CSA inspired, Vegan, No Oil, Minestrone soup

I had a few leftover items from week ones bag of goodies.  I needed to figure out how to use the kohlrabi,   green peas, garlic scapes, and tomatoes.  I also had a bag of baby carrots and celery in the fridge that were nearly their expiration date.  I decided to make a vegetable soup.   Having never made a vegetable soup, I seriously just chopped veggies and tossed them in a pot, I figured I would taste test along the way.  


Ingredients
1 box of low sodium vegetable broth and
1 box of low sodium vegetable stock
(I honestly have no idea if there is any difference in the products other than brand name, feel free to drop a comment if you know)
3 Garlic scapes chopped small
2 cups of fresh green peas  (canned would be fine)
1/2 a white onion diced
1/2 a kohlrabi  sliced into small chunks
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups sliced celery (2 bunches)
1 can of red beans rinsed
1 can of diced tomatoes with basil oregano and thyme
a added a pinch or two of the following spices
thyme
basil
oregano
rosemary

Toss everything in a big pot and let it simmer for a couple of hours on low heat, covered.   I cooked about half a box of whole wheat elbow macaroni and tossed it into the pot about 20 minutes before serving.

Remy would be proud

Ratatouille!

Surprisingly simple to make!
your favorite red sauce
your favorite veggie combination for example
1 yellow squash
1 zucchini
1 red pepper
1 eggplant
1 tomato
Just pick as many as you want, and slice them up into similar sized pieces

Preheat the oven to 350
Get a baking dish, layer the bottom with an inch or so of your red sauce and start laying out your veggies as seen in the photo.  Place a piece of parchment on top and bake 45-50 minutes or until your veggies are soft and the red sauce is bubbling

sneaking in some exercise

The kids are on vacation from school and have been bugging me about going to the park every day!   I finally caved in today and we went.  I drove to the 1 mile fitness trail and made them walk the rest of the way to the park.   They were so excited on the way there, walking quickly through the trail, focused on getting to the playground, the walk home wasn't nearly as energized.   I may or may not have bribed them with a trip to Sheetz...  

Almond milk monster

Ahhhhhh run!!!!  It's the Chocolate Almond Milk Monster!!!!  

I guess I can't really complain, at least it's healthier than dairy milk!  

CSA meal # 2

A bed of fresh, crisp romain and spinach leaves with a few chopped strawberries from the CSA.  I added a scoop of Vegan chicken salad from Whole Foods Market and a couple walnut halves.  No dressing, it didn't really need it.  Delish!

Community Supported Agriculture CSA

Even before the DH and I started the Engine 2 plant strong challenge, we saw an advertisement for a CSA in the local newspaper.  It sounded like a great way to ensure that we eat more fresh produce, almost a way of forcing it!  We hate to pay for things, especially food and let them go to waste.   So we bit the bullet and signed up for the 22 week Vegan Summer plan.   Our first pick up was last night, here is what we got:

1 head kohlrabi
1 bunch collard greens
2 quarts strawberries
1 bunch red russian kale
1 bunch garlic scapes
1 head green leaf lettuce
1 bunch radishes
1 quarter lb bag pea tendrils

2 bunches spinach
1 head broccoli
1 lb sweet peas  

1 lb rhubarb
2 lbs hoophouse tomatoes

I should have taken a picture of the overflowing bag of goodies before I washed, chopped, prepped, and stored everything.  Next week, I'll try to remember!   I have never tried a few of these things i.e. kohlrabi, garlic scapes, pea tendrils, rhubarb, collard greens....    You get the picture, right?  I went on a massive Google search trying to figure out what to do with these new treasures.   First up, Vegan Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp.

I am not big on exact measurements, I like to wing it so here is a close approximation of what I did.

Filling

3 cups of hulled and quartered strawberries

3 cups of sliced rhubarb

1/3 of agave 

tbsp of corn starch

Topping

1/2 cup of whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 cup of rolled oats

2 tbsp of brown sugar Splenda

a couple shakes of cinnamon

a splash of unsweetened almond milk (2tbsp?)

3 tbsp of chia goo  (I make this ahead of time and use as an egg alternative for baking,  2 tbsp of chia seeds mixed with about a cup of water, when you let it sit, it become a 'goo'  )

handful of sliced almonds

Preheat the oven to 350

mix the strawberries, rhubarb, agave and corn starch in a large bowl

I poured out some of the excess liquid out before pouring the mixture into an 8x8 ungreased pan

In a separate bowl mix all the dry ingredients together and then add the milk and chia goo,

mix with your hands until everything feels damp and is clumping together. 

Then sprinkle it over the strawberries and rhubarb mixture,  topping with the almonds.

Bake it for aprox 45 minutes.

Baked Apple Chips

So easy, so healthy and so yummy!  I made 2 batches, so 4 apples the other day and the DH ate every last chip during one 8 hour shift of work.  LOL, I suppose I can't really be mad.  I am glad he likes them so much, and considering the alternatives... I think I'll just get to work on making another batch.

Ingredients:
2 firm apples, I like Galas
cinnamon powder
you can add a little sugar or splenda, but I don't think you really need it

Preheat the oven to 200F
Cut the apples into thin slices, by hand or use a mandolin.
Try to keep the thickness uniform so they cook evenly.
Place the slices on a baking sheet, no need to grease the pan, the apples should peel off as long as they are not sliced too thin.  You could probably use parchment paper, but I have not experimented with it.
Sprinkle the apples with cinnamon (and sugar if you like) and pop them in the oven for an hour.  
Flip the apple slices, add a little more cinnamon and bake another hour.
They will feel a little floppy or limp when you first pull them out, but will crisp up in just a few minutes.
I store mine in a zip lock bag, not sure how long they would stay fresh, they never last longer than 2-3 days in our house.

How we got started...

       My name is Shari and I am morbidly obese, (Hi Shari!)    Let me give you some background, at my heaviest, I was 390lbs. (September 2008)   In May 2010, I started dieting, starving myself and trying to eat less than 1200 calories everyday.  I obsessed about not eating, weighing in sometimes twice a day.  I had great results losing 100 pounds in less than a year.   That lasted about 3 weeks.  I thought I had things under control.  I ate animal protein, dairy and cheese at almost every meal, just tiny portions.  But I was still hungry, always hungry.  I couldn't live this way forever, it was a diet, not a realistic, maintainable lifestyle.  I loosened up and fell into the trap of thinking that I could eat healthy foods like I Cant believe it's Not Butter, I mean, it's fat and calorie free right?   I switched from vegetable oil to EVOO, that's the healthy oil, right?   In other words, I let the food industry mislead me into thinking I was eating healthy and making better choices for myself and my family.  I was wrong!   It didn't take long for me to put back on over 50 pounds.

      Fast forward to January 2012,  my DH came across some medical mumbo jumbo about eating 'Plant Strong'.  I was super skeptical, I shot him down before he could even finish telling me about some Cleveland Clinic Doctor and his research about preventing heart disease.   A few weeks later, we were looking for something to watch on Netlix, we love documentaries.  We saw one called 'Forks Over Knives' and decided to watch it.  Can you say, life changing?   The DH was excited because this was the same Dr that he had tried telling me about before.  Dr Caldwell Esselstein and T Colin Campbell presented their findings in this movie.  Two different people, 2 different research studies, but the same overall findings.  Meat and Dairy are simply not good for you.

      The DH and I talked about how compelling the research was, we were interested in learning more.   We then watched a documentary called Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue, presented by Forks Over Knives.  This movie was done by Dr Esselstein's son Rip.  He is an incredible athlete, having competed in high school and college, he became a professional athlete competing in triathlons.   He also became a fire-fighter and encouraged his co-workers to live a healthier, plant strong lifestyle.  In the Engine 2 movie and book, Rip suggests you to complete a 28 day plant strong challenge.  This is it!  The DH and I are in!  Let's do it, 28 days!  We can do it 28 days right?  LOL, we were realistic and expected it to be extremely difficult for us.  We thought we would really struggle and had pretty low expectations of making it the full 28 days.

      Guess what... we have been eating 'plant strong' for close to 2 months!  Basically no meat, no dairy and no added oils.  We have no plans to stop eating this way.  For me, I eat when I'm hungry, I don't really pay much attention to calories or portion size (unless it's a whole grain).  I eat 3 meals, a few snacks and even dessert.  I never feel starved or deprived.  I am learning and experimenting with foods in ways I never imagined, it is fun and I love it!  I know that it's only been 2 months and I am still in the 'Honeymoon phase', but I am so excited!  I feel great, I have more energy, and I am seeing results on the scale!  I love talking about my new eating habits to anyone that will listen.  I am sure that my friends are bored and possibly even annoyed with my enthusiasm for eating plant strong, but I don't really care.   This is about me, my family and our health.  I hope that our friends will accept and support us, even if it's not something that will work for them or their families.

Think you can't give up meat, maybe it's the cheese, trust me I didn't think I could do it either!

Watermelon Salsa

 My favorite part is that you can mix up the ingredients to suit your own taste buds.  I used green pepper, red onion, cucumber, and watermelon as my main ingredients but I have seen a few people use honeydew or pineapple too.

Measurements are approximate, I am one of those people that just wing it
4 cups of diced watermelon
1/2 a seedless cucumber diced
1 green pepper diced
2 jalepeno peppers de-seeded and chopped small
1/2 red onion diced
bunch of cilantro chopped up
1/4 cup of lime juice
1 tbsp of honey

toss it all in a big bowl, let it marinate for 2 hrs in the fridge and then serve with baked corn tortillas or as a garnish for veggie burgers etc.  

Weight Watchers Meetings

I am still attending my weight watchers meetings and using my online e-tools to track my points.  I love it when 90% of my food intake are Power foods or zero point values.  I am currently allowed 49 points a day, and an additional 49 bonus points to use throughout the week.  I also earn points for any activity that I do.  I have modified the plan to work for me, I try to keep my daily points under 40, (more like 35 but I don't beat myself up if it's still under 40)  I never use my bonus 49, it's like they don't exist at all and I never use the extra activity points that I earn either.   I figure that I am eating more fruits and vegetables than the average WW member and don't think I would be experiencing the weight loss if I used all the points I am allowed.  Don't worry, I eat plenty of food. When I get hungry, I eat!  I eat until I feel satisfied and try to avoid that 'stuffed' feeling.  I eat 3 meals a few snacks and even dessert.  Sure my dessert is usually fresh watermelon or apple slices, but they taste great and give me that pleasurable sweet treat that I often crave in the evening.
Oh and for those of you who are familiar with Weight Watchers, I earned my 10% key chain this week, now I have someplace to hang my 1st -25lb charm and my 16 week staying with the program charm too!

7 weeks and still going strong- PLANT strong!

Well, here we are 7 weeks later and the hubby and I are still living our lives Plant Strong!  We have dealt with many challenges including a birthday party, wine tasting, and even a weekend vacation.  We are getting pretty good at thinking ahead and packing snacks or bringing a plant strong dish to ensure that we have something to eat and share with friends and family.  Are we Plant Perfect?  No, we are still eating things like processed tortilla chips that are fried when dinning out and given very limited choices.  For example Applebees didn't have much on the menu of us.  Of course we could get a plain salad but for the cost and the nutrient lacking iceberg lettuce, I think I'll pass.  Instead we got baked potatoes, steamed broccoli and chips and salsa.  We should have skipped the tortilla chips, I know, but like I said, we are not perfect.