Day 12 & 13 - A Weekend of Tempeh, Tea and Sunshine!

What a phenomenal weekend! My brother flew in from Chicago on Thursday and parents drove up from Florida on Friday and the weekend was full of good food and sunshine! Good ol' momma's cookin, nothin like it! And no matter how hard you try, irreproducible. Is there a dish your mom makes that you try and try to replicate, but just can't get quite right? Moms are just amazing!

So over the weekend my brother and dad built us raised beds for another season of fruit and vegetable gardening. I will be starting seedlings in the next week!

We went on an Asheville day trip on Saturday, one of my favorite little cities ever. Hippie town, LOTS of veggie food, street musicians everywhere, artsy displays all around town, fabulous people, great vibes, and beautiful mountain area. Went to eat at Green Sage, drink chocolate at The French Broad, sip tea at Dobra Tea, and had dinner at ALL TIME FAVE all vegetarian restaurant Laughing Seed. So some of the food on our plates included: black bean burgers, tempeh avocado sandwich, veggie burritos, panang curry with really good seitan, and a nut encrusted tempeh with harissa sauce and wild rice pilaf. YUM YUM! And to drink: delectable liquid truffles in lavendar/honey and cinnamon/cayenne, lovely green and oolong tea incredible kombucha on tap made by local ladies. We also stopped through a spice store that would be a dream to have in my neighborhood - all sorts of spices on their own and in mixes that you can smell, sample, enjoy and buy. You must check out all of these things with a trip out to Asheville to just experience a city that is unlike any other one I have ever been to.

So I realized that the above list of foods may be on varying levels of familiarity so I wanted to go through some items and perhaps add a new ingredient or dish to your plate.

Tempeh - a WHOLE fermented soy product that started in Indonesia. They take the whole soy bean that is cultured and fermented into a cake form. Since it is made from the whole bean, it has more protein, fiber and vitamins than tofu. It can also be made using other beans or whole grains. I have cut it in thinner strips for sandwiches, crumbled it for a chili or burritos, and sauteed cubes for salads or stir-fry.



Harissa - a North African chili sauce that is made from piri piri chili peppers and other hot chili peppers mixed with olive oil. The sauce itself is this beautiful orangey-red color that looks beautiful on top of dishes and tastes incredible. There are variations on how to make the sauce based on regions and family traditions. You can add it to soups, pastas, couscous or other grain dishes or anything else you think might go with the flavor.




Seitan - a vital wheat gluten protein that can be sauteed, baked or fried. It works as a meat substitute in a lot of recipes. You can buy this in organic and natural food type grocery stores. Or you can try making your own (although I have not done this yet, it sounds like it might not be all that hard). It just requires water and whole wheat flour. You basically just wash wheat flour dough until all the starch goes away and it becomes this elasticy mass that is then cooked. It may sound not as appealing from the description, but it really is great!



Kombucha - a fermented tea that is becoming more and more popular, originally drunk for medicinal purposes. The culture, a mass of yeast and bacteria, is put into tea with sugar and allowed to sit for 1-2 weeks. The microbes feed off the sugar and create this fermented beverage that has roots in Russia, China and Japan. There are some health claims including detoxification and anti-cancer properties. Now the process itself when you look it up can seem a little eww, but when you get the right place's kombucha, it really is quite tasty. I recommend above mentioned ladies' kombucha in asheville (see listings on website) in the fire flavor (cayenne and ginger goodness).



Alright friends, that's all for now as I embark upon another day. Sorry there was only one post this weekend!


Goodnight...

Day 11 - Pyramids

So good to have family at home! The raised beds have been built thanks to the bro and dad! The stomach is pleasantly full thanks to food from mom! Tomorrow we go to Asheville, which has some of the best vegetarian food in a small radius ever! Life is good despite difficult days at work.

So quick post on pyramids. The USDA has this food pyramid that we all learned in school growing up. Then they had a meeting, revamped it, and flipped the pyramid on its side. The new version doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, and ultimately doesn't tell you how much of each food you should eat. And at the end of the day, it's not really grounded in the most recent nutrition science.

So I introduce you to the Healthy Eating Pyramid designed by nutrition scientists at Harvard School of Public Health. These are the guys that got kicked out of the meeting when deciding what to put on the new pyramid, because they were countering the Dairy Council and Meat lobbyists saying it was not scientific to have that much dairy and red meat in our diet. So this new pyramid takes all that into account, as well as the importance of whole grains, healthy fats, and exercise.

Take a look and see if this could be a good guide for you in choosing healthy options. The link above gives you more of an explanation on each category. Enjoy!

Days 9 & 10: Sweet Tooth & The Dessert Flip

Sorry I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday -- it was a busy night in the PICU and I didn't get a chance. But half rested I am back and excited! Brother is coming into town tonight, we will get some raised beds made for our garden attempt #2, parents in town tomorrow, Asheville Saturday, and plans for an all around great weekend!

So a couple interesting things to share.

I do love sweet things and baking, but am always amazed at how much white sugar the recipes contain. That step always makes me hesitate. Here's a great article talking about sugar substitute options (and not Splenda) for baking.

Sweet doesn't have to mean white sugar

So after you have baked your fabulous cake, pie, brownie, bar or cookies there's that whole problem of who is going to eat it all. I bake muffins in fear that the hubby is going to eat them all in a couple days. Or when you cut yourself a piece of cake, it's easy to go overboard with it a little. Well, introducing...

The Dessert Flip



We serve cheesecake with a couple strawberries on top. We serve chocolate cake with a raspberry or two on the side. The dessert flip is swapping portion sizes on your plate and is just as satisfying. Take a small square of cheesecake and surround it in fresh berries. Take a piece of chocolate cake and pair it with orange slices, raspberries, and a few raw cashews or almonds. Take a small single spoon of ice cream and place it on top a bowl of peaches and blueberries, or whatever fruit you choose. The fruit is amazing on its own, but if you have that occasional sweet tooth, eat your dessert, enjoy it, but in limited proportions served with limitless fruit and nuts. You can even spice it up a little by grilling your fruit (grilled pineapple = yum) or baking it (baked pears or apples).


Wish I could write more but on the way to the airport to go pick up Sagar!!


Sweet dreams!

Day 8: Low Fat, Trans Fat. Good Fat, Bad Fat. Green Fat. Red Fat.

Sometimes all this talk about fat starts to sound like a Dr. Seuss book to me. At the end of the day, I can understand why people may be confused about what is the healthiest option: no fat, low fat, or good fat.

So here's the latest:
http://civileats.com/2011/03/04/a-big-fat-debate/

Now sure, you may think that this is always changing when we do more research but in the spirit of Dr. Seuss, here's my simple take on matters of fat...

Our body needs some fat to run properly. It's okay to eat fat, but don't swim in a sea of blubber.

It's not how much fat you eat, but what KIND of fat you eat that matters.

If you're going to eat fats, make them natural ones. Fake fats are bad.
(Natural fats include nuts and seeds, their oils and butters, avocado, coconut)

Trans fats are bad. Avoid them. Saturated fats (found in animals and dairy) are bad fats that can increase your LDL (the bad cholesterol). Limit/avoid them.

Good fats are the monoUNsaturated and polyUNsaturated. These are okay to eat.

Use oils more than butter, margarine or shortening.

There are low heat and high heat oils. Cook with high heat oils. Serve foods with low heat oils.
(My favorite cooking oils are grapeseed and canola with stir fries in occasional sesame oil. My favorite dressing/low heat oils are extra virgin olive, walnut)

Fried foods generally have a lot more fat. Limit these foods.

Watch out for foods labeled as low fat or nonfat, they often have sugar or high fructose corn syrup, or other additives to make them taste better.

But overall here is my general thought on food in general. Eat food that looks like food. When you stop recognizing the ingredients that make up your food, it's probably not as healthy for you. Watch your portion sizes. Fill up half your plate with fruits and veggies, a quarter with protein, and a quarter with carbs. If you want extras, go for the veggie or fruit first.

It's all about balance and being smart. And in the spirit of balance, rainbows of food and appropriate servings, here's a look at dinner tonight (leftovers from my cooking fest).

Corn rotla, saffron rice, plain greek yogurt, my salad from the other day, collard greens and dal. Notice how half the plate is veggies! 

Man I wish these pics were better so you could see all the pretty colors in the salad, but that's just gonna have to wait until Paras comes back.

Well, I am on call in the hospital tomorrow so I will try to sneak in a quick post in the spirit of my personal National Nutrition Month challenge. Tomorrow is also VEGAN WEDNESDAY! Don't forget if you're joining me!

No recipe today (sorry) but it's sleeping time!!

Local Flavor: Atherton Mill and Market
Tuesday- 3 pm - 7 pm
Wednesday- 9 am - 1 pm
Saturday - 9 am - 2 pm

2104 South Boulevard
Charlotte, NC 28203

I love how local this market is. If you're a regular, you can really start to get to know the farmers and vendors. Buy fresh fruits and veggies, homemade candles, real healthy food, breads, jewelry, pickles, honey...it's fantastic!

Check out their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/athertonmillandmarket?sk=info

Day 7: 5-2-1-0!!

So there's this 5-2-1-0 initiative that is pretty smart for kids but works for everyone really as simple goals to reach daily...


5 servings of fruits or vegetables a day at least
2 hours maximum screen time between tv, computers, video games, etc. (I don't know if work screen time counts because I spend a LOT of time in front of the computer; but the point is to get moving around)
1 hour of physical activity a day, moderate to vigorous (I struggle with this one, no lies)
0 sugar sweetened drinks


So sometimes I find it difficult to get enough servings of vegetables during my day. When I am cooking, I rarely just steam or prepare a single vegetable as a side dish (except maybe broccoli). But I love sneaking vegetables into recipes just to add in another serving. So here are some of my clandestine ways of adding more veggies...


Steamed/boiled and then pureed veggies: carrots, beets, pumpkin, butternut squash, sweet potato -- add these to sauces to bring bright colors and added vitamins. You can also add them to soups and stews and remember, a little at a time doesn't change the flavor too much from your original recipe. If it's thicker, consider as a spread or drip with some added spices.


Food processed, shredded or tiny cut veggies: zucchini or other squash, bell pepper, mushrooms, eggplant -- add these to things like beans (I hardly make refried bean dishes without shredded zucchini), sauces, fillings for other dishes, etc. You can chop up mushrooms really tiny and saute it for a while like I presume you cook up ground meat (I often mix soy crumbles with tiny tiny chopped mushrooms to make a great filling).


Spinach and other greens: I always have a bag of frozen spinach on hand to add to foods. There is no reason why a pasta dish can't have spinach in it. I add this to sauces, pizzas, soups, and other random dishes that need a splash of color.


Surprise yourself with ingredients: artichokes in your sandwiches, tomato in your stiry fry, sweet potato in your burrito, or any of the above.


In the meantime, I am going to have to surprise myself with bedtime! In 5, 4, 3, 2....1 

Day 6 - Rainy Days and Sundays

Cirque du Soleil Totem was amazing!! If you're in Charlotte, you must go see it! It still boggles my mind how they come up with some of the feats they master. And all with such ease. I would fear for my life every time I made the jump, every show, every night. I feared for THEIR lives sitting in the audience. But regardless, amazing show...to go along with an amazing weekend.

Slept in today, listened to jazz, sang at the top of my lungs, went to deep stretch yoga at my favorite yoga studio, and cooked like I had a party coming over and yet, there was no party.

I title this photograph, "All in a day's work play"

So starting at the top that is homemade pizza with a pepper, garlic and oregano crust - one side with spinach, sundried tomatoes, goat cheese and balsamic glaze...the other side with your standard fare of peppers and onions.

Next on the left is dal (split pigeon pea Indian style soup), Gujarati style.

To the right of that a slow cooked enchilada casserole with carrots, red cabbage, black beans and pinto beans with a homemade enchilada sauce.

In the middle bowl there is a red cabbage & carrot salad (recipe to follow).

Then next down we have makkai na rotla (corn flour flatbread) compliments of Charmi's recipe.

Last we have an ol' southern fave...collard greens...done Indian style with channa nu lot (chick pea flour). 

So I spent all day cooking, listening to the rain and to heartwarming music. The house smells incredible. And surprisingly despite all the cooking, I did not pig out. But I am prepared for the coming week's dinners (and probably some take-along lunches as well). Planning ahead when you are trying to eat well is important. It's easy to fall into the trap of being tired from work, coming home not knowing what you are going to have for dinner, and ultimately popping a frozen meal in the microwave or getting food from a restaurant or fast food place. Here are some ideas that can help you avoid spending the extra money and eating food that may not be as good for you:

Make a weekly schedule of your meals and buy the groceries for the week on the same day of the week (weekend?). That way you don't let produce go bad in the fridge and you can map out if you've had enough fruits and vegetables over the span of the week.

Prepare items that can get makeovers: black bean soup turned into tacos or tostadas when cooked a little more and thickened up; salads that turn into sandwich toppers, rice that turns into a rice and beans mix. That way you can make a little extra and it helps you for two different meals. Use your creativity to change up the dish you already made for one night's dinner so that you don't feel like you're eating the same thing every night.

When you've got out the cutting board and knife for one meal, just keep chopping. You're more likely to prepare a meal if the onions and tomatoes are in the fridge, chopped and ready to go. Just store things in separate containers and the next day you'll feel like one of the chefs on tv where all your ingredients are prepped and ready to go!

That's all for today. Gotta get to bed early so your recipe as promised...

Recipe of the Day: Red Cabbage and Carrot Salad (made up recipe from 8 hours ago)

So the salad can really be made of anything you have around the kitchen but today I used:

Grated carrots
Shredded red cabbage
Green mango
(I just love the colors in the salad by the way)
Black beans (canned)
Sprouted skinned chick peas (kala channa)
Cilantro
Dried cranberries

The dressing was lemon juice, a little bit of agave nectar, salt, cumin, red chili powder, a touch of garam masala.

Mix together in a bowl and there you go! I bet the flavors will marinate really well overnight, but I can let you know about that tomorrow. For now, I sleep!

Goodnight! Swet

Day 5 - Drink your vegetables!

It's a rainy Saturday afternoon and I have my bright yellow sunshiny apron on in the kitchen as I dream up creations. Today's lunch was YUMMY! Paras took the camera to Sri Lanka with him, so this is the best I got from my phone camera.

The drink: carrot, celery, beet, kale, apple, orange, raspberry, kiwi, lemon juice.

I juiced the carrots and celery, and put everything else in the vitamix blender. Pour me a glass of goodness.

Juicing is a great way to get in a lot more fruits and vegetables than you might get in one sitting. My only warning for those that use juicers is that you get rid of a lot of the fiber that helps you digest those sugars better. If you take out all the pulp, you get a bigger glycemic load (sugar spike) than if you let the fibers of the fruits and vegetables help you digest them. When all else fails, just remember that it's probably better to eat the fruit or veggie than to drink it. But I do love the way green, red, purple, and orange turn into a beautiful magenta in my cup! And throwing things into the blender is a great way to sneak some greens into your drink - kale, spinach, cilantro...especially when the bright green starts to fade and you don't want it to go to waste.

The crackers are topped with a mock tuna. I took the carrot pulp from the juicer, added some vegan mayonaise, chopped onion, a little of the celery pulp (or cut celery if you have some) and a bit of salt and cumin. You could also add any other crunchy flavors...scallions, cilantro, parsley, pickles, cucumbers. Just store in a glass container for a week. 

I love the idea of using all parts of the ingredients with which you are cooking. Other uses for carrot pulp that I have not tried yet - carrot cake/bread/muffins, muesli bars, maybe carrot halwa?? If all else fails, juicing pulp is great compost.

The salad: romaine lettuce, celery, mushrooms and corn with a bit of olive oil and lemon juice as dressing.

On the side are sprouted black channa (whole chick peas with the skin) that have been boiled in lightly salted water to cook them.

My sprouter is so much easier than how my mom used to sprout legumes...in fact, my mom was the one who bought this in the first place. Just change the water twice a day and in a couple days you have beautiful sprouts! I have done moong beans, channa (chick peas), green lentils, and whole wheat berries so far. Anyone try anything else sprouted?

Well time to go get ready...I am off to Cirque du Soleil Totem tonight!! Not really a local food thing, but good nourishment for the artistic side of your spirit.

Local Flavor: Cirque du Soleil Totem 

March 3-27th - catch it while it's here! At the Charlotte Motor Speedway
Check out Charlotte on the Cheap (blog) for discount tickets

http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/totem/default.aspx