Raw, Vegan, Vegetarian and Home Cooking Fun in the Kitchen
19 Jul 2010 Leave a comment
in Cleansing Tags: Cleanse, quick and easy, raw, snack, vegan
Love Cleansing! This latest 6 day juice cleanse went wonderfully. I felt amazing and so full of energy. I always feel so good that I hate breaking the cleanse. But I was hosting dinner last night for my inlaws and my parents so I had to eat of course. I started out with a green juice before yoga and then afterwards I enjoyed the most deeelish figs ever!!! Perfect way to break my cleanse! YUM!
P.S. Post on the dinner party to come 🙂
14 Jul 2010 5 Comments
in In the News, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: travel, vegan, vegetarian, yoga
For July 4th Weekend Michael and I were in Montreal for our good friend’s wedding! It was such a beautiful and delightful weekend full of love and sunshine! We had an amazing time and I was really impressed by the uber veggie friendliness of the city 🙂 which of course always brings an even bigger smile to my face.
Yeah!
Once we got off the plane and checked into the hotel we set off to meet up with some of the other wedding guests. Beyond wonderfully, they were dining at this little cafe called Olive + Gourmando in Old Montreal. Complete heaven! There was many a meat dish, but of course once my eyes spotted the Viva Las Vegan sandwich and the Herbivore salad I knew we were somewhere special. Of course I couldn’t make up my mind which to get, but my amazing husband suggested we share them both 🙂 SOO delightful!! YUM!!
Viva Las Vegan! Such Goodness!
The Herbivore!
Then off to the rehearsal dinner that night at Da Emma, a classic Italian restaurant in Old Montreal. Everything was very meat based yet they did not skip a beat to accommodate me. SO sweet!
On Saturday we went for a 30 or so mile bike ride along the water. (Who knew Montreal was an island??) Gorgeous!! What an absolutely beautiful day and city! Afterwards we stopped for lunch at Cafe Sante Veritas. This to me looked just like a simple lunch place, but really once we met the proprietor and had our food I knew it was so much more! He was so sweet and told me that anything on the menu with a carrot was vegetarian and that he could whip me up anything I wanted to customize as well. I was in heaven with my Wrap de tofu à la tapenade d’olives. (especially after biking for 3 1/2 hours) but this sandwich also came with a side salad. I had ordered a celery and melon juice and my meal came with coffee (and soy milk!) all for $12.39, coming from NYC I was a little in shock!
Michael's Sandwich à la poire et fromage bleu
That evening was the wedding. The couple looked so great, so happy and so in love! Absolute Perfection! At dinner that night they had already told the restaurant that I was vegan so I knew I would be all set. But still the meal I had was one of the best I had ever had at a wedding. I felt really cared for and very loved! Really it was so sweet! I had a deelish salad to start, a spiralized “pasta” with veggies in a scrumptious sauce and a perfect fruit salad for dessert. It was really very thoughtful 🙂
On Sunday we took a nice long walk through the city with some of our friends. I had a whole list of fabulous places to check out of course. We were walking along and I hear Michael telling me that there is a vegan restaurant across the street! Perfection, it was one of the top places on my list, Aux Vivres. AMAZING! I am still thinking about this place and the vegan blt we had! BLT: coconut bacon, lettuce, tomatoes & vegan mayo and we had it in the homemade chapati! YUM! This was so different from the fakin bacon I have had before, and soo good! We also shared a deelish polenta, beans, guac and salsa dish. Overall just loved this place!
Serious BLT Goodness!!!
That night we made it date night for just the two of us 🙂 We went to another of the top vegan places on my list. Chu Chai (and their sister place called Church) Awesome! The food was delightful! The service slowed a bit as the restaurant began to fill up with lots of diners, but still it was a super great meal!
Amazing Dumplings and Peanut Sauce!
Yummy Pad Kee Mao
SOOOO good!! "Chicken" and Peanut Sauce with Crispy Spinach!
On Monday we spent the day walking around and enjoying the weather. We enjoyed a light snack and deelish teas at Ming Tao Xuan, a vegetarian tea house in Old Montreal and we needed to make one last stop to Cafe Veritas before heading home.
Vegetarian Buns - YUM!!
There are so many other veggie places that we did not get to check out, but we had such a beautiful long weekend and I’m super happy with everything with did do and saw. Now we have some places left for our next romantic trip to Montreal 😉 On the last day when we were walking around we came across Centre Luna Yoga which looked adorable and had Jivamukti Yoga Classes! Next time I will check this place out for sure!
13 Jul 2010 Leave a comment
in In the News, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: guest post, nutritional yeast, pasta
I am super excited to welcome Louise from vegetarianmenu.net to write a guest post today! See below 🙂
Give me five minutes and I’ll provide you 1 great reason to become vegetarian.
While fish may serve as the most important dietary supply of the long-chain omega-3s eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, which were shown to be important in supporting brain health, low intake of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid in vegetarians will not adversely affect mood, according to a new research (Nutr J. 2010;9:26. DOI:10.1186/1475-2891-9-26).
A study team from Arizona State University conducted a cross-sectional study to check the mood of vegetarians who never eat fish with the mood of healthy omnivorous adults.
A total of 138 healthy Seventh Day Adventist adults residing in Arizona and California (64 vegetarians and 79 non-vegetarians) were enrolled in the study and completed a health history questionnaire, food frequency questionnaire and two psychometric tests, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale and the Profile of Mood States..
Vegetarians had significantly lower mean intakes of eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid and the omega-6 arachidonic acid; they had higher intakes of the omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid and the omega-6 linoleic acid.
“Seed oils are the richest sources of α-linolenic acid, notably those of rapeseed (canola), soybeans, walnuts, flaxseed (Linseed oil), clary sage seeds, perilla, chia, and hemp.”
However, the vegetarians also reported considerably less negative emotion than omnivores in both psychometric tests. Mean total psychometric scores were positively linked to the mean intakes of eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid , and inversely associated with alpha-linolenic acid and linolenic acid intake.
The research team noted there is also the chance that vegetarians may make smarter dietary choices and could generally be healthier and happier.
If you would like to try it out, here is a good example of vegetarian recipe based on Italian cuisine.
Italian Spaghetti with Zucchini
Ingredients:
In a skillet or frying pan heat the oil and when hot, add garlic and zucchini. Raise the heat and stir often to finish their cooking. They need to be golden and crispy outside and tender inside. Cook the pasta, drain and sauté in pan with zucchini, basil and yeast. Serve immediately.
***Zucchini contain fewer calories and have no fat. However they are an excellent source of potassium, vitamin e, vitamin c, folate, lutein and zeaxanthin. These types of nutrients are very sensitive to heat and to enjoy their full benefits you need to find a quick method to cook or even eat raw in salads. From the therapeutic viewpoint, zucchini have laxative, refreshing, anti-inflammatory, diuretic and detoxifying action.
About the Author – Louise Infante writes for the www.vegetarianmenu.net. Her personal hobby blog focused entirely on vegetarian cooking tips to help people live better.
11 Jul 2010 3 Comments
in Cleansing, Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: agave, almonds, avocado, Cleanse, dressing, flax, quick and easy, raw, salad, sides, vegan, vegetarian
Tomorrow we are starting the Juice Cleanse portion of the July Cleanse, so this was the perfect last meal before a week of Super Cleansing!!
One of my pet peeves is when a salad is full of huge pieces of lettuce that make it difficult and sloppy to eat. Here is one of my versions of the chopped salad. Super easy, tasty, nutritious, colorful and you will even look pretty eating it. 😉 Perfection!
Cranberry, Cabbage & Almond Chopped Salad
1/4 of a green cabbage, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1/4 cup almonds
1/3 cup dried cranberries
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tablespoons flax oil
2 Tablespoons agave nectar
1/3 cup red onion, minced
1 large avocado, chopped
Place all ingredients into a large food processor and pulse-chop until chopped. ENJOY!!
07 Jul 2010 1 Comment
in Raw Desserts and Treats, Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: banana, cookies, dessert, quick and easy, raw, snack, vegan, vegetarian
I love raw cookies! Not sure if it gets much simpler than these, only 4 ingredients! Super fast and simple to make. Just put them in the D and enjoy! SO fudgey and deeelish! These are great for a snack and work perfectly for on-the-go 🙂
Perfect for my raw cleanse!!
Before the Dehydrator
Banana Macadamia Cookies
1 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
1 cup ripe bananas
In food processor blend raisins and walnuts until smooth. Add in macadamia nuts and bananas. Spoon into rounds onto the sheet and dehydrate for 8 to 10 hours. Enjoy!!
05 Jul 2010 4 Comments
in Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: entertaining, quick and easy, raw, salad, sides, snack, vegan, vegetarian
I hope everyone had a fabulous July 4th Weekend! We had sooo much fun at a fabulous wedding and fun times in Montreal. Loved it! I will be posting on our vaca soon. Stay tuned.
In honor of the heat I wanted to post this perfect, refreshing summer salad!! I love watermelon and mint! So light and such great flavor! The longer you let the salad combine together, the better it is. YUM!
It was perfect the way it was, but I plan on trying it out with some Vegan Feta and chopped Heirloom tomatoes later this summer.
Watermelon & Mint Salad
3 cups seedless watermelon cubes
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion, rinsed
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients and toss together.
01 Jul 2010 1 Comment
in In the News, New York Highlights Tags: yoga
I will be assisting Lisa Dawn tonight at Bryant Park. Come on down for a great free yoga class! FUN!!!
July 1st 6:00-7:00pm tonight!!! Avenue of the Americas between 40th and 42nd
Greet July with a rejuvenating class in the park. Join us for a complimentary and open-level yoga class in Bryant Park, courtesy of Lululemon. Yogini Lisa Angerame will leave you smiling and feeling relaxed.
29 Jun 2010 3 Comments
in Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: agave, asian, comfort food, quick and easy, seitan, vegan, vegetarian
Here is a super fast and healthy dinner! Colorful and yum! You can serve this over brown rice or quinoa or just enjoy on its own.
Quick Seitan Stir-Fry
1/4 cup white cooking wine
1/4 cup water
1-2 tablespoons Hunan sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon agave
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
8 ounces water-packed seitan
1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 cup baby spinach
1. Whisk wine, water, hunan, cornstarch, agave, lime and salt in a small bowl.
2. Heat 3 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add seitan and cook, stirring occasionally, until crispy, 4 to 7 minutes. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil, ginger and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add carrots and pepper; cook, stirring, about 1 minute.
3. Whisk the sauce again; add it to the pan and stir to coat. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook until the vegetables are tender-crisp and the sauce is thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in spinach and toss till wilted. Serve and Enjoy.
before adding the spinach
27 Jun 2010 1 Comment
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: almond milk, butternut squash, comfort food, daiya, non-dairy cheese, pasta, quick and easy, sauces, sides, soy, vegan, vegetarian
This was so super fast and I whipped it up with ingredients I had in the house. Love that! I bet this would be great for kids and those peeps who are not into their veggies. The squash is just folded right into the cheeze sauce, perfecto!
Quick, Easy & Healthy Vegan Mac & Cheeze
1 lb. whole wheat/quinoa or rice rotini
1 cup soymilk
12 oz package frozen or canned butternut squash
2 cups Cheddar Daiya
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
pepper to taste
23 Jun 2010 2 Comments
in Cleansing
We are ready to get started on July 5th!! See more details here….
If you are interested in more info please contact me so I can email you an info packet 🙂
If you are in NYC — and are juice cleansing. You can order from The Blueprint Cleanse at 15% off. But PLEASE ORDER BY JULY 2nd and use the code marisagroup15 to get the discount. (please also let me know when you order, so I can keep track- thanks!)
Marisa's Healthy Kitchen 