A new recipe

School started and I'm starting back to work, too.  I always forget how much there is to do at the start of school.  Of course, I don't have time to sit and surf the web, but I am doing it. I just found this awesome recipe at Forks over Knives.

 I'm a sucker for chocolate and pumpkin and I can't wait to make these.  The recipe looks excellently not sweet!  The only change I might make is to pull out a little of the oat flour and exchange it for flax (like do 1.5 cups oat flour and 1/2 cup flax).  I'll report back when I get these made.  (I kind of want to make muffins RIGHT now, but it's 10:30 pm and I have to get up kind of early in the morning.  School... Gah.) 

(Here's the recipe copy and pasted, you know, in case the Internet ever goes down or something.) 
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
Serves 6-12

1 medium banana, mashed
1 (15-oz.) can sweet pumpkin puree
1/4 cup 100% pure maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups whole oat flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 cup grain-sweetened dairy-free chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, combine mashed banana, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.

2. In a small bowl, combine oat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Transfer mixture to large bowl and mix together gently until well combined. Avoid over-mixing to prevent toughness in the final product. Fold in chocolate chips.

3. Spoon batter into silicon muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins are lightly browned. Remove muffins from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Store muffins in an airtight container.

*Recipe derived from Julieanna Hever’s Blueberry Oat Breakfast Muffins in Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health, edited by Gene Stone

Mexican Sweet Potato Soup

I made this soup for the first time.  (Recipe pasted below.) It was good!  What would I change? Not much.  I'd add Kale, of course!  (Remember, I like it GREEN!)  I did add some kale to my bowl, and YUM! I think I'd also add Muir Glen fire-roasted tomatoes.  If you scroll down on this post you can read about Eden tomatoes being BPA free.

Oh, on the soup, I didn't saute the veggies.  I just threw everything in the pot and let it cook for a couple of hours.  Next time, I might saute the red peppers or if I were in a hurry, I'd add (jarred) oven roasted red peppers.

So it's been a while since my last post... where did I go and am I back now?  I have been busy getting ready for the fall.  I'll be working again and teaching.  I'm almost ready--kind of, but I don't want summer to end.  My brother is visiting and this coming weekend we have some birthday celebrating to do, so don't expect me back quite yet.  I've so enjoyed my summer off and hanging with the girls.  Thanks to my wonderful husband for encouraging me to take time off. 

And now, Happy Healthy Librarian's Sister's Soup Recipe. 

Serves:  8 (2 cup servings)
Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups cubed sweet potatoes

1 large sweet onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped fine

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped

1 large red pepper, chopped

1 16 oz. jar of salsa (I used pico de gallo, but next time I might use a heartier cooked salsa)

1/2 tablespoon cumin

2--14.5 oz. can of black beans, drained & rinsed

6 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth (use 8 cups if you like a thinner soup)

1/3 cup Better'n Peanut Butter (low-fat), or PB2 equivalent, prepared, or real peanut butter

1 bag of TJ's frozen brown rice, microwaved (2 cups cooked brown rice)
Optional:  Add 1 1/2 cups of frozen roasted corn

Preparation:
Saute all the vegetables, with sweet potatoes for 5-7 minutes, until soft (I skipped this... I microwaved the sweet potatoes and just through everything in the pot and let them simmer for a couple of hours.  I do think softening the pepper a bit more might be good.)

Add salsa, cumin, black beans, & broth. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes

Add in peanut butter. Whisk well.

Add in rice & cook 2 minutes longer.  (I didn't add rice, but maybe next time.  I prefer kale over rice.)

This is loaded with nutrients!

Protein

Here's a link to an article on protein from Vegnews.com.

 I still need to think about calcium, but right now, I'm putting the final touches on my syllabus for my course for fall. 

Lunch with my girls

Today, we were spontaneous!  We went out to lunch without planning on it.  We drove past a strip mall and saw a Chipolte and decided we should go.

Chipolte is a fairly friendly vegan restaurant.  Their black beans are not made with any animal products.  (Their website gives lots of information about their food.) The girls had rice and black beans (one had brown rice and one had white) (the third girl was at a playdate so she had none).  I had a salad bowl with black beans, romaine lettuce, pico de gallo, and guacamole.  The girls and I also had a few tortilla chips--we split one bag.  We were very full at the end of our lunch. 
 
We ate alfresco; I should have taken a picture, but alas, I was caught up in the moment of enjoying the girls and the nice, cool summer day. Ah, summer, I love you.  I don't want you to end.

Coffee

I gave up coffee a couple of years back, but a link to this slide show came to my email box, today. The slide show is called, Coffee: The Original Wonder Drug? 

If you're not a member of Medscape, you won't be able to see the slide show.  I recommend joining Medscape, not just to see this slide show, but to get access to peer-reviewed work in the world of medicine. 

I used to love coffee, but I gave it up because I thought it would be better for me to not drink it.  I still drink caffeine in the form of black and white tea.  However, after viewing the slides I kind of want to drink coffee again.  The benefits that are attributed to coffee include:

• lower risk of coronary disease--potentially because of antioxidants that reduce oxidation in LDL cholesterol; coffee drinking is also associated with lower inflammatory markers in the blood
• lower risk of stroke (a meta-analysis showed this)
• improved glucose metabolism and lower risk of type 2 diabetes
• increased ability to lose weight
• reduction in some types of cancer--potentially due to antioxidants and anti-mutagenic properties
• potentially neuroprotective (less dementia progression in coffee drinkers)
• lower risk for depression
• protection for the liver
• reduced risk for MRSA (also true for tea drinkers)
• helpful in dry eye syndrome
• reduced risk for gout

(As I said, get membership in Medscape!)

Coffee's not perfect as the slide show creators end with the associate risks:

• increased blood pressure
• causing or worsening anxiety, insomnia, and tremor  
• potentially elevated risk for glaucoma

What I want to figure out is how many of the benefits of coffee are also associated with tea because of the caffeine.  I may need to add both coffee and tea to my diet for the health benefits.

The slide show also notes that one risk is caffeine withdrawal syndrome; it is being considered as an entry in the DSM-5 because of the debilitating symptoms.  (Just don't quit?)  I'm not ever planning on quitting working out, so maybe it should be the same for caffeine.

Yum

 

Green smoothie (with stainless steel straw) in the coveted Apple mug.  Everyone LOVES drinking green smoothies out of this cup!

Lazy vegan weekend!

Last weekend was a lazy vegan weekend.  I didn't feel like cooking so I got vegan hot dogs and burgers at the store and the girls loved it.  They enjoyed these hot dogs* and these burgers,  while Nick and I enjoyed vegan chicken masala.   We got sprouted wheat buns for the girls and we ate our masala with kale (me) and brown rice (Nick).

These were super easy meals--we'll save them for those nights I just don't feel like cooking. I really prefer to prepare whole foods, but every now and then, a little break is nice!


*The girls are very excited by the hot dogs.  I'm not sure why.  We didn't eat hot dogs before going vegan, but I guess hot dogs =  happy kid food.  Life is good.