Category Archives: veganism

Eat Your Books

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My Home | Eat Your Books.

Do you ever spend hours searching through all your cookbooks for a good recipe to use the turnip greens that came from the coop this week?  Well, I just discovered this website which is a step in the right direction.  Basically, you can make a list of the cookbooks you have and type an ingredient, and it will look through the indexes of them and pull up all the recipes with said ingredient.

As I said it is a step in the right direction as it has some limitations.  First of all, it doesn’t actually have the recipe (probably can’t get the rights to it, and you are supposed to own the recipe).  Also, it doesn’t tell you the page number. I find that a bit annoying as I have to then look them up in the cookbook instead of flipping right to the page.  Finally, I found that it wasn’t a complete index.  I looked up something, Mizuna perhaps, and Eat your Books came up with one or two recipes whereas the index of  my copy of ‘Wild About Greens’ lists more than 10.

 

On the positive side, it seems to have a good collection of books – it had all my random whole foods plant based books.  Also, you can add up to 5 books with a free account.

 

In spite of the drawbacks, I do recommend it as it is still quicker than looking up ingredients in each of your books.  However, I do hope they will at least add page numbers to their listings in the future.

Vegan Goldfish Crackers – Chef Chloe – Vegan Cooking and Recipes

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Vegan Goldfish Crackers – Chef Chloe – Vegan Cooking and Recipes.

 

Just came across this, and it seemed too cute NOT to share.  I haven’t even tried it yet, but if the kids like it, I may be splurging for a goldfish cookie cutter as well (but not sure I have the patience to cut them all out!

Healthy Kids Lunch

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Packing lunch for the kids is always a bit stressful.  I even bought 2 of the Vegan Lunch Box books for ideas.  However, I have found that I don’t have the energy to prepare yet another meal for lunch.  What works for me now is kind of a leftover/snacky approach.  Part of the issue is that one of my kids doesn’t like sandwiches  otherwise they would get peanut butter and jelly every day.   What you see in this photo is fairly typical and quite popular with the kids.  I wrap the tofu dogs in some pre-bought dough and stick them in the toaster (idea from Vegan Lunch box) and I microwaved an ear of corn and sliced into wheels (also inspired by Vegan Lunch Box).  I included some of the Energy Bars from Dr. Furhman (one of our family’s favorite treats with dates, nuts and cocoa powder).  Then I top it off with raw fruits and veggies.  I also have food jars which I fill with dinner leftovers several times a week (soup, rice or pasta dishes, etc).  While I still feel a bit rushed and stress in the morning, these lunches don’t require much planning as I can just keep certain supplies in stock and fill their boxes with whatever is available on a given day, and, best of  all, the kids like it!

typical school lunch

Bread frustrations

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There are two areas in my life where I frequently feel like a complete failure. Number one is getting my kids to bed and number two is baking bread.

Me and the bread have a long history of ups and downs. In my younger days, it seemed like such fun thing, but I never could get a decent loaf on my own until I got a bread maker. I loved the simplicity and waking up to the smell of fresh bread. However, I detested the crusts and then resorted to doing all the prep in the machine but baking in the oven with good results. Then I moved to Kosovo and I couldn’t take the bread maker with me.

When I lived in Kosovo, I felt it was a necessity because there was only one kind of white bread available. Once again, I was unable to have success with yeast breads, so I turned to all manners of quick breads and decided I didn’t need to deal with yeast. Next I moved to Germany, and there was such a variety of whole grain breads available that I decided there was no point to go through the effort.

At my Thermomix demonstration, the rep made rolls by grinding while wheat and spelt grains, using fresh yeast, and the whole thing was done in just 30 minutes. I thought, now I have my answer, and I entered a big bread kick using Thermomix recipes. Fortunately most have turned out quite well, but now I have added the challenge of trying to use all whole grains, and I am meeting very mixed success.

It seems sometimes I get a perfect loaf, but half the time it is a failure and I can’t figure out how to guarantee success – especially if I use all whole grains. For example, yesterday I used a recipe which has made perfect sandwich bad in the past, but yesterday it didn’t rise at all (now I have learned I can just make crackers with that). Today I tried a recipe with a soaker and a sponge (I read somewhere that soaker whole grain wheat overnight before baking is supposed to help, and I even added several tablespoons of vital wheat gluten hoping to help), but no matter how much flour I added, the dough was so sticky that I couldn’t shape a loaf. I know I can keep adding flour, and that is what I usually do, but I have also read that the most common novice bread maker mistake is to add too much. It seems I need to usually add about double the called for flour get the right consistency, and I know I shouldn’t add that much.

I’ve decided I need to go to a bread making course to be able to witness and feel the proper dough consistencies, but living in Germany, I have no idea how to go about it. Plus, I am getting tired of trying with bread. I keep reading that it shouldn’t be hard, and I should be able to make much healthier and cheaper bread. So what is my problem? Does anyone have any secrets to baking whole grain bread? I am tired of experimenting and just want to have some success!!!

Homemade Almond Milk

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Well, I may be the last one to try it, but I finally made my own almond milk.  Everyone keeps telling me how easy it is, and I hate paying the 3.99 euro per liter, but I didn’t feel like soaking almonds overnight or blanching almonds.  Then I found blanched almonds for the same price as regular almonds at Goll Reformhaus.  (Which reminds me of a questions for those in the know – are all items at the ‘Reformhaus’ bio?  It doesn’t say on the package.)
I mixed 200 g almonds, 600 g of water, 4 dates and a splash of vanilla on high in my Thermomix for 2 minutes, and then I poured it into a nut milk bag (or cheese bag) that I found on Amazon.de.  It seems that sweeteners, flavours, blanching and straining are just a matter of preference.  People make the milk many different ways, and you could just mix raw almonds and milk and drink, but all the variations are for personal preference for flavour and consistency.  However, most recipes using whole almonds do suggest soaking them first. From the pictures, you can see how I set the bag up over a bowl.  After I poured the mixture in, some drained through the bag and then I squeezed the bag to get the remaining liquid out.  Then I was left with some pulp.  There are a few recipes out there for using the pulp as well.  I plan to try the cookies from Choosing Raw.  (You can see pictures on the side, but I can’t see to format this post correctly so you can look at the captions to figure it out).

I will admit this was pretty easy, but I was disappointed to see how little almond milk it made.  It looks like about 2 cups.  The recipe says it makes 3, and I was able to squeeze a little more milk out, but now I am not sure that I am really saving any money this way since 200 g of bio almonds costs 3.50 euros at Der Leyenhof.  I will have to look at my package of store-bought milk to see if it has anything else added because now the only advantage I see to making it is to stick to more whole food ingredients, but I have to admit I am not sure it is worth making it myself. I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences!

Almond Milk

Leftover Almond Pulp

Blanched Almonds

Nut Milk Bag

Review of ‘Disease Proof Your Child’ by Joel Fuhrman

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Well, most of you know I am already a fan of Fuhrman so perhaps you won’t consider this an unbiased review.  In fact, I should probably call this an ‘endorsement’ rather than a ‘review’!  I have been talking non-stop about it with everyone I know, so I figure it is time for me to write something about it.

To be honest, I didn’t find too much new information.  The beginning of the book is almost a synopsis of ‘The China Study’ but scarier.  In ‘The China Study’ one feels hope that by eating healthier you can defeat all diseases, but in ‘Disease Proof’ one can feel doomed as so many diseases seem to be tied to childhood diet.  If this is your first time coming across this information, it could be quite depressing, but it demonstrates the importance of not taking lightly what we feed our children.

The real reason I like to endorse this book is because of the practical information on how to feed kids, and I think EVERYONE with children should read this!!  The most important message I walked away with is that we should seek to expose our children to as much healthy food as possible.  To do this, we should keep only healthy foods in our house – that means no sugars, white flours or processed food.  Once you have a house full of whole foods, you don’t need to stress about what the kids eat when they go into the kitchen to forage.  If you have no ‘off limits’ foods in your house, the kids aren’t tempted by ‘forbidden fruits’.  To further encourage healthy eating, most of what the child consumes should be this kind of home food.  Therefore, limit meals out and pack the kids’ lunches.  When you follow these steps, you don’t need to worry about the occasional ‘forbidden fruits’ that your children will be exposed to.  I also find this much less stressful than saying, ‘no more gummi bears’.  When my child gets the gummi bears at school or at the pharmacy, at least I know that 90% of what she eats is packed of nutrition.

This book also gives helpful information for eating during pregnancy, first foods for babies, dealing with teenagers and a 10 day  menu plan.  I haven’t ever followed any of Fuhrman’s menu plans completely because I find it hard to get all the foods at the same time (I think that we are more seasonally limited in our food selection here in Germany).

I must admit, I don’t really like all of his super healthy recipes.  I have had some amazing recipes (the Chocolate Date Pop-ems! in Eat for Health), but salads with banana salad dressing are a bit much.  It seems that he has put fruit in just about everything to sweeten it – apricots in the rice, apples in the tomato soup.  Some recipes sound so weird I am afraid to try them (peach lentil soup?!).  Also, he is not strictly vegan, so some of the recipes have meat or egg whites.  I am fine with that except that I find it easier not to have any animal products in the house and have that be one of the things the kids can have when we are out.  He also uses vegan cheeses occasionally which are hard to get here and I would rather stay away from.

So, in spite of the scary bits and so-so recipes, I still recommend this book because I believe the information in it is so important and helpful for parents.  Get your copy today!

Great Idea for Hot Summer Days

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Happy 4th of July!  Thinking of hot summer days, I wanted a healthier way to help the kids cool down.  I found these great popsicle containers at Tchibo:

4 Silikon-Wassereisbereiter 284423 bei Tchibo.

Now I can put in some all natural fruit juice or even smoothies or healthy, vegan ice creams.  The kids love it, and I don’t feel guilty about giving them.

I love these particular holders because they are a lot less messier than the traditional stick ones as the dripping and drops are more contained.  Also, you don’t have to worry about keeping up with the sticks and it is easier to make a variety of quantities rather than having to make a whole set at a time.  For example, I had some leftover smoothie from breakfast, so I simply poured it into one of these.

 

If you are in Germany, get them while they are out as you know they will disappear…

Blended Salads

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Well, I keep reading about blended salads and thought I should try one, but to be honest, it didn’t really sound too appealing, so I haven’t had the gumption to try.  What IS a blended salad you may ask.  Basically it is a green smoothie but more ‘salady’ than ‘fruity’.  I enjoy green smoothies, so obviously a blended salad shouldn’t be a big jump for me, but…

This morning I felt the need for some detox since my kids went to a party at McDonald’s last night and I finished both of their hamburgers since I felt bad for the hostess.  I thought a blended salad might be the nutritional goodness to counteract my dip into the dark side. I had a recipe from Dr. Fuhrman called, ‘Creamy Greeny Blended Salad’.  It calls for 4 ounces of baby spinach, 4 cups of romaine, 1/4 cup of pecans, 1/3 cup soy milk and 7 dates (all thrown in blender).

Pecans are hard to come by in Germany, so I threw in walnuts instead.  I didn’t have any baby spinach or Romaine on hand, but I had one of those plastic containers of the mixed green salads, and I wanted to use those.  I calculated that Fuhrman’s greens were about 200 grams total and about the same in one of those packages which also happens to be the amount to fill my Thermomix.  Obviously, your choice of greens can really affect the end flavor.  The mixed greens tend to be stronger flavors which is why I usually enjoy them, but I really wasn’t sure how well it would work with soy milk and dates or whether the flavor would be overpowering blended as a drink.

Well, I tossed everything in my Thermomix and, within less than 30 seconds, it had blended down to an amount less than one of my regular drinking glasses.  My first thought was amazement that the same amount of lettuce which could feed my whole family (and then some!) could be so condensed.  Then I puckered up and took a sip, and it was . . .. enjoyable!  I really liked it.  It definitely took on the tastes of the lettuce with a sweeter, creamy flavor, but it works.

Dr. Furhman recommends that we eat a salad as at least one meal every day.  I think this blended salad is a wonderful way to help meet that goal.  I especially like that it allows you to eat much more greens than you normally would.  I probably slurped down that salad in less than 2 minutes, and normally it would have taken me an hour to eat the equivalent amount of lettuce.  However, I doubt I have ever eaten the same amount of greens in one sitting, so that is even a better reason to try it.  Another advantage is that it is even quicker to make than a salad – another lame excuse I have for not eating as many salads as I should because I don’t feel like cutting up vegetables.  Also, you don’t have to add any dressing with added fats since the flavor IS the salad.

I will definitely try to incorporate these into my diet once or twice a week.  It think it made a very nice breakfast because of the sweetness.  I highly recommend you try it as well.  If you are worried about strong flavors, you may want to start with Fuhrman’s recommendation of baby spinach and romaine as they are milder tastes (and romaine is a surprising power horse), but it is worth experimenting with.