Super Size Me February 27, 2008

I borrowed this movie from the library yesterday and watched it tonight. It was great – and disgusting! Some would say Morgan Spurlock went to the extreme by eating McDonald’s, and only McDonald’s, for every single meal for 30 days and that is why his health deteriorated so quickly. But how many people in this country eat some sort of fast food once a day or more?  They grab breakfast at McD’s on the way to work and then pick something up at Wendy’s for lunch. Maybe even get a pizza and breadsticks for dinner.

The state his body was in after just a week was incredible (in a bad way, of course) but not all that surprising. Most, perhaps all, of what is served at McDonald’s isn’t food. There’s little to no good nutrition in it. It’s filled with fat and sugar. I would even consider it to be toxic to one’s body. In fact, much of what people in this country eat doesn’t nourish or promote health, and is toxic over the long term.

I’ve gotten into the habit of reading labels at the grocery store. We do our shopping at our local co-op, which is awesome, but to keep within our budget we also shop at Kroger. We buy a lot of the same things each week so I know what products are natural or not at Kroger. Though, sometimes I read labels of “food” we would never buy just for fun. The lists of ingredients are filled with words I can barely pronounce and chemicals and preservatives of all kinds. It’s still a little shocking to me to read that! I always think: “People eat this?! Don’t they know this isn’t good for them??” I can’t imagine filling my body with that kind of stuff all day everyday.

The sad thing is, though, many people don’t know enough about nutrition and ingredients to know that most of the foods in a regular grocery store are not good for them. I don’t entirely fault people for not knowing, either. If everyone in their family eats like that and they don’t learn the importance of good nutrition in school or from their doctor, then how would they know? Not everyone has access to the internet at home, or if they do, the desire to obsessively read about healthy food like I do.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the movie. It raised a lot of good points and was funny at times, too. Watch if you haven’t seen it yet!

Vegan Pancakes February 26, 2008

These pancakes are a weekend staple in our house. The recipe is from The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook. Served with a little bit of Earth Balance buttery spread and maple syrup these are a yummy way to start the day. We also love to drink orange juice for breakfast, but the day of the above picture we had “Hulk Juice” (to Jude), also known as Bolthouse Farms’ Green Goodness.

Mushroom Stew February 26, 2008

This is so tasty and filling. It’s reminiscent of beef stew … only better , and a great meal to warm up with on a cold winter day. I served this with whole wheat drop biscuits (dropped because I’m too lazy to roll out the dough and cut it into rounds).

I found the recipe on VegWeb.com, which is a great site for finding vegan recipes. The recipes are rated by the users and one can also leave feedback. It’s great to read others’ experiences and modifications before trying a new recipe. Check it out!

Joining the Green Smoothie Challenge February 25, 2008

I’ve decided to join the Green Smoothie Challenge that Sara over at Happy Foody thought up. It officially starts today, but Adam and I had our first green smoothies last night. And they were good!

Green Smoothie #1 (2/24/08): Kale-Apple-Banana

4 Kale leaves

2 Apples

1 banana

Water

Ice

We had to put the ingredients into the food processor first (because of the apples) then into the blender. We did this twice (once for each of us) and it made 1 quart each time.

Green Smoothie #2 (2/25/08): Kale-Banana-Orange

4 Kale leaves

1 Banana, peeled

1 Orange, peeled

Water

I was able to blend this one up in the blender no problem. I liked this one better than yesterday’s! It was a bit smoother without the apple.

Oatmeal Cookies February 21, 2008

I hesitate to even write about these cookies because they are in no way healthy. I usually make some kind of snack for Adam to take in his lunch to work and this week it was oatmeal cookies. The recipe is from Passionate Vegetarian. These cookies are so yummy but contain a couple ingredients I’m embarrassed to mention (*ahem* Crisco and loads of refined sugar).

So, if you want a good but unhealthy recipe for oatmeal cookies then the one from Passionate Vegetarian will work out quite well for you.

Red Bean and Brown Rice Burritos February 21, 2008

Sorry for the not-so-great picture.

Last night for dinner we had burritos made with red (kidney) beans, brown rice, guacamole, and lettuce on a white flour tortilla (organic!), and a few blue corn tortilla chips on the side. I quick-soaked the beans in the afternoon, then cooked them for about 2 hours on the stovetop. Once cooked, I added chili powder, cumin, salt, and black pepper to taste. I started cooking the rice and made the guacamole about 40 minutes before Adam got home . The lettuce was leftover from what I had washed and torn for the falafel the other day.

Beans and rice with guacamole is one of my favorite things to eat. Jude loved the beans and was scooping them out of the pot to eat once they were done cooking. I typically don’t cook beans on the stovetop (using canned most often), but now I realize how easy it is! It just requires a little bit of planning ahead (like not waiting until 6 to decide what meal I’m going to be cooking from our list). I’m going to include our recipe for guacamole, which comes from my father-in-law’s friend. She showed us how to make it when they came to visit right after Audrey was born.

Guacamole

4 Hass avocadoes (the small, dark ones)

1 Florida avocado (the larger ones)

1 bunch green onions

2 hot peppers (I honestly don’t know what these are called – maybe Habanero?)

2 Roma tomatoes

cilantro, to taste

salt, to taste

olive oil, a drizzle

lemon juice

salt, to taste

Cut each avocado in half and remove seeds. Scoop each half out into a large bowl. Mash with hands or fork (Jude used his clean hands and had a lot of fun). Make sure it doesn’t get too smooth. Add salt to taste, drizzle in olive oil and small amount of lemon juice. Stir. Remove most of the green part of the green onions and discard (or save for something else). Thinly slice remaining green onions including the white part. Cut each hot pepper in half, remove seeds, and mince. Chop tomatoes. Mince cilantro. Add to bowl and stir together. Enjoy!

Falafel Pita February 20, 2008

Dinner on Monday night (for all of us) and lunch for Tuesday and Wednesday (just me) was falafel on a pita topped with a tahini sauce, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and goat-milk feta.

The falafel was a mix from the bulk section of our local co-op. I added water and it sat for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, I mixed up the tahini sauce in my food processor. Then, I browned the patties in a small amount of oil. I had washed and torn the lettuce and chopped the tomato and cucumber earlier. The pitas were warmed for a couple minutes in our toaster oven.

One falafel pita was plenty for both Adam and me.  This was a simple meal that yielded a lot of food, plus it wasn’t very expensive. Not to mention it tasted great!

Simple cooking, delicious food February 20, 2008

That’s my goal at least!

This blog is all about my adventures in cooking and baking for my family, which consists of me (Rachel), my husband (Adam), my 3-year-old son (Jude) and 4-month-old daughter (Audrey – who is exclusively breastfed at this point, of course).

We eat a vegetarian diet at home, and I’m now committed to being a vegetarian all the time. We eat natural and organic food almost always – and on a budget.

Join me as I share what we eat!