Cook Books : : What's On My Shelf

A few people have asked me What cook Books I am using for recipes and inspiration, so I thought I'd put a list together.

  

The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone

Amazing Caesar Salad dressing recipe!  And this is the book that introduced me to Umeboshi plum vinegar.  Those two things right there make it worth the purchase for me...but there is SO much more.  Vegan Peanut Butter Cups anyone?  In addition to all the great recipes, the entire first section of the book explains the many benefits of adopting a vegan diet.  Most of this info I already was familiar with, but I did learn a few things.

The Happy Herbivore by Lindsay S. Nixon

This is the everyday, simple, practical, no special ingredients cookbook for vegan beginners.  None of the recipes are earth shattering or super fancy...but they are all good and quick.  This is one of those books that you will learn techniques from and then build on them for years.  Loads of big glossy pictures make it fun to work from.  A definite staple  for my kitchen.

Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero 

This cook book is like the Good Housekeeping goes punk cook book for vegans.  The Authors go over techniques, ingredients, pantry staples, fridge staples, kitchen equipment and terminology.  Plus, there are Tons of great recipes!  The snarky, witty style of the authors make it easy reading.  My one complaint...not enough Pictures.  There is a photo section at the center of the book with some beautiful pics, but most recipes are photo-less. Don't let that be a deterrent though...It's still a must have.

The Bathroom : : A Remodel

Last summer we remodeled our hall bathroom...

Some before pics...This is what we inherited from the previous owners.  Yes purple, gold and orange.

This is what I did for the 5 years we lived with the bathroom until we could remodel.

Demo Day!

Gutted.

(these pics are from before Chris and I cut all our hair off...which is why we look like totally different people)

: : Dreaming : :

Chris worked his A$$ off on this room...we are so proud!

Ta Da!  The finished room...we LOVE it!

Summer Veggie Orzo : : Salad

A delicious summer salad.

I made this before I started my 5 week cleanse,

 but is a great vegan meal for those not restricting their diets.

Slice some veggies to put on the grill, then grill 'em.

Dice tomatoes and a halve lemon.

Shuck some corn.

Get out your orzo...put a pot of water on to boil.  

Cook according to the package directions.

Brown rice or Quinoa would work well here for a gluten free option.

Rinse your chickpeas, black beans, and olives.

For the dressing combine lemon or lime, cold pressed olive oil,  a couple cloves of garlic, 

salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, cayenne and chili powder.

Chop up those grilled veggies.

Throw all of it into a bowl and mix, mix, mix.

Let it set in the fridge for at least an hour for the flavors to combine.

Eat!

Milking : : Almonds

• Soak about a cup of almonds over night in water.
• Drain and rinse.
• Add to the blender with about 3 cups of water.
• Blend until smooth creamylicious.
• Some people like to add vanilla, a dash of salt, some coconut oil or even cinnamon. We like ours plain.
• Pour into a Nut Milk Bag over a bowl or pitcher.
• Let it drain slowly or milk it baby! like me.
• Put into a closed container and store in the fridge for 3ish days.
• I like to use a water bottle because it stays sealed and can't spill but is still a cinch to pour.

Enjoy!

I love mine in Gluten free oatmeal or in a bowl of brown rice crisp cereal.

Healing : : Me

taken by Chris Savarino

I have begun a journey.  I am healing my Lifelong Rheumatoid Arthritis with food. It seems so obvious now....what I put in my body will determine how it functions.  Why did it take me so long ?!

I have been to see a Naturopath, and have spent the better part of the last two and a half months researching food, inflammation and their connection.

I have learned so much.

Since I began this 'low inflammation' diet I have been able to stop taking one of my medications (Humira injections)  and cut back on the other (methotrexate) from 12mg a week to 8mg a week,  This is huge.

For the first time in my life I feel like I am in charge of how I feel and what the trajectory of my health will be.  I have always been a partner to my doctors...reporting back with any changes, taking my medications as assigned and going for my blood draws every 6 weeks (more or less :-) ) and being a good informed patient.  But this is something else...this is me steering the ship and the doctors being my copilots.

Below is my current diet...I have been on this for about 3 weeks and have about 2 more to go for the initial Cleanse/Detox portion.  At the end of the 5 weeks I will slowly try introducing foods like gluten, soy and nightshades and really listen to my body to see if we are friends with each food.  The ones that don't play nice are outa here for good!

Low Inflammation Diet

No's

• No gluten: wheat, rye, barley, spelt, corn, kamut
• No dairy: milk, cheese, cream, yogurt, ice cream etc.
• No meat: no animals cross these lips, including fish!
• No eggs: easy to understand, no?
• No sugar: white sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, corn syrup, artificial sweeteners
• No soy: tofu, tempeh, soy milk, soy sauce etc.
• No corn: corn chips, tortillas etc.
• No nightshades: tomato, potato, peppers, eggplant
• No citrus: oranges, lemons, limes, pineapple etc.
• Limited fats: No shortening, margarine, hydrogenated oils, mayonnaise, conola oil, corn oil, soy
• No peanuts, peanut butter, cashews, cashew butter
• No caffine: soda, coffee, black or green tea
• No Alcohol: nada

Yes's ( all organic)

• All fresh organic fruits except citrus
• All fresh organic veggies except nightshades
• Whole organic gluten free grains: brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, millett, amaranth, teff
• Legumes: all beans, peas and lentils except soy
• Nuts and seeds: almonds, walnuts, sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, etc.
• Milk substitutes: Rice milk, Almond Milk, Oat milk, Coconut milk, Hemp milk, etc.
• Fats: Cold pressed olive oil, flax, coconut oil (my Fave!), sunflower, sesame, walnut,  avacado
• Beverages: fresh whole juices, smoothies, filtered water, herbal tea, seltzer
• Spices: all of them!!!
• Sweeteners:  brown rice syrup, blackstrap molasses, stevia

The above diet was prescribed by my Naturopath.  

Some other resources I have been loving are:

•  Crazy Sexy Diet, a book by Kris Carr and her website Crazy Sexy Life.
• The Kind Diet, a book by Alicia Silverstone
• The Heath Seekers Kitchen, a Blog
• Choosing Raw, a Blog
• Thrive Foods a book by Brenden Brazier

And my Hubs has been reading The China Study which has been SO enlightening!  It's the book that got him on board with the vegan Lifestyle.  A must read for all the data loving, engineer minded folks out there.

In addition to all of the foods on my yes list I have been having at least 2 big smoothies or fresh juices from my juicer every day.  Mostly veggie with an apple or pear to sweeten things up just a bit.  My fave is Apple, cucumber, zucchini, celery, ginger, carrot juice.  Yum!

Our blender is a Vitamix and our juicer is a Breville Ikon and we love them both.

Alrighty...that's sorta the cliffs notes of what I'm doing to change my health and life.  It's really working and I am excited at the possibilities.  I'll be posting recipes, nutrition tips,  links to resources and updates on my progress. 

Go Juice!

Vegan Brown Rice : : Sushi

Brown Sushi Rice

2 cups short-grain brown rice

2 1/4 cups plus 1 teaspoon water

4 teaspoons soy sauce

4 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

Rinse rice well and bring to a boil with 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon soy sauce in a 4 quart heavy saucepan, then reduce heat to very low and simmer, tightly covered, until water is absorbed, about 40 minutes.

Remove from heat and let rice stand, covered, 10 minutes.

While rice is standing, stir together vinegar and remaining teaspoon soy sauce.

Transfer rice to a wide nonmetal bowl (preferably wood, ceramic, or glass) and sprinkle with vinegar mixture, tossing gently with a large spoon to combine.

Cool rice, tossing occasionally, about 15 minutes.

For veggies we used carrots, cucumber, avocados, and green onions.  Yum-lish.

This was enough rice for us to make about 6-7 long rolls...we were all stuffed.