Time to start cooking

Summer is nearing the end and while everyone is buying school supplies and getting ready to head back to school I am perusing cookbooks and preparing lists of foods to buy and cook.

 Summer has been filled with crisp colorful veggies & fruit  eaten mostly raw.     Who can resist a bowl of carrots, radishes, cauliflower, celery, red pepper and yes even kale.    They're beautiful, light, cool and delicious

But with just the slight cooling in the weather my head instantly turns to warm soups & sauces.    What's a girl to do?  Why head to the library of course.  There is nothing to spark inspiration like new recipes.  I am a professed bookaholic, well it's actually worse  I'm a  cook bookaholic.   But I hate buying new cookbooks only to find that there are only a couple of recipes that I really like.   Enter the library I can completely review the book before deciding if I want to buy.   I have been saved from many mistakes by doing this. 

So what is on the reading list?

Vegan Indian Cooking by Anupy Singla.   I picked this up last night and within 5 min I found half a dozen recipes that I want to make now.    In fact I'm going back to the library to see if they have her first book.   The recipes are simple and make my mouth water to read them.   In addition she completely demystifies the spices, giving information on their health properties, uses and tastes giving you the confidence to try them in other foods.    Check out her blog for lots of great recipes and information  Indian As Apple Pie

Coming soon reviews on:

The Starch Solution
Bravo!: Health Promoting Meals from the True North Health Kitchen
Amazing Health Cookbook

Forks Over Knives

This life changing film will be show at Atholton Seventh Day Adventist church March 13th at 7pm. The Potomac Adventist Book Center will be on hand with books and videos and we'll have great tasting food samples for you to enjoy.

You can see the trailer here: http://forksoverknives.com

Everyone is welcome, please come and be inspired.

Simple Summer Food

Sorry for not posting for so long. I haven't done much cooking this summer. Instead I've made very simple meals like this one. Which consists of a tortilla with a hand full of spinach, red & yellow pepper slices and carrot sticks. It was delicious as well as colorful.

Another favorite is to cook whole wheat pasta and toss with sauteed veggies. Anything will do spinach, zucchini, yellow squash, chopped red pepper, as well as lots of garlic and a touch of basil puree. Again it's colorful, low fat and very tasty.


My other go to recipes have been, Happy Herbivores egg less salad and mock tuna salad. Here is the link
http://happyherbivore.com/recipes/ Everything on the site and in her book have been wonderful.

I've been taking advantage of the library and reading some wonderful cookbooks. I'll have reviews and more recipes soon.

Happy Herbivore Italian Sausage

Sorry I've been cooking more than posting lately. I've been cooking my way through the Happy Herbivore cookbook l.

I've tried several of the recipes and love them all. So far here are my 2 favorites, we sampled them in class recently. Both were easy and quick to mix up and then steam.

What I like most is the consistent results, no that's not true what I like most if the flavor. The food disappears before I have a chance to take a photo.

Italian Sausage

½ cup pinto beans
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
½ cup textured vegetable protein (TVP)
½ cup vital wheat gluten
1 tbsp fennel seeds
¼ tsp black pepper
a dash of red pepper flakes
1 tsp paprika
¾ cup water
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

Crush fennel seeds into a powder using mortar and pestle, set aside. Pulse beans a few times in a food processor or mash manually with a fork until no whole beans are left. Combine beans with all dry ingredients (add red pepper flakes to taste, a little goes a long way) and soy sauce in a large bowl. Mix with your hands to ensure even distribution. Add water and then knead dough about 10 times and set aside. Grab 5 rectangular shapes of foil and prepare your steamer (turn it on and get it ready). Divide dough into 5 equal parts and, using your hands, shape it into a log on the tin foil. Wrap each piece tightly in tin foil, twisting the ends to close. Steam for 40 minutes


Spicy Sausage
½ cup pinto beans
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp cayenne powder
1 tsp rubbed sage
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup textured vegetable protein (TVP)
3/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2 tsp hot sauce
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 cup water


Crush fennel seeds into a powder using mortar and pestle, combine with all other spices. Pulse beans a few times in a food processor or mash manually with a fork until no whole beans are left. Combine beans with all dry ingredients and soy sauce in a large bowl. Mix with your hands to ensure even distribution. Add water and then knead dough about 10 times and set aside. Grab 4 rectangular shapes of foil and prepare your steamer (turn it on and get it ready). Divide dough into 4 equal parts and, using your hands, shape it into a log on the tin foil. Wrap each piece tightly in tin foil, twisting the ends to close. Steam for 40 minutes.

I can't recommend this book enough. The recipes are easy , delicious and healthy. I've also tried the Hippie Loaf, Easy Marinara ( delicious with the spicy sausage) , Mock Tuna , Maple Cornbread Biscuits.

I've been thinking that I can even make hot dogs by tweaking the sausage recipes. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Muscle it does a body good

Do you want to increase you endurance?

Do you want to increase you balance?

Increase running speed?

Increase bone mass?

Burn more calories?


The answer to all above is add muscle. You don't need a gym either. Functional training using you own body weight will help you build muscle.

What is functional training? Well it's every day movement but adding resistance and repetition. Imagine picking up a ball and throwing it and similar actions.

You don't' need a gym or equipment either as we proved in class lately. Simple squats, lunges, push ups and plank will give you a full body workout. Do you want an interval workout alternate plank with squats or lunges.

It's been proven that the excess muscle movement ( I don't want to say flop but ....) the more the fibers are torn down unnecessarily, this is why compression shorts keep you from getting sore. Now imagine tighten and built those same muscles. Now the muscles hold themselves in place. Less movement =fewer muscle fiber torn and less residual soreness. Make sense?

Ginger Applesauce

I love simple recipes and this is about as simple as it gets.

Ginger Applesauce

6 apples cored and chopped in to large chunks

1 inch PC of ginger peeled

3 TBS lemon juice

water as needed.

Blend and enjoy.

I've been putting this on my oatmeal lately and it's been quite yummy. I like chewy oatmeal so I just add juice or fruit and let the oatmeal sit for a few min to soften.

Micro Chip Jump start eating plan

Jump start Day one: 3 meals of whole grains and fruit. YUM. I usually do oatmeal because it's easy but there are many options. Here is a very simple baked brown rice recipe, it turns our perfect every time. Double it if you want enough for several days. Baked Brown Rice 1 cup brown rice 2 1/2 cups boiling water Place rice in a 9x9 baking dish. Pour in the boiling water cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. You can use a little soy, rice or almond milk on your grains also you can use cinnamon, nutmeg and other spices. You'll be surprised how sweet these spices are all on their own. Enjoy