Strawberry Cinnamon Tofu Smoothie! Full of protein! #Vegan #Glutenfree #PlantPerfect #Oilfree #Kosher #Pareve.

Strawberry Protein Smoothie

     Under the heading of Sweet Desserts, there is a delicious, protein loaded strawberry smoothie that I love to make.  It only takes about 10 minutes to put together and serves 4. Most of the protein is from Firm Tofu. Tofu is so versatile since it has no flavor of its own. Whatever you blend it with is what its going to taste like. 

     You may have read that Soy, which is the basic ingredient in Tofu, isn't good for you. I read that too.  But if you do a literature search in scientific papers published in the past 25 years you will find articles like these:

     

         2002: Substituting soyfoods for animal products reduces the risk of coronary artery disease. (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition)

2003: Soyfoods mildly reduce blood pressure—in men. (Preventive Medicine)

2003: Soyfood consumption associated with lower risk of coronary heart disea  —in women. (Journal of Nutrition)

2004: Consumption of soy reduces risk of coronary heart disease—in middle aged men (in Scotland). (The Journal of the American College of Nutrition)

         2009: Soy consumption reduces risk of stroke. (Neuroepidemiology)

         2013: Soy protein supplements may reduce levels of endothelial dysfunction (a risk factor for cardiovascular disease). (European Journal of Clinical Nutrition)

         2001: The soybean diet is the most potent dietary tool for high cholesterol. (CurrentvAtherosclerosis Reports)

        2001: Soy protein has “remarkable improving effects” on blood cholesterol levels of subjects with high cholesterol. (Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry)

        2002: Soy consumption reduces cholesterol. (Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing)

       1989: A diet of soy protein has a positive impact on a range of diet and health issues,     including diabetes and hyperlipidemia (abnormal blood levels). (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition)

      2001: Supplementation with soy protein lowers the blood cholesterol of patients with type 2 diabetes. (Diabetes Care)

       2002: Ingestion of soy protein improves glucose control and insulin resistance (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition)

      2006: Soy foods have a low glycemic index, making them an appropriate part of diet intended to improve control of diabetes. (Nutrition Journal)

      2010: Fermented soybean products may prevent diabetes more than non-fermented soybean products. (Nutritional Research)

There are a lot more papers out there and the majority of them make me feel confident that the risk/benefit ratio is strongly in favor of Soy as a healthy source of protein.  Of course if you are allergic to Soy or any of the other ingredients,  this isn't for you.

Strawberry Cinnamon Smoothie

Prep Time:  10 minutes.

Chill Time:   2 hours (or overnight even better)

Servings:     4

Ingredients:

12 frozen strawberries, 1  12.3 oz box of organic firm tofu, 12 pitted dates,  0.5 cups sweetened vanilla almond milk, 4 TBSP maple syrup, 3 TBSP Chia seeds, 2 TBSP cinnamon.

Mix together the almond milk, maple syrup, cinnamon and Chia seeds.  Let it thicken for about 5 minutes. Put it in your blender or food processor along with the strawberries, Tofu and dates. Blend it on high for 5 minutes or until smooth. Pour it into 4 servings and put it in the refrigerator over night or at least for 2 hours. Garnish each serving with half a strawberry on the top.

Enjoy!

Not Grilled Cheese! #glutenfree #oilfree #vegan #kosher #pareve

     I like eating healthy, but I was told to make the food look more appealing.  So I made this:

Not Grilled Cheese

Out of this:

  All thats missing is some salt, but seasoning is personal.  Like I always say sometimes:  

"Controlling your weight is 80% mental and 20% mental.". If you want to pretend you are eating something familiar this is one fun, creative way to do it! Last time I checked, I was down about 85 pounds.  The food is delicious as it is but its fun to shape it into whatever will make you happy! Its important to stick to it for maximum health benefits which happen to include significant weight loss.

The ingredients:

1 Buttercup squash.

1 Cup dry brown rice.

1 TBSP milled flaxseed.

1 bag frozen cauliflower.

Salt to taste.

Wash the squash, cut it in half and scoop out the seeds (which can be baked like pumpkin seeds).  Wrap it in paper towel and microwave it for 5 minutes.  Let it cool, scoop it out, squeeze out any extra water, mash it up and season to taste.  I used a little reduced Sodium season salt.  Spread it out on parchment paper in the shape of a big slice of cheese.

Cook the rice and cauliflower seperately per package directions.  Put the cauliflower though your food processor and press out the water.  Add the rice, flaxseed and a little salt to the processor and run it again to an even consistency. Again squeeze out any water.

     On a separate cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread out the mixture about 1/8 inch thick and bake both sheets for 45 minutes.  Cut 4 x 4 inch squares and  let them cool until they can be separated from the paper.

     On Aluminum foil make sandwiches, toast, flip and toast again to brown both sides.  Serve hot.  

     

     The choices you make are the mental part.  I eat frequently, but I eat to lose.  Who chooses what YOU eat?

Cookies!!! Plant Perfect Oatmeal Raisin Banana. #Vegan #OilFree #GlutenFree #NoAddedSugar

Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

     Yesterday I had a Diabetic patient who is interested in being Plant Based.  Her big problem is that she craves carbs.  I told her that I would come up with something to satisfy her cravings, so I did. There are only 6 ingredients.  These cookies are completely gluten free with no oil yet rich in Omega 3 fatty acids. They are made of complex carbohydrates and fruit. Quite tasty and chewy!

Yield:   14 cookies
Prep Time:  15 minutes
Cooking Time:  13 minutes

Oatmeal Raisin Banana Cookies

2 Bananas

1 Cup uncooked steelcut oats

1 Cup raisins

2 TBSP pumpkin pie spice

1 TBSP milled flax seed

1/4 Cup Silk Original Almond Milk

     In a medium sized mixing bowl mix together the Almond Milk, milled flax seed and pumpkin pie spice with the dry oatmeal. Mash the bananas and raisins together and mix it all in.
Set the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Wet your hands and use rounded TBSP's of cookie dough to make about 14 cookies.
Hint:  After 10 minutes loosen the cookies then continue baking to brown the bottoms.

If you have some other fruit or spices in mind for the cookies, Please share!

16 Months a Vegan! Pizza Vegan Style. Picture of the new me!

Vegan Pizza with Whole Wheat Garlic Crust

     What?  Pizza again?  Absolutely!  I ate 2 slices.  My friend, Paul ate the rest by himself.
     So what's a pizza doing under the heading of "Weight Management"?
The thing to remember here is that this is not a diet.  Its a lifestyle.  As long as you stick to the guidelines of whole foods, plant based you can still eat deliciously, feel satisfied, take in all the nutrition you need and lose weight.  You don't have to eat bland food and you certainly need not go hungry.  When your calories are coming from whole grains, fruits and vegetables instead of oil, saturated fat and processed sugar you will feel full longer.  You won't experience the sudden peaks and troughs in your blood sugar that make you feel like you're starving.  You will be less likely to over eat. Just 2 slices of the pizza pictured above contain 2 servings of fruit, 5 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of whole grains.  It contains no oil, no meat, no processed sugar and no refined flour.
     From the website of a popular pizza chain, 1 slice of pepperoni cheese pizza contains 280 calories and 11 grams of fat.
TWO slices of the pizza in the above photo contain about 300 calories and ZERO fat.
     I choose to eat more, weigh less, watch my cholesterol numbers go down, take less medicine and never feel hungry.  Medicine treats illness, whole foods provide wellness..
Who chooses what goes in YOUR mouth?

RECIPE

Delicious Vegan Veggie burgers! No Oil, No Nuts, No Gluten! No kidding!

Veggie Burgers, Whole Wheat Buns, Baked Potato, Salsa

The weather is warming!  Here in Michigan that means 3 months of bad sledding.  It also means we get out our BBQ's! Last year I tried to make my own veggie burgers and they fell apart.  What a mess.
     This year, at VegfestMichigan I was lucky enough to talk with the chef at GreenSpace Cafe.  He gave me some suggestions and I used them all.  Here we go:

Plant Perfect!

Prep Time:  40 Minutes.
Baking Time: 35 Minutes.
BBQ Time: 10 Minutes.
Makes 12 to 15 patties. 

Ingredients:
1 can drained black beans
2 large portobello mushroom caps including the ribs.
1 cup millet (or brown rice)
1/2 large sweet onion
1 jalapeno pepper
1 clove garlic
1 Roma tomato
1/3 cup lite soy sauce
1/3 cup vegan catsup
1/3 cup vegan BBQ sauce
1/4 cup of olives
1/4 TBSP smoked paprika
1/4 TBSP liquid smoke
1.5 cups quick oats
1 TBSP yellow mustard
1 3/4 cups vegetable broth

Method:
     In a covered pot bring the soup broth to a boil and cook the millet or brown rice per package instructions.  Cover and set aside.
     In a food processor or blender grind up the tomato, mushroom caps, pepper, onion, garlic, rice, half the beans and olives.  Squeeze out any extra liquid.  In a large bowl mix this with the rest of the ingredients fork crushing the beans, kneading until the mixture is the consistency of ground beef. Add more oats if needed.
     Form into hamburger size patties.  Place them on a parchment paper covered baking sheet.  Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.  Bake the patties for 30 minutes.  Let it cool for 15  minutes until they let go of the paper.  Flip them and bake for 15 more minutes.  Barbeque the patties for about 10 minutes, flipping them to get grill marks.  Serve on whole grain buns or break up in a salad.
     For dinner I had 2 with some fresh cucumber, sliced tomato and a baked potato topped with salsa I got at Vegfest.  Six hours later I'm still not hungry.
Enjoy!

Delicious Stir Cooked Veggies with Red Lentil Penne Noodles #oilfree #vegan #glutenfree

Look what I found at Costco: Vegan penne noodles made entirely out of lentils! That is the only ingredient and it has 12 grams of protein per serving. This is the very first time that I made this and it was really quick and easy.  The recipe is plant perfect with no oil!

Stir Cooked Vegetables with Red Lentil Penne Noodles

Prep Time:  10 minutes

Cooking Time:  15 minutes

Total Time:  25 minutes

Yield:  4 servings

Ingredients:

1 package red lentil penne noodles (12 oz)

1 sweet red bell pepper chopped

1 small green zucchini chopped

12 thinly sliced brussel sprouts

15 snap pea pods chopped

1 clove garlic chopped

1 large portobello mushroom cap chopped (remove the ribs)

1 cup of chopped parsley plus a few sprigs as garnish

1 tsp dried cilantro

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp lemon pepper

1 TBSP basil 

1 cup vegetable soup stock 

Method:

Cook the noodles in salt water for 8 to 10 minutes per package directions. Strain but don't rinse.

In a large pot or wok bring the soup stock to a boil. Cook the vegetables stirring constantly until tender.  Turn down the heat to medium and stir in the seasonings. 

Add the noodles and continue stirring until the liquids have been absorbed.

Done!

I like Nutritional Yeast so I sprinkled a little over the top and added a few sprigs of parsley as a garnish.

From the time I started cooking to the time I finished eating was 35 minutes.

Enjoy!

Acorn Squash Plated in less than 20 Minutes - The Other Half.

Acorn Squash

     A month ago I posted a recipe for acorn squash.  The prep and baking time was about an hour.  Too much time!
     I found another way.  Everything on that plate was ready to eat in less than 20 minutes.  No oil and no sugar method.
Here's everything you need:

Ingredients:
1/2 Acorn Squash
1 Broccoli Stalk
1 Sweet Yellow Pepper
Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup water

Wash and cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  In a microwave safe glass bowl add the salt and water.  Cover the cut side of the squash with pumpkin pie spice.  Place it in the bowl cut side up.  Cover the bowl with paper towel and microwave on high for 8 minutes.
While its cooking cut up the broccoli and pepper.  When the squash is done, take it out of the hot water and replace it with the vegetables.  Cover and microwave the vegetables on high for 5 more minutes.  Drain and place the vegetables on a plate around the squash.  Serves 2.
Done.  Plant perfect!
Enjoy!