Pipes challenge

March 17, 2011 in fitness, healthy living by Jessica | 2 comments

Since I haven’t been eating anything exciting enough for a blog post (picture peanut butter jar + spoon), I figured I could at least let you know what’s going on with my fitness activities.

I’m kinda-sorta-officially training for a half-marathon. I’m still in the beginning of training, so it’s not high-milage yet. And some days I really wonder if I can get to double digits. I’m sure it will come. Thankfully, the weather here is starting to get nicer, so going outside for a run is kinda a treat. Especially if I get to keep up with my run dates with Jenny.

I’m also going to take part in Morgan’s Pipes Challenge, which starts on Monday! The first week I’ll do pushups, then I’m picking up JJ Virgin’s  Six Weeks to Sleeveless and Sexy from a friend and I’ll be doing that.

Are you ready to join the challenge? Check it out!

Vegan month recap

March 9, 2011 in food, healthy, vegan, vegan challenge, Vegan February by Jessica | 2 comments

So, I made it. Actually, I cut off a few days – making it 100% vegan for 26 days straight. My dairy-free month was actually not as hard as I thought it would be.

I was hoping that going  vegan would help me with my skin issues, and it seemed to be doing very well until about 3 days before I ended it and then I had a HUGE flare up. So, apparently it’s not dairy that is the culprit for my issues. But, I’m sure I’ll continue to eat vegan meals. I mean, I ate some great stuff this month … (click on photos for blog posts)

Like black bean & quinoa chili

black bean and quinoa chili

And vegan enchilada bake – didn’t even miss the cheese … OK, maybe a little.

vegan enchilada bake

How about penne and beanballs. *insert childish giggle*

penne and beanballs

My go-to vegan dish: Cilantro lime peanut sauce

Too much peanut sauce? No such thing!

And Indian chickpeas and spinach – oh, yum!

Indian chickpeas and spinach

Let’s not forget the pumpkin spice pancakes

vegan pumpkin pie pancakes

And strawberry shortcake

vegan strawberry shortcake

And a little bit of sunshine in this pineapple mango ginger smoothie.

pineapple mango ginger smoothie

As Alton Brown would say … That’s good eats!

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Indian chickpeas and spinach

February 28, 2011 in food, healthy, vegan, vegan challenge, Vegan February by Jessica | 2 comments

I have  no idea if this is a real Indian dish or not. Or if I made it up or not. But I do know that it is damn good.

This recipe wraps up my month as a vegan. Technically I made it 25 days, which I’m pretty darn proud of. I’ll be doing a roundup of recipes in the next few days.

Indian chickpeas and spinach

Indian chickpeas and spinach
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 tsp. oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
2-3 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1 tsp. garam masala
1/2 tsp salt
3-4 handfuls baby spinach
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
2/3 cup water
2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion, garlic, and ginger nd sauté over medium heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn heat down to medium-low and add the cumin, turmeric, and garam masala. Cook onion mixture with spiced for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes and spinach, scraping up any bits that have stuck to the pan. Add the water and chickpeas. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, then serve over rice.

Sunshine in the snow

February 21, 2011 in food, healthy, healthy living, vegan, vegan challenge, Vegan February by Jessica | 1 comment

Two days ago it was 40 degrees. The snow was melting and it was feeling like spring – complete with spring cold.

Today, we’ve got almost 10″ of new snow and winter has it’s grip on us once again.

What’s a beach-loving girl like me to do? (besides move …)

Whip up a little smoothie/juice that is deserving of an umbrella, of course.

pineapple mango ginger smoothie

Pineapple-mango-ginger smoothie

1/2 pineapple core*
1 mango, peeled & chopped
1/4″ piece of ginger, peeled (optional)
1 cup water

Put everything into blender and mix. You can add more/less water to get to the desired consistency.

*If you have a super powerful blender (like the Vitamix) don’t toss the core from your pineapple. Chop it up and use it in smoothies! If you don’t have a powerful blender, just use pineapple pieces.

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Vegan pumpkin pie pancakes

February 19, 2011 in breakfast, food, healthy, healthy living, vegan, vegan challenge, Vegan February by Jessica | 1 comment

I’ve been sick this last week, so I decided to really treat myself to something kind of indulgent this morning. I don’t make big breakfasts very often since it’s just me, but sometimes I get a craving for something that reminds me of home. These pancakes are really easy – REALLY easy – and super yummy. I’d add a little more pumpkin pie spice, just to give it some more flavor, but they were nice and fluffy and delicious just as they are.

This recipe came from Vegan Planet. I topped mine with a little bit of agave and a dollup of raw whipped cream.

vegan pumpkin pie pancakes

Vegan pumpkin pie pancakes
from Vegan Planet

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 1/4 cups almond milk (can use soy or any other milk substitute)
1/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice and set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the almond milk, canned pumpkin, and oil and process until well blended. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.

Use a skillet to make pancakes as you would with regular pancake batter. (My batter was super thick, so I kind of had do spread the pancakes out a bit.)

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South of the border mac and cheese

February 13, 2011 in Uncategorized by Jessica | 1 comment

When I was asked by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing board to participate in their 30 Days, 30 Ways of mac and cheese, I had mixed emotions. On one hand I was beyond excited. On the other hand, I was terrified. Come up with my own mac and cheese recipe? Me? By myself? Really? *gulp*

Of course I said yes. As a mostly unknown food blogger, I’d be stupid to say no. And then they told me to pick a cheese. What?! The terror set in. I am NOT good at making decisions. I’ll take a full day to figure out what to make for dinner, then end up ordering pizza because it’s too late to cook. No lie. Part of me wanted to cop out and go for the safe cheese – cheddar. But another part of me kept screaming “Do something fun!”

I settled on queso quesadilla - a rich, semi-soft Mexican melting cheese. I love all things Mexican, so I was drawn to this one. Plus, it’s just fun to say.

I spent weeks upon weeks trying to concoct something workable in my head. I polled anyone and everyone who would listen. And finally, the cheese arrived, and it was time to take the plunge. *double gulp*

I had visions of creamy cheese and perfectly cooked noodles flavored with roasted red peppers and green chilies, topped with more gooey cheese … or maybe tortilla chips for crunch. But, could I pull it off?

Oh, but I could. And I did. I won’t lie, I was SHOCKED this turned out on my first try. And not only that it turned out, but that it blew my mind.

First, I set out to roast some peppers. While those were in the oven, I cooked the pasta and shredded the cheeses – I used a mix of queso quesadilla and mild Wisconsin cheddar. Tip: Don’t use a food processor for the queso quesadilla, it’s too soft and just makes a mess. Trust me on this.

Once the peppers are roasted, cooled and chopped, get started on the cheese sauce. It’s pretty basic – butter, flour, milk, cheese, and a dash of hope. It smelled amazing once I added the roasted red peppers and a can of green chilies (undrained).

Once you mix in the pasta (don’t use the whole box, the pasta-to-cheese ratio is too high), you could eat it right away. But baking it – with more cheese, of course – makes it out of this world. I tried topping half with tortilla chips and it was really good, but I prefered the extra cheese, like a true adopted Cheesehead.

South of the border mac and cheese

South of the border mac and cheese

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1 egg
6 oz. queso quesadilla cheese, shredded
3 oz. mild cheddar cheese, shredded
1 box elbow macaroni
1/2 tsp. salt, more to taste
1/2 tsp. pepper, more to taste
2 red peppers, freshly roasted
1 can green chilies
optional: extra cheese, crushed tortilla chips and/or cilantro

1. Roast red peppers, cool and chop.

2. Cook macaroni until al dente. Drain.

3. In large pan, melt butter over medium-low heat and sprinkle in flour. Cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly.

4. Pour in milk and whisk until smooth. Cook until thick. Reduce heat to low.

5. In small bowl, whisk egg. Add 1/4 cup of the milk and butter mix slowly and whisk together to temper egg.  Add back to pot and whisk until smooth.

6. Add cheese to milk and butter mix and stir until melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.

7. Mix in chopped red peppers and can of green chilies (do not drain).

8. Add in drained pasta and mix to combine. Serve immediately or pour into baking dish, top with more cheese (or crushed tortilla chips) and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Go ahead, take a bite. You know you want to.

cheesy goodness

Spaghetti and beanballs

February 11, 2011 in food, healthy, vegan, vegan challenge, Vegan February by Jessica | 2 comments

Another easy vegan meal in the books! This one is from the cookbook, Veganomicon. It’s a phenomenal cookbook and my sister swears by it.

Quick update on how this whole Vegan for a Month thing is going. I’m doing well and sticking with it. I did buy some bread the other day that I’m not positive is totally vegan, but I’m being a little more lax with the rules. Since I’m testing more for food allergies/intolerances than moral issues, so long as an item doesn’t say it contains milk, I’m OK with it. That may or may not be the right way to do it, but unfortunately I don’t have a lot of time to stand in the store and look up ingredients.

My biggest cravings right now are for yogurt and cheese. Though they’re mild cravings in comparison to my current love of toast with Earth Balance. I think I’ve eaten a loaf in 3 days. Not good. Otherwise, not much to report. A few mild headaches, which my acupuncturist says could be because I’m essentially detoxing from dairy & eggs.

On to the recipe! This was actually a pretty easy recipe. I used my food processor to mash the beans, then mixed everything together. I was a little worried since all I could smell was the soy sauce, but it turned out great! I used some roasted red pepper tomato sauce leftover from the eggplant parmesan I made a few months ago. I baked the beanballs and then added them to the sauce. Be careful, they break up easily. Also, you’ll see I used penne pasta – I prefer it to spaghetti.

penne and beanballs

Beanballs
From Veganomicon

20 oz. (or approx. 3 cups) of cooked kidney beans*
1/4 c. vital wheat gluten
1/2 c. bread crumbs
2 T. olive oil
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. steak sauce or tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, pressed or grated
1/4 t. lemon zest
1/2 t. oregano
1/4 t. thyme

(*A few blogs I’ve checked have said they had issues with the consistency using this measurement, as 20 oz would be more like 2.5 cups. But, I used 3 cups and I thought they turned out just fine.)

Preheat oven to 375* and spray rimmed baking sheet with oil.

Mash kidney beans using potato masher or food processor. I used my food processor and it worked well. Some beans were left whole and that was OK with me. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix together. Knead with your hands for about a minute once combined.

Roll into balls – I got about 20 out of this using 3 cups of beans – and place on baking sheet. Spray beanballs with a little more oil. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip and bake again for 10 minutes.

The book says to then add some of the sauce to the pan, coat the beanballs and then bake for another 5 minutes. But I just added the beanballs to the sauce and let them simmer for a few. Worked for me. :) Then add to cooked pasta.

How are you doing on your Vegan for a Week challenge?

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A little mid-day pick-me-up

February 10, 2011 in food, health, healthy, vegan, vegan challenge, Vegan February by Jessica | 2 comments

I picked up some strawberries yesterday at Sam’s Club and they taunted me with their scent the ENTIRE way home. All I could think about was eating these berries with some raw whipped cashew cream. Then I remembered I had a lone leftover vegan cupcake from the Super Bowl. The result – strawberry shortcake, vegan style.

vegan strawberry shortcake

Let’s start with the cupcakes. OMG. These rocked my world. I was sad I had to bring them into work to share. But, lucky for me, there were a few left over for me to take home. They’re moist, flavorful and just plain damn good. I skipped the chocolate ganache – they were definitely sweet enough to go naked.

Vegan vanilla bean cupcakes
From Post Punk Kitchen

1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (I used vanilla paste)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners. Spray lightly with cooking spray. (I forgot this step, but my cupcakes didn’t stick.)

Whisk the almond milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside for a few minutes to get good and curdled.

Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and mix.

Beat together the almond milk mixture, oil, sugar, vanilla extract and vanilla bean in a large bowl. Sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix until no large lumps remain.

Fill cupcake liners two-thirds of the way and bake for 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool.

Now, the whipped cashew cream. Oh man … I can’t believe I haven’t shared this on here. I’ve made it several times. I first saw it made by Gena at Choosing Raw. I was hooked at first taste. It really does taste like whipped cream.

Raw whipped cream
From Choosing Raw

1 1/3 cup raw cashews, soaked 2 hrs
1/2 cup water
3 tbsp agave
1/2 vanilla bean/ 1 tsp vanilla extract/or 1 tbsp. vanilla paste

Blend all ingredients in your Vitamix until smooth and fluffy. To make this in a food processor, start by blending all ingredients, minus 1/4 cup water. Stop frequently to scrape the bowl. When the mixture is quite smooth, drizzle in the last 1/4 cup water till fluffy.

Vegan enchilada casserole

February 7, 2011 in food, healthy, vegan, vegan challenge, Vegan February by Jessica | 3 comments

One week into my Vegan February challenge and I’m going strong! Last night’s Super Bowl was a bit of a challenge. My boss at work ordered pizza from my favorite place – but I was able to resist because of this meal:

vegan enchilada bake

I found this at Fat Free Vegan. (Are you sensing a pattern here?) This recipe did take some time, because I chose to make the refried beans and enchilada sauce from scratch. My tip: If you do make the refried beans from scratch, be sure to liberally season – mine were a little bland.

Vegan enchilada casserole
From Fat Free Vegan

1/2 large green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 large red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
corn tortillas–at least 12
3 cups (28 ounces) fatfree refried beans
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 tsp. chili powder, divided
1/2 tsp. cumin, divided
3 cups black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup salsa
1 can enchilada sauce (or 1 1/2 cups homemade)
sliced black olives

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a non-stick pan with a little water (1 tbsp.), sauté the peppers, garlic, and onion for about 3 minutes, or until softened. Set aside.

Spray a 9 X 13-inch baking pan with non-stick spray. Line the bottom with a layer of tortillas (you may cut some of them to fit). Make sure you cover the entire bottom of the pan.

Stir the refried beans and spread half of them evenly over the tortillas. Cover the refried beans with half of the pepper-onion mixture and half of the tomatoes; sprinkle with half of the seasonings and half of the black beans.

Add another layer of tortillas and repeat the layers of the other ingredients. Spread the cup of salsa over the final layer of black beans. Cover with a final layer of tortillas, pour the enchilada sauce over the top, and sprinkle with black olives. Cover and bake for about 30 minutes or until hot throughout. It will be easier to cut if you allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

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Black bean and quinoa chili for Vegan February

February 2, 2011 in food, healthy, vegan, vegan challenge, Vegan February by Jessica | 5 comments

I was so excited to get an e-mail from Morgan yesterday about going vegan for a week in February.

It was funny, because I had been planning to go vegan for the entire month.

Why go vegan for February? Well, I’ve been wanting to do an elimination diet to see if it would help my skin, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to do that. I’ll have to try to cut out wheat/gluten another time.

For my month-long challenge, I’m doing my very best to cut out milk, butter, cheese and eggs. Since I eat a mostly vegetarian diet, it shouldn’t be difficult to skip the meat. I’ll also be trying to steer clear of packaged vegan meals, though I do have some Kashi meals on hand just in case! I know myself and at some point I’ll be caught off-guard. And, like Morgan, I’ll be staying away from meat alternatives as best I can. Since I’ll be doing this all month, it may be a little more difficult, but I’m up to the challenge!

In preparation, I’ve been scouring cookbooks and websites for recipes, trying to plan ahead so it wouldn’t be too difficult. I’ve got stacks of recipes for the month and I’m excited to share them with you. I’m hoping to post 2 recipes I try each week and at the end of the month, I’ll do a little roundup on how it went.

But, come Day 1, I didn’t have time to make the meal I had planned, but I did have enough time to whip up this  black bean and quinoa chili from Fat Free Vegan just before leaving. It’s simple, quick and super healthy. The quinoa adds protein and the beans make this a filling meal. (Find more quinaa recipes here.)

black bean and quinoa chili

Black bean and quinoa chili
Adapted from Fat Free Vegan

1 cup rinsed and drained quinoa
2 cups water
1 large onion, diced (I used a few tbsp. dried minced onion)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 cup chopped celery
1 tomatoes, cored and diced
Two 16-oz. cans black beans, drained
One 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
1 Tbs. chili powder (or more to taste)
1 Tbs. dried parsley (2 Tbs. fresh)
1 Tbs. dried oregano
2 tsp. ground cumin (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine quinoa and water in saucepan, cover and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until liquid is absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a large, non-stick pan; add onion, bell pepper, celery and sauté 7 minutes over medium heat. Stir in fresh tomatoes; sauté 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in beans, canned tomatoes, and seasonings; cook about 25 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally. Stir in quinoa; cook 5 minutes more.

Makes 8 servings.

Are you up to the challenge? Join me, Morgan and many other bloggers in going vegan for a week! Check out Morgan’s post, join the Facebook page, and follow on twitter with #7dayvegan and #veganfeb.

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