Monthly Archives: July 2011

Eating for Health vs Just Eating

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One of the things I have been struggling with the most is balancing my calories throughout the day with foods I eat for enjoyment purposes versus those that I eat for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  I generally use Livestrong’s Daily Plate to track my calorie goals and based on my current weight and height, I should be consuming around 1850 calories a day to maintain my weight with a sedentary lifestyle.  That being said, I’m actually trying to drop a few pounds, so my real calorie goal is only 1350 calories a day (luckily, I manage to sneak in at least 3 to 4 workouts a week, which allows me to bump up that number).

Having an allowance of 1350 calories a day may seem like a lot, but it really isn’t, especially with all the foods I’m trying to include in my daily diet.  It becomes imperative that I include regular workouts to be able to enjoy all the crazy foods I love to cook and eat.  I think I have managed to figure out a solution for fitting in all the items I eat for health vs the meals that have a more social aspect to them.

In the morning, I start my day with a glass of kale, celery, carrot and apple juice.  I recently read an article about “responsible juicing” where it was mentioned that a cup of this juice is sufficient – the first few days I drank this juice, I did get a mild headache, but that is a known side effect of juicing, especially as your body detoxifies.  If you’re planning on juicing, make sure you drink plenty of water throughout the day.  I feel great ever since I’ve added this juice into my diet – I no longer feel the need for caffeine (although I still love the taste of coffee and earl grey tea).  This juice adds about 175 calories to my day.

Once I get to work, I have my protein shake – this has been the most difficult item to incorporate into my day, especially since I don’t really enjoy the taste of it.  There are protein powders that taste better, but I’m determined to avoid soy and dairy in such a processed form – that leaves me with very few choices, but this “meal” is purely functional – to ensure I consume enough protein.  I pack my shake cup with a scoop of protein and mix it with water when I get to work.  The two options for protein powder I use are either Douglas Labs’ Protein Powder Plus or when I’m traveling, I pick up the convenient individual serving pouches of Vega Sport Plant-Based Protein.  Unfortunately, the Vega brand contains stevia leaf extract – I’m not convinced either way on the controversy over this ingredient, but it is banned in the European Union because there is not enough known about it.  I’d rather stick to good ol’ fructose that is found in the Douglas Labs’ product, but enjoy the convenience of Vega when necessary.  Be careful when picking out your protein powder – it is an additive magnet.  My protein powder adds another 100 calories to my day.

Other supplements I have throughout the day include Evening Primrose Oil (25 calories) and occasionally Amazing Grass Green Superfood (30 calories). That leaves me with 1020 calories to eat for lunch, an afternoon snack and dinner, if I’m not working out that day.  Trying not to exceed 1000 calories is no easy feat, especially when a serving of brown rice adds up to 200 calories (and let’s be real – who actually eats only a single serving of rice?) and half an avocado can add up to 150 calories.  One thousand calories may be quite a lot of calories if you’re trying to pack your meals with nutritious, fresh foods, but a single serving of cheese, eating out (even at a vegan restaurant), stopping for an afternoon latte or snacking before dinner can easily tip you over the top.

For now, I’m thrilled that I’ve actually been able to follow a routine that is achievable and does not require a significant amount of extra effort.  I’m meeting my requirements to eat for health (which should always be a primary focus), while still being able to enjoy a large variety of foods from a social standpoint.  Which reminds me…the weekend has begun! Have a great one!

CSA Delivery – July 20, 2011

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This week, I made sure to include carrots and celery in my delivery, since we’ve been using these organic items in our daily juice.  I’m also keen on trying out Heidi Swanson’s celery salt recipe – I used to keep celery salt as a staple in my spice cabinet but then eventually just started adding minced celery to many of my recipes for the fresh flavour.  It would be nice to have some on hand though for a quick alternative.

Corn and peaches continue to be regulars in my delivery.  I’ve also been trying to make sure I have yogurt regularly, so the raspberries will be a nice addition.  I was running low on potatoes, so I included them in my list this week.

PS – don’t worry, I took the carrot tops off after I took the picture :)

How to store your groceries

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I always wondered why certain grocery items needed to be stored in a specific manner, so I thought I would start putting together a list.  Just this weekend, I was dubbed the “Food Network” because of all the random food trivia I know – add this to the list!  I’ll continue to add to this list as I learn new things – do you have any food storage tips?

Potatotes – when potatoes are chilled, the starches convert to sugar which makes the potatoes sweet when they are cooked.  I keep my potatoes under the sink in a basket and only buy small amounts at a time.

Carrots – if your carrots have tops on them, make sure to remove them as they continue to seep nutrients from the carrots

Garlic – by keeping garlic in the refrigerator, it gets exposed to humidity which leads to early sprouting.  I keep my garlic and onions in a basket under my sink.

Tomatoes – it’s tough to keep tomatoes out, especially if you bought them ripe, but it is the best option to ensure maximum flavour.  I usually try to use my tomatoes right away after buying them – if that doesn’t work out, they end up in a cooked sauce.

Mushrooms – when buying mushrooms, make sure you grab the paper bags meant for them.  The bag absorbs the excess moisture from the mushrooms without drying them out.  Store your mushrooms in this bag in your refrigerator.

Berries - as tempting as it is to have these ready to eat in the refrigerator, don’t wash berries in advance.  The water causes them to break down almost immediately.  Also, your best bet is to store them in a container that allows for a bit of ventilation – I use my Tupperware FridgeSmart containers for storing my berries – protects them from bruising and keeps them fresh.  Also, keep the tops on strawberries when storing them as well.

Avocados - keep them out of the refrigerator to ripen, but put them back in to slow down the process. If you are in a pinch and need your avocados to ripen quicker, place them in a paper bag with some bananas.

Bread – as tempted as you may be to keep your bread in the refrigerator to maximize its life, try to keep your bread in a bread box instead.  When we got our kitchen renovated, we had them retrofit one of our drawers into a bread box.  Keeping bread in the refrigerator causes the starches to change structure and lose moisture faster, which makes the bread texture tougher.  That being said, if we think we can’t use all our bread, we freeze it to use it as toast or for grilled cheese sandwiches.

Oils – these should be kept in your pantry except for nut oils – they will go rancid eventually and keep best in the refrigerator

Chocolate - keep it out of extreme heat to prevent it from blooming (when the cocoa butter starts coming to the surface).  If you freeze or refrigerate your chocolate, keep it in an airtight container, and keep it out until it reaches room temperature to prevent condensation from forming.

Cheese - when using cheese, keep it away from any wet utensils or cutting boards.  I usually find it best to remove any leftover cheese from the existing packaging and wrapping it in fresh plastic wrap each time so it doesn’t get exposed to any moisture.

Watermelon and Feta Salad – Oh Nigella, how I love thee

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Many years ago, I was watching old episodes of Nigella Lawson’s show Nigella Bites and she made this wonderful watermelon and feta salad.  It is so refreshing on a summer day and a great way to use up watermelon if you have extra leftover. I picked up some watermelon at the farmers market this weekend – it wasn’t seedless, but it tasted perfect. The texture had the right level of crunch, while still being juicy and sweet. I accidentally ate a bit of the rind, but even that tasted good (don’t ask me how that happened).

If you’re going to try out this recipe, don’t waste your time trying to modify it (although I have taken some liberties from the original recipe). Don’t use lemon juice instead of limes; don’t use kalamata olives instead of regular black olives; don’t cheap out and buy crumbled feta – cut your own cubes from a block; don’t use cilantro instead of flat leaf parsley; don’t use spring onions instead of red onions – just go out and buy the ingredients and FOLLOW THE RECIPE, OK?

Ingredients

  • 1/2 small to medium sized watermelon, cut into bite size chunks
  • 1/2 small red onion
  • 10 to 12 black olives, halved
  • generous handful of parsley, chopped
  • 2 limes, juiced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • pepper to taste (ok, you can take some liberties on this ingredient)
  • 4 oz cubed feta
  1. Combine the watermelon, onion, olives and parsley in a bowl.
  2. Add the lime juice, olive oil and pepper and toss to coat.
  3. Add the feta and toss gently so the cheese does not break.

CSA Delivery – July 13, 2011

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This week’s delivery was over the top – not because of the items I chose, but because of how fresh and amazing all of the produce looked (and tasted).  The colour on the green peppers was so vibrant, the kernels of corn so plump.  We’ve been juicing regularly now (stay tuned for that post), so I think the cucumbers and beets will be used up that way, just to mix things up.  The green beans and broccoli will go well with some brown rice – will have to figure out a way to jazz that up!

I just had to take a picture of the corn after steaming it – it was so delicious and sweet. We bought some corn from Whole Foods a few weeks ago, but it didn’t even come close to tasting as good as this corn did.  I think it will be a regular addition to my delivery this season.

Pizza experiments – Round Two – Creamy Broccoli Rabe and Grilled Portobello

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A few weeks ago, I blogged about my fig and goat cheese pizza and the broccoli rabe one as well.  I ended up buying more broccoli rabe at the farmers market today – one of the first stalls I walk by always has the most unique vegetables, and the broccoli rabe is always so fresh.

Another ingredient I picked up today was portobello mushrooms.  I really need to start writing down the names of the farms I like – the folks at this stand always have the best variety of mushrooms and they are always so fresh and tasty.

Here are the stars of tonight’s pizza.

To make the pizza

  1. Fry 2 shallots, 1/2 white onion and 2 cloves of garlic in some olive oil.
  2. Add in two finely chopped thai chilis (I could have also just used crushed red pepper or omitted the heat entirely).
  3. To the mixture, I add about 1/4 cup whole milk and allow the flavours to mix together – once the milk had an opportunity to heat up, I added 2 tbsp of quark (I had this cheese in the refrigerator – any cream cheese would give you a thicker consistency. Better yet, if you had some cream, you could use it instead of milk and just omit the cheese).
  4. Once the cheese melts, add about 3 tbsp of chopped sun dried tomatoes and about 2 cups of roughly chopped broccoli rabe.
  5. Turn the heat off in the pan, and allowed the greens to soften from the residual heat.
  6. Add about 7 or 8 chopped basil leaves to the mix.
  7. Slice the portobello mushrooms and grill them with a bit of olive oil.

Today’s pizza was made on a sprouted wheat crust I found at Whole Foods today, made by Alvarado Street Bakery.  I should work on mastering my own pizza crust, but sometimes it is so much easier to pick up a ready made crust. To layer the pizza, I started with the creamed broccoli rabe mixture and covered the full crust.  I then sprinkled in a bit of shredded mozzarella (about one handful – just enough to keep the toppings intact).  The crust already has some cheese in it, so I didn’t want to overdo it – with a regular crust, I would have doubled the cheese. I then layered on the grilled mushrooms and topped off the pizza with some feta.  Ten minutes in the oven at 450F completed the pizza.

Filling my CSA void with a blog post – Chili tofu on a bed of arugula

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It’s Wednesday. And no CSA delivery. How sad. So instead of showing you a picture of my delivery, I’ll just share what I had for dinner tonight.

Ingredients

  • 1 pkg Hodo Soy Beanery tofu
  • 2 spring onions
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 2 thai chilis (of course, use at your own discretion)

Instructions

  1. Cut the tofu into smaller pieces and begin frying in a small amount of oil – add in the spring onions.
  2. Once the tofu has cooked, add the remaining ingredients.
  3. Add a bunch of chopped fresh cilantro before serving.

May I also mention my new handy-dandy rubber spatula I found in the clearance section at Macy’s? I love it because all of my other rubber spatulas have a wooden handle, which means I can’t put them in the dishwasher (the wood can warp in the high heat, which is also why your wooden cutting boards don’t belong there either).  This spatula has a stainless steel handle – so straight to the dishwasher after cooking!

I then served this tofu on a bed of arugula, with red radishes, green peppers and avocado.  My nose is still running from those thai chili peppers, but a cold refreshing glass of Santa Cruz Organics Limeade helped that situation (and was perfect for this warm summer night).

Ice Cream, Ice Cream, We all scream for Ice Cream

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You knew this post was coming…it was only a matter of time before I was ripping open the box of my new ice cream machine.  For my first batch, I decided to stick to a recipe that came in the manual – I figured they were tried and tested, and a good place to start before experimenting.  I was also pleased that many of the recipes in the manual actually didn’t call for eggs, which was an added bonus.

I decided that I was going to buy some better quality milk for this adventure, so I decided to pick up some Straus Family Creamery milk from Whole Foods.  I think I was just a sucker for the glass bottles the milk came in.

I chose to make a chocolate ice cream and used the following recipe:

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • pinch salt
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract

Mix all of the ingredients together with a whisk and allow the mixture to sit in the refrigerator for about 6 hours (the recipe recommended at least 2 hours or overnight).

I then pulled the mixing bowl out of my freezer and poured it into the ice cream machine – twenty minutes later, I had a delicious batch of ice cream, which I then transferred into an airtight container to store in the freezer.  I’m sold – it is so convenient and quick to make ice cream.  With minimal planning, I’d rather do this then run to the store to find a brand that has been altered with filler ingredients and preservatives.  The only lesson learned from this experiment was to leave it in the freezer for a little while longer after it is done churning – the batch I made melted very quickly while I was serving it.

I can’t wait to try out new recipes.  The first one that comes to mind is converting my favourite tea into an ice cream – earl grey with a bit of vanilla.  Hmmm…I have some leftover milk in the refrigerator – might be a fun experiment to try out this week!  Other options on my list include mint and chocolate chip ice cream, strawberry frozen yogurt, raspberry sorbet – I also want to try some non-dairy options, which will require a bit of research.  Oh my, I better go head to the gym after work!

Oh coffee, how I miss thee

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Over the last couple of years, I have cut down my coffee consumption significantly. I used to have my coffee after lunch at work (I was never really a morning coffee person) but once I started exercising regularly, I found that I no longer needed an afternoon pick me up, and eventually, I started getting the jitters when I had regular coffee. That being said, I love the taste of coffee and every once in a while, I would treat myself to a Peet’s latte (the best coffee/espresso that is readily available).

As of a month ago, I have committed myself to drinking only organic milk and avoiding heavily processed soy products. As a result, I have had to eliminate Peet’s from my diet. They do not serve organic milk as an option and their only non-dairy milk is an organic soy milk.  This leaves me to venture out to find smaller coffee shops that offer a better variety of milk options – if you’re in San Francisco, this is not a problem at all, but it is a much more difficult feat in the area I live in.

I’ve been thinking of trying out Starbucks Via, and I decided to pick up a pack of Decaf at the grocery store to make an Iced Coffee for myself at home. I can just see true coffee connoisseurs rolling their eyes at me – I’ve read somewhere about folks who freeze coffee cubes so the taste of the coffee doesn’t get diluted when making an ice coffee, and have also read about cold brewing approaches.  Quite honestly? I just want a quick coffee fix and don’t think it is worth growing through all this, especially since I’m not a regular coffee drinker.

In my iced coffee, I mixed in a Starbucks Via packet with a few tbsp of warm water in a large tumbler.  I then added some peppermint syrup (I keep a bottle of vanilla and peppermint syrup on the counter for such occasions) and a bit of cocoa powder.  Once it was all mixed together well, I filled the cup with ice and topped it off with about 1/2 a cup of milk.  It was delicious, refreshing and hit the spot.  I think I found my quick (and cheaper) substitute I can make at home without breaking the bank or breaking my organic habit.  A perfect find for a summer long weekend – looking forward to this afternoon treat on a regular basis :) .

PS – I just thought of all the coffee flavour ice cream I could make with my new ice cream maker…score!