I made another pitcher of Dr. Oz's Tangerine-Mint Green Tea (He calls it "Weight-orade"). I love this stuff and Dr. Oz suggests that it may aid in boosting your metabolism. He claims that drinking even a cup of green tea can boost your metabolism by 12%. He also indicates that tangerines have a chemical composition that increases sensitivity to insulin and stimulate genes that help burn fat. I am not sure if this is 100% accurate, but it can't hurt. Plus, there are all sorts of great benefits from drinking green tea. On top of that, I have not had a diet coke in 31 days (but who's counting), and the tea is nice for adding some flavor throughout the day.
Tangerine-Mint Green Tea
Ingredients:
- 8 cups of brewed green tea
- 1 tangerine sliced
- 1 handful of fresh mint leaves
Preparation Instructions: Combine all ingredients in pitcher and stir. Let the flavors meld together over tonight for best taste. Enjoy!
So, onto dinner. I invited my parents, sister, and 2 year-old nephew over for dinner tonight. I decided to cook them a vegan feast, but I was very nervous about how it would go over. I come from a family that typically has meat for dinner every evening. They also do not hold back with letting me know what they think about anything (and everything), so I was prepared to get an ear full. I could just envision my parents getting in their car after dinner, looking at each other, and deciding to run through a fast food joint on the way home with my sister following right behind them.
I thought I had chosen a pretty easy meal to make. I decided to make Cauliflower "Rice" from a recipe that I got from the Elana's Pantry Website and Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup that I adapted from a recipe I got from the KidsFamiliesPlanet Website. Truth be told, neither are difficult to make, but I would probably not make them on the same night again. For starters, there was a lot of chopping going on. It was also a lot of food. The soup alone was very filling and no side was needed. It was also, how shall I say this ... a little less relaxing and "Zen" to be cooking with two dogs barking, Dora the Explorer blaring, a two year old screaming, and lots of chatter. All of that aside, the meal turned out to be AWESOME. I was really nervous that the vegan broccoli cheese soup would taste like cardboard and send the fam running. Even as I was cooking it, I was feeling pretty unsure. It turned out to be ridiculously hearty, comforting, and delicious. My sister even said that it tasted like it was made with fresh parmesan cheese. I will definitely be making this on the regular. As for the cauliflower "rice" recipe (which has no rice in it whatsoever), I just love that stuff. I made it the first day I started this journey and have been craving it since. Even though it was a lot of food tonight, I am really glad I am stocked with leftovers for the week! Okay, so enough chatter ... here are the recipes ...
Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 cup celery, finely diced
- 1 head cauliflower, trimmed and coarsely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)
Preparation Instructions:
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.
- Sauté onion over medium heat for 10 minutes or until soft.
- Add celery to skillet and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place cauliflower in a food processor with the S blade and process until the texture of rice (I used my VitaMix on "variable" speed 1 to do this and it worked great).
- Add cauliflower to skillet, cover, and cook 5-10 minutes until soft.
- Add salt.
- Serve and enjoy!
Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup
Ingredients:
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 5 cups vegetable broth, divided
- 4 1/2 cups chopped broccoli
- 2 large potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 6 cloves raw garlic, pressed through garlic press or minced
- 1 large handful of fresh basil leaves
- sea salt to taste
- fresh ground pepper to taste
Preparation Instructions:
- Put 3 cups vegetable broth in a large pot.
- Add potatoes, garlic, and onions, and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Stir in broccoli and basil and cook covered for another 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place cashews and 2 cups of vegetable broth in blender (Vitamix if you have it!) and blend until smooth.
- Add cashew mixture, salt, and pepper, and allow pot to simmer while covered for another 3-5 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
So, I loved the meal ... but what did my family think? My mom gushed over how good it was. My dad went back for seconds of both. My sister ate every bite and said the cauliflower rice was "awesome". And my two year old nephew? He was digging in the soup bowl and cauliflower-rice bowl with his hands to get to more of the veggies. Pretty successful night if you ask me!
We didn't stop there though ... no, no, no. "What are you making for desert," they asked. And so it was on to banana walnut "ice cream", a recipe I adapted from one I found in Book Two of Eat for Health by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. Easiest recipe ever and so good that we probably would have made more if I had more bananas! My nephew couldn't get it in his mouth fast enough without saying, "More, please!"
Banana Walnut "Ice Cream"
Ingredients:
- 3 frozen bananas (make sure they are peeled, cut in thirds, and in the freezer for 24 hours)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1 handful chopped raw walnuts (plus some for garnish)
Preparation Instructions:
- Blend all ingredients in VitaMix blender.
- Garnish with walnuts.
- Serve and enjoy!
All in all, it turned out to be a pretty awesome meal enjoyed by all. I even sent my sister home with three tupperware containers full of goodies I have cooked in the past few days. I think they just might like it! Most importantly, I really liked it. Sure, it takes work ... but the rewards are so worth it. I will get my health back no matter what it takes. And, if it tastes this good ... it should be pretty easy. Alright, Gnawers ... off to bed! I hope you all had a happy, fulfilling day, and that your tomorrow will be even better. ;)
Sounds awesome! I am definitely making that meal for dinner soon! I agree with your starting comments-I believe that every person is unique, and therefore, so are their dietary needs. I don't believe, on a nutritional level, that humans were meant to be complete herbivores-that said, they certainly are not meant to eat as much meat (carnivorous) or meat based foods as 90% of humans do today!! I think your body tells you what you need by it's cravings, etc. on a healthy side. I am the same way- I find myself eating 80% veggies/fruits and about 10-20% (used to be right at about 10%,.....since the move, etc. stress has definitely influenced that number to be higher,.....) meat (bread is thrown in there with the meat, for me). Seafood counting as meat. I find I crave less red meat and more good seafood and fish the healthier I eat-and when I do crave red meat, it's for a good, rare steak, and that's it.
ReplyDeleteSO happy for you-keep up the good work. :)
So sweet! Look at your pops with his thumbs up. Success in a phoot. You're about to make an eggs-and-meater-for-every-mealer try some of these delicious looking recipes. Best of luck, cuteness :)
ReplyDeletexx
C
What a sweet message, Carrie! Thanks so much for checking this out and supporting me. You are most definitely a blogging inspiration! I hope to get mine up to par with yours one day. :) Gotta love the pops! He's a trooper. Give some of the recipes a try. You won't be disappointed. Plus, you can always throw a steak on top of a kale salad! Again, thank you. It means more than I can say.
ReplyDeletexox, ~L
i don't have any cashews - do you think i could sub in almonds or sunflower seeds?
ReplyDeleteDo you need to boil the potatoes before adding them to the broth?
ReplyDelete