the green monster

it's been so hard to get this post written. the distractions have been numerous in Boston this week. hard to think of yourself in a time like this. i held my kids (8 and 4) extra tight this week. my heart goes out to the families that have been hurt by the Boston Marathon bombs.

juicing

i love juicing lately. quick, fun, easy. and these juices are not to be confused with the bottled juices at the food store.  like cran-this or juicy-that.  do you know how much sugar is added to those? do you know how much actual fruit is not? gosh well when we make our own here in our zesty kitchen we can control everything. my control diminishes of course when the kids are in the kitchen :)

juices are a great way to consume your fruits and vegetables and to help you add some amazing super foods into your diet. i'm not talking a fruit here and a vegetable there. i guess you have to be a juicer to know but in each 16 ounce mason jar of homemade juice is like a half a head of greens, 2-3 vegetables, and 2 pieces of fruit.  if you were to sit and try to eat all that you would be extremely full or may not even finish. but in a juice it's down the hatch in minutes. the reason is that during juicing the pulp is pulled out. the pulp is the cell walls of the veggie or fruit. the fiber lives here but none of the vitamins and nutrients. without the pulp you can consume more. and without the pulp the good stuff from your juice can be absorbed into your body faster for immediate use.

juicing can not be confused with smoothies. i make those too but the result is different. you cannot get the volume of fruits and veggies in a smoothie that you can in juicing. and the equipment is different. juicer vs blender. however you can still get a juice out of a blender if you really want to. just blend and strain! probably more difficult than a juicer but doable. um let me know how this turns out because i've never actually tried it!

now i mentioned fun above. and it's serious fun. even my kids get into it. i'll wash and cut an array of fruits and veggies and let them create their own concoction. the brighter the beverage the better! even more? they drink it! sometimes the best juices i come up with are discovered in this way too. for high flavor, my favorite additions to juices are ginger, lemon peel, and cayenne!

the green monster
**there may be other "green monster" juice recipes out there but i simply can't not name this as such.
*organic only!

• 1/2 head (2 cups) hydroponic spinach leaves and stems washed
• 4-5 kale leaves and stems washed
• 1/2 cucumber washed
• 2 green apples washed and cut. no stems
• 1/2 lemon with peel

1. wash all veggies and fruits even though they are organic. i like to fill a big bowl with water and just let everything float around in there for about 10 minutes. most dirt will fall off. pull the ingredients out and let dry on some dish towels.
2. cut the apple into pieces that fit into your juicer chute. no stems.
3. feed the greens first. then follow with the rest in any order.

if this is your first juice, be open-minded. drink more than one sip. by sip 3 you will love this!

enjoy - j

vegetarian to vegan - 5 lil dairy swaps

as i recall, going vegetarian was so simple. just don't eat meat. since i already loved fruits and veggies so very much it wasn't like i was looking for something to eat at any moment in time. there was plenty to eat, and once i started investigating there were so many fun and new ways i could prepare my beloved fruits and veggies.

now going vegan seems to me not simple and completely complicated. no dairy? that stuff is in everything! i drank my coffee in the morning with cream. i have cereal from time to time. i'm quite fond of bread with butter. i like (need) pizza in my life. and i bake...a lot. not sure i can even imagine a world without cupcakes.

still i wanted to take the plunge. and these are the 5 dairy swaps i made to get it done.

the cream substitute
there are several non-dairy creamer options. the obvious choice would be a soy creamer but i found it let a funky taste and never actually creamified my coffee or tea. the color always remained too dark and the coffee therefore too bitter. i finally found the So Delicious coconut creamer. it's heaven. so creamy but not sweet. believe it or not it doesn't impart any coconut flavor which i think is a great quality. this is my choice in this category and i must say i prefer it to dairy creamer now.

the milk substitute
i guess the truth is i have been opting for soy, almond, or coconut milk for a while. a half gallon here a half gallon there but just for me and mostly just to drink or have in cereal. but now that i am sincerely omitting milk (even in some of my kids foods) i buy these different milk varieties (some people call them mylk) in what used to be the powdered milk section of the food store. little cartons of each kind since they last in the cupboard for some time. i choose to buy these unsweetened, unflavored but if you and your family are new to these milks try the vanilla flavor. if  you can try not to get the sweetened as these have tons of sugar!

the butter substitute

do no choose margarine! it's bad for you. however Earth Balance makes many healthy options for buttery spreads. the flavor is there and the spreadability is there. Earth Balance is also made in sticks both salted and unsalted so the product can be used for baking too! Earth Balance is my only go-to here.

the cheese substitute
there are cheese substitutes everywhere these days. i've been buying and been happy with the Go Veggie brand. however i did just discover that it still contains casein which is a dairy product and therefore this cheese isn't vegan! Daiya is a very popular brand sold at places like Wholefoods. more expensive yes. but worth it! alternatively you can make your own. ok i have not thought for a minute that i am talented enough to try that in the kitchen. but there are cookbooks on this topic and therefore i can see this being a post in the future. jess tries for the cheese!

the egg substitute
for scrambled eggs you will have to try a tofu scramble. mostly veggies, some crumbled up extra firm tofu and seasonings most specifically turmeric. it helps give it the egg color plus a savory flavor. oh and turmeric is a great anti-inflammatory! bring on the tofu scramble.

for eggs in your baking you will again be faced with options. at the food store they sell egg replacer. i have Bob's Red Mill in my cabinet. you can also make your own by mixing ground white chia seeds with water or ground flax seeds with water.  both mixes get thick and sticky when you let them sit making for the perfect binding agent.

there you have it! no excuses. unless your excuses are that you don't want to be vegan. which is of course fine. but i urge you to try one or two of these options. even decreasing  your meat and dairy intake a little is great for your health and the environment!

be well and be vegan! - j

tamari-peanut sauce over chinese-spiced veggies

eating the right foods can improve your health. this thought was planted in my head several years ago with a cookbook my mom gifted to me one christmas. it's called a life in balance and it's written by meg wolfe. her story is one of overcoming cancer by eating a vegan diet. many recipes in her book call for shoyu. as i researched macrobiotic diets and read the kind diet by alicia silverstone i found many more recipes with shoyu as an ingredient. i knew there had to be a healthy reason why!

turns out shoyu (mostly labeled tamari these days) is a healthy addition to your diet. shoyu is rich in minerals and antioxidants. it has great enzymes that aid in the digestion of your food especially veggies and grains. and because it's fermented it contains live organisms like lactobacillus. this is a good bacteria that we want living in our gut and intestinal tract. it's bacteria that can be lacking in vegans because we don't eat yogurt and cheese. so we should add shoyu/tamari, kimchi, pickles, and beer and wine (!) to our diet. beer and wine in moderation of course:) in addition this lactobacillus has been studied and is shown to have anti-cancer, anti-tumor, and anti-inflammatory properties. anti-inflammatory! you all know how i feel about that. it's key to defending my body from further autoimmune damage.

bring on the shoyu! but look for natural organic brands. other common brands can be unfermented and therefore get their flavor from a chemical process. natural is good - chemical is bad.

tamari-peanut sauce over chinese-spiced veggies

• 1/4 cup chunky natural peanut butter
  
• 2 Tbsp of natural tamari
• 1 tsp sriracha
• 1 Tbsp honey (raw sugar for the strict vegan)
• 1 tsp freshly minced ginger
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1/2 lime juiced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion sliced
• 1 carrot sliced
• 1 celery stalk sliced
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 1 tsp chinese 5 spice powder

1. whisk together the first 7 ingredients or pulse in a small food processor. set aside.
2. in a medium sized skillet heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. sauté the onion, carrot, and celery for about 5 minutes. add the broccoli florets and saute 1 minute. add water and 5 spice power. stir then cover for 3 minutes. take off cover and let the rest of the water evap off.
3. serve vegetables topped with the peanut sauce. for my kids and hubby this is a great side dish. i love to add the veggies to some soba noodles and then top both with the sauce. this makes a great main dish for vegans and for me!

eat well! - j

when the yogi needs yoga

i may have had a lot on my plate last week. i think i was stressed. my son was starting spring sports (dos sports this year). my daughter was having tubes put in her ears (4th set). i was going back to work after 2 months off for my treatments. ok i was definitely stressed. then the catalyst..i spilled sony's ear drops.

at that point profanities definitely came out of my mouth and tears spilled forth. breathe in...breathe out... i needed meditation or yoga. a quick glance at the clock and i knew i had just missed the morning session at my local studio The Yoga Tree. thank goodness these days there are yoga/meditation options when you find yourself in just such a jamb.

publications

i subscribe to Yoga Journal. there are always a few yoga poses to try, sequences to follow right in your own home. sometimes just reading an article in that magazine is enough to relax the mind and start me on the path of de-stress.

apps

i just downloaded an app called Daily Yoga. it consists of training sessions (some free, some for $), a pose library, yoga music (for the freestyle yogi) and more. i also have an app on my phone for meditation. it's called Simply Being. you choose the length of time you wish to meditate for and other specifics like whether you want music to accompany the voice that guides you or perhaps nature sounds. both you can find at the app store.

podcasts

podcasts only provide you with an audio, but it's easy to listen and follow if you are familiar with yoga poses and terminology. my girl julie and i would do 20-40 minutes of yoga at lunch together. she had these great podcasts from yogadownload.com and they were just perfect for a quickie yoga session.

this is where i am transported to when i do yoga!

online

now you can do yoga anywhere with a teacher! you can get unlimited yoga at yogaglo.com and myyogaonline.com for a very low monthly fee. both you can try for free for a trial period. at doyogawithme.com you can view and practice for free! not only is it free but i'm actually quite fond of the site. i find it easy to navigate and usually find exactly what i am looking for.

on this particularly stressful day last week, still with tears in my eyes, i rolled out my mat, flipped open my laptop and looked to doyogawithme for the cure. i chose "reclaiming your joy" and it was perfect. the practice is led by nicki jones and she does a phenomenal job at guiding you through hip and heart openers. nicki also has a kind and believable voice that is easy to focus on throughout the practice.

at the end of the 60 minute session i smiled to myself, happy to be me, happy to have given myself the time to practice. i felt warm and blissful. the stress from 60 minutes prior was a distant memory. yoga is so much more powerful than stress.

namaste - j