Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Got Leftovers? Make It A Wrap!

 Very often we can make these amazing dishes like this one from Zsu Dever's Vegan Bowls. But what to do with all the leftovers? Do you just microwave it all again? You can or you can...

Put it in a wrap! I ran out of broccoli so I just thawed some from the freezer, grilled it up with the sweet potato (it's excellent if you use a cast iron griddle with the grooves in it!), added the quinoa and black beans, spread the scrumptious red pepper sauce on the top, and presto! instant vegan wrap.

Sorry, what's that? Did you ask if it was delicious as it looks? You bet it was!

Peach out,

Veggie Dad

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Waiting for Garden



Well, it's wet out there. This is a picture of how our garden looks now. As you can see, it has grown exponentially since our last pic. So far we haven't really eaten anything from it! Our swiss chard seems to have been swallowed up by weeds or some other force of nature, and our carrot seeds may have been eaten by slugs, we don't know. What we do know is we have no carrots and no Swiss chard! Our lettuce got somewhat rotted and eaten, but we managed to pick off a few leaves. Our beets are taking their sweet time, but I think there were too many seeds in there to begin with. And finally, our garden was so overgrown with weeds, we had no idea what was weeds and what wasn't; luckily, my dad happened to be in town and he helped us learn what were weeds and what weren't.

So that's our garden, such that it is. Hopefully, we'll be able to eat something before winter!

Eat B(right),

Veggie Daddy
(www.veggontherock.blogspot.ca)

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

FEAST's Seeds of Change, Chapter One

So we've been selected to be one out of ten families to participate in FEAST's Seeds of Change program! Basically, they have given us a little four-by-four wood enclosure to use for a raised bed to make a garden in--all free! We agreed that we'd blog about our experiences in exchange, hence this blog post. How cool is that? 

We have always wanted to garden because we have a good-sized backyard with lots of mature trees and we hate eating non-organic food, not to mention most produce you get in the grocery stores is wholly lacking in...everything. Unfortunately, through neglect and time, our once-lush backyard has now been devoured by all the gout weed you can dream of. Not optimal for gardening, not by a long shot. When we first moved here nine years ago, we had a lush landscape back there with plump healthy rhubarb stalks and even strawberries. But alas, the gout weed took over, proving to be a Leviathan in our own backyard. The only way to overcome this beast would be to bulldoze our entire yard and truck in new soil. Sorry, it just ain't gonna happen. But now we have Seeds of Change! So let's see if we can grow some veggies and herbage in this sucker. 

First, they arrived in our driveway and brought out the cedar wood box-like enclosure. Chloe, maker of said box, laid some black landscape fabric on top of our weeds and we tucked it in to all the sides and corners. Then we dumped loads of three different, er, nutrient-dense plant foods: peat moss, sheep manure, and vermiculite. We were told to stir it all up like a nice big cake batter and then water it all until it became the consistency of dressing. Not the kind of dressing that comes with those fish n' chips, but the salad dressing kind. So that's what we did, and here is a picture of us planting some of the cuttings they gave us.



We divided the area into 16 squares, and planted different varieties in each square. We have now planted something in every square: beets, kale, arugula, Swiss chard, carrots, rosemary, broccoli, nasturtium (edible flowers), lettuce and a tomato plant. So now it looks like this:


You can see all the little sprouts on the left side, those are kale, and the bright green sprouts on the lower right are beets. I was amazed at how fast they sprouted as they only took like a week. There are way too many beet sprouts there so we're going to thin out many of the weaker seedlings. Our main fear is of course the Leviathan Gout Weed creeping up all over this succulent sanctuary, but what can we do? We'll try to keep on top of it as much as we can. And so far, knock knock, we have not had to deal with any bugs as of yet. But I'm sure they are lurking somewhere close by in the darkness, just waiting to attack when we aren't looking, which happens to be most of the time! 

Eat B(right),

Veggie Daddy

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Wheat Allergy or Gluten Intolerance? Day 7

Eye Problems!

So as I said yesterday, I have just broken a month-long fast from gluten, and lo and behold, I woke up this morning with a very obvious irritation and redness in my eyes, one of the main problems I have been battling for years! I can't believe it. I immediately connected this to the pizza I ate the night before, of course, but then I was wondering if it was related...could it also have been the sulfites in the wine? I still wasn't sure...

So, I abstained from eating any more wheat for most of the day, until 5 P.M. this evening. Then I went to a function at The Rocket Room and they had this cake, which had everything you shouldn't eat, and so what did I do, I ate it, you know, just to see what the hell would happen. And, lo and behold, not even an hour went by, and my eyes went nuts! They are red as hell, itchy, soar, inflamed, there's a big soar on my right eye, and that gunk that used to be stuck on my eyelashes like glue(ten) came right back.

One month ago, I had this gunk on my eyelashes, I've had it for years, and it never would wash off. When I stopped the gluten, this gunk finally washed off. I'd take a washcloth with hot water, and I'd just wipe it off, very easily. Now, after eating this cake, fughedaboudit. I am done for, do not pass go, do not collect $100.

So then I looked up "swollen eye gluten," and I learned that it's not necessarily gluten that is causing the problem, but any of the four proteins that are found in WHEAT: gluten, albumen, globulin, and gliadin. So it could be gluten, but not necessarily. It could just be wheat.

I also read that eye issues are more related to wheat as opposed to gluten, and that gluten isn't really related to eye problems. So now I have to really rule out whether it's gluten, or specifically wheat. My gut instinct is that the problem is wheat, but that I'm okay with gluten because I am not noticing any other issues--just the eyes.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Newfegan Madman--Day 6

Dinner

Oh boy, I was feeling incredibly frisky, and I decided to finally reintroduce gluten back into my diet by eating pizza, which used to be our Friday night tradition. And I had several glasses of wine, oh yeah, I really let myself go!

I have been gluten-free for about 3 1/2 weeks until tonight. I am extremely curious to see how I feel after this!

Lunch

Pad thai leftover from last night.

Breakfast

I ate a bowl of homemade granola with almond milk. And my lemon water.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Newfegan Madman--Day 5

Dinner

We had pad thai, a favorite dish of the house. Coconut macaroons for dessert.

Lunch

I didn't eat any lunch. I just made hummus and snacked all day.

Breakfast

Update: 8:40 A.M.

Corn is the culprit, it's got to be. I ate that corn cereal yesterday afternoon, and this morning, I really noticed inflammation in my throat and I had a runny nose. I also woke up extremely sluggish, even though I had 8 hrs. of sleep. And I feel fine now. I'm not sick or anything, I just had some very acute symptoms. And the reason I ate the cereal yesterday was just so I could see if I would react to it. Hmmm, maybe that's why I reacted, because I was expecting one!

It's amazing when you can make the connection that food is actually causing us to be miserable, because once you find out which food(s) it is, you can do something about it! I really think it's corn. I'm not sure if it's all corn, but my naturopath said I was sensitive to gluten, corn, and soy, so I 've been trying to limit all of these in my diet, cutting gluten out completely.

So since I've cut out gluten, I can now target how I feel when I eat other foods, like corn. So I think I'm onto something here

For Breakfast, we ate

Oatmeal w/ amaranth and almond butter -- I threw in a good handful of chia seeds -- the oatmeal was a little strange, but what the hey, it was edible enough.

I also had my morning cup of lemon water, but I threw in some grated ginger to fight any inflammation that's probably still there. My symptoms that I experienced this morning are gone, though, so that's a relief.

Dear Corn,

You are a sneaky one, I've got my eye on you. Don't try anything funny, or you're gonna get it.

Signed,

The Newfegan Madman

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

The Diary of a Newfegan Madman--Day 4

Update: 9:20 P.M.

Dinner was awesome. M'wife made a Caribbean bonanza from Chloe's Kitchen, coconut rice and beans with sweet potato and broccolette and we topped it off with some mango chutney. For dessert, we had coconut macaroons.

It seems like when you cut out gluten, you eat a lot of coconut! No, it's not very macrobiotic, Newfoundland most certainly isn't in the tropics, but I don't give a damn. Coconut is considered a superfood, and you can never eat enough of it!

Whoah, busy day, haven't had a chance to sit down until now.

Update: 3:12 P.M.

Breakfast was odd, I made a Vega smoothie, just using Vega with canned coconut milk and frozen strawberries. It was pretty bad, I don't recommend it. I think I put too much Vega in and not enough other things to mask the taste of the powder.

Lunch was leftover pasta. Pasta two days in a row, what is the world coming to!

And then I just had a snack, which was a carrot with the edamame dip I made yesterday. I also ate two bowls of very sweet cereal that has all this refined corn in it, but I want to see if I have any reactions, so I'll wait and see...

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

The Diary of a Newfegan Madman--Day 3

Dinner

Update: 8:00 P.M.

Dinner was simple tonight, gluten-free pasta and broccolette. I have nothing to say on this topic, amazingly enough, other than that I think it's great you can buy gluten-free pasta! We eat pasta about once a week.

Afternoon Snack

Update 5:02 P.M.

Let's see, I finished up a pineapple coconut cup, 1/2 avocado w/ gomashio, and now I'm munching on cashews.

Lunch

Update: 2:05 P.M.

Leftovers: Root Veggie Latkes w/ buckwheat pilaf

I made some edamame dip (The MILF Diet) because we're out of hummus, and it was excellent! Edamame is also great for supporting the liver, and Spring is the Liver Season.

Snack

Update: 11:25 A.M.

Oh boy, I am done stretching, and I feel elastically elated! Or is that elated elastically? I don't know...

Anyways, we, m'girl n' I, are snacking on--you guessed it--apples and nut butters. She's doing the peanut butter thing, and I'm doing the almond butter thing because I'm cutting down on peanuts right now. I also just polished off the rest of that sweet brown rice and mung beans concoction with onions, it's so good, I'm going to have to bookmark that one! We also just ate some homemade granola bar things that m'wife made last night, which I think have vegan marshmallows, they were really sweet, so I'm balancing that with the nut butters and rice mixture.

Wow, what a snack! Now it's time to make us some edamame (soybeans) dip, because we are all out of hummus, a staple in this house!

Breakfast

Update: 9 A.M.

Didn't sleep so well, at about 3 A.M. I woke up ravenous for some reason, which is unusual. I finally got back to sleep, but the strange thing is when I woke up I wasn't hungry at all. I didn't eat breakfast until 9 A.M.

Right now, I'm drinking the blueberry hemp smoothie that's on the Navitas Naturals website. I added a tablespoon of chia seeds to it, to give it even more protein, fiber, and Omega 3's.

This smoothie is extremely filling, holy Christmas trees! As I said yesterday, I think smoothies make the perfect morning meal because you don't want to bog down your body with a lot of work to do in breaking down all this food in the morning. When you blend your food, you get the instant chewing effect and instant energy because you save lots of energy from not having to break down the food so much, it just goes right into your system. Jesus, that was wordy...

The hemp protein and chia seeds together make a powerhouse of protein that is another good thing to load up with in the morning because not only do you have instant energy, but you feel truly satiated. For vegans, it's optimal to have some kind of protein powder in the smoothies, methinks.

We use a Vitamix, which is awesome if you can get one, but a high-powered blender will do just as well.

Time to stretch!

Monday, March 11, 2013

Sunday, March 10, 2013

The Diary of a Newfegan Madman, Day One

Since I have started this blog back a few years ago now, I have gone through many changes with my eating habits. I initially meant this blog to be a food diary, but due to foreseen circumstances, given my poor time management and general organization skills, I just wasn't able to keep up. But I have been overcome with vigor (perhaps my new change in diet?), and it's high time that I went back to my original idea, which is to write a food diary of sorts. So without further adieu...

First of all, my food diary is going to consist of a certain format for simplification purposes. I am just going to simply write down what I have eaten at what time, and then commentary will follow, with or without links. Each post will be updated in real time throughout the day, since I have nothing better to do.

Newfegan refers to the fact that I am an honorary Newfoundlander and vegan (though I do break the rules here because I am not an extremist about it. I am vegan enough to call myself a vegan.) Hence the term Newfegan. To any Newfoundlanders who are offended by the derogatory term "Newfie," it is at this time I hope to clarify that the two terms are not related, and thus should not be considered offensive to any Newfoundlander who might be reading this.

Day One

Update: 9:06 P.M.

Here's the last update, just as I threatened. So now I'm eating dessert, a pineapple coconut cup (See Vegan Diner.) Instead of gelatin, which is ground up horse hooves and such, we use agar agar which essentially does the same thing as gelatin, but it's from the sea!



That's it, what a day. Seems like all I did was type and eat! Hopefully, this diary will give you an idea of how to eat once you have insanely decided to stop eating everything you've eaten your whole life. I really must be mad...

Peach out.

Update: 8:06 P.M.

Whoo, boy, I'm full. I had me some Sweet Brown rice w/ mung beans (Terry Walters' Clean Food) and Saag Aloo (Chloe's Kitchen), an Indian dish with baby kale and baby spinach, with potatoes. I had two helpings, and washed it all down with some coconut milk, to take my vitamins. My naturopath recommends I take some supplements, so there you go. His name is Mark Kibyuk. Tell him Veggontherock sent you.

There's pineapple coconut pudding for dessert, but I am full at present. I usually don't eat dessert until about an hour after dinner, so expect an update then. Are you supposed to eat before bed? Nope, but I often do, and it doesn't seem to affect me. Some people really can't sleep if they eat before bed, and all the pundits say you shouldn't eat before bed, but one of my jobs is to break the mold, so there you go! I'm going to go wash the dishes...

Update: 6:08 P.M.

Another hour until dinner. I was hungry again, so I had an organic apple (always organic as they're one of the dirty dozen), with almond butter. My 5 yr. old had the same.

I am now drinking some bizarre concoction I made: some coconut milk, chia seeds, and raw cacao powder. Normally you wait 20 minutes for the chia seeds to absorb the liquid and become a pudding, but I am just swallowing as is. The things I do for health!

Actually, I am ramping up my intake of chia seeds ever since I found out how many amazing properties they have. They're a complete food! So I am going to eat them with just about everything, about 2-4 tablespoons/day. I am being intense and not adding any sweeteners!

I am going to go grind some sesame seeds now so we can have some gomashio, a macrobiotic condiment that I absolutely love love.

Update: 4:27 P.M.

Hungry. Snack. Eat a snack with Brown and Black. Eating more cashews...

Update: 3:26 P.M.

Holy Schmoly, I am still a bit hungry. What a surprise, considering I'm not eating any damn food, no gluten, dairy, meat, eggs, cheese, toast, cereal. Argh! Okay, I just downed a glass of So Delicious coconut milk, with the last of our chia seeds. That should do the trick. We used to buy Silk but ever since they didn't sign that anti-GMO bill/prop, we are a bit pissed at them, so So Delicous it is!

Chia seeds. I found some brown ones in the brand we were using, so we're not going to get that brand anymore, the organic ones at Costco. There aren't supposed to be any brown ones, because those are actually weeds or something. So it's an inferior product. Granted, it was the bottom of the can, but I don't like getting stuff at Costco if I can avoid it.

Update: 3:07 P.M.

Yep, I am still hungry. I peeled another carrot and I am eating more hummus. This should work. Normally, I would have eaten the hummus on bread, but I cut out gluten, so...carrots. I also have Mary's brand gluten-free crackers, but I eat these in very limited portions.

Update: 2:42 P.M.

My god, it's Daylight Savings! Arrgh, a whole hour gone. What's happened to the day???

So I have just made my youngest her lunch. She loves my go-to food, the hummus. We were buying hummus from Costco, but I was concerned when I learned that their hummus used canola oil. Yuck. You don't need canola oil in your hummus! And it's probably GMO to boot, because I emailed the hummus company about their using GMO canola oil, and they never responded. To me, that's an admission of guilt, so I don't buy it anymore. If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself!

So here's her lunch.

Don't ask me what this is, I have no idea, but I do know those are carrots and olives, and a blob of white bean hummus for the head. The hummus jellyfish olive monster is coming to get you!

I was still hungry after the soup, so I just munched on olives, carrots and hummus myself. If I am still hungry, I will eat some more cashews to take any edge off.


Update: 1:55 P.M.

I am starving! I am eating some roasted unsalted cashews right now as I wait for my soup to heat up. I am trying to not microwave as much, so I am actually heating up last night's minestrone in a pan.


Yeah, there's some brown rice pasta in there, but not much. It's got kale, broccolette (kale meets broccoli), kidney beans, frozen green beans, peas, carrots, etc. Green beans and carrots, upward and downward growing vegetables support liver energy, which is the organ that is on the same frequency as the Spring! I told you I was a madman...

I seem to have unbalanced liver energy which apparently comes out in the eyes, so I am trying to eat more foods that address the liver.

I am going to sprinkle some hemp and chia seeds on top for good Omega 3 fats and protein. And I am eating cashews, which also has good fats and protein. Very important when you don't eat animals.

I just recently learned that another huge cause of inflammation can be an improper ratio of Omega 6 fats to Omega 3 fats. And I didn't know this, but Omega 3 fats are anti-inflammatory! So when I heard this, I have begun to ramp up these fats in my diet, while simultaneously reducing the Omega 6's.

Update: 1:30 P.M.

I am done stretching, and I had to stop because I'm freaking starving! I haven't the faintest clue what I am going to eat since I have cut out gluten, sugar, refined flour grains (though I had pancakes as a treat), eggs, dairy, meat, peanuts...Jesus Christ!

I am thinking about what's in the fridge. I had made a white bean hummus which is absolutely scrumptious, and hummus is one of my go-to foods. This recipe can be found in Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Kitchen. Her other book is amazing, and perhaps in the summer I am going to try her detox program. I don't dare do this in the winter, what with all the fresh produce lacking in the stores and gardens.

I am also thinking about making a blueberry hemp smoothie. I've been craving one for some reason.

Update: 12:34 P.M.

Since you can't be healthy by just eating, you also have to exercise. I have been doing the Miranda Esmond White's Classical Stretch program for two weeks now, and I'm already noticing benefits. And so now I am going to stretch. It's on PBS and if you have a PVR, you can just record it!

Update: 12:10 P.M.

The chia seeds seem to be working. I am not hungry anymore, and all I did was have some chia seeds in some water. Amazing...

Update: 11:16 A.M.

Gluten-free banana and chocolate chip pancakes with maple syrup
Glass of water with chia seeds

We have just had breakfast. Wife made gluten-free chocolate-chip and banana pancakes with brown rice flour. They were still fluffy! When you add the maple syrup, that's a heavy dose of sugar, but there was no white refined sugar--we don't use that anymore. She got the recipe from the macrobiotic-leaning cookbook Blissful Bites.

How ironic, that I'm trying to be healthy and then I go and eat these! Flour of any kind is probably not good for us, but what the hey, we usually have some form of pancakes on Sunday mornings. Tradishuuuuuuuuun, Tradition!

Chia Seeds


Since I am now obsessed with the power of chia seeds, I have taken 1/2 tablespoon of chia seeds and added them to a glass of water. I am still hungry after eating five pancakes. Chia seeds are supposed to make you feel much fuller for longer because they are loaded with...everything! Protein, fiber, omega 3's, they are a complete food! They're great for weight loss, apparently, not that I need to lose any. At about 6 feet tall, I weigh anywhere between 145-150 lbs. Skinny!

People say it's because I don't eat meat that I'm so skinny. So I guess all the ice cream and cookies and meat and cheese and butter that I constantly ate my whole life was making me skinny, too. I have been skinny my whole life. Only now has my metabolism started to slow way down. Now I don't look as anorexic as I used to, just a healthy kind of skinny, lean machine.

My youngest, she ate a bowl of almond yogurt with chia and hemp seeds and frozen blueberries. This is her favorite. Then she had some pancakes later. We're trying to take her off gluten, too.

9:36 A.M.

One cup of lemon water.

I am going to start my day how I always do, with a nice hot steaming mug of lemon water.

I drink lemon water every single morning because I am trying to cut coffee completely out of my diet. I find when I drink this, my desire for coffee disappears completely. I can't say the same for my wife, who still likes her morning coffee, even after she drinks the lemon water.

Lemon water is alkalinizing so is optimal to drink in order to counterbalance the acidity that many of us have in our blood. I usually squeeze half a lemon and half a lime, since lemons tend to be on the expensive side. Ginger is good to add because it has anti-inflammatory properties.

Inflammation


Inflammation seems to be the word of the year. It seems like 1 in 3 of us are suffering from it. Is this a coincidence? Nope. Which foods cause inflammation? Well, since the answer is pretty much everything, it's easier to write a list of what doesn't cause inflammation.

List of foods that aren't really known to cause inflammation:

  • fruits, except citrus
  • vegetables, except nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants)
  • nuts and seeds (not peanuts--they're not nuts!)
  • lean meats (I'm not sure about this one, but I haven't read anything to the contrary)

Note: Meat is an issue because when you fry it, you get all those carcinogens, and these then cause inflammation, and cured and processed meats are linked to tons of problems, so there are very few meats that don't cause inflammation/problems. I am just going to stay away from them entirely.

That's about it. So it's no wonder we have inflammation everywhere, especially with GMO foods and alien-lifeform foods that we put into our bodies on a daily basis. I also suffer from inflammation, and I have been doing my own experimenting and researching to deal with it. I have been suffering from it since 2006.

Apparently, dairy and gluten are the two largest offenders for inflammation (according to Mark Hyman, anyway).

When I got the chronic pain in my tendons, I was eating a very SAD vegetarian diet, but I ate meat whenever we went out to eat, and I would even eat a lot of the PC brand frozen Indian dishes, so I wasn't really a vegetarian at all. And then I got the chronic pain. So I ventured to change many things in my lifestyle, and I still suffer from the pain. I am 38 years old. Nothing I have done has really done anything, except maybe time. Time has probably done the most good, but unfortunately time has a way of crawling by when you don't want it to. And so I have to accept what is happening, since I cannot control time, but I can control what I eat.

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." This was our mantra we had when I had unconsciously engaged in a pyramid multi-marketing scheme in New York back in '98. Thank God I had the wisdom to get the hell out of there and live my own life, rather than telling people how they should live theirs.

My uncle has had incredible success with Mark Hyman's Blood Sugar Solution, and told my mom about it. My mom told me about it, so I just got the book from the library, and since I have read the book, I have been inspired to make some major changes: cutting out gluten and sugar.

My naturopath has told me that I am sensitive to gluten, corn, and soy. Great. What the hell do I eat then? I haven't cut out corn or soy, but I am cutting out gluten to see how I feel. It's been three weeks now, and I can say I feel better, my irritated eyes don't seem to be so irritated--but the main consequence of cutting gluten is that you now have to eat more of something else to compensate for the loss in calories. And once you cut out gluten, you can then identify if any other foods are causing any problems. Since you're not eating gluten, you know it's not gluten that becomes the offender.

I used to eat a lot of organic corn chips, but I noticed my eyes got pretty irritated, so I'm thinking it could be corn. We had tacos over the weekend, and again my eyes got red and itchy, so is it corn? Who knows...we'll see what happens when I reintroduce gluten back in and see how I feel.

Eat B(right),

Veggie Daddy