Eating healthy food is so much more appetizing when it just looks good. If presentation played no role in taste, then restaurants would not take the time to carefully crumple the cloth napkins in your bread baskets, to serve your pasta in perfect mounds, to expertly drizzle raspberry sauce over your cheesecake. So it makes sense that by likewise taking a little extra time to prepare and present our food, we will enhance our enjoyment of it. And it doesn't take your great-grandparents' expensive silverware to do the trick; if you have the inclination and a little bit of money, go get yourself a coconut bowl ($12.95 for a standard bowl). If you're reading this before Earth Day, 2018, you can literally get one for free (keep reading!). They are great for oatmeal, for smoothies, for noodles, for rice, for basically anything that is not an extreme temperature or too liquidy (aka no soup). Coconutbowls.com is doing a fantastic giveaway in honor of Earth Day. Not only have they donated 100 coconut bowls each to 5 restaurants, but they are giving $20 vouchers to each person who posts a picture on Instagram of themselves holding a coconut bowl or reusable container in front of a local café. This initiative is meant to combat the use of single-use plastic containers. Learn more here. Now that the weather is heating up and local fruits are about to come into season (got my eyes on Scooterbug's Strawberries!), I just want to constantly eat smoothie bowls. You'll probably be seeing more creations soon :)
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About three weeks ago, I realized that my aversion to coffee and habit of cooking on my own has left me with an abundance of food points…I had $280 worth to spend on one meal a day, each day, for the next twenty-eight days. And because I always go for a $5 special or cook that one meal myself, the food at our student store became free reign. I took the opportunity to try out a few products I had never eaten before, including Maya Kaimal’s Madras Curry Indian Simmer Sauce. The ingredients are wholesome and simple: Onion, coconut cream, tomato paste, garlic, ginger, turmeric, chili, urad dal lentils, and curry leaves combine to create a creamy and perfectly spicy sauce in which to simmer vegetables. The producer also recommends pouring it over noodles, adding it to tacos and quesadillas, and using it as a pizza sauce (I'm definitely trying that last one out ASAP!). I used it for simmering vegetables. I started by sautéing onions and a can of jackfruit from Trader Joe's in coconut oil for a few minutes before adding corn, peas, sweet potato, bell pepper, and carrots. After the veggies began to ever so slightly soften, I added the curry sauce, covered the pan, and let it cook for another twenty minutes (until the sweet potatoes were tender). I paired it with some black rice, and dinner was ready to go! As convenient as those yellow Tasty Bite microwaveable packages are, this sauce is ten times better than any variation of instant curry. No complaints whatsoever. I would definitely include jackfruit in your dish, as it gave the meal texture and a slight sweetness to balance out the spice.
You can find the sauce in a store near you using this locator. Get cooking! Some of my favorite food bloggers (Rachel Mansfield and Lee Tilghman to name a few) have recently been posting pictures of toast with all the usual condiments (nut butter, fruit, seeds, etc.). The kicker? They frequently spread on a layer of vegan yogurt and top it all with granola. It’s a gamechanger! Because I have issues digesting peanut butter, I have been primarily eating sunflower seed butter for the past year. Since I eat soooooooo much during training season, though, I have been getting a little tired of it. And a $5 off cashew butter deal at the Fresh Market became that much more enticing. A lot of people don’t know about all the different types of nut and seed butters out there. You have peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, walnut butter, coconut butter, sunflower seed butter, pistachio butter, soy butter, pecan butter, hazelnut butter, pumpkin seed butter, and more…not to mention all the variations (simply adding cocoa powder or cinnamon can transform the spread). This recipe uses a combination of cashew butter and Lavva yogurt. The yogurt adds a distinct creaminess and tang to the toast, a flavor that I haven’t tasted since eating Old Chinese Yogurt in Shanghai last summer. You can use any kind of vegan yogurt (another favorite of mine is SoDelicious’ coconut-based yogurt). If you’re vegetarian, of course, you can use regular dairy-based yogurt. Enjoy! Cashew Butter Banana Yogurt Toast (makes one healthy serving) Ingredients:
On my 18th birthday last November, my brother’s girlfriend gifted me with one of the best presents I have ever received: the Isa Does It vegan cookbook. While I was not yet vegan, it was a commitment that I knew was on my imminent horizon; for several months, I had foreseen myself trying out veganism in college. That night, after opening up the rest of my presents and eating cake, I flipped through every single page in that cookbook. I fell in love with it on the spot.
As you have followed this blog, you have probably figured out that vegetarianism and veganism are actually quite feasible if you have access to quality recipes that guide you to regularly creating tasty dishes. I find many recipes online (thanks, Pinterest!), but the majority of the dishes my family cooks are based off of a few well-loved cookbooks. In this post, I want to introduce you to a few of them. Cookbook #1: The High-Protein Vegetarian Cookbook by Katie Parker and Kristen Smith Review: I bought this book for my father as a birthday present last year. He used to ask me what I wanted for dinner each night (back when we did not use a weekly calendar to plan our meals), and I found myself always requesting something high in protein. My family is extremely athletic, and we need that protein in every meal! This is an excellent cookbook with both vegetarian and vegan recipes. Katie Parker is the blogger behind Veggie and the Beast, and she collaborated with dietitian Kristen Smith to create this cookbook full of nourishing recipes, each with corresponding nutritional information (and mouth-watering photos). I highly recommend this cookbook for all you athletes out there! Favorite Recipe: Without a doubt, my favorite recipe from this cookbook is the Sesame Soy Lettuce Wraps. The crispy lettuce “tacos” combined with coconut lime rice, mushrooms, red peppers, and sesame soy-soaked tempeh is to die for. This might actually be my favorite recipe from any cookbook! Cookbook #2: Fresh & Fast Vegan Pleasures by Amanda Grant Review: Before I became vegan, we hardly ever used this cookbook. Now, we pull recipes from it once or twice a week. Most of the recipes call for ten or less ingredients, and international dishes abound. The book provides instructions to create a plethora of desserts, as well as starters, snacks, entrees, and sandwiches. It even includes an informative section on how to incorporate important nutrients into a vegan diet! Favorite Recipe: The Moroccan Spiced Couscous with Fruit is absolutely delicious. I love the sweetness of the apricots, dates, and raisins paired with the flavors of cilantro, almonds, mint, and saffron. Of course, I’m a sucker for chickpeas as well, and they are integral to this dish. Cookbook #3: The New Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas Review: Packed with 325 recipes, this cookbook is a follow-up to Thomas’s The Vegetarian Epicure. Her original cookbook was published in 1972, and hippies loved it (so of course, we own it, too). The New Vegetarian Epicure was published in 1996. The recipes are arranged into meals, and typically each meal consists of four or five recipes. Although we have never cooked a meal from this book, we use the recipes quite often. It is usually pretty easy to substitute vegan alternatives for ingredients like milk and butter (by using almond milk and olive oil), so you should look into buying it even if you are vegan. Favorite Recipe: The Butternut Squash and Pear Soup is fantastic. The sweet cinnamon and pear is balanced out by creamy, heartwarming butternut squash. This is the perfect winter soup. I have tried many butternut squash soups, and this has been my favorite by far. Cookbook #4: Vegetarian Planet by Didi Emmons Review: Planet, indeed. From Caribbean to Thai to American to Syrian fare, this cookbook takes you on a trip around the world by showing you how to cook delicious vegetarian meals. Breads, chutneys, soups, dumplings, crepes, rice, and more...this is the cookbook with perhaps the most variety on this list. It is perfect for anyone who likes to let their taste buds explore! Favorite Recipe: The Black Rice Cakes with Zucchini and Lemongrass are very, very tasty and flavorful. I love black rice, and the pairing of black rice patties with sweet sauce was quite different from any rice dish I had ever before tasted. Cookbook #5: Isa Does It by Isa Chandra Moskowitz Review: Of course, I had to include this one. It is my vegan bible. No question. My goal is to cook every single recipe in this book by the end of 2018 (there are a lot of recipes!). Packed with tips on how to chop, char, and stock your kitchen, this book will teach you how to refine your cuisine in a time-efficient manner. Each recipe has an estimated “active time” and “total time” to allow you to better plan your time in the kitchen. Chapters include your basics (soups, salads, pastas, breakfasts, and desserts), as well as more intriguing collections like stir-fries & sautés (Asian food with Isa’s own Jewish-American twist), bowls (each of which consist of grains, veggies, protein, and sauce), and Sunday night suppers (comfort food!!). I could go on forever about this book...but why don’t you just go buy one for yourself? Even my German friend Anna is buying one, despite the fact that she will have to convert the measurements to metric measurements, because it is so amazing! Favorite Recipe: OK, that is just not a fair question. I love everything in this book. If I had to choose one, it would probably be the Tempeh Meatballs & Spaghetti. Even though marinara sauce gives me dreadful heartburn, a little sickness is a price I am willing to pay for eating this dish. As I’ve mentioned before, I love tempeh, and the “meatballs” are perfectly chewy and bursting with flavor. That’s a wrap! I encourage you to go out and buy one of these cookbooks and fall in love yourself. If you do not want to pay for a cookbook, you might even be able to check one out at your local library (and if you’re like me, you will never, ever return it). A few weeks ago, I wrote a review of So Delicious’s Coconut “Ice Cream,” and today, I bring you a review of its cousin, So Delicious’s “Unsweetened Coconut Milk Yogurt Alternative.”
When I made the goal to become vegan last November, I predicted that the hardest part about the transition would be giving up yogurt. As a vegetarian, I ate yogurt every single day. Plain Chobani unsweetened Greek yogurt was my best friend, and I added it to smoothies, paired it with fruit and granola to make tasty parfaits, and globbed it in my oatmeal to achieve the perfect thickness and creaminess. Yogurt is so healthy; not only is it full of calcium and protein, but it also contains probiotics that aid your digestive tract immensely. In fact, the digestive issues I faced early on in my veganism were likely due in part to the removal of such probiotics from my diet! Now, I take probiotic supplements, drink kombucha, and eat fermented food to keep my gut full of healthy bacteria, so my digestive issues are mostly solved. Surprisingly, I do not crave non-vegan food at all. This is probably because I was vegetarian to begin with, transitioned to veganism over the course of three months, have strong ethical reasons for being vegan, and own an amazing vegan cookbook (Isa Does It). However, when I saw this yogurt substitute in a healthy grocery store in Chapel Hill last weekend, I knew I had to give it a try. Here is what I thought… ------------------- Product: So Delicious’s Unsweetened Coconut Milk Yogurt Alternative Nutrition: Excellent! This product contains organic coconut milk (filtered water and organic coconut cream), rice starch, and 2% or less of calcium phosphate, pectin (a gelling agent), dipotassium phosphate, locust bean gum (another gelling agent), live cultures, Vitamin D2, and Vitamin B12. One serving supplies the average person with 50% of their calcium needs (helping build strong bones and enabling nerve signaling), 45% of their Vitamin D needs (helping absorb calcium and grow bones), and 50% of their Vitamin B12 needs (keeping nerve and blood cells healthy and promoting DNA growth). It is also an excellent source of fiber (3 grams) and healthy fat. While this yogurt substitute contains a considerable amount of saturated fat (7 grams per serving), the particular kind of saturated fat in coconuts is actually thought to be healthy and conducive to beneficial HDL cholesterol levels. Let’s compare the nutrition in So Delicious’s Unsweetened Coconut Milk Yogurt Alternative to that of Dannon’s Plain Nonfat Yogurt.
The consistencies of this yogurt alternative and genuine yogurt are identical. The tastes, however, are very different. This yogurt alternative tastes unmistakably like coconut. Regardless, it is delicious in parfaits and smoothies, and it should work as an appropriate substitute in recipes calling for yogurt. I have yet to try the unsweetened vanilla flavor of this product, but the plain flavor can be doctored up with local honey, agave nectar, maple syrup, and spices like cinnamon. Price: This product is not something I can buy very often because it is so expensive. One three-serving container was upwards of five dollars. It is undeniably a great product, but I cannot justify buying it on a regular basis for that price. My vegan parfaits regularly consist of almond milk, granola, and fruit, and I do not see that changing. ------------------- If you absolutely cannot give up genuine yogurt, I suggest you buy plain yogurt (NOT the sugar-filled kind and NOT the kind with artificial sweeteners) and shop sustainable brands (Stonyfield in particular avoids GMOs, antibiotics, and growth hormones, and requires animal welfare regulations, limits environmental pollution, and is 100% organic). If you still cannot stand plain yogurt, even after sweetening it with honey, agave, maple syrup, or spices, then try mixing ⅓ cup of the sugar-filled kind with ⅔ cup of the plain kind. This should solve the issue of taste for the time being, enabling you to gradually transition off of sugar-filled yogurt. If you are interested in trying So Delicious’s Coconut Milk Yogurt Alternatives, many grocery stores carry them, and I encourage you to pick up a carton for yourself! Today, I ran my first Spartan Race. A 4.9 mile course with 23 obstacles, it was a fabulous way to test my physical limits and spend a good 2 hours running around outside. My favorite obstacles were “Slip and Slide” and “Barbed Wire Crawl,” which were really just two excuses to get muddier than I have ever been in my life. I would be tempted to pay the entire registration fee again just to roll around some more in that mud! If you have never completed a Spartan Race before, I highly recommend doing so. Climbing walls, hoisting sandbags, and carrying around buckets of rocks is more empowering and fun than you would think. The great thing about Spartan Races is anybody and everybody can finish them. My father went from couch to Spartan in about two months, and training for this race marked a major lifestyle change for him that has made him into a happier, healthier person.
One of my favorite parts about races is the free swag. Today, I tried two different oatmeal fruit squeezes and one protein cookie from Munk Pack, and I am excited to share with you a review of their oatmeal fruit squeezes! If this sounds like something you would like to try, you can buy your own here or at stores like Publix. Product: Raspberry Coconut Oatmeal Fruit Squeeze Nutrition: I was astounded by how healthy this fruit squeeze is. Its ingredients list is extremely short: gluten free oats, water, raspberry, banana, apple, apple juice concentrate, unsweetened coconut shreds, ground flax, natural raspberry flavor, citric acid, and ascorbic acid (Vitamin C). With 20 grams of carbohydrates, it is an excellent source of fuel for both pre-workout and mid-workout. It even has 10% of your daily Vitamin C needs and 3 grams of fiber (12% of your daily need). No sulfur was added to the coconut, and there are exactly 0 grams of added sugar. The only criticism I have is that it is only 110 calories, so while I would not recommend relying on it for a filling breakfast, it is great for workout fuel. Sustainability: Unfortunately, the packets are non-recyclable, and that is the one major drawback I see in this product. For only 110 calories, I hate to use all that plastic. Otherwise, Munk Pack is great; they use all non-GMO, vegan ingredients, and the packages are BPA-free. Taste: If you don’t like oatmeal, you won’t like this. If you like oatmeal, and you’re a fan of eating it cold or at room temperature, you’ll almost definitely like this. I loved this flavor, but it was a little bit too sweet for me, which means it will be perfect for most everyone else. Product: Peach Chia Vanilla Oatmeal Fruit Squeeze Nutrition: Just like the Raspberry Coconut, the Peach Chia Vanilla is insanely healthy. It boasts 700 mg of Omega-3 (healthy fatty acids needed for a variety of functions), no added sugar, 18 grams of carbohydrates, and 3 grams of dietary fiber. It weighs in with slightly less calories: 90 per pouch. Its ingredients are: gluten free oats, water, peach, pear, apple, apple juice concentrate, ground flax, chia, natural peach flavor, vanilla extract, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), and citric acid. Sustainability: Same as above. Taste: A milder taste that reminds me of Quaker Oats’s Peaches n’ Cream instant oatmeal. This was my favorite flavor of the two, and it had the perfect level of creaminess and sweetness. Ultimately, I would suggest using these oatmeal squeezes as workout and race fuel. They are very easy to digest and a great source of carbohydrates for long-distance races. I plan on getting a few for the next time I go backpacking! One of my dreams is to become so adept in nutrition, cooking, and "fooding" that I am asked to conduct food reviews for blogs or magazines. Especially for products like So Delicious's Coconut Milk Dairy-Free "Ice Cream." Often referred to as "nice cream," vegan ice cream is a delicacy I have been pining to try for several months now. I hope that you enjoy this review as much as I am enjoying my bowl!
Product: So Delicious No Sugar Added Mint Chip Coconutmilk Dairy-Free Frozen Dessert (whew, that was a mouthful!) Nutrition: For a 1/2 cup serving, it contains 120 calories, 11 g of fat, 9 g of saturated fat, 18 g of carbohydrates, 1 g of protein, and 10 g of fiber. It also has a moderate amount of iron. Compare this nutritional information to that of a brand like Edy's. A 1/2 cup serving of Edy's mint chocolate chip ice cream contains 160 calories, 8 g of fat, 6 g of saturated fat, 19 g of carbohydrates, 16 g of sugar, 2 g of protein, and no fiber. The fats, carbohydrates, and protein are comparable to one another, and So Delicious comes out far ahead on the fiber, calorie, and sugar frontiers. It is important to note that this particular carton of So Delicious contains so little sugar because it is sweetened with stevia. Stevia has sparked controversy among nutritionists, but I subscribe to the belief that it is a much healthier alternative to cane sugar, and is completely safe, especially when consumed in moderation. Also note that this product is not "healthy" by traditional definitions, but it can make for an awesome every-once-in-a-while dessert. Taste: Really, it is not all that different from mint chocolate chip ice cream. There is a slight tang of coconut, but it is not necessarily a bad tang, and it is far from overt. The chocolate chips add some nice texture, and the dessert mimics the creaminess and richness of ice cream to a T. I was licking my bowl after downing the last spoonful! Price: Sigh. We had to get here sometime, didn't we? The biggest drawback to this product is that it cost $5 for a little carton with four servings. But for me, this was worth it. I eat dessert so rarely, and I appreciate So Delicious's commitment to organic, vegan products and environmental preservation so much, that I am willing to pay those $5. I can make a small carton stretch out over several weeks (or months!), and so it is a justifiable cost for me. Conclusion: 5 stars! Go out and get some for yourself! |
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