Go Vegetarian for your Health

One of the best ways to lose weight and keep it off is to go vegetarian. Yes, we mean no meat.

            To the average carnivorous American, who is probably overweight mind you, this may seem like blasphemy, but a plant-based diet can help you get skinny and stay skinny.

            In his studies, Dean Ornish, MD, President and Director of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, found that overweight people who followed a low-fat, vegetarian diet lost an average of 24 pounds in the first year and kept off that weight 5 years later.

            Think what you would look and feel like 24 pounds lighter– pretty powerful stuff.

            Because we know it’s coming, let’s address the biggest concern (misconception) when it comes to vegetarianism– protein.

            According to multiple sources within the health community, the average American consumes between 1.5 to 2 times as much protein as their daily allowance recommends every day. And what happens with excess protein in the body? It turns into fat.

            So the meat that advertising tells you will make you strong and buff is really making you slow and pudgy.

            The benefits don’t stop there. You’ll bulk up your immune system, eliminate most food-borne illness concerns, and, ladies, vegetarianism may even help reduce menopausal symptoms.

            High cholesterol? The amount of cholesterol you consume while following a vegetarian diet is exponentially less than a meat-eater’s consumption of cholesterol.

            Going Veg can also increase your energy because your body is no longer billed with the exhausting task of digesting animal protein.

            Those benefits are all amazing and persuasive, but nothing compared to this: studies have shown that the plant-based switch can tack on up to 13 years onto your life.

            You can be 24 pounds lighter and live 13 years longer. Seems like a pretty good deal to us.

           

            Can you make the change for your health?

Recipe of the Week: Vegan and Gluten-Free Moussaka

Here is Chef Alex Schenck’s delicious (yes, we were able to sample it) recipe. Don’t forget to watch the video as well.

Vegan and Gluten-Free Moussaka

This delicious Greek casserole just keeps on giving; its tender vegetable layers will wow you right out of the oven, and when you re-heat a piece it the next day you’ll be amazed that it can taste even better. This versatile dish could be the highlight of a dinner party packed in a school lunch and it goes well with almost any Mediterranean style sides or salads.

Vegetables:

1 lb. Eggplant

1 lb. Zucchini

1 ½ lb. russet (peeled) or large red potatoes (not peeled)

Olive oil to coat the vegetables

Tomato Sauce:

¼ cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 shallots, minced

4 tsp. capers

½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

½ tsp. dried oregano

½ tsp. ground fennel seed

½ cup of cabernet sauvignon (or other red wine)

2 (16oz) cans of crushed fire roasted tomatoes

 1 tsp salt

Black pepper

Cream topping:

1 lb. Firm MoriNu brand aseptic tofu (or silken tofu)

2/3 cup Cashews, toasted

3 TBSP lemon juice

1 tsp. arrowroot powder

1 clove of garlic

Freshly grated nutmeg to taste (about ¼ tsp.)

1 ¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp. white pepper, or to taste

Water

½ cup toasted, fine bread crumbs from gluten-free brown rice bread

PREHEAT the oven to 400˚ F. Lightly oil three baking sheets.

Vegetables:

Wash all the vegetables and remove any stems. Slice the eggplant, zucchini, and potatoes lengthwise in to slices about ¼ inch or smaller. I use a mandolin slicer for this, but a sharp chef’s knife would work just fine. Sprinkle eggplant slices with salt and set aside on a paper towel to drain for about 15 minutes. Wipe off salt and eggplant liquid with a damp paper towel.

Place each vegetable on a separate baking sheet, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with a little salt (except the already salted eggplant), and toss to coat.  Spread out the vegetables fairly evenly and roast in the oven until tender. The eggplant and zucchini will take about 15 minutes and the potatoes about 20 minutes. Let cool. Carefully squeeze some of the excess water out of the zucchini slices by the hand full. Set aside until you’ve finished the sauce and cream.

Tomato Sauce:

While the vegetables are in the oven make the tomato sauce.

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add the oil. Add the garlic and shallots and sauté for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add the capers, pepper flakes, oregano, and fennel. Sauté for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Add the wine and use a mettle spatula to scrape the flavorful browned bits from the pan. Add the tomatoes and salt and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, or until thickened.

Cream topping:

In a food processor or high power blender, blend the nuts, lemon juice, and garlic until a smooth paste forms. Add the tofu arrowroot, nutmeg, salt, and white pepper. Blend until smooth, adding a small amount of water to if blending is difficult.

To assemble:

Lightly oil a 9 X 13” pan and turn the oven back to 400˚. Spread ¼ cup of sauce on the pan and sprinkle about 1/8th cup of bread crumbs over it. Place a layer of potatoes on the bottom and top with a layer of eggplant slices. Add half of the remaining sauce and half of the bread crumbs. Top with a layer of all of the zucchini then the rest of the potatoes, eggplant, sauce and bread crumbs (in that order).  Use a rubber spatula to carefully smooth out the cream sauce over the top layer.

Bake for 35 minutes, until the cream layer is lightly browned. Allow to cool about 10 minutes and serve. 

  

Make a Change Monday - Fifth Week!

            With the start of a new week, we hope that you are refreshed and ready to take on life’s challenges. It’s Make a Change Monday and as always we’re giving you five tips for the five days until the weekend.

1)  Get your daily dose of sunshine, in moderation. With several health risks associated with overexposure, too much sunshine can be a bad thing. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get a healthy amount of sunshine (5 to 20 minutes) without sunscreen.

            Sunlight not only helps stimulate your body’s production of vitamin D, but can help improve your mood and improve your sleep.

2)  Dance. Burn some calories with a low impact workout (about 340 calories per hour) and have fun doing it. You don’t have to dance in the club or at the studio, you can dance anywhere, especially from the comfort of your home.

            Our suggestion– turn on your favorite playlist and turn your house into a one person dance party.  

3)  Pack your lunch. This tip will keep you light and your pockets heavy. Save money by bringing your lunch to work, while eliminating the splurging that comes from making food decisions when you’re hungry.

            Packing a lunch allows you to create a meal with your health in mind. Count calories from the comfort of your home. Hit all the necessary food groups and skip the grease of a spur of the moment lunch break decision. 

4)  Substitute a smoothie for dessert. This is about as simple as it gets. You will be healthier if you switch out the cake and cookies for a fruit smoothie. Here’s where our tip gets a little challenging– grab an all-fruit smoothie. It’s a delicious way to get your daily fruit servings.

            Many smoothies from your local juice stop come with yogurt or even ice cream, which is deceptively unhealthy. You think you’re drinking a healthy fruit smoothie, when in actuality you’re drinking a milkshake with more fruit.

5)  Change your workout routine. There are very few things more detrimental to your fitness than a stale workout routine. It gets boring. Your workouts aren’t as effective. And lastly, it’s hard to get excited about hitting the gym, if you know you’re going to be doing the same old thing.

            Switch it up. Run outside. Find a new workout plan online. Take a class. But for your health’s sake, make a change today!

Live Good

            Earth Day is no longer just for hippies and Berkeley students. No, no, times have changed. It’s 2011 and it’s necessary to be green in today’s day and age.

            At a time when we are cutting holes in the o-zone layer and pumping out Carbon Dioxide like it’s going out of style, we need to be conscious of our footprint.

            It true, you’ll be dead long before the o-zone is gone and Earth is turned into a giant microwave. But that doesn’t excuse you from caring about the environment today. You can already see our damage, evidenced by the crazy climate changes that are happening already.

            This year it snowed in Los Angeles, only five months after the city saw its hottest day ever at 113 degrees. There were tsunamis and giant earthquakes. 

            This is a direct effect of our consumption and blatant disregard of Mother Earth. Today is a day to be thankful for what our planet has given us, but also cognizant of how the choices we make in our lives have a global, and we mean, GLOBAL impact.

            We always preach the value of small decisions having the power to make big changes for your health. That same principle applies to how our lifestyles can adversely affect the Earth.

            Some critics say that one person changing their habits for the better won’t have an effect, mainly because not everyone is changing along with them. But it’s days like today that can unite people in that change for the better.

             

            Here are some little changes you can make that can have a big impact:

Change your houses light bulbs to fluorescent bulbs. Researchers say that if every house in the U.S. made the change, it would be equivalent to taking 1 million cars off the road.

Go Vegan for one day a week. According to the Washington Post, eating vegan once a week does a better job of reducing your carbon footprint than eating local 7 days a week.

Reduce your meat intake. “According to Environmental Defense, if every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetarian foods instead, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off U.S. roads.”-PETA.

Don’t buy bottled water. Buy a re-usable bottle. Think of all the plastic you aren’t using. Think of all the water you aren’t buying. This is a no-brainer.

Go electronic with your bills. Figures show that if every house in the nation did this, we could save 18 million trees a year.

Take re-usable bags to the grocery store. If you can remember to bring them with you, these bags, available at almost every grocery store for purchase, will help reduce the amount of waste you produce every week.

Happy Earth Day. Let’s keep our planet around for another couple thousand years.

For more information, visit our friends at Live Good.

Gluten-Free and Vegan "Buttermilk" Pancakes

Today we are very excited to bring you an exclusive recipe from Vegan Chef Alex Schenck of www.alexpersonalchef.com. And if you think this is good, wait until you see what we have up our sleeves for next week, when we unveil our first cooking demo with Chef Alex.

Hope you enjoy these pancakes, we know we will. Now we’ll turn it over to the chef herself.

Gluten-Free and Vegan “Buttermilk” Pancakes

I always used to feel lethargic after eating a big breakfast of traditional pancakes. Then I started experimenting with gluten-free cooking and my pancake experience was transformed! When I eat these I feel awake and ready to start my day.

In these tangy and moist gluten-free and low-fat pancakes I use Wild Wood’s Brand of probiotic soy-milk instead of buttermilk. If you are avoiding soy, you can also try diluting ¼ cup another non-dairy yogurt (like coconut or rice) with non-dairy milk. 

Makes about 16 medium sized pancakes

1 cup buckwheat flour

½ cup almond flour (or almond meal)

½ cup sorghum flour

¼ cup tapioca flour

2 TBSP ground flax seeds

2 TBSP baking powder

½  tsp. cinnamon (optional)

½ tsp. salt

1 cup Wild Wood Plain Probiotic Soy milk (or other non-dairy milk + 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar)

1 cup of water (+ more as needed)

¼ cup maple syrup

½ cup organic apple sauce (one 4oz container)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Earth Balance for the greasing the pan

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours and ground flaxseeds, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. If you have a 4-cup liquid measuring cup, use it instead of a bowl to measure and mix all of the liquid ingredients. This saves you some dish duty! Otherwise make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add each of the wet ingredients and whisk together. 

Allow batter to sit for about 10 minutes while you preheat a griddle to 350˚ or a skillet over medium-high heat. When the griddle or skillet is hot, melt enough Earth Balance to grease the cooking surface (about a teaspoon for a skillet and a tablespoon for a griddle).

Use a ¼ measuring cup to pour the batter into pancake shapes onto the cooking surface. Flip the pancakes when the holes from air bubbles no longer close up in the middle of the pancake and the edges rise a bit off of the cooking surface (2-3 minutes). Cook the other side for about two minutes until browned. Enjoy!  

Be Active, Be Healthy!

           

            No one wants to be overweight or unhealthy, so why is it that people continue to live sedentary lives?

            But people give countless excuses-

                        I’m too tired.

                        I’m too busy.

                        I can’t work out after dinner (before breakfast, between breakfast and lunch...)

                        It’s dark outside.

                        I don’t have a gym membership.

                        I’m too embarrassed of my weight. 

            And it goes on and on ad nausea.

            So what’s the hardest part about working out? We think it’s getting started. The physical act of getting out of the house for a jog, going to a group exercise class, driving to the gym, or showing up for your rec league is THE hardest part of working out.

            Your couch is comfy, you may be tired, we know, we know, but your health depends upon you committing to working out on a daily basis.

            Because we have all felt the weight holding us down when we’re trying to get out and go, here are a few tips that might help you.

            Set aside a specific time of the day to workout. Creating a special time just for working out can do wonders. Whether you set an alarm on your i-phone, write a note on the refrigerator, a mark in your calendar or a reminder on your hand, putting your workout in writing can be a powerful motivator.

            Switch it up. Have something fun to do every day of the week. Switch up your routines. Jog on Monday. Yoga Tuesdays. Kickboxing on Wednesday. If you’re routine doesn’t get stale, neither will your motivation.

            Set goals, but rational goals. One of the biggest obstacles to people working out is themselves. People often set impossible goals like, “I want to lose 25 pounds this week.” This sets you up for failure. Not everyone is a Biggest Loser Contestant. When you hit your small goals, you see progress. And progress is motivating. Sure, it may not be the ultimate goal, but you’re on your way.

            Make a playlist. Music changes the way you workout. A good beat can push your pace during a run. A catchy chorus can make time fly by. Leave Mozart at home and fill your ipod with your upbeat favorites. Playing your workout mix before the gym can help you get pumped up for a challenging session.

            Sign up for the gym, a race, a league or a class. If you have the means to do so, financially committing to your exercise might be the kick in the butt that you need.

            Find a partner. Committing to exercising with a friend can be a huge motivator. It’s easy to break exercise dates with yourself, but when a friend is counting on you to be there, it’s a lot harder to sit on the couch knowing you’re letting a friend down. You will take turns pushing each other through the times of no motivation and bond along the way.

            New shoes. The bounce of a new pair can change your whole workout. You feel faster, smoother and definitely cooler. A flashy pair sitting in the box are like a puppy begging to be taken for a walk. It’s hard to say no.

Now that you’ve heard from us, what gets you up and going?