Oil – Harmful or Helpful?

May 30, 2012 · Filed under Ideas & Inspiration · Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Photo courtesy of: http://www.heatheronhertravels.com/

It dawned on me that I’ve been bouncing between the ideas of three different diets and nutritional lifestyles. When it comes to the idea of oil, each diet is different. Oil has been a conditioned staple and part of my cooking process FOREVER, so the idea of giving up oil for optimal health has been a bit of a struggle for me. I wasn’t ready to hear or accept why I should. But I finally grasp why it is important to avoid oil and I gathered a bit of information below that helps me to better understand the “WHY” and if it helps me, I hope it will help you, too.

One of the diets I like, the raw food diet, happens to be very high in fat and oil, It seems the raw foodists are turning up their noses at the advice of nutritional scientists and doctors regarding how much fat we actually require. The other diet, the general vegan diet just avoids animal products (for that alone, I am a huge fan) but for many it remains an unhealthy diet filled with sugar, processed food, fat and oil as part of an everyday menu. But the whole foods plant based diet is totally scientific, optimal health focused and does not condone sugar, processed foods or oil at all!  No oil. ZIP. This is the ultimate healthy diet in my opinion and in the opinion of many modern nutritional scientists. This is what I strive for. I love raw foods but I accept that I will never be 100% raw. I love to cook. I find myself eating mostly raw all day long and cooking a vegan/plant based dinner in the evening. This is my happy place right now. Cooking food is just fine and you can reach all of your health goals with cooked foods too, no matter what the raw food community tries to tell you.

The WFPBD is the diet I have studied more prominently and became certified in through the T. Colin Campbell foundation. But, I find that I still try to make my way through the opposing studies, one side saying oils such as coconut oil, olive oil, flax oil and hemp oil etc… have health benefits and the other side saying they have nothing to offer but premature aging, blood vessel damage and added fat onto our thighs to name a few things. I’m trying to figure out if I can still partake with a tiny bit of oil because I have no known health risks or if I should just steer clear.  So here we go….

How oil consumption is harmful

First, I must point out the obvious, oil is 100% FAT. Period. Extremely high in calories and every one of them = pure fat!

Oil has zero fiber which would otherwise help ease this fat into our system. Instead it gets dumped in and it messes with our pancreas. So in other words, extra fat in our diet especially in the form of oil, lends a very big hand to diabetes and offers us a very good chance of some form of a sugar metabolic disorder.

“It’s rather simple but as everyone knows, oil is a lubricant, oil coats things and if there’s more fat in our bloodstream than we’re designed to handle, it not only coats the blood sugar molecule, it also coats the insulin. Well, when the insulin is coated and the sugar is coated, it’s very hard for the insulin to link up with the sugar. They don’t recognize each other. Not only that, but the portal where sugar exits the bloodstream becomes clogged with fat, so it’s hard for sugar to get out again. Well, the blood sugar level continues to rise and eventually, more insulin is produced and the insulin’s job is to find sugar. So, eventually it’s going to, but now there’s twice as much or three times as much insulin in the bloodstream as there is supposed to be and eventually your blood sugar crashes.

~Dr. Doug Graham, Author of The 80-10-10 Raw Foods Diet (Interview with Natural News.com)

The average American, eating roughly 40 percent of his calories from fat when the world authorities are recommending 10 percent as a maximum. And if we keep doing that we will all become diabetics. The raw fooders, I thought, we’re doing far better until I started keeping track, and after interviewing about 5000 raw fooders, I feel pretty comfortable in giving averages, and the average raw fooder consumes 65 to 70 percent of their calories from fat.”

~Dr. Doug Graham, Author of The 80-10-10 Raw Foods Diet (Interview with Natural News.com)

When oil enters into our stomachs, due to it’s condensed nature and lack of fiber, the receptors and regulators, namely the Hypothalamus, are not properly informed. Our stomach’s stretch receptors are not triggered properly and neither are our body’s nutrition receptors (think toxic hunger). Both can cause us to over eat.

Free Radicals

When oil is heated, it becomes denatured, oxidized, and rancid. Oils increase our need for Vitamin E and Antioxidants because of the free radicals they produce and free radical damage such as premature aging, cancer and disease result along with deficient levels of Vitamin E. Free radicals attack our cells and tissues setting the stage for cancer, and initiate the buildup of plaque in our blood vessels by triggering mutations of our cells DNA/RNA strands. Free radicals also set us up for auto-immune diseases like arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease, Alzheimer’s and Cataracts.

“Excess consumption of vegetable oils is especially damaging to the reproductive organs and the lungs—both of which are sites for huge increases in cancer in the US.”- Dr. G, All about Wellness, Blog

“Every mouthful of oils and animal products, including dairy foods, initiates an assault on these [cell] membranes and, therefore, on the cells they protect. These foods produce a cascade of free radicals in our bodies, especially harmful chemical substances that induce metabolic injuries from which there is only a partial recovery. Year after year, the effects accumulate. And eventually, the cumulative cell injury is great enough to become obvious, to express itself as what physicians define as disease. Plants and grains do not induce the deadly cascade of free radicals. Even better, in fact, they carry an antidote. Unlike oils and animal products, they contain antioxidants, which help to neutralize the free radicals and also, recent research suggests, may provide considerable protection against cancers.”

~ Dr. Esselstyn, page 38 of “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease”

Fat

Polyunsaturated fat although deemed the healthier fat, still has the potential to turn into saturated fat in our bodies.

Fat, no matter the type, in excess, can be stored on our butts, thighs and hips etc. Be careful with supplementation of things like Omega 3.

We require as little as 10% of our total calories to come from fat. Yet the standard American Diet consumes an average of 40% fat and the raw food dieters can consume up to 70%!

Fat stimulates the production of hormones. If we want to avoid hormone related cancers, diabetes and disease etc… it is important to stick to a low fat plant based diet.

The more fat a person consumes, the more competition there is for the enzymes that convert ALA to DHA (Omega 3) therefore causing an Omega 3 deficiency.

A high fat diet consisting of oils (including and especially fish oil supplements) seriously increases Vitamin E deficiency. This is due to the free radical damage promoted by the oil and our body’s requirement of antioxidants and Vitamin E to fix the problem.

I would have to agree with Dr. Doug Lisle who believes that the leading cause of weight gain is oil. Consider apples which are 300 calories a pound.  Oil is 4000 calories a pound. Oil is everywhere in the standard American diet!

As a woman, I particularly agree with this next quote:

“Here is the reality for breast cancer patients. Most breast cancers are estrogen positive, and most women receive treatment for their cancer that an increasing number of doctors are starting to acknowledge is overkill.

Estrogen levels are easily lowered for most women by consuming a low-fat, high-fiber plant based diet, exercising, and by achieving and maintaining optimal weight and body composition. Women should be given this information both as a means of preventing breast cancer, and certainly as a primary means for preventing recurrence. Dietary excellence and optimal habits are considerably more effective than tamoxifen without the negative side effects.” 

~ Pam Popper, ND

Can oil consumption be helpful?

After reading the above information, it’s hard to see what could be helpful about oil at all. It just seems much more beneficial to eat the whole food with fiber and antioxidants intact.

Having attended Dr. Gabriel Cousens’ spiritual nutrition workshop and reading about the health benefits of coconut oil and other oils around the internet, it’s easy to be left confused.

If there are any healthful properties or phyto-nutrients in oil, they are certainly destroyed with cooking. Oil should be consumed raw, cold pressed and never refined if it ever is to be consumed. What took me a while to realize when comparing raw food diets to the other diets and what makes the oil different for each diet is cooking the oil versus not cooking it. However, oil is still pure fat and very high in calories. The only way I see it being beneficial is if you are an extremely high oxidizer and require more energy as fuel. As long as you know you are going to burn it, you may need the extra fat in your diet.

Olive oil supposedly lowers blood pressure and cholesterol and coconut oil has a million healthful properties. Oils such as hemp, and walnut have high vitamin E which are better because the other types of oils rob our bodies of vitamin E. Flax oil is very great for Omega 3 but low in vitamin E which makes for a short shelf life (oil and ground seeds). It still makes more sense to add a scoop of ground flax, the whole food, to your morning breakfast rather than coat a salad in just the fat. I personally prefer Chia seeds for Omega 3 along with their hydrating properties and amino acid content.

So, where am I now in all of this?

I get it! I have cut back drastically on oil and fat. Oil has pro inflammatory properties. I can feel the difference and see a difference in my skin. Yet I still don’t see giving up oil 100% at this time. But as far as cutting drastically back on oil, it’s a conscious transition and an effort. I have no health issues that I know of and I am not trying to lose any weight. I do however want to avoid diabetes which runs in the family and I never want to experience breast cancer. Also, who wants to pre-maturely age? So I am cutting out the excess fat and as much oil as I possibly can. I am reading the labels as I always have and avoiding added oils. If I cook with oil, it’s mostly coconut oil sometimes grape seed but I’m ditching the olive oil, especially for cooking. As you may realize this blog was started a long time ago, before I became certified in WFPBN. There are recipes on this blog of varying kinds including those with oils and processed vegan foods with healthier and healthier recipes to come as I have grown on my journey.

If we try our best to avoid oil, we won’t feel as guilty when we happen to find ourselves enjoying it, in say a raw dessert for example. This is my view anyway. Rip Esselstyn said in his Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue DVD, something along the lines of…  after you avoid oil for a while and experience it again, it just tastes like man made goo. This has not happened to me yet. If you are one to adhere to a strict whole foods plant based diet with zero oil, awesome! It should be the goal for us all. You might have even learned of this diet while being lucky enough to skip over the other diets which taught me and plenty of others bad habits. Your life may depend on avoiding oil, especially if you are overcoming illness, so keep up the amazing health crusade!

People generally don’t know how to moderate very well, that is why I feel oil is not recommended at all whatsoever for a whole foods plant based diet. What is a little oil to one person is a lot to another and vice versa. And it would most likely be cooked which is a bad idea. And don’t forget, we are talking about a lot of seriously ill people that a WFPBD is trying to fix. I like to believe that I have a handle on the oil. Lol… sure, right, don’t we all?  Would I recommend oil to you for your daily diet. Nope. I wouldn’t. But if you partake every now and then like me, I guess we are all just eating at our own risk. So do what you will with this information. I hope it at least convinces you to cut WAY BACK on the oil.

I will be sharing some good ideas to help you cut back on oil in my next blog post. So keep a look out for it.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the journey!

~The Karmatarian

Some great articles and references for this post:

Dr. Doug Graham – The 80-10-10 Raw Foods Diet and How Much Fat to Eat (Part 2)

Patient information – Health Benefits Of Oils

Coconut Oil Benefits: When Fat Is Good For You

Dangers of Vegetable Oils

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Irma’s Vegan Pan-Crepes (with The Vegg)

May 17, 2012 · Filed under Breakfast, Fabu-less Recipes, Random Reviews · Tagged , , , , , ,

There’s a fun new product out there called The Vegg. Have you heard of it? It’s Vegan egg yolk!!! I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. The simple ingredients that make up The Vegg are also low-fat-plant-based-diet approved! When I got my hands on the new Vegg I wanted to try to re-create the toughest recipe I could think of. Irma’s pancakes. Or what I like to call Irma’s pan-crepes.

Sweet, sweet Irma. Everyone should be so lucky to have an Irma in their life! Imagine having a high school best friend and always hanging out at their house after school. Your best friend’s mom becomes like your second mom and she is super cute, super sweet, loving, kind and nurturing. But one other thing, she has a strong and adorable Peruvian accent which makes it all a bit more interesting. It’s a small language barrier, because you don’t speak that language! However, as you know, there just happens to be couple of languages that we ALL speak… Love and Food!

The first thing Irma will do is offer you something to eat. Scratch that, she will insist that you sit down eat something and she will go right into that kitchen of hers and cook you up something great! This is her love language. And this, you just have to accept. It’s certainly not hard to do. YUM!

It didn’t matter back then if it was vegan or not. It was filled with the intention of love and generosity and that’s all that mattered.

Because we didn’t know.

Now we do.

Anyway, this is my mom’s story. She grew up spending a lot of time over at her best friend Helen’s house and Helen’s wonderful mom Irma is like her second mom. Naturally, being related in all of this, Irma (Helen too) has known me since I was born! I have experienced first hand what has come to be an adopted tradition in our home. Irma’s pancakes. This is what my mom likes to call them.

Although, they are not pancakes. They are not an omelet either. And they are not really crepes. Think combination. Think eggy pancakes crepes. Think different and delicious!

The original Irma’s pancakes are made using mostly eggs, a tiny bit of flour, water and vanilla, sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with love. How in the hell do you veganize that!?! Needless to say, I hadn’t made these in a long long time. I thought these were history… until The Vegg happened.

The Vegg is essential for us vegan breakfast lovers! In my best Justin Timberlake… They’re bringing French toast back! There are so many fun things to make: scrambled eggs, hollandaise sauce, omelets, pancakes, quiche, eggs sunny side up. Yes, you read right. It’s really wild! Potato salad, egg salad, etc, etc… virtually any dish in which eggs were once required but you know better so you haven’t had them in a long time. There are endless creations to be made, and if you follow The Vegg on Facebook, you will be up to date with more fun recipes and great information.

The Vegg did not disappoint. In fact, my list is long of all the recipes I want to try with The Vegg. You will definitely see more of this product used in recipes on my blog. Better stock up!

I just hope Irma will be flattered to know that we love her pancakes so! She probably already does. I just truly hope she won’t mind that I veganized them. I know that it may be difficult for her generation to understand why I would want to and I don’t really expect her to grasp it at this point, but I know that her loving heart would agree that kindness to animals and planet and the absolute best thing for our health is to bring these up to date.

The next update will be a gluten-free version. My mom does much better on a gluten free diet, so you know I will tackle that next. I had to pick one challenge at a time here. This was enough for now. And I am happy to report, I rocked it! Thanks to The Vegg!


Irma’s Vegan Pan-Crepes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Cup of The Vegg that’s been pre-mixed using Plain Almond Milk
  • 1/2 Cup Organic All-Purpose Flour
  • 3/4 Cup, plus 2 Tablespoons Water
  • 1 + 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1/8 tsp plus a good pinch Himalayan Black Crystal Salt (Indian Kala Namak, fine ground)
  • Cooking Spray
  • Organic Powdered Sugar
  • Fruit for garnish/side
  • 8 inch non-stick skillet

Directions

Premix The Vegg according to package directions, but use plain almond milk in place of water.

Take the 1/2 Cup of The Vegg mixture and add it to a bowl, then add the remaining ingredients: flour, water, vanilla and black salt. Blend with a whisk until smooth or throw everything into your Vitamix. It works either way.

Pour this mixture into a container with a handle and spout such as a Pyrex measuring cup and refrigerate this mixture for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat an 8 inch non-stick skillet on medium-low heat.

Very lightly, spray the pan with cooking spray and pour a good grapefruit size portion of batter into the center of the pan (photos below). The trick is to get the right thickness. These are thicker than a crepe but not as thick as an omelet. You may have to play with it and you might even screw up the first one. Let’s hope not. After pouring in the batter, pick up the pan and rotate with your wrist to evenly distribute the batter to cover the entire bottom of the pan, just like you would if making a crepe or an omelet.

Then wait…..These take a bit to cook and you will see them start to shrink a bit, the edges will start to lift and the center will bubble a bit, and then you can flip it, BUT use your hands… that’s right, and do it fast, cuz these suckers are hot! I used a toothpick to delicately help me lift the edge a bit more, then I grabbed it with my fingertips using both hands and quickly flipped it over, you will see it bubble again. No need to cook this side long at all, maybe 30 seconds. Then gently fold over one side toward the middle and flip again to finish. Move the finished pan-crepe to a plate and use a lid to keep it warm or a warming drawer etc… while you make your next one.

When all of the pan-crepes are finished being created, you will probably want to reheat them slightly, sprinkle with powder sugar and serve. Don’t forget the side of fruit!

Note* You simply cannot make this recipe without The Vegg and the black salt. This gives it the egg like flavor and color. You may even want to use more black salt than I suggest. It’s all personal preference!

This recipe makes 8.

Enjoy!

~The Karmatarian

PS. I would love to hear about your family traditions! What is a family recipe that you have veganized or would love to try? Maybe it’s one that could really use The Vegg?

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Vitamix – The 411

May 10, 2012 · Filed under Appliance Review · Tagged , , , , , ,

I just created a page that I want to share with you. I absolutely love my Vitamix 5200 and I have been an affiliate for a while now. This means I can offer you FREE Shipping! Purchases made using my code also help to support this blog!

I put together my review along with many of the great reasons why you simply have to have one of these amazing health machines in your kitchen!

I  love promoting a healthy lifestyle and I really love that the Vitamix makes being healthy so EASY! I’ve been enjoying my Vitamix for about a year now and I am still discovering the cool things it can do!

Find out how you can get FREE Shipping and other goodies when you order your Vitamix using my unique affiliate code.

PLEASE CLICK HERE

Be sure to check out the demos! Please let me know your thoughts and questions. 

I  hope you are having a great day!

~The Karmatarian

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Gluten Free – Spinach and “Cheese” Lasagna Bites

May 4, 2012 · Filed under Fabu-less Recipes, Gluten Free, Main Dish, Uncategorized · Tagged , , ,

“Genetics account for a very small percentage of health issues – habits run in families and habits determine health outcomes” ~Pam Popper, Ph.D., N.D.

Recently, I heard about a nutritionist who ate vegan for many years and now claims that she developed diabetes because of it. She isn’t vegan anymore. I am very disappointed to hear this as this person, who is held in high regard by her clients, tells them what to eat, but shys away from telling them to omit animal products from their diet.

Omitting animal products can save lives and can reverse such things as type 2 diabetes. But you have to eat properly regarding the rest of your diet! Her deep rooted fear and negative experience is now rippling out and doing a lot of damage. She could very well be helping to cut some unlucky person’s life short! After discussing this with my former mentor from the T. Colin Campbell foundation, I felt better, but just a little. It was, however, good to talk with someone of sound mind.

We discussed the fact that ALL credible nutritional science points to a whole foods plant based diet for optimal health. A high fat diet and fat in our cells can help to trigger diabetes, which is why it is important to limit our fat and oil intake and reject sugar, refined, processed, and animal products.

This nutritionist is not admitting what her old diet consisted of, but I can place bets that it contained a lot of processed food, sugar and fat. Not to mention supplements and gimmicks. She happens to work in the “health store” industry. If she told us to eat our fruits and veggies and that all of our problems would disappear, as far as she is concerned, her business would disappear.

To quote myself and my famous phrase: Any diet can be a bad diet if you don’t understand nutrition, especially a vegan diet.

The moral of the story is, be careful who you seek advice from. Do they have ulterior motives? Are they healthy? What do they eat? Do they have a lot of stress in their lives? Finally, are they a person with positive or negative energy? If you notice the latter, RUN! Don’t give these people your time or money.

It’s important to find someone who’s ethics align with that of your own. You won’t do yourself any favors if you seek out someone who is all for meat and dairy if that’s not what you want to be recommended. Not many people including doctors and nutritionist have the will power to let food be thy medicine.

It would be wise not to talk to people who lack the ability to understand where you are coming from, or where you want to go. Don’t take advice from those who don’t have the will power themselves to seek out alternatives to their own problems. Look for mentors and advisers who are up to speed on latest nutritional science, who are of sound mind and have positive energy and will not project their own fears onto you. 

If there is a will, there is a way. Too often, people look for excuses and justification to give up. If you are not careful, you will attract this type of advice into your life which can totally ruin a good thing.

Nutrition can be a dense and hard topic made very simple with a whole foods plant based diet. The reality is, many people don’t want a simple answer to their problems, just as a lot of people don’t want to be drama free, even though they say they do. Life would be far too easy going. Who in the world would want that?!

There are two fantastic books are out about reversing and even curing Diabetes. They are a must read for you or a loved one that may be suffering from this disease. Visit my store to see these titles.

On to the recipe… This dish was fun and delicious! I made it for Easter. I think it could easily be made oil free by subbing water to make it more blend-able, maybe a little lemon juice? You’ll just have to play, because I did add oil to this one.

These are party friendly! My cousin made a similar recipe as stuffed shells, (she’s the one who gave me this idea, thanks D!) and it was a hit among everyone. But I can’t seem to find large gluten free pasta shells anywhere, and since I was bringing these for family who prefer a gluten free diet, lasagna bites they became.

There are no gobs of melted dairy cheese on top like in the days of old. Now it’s texture and flavor without all of that heavy fat and cholesterol.

Gluten Free – Spinach and “Cheese” Lasagna Bites

Ingredients

  • 2 Jars of your favorite Pasta Sauce
  • 1 Package of Tinkyada’s Gluten Free Lasagna Noodles
  • 1/2 – 1 Cup of Crushed Cashews

Cheese Filling

  •  2 Cups Soaked Cashews
  • 1 Cup Spinach. Use Frozen, Thawed and Squeezed of Excess Liquid
  • 3 Cloves of Garlic
  • 1 + 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1/4 Cup Plain Almond Milk
  • 3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp Dried Italian Herbs
  • 1Tbsp Agave
  • 1/3 Cup Fresh Chives
  • 1 Tsp Black Pepper
  • 1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
  • Sea Salt to taste

 Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Give the cashews, for the topping, a whiz around in the food processor, so that there are multiple textures, fine and chunky. Set aside.

Boil the Tinkyada noodles until done but still remaining firm. (For whatever reason I never boil this brand as long as the directions say, or they get too mushy.)

While the pasta is boiling, blend all of the ingredients for the cheese filling  *except the spinach* in a food processor until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings and salt if needed, then gently mix in the spinach by hand.

Layer the bottom of two 9 x 13 pans with a few spoonfuls of pasta sauce.

When the noodles are done remove them from the boiling water, drain and let them cool enough to touch. Take each noodle and cut it into thirds crosswise.

Fill each section with a spoonful of filling, roll and place seam side down. Line them up in two columns in the prepared 9 x 13 pan.

Cover with lots of pasta sauce and sprinkle each with crushed cashews, cover both pans with tin foil and bake for about 30 minutes, remove tinfoil and continue to bake 5 -7 minutes longer, until cashews are a light golden brown.

Enjoy!

~The Karmatarian

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Let’s Stay Together Veggie Burgers

April 28, 2012 · Filed under Fabu-less Recipes, It Can Be Gluten Free, Main Dish · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Let’s Stay Together Veggie Burgers

Lately, I have been experiencing some good kitchen mojo. Two recipes posted in one week!? Why not? Lucky me and lucky you!

Summer is coming, and you (and I) absolutely have to have a great veggie burger recipe. Trust me, I have been looking around the web for good recipes for a long time. Most disappoint in either texture or flavor and they always fall apart while cooking. Frustrating! I am sure that I’ve been looking in all the wrong places because the technique I use in this recipe, which I discovered is KEY for a stay-together burger, has to already be out there somewhere, I just never found it.

So in creating this amazing burger that retains it’s shape while cooking and is easily re-shapable if need be, I believe I found my new burger base! I have some good ideas for variations, which I can’t wait to try.

You can omit the oil and skip the frying. Just grill or bake and save yourself a few fat calories. However, I used one Tablespoon of oil, just barely enough to fry. My oven was already in use, see below, but when this weather heats up here, I’ll be grilling.

For a side dish, I cut up and oven roasted small red potatoes that I bathed in low sodium veggie broth and sprinkled with fresh rosemary.

Note: To make these gluten free, use gluten free oats. Omit the Worcestershire sauce and try using organic gluten free Tamari Soy sauce instead. Perhaps with ketchup instead of barbeque sauce.

Ingredients
1 Can of Dark Red Kidney Beans
3/4 Cup Frozen Veggie Medley, Thawed ( I used Organic Foursome from Trader Joe’s, with peas, corn, carrots and green beans)
1 C Short Grain Brown Rice
1/4 C Oats
2 Tbs Barbeque Sauce or to taste (No high fructose corn syrup. I used Trader Joe’s Bold and Smokey Kansas City Style)
Dash of Vegan Worcestershire Sauce (The Wizard’s brand)
Dash of Liquid Smoke
1/4 tsp  or more Minced Garlic (jarred or fresh)
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Sea Salt or to taste
1 Tbs Grape Seed Oil

Directions

Combine all of the ingredients, mix, taste and adjust the seasonings. You can do this and not die of E.coli poisoning… that’s the beautiful thing about plant based cooking! Anyway, spice these up how you like ‘em!

Take a potato masher and mash some of the red beans, just so you have a mix of texture in your burger

Then, take half of this mixture and put it into a food processor. Pulse, until well blended and mushy, but still with remaining texture. Add this back to the bowl with the other half of the mixture and blend well together. Now it should resemble raw ground turkey burgers or raw hamburger with veggies in it. Shape the mixture into patties and pan fry, grill or bake! Voila.

If your kids (like my little guy, who is going through an anti-bean phase) or significant other, hates beans, you can combine everything on the ingredient list but the beans, put half of the mixed ingredients into the food processor along with all of the beans and process (this way, you blend all of the beans so you don’t see ‘em).

A little Al Green for your entertainment…

Enjoy!

~The Karmatarian

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Awesome Vegan Stuffed Peppers

April 26, 2012 · Filed under Fabu-less Recipes, Main Dish, No Added Oil · Tagged , , , , ,

“Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit.
When one is free from physical disabilities
and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open.“
~B.K.S. Iyengar

We eat with our eyes first. So have fun with color! These are green house grown “stop light” colored peppers that I used for this recipe. I also used Trader Joe’s Beef-Less Crumbles. This isn’t necessary, you could certainly and easily substitute beans. But if you are leaning into a plant based lifestyle and want your family along for the ride, I think it’s perfectly fine to partake in vegan meatless products, every now and then. Let me rephrase… On rare occasion. Your family won’t even notice that anything bad for them is missing from this classic recipe, as long as you keep quiet about it!

I used to love making stuffed peppers from a recipe out of my ancient Betty Crocker cookbook. The pages in that book are now a lovely shade of brown, it’s that old. Those outdated ways of cooking are fading away and times are changing. We are all experiencing 5 universal energy. People are popping up everywhere who are curious about healthy food and how they can take control and redirect their health with diet, rather than rely on pills. And unfortunately, others are overdosing. But hey, that’s 5 energy for you! 

One taste of these healthy stuffed peppers, and you won’t remember the days of black and white. It’s all about the colors and variety of fruits and veggies that work so hard for you (unlike animal products) with antioxidants and phyto-nutrients keeping you disease free. And we need these now, more than ever! I made this without adding extra oil, so they are also quite low in fat.

Awesome Vegan Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

  • 6 Colored Peppers (I used 2 packages of stop light colored peppers)
  • 6 tops from the peppers, diced
  • 1, 12 oz Package of Trader Joe’s Beef-Less Crumbles (or your favorite brand)
  • 1/2 Medium Onion, diced
  • 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
  • 1 Cup Frozen Sweet Corn Kernels, thawed
  • 1/2 Cup Vegetable Broth
  • 1 Cup Cooked Organic Brown Rice
  • 1 Can Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes, No Salt
  • 3-4 Tbs (Heaping) Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Tomato, Pasta Sauce
  • 1/8 Cup Fresh Basil, chopped
  • 1/4 Cup Fresh Parsley, chopped
  • 1 Tbs Vegan Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 Tbs Nutritional Yeast
  • 1/2 tsp Himalayan Sea Salt

Directions

Heat oven to 350

Cook brown rice according to package directions. I followed the directions for 1 cup dry/4-6 servings, because I like leftovers. remember that brown rice takes forever, so you could do this ahead of time.

Bring a large stock pot filled with water to a boil. Wash the peppers and cut the tops off. Clean the insides of the peppers and remove the stems from the tops. Dice the tops of all six peppers and set aside. Blanch the cleaned peppers in boiling water for about 5 minutes, remove, drain and let cool on a towel.

Heat the vegetable broth in a large skillet, add diced pepper tops, onion and garlic to the pan and cook to soften for a few minutes.

Add the thawed corn and cook another minute. Add the beef-less crumbles and cook another two or three minutes until heated through. Add the can of diced tomatoes and pasta sauce, heat through.

Add Worcestershire sauce, nutritional yeast and sea salt. Adjust the seasonings, heat through and add the fresh herbs last. Mix well and transfer everything to a large bowl (unless your skillet is big enough, mine wasn’t). Add 1 cup of cooked rice to the vegetable mixture and stir to combine and adjust the seasonings if necessary. Fill the peppers and place them standing up in casserole dish. Bake in the oven for approximately 30 minutes.

Optional: At the 25 minute mark, you could take the peppers out of the oven and sprinkle with bread crumbs and or nutritional yeast and then bake for the remaining 5 minutes or until lightly toasted.

Enjoy!

 ~The Karmatarian

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Power C Tempeh Over Minted Tricolor Quinoa

April 18, 2012 · Filed under Fabu-less Recipes, Gluten Free, Main Dish, Quinoa · Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

My cousin Rocks! She started researching food production and she took her new shock and awe and did exactly what I did… she turned that energy into something productive. She is very much on board with the vegan/raw movement and she is making the important and necessary changes for the health of her family. I am so proud of her!

Hard at work in the kitchen, she’s experimenting and trying new dishes that not only taste good, they are good for you. The best part is, she shares her good finds with me. She is an awesome cook! How exciting that I could just relax at her family parties, knowing I can graze on anything at the table! Could there be a family raw/vegan restaurant in our future? We might just change our family’s reputation from the family of Hair Stylists (although she isn’t a Hair Stylist, she escaped that gene, lucky her) to the family of passionate and healthy foodies. I am all good with that! My other cousin, sister and dad are also on the right train… My dad being very much vegan now, and wow did he turn his health around!

Recently, my cousin served this Tempeh recipe she found, at her daughter’s birthday party. It was so delicious! I went home and had to make it, but of course I didn’t have the exact ingredients on hand… so this is the twist I came up with. It got rave reviews!  At least I hope my husband wasn’t just being nice. He happens to be a great taste tester (and sport) for my recipes. Some days he gets a little luckier than others! And we are still talking about the food here.

Power C Tempeh over Minted Tricolor Quinoa

Ingredients

  • 1- 8 oz package of Tempeh
  • 1 Cup Tricolor Quinoa (I used Trader Joe’s brand)
  • 2 Cups Water
  • 1 tsp Concentrated Vegetable Broth (I like Better than Bouillon brand)
  • 1 Cup Naked Brand Power C Smoothie
  • 1 Tbs Grated Ginger
  • 1 Tbs Rice Vinegar
  • 2 tsp Maple Syrup
  • 2 tsp Tamari
  • 2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
  • 1/2 tsp Ground Coriander
  • 1-2 Tbs Coconut Oil
  • 1/2 Lime
  • Handful of Chopped Mint Leaves
  • Sea Salt

Directions

Fill a medium saucepan with 2 cups water. Rinse quinoa well in cold water and add it to the saucepan. Bring to a boil and add concentrated vegetable broth. Stir, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook down until water is absorbed and quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes.

While the quinoa is cooking, add the Power C smoothie to a bowl. Add the grated ginger, Tamari, rice vinegar, maple syrup, ground coriander and garlic. Mix this and set it aside.

Cut the Tempeh into 3rds, then diagonals, then turn pieces on their side and slice in half again to make thinner triangles. You could even cut these again to make them more bite sized.

Heat the coconut oil in a large fry pan over medium-high heat. When heated, add the tempeh and cook 5 minutes per side until golden brown.

Add the Power C mixture and simmer for 10 minutes, being sure to turn the tempeh while simmering.

Fluff the cooked quinoa with a fork and add a handful of chopped mint to taste

Serve the tempeh over the minted quinoa,  spoon the sauce over the top and finish it off with a squeeze of lime and a sprinkle of sea salt, which really helps to bring out the flavors in this dish. Garnish with mint leaves if desired.

Enjoy,

~The Karmatarian

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Vegan Deviled Eggs

April 10, 2012 · Filed under Appetizers, Gluten Free · Tagged , , , , , , ,

Vegan Deviled Eggs! Or as I like to call them… Angel’ed Eggs

Why would I want to make “eggs”, you ask? Well we certainly didn’t go vegan because we hated the taste of the old diet! What my husband always tells people who can’t believe he eats vegan, is that it isn’t the meat, dairy, etc… that people are worried about missing, it’s the flavors. But if they would just realize that there are so many similar flavors plus so many newly discovered ones to be enjoyed when you finally go vegan, that you do not miss much, if anything at all. Of course there are a few exceptions, such as deviled eggs, but cry no more! Vegans have mastered the deviled egg and there is now even another new  product out there taking the place of egg yolks too called “The Vegg”, for your French toast of course!

About a week ago, my good friend Jinny posted this blog find on how to make vegan deviled eggs. I couldn’t believe it! I had to try this right away. Being too late in the game to gather all of the necessities, recreate it, and share my results before Easter so that you can do it too, I am letting you know now that these were dynamite! We still can’t get over how close to the real thing they are. Pretty darn eggsciting! I want to share my results with you because there are many more holidays and picnics ahead that will give you the opportunity to prepare this old family tradition… the vegan way!

So if the idea of eggs, and all that you have learned about them since being vegan hasn’t grossed you out of your mind and you can still enjoy the flavor of eggs, then it’s your lucky day! As far as deviled eggs go, I can live without the whites. It’s the filling that’s da bomb! This filling recipe alone is so good, that putting it on top of a water cracker or even crostini would be just as wonderful without having to turn your kitchen into a science lab. However, I am totally exaggerating here because the whites of these deviled “eggs” are ridiculously simple to make. You should really try it!

Since I happen to love a project and a challenge, I jumped right onto Amazon and ordered my egg molds and black salt. I didn’t order the Agar Powder because I was in a hurry to get everything. With my Prime membership, I could get everything before the holiday except for the most important ingredient, Agar Powder, only because they wanted some ridiculous 50 bucks for Prime (they have cheaper versions, but it comes snail mail) and I thought OH HELL NO. So instead I searched a few Asian markets nearby and the local Whole foods all to no avail. I ended up breaking the recipe’s rule, and tried the Agar flakes, which I found at Whole Foods Market. It did work, but only with my newly concocted measurements and the fact that I used the coffee grinder to grind down the flakes smaller and denser. I don’t have a mortar and pestle, and now I realize that I really need one! Anyway, my results had the whites turn out with a bit more texture than I preferred, but I continued on, and the final product was still amazing!

The other thing I need to tell you about is the egg mold. When it arrived I was so MAD. I was wrong about the math and these were FAR bigger than I wanted… What was I going to do? Luck has it, I married someone of Danish descent who suggested that I use our Aebleskiver pan. Brilliant!!!! I didn’t let the molds that I bought go to waste, we made gluten free vegan Easter egg cakes, converted from a cupcake recipe from my favorite cupcake book, “Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World”. Those were AWESOME!

So, lightly oiling the Aebleskiver pan, I poured in the mixture and set it in the refrigerator for 45 minutes. When it was done, I just whipped up a second batch and did it again. If you want an entire platter of “eggs”, you may want to make these ahead of time so you can make batches, unless you have better luck finding a small half egg pan that makes a lot at once. Please let me know if you do! Turns out, our Aebelskiver pan that was collecting dust, was the the perfect size for these “eggs”. After these set, I used a butter knife to loosen and remove them and I used a tiny metal scoop to scoop out some of the white before filling them. I made sure to scoop a little off center, this helped the end result to look more egg like!

For the whites, I used:

  • 1 Cup Plain Soy Milk
  • 1 T Ground Agar Flakes
  • ¼ tsp Black Salt

I followed the recipe exactly for the “yolk” filling and let me tell you, you could eat this in it’s entirety by the spoonful!

Click here for the recipe, Maresa’s Vegan Deviled Eggs

You just have to try these if you were once a deviled egg fan! They are so much fun and would make a fun addition in texture and shape for a vegan party spread!

Having the black salt on hand in your pantry will be wonderful to use as an addition to tofu scrambles, “egg” salad sandwiches or even raw, coconut meat scrambled “eggs”. This gives a true egg flavor, (sulfur) but without the horrible smelling gas that you get from eating real eggs, not to mention ruining everyone’s otherwise pleasant atmosphere! Lol, just imagine all the people right now after Easter with this lovely egg farting problem! Well not I :) …I am also happy to report that I didn’t overdose on Peeps either. I feel so lucky that I don’t find those wretched things appealing!

So when I attempt these vegan deviled eggs again, I will be sure to follow the directions exactly, and use Agar Powder. I can only imagine how perfect they will turn out when I don’t break the rules! I will be sure to update my post with a new pic.

Good luck on your vegan adventure, have fun with your projects and take it on as a challenge. Remember, it’s about having fun with flavors!

Enjoy,

~The Karmatarian

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Chocolate-Marbled-Vanilla No Cheese Cake

February 11, 2012 · Filed under Desserts, Fabu-less Recipes, Raw Vegan · Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Snuggle Bug, Cuddle Monkey, Baby Bird, Love Pie, Sweetums, Cupcakes, Pumpkin Pie, Sunshine… I just can’t call him by his real name (most of the time) or I get in BIG trouble. My silly little boy and his love of nick names…

My husband asked our 4 year old recently “why do you call mommy Flowers?”, he said “because she smells like flowers”. Awwww… I hope he calls me Flowers until the end of time. It melts my heart!

So what will you be making your Cuddle Monkey for Valentine’s day?

Well, if you are a fan of cheesecake but not the cholesterol, 59 different hormones, pesticides, antibiotics and scary stuff you find in your typical dairy cheesecake but enjoy rich and creamy, then it’s time you try a raw style cheesecake. So now, we can have our cake and enjoy it too!

Pinnable or not, this turned out presentable aaand tastes like heaven… so I am quite happy. This happens to be my second attempt at a raw “cheese” cake. And I think it turned out good enough to post. Nothing impresses me more in the raw food world than the cheesecakes! Yet, there is no cheese. How do they do it!?

I’ve been playing around with some recipes and I am determined to perfect the “cheesecake” but I’ll admit, I still need practice. Like mad science but without the mad ingredients, funny how so few natural ingredients can still be challenging to perfect. It goes to show that not everyone can just “be” a raw food “chef”. It actually takes practice but I think it’s worth the effort. Raw food is impressive and if there is anything that will get you hooked on the wonders of raw food…. it’s the dessert!

This cheesecake is raw and vegan because I cheated… I know. But I did. I just don’t want the dairy and sometimes not the soy and I am fine with vegan chocolate chips so that’s what went in it. Maple syrup too. Oh, don’t be a snob. It doesn’t have to be all raw or nothing all of the time. If you are a die hard raw foodist, then I am sure you already have your perfect cheesecake recipe. Won’t you be a sweetie and share it? I would love to try it!

I really like the idea of using Irish Moss in a raw cheesecake to make it extra firm, but being so close to Valentine’s day, I thought I would make it simple so my friends who want to try this don’t have to order the moss if it’s not already stocked in the pantry. It’s not exactly something you can run out to the corner grocer for!


Chocolate-Marbled-Vanilla No Cheese Cake

For the Crust

  • 1 Cup Cashews
  • 1/2 Cup Raisins
  • 1 Tbs Agave
  • 2 Tbs Melted Coconut Oil
  • 1 tsp Lemon Juice
  • Pinch of Sea Salt

Directions

In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients and process into a crumb texture

Press evenly into the base of an 8″ spring form cake pan OR find a non-stick mini heart spring form pan set, 4.25 inches wide. (I found these at Target and they were a set of 3).

For the Filling

  • 2 Cups Cashews
  • 1/2 Cup Agave
  • 3/4 Cup Water
  • 1/2 Cup melted Coconut Butter
  • 2 Vanilla Pod Scrapings (I used 2 Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans I had from Trader Joe’s. This gives it that speckled vanilla look along with the vanilla flavor)
  • 1 tsp Lemon Juice
  • Pinch of Sea Salt

Directions

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth

For the Marbling

  • 1/4 Cup Non-Dairy Vanilla Almond or Hemp Seed Milk (I love to use Tempt Vanilla Hemp Milk)
  • 6 Oz. Vegan Semisweet Chocolate Chips
  • 2 Tbs Maple Syrup, Grade B

Directions

Bring the nut milk to a gentle boil in a small  sauce pan. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate chips and maple syrup. Mix until fully melted and smooth. Pour into something with a spout and handle like a glass measuring cup. Set aside.

*Note: The key to marbling is to try to get the consistency of the marble mixture and the main cake mixture similar. If the chocolate mixture is too thin, it won’t drop into the cake properly. You can easily adjust by adding more chips if it needs thickening.

Directions for putting it all together

Pour the vanilla filling over the crusts in the spring form cake pans

Next, from about an arms length high, drop/pour the chocolate mixture into the cake, moving the cup or container around as you go and getting closer to the cake as you finish so you get chocolate on top (you may not use all of the chocolate, but I am pretty sure you can find other uses for it!).

Using something like the end of a wooden skewer, swirl the top of the cake but be careful not to over-swirl

Place in the freezer to set

*Note: My chocolate mixture was thinner than I wanted this time, it ended up not going real deep into the cake but it looked good so that was fine with me.

Enjoy!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

~The Karmatarian

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Gluten Free Sweet Corn Muffins

February 2, 2012 · Filed under Appetizers, Breads, Fabu-less Recipes, Gluten Free · Tagged , , , , ,

Gluten Free Vegan Sweet Corn MuffinsGluten Free Sweet Corn Muffins

You know what? Not bad for a gluten free vegan corn muffin! I made these yesterday with my Fast, Friendly & Vegan Big Game Chili. A little early, yes, but that’s what I had a taste for. I’m not sure what we are doing for the Super Bowl this Sunday. I am actually in the midst of a big move to a new house and as exciting as that is, it’s nuts over here and I’m overwhelmed! I should really pack. I guess Madonna is the half time show so I definitely want to at least catch that. To be 11 years old again with black jelly bracelets up to my elbows and a rag bow tied in my ever stiff, aqua net sprayed hair.

Nope. Glad those days are over.

My recipe was inspired by a Forks Over Knives recipe. Check out the other Super Bowl food ideas they offer. These muffins became gluten free when that was the only corn meal mix I could find around here. But so many people are looking for gluten free so I figured I’d share this recipe… and because it turned out! Gluten free is not always easy. My four year old gobbled these down and told me before he fell asleep last night that I was the best mommy ever for making him yummy muffins. Gotta love that!

Well, if it is chili you decide to make for this weekend, I sure hope it’s vegan! If it’s my recipe you make, you can omit the vegan ground meat and add extra beans or veggies to make it an entire gluten free meal along with these GF corn bread muffins. 

Unless you have another favorite chili recipe to share? I would love to hear it… although I really do like my fast prep chili recipe. Have you tried it yet?

Happy Super Bowl everyone! I hope your Sunday is fantastic.

Gluten Free Sweet Corn Muffins

Ingredients

  • 1 & 1/2 Tbs Ground Flax Seed
  • 1 Cup Almond Milk
  • 1/2 Cup Apple Sauce
  • 1/2 Cup Maple Syrup, Grade B
  • 2 Cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Cornbread Mix
  • 1 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
  • 1 Cup Frozen Organic Sweet Corn Kernels

Directions

Heat oven to 375

In a bowl, combine the ground flax seed and almond milk and set aside.

In another bowl, blend the maple syrup with the applesauce and add it to the ground flax seed mixture.

In a larger bowl sift together the gluten free cornbread mix, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt (or do what I do and put these ingredients in a bowl and use a whisk to “sift”…. Idk? It works for me).

Add the wet ingredients slowly to the dry while mixing to incorporate well but do not over mix!

Fold in the frozen corn kernels.

Spoon into a lined muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes until they turn a light golden brown and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

*Note: I tend to like my cornbread a little sweet. I think these could use added agave because they are not as sweet as the title makes them sound. If you really like sweet, try adding a sweetener of your choice.

Enjoy!

~The Karmatarian

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