Category Archives: Uncategorized

Speaking of Firefighter Approved…

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I’m sure you’ve seen the firefighters at the grocery store or Costco, buying their food for dinner, maybe flirting with a few women in the produce aisle. It’s part of their job, it should be in their job description. Everyone loves a firefighter, you can’t deny that!

You don’t understand, my husband NEVER reads for pleasure. EVER! So when he bought AND read the “Engine 2 Diet” cover to cover, I about fell over in my chair! I figured it had to be good to keep his attention so I read it too. It’s information I’ve been learning about for years so it wasn’t anything new for me but it was an excellent book.

Real men eat plants… that’s what Firefighter and author of “The Engine 2 Diet” claims… and so did his entire crew once they learned how much their newly adopted plant-based diet improved their health. One of the guys had a cholesterol level of 350! Not that I’m surprised, do you have any idea how firemen eat?

Rip Esselstyn - Author of "Engine 2 Diet"

Rip Esselstyn is his name, he’s a former professional triathlete turned firefighter.

He took first place in many major events, including the 2001 Police and Fire World Games, the world’s largest athletic competition. He also won the Capital of Texas triathlon eight times and was the leader and top-three finisher at many televised events, including the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon, where he was first out of the frigid, shark-infested waters six years in a row. Rip still competes in various events, recently winning the master national championships and setting the national record in the process.

His father, Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, chief of surgery at the Cleveland Clinic, discovered through medical research that a plant-based, low-fat diet could reverse heart disease and diabetes. I have to say, I believe him.

Anyways, if you are looking for a great book to read I recommend it… and so does my husband!

Buy it here on Amazon.com

Forks Over Knives – The most important movie you may ever see.

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Have you seen Food Inc? Most people tell me they loved it because it made them think. If you enjoy movies that make you question things then you need to see Forks Over Knives, it’s a life-changing film! Here’s the trailer for the movie…

Have you seen it? What did you think?

CSA – Community Supported Agriculture

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My last delivery

I belong to a CSA here in San Diego, they deliver all organic fruits and veggies to my door weekly and I LOVE IT! I don’t care what anyone says, organic produce tastes better!

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Local farms get together and offer up their organic items (mostly produce) in an effort to save the small family farms in town while providing true organic goods to us!

I’ve tried a few different CSA’s in San Diego and Abundant Organics is my favorite! They deliver to my door once a week and they offer a ton of add-ons if you want to order anything in addition to your weekly bounty. Their add-ons include everything from fresh dried spices, a wide variety of veggies to raw milk and grass fed beef. I like to add on the collard greens and swiss chard, sometimes I’ll split 10 pounds of grapes with a friend.

Kristin, the woman who delivers the goods, is always happy to see you and ready to offer any information you may need. When I had my son, she brought me a cute little book to give to my daughter so she wouldn’t feel left out! So thoughtful of her!

I love the fact that they deliver to your door – it’s $5 extra but totally worth it!

Vegan Plant-Based Sushi Night… For the third night this week!

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My husband Josh requested we have sushi night again tonight. This would be our third this week, it’s just that good!! I love sushi but I’ve always been a little squeamish about the raw fish… “am I going to injest a tapeworm with my saki or not this evening” has always had its place in the back of my mind. Vegetarian sushi at most sushi bars is just plain boring. There’s typically a cucumber roll that consists of seaweed, cucumber and rice. Not quite the palette pleaser you tend to seek when you go out for sushi. No one ordering a cucumber roll is shouting “saki bombs!” from the other end of the bar, it’s too boring of a roll for that kind of fun.

I usually buy the Extra Firm High Protein Organic Tofu from Trader Joe’s for sushi rolls but I decided to try something different tonight. My typical fish’ish filler is the TJ’s tofu cut into long strips and stir fried in toasted sesame oil, sweet chile sauce and a little low sodium soy sauce. It makes pretty tasty tofu morsels to add to the rolls, along with an assortment of tasty veggies.

My favorite sushi rice recipe comes from Food.com – “Minado’s Perfect Sushi Rice” (http://www.food.com/recipe/minados-perfect-sushi-rice-119373). It’s the best technique and flavor I’ve found, much better and easier than the directions on the rice bag itself.

While I’m waiting for the rice to cook I usually cut up my veggies:

* Bean Sprouts (my favorite!)

* Asparagus (I blanch them first – drop into boiling water for 30 seconds then quickly move them to a bowl of ice water to cool)

* Red and Yellow Bell Peppers

* Cucumbers

* Carrots (Be careful not to cut yourself trying to get these into sushi sized strips! I need to work on my knife skills…)

* Red or Green Chard

* Cilantro (my other favorite addition!)

* Green Onions / Scallions (I cut off the white parts and slice the green parts down the middle, longways)

* Avocado (Yum!)

Now I wrap my sushi rolling mat in plastic wrap, lay out my Nori (Seaweed sheets) and I’m ready to roll!

As you can see, this does not have the spicy chile tofu I was talking about… it’s something new and VERY YUMMY!

Spicy Tempeh Filling! We love tempeh (pronounced tem-puh, I think… that’s how we say it anyways!) and we eat it often. It’s cheap and very healthy! I buy 10 at a time when I go to Trader Joe’s – it’s organic and you can make so many things out of it! My hubby LOVES tempeh!

So I searched the internet for a tempeh sushi recipe. I found one on Post Punk Kitchen, one of my favorite vegan food sites! Here’s the recipe: http://www.theppk.com/2008/10/spicy-tempeh-roll/

So, mostly following the recipe but not 100%, I cut the tempeh into cubes, steamed it, drained it, mashed it in a bowl and added Veganaise (vegan mayo, found at Henry’s in refrigerated section) and a little toasted sesame oil. This became what you see in the photo, almost like a fake’ish crabmeat type filling.

My hubby Josh loves the Tofutti Cream Cheese (Yes, fake cream cheese) so he added a little to his to mimic the rolls he loves at the sushi bar. I tend to prefer more veggies in mine.

I also make a spicy sauce to go on top of the sushi – I love hot stuff! I mix 1/2 cup of vegan mayo (Veganaise), 2 Tbsp of Sriracha Sauce (think red Chinese hot sauce with green squirt top) and about 1/4 tsp of toasted sesame oil. Mix it all together and drizzle it on top of your rolls for a little extra fire. It’s just like the sauce they use at the sushi bars!

Um… YUM!!! Thank you Post Punk Kitchen!!! And Josh for doing the dishes….