Day 19 - Happy Holi!

Today we celebrated Holi - a day to destroy all things evil in our lives and bring in the color and joy, a fresh start to the spring. With beautiful color powders of red, yellow, and blue being thrown in the air, we paint our lives with similar shades...and similarly should paint our plates with bright and colorful foods!

So my tip of the day in getting more color into your belly is to really look at your plate when you sit down to eat and ask yourself what color is missing. Then at the next meal, try to add in that color somehow (and not with radioactive orange colored Cheetos).

Another way to get in some more color is to purchase a variety of fruits and veggies that can be eaten raw, wash and cut them when you go home so that all you have to do when it is snack time is open the fridge and eat. Often in those times where we are hungry looking for a snack, we grab the bag of chips or cookies because it is easier than slicing an apple. This way, you already have the washed and cut carrots, cantaloupe, mangoes, celery, berries, grapes...and you just eat!

Recipe of the Day: Variali Sherbet (Fennel Seed/Saunf Drink)

In a blender place fennel seeds, golden raisins, a touch of honey and water. Blend until the seeds and raisins are all ground up. Pass through a fine strainer and pour over some ice cubes. REFRESHING! I added just a touch of cardamom to the blender today as well.

Day 17 & 18: Here are few (30) of my favorite things...

Another 2-in-1 day blog post after being on call overnight but I've been working hard on today's entry!

So in honor of a dear friend and avid blog watcher's 30th birthday, I present to you 30 of my favorite things...ingredients I love to have around and use all the time! Happy Birthday Raju!

1. Quinoa – if you haven’t tried this, it is a must! One of my favorite things to create from, this is a grainlike vegetable that is perfect for vegetarians. It is a protein with healthy amounts of all the essential amino acids. It’s gluten free, a great source of iron, magnesium, many of the B vitamins and calcium. Tips: Rinse before cooking to remove the soapy bitter coating. Use in place of rice, cous cous, boil into soups, turn into salads. For Indian cooking: use in khichdi, in place of soji in upma.
2. Oatmeal – lowers cholesterol, good fiber. Tips: hot oatmeal for breakfast is great and there are so many variations in flavor. If you have a slow cooker, just imagine hot slow cooked oatmeal waiting for you in the morning (use steel cut overnight because they take longer to cook). I like the quick cook oats to add to smoothies, breads, muffins, pancake batter.
3. Brown rice – the whole grain version of rice, contains vitamin B1, B3, iron, magnesium, fiber, and fatty acids. Tips: they take longer to cook. If you soak in warm water first, this stimulates germination with activates various enymes in the rice making it a more complete amino acid profile.
4. Nuts and nut butters – almonds, cashews, walnuts, pistachios, pine nuts, peanuts. I love them all! We also always have a variety of butters at all times – peanut, almond, cashew, and sunflower butters. All are good protein sources and a source of healthy fats. Shelled pistachios are a favorite snack of mine because of the “Pistachio Principle” – you fool yourself into eating less through the act of having to de-shell and slow down consumption. Tips: add nuts to random dishes like your pasta, oatmeal, greens (sliced almonds on cooked kale, pistachio with your green beans), salads, blend into smoothies. Serve nut butters with fruit for a fantastic dessert!
5. Ginger – great for nausea and settling your stomach. Great during colds. Tips: add fresh ginger to stir fry, salads, teas. Think gingerbread and add dried or fresh ginger to other baked goods, muffins, cookies or oatmeal.
6. Garlic – claimed to help with heart disease, high blood pressure and cholesterol. Tips: for a sweeter taste try wrapping in foil and roasting in the oven before using. Add to soups, pastas, vegetables,
7. Turmeric – an anti-inflammatory shown to have anti-cancer properties which are enhanced when combined with black pepper.
8. Cumin – one of my favorite ingredients to use, helpful with digestion. Tips: great with Tex-Mex and Indian foods. Dry roast cumin seeds on slow heat until their fragrance fills the room, then grind for a perfect spice! Add to yogurt, guacamole,
9. Cinnamon – one of our healthiest spices. It can lower the glycemic load of other foods (how high your sugar spikes in your blood). Tips: sprinkle on fruit, oatmeal, cereal, baked goods, in your coffee.
10. Sesame – high in iron, magnesium, copper and calcium. They also contain vitamin B1 and E, and have phytoestrogens with antioxidant and anti-cancer properties. They come in varieties of raw, toasted, hulled, unhulled, and black. Ground up they become tahini and sesame oil is also a great cooking oil for stirfry. Tips: top salads, Indian style vegetables, add to yogurt for a flavorful dip, blend or use tahini in dressings, spreads or dips. Sesame oil is also great moisturizer for the skin.
11. Flax seed – high in fiber and omega 3 fatty acids (lower heart disease risk, health arthritis, may help with weight loss and Alzheimers). Tips: add to cereal, oatmeal, smoothies, baked goods. You can use it as a egg replacement.
12. Cilantro – now I know there are people that cannot stand the taste of cilantro…they think that might be a genetic thing which would be the only reason I could imagine for not liking it. Medicinal uses include diabetes, anxiety, lowering cholesterol, and as a chelator for heavy metals. Tips: great in Latin and Indian dishes. Add to store bought salsa for added flavor. Mix with your greens in salads.
13. Moong beans – used in Indian and other Asian cooking, they are available whole, hulled, split, and as sprouts. They are a great source of protein and fiber. Sprouts are high in vitamin A, B, C and E as well as potassium, iron and calcium. Tips: experiment with different spices – my favorite classic combo is turmeric, red chili powder, cumin-coriander blend, salt, lemon juice and cilantro.
14. Black beans – good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber, helps prevent sugar from rising too high after a meal, high in protein and loaded with antioxidants in comparison to other beans. Tips: ideal in the classic rice and beans dish, added to salads, burritos, and also a great soup (blend it with an immersion blender for a completely different texture rich soup).
15. Chick peas – a cup of these has 12g of fiber (half the daily requirement) both insoluble (reduces cholesterol and risk of heart disease) and insoluble (helps digestion). They are high in folate and iron. Tips: smaller sized ones have thinner more tender skins. Cooked chickpeas can be refrigerated in their liquid for up to 4 days.
16. Almond milk – great tasty milk substitute. Watch which product you purchase and try to stick with unsweetened to decrease added sugar. It does not have much protein or fiber, but is also low in calories. Tips: try in chai, cereals, as coffee creamer, or to add creaminess to savory dishes instead of heavy cream.
17. Greek yogurt – high in protein and if you get lowfat or nonfat without fruit the sugar content is low. If you want the fruit kind, watch which brands have high sugar contents. Tips: add granola, whole grain cereal, berries, cut fruit, honey, bananas for a great breakfast or snack. Or use the plain kind instead of sour cream or mixed with savory ingredients to make a dip.
18. Bananas – reduced risk of colorectal and breast cancer, they have moderate amounts of potassium, manganese, vitamin B6 and C. Tips: ask my brother about his curried bananas. Raw bananas can also substitute for potatoes in Indian and Jain cooking.
19. Mango – lots of antioxidants protecting against heart disease and cancer, good amount of vitamin A, fiber and small amount of vitamin E. Tips: just eat them, especially when in season…they are amazing!! Try a green mango if you haven’t before.
20. Blueberries – really high in antioxidants plus with potassium, vitamins B, C, and E. They are also an anti-inflammatory. Tips: when picking berries, the darker ones have more antioxidants. Add in cold or hot cereal, smoothies, pancake batter, or eat plain.
21. Pineapple – great to eat in the morning because it has a natural enzyme that help with protein breakdown, a little jumpstart to your day’s digestion work. Also good source of vitamin C and manganese. Tips: add to Thai food for an added sweetness to your spice.
22. Lemon/Lime – Great cleansing properties, help the immune system, and I like to use these as flavor boosters so you can decrease the amount of salt in a dish. They also have vitamin C, B6, potassium, folic acid and phytochemicals with antioxidant and anti-cancer properties. Tips: squeeze on salads for dressing instead of rich dressings high in fat, add to warm water and honey for a sore throat soother or a great detoxifying morning drink. Add to bean dishes for a fuller flavor.
23. Tomatoes – lycopene (antioxidant for the eyes and protects against prostate cancer), vitamin C, vitamin A. They come in so many varieties – this summer, try an heirloom (the oddly shaped sometimes purplish black looking ones that are kinda pricy but so good. Tips: raw, sauce, stewed, sundried. Try them all. I love summer ripe tomatoes sliced with a drizzle of olive oil, cracked black pepper and a touch of salt as a snack.
24. Avocados – they contain the best kind of fat (monounsaturated oleic acid), nut help block the absorption of bad fats (cholesterol). They are high in lutein (helps with eyesight), potassium and folate (which can decrease risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease). They are low in pesticides. Tips: we all know guacamole, but try slices topped on salads, soups (black bean!!), or in sandwiches. Or make it sweet as a base in smoothies or homemade vegan chocolate pudding.
25. Spinach – rich in antioxidants and chock full of all sorts of vitamins and minerals. Tips: I always have a bag of frozen spinach on hand to add some green to many dishes. Try in pastas, stirfry, Indian dals or vegetables, mixed with beans for Tex Mex foods.
26. Kale – great fiber to help lower cholesterol, anti-cancer properties, Tips: try making kale chips, add kale to juices/smoothies, add to soups like minestrone.
27. Eggplant – good for high cholesterol. They also help form free radicals and contain potassium and folic acid. Tips: try making your own baba ganoush. Or a tapenade you can use as a spread. Great in Indian vegetable dishes especially baingan bharta. (although I must say as a child I did not enjoy them).
28. Agave nectar – sweetener that comes from the same cactus plant that you make tequila out of. It’s sweet, people use it instead of sugar, and we can feed it to diabetics at this point. It’s about 1.5 times as sweet. Tips: it dissolves better than honey, so it is easier to stir into hot beverages. Try the different flavors and see what is right for you. It comes in light, amber, dark, and raw..
29. Honey – sweetness with vitamins and minerals. It gets graded based on a number of factors including water content, flavor, aroma, absence of defects and clarity. Tips: great as a cough syrup especially because you cannot overdose. Remember, no child less than 12 months should get honey because of the risk for botulism. Also add to teas, in baked goods, and hot//cold cereals. Add to homemade dressings for a hint of sweetness.
30. Dark chocolate – contains flavonoids and one small square can be good for you! Tips: The higher the percent cacao the better, but get up to at least 75%. Note, twix are not a healthy substitute.

Day 16: Label Fable

Food labels are way too complex. There are columns and rows, grams, percentages, asterisks, and no rules on how much is too little or too much. Wouldn't it be nice if nutritional fact labels were clear and simple? I am thinking perhaps something like this...

Well while I work on getting those labels to change so it is easier to decipher good food from bad food, here are some quick tips that might help.

- If there are more than five ingredients, you may be entering the danger zone.

- If you cannot read the ingredient name, question the food.

- Watch out for artificial ingredients. Avoid hydrogenated vegetable oil, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, food dyes.

- Remember the 5-20 rule. If it has less than 5% of the nutritional daily value for a particular ingredient, it may not be healthy. Above 20% of the daily value is good (unless we are talking about fat, sugar or sodium).

- Multiply by the "servings per container" number if you are planning on finishing the entire container of food. They will get you every time with this one. Those 20 ounce bottles of soda have 2.5 servings each, and most people don't stop after just 8 ounces. Although for babies it is perfectly acceptable to start soda early!! (sarcasm, but wow!! to the ad below)

- Every 4 grams of sugar is a teaspoon. Count out the number of teaspoons before you eat or drink that product and ask yourself if you would dare eat that many of spoons of sugar for the item in your hand.

- Just because the box says "Healthy!" "Good for you!" "Diet" or "Lowfat" does not mean that it is good for you. Read the back of the box and decide that for yourself.

So those are some basics. In interim, i't sleep time!

Day 15: Back to Basics of Cooking

So there's a great article I read a while back written by Mark Bittman, food columnist and author of cookbook, "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" amongst other books.

Chop, Fry, Boil: Eating for One, or 6 Billion

The basic premise of the article is that there is this cultural shift away from the art of cooking. People are busy, working late or pulling multiple jobs, getting home at hungry hours without time or patience to then prepare a meal. So we eat quick, we eat cheap, we eat unhealthy. And while we eat those things, we turn on the tv to watch other people cook (Top Chef, Food Network shows)...the irony.

As we move further away from the daily ritual of preparing meals, we get to the breakpoint of losing the skills of how to cook in the first place. So, if our kids grow up in a household where nobody really cooked, how are they supposed to learn those skills for themselves? Mom or dad may not even know how to boil water, let alone prepare an entire meal. Home ec is gone (although what happened to those kitchens in the older schools?). So these kids grow up knowing their favorite restaurants and fast food joints, develop preferences in prepackaged meals, and hardly spend time in the kitchen aside from interacting with the fridge and microwave.

In 1985, nearly 52% of main meals were prepared on the stovetop/oven. In 2010 this number has declined to about 34% (National Eating Trends research). Microwave use for main meals has gone from 10.5 to 22% in that much time.

It makes me sad to think of a generation that may not be able to cook because nobody ever taught them. It makes me sadder to think of this generation not getting the opportunity to have home cooked meals or provide those meals for their future children.

BUT HOPE AND OPTIMISM!! So the article also goes on to talk about the three cooking lessons people should learn in the basics of cooking that can be built upon with time. Each of these uses good whole ingredients and is free of all the stuff on the label that we cannot pronounce. AND, you don't need a whole lot of kitchen stuff to make these dishes happen.

So your three lessons:

The Chopped Salad
The Stir-Fry
The Rice and Lentils Combo

The salad requires no cooking at all, just some practice with the knife. This meal is really just chopping up a combo of veggies, maybe some fruit. It can usually be put together in 15-20 minutes, which is not much more time in comparison to getting prepared food. Check out the other blogs listed for great salad recipes and combos.

Now, once you have mastered the chop, you can throw those ingredients into the stir-fry. Consider adding tempeh or tofu because they soak in the flavors well, and add some protein. Again this is a quick process because you are ideally cooking a shorter time on higher heat and leaving the veggies cooked but crisp.

The final is your basic rice and lentils dish. Pretty much boil water, add rice, lentils and other ingredients to flavor (salt, spices, garlic, ginger). Boil until cooked, perhaps a half hour job depending on which ingredients you are using.

Once you have mastered the technical skill to do these three types of food preparation, it is time to add your own flare, your embellishments. So salads you can experiment with new vegetables and perhaps fruits. Add nuts. Add spices. Add some form of dressing and don't be afraid of mixing one up yourself. You cannot go wrong unless you start using all sorts of unhealthy ingredients.

The stir-fry concept can be a base to other sautees, stir-fry, and central access.

And the rice and lentils you can add all sorts of everything to it - spinach, potatoes, other vegetables or greens to boost the nutritional value.

So if you are struggling with the cooking thing, try to get these three skills mastered. They will take you a long long way!

Day 14: Happy Pi Day!

3.14 It's Pi Day! This day was a particularly special day in my nerdy existence...celebrated fondly every year through middle and high school. Even my brother texted me in honor of pi day this morning!

And in celebration I had a pizza pie...well, a pie slice of homemade pizza...whole wheat crust with oregano and black pepper, tomato sauce, onions, bell peppers and just a touch of cheese. YUM!

I've decided that homemade pizzas can be pretty healthy depending on how you make them (and so much fun to make although I have to admit I cannot toss the dough in the air to magically spin out a crust. The picture below...definitely not me)...



Good whole grain crust (made from scratch or store bought ready made dough), or build it on top of naan, tortillas that are baked to become hard shells, flatbread - all breads of the best quality you can find or make, and that are made of whole grains.

Then sauces -- homemade tomato sauce will have less salt and preservatives. Or consider a drizzle of olive oil, some pesto, a paste made from white beans and garlic or an olive tampenade as your base.

Then go wild with the toppings really! All sorts of veggies (and some fruit) can top a pizza in whatever combination tickles your taste buds. Off the top of my head: tomato (fresh or sundried), olives (green or black), mushrooms of all varieties, bell peppers or other peppers, onions (fresh cut or caramelized), garlic (fresh or roasted), spinach, arugula, corn, broccoli, eggplant (really good grilled first), zucchini, artichokes, capers. Then for fruit depending on what you pair it with: pineapple (tastes good against a tomato sauce), pears (really good with walnut and gorgonzola)

And cheese. So the best thing about making your own pizza is that you can really balance your ingredients. Keep in mind that a little bit of cheese can go a long way. The stronger the taste of the cheese, the less you need to use. Instead of big chunks of goat cheese, gorgonzola or blue cheese...consider crumbles of it over the pizza. You can even freeze softer cheeses and grate them over your pizza (or other dish) and it spreads the taste all over your food without having to use a large quantity. And really, since you're making your own pizza and it is full of all your favorite toppings, you can always forgo the cheese altogether.

Consider finishing off your pizza with something like a drizzle of olive oil or a balsamic vinegar glaze, or topped with a fresh ingredient once you're done baking like fresh basil, oregano, arugula, cilantro, parsley.

Make it fun. Make it your own piece of art! In the past we have thrown a "make your own pizza" party before with individual crusts and tons of bowls of ingredients to choose from. It's interesting to watch your friends construct their own pie art and how their personalities are portrayed by their pizza.

Whatever you chose to do on the celebration of Pi Day, I hope it was a blast!

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!