Recipe - Potato Leek Soup

In my youth I worked washing dishes at a high end Inn.  The chef made this potato leek soup and I tell you I could have eaten it very day for years!  It was outrageously good!  Here is a recipe for my vegan version.

What we need:
1 - leek stalk
3 - medium size potatoes
1 - 1 1/2 tablespoon smart balance buttery spread
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup original flavored soy milk
White pepper and sea salt to taste

Cut up leeks in 1" rounds and add them to a 4 quart pan.  I do not use the outer really green part but do use all of the hearts.  Fill pan 3/4 full with cool water and let leeks soak.  Separate leeks to allow any trapped sand to escape.  Sand will fall to the bottom of the pan.  Allow to soak for a good 10 minutes. Scoop out leeks with slotted spoon in to strainer and rinse again with cool water.  Allow to drain.  Melt Smart Balance buttery spread in separate 4 quart saucepan and add leeks.  Add leeks and cook until they sweat on med-high heat for a few minutes.  Reduce heat and let leeks cook until tender (15 minutes-ish) stirring occasionally.  Peel and cut up potatoes in to 1/2" squares.  When leeks are tender add vegetable broth and potatoes.  Increase heat to a boil then reduce to medium and cover.  Gently simmer until potatoes are tender.  Remove from heat and puree the mix with an immersion blender.  If you don't have one of these gadgets I highly suggest getting one!  They rock!  Stir in soy milk, sprinkle with fresh chives adjust seasoning to taste.
Can be served hot or chill it down and try it cold too!    

No one would know you didn't use heavy cream or real butter!

Enjoy!
Thanks for visiting!
Until next time,
Kel

High Energy Foods - Don't leave home without them!

At times during the day we may hit a slump, get sluggish, need a pickup or a pre or post workout food that is packed with energy to kick our mojo in gear!  Here is a partial list of some real winners:
(Maybe you can comment some others I missed!!)
Sprouts - Good source of protein and fiber
Broccoli -
Asparagus -
Spinach - and other leafy greens
Almonds / Walnuts - Tree nuts are awesome energy sources
Peanuts - love 'em!
Peanut butter - love it!
Soy nuts - protein & Omega-3's
Beans - Just about one of the best things ever
Lentils - see above
Seeds - sunflower, quinoa, and pumpkin
Watermelon - Love this fruit, water, potassium and just down right refreshing!
Berries - a handful goes a long way!
Bananas - under rated in my opinion
My #1 pick is good old fashioned WATER - dont underestimate it!!

What did I miss?  Leave a comment!

Thanks for visiting!
Until next time,
Kel

Recipe - Kel's Garlic Hummus Tomato and Cucumber Sandwich

I thought of this little beauty and I eat it all the time.  It's been done before, actually now that I think about it the Barenaked Ladies had it 100% correct in their song "Its all been done"!
I love cucumber and tomato sandwiches.  I used to enjoy them regularly and slather the bread with mayo so I came up with this simple fix to use the garlic hummus in place of the mayo.

What we need:
1/2 cucumber
1 roma tomato
2 slices whole grain bread (vegan)
garlic lovers hummus

Pretty easy stuff, spread hummus on each slice of bread.  Peel cucumber and cut in to slices long ways, lay slices on one piece of bread, slice roma tomato put slices on other side of bread, marry the two halves!

I like the garlic hummus, it adds some kick to the sandwich but there are many varieties of flavored hummus so for variety change it up a bit.  Living in the desert this sandwich is so refreshing and cool, its awesome!  I eat at least one a week!

Enjoy!

Thanks for visiting,
Until next time
Kel

Falling off the vegan wagon

Ok, so here's the scoop.  It happens.  Especially to those of us who have been die hard carnivores for 40 years.  Occasionally you might "fall off the vegan wagon".  It might be because you didn't check the labels close enough, or you added an ingredient simply because you weren't thinking - and this can happen easily in a household where you have a mix of eaters, or simply, like myself, by choice.

In my town there are a LOT of weekend happenings.  One of these is a BBQ event.  I attended with full intentions of eating meat.  (please, pull back the spears and poisoned darts aimed at me - I try my best to live my life as a vegan 99.999% of the time and please be patient - I'm NEW!)  As stated in my very first blog post, the smell of BBQ get's me going!  Anyway, here is what I experienced.

I almost made it through the entire event and just left empty handed but on my way out I ordered some pulled pork.  I took it home, I ate it.  I paid.  The next two days I was lethargic, didn't feel quite right, and was just blah.  Looking back on it now it wasn't worth it and I probably wouldn't do it again.  One of my vegan heros is Kathy Feston.  One of her statements is, and I quote, "I believe in progress, not perfection!"  I read one of her books and I encourage you to do the same or you can learn more here.  She is another inspiration for sure!

So I fell off the wagon, did the earth stop?  No it didn't.  Would I do it again?  Time will tell, but I am quite aware that the changes I am making are making a difference in my health, my life, the environment and the world.  If you are a new vegan and slip, don't discourage, don't beat yourself up, stay positive!

Thanks for visiting the blog!

Until next time,
Kel               

Recipe - Annie's Manicotti (vegan)

This recipe by far is my favorite we have came up with, so far!  These babies are packed with serious goodness and are out of this world with flavor!

What we need:
2 package 12oz firm tofu
3 seeded and diced roma tomatos
1 box manicotti shells 8oz (14 shells)
1/2 cup chopped italian parsley
salt and pepper to taste - (in filling)
4 teaspoon minced garlic
2 package frozen chopped spinach (thawed)
4 tablespoons lemon juice
Bakers piping bag (to fill manicotti shells) or take a Ziploc bag and cut a corner off the non zip part.
1 jar vegan spaghetti sauce (I make my own and will blog the recipe soon)
2 - 9" x 13" baking pans
1/2 cup Daiya mozzarella style shreds (vegan cheese substitute)

Prepare manicotti shells according to box directions.  While pasta is cooking cube up the tofu.  Add cubes to food processor with lemon juice, garlic and half of the parsley.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Process until ricotta cheese type consistency.  If it is not smooth enough add a little bit of lemon juice at a time.  Crumble and fold spinach in to the tofu mixture.  Coat the bottom of the baking dishes with a few spoonfuls of sauce to prevent shells from sticking.  Put filling in the piping or Ziploc bag and pipe tofu spinach filling in to each shell.  Don't over stuff them just a nice even layer inside.  Lay the filled manicotti shells in the baking dish in one single layer.  Spoon sauce over the manicotti.  Top with tomatos, remaining chopped parsley and Daiya mozzarella shreds.  Bake at 350-375 for 30-35 minutes until bubbly.  Turn up the heat to 425-450 bake an additional 10 minutes.          

We came up with this recipe one day while taking a short road trip.  I was curious if there was a cottage or ricotta cheese vegan substitute and my wife tweaked a tofu recipe to create it.  It's a dynamite substitue and works extremely well in this recipe.  I am positive it would work just as well in a lasagne!

Buon Appetito!
Kel

Robert Cheeke - Vegan bodybuilder

Theres some misconceptions and confusion about how vegans apear weak, non muscular, thin, etc and these are misconceptions.  I dont think Woody Harrelson (longtime Vegan) looks like any of these things.  Neither does a gentleman by the name of Robert Cheeke.

Mr. Cheeke was raised on a farm and at a young age decided to give up meat.  He has gone on to be recognized as one of the top and most popular vegan athletes.  Mr. Cheeke is also a vegan body builder and has won competitions for his hard work!
To learn more about Mr. Cheeke and see his full bio please visit his website

In my little quest of life changes I was afraid of loosing some of the muscle I have "earned" over the years of my meat rich life by going vegan.  I honestly was wondering how on earth I would be able to ever regain the 17" biceps I once had at the last peak in my physical prime which was in my 30's.  In the last 10-12 years I have put considerable strain on my body.  Twice I have dropped considerable amounts of weight and twice I have put it back on plus.

At the pinnacle of my weight roller coaster (December 2010) I was damn near 300 pounds on a 5'-9" frame.  I was smoking a pack and a half a day and drinking upwards of a 12 pack a night.  Good times!!  I felt miserable.  I looked miserable.  I was lethargic, lazy, tired and cranky most if not all of the time.  Thats when the changes started.   Click here to see my earlier blog post of my evolution of change.

Woody Harrelson and Robert Cheeke are both inspirations to me.  Now that I have made the decision to live a vegan lifestyle, I need to incorporate more exercise and some weight training in to it to "button up" my body and to continue to lead a more healthy lifestyle!

Thanks for visiting the blog!
Until next time,
Kel        

Recipe - Vegan Chick'n Scallopini pasta with Alfredo sauce

So I am making this recipe up (with a little help from the internet) as I go.  I am blogging on it as I make it for the first time so hopefully it comes out as good as I expect!

What we need for this is the following:
1 package Gardein Chick'n Scallopini
1 box whole grain pasta of your choice
For Alfredo sauce:
2 tablespoons smart balance buttery spread
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups unsweetened soy milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon veggie broth powder
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast (can be found at Whole Foods, Sunflower market etc.)
2 tablespoons minced garlic

Start water for pasta.  Prepare Gardein Chick'n Scallopini per package directions.  When cooked let stand and begin to cook pasta.  Prepare pasta per package directions.  When cool enough to do so cut up Chick'n in to bite size pieces.

For the Alfredo sauce:
Melt Smart Balance buttery spread in saucepan.  Mix in flour and cook like you would to make a roux.  Add garlic and cook for one minute or so.  Don't burn the garlic!  Add soy milk and stir until thickened.  Remove from heat.  Stir in salt, broth powder and nutritional yeast.
To "color" the dish up add some broccoli too!
To serve you can mix it all together and plate it that way garnished with chopped parsley or plate pasta topped with Chick'n chunks and then topped with the Alfredo sauce.  Garnish with chopped parsley.
Recipe makes 4-8 servings.  Enjoy!

Now that I have finished cooking this for the first time I am pretty impressed at how well it came out.  The sauce is hearty, very tasty and really good with the pasta and Chick'n.  If you try this recipe out and "tweak it" please leave comments or suggestions!

Thanks for visiting the blog!
Until next time,
Kel