Sweet Raspberry Dessert with NO added sugar!

Here I am again, using my imagination and getting creative!  This sweet treat has the consistency of yogurt but with no added sugar and no milk products.  I had 4 avocados that were a little past their prime and turned them into something delicious! I used raspberries because I had them in the house.  Use whatever fruit you choose.  After reading Dr. Joel Kahn's blog, I'm thinking watermelon with some of the white part of the rind is a GREAT idea!  I'm open to ideas on what to call it.  

Recipe:

4 Ripe Avocados

1 cup of Raspberries

12 Pitted Dates

2 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 TBS Wine Vinegar

2 TBS Lemon Juice

1 Cup of Silk Vanilla Almond Milk sweetened

Take all the liquids and put them in a blender.  Start blending.  Add the solids.  Blend it until smooth. If its too thick, add a little more almond milk.

Put it in cups and garnish with a raspberry on top.  Chill in the fridge over night.

Pretty simple!  The hard part was realizing how much easier it is if you start with with liquids and add the solids.

Now GO and CREATE!

Quinoa Pilaf with a Kick!

QUINOA PILAF

Its late.  I don't want to sleep so what do I do?  I cook!
This has to be good for you even though it tastes great.  Its Popeye approved with lots of spinach!
This is a fabulous side dish instead of potatoes.

Ingredients for Vegetable Stock:
2 generous handfuls of baby spinach chopped
2 generous handfuls of fresh kale chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
1 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 inch of fresh ginger chopped
16 roasted almonds chopped
2 TBS Sriracha sauce
2 TBS oregano
1/2 tsp Lawry's Season Salt (optional)
2 cups water

It all goes in a covered pot.  Bring it to a boil.  Turn the heat down and let it simmer covered for 30 min.
Save the liquid.  That's your vegetable stock.

In the same pot, bring your stock back to a boil.  Add 1 cup of Quinoa and reduce the heat to a simmering boil.  Cover it and cook for 25 min. then let it cool for 5 min.
Mix it all together and serve hot!  Garnish with your favorite veggies.

It contains no oil and has tons of flavor!  What could be better?

Butternut Squash Casserole Recipe

BUTTERNUT SQUASH CASSEROLE

1.5 lbs of Butternut Squash cubed                       1/2 cup of Unsalted Sunflower Seeds
1 package of Frozen Chopped Spinach               2 stalks of Kale chopped                                            6 stalks of Celery chopped                                      4 cloves chopped garlic
1 Large Sweet Onion chopped                            1 inch of fresh Ginger grated
10 oz Vegan Mozzarella Cheese                         1 cup of Silk Vanilla Almond Milk
1/2 tsp Nutmeg                                                    1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
4 TBS Lite Soy Sauce                                          2 TBS Milled Flax Seed

1 Sweet Yellow Bell Pepper                                   2 TBS Cayenne Pepper

2 TBS Ground Cinnamon                                       4 TBS Water

3 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil                                  1/2 Cup of Nutritional Yeast

                              

Cook the Frozen Chopped spinach per package directions with a TBS of chopped onion, a pinch of salt, kale and one clove of chopped garlic.  Drain and set aside to cool.
Add the 4 TBS of water to the Milled Flax Seed, stir and set aside for at least 10 min.
In a separate bowl, mix the almond milk, soy sauce, nutmeg and cinnamon.
In a large pot heat the olive oil and add the Kosher salt.  Saute the rest of the chopped onion until browned. Add the garlic, ginger, celery, chopped yellow pepper and butternut squash.  Add the almond milk mixture. Cover and let it simmer stirring occasionally  until all the vegetables are soft.  Stir the pot to partially crush the vegetables.  Drain and let it cool.

The Milled Flax Seed should be the consistency of an egg.  Mix it with the spinach, nutritional yeast and kale.
In a large casserole dish sprayed with PAM mold the spinach, yeast and kale mixture over the bottom and a little up the sides to form a layer of green.  Sprinkle on a little Cayenne pepper over it.  Add the drained mixed squash and vegetables and spread it evenly over the spinach and kale.  Sprinkle on the rest of the Cayenne pepper.  Grate the Vegan Mozzarella Cheese evenly over the top and sprinkle with the sunflower seeds.  Bake at 400 degrees for 45 min. or until brown.
Let it cool before cutting.
Enjoy!

Before and after 4 months

Now its a Party!
People are definitely noticing the change.  One patient thought I was sick with something.  One thought I was melting.  Most of them just ask:  "Are you alright?"
Up Side:  My health is great, I have more energy probably because I'm carrying less weight.
Down Side:  I keep having to buy new clothes.  Even my new clothes are too loose now.

                                                                                           

January 2014

May 2014

Same guy.  New diet.  No exercise yet.

This Vegan thing agree's with me!

Feeling good, eating right and still breathing!

Total weight loss since 1/1/14 is 40 lbs.

Need a hair cut. If I can do this.  Most of you can too!  

I have a new recipe for a squash casserole that I'd be happy to share for the asking.

STOP PLAYING WITH YOUR FOOD!!

I can't help myself!  This is chopped spinach with fresh ginger boiled with onion powder and Cayenne pepper for the bed decorated with tempeh that was sauteed in veggie soup stock and  soy sauce, highlighted with hot salsa and a crown of fresh pineapple.  My mouth is burning just right.
Love it! 

Four Months!

     Its exactly 4 months today since I started the Vegan diet.  Surprisingly, it has been an extremely easy transition.  I weighed in today and I'm delighted to report that I've lost 35 lbs with no exercise!  Every day I learn something new and find creative ways of preparing food with simple substitutions to maintain my plant based diet.  There are no cravings, no feelings that I'm missing out on something when my companions are eating the things I no longer eat and no desire at all to return to my previous way of life.
     At every restaurant,  including our local Coney Island Diner, Lulu's, I'm finding meatless offerings on the menu that are delicious!  Last weekend for the first time, I even got a salad with farro, butternut squash and kale right off the main menu at Diamond Jim Brady's in Novi!  All I did was ask to hold the Parmesan cheese and I was good to go.
     Now that the weather is getting better its time to start the next phase and actually log some time getting exercise.  There are isometrics that I can do safely while driving and good old push ups that can be done anywhere EXCEPT while driving.  My bicycle named Fuji will get a new wheel soon and my golf clubs that have been patiently waiting for me in their little corner of the garage may soon find themselves outside bringing a non pill based form of Vitamin D back into play.  I'm hoping to be swimming when the pool opens Memorial Day weekend.
     The changes that I've made have been rewarding.  The feedback from family, friends and coworkers has been remarkable.  This is not a fad diet.  The weight loss is definitely a motivating factor, but the benefits reflected in my lab work and blood pressure are stunning!  Thanks to all of you for your stimulating questions, your encouragement and your kind words.  Special thanks to Dr. Joel Kahn for being such an inspiration and allowing me to pick his brain over the oddest details any hour of the day or night.  You DA Veggie Man!
   Everyone needs to buy a copy of his book:  "The THE WHOLE HEART SOLUTION" or follow the articles he writes in Readers Digest.  Even better, attend one of his talks and learn about the simple things you can do to make your life as healthy as possible. 

    

Why Vegan?

     O.K. I admit it.  I'm a Vegan. I don't eat anything that ever had a face. No animal products like milk or cheese either.  I'm one of the people at whom I used to snicker.  
      I've also lost 25 pounds in 2 months without exercise and I'm never hungry. I've also never blogged before, but I've decided to document this new version of me.  So far, my back and shoulder have stopped hurting, all my clothes are too big on me and a few dark hairs have started mixing in with my otherwise white ones.  
     I started on this new path January 1, 2014.  I didn't have any sudden onset of a new medical problem.  There was no warning from my Doctor about my "Omnivore" life style.  I am not a Diabetic and I don't have any heart disease that I'm aware of.  I was just too darn fat and this was my New Year's Resolution.  I made an agreement with myself to eat no animal products for one year and see what happens.  So far, so good.
      Rather than thinking of it as giving up meat products, I prefer to think of it as starting out in a new direction. A direction that has dropped my blood pressure from 148/90 to 112/80 in two months with no medication.   I've discovered that I like things like Quinoa, Farro and Kale; foods I didn't know existed last year.  
     My beautiful wife, who started out skeptical has seen the results and is now supportive.  Her biggest complaint is that I've taken over her fridge.  Veggies take up a lot of room.  But, she's stopped calling it:  "That shit you eat" and has started to keep an eye open at the supermarket for things that I would enjoy.  Since college, I have loved to cook.  Now I find myself making up new recipes and adapting old ones to meet my needs.  Its been pretty easy so far.  Even the restaurants that I love turn out to have vegetarian options or are willing to make substitutions to accommodate me.
     
Let's share some stories and recipes and see where we are a year from now.