Ramblings of a Vegan Traveler

Yep, and it's tasty too! I tend to follow a no added oil and low fat plant based diet, which means that salad dressing can't use oil..."oh the horror" you say? Not really. There are plenty of good oil free salad dressings. I hate store bought salad dressing, even before I was plant based, I didn't really like them. It's just not fresh and they use a lot of unhealthy overly processed fats (oil). Whole Foods now has some fairly good oil free mostly vegan dressings in their refrigerated section, but they are pricey and you don't get much for the buck! So I am always experimenting with my own salad dressing. I love balsamic vinegar, so here is what I came up with.  Oil-Free Balsamic Salad Dressing 2 TBS. water 2 TBS. balsamic vinegar 1 TBS. dijon mustard 1 TBS. rice wine vinegar 1 TBS. roasted raw almonds (ground) * 1 TBS. nutritional yeast 1 tsp chia seeds soaked in 1 TBS water for 5 minutes ** 1 clove garlic, minced Juice of 1/2 small lemon 1 ...

I love delicata squash it's richer and creamier than Butternut Squash, easier to roast and makes for a delicious soup. I have several great butternut squash soups, but I wanted something a bit different so I decided to use delicata squash. I've had butternut/apple soup and loved the flavor but thought I'd mix it up and use delicata and pear.  Roasted Delicata Squash and Pear Soup 2 lbs delicata squash, diced into 1 inch pieces 1 yellow onion, minced 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 Pears, diced with core and seeds removed - I had Bartlett so I used those 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground cumin 2 teaspoons ground ginger, if you use fresh grated ginger use 1 1/2 TBS.  4 cups of vegetable broth Clean the squash, making sure to get off any dirt. When you roast delicata you don't have to remove the skin - a huge bonus over butternut squash which has a tough skin and is a pain to cut in half. Cut each delicata in half lengthwise. Once cut in half, it...

I finally signed up to get certified in plant based nutrition via eCornell and the T.Colin Campbell foundation eCornell Plant Based Nutrition Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition Probably not a big deal t o mo st people, but I have been wantin g to do this since I found out about the program. So now when I post things I ' ll feel like I have the knowledge behind me to do so!  The only per son who is responsible for my health and well-being is me and I inten d to stay as healthy as possible a s long as I can.  I don't want to be someone who has to rel y on medication to keep me h ealthy and happy. I don't t a ke any meds now and I' d really like to avoid taking any in the fu ture! I want my medicine to be t h e food I put in my body. Resolving the Health Care Crisis  

I made this delicious white bean hummus last night and it's great as a spread for sandwiches or as hummus with crackers.  White Bean Hummus 1 can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed (you can also use beans that you have soaked o/n and cooked - cheaper) handful of fresh basil leaves 1 clove of garlic (minced) 1 teaspoon of cumin powder juice of 1/2 lemon Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth! Store in refrigerator. Can be used as an alternative to traditional chickpea hummus or as a plant friendly spread for sandwiches (beats mayo hands down).  Used this on my sandwich:  Dave's killer bread (21 grain) toasted Slather on the guilt free white bean hummus layer on sliced tomatoes right off the garden vine Add sliced avocado Eat and say "yummmmm"...

Veggie power for running and working out? You betcha!  Finally, vegan athletes are becoming more mainstream. You certainly hear a lot more about them which I think is GREAT. The reality is that you can be just as strong, more fit and faster with a plant based lifestyle.  I realize that I've only been running for a few months, but I know that in order to be my best at it I need to fuel my body in the right way. I have always loved the Vega line developed by Brendan Brazier a vegan professional Ironman triathlete and best-selling author on plant-based nutrition . I found out about it shortly after going vegan because I needed something portable that I could take with me when I travel for work. So I started with the Vega Whole Food Optimizer (now reformulated and called Vega One ). It's easy to take a bag of the powder with me in my suitcase, along with my magic bullet blender and make a quick Vega shake in the morning. My go to when I travel is usually the chocolate one b...

I started running last December. Let me preface that with this...I have never liked running. In fact, I hated running. I played 2 years of softball in high school and the thing I dreaded was running, not around the bases, but having to do laps. I HATED it. I can walk for days, but run, me? No way. My knees aren't the strongest so I really didn't think I could run. I'm a runner!  I like a good challenge, I have a competitive streak, just ask anyone I work with when it comes to games of work knowledge! I like to push myself to be better and I really love to push myself to be healthier, fitter and stronger. So then I thought "Why not me? Why should I limit myself? Why should I keep using my knees and ankle as an excuse? Why should I look at others and think, what if that was me, what if I was a runner? Why should I put off doing something that can make me stronger and make me healthier? Why not me?" And why not you?  Why would you not want to do someth...

I mean really, it's not hard to eat a plant based diet...if I can do it then anyone can. Looking for lower cholesterol? Eat a plant based diet... Looking to get off meds for diabetes or heart disease? Yes- get OFF meds for good for diabetes and /or heart disease . Eat a plant based diet... Looking to decrease your risk of cancer? Eat a plant based diet.... I didn't LOVE veggies before going plant based...but after 30 days or less my tastebuds changed and I truly started to love veggies...as an omnivore I never tried kale or collards...after going plant based they are my top two favs. Give your body love and go plant based!