant and not have to wonder whether the ingredients are plant-based or not. For appetizers I got steamed dumplings and Brian had Angel's Nachos (check out their dinner menu through their website http://candle79.com). For dinner we both got the Seitan Piccata and we each had a glass of organic drinks (wine and beer, respectively). To finish our meal, we had the Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss (the name speaks for itself!). Everything was so delish, we were stuffed, and we felt good about what we ate!

For Christmas I also received The Candle Cafe Cookbook which has many of the recipes from Candle 79 as well as Candle Cafe (their more casual establishment). This weekend, I made the Vegetable Lasagna with herbed tofu ricotta for dinner we were having with friends. It was a big hit, even for our friends who are not vegan. I am so excited about this new way of cooking and eating!

Many thanks!

I want to start out the new year by saying thank you to my family for helping to support my vegan eating during this past holiday season. My husband, my son, and I returned to New York and New Jersey for Christmas and I am still amazed at the effort everyone put in to making sure I had enough vegan food. My mom searched far and wide for the right soy cheese, my step-mother made several Italian dishes of beans, lentils and pasta and took out the cheese that is regularly in the recipe, and my mother-in-law made vegan pancakes and sausages for Christmas brunch. I am so thankful for everyone being so open-minded and supportive of what I think is a fabulous and healthy way of eating.

More entries to come soon. I promise!

Happy new year everyone!

We live in a culture of excess. I would like to believe that this is slowly changing, but I'm not quite convinced. In the realm of food, excess is the norm (Have you eaten out recently and noticed portion sizes? Have you ever watched Man vs. Food?) and because of this our health as a nation is paying the price.

In all the comments, opinions, and craziness that was voiced during the deliberations around health care policy last year, I rarely (if ever) heard one thing about improving the diets of Americans to reduce health care costs. If people would simply reduce the excessive portions they eat and include vastly larger amounts of fruits and vegetables, I believe we would notice a difference in disease trends and health in general. I could go on and on about this topic but I want to share a brief passage from the website of John Robbins (The Food Revolution) that says it better than I could:

"It’s striking to me that in all the heated debates we have had about health care reform, one basic fact has rarely been discussed, and that is the one thing that could dramatically bring down the costs of health care while improving the health of our people. Studies have shown that 50 to 70 percent of the nation’s health care costs are preventable, and the single most effective step most people can take to improve their health is to eat a healthier diet. If Americans were to stop overeating, to stop eating unhealthy foods and to instead eat more foods with higher nutrient densities and cancer protective properties, we could have a more affordable, sustainable and effective health care system."

Seems pretty logical, doesn't it? So why is it so hard to do this?

To read Robbins' blog entry in full, follow this link: http://www.johnrobbins.info/blog/just-how-bad-is-mcdonalds-food/ 

Gobble gobble?

I'll be posting more next week about how we're having a vegan Thanksgiving but here is an article from the Times with some ideas about vegetarian dishes for your holiday...

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/going-vegetarian-for-thanksgiving/?ex=1304568000&en=ae292181aca68dc9&ei=5087&WT.mc_id=BR-D-I-NYT-AD-FP-ANVRS-HP-1110-GVT&WT.mc_ev=click

Did you know that 45 million turkeys will be slaughtered for holiday dinners this month?