OODLES OF ZOODLES

I'm on a diet. I'm not 100% sure why, but here we are. The good thing is, this diet wants me to eat lots of veggies because they have a low caloric density.  I did this at home based on what I saw the guy at Vapiano do the other day. This is my Easiest, Funnest, Laziest, Lowest Calorie, Most Satisfying recipe:


INGREDIENTS (Amount approximately per person, but hey, how hungry are you?)

• 1 zucchini 
• 1/4 cup Pomi finely chopped tomato ( I guess you can use real fresh tomato, but that's not laziest)

Plus the things you like to taste:

• Garlic (I use one full head!)
• Onion (I use one small yellow onion)
• Fresh ground black pepper (I insist on fresh ground only)
• (Chili? Chile? Chilly?) Red pepper flakes
• Cumin
• Rosemary
• Whatever other spices you have rattling around in your cupboards
• SOUR PLUM VINEGAR (1 tsp or 1 tbsp or none, depending on how much you're watching your sodium levels. Let me tell you this makes everything delicious though!! This is my culinary discovery of the year)
• Olive Oil (amount depending on how many calories you're willing to blow through. 1 tbsp of olive oil has more calories than all the other ingredients combined!! ) 

DIRECTIONS

1. Peel the onion, chop it.
2. Peel the garlic, crush it or chop it. Use whole cloves if you are into that, aka lazy like me.
3. In saucepan, sautee(?) the garlic and onion, use olive oil if you're willing to go there. Otherwise use a little water to help it get going.  IF YOU'RE EATING ALONE, STIR IT WITH THE FORK YOU'RE GOING TO EAT WITH SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO WASH AN EXTRA UTENSIL
4. Once it's all softened, pour the chopped tomato on top of the onion and garlic and stir it up.
5. Add other things like pepper, spices, vinegar etc. Heat up and stir the sauce for a bit, then turn it off till step 8
6. Wash then cut the ends off the zucchini
7. Use a julienne peeler lengthwise on the zucchini or if you have one, a spiralizer. Otherwise cut long thin strips of zucchini with a knife.
8. Put the zucchini strips in the sauce, heat and stir till everything is hot.
9. EAT IT OUT OF THE POT SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO WASH AN EXTRA BOWL

PS I had to use spell check correction EVERY TIME I wrote "zuchhinni"

 

Collard Greens and Kobocha, where have you been all my life?

I'm on a weird, super austere (vegan) diet right now, it is a 21-day "bland food" cleansing diet.  It's from the back of the Simple Recipes for Joy cookbook by Sharon Gannon, who is the founder of Jivamukti Yoga and Jivamuktea Cafe. The way it was pitched to me (during a random 15 minute pedicab ride by the driver) is that it resets your palate because there is no salt, no added sugar, and no oil. Breakfast is plain oatmeal, lunch is fresh veggies, dinner is unseasoned brown rice and lentil porridge (kitcheree) plus steamed vegetables. By the end of it you are really tasting and appreciating everything you eat. So it's kind of like a mindfulness exercise as well. I'm on day 11! 

Today I made this for dinner porridge accompaniment: 

• Collard Greens - my grocery store has this in a bag, washed, chopped, and ready to cook! 
• Kabocha Squash - chop it in half, then into wedges, then slice off the skin. Chop into cubes

Put the squash in a pot that has some room on top, add some water to the bottom and steam it for 10 minutes (or however long, depending on how small you chopped it). Stuff as much collard collard greens as you can on top and let all of that steam for another 5 minutes. 

Great with plain brown rice!!  I suspect you can make this all in one pot if you get the rice cooking, add the squash on top 10 minutes before the rice is done, and then collards 5 minutes before rice is done. I'm a big fan of lazy cooking.

I know some of you are thinking, how is this a recipe? Does she have a recipe for ice cubes as well? But I'm new to cooking and excited that I made anything! I'm starting to realize how easy the stuff I order at places like Angelica Kitchen (RIP) and Souen. This is halfway to a dragon bowl already.

FAUXGURT Battle

You know I recently discovered non-dairy yoghurt, and I am in love! I missed eating yoghurt for a long time because it reminds me of my childhood, but I would always experience weird mood swings after consuming it (usually crying episodes) so I stayed away. Well, childhood delight and no more tears with FAUXGURT (FAUXGHURT if you believe in the British monarchy)! I think/hope I invented that word. (Side note: I recently heard a nice new word for non-dairy ice cream: NICE CREAM!! YEAAAH!)

So by now I've tried the following, and here are my brief thoughts about each:

Blueberry Forager Cashewgurt - Sweet and delish with a really nice almost gummy bear texture

Strawberry Forager Cashewgurt - Same as above.  I'll add that I like how the label is paper and you can remove and recycle the plastic and paper separately.

Unsweetened Plain Forager Cashewgurt - a little bland, but great if you are adding to sweetened granola or something to make a parfait because the texture is there, and it lets the granola add the flavor (I ate it with cranberry granola.  Delish!!

Strawberry Kite Hill Almond Milk Yogurt -  I could tell this is almond based, which was distracting for me. My husband did not mind at all (he enjoys almond based NICE cream too, so

Blueberry Kite Hill Almond Milk Yogurt - same as above, I just couldn't get into it.

Blueberry So Delicious Yogurt Alternative (coconut based) Delish, also has a nice smooth texture like the cashewgurts.  I don't love the shape of the cup though, as I feel like miniscule drops of delicious fauxgurt get trapped in the bottom and I want to squeege that cup clean with my spoon!

Cocoyo Coconut Yogurt - this is the most "sour" of the bunch, like plain dairy yoghurt, which I also love.  The jar I had was a little fizzy and tasted a little tingly like kombucha, so I wasn't surprised that it's made by the same folks that make kombucha.  I assume this is all the live probiotics that is making this so good for you.  This is very rich and creamy, definitely couldn't finish a whole jar in a single sitting which made the resealable jar nice.  I also like that the jar is glass and it makes a great container to wash out and reuse in the kitchen for green juice, spices or whatever you have around afterward.

So my pick out of all these is... Blueberry Cashewgurt!  2nd up, Cocoyo, third is So Delicous.  Kite Hill I can pass on, but by all means if you love almonds that is the one for you.  Go forth and enjoy!!!

I made a YouYube

Please subscribe!

Shopping in Hell...

...Hell's Kitchen, that is. There are a surprising number of great places to grocery shop for vegan specialty items in Hell's Kitchen, NYC!  There's a ton of vegan friendly restaurants, but what if you want something to cook at home or just a snack on the go?  

First of all, let me say my favorite vegan supply place is the FRUIT STAND on 43rd and 9th Avenue, because fresh fruits and vegetables are the way go vegan!  It's the most delicious, healthy, and easy thing to eat.  I'm eating a banana from Fruit Stand 43 as I write this.  The people that work there are the nicest and hardest working people you'll ever meet.  They tough it out all year round in the wind, the rain, the snow, the freezing, and the heat, all to bring fresh healthy food to the neighborhood.

Cashewgurt and Cocoyo on the lentil-embedded tables at Green Symphony

As far as vegan snacks go, there is a deli called Green Symphony on 43rd between 8th and 9th (North side of the street).  That's where I discovered Cashewgurt!  They also have other interesting things like Cocoyo and nice vegan pastries (I like the vegan pecan pie squares).

In terms of grocery stores, there's a Food Emporium on 42nd and 10th which does have some vegan specialty items, but if you really want to hit the jackpot, head West to Sunac on 42nd and 11th!  They carry Daiya cheese products, and all kind of hippie vegan foods.  If you're a little further uptown, Westerly Market on 8th and 54th is your home base!  Sunac is a little yuppier, Westerly is a little hippier, and both demographics love plant based products!

This Exists and is Delicious

Cashewgurt!



I used to love yoghurt.  Until I realized that it was making my face break out (dairy) and also it would cause weird sadness and crying spells after eating it. I don't know why, but I think it is related to the hormones in the milk (definitely the culprit related to the acne).

So I haven't eaten yoghurt in years and years, even though I would look at some of my old favorites longingly at the store. But I found something that is just like eating yoghurt without the acne or crying spells!!

It's made out of cashews, and there are probiotics in it too. I've only had strawberry and blueberry flavors, and both are really good! If I were blindfolded, I wouldn't know that it wasn't yoghurt, except actually now that I think about it, it doesn't have that sour-ness that I never really liked in the first place (that's why most yoghurts are loaded with sugar and fruit flavorings.  I guess I should try the plain flavor for a true comparison.

But right now I'm so happy I have something that tastes and feels like I'm eating yoghurt without all the animal suffering (and acne and mood swings). I also like how the label is paper and I can tear it off the cup and recycle it separately.

"Veggie Tuesday" all vegan dishes 50% off!!!?!? Yes please! See you there! #discount

via Instagram http://ift.tt/21KUHD4