Change to Vegan

I have a little dog, named Marley, who was rescued by my son and I at a few months of age, near death.  He is quite an adorable little dog, now over 4 years old.  He has suffered greatly from food allergies.  We have tried every specialty brand of dog food for dogs with allergies.  I won’t begin to name them here, but trust me, we have used them all.  He has improved, less itching, hair re-growth and loss of bloating, with each one, but after months, the allergies seem to return with a vengeance.  We have taken him to innumerable vets and done massive amount of research online.  Marley is now eating home cooked vegan food and is doing better than he has done in years.

Recipe for Marley’s Food

120 grams of texturized soy protein

3 medium sweet potatoes peeled and shredded

1 carrot shredded

1 cup slivered almonds

2 T coconut oil

4 T brewers yeast or nutritional yeast

1 heaping T tumeric

Soak soy protein in a pot, covered in water, for 20 minutes.  Add shredded potoato and carrot.  Add almonds, yeast and coconut oil.  Simmer for one hour.  Let cool, covered.  Makes 4 or 5 days worth for Marley.  Store refrigerated.  We add 1/2  chopped avocado to the food.

My good friend, Johanna, has written an amazing eBook of vegan desserts. All of these recipes are made without regular cane sugar. Instead, they are sweetened with fruit sugar from fresh, dried, and frozen fruit and berries. Agave syrup or maple syrup is also used. Agave syrup is a yummy low GI sweetener that works really well in these recipes.

All but 5 of the recipes can be made 100% raw, but if you don’t have 100% raw resources such as genuinely raw cocoa powder, you can still make them and they will taste incredible!

Check it out: http://www.miss-best.com/LLLD.html

There is absolutely no reason that as a vegan you cannot enjoy some of your favorite non-vegan foods, changed but even more delicious.  This is a vegan spinach, open-faced enchilada.

I adore Tex-Mex food, but enjoy it even more using vegan variations.  I eat enchiladas, tostadas, tamales, rice and beans, etc.  All super healthy, filling and delicious.

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There is nothing easier, nor more delicious than a raw vegan pie.  This one has an almond and date crust, green apples with kiwi apple and cranberry apple filling.  YUM!

No sugar added, the fruit is sweet enough.  Hard core apple pie lovers enjoy this – without any bad cholesterol or fat!!!

What is the glorious, bright green stuff?…

This is the pureed fresh spinach, mixed with sauteed mushrooms and garlic to be added to the risotto to create this:

It was amazingly rich and delicious.

Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. — Hippocrates, father of medicine, 431 B.C.

A long time ago, Hippocrates knew more than most people understand now.  You are what you eat.  Your health, vitality, energy, skin, hair, disposition and outlook are all directly related to what you put in your mouth.

People are looking for the quick fix, the pill, the super food to overcome all the crap they put in their mouths.  It does not exist.  You have to be responsible for your choices.  You have a choice each and every day about what you put in your mouths.

I have heard people say, “Heck, I’m gonna die anyway, so why not die happy.”  That is justification for a big steak, baked potato with butter, sour cream, cheese and bacon, and maybe a few carrots for decoration.  And, then when the heart attack comes, they utter, “Why me?”

Your body, your choice.  Be healthy or destroy your body by eating processed, fatty, cholesteral laden foods that will kill you one way or another.   Eat to live.  Enjoy your families and friends.  Enjoy your high energy levels and trim figures that allow you to do more.  Enjoy the glow you have from eating healthy foods, instead of the pallor, obese body, labored breathing, and exhaustion your body feels from eating badly.

It’s a new year and you have a choice.

Some people dream of new cars, new televisions, new clothes.  I dream of spinach.  Being a foodie, a healthy foodie that is, I dream of new recipes and new ways to enjoy my favorite foods.  I just returned from a trip to the States, due to elderly parents with health problems.  I ate lots of spinach…

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Every day I read articles about how nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables can protect you from illnesses or decrease symptoms of diseases such as cancers, diabetes, MS, etc.   Every day I read articles about how eating dairy and meat  can cause health problems.  Why are people so determined to be unhealthy, just to please their palates?  That makes an assumption that eating a plant-based diet is not satisfying.  On the contrary, eating a plant-based diet makes the palate sing with delight and increases the well-being, health, energy and positive vibes of the body.

“The vast majority of all cancers, cardiovascular diseases,
and other forms of degenerative illness can be prevented
simply by adopting a plant-based diet.”

T. COLIN CAMPBELL, Ph.D.,
former Senior Science Advisor to the American Institute for Cancer Research
Director, Cornell-China-Oxford Project on Nutrition, Health and Environment 1983-1990

“An unrefined plant-based diet, together with
appropriate exercise consistently followed,
would eliminate most of the degenerative
diseases that curse our western world.”

RAY FOSTER, M.D., FACS

Yes, casseroles are in.  But, only if they are healthy.  This tempeh, potato casserole with spinach and mushroom miso gravy is all that.

Sometimes we long for the traditional flavors of carnivorous memories.  My kids wanted something resembling celebrations of the long past.  So, I created this casserole, which was trumpeted as a success by all.

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