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June 2012 Vegan Food Swap Canadian Edition

June 30, 2012 by Veronica Grace 7 Comments

For the June Canadian Vegan Food Swap I was paired with Megan from www.theglutenfreevegan.com . Gluten free vegan can be quite a challenge especially if you have gluten allergies or celiac disease, but I often make gluten free dishes at home as I have some friends and family that have celiacs. Megan found some great stuff locally from her home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to send me and I’m pretty sure everything was also coincidently naturally gluten free!

I sent my package to Maggie at www.cookbookaficionado.wordpress.com .

For more info on the Canadian Vegan Food Swap check out MeShell’s blog here: http://meshell.ca/blog/veganfoodswap/

For June I received:

-Organic local wild rice

-Gravelbourg Saskatoon Berry Mustard

-Ginger Pear Marmalade

-Prairie Grass Scented Soap

As you can see I’ve already sampled the marmalade and the mustard already. Both are something new for me I’ve never tried before. The combination of pear and ginger is really nice, it’s not your average plain marmalade and it makes for an interesting peanut butter jelly sandwich. I found a recipe online for Ginger Pear Marmalade here. In fact the marmalade is almost half gone. I just went strawberry picking yesterday and I made a ton of strawberry cardamom jam that turned out really well. I will post that recipe soon!

The Saskatoon berry mustard is really interesting, it’s like mustard but with a hint of berry sweetness to it. It would probably go well with meats or smoked tofu, but I put it on a Tofurkey deli sandwich to sample and it was nice. I’ll have to see what else I can use it with. I like that it’s not a typical harsh spicy mustard as I find those too strong for me and who doesn’t love berries in everything?

Megan gave me a hand written note explaining what everything was. This was cool, I don’t often receive written notes working on the internet so much! This was my second vegan swap and it was fun shopping for and packaging up goodies to send to someone else. I haven’t heard yet how my package was received, but I’m sure it will be posted any day now and I’m excited to see if she liked my special homemade peanut butter filled chocolate balls.

Backyard Vegetable Gardening And Top 10 Vegetables and Herbs To Plant In Your Garden

June 14, 2012 by Veronica Grace 21 Comments

So this past weekend I spent about 3 days setting up my new backyard garden. It was a late start as we just moved into a new place, so I bought a bunch of seedlings from the garden centre. Aren’t they cute?

First I had to weed the garden and remove last years mulch. It was a total mess! There were a few plants remaining from last year, some purple potatoes, chives, and some dill so I left them. There are two trees in the garden, but I don’t really know what they are! There’s no blossoms on them, so if they are fruit trees they are not producing this year.

It took me about 8 hours to get all the seedlings broken apart and into place. I am really not a skilled gardener. All I did was estimate the space they needed and installed them in little hills so they wouldn’t get too wet in the rainy climate we live in. I figure if it’s supposed to grow it will grow. Most things grow like crazy here because of the rain in spite of the lack of constant sun and heat.

Peas, carrots, beets, turnips, celery, kohlrabi, leeks, nobel giant spinach, arugala, chives, Brussels sprouts

Xander was happy to spend the entire day outside with me. He supervised of course and then became exhausted and took a nap… lol

I installed a ground cover because I was NOT about spend hours every week weeding. (That is the worst part about gardening) and I already have a weak lower back from 2 car accidents, so it’s really not good for it. It was a pain to insert it around plants and plant through it, but it will also probably deter the cat from thinking the garden is a giant litter box, so this another benefit! Now he just thinks it’s a runway and traipses through it…

4 varieties of tomatoes, eggplant, English cucumbers, acorn squash, zucchini, 4 varieties of basil (including a beautiful African blue basil), purple potatoes, dill, thyme, rosemary, oregano, onions

So now all my plants are in. I’ve got a little bamboo trellis I attempted to build for the acorn squash and English cucumbers. I don’t know that it’s really worth it to build a lot of garden trellises, it may be cheaper, but it took me hours and hours to figure out how and then to do it and it may or may not work/last. We will see how it goes!

Swiss chard, Rainbow chard, white potatoes, red leaf lettuce, green kale, basil, red bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, Thai basil, bay laurel shrub, and in the black herb container: cilantro, parsley, purple sage, tarragon, more basil, oregano, thyme

As I didn’t want to crowd the garden I put most of my herbs and lettuces in container pots I had from last year’s patio garden and a few things like cherry tomatoes, white potatoes and a mini bell pepper plant. This also deters the cat from getting on my raw edibles like lettuces and herbs! He seems to have thought the thyme in the garden was offensive enough to sprinkle on a few times… so yeah.

As you can see I still have a little more work to do, tidying up and mowing the lawn, as well as I will plant a few more containers of leaf lettuce soon. I don’t have any romaine or butter lettuce planted yet.

We aren’t getting a CSA box this summer, so I thought I would invest in having some of our own home grown vegetables and greens. There’s also a bunch of strawberry plants and blueberry and raspberry bushes by the big tree, so hopefully we will have some of those goodies too! I figure since everything was already grown as a seedling it probably means it will grow in this climate and I am so happy our backyard gets much much more sun than our little patio did previously. (I only had a 1 foot wide strip to work with before) Also what I like is not having the fridge crammed full of herbs and greens that go bad. It’s much nicer to keep it out in the garden until it’s ready to use and then you can just pick it!

I think it’s a lot of work to plant everything perfectly and coordinate everything so eat plant has the perfect amount of sun, space and fertilizer, so really I am just winging it and we’ll see what happens. I’ll add some nutrients if it needs and hopefully things will have enough sun and space. All the sun hungry plants are in the middle where we get the most sun. (Well we don’t get a lot of sun in the Vancouver area, but for some reason it’s usually nicer after 2 pm when the clouds part.)

I hope this inspires you to grow a little something, even if you haven’t done it before. I have gardened a few times, but really it was just planting seeds, watering and harvesting, nothing else!

If you have a chance to build your own garden, a really neat idea is a “Square Foot Garden” where you plant a certain number of plants in each square foot of space in a 4×4 square foot area. This leaves you enough room to be able to access all side for any weeding or harvesting. If I didn’t already have a garden built in my backyard I’d definitely use this method as it’s much much easier than creating rows or raised beds.

fromt albertahomegardening.com

For large plants like cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts etc you would plant only 1 in the centre of the square. For smaller plants like carrots you would plant up to 16 depending on what it was and how big it grows. You can find out more from http://www.squarefootgardening.org/

So what would I recommend growing in your garden if you can?

Top 10 Vegetables And Herbs To Plant In Your Garden

1. Lettuces and greens like Romaine, butter lettuce, red or green leaf lettuce, arugala, spinach, Swiss chard, kale, collard greens etc. Greens can cost $1.50-$3.50 a bunch depending where you buy them from and if they are organic, plus they take up a lot of room in the fridge. If you go through a lot of greens, it’s a good idea to plant some in the summer to at least supplement your needs and reduce your food budget and prevent spoilage by picking just what you need from the garden.

2. Thyme and Basil. Often these herbs cost $2.99 at the store (for organic) and can go to waste in the fridge as you only use a little bit for a recipe here and there. I much prefer having fresh herbs over dried ones as the flavour is much better in homemade things like soups and sauces. I plant a LOT of thyme and basil because these are my two most used herbs. Another favourite is dill (which is great in raw blended salads, salad dressings, or potato salad). These herbs can planted be in container or separate herb gardens.

3. Cilantro (Coriander) and Parsley. These herbs might or might not be cheap at your local grocery store, but I find that they don’t last very long in the fridge and tends to get slimy and are a pain to clean as there’s always some old and bad leaves in there. It’s nice to have a steady supply of cilantro and parsley which I love to use as garnishes (they make food photos even prettier) and on top of soups, salsas and ethnic cuisines like Thai, Vietnamese and Indian food.

4. Tomatoes. Tomatoes are not something I enjoy eating raw on their own, but they are invaluable to raw and vegan cuisine. They are essential for delicious marinara sauces, stews, blended raw salads, raw salad dressings, salad toppings and sandwiches. Home grown tomatoes are much tastier, sweeter and fresher than store bought. Especially if you let them ripen on the vine.

5. Peas or Green Beans. Peas and beans are great to grow as often the store bought ones are not very fresh and can be a little bit bitter or too hard. Fresh garden peas and beans are hard to match. They’re even delicious eating raw straight from the garden. I don’t usually cook mine as I eat through them quite quickly as healthy snacks and salad toppings but they’re something the whole family can enjoy! Kids especially love to munch on fresh picked garden goodies and it develops a good sense of healthy eating for them.

6. Beets and Turnips. Beets and turnips are great to grow in your garden because both the roots and the leaves are edible! Most people don’t eat the tops, but more and more veggie lovers are realizing the nutritional value of eating beet and turnip greens. There’s even more nutrition in them than the root, so don’t throw them away! They’re best eaten lightly steamed or sautéed as they can be a little strong tasting and tough to eat. The thick stems taste much better when lightly cooked as well. I love beets and turnips as they are both a starch and a green and make good use of garden space!

7. Onions, Green Onions and Leeks. Onions are something I go through like crazy, they are a staple to any homemade dish really whether it is raw or cooked as it adds a delicious flavour and aroma to the dish. If you plant onions and pick them early they will be green onions (also called scallions or spring onions) and these are great to use in raw salads, raw dressings, raw blended salads, salsas and garnishes. If you let them go to seed they will grow again next year so you’ll always have a steady supply of onions.

8. Cucumbers. Cucumbers are often fairly expensive at the store and a highly used item in raw and vegan salads, sandwiches and you can grow many varieties to be eaten fresh or to make pickles with. I even like to slice them on a mandolin and make little cucumber roll ups/sushi rolls with them. They are so beautiful and appealing as appetizers this way. Cucumbers grow on a vine and need a trellis or something to climb up onto so their fruits will not be laying on the grown and exposed to ground insects.

9. Zucchini. Zucchini is very easy to grow, provided you give it enough space. It’s a long and sprawling plant and one or two plants is all you need to get a ton of zucchini. Start picking them when they reach about a foot in size, and don’t let them grow too long or they become hard and woody inside. Young zucchinis are easy to use in salads, stir fries, Ratatouille and even make raw vegan spaghetti or fettuccine strands with.

10. Red potatoes or “new potatoes”. If you’re getting a late start you can always get potato seedlings at your garden centre, or plant some “seed” potatoes in early February or March for a spring harvest. These types of potatoes are called new potatoes because they are picked and sold immediately in the spring. They have paper thin skins and are best in salads or lightly steamed with seasonings. Fall potatoes have been grown longer and “cured” so their skins toughen up and they are able to be stored in a cool dark place through the winter. Potatoes can be grown fairly easily if you have a sunny place. They best way to grow is actually in a potato bag, as you will get many more potatoes as they can grow down as you roll up the bag and keep filling it with dirt and cover some of the leaves as they grow up. It gets a much higher yield this way than just planting in the garden. Check out potato bags here.

Other vegetables I’m growing this year are acorn squash, celery, kohlrabi, red bell pepper, eggplant, Brussels sprouts and carrots along with many other herbs like oregano, sage, tarragon, rosemary, sweet leaf and Thai basil.

What do you grow in your garden? What’s your favourite home grown vegetable?

International Food Blogger Conference Portland 2012

June 14, 2012 by Veronica Grace 1 Comment

I’m going to be attending the International Food Blogger Conference in Portland Aug 24-26 2012. Vancouver, Canada is within driving distance to Portland, Oregon and I love visiting so I thought it would be a great opportunity to visit again and meet up with some great people in the food blogging world.

I’m also open to finding sponsors who are happy to partner with me (for promoting an oil-free, low fat vegan diet) to help cover some of the expenses of going. So please let me know if you or your company is interested in partnering with me for this event!

The Conference is over 3 days, starting around noon on Friday Aug 24 and ending around noon on Sunday Aug 26th. The organizers say there will be food for those with dietary restrictions/allergies, and I was asked about my food preferences when I signed up and I selected vegan meals. So hopefully there are more than a few vegans coming so there is some delicious food for us!

The ladies of Vida Vegan Con (Janessa Philemon-Kerp, Michele Truty and Jess Sconé) are going to be there as well doing a workshop on Friday Aug 24 from 4:30 to 5:45 pm on niche blogging, covering vegan, gluten free and kosher blogging.

What Is The McDougall Diet Or McDougall Program For Maximum Weight-loss?

June 2, 2012 by Veronica Grace 21 Comments

What is The McDougall Program?

What is the McDougall Program?

The McDougall Diet is based on the guidelines of Dr. John McDougall, MD who is an American physician who teaches his patients that degenerative diseases can be reversed and prevented with a low fat, plant-based whole foods diet. His wife Mary is the chef in the family and creates an array of nutritious oil-free plant based dishes and has written several cookbooks. The staple foods for The McDougall Diet/Program are starch based foods like potatoes, rice, and beans, supplemented with green and yellow vegetables, leafy greens and fruit. Animal based foods, processed foods and vegetable oils are not part of the diet or recommended.

Dr. McDougall didn’t grow up eating a vegan or even vegetarian diet himself. Unfortunately in 1965 he suffered a massive stroke at the young age of 18, which he attributes to his then current diet that was high in animal foods. Between 1973 and 1976 he witnessed how a Standard American Diet (also known as S.A.D.) was negatively impacting the younger generations of his Asian immigrant patients on the Hamakua Sugar Plantation on The Big Island of Hawaii. He noticed that the less rice and vegetables each generation ate, and the more Americanized processed food including deep fried meat and junk foods like fries and potato chips the more unhealthy these people became. This seemed to fly in the face of what was taught to him in medical school and promoted to the American public. The Food Pyramid was telling people that animal foods that were high in protein (and fat) were key to a healthy diet and healthy body. Yet he saw just the opposite was happening. These people had the same family genetics, lived in the same location and did the same work, yet their health vastly differed only because of what they ate. The elders that continued to eat their traditional native Asian diets of white rice, vegetables, beans, and soups with very small quantities of meat (and NO dairy products) were much leaner, stronger and healthier than their children and grandchildren who ate a diet based on meat, dairy, bread, and deep fried junk foods and very little rice or vegetables. Dr. McDougall saw with his own eyes just how damaging a diet high in animal and processed foods was to the human body and he began teaching the benefits of a strict vegetarian diet.

For over 30 years Dr. McDougall has been teaching people all over the world the benefits of a low fat, oil-free, whole foods plant based diet with great success. He has two books based on his program called The McDougall Program: 12 Days To Dynamic Healt h and The McDougall Program For Maximum Weight-loss. He also recently released a new book this year entitled The Starch Solution : Eat the Foods You Love, Regain Your Health, and Lose the Weight for Good! which as the title hints at is a diet based on starchy foods.

Let’s take a look at the variety of foods that are included in the McDougall Program (this list is from McDougall’s website):

Starches (Main Source Of Calories)

Roots:

sweet potatoes
yams
white potatoes
celeriac (celery root)
tapioca
Jerusalem artichoke (sunchoke)
burdock
taro root
jicama
water chestnuts
parsnips
rutabaga
(Carrots, beets, turnips, daikon, and salsify are low in carbohydrates and calories and so are not considered starch staples.)

Winter Squashes:

butternut
acorn
Hubbard
banana
pumpkin
buttercup
turban squash
(Summer squashes usually cannot serve as the center of a meal because of their low calorie content. They are also lower in carbohydrates than winter squashes.)

Legumes/Beans:

aduki (azuki)
red kidney
black
mung
fava (broad)
navy
garbanzo (chick-peas)
pink
great northern
pinto
limas
white kidney (cannellini)
(Soybeans cannot be considered a starch staple because they are too high in fat to be allowed on the McDougall diet regularily.)

Lentils:

brown
red
green

Peas:

black-eyed
split yellow
split green
whole green

Whole Grains:

barley
oats
brown rice
quinoa (pronounced “keen-wa”)
buckwheat
rye
bulgur (cracked wheat)
triticale
couscous (refined wheat)
wheat berries
corn
wild rice
millet

Unrefined flours:

barley
rice
buckwheat
rye
corn
soy
garbanzo beans
triticale
lima bean
wheat
oat
whole wheat pastry
potato

Egg-Free Pastas:

Most of these are made from highly refined flours and therefore should play a small role in your diet.
artichoke pasta
tomato pasta
corn pasta (no wheat)
whole wheat pasta
spinach pasta
rice pasta (no wheat)

Oriental Noodles:

Most of these are made from highly refined flours and therefore should play a small role in your diet.

bean threads
somen
buckwheat soba
udon
rice noodles

Secondary Plant Foods (To Complement Starch Based Meals)

This is not an exhaustive list, just some examples.

Fruits:

apples
bananas
oranges
pineapple
pears
plums
peaches
nectarines
cherries
blueberries
raspberries
strawberries
blackberries
carambola
papaya
cherimoya
persimmon
guava
pomegranate
kiwifruit
passion fruit
kumquat
pummelo
loquat
quince
lychee
soursop
mango
etc.

Vegetables/Greens/Beans:

This is not an exhaustive list, just some examples.

zucchini/summer squash
broccoli
cauliflower
carrots
mushrooms
corn
iceberg lettuce/Romaine/leaf lettuce
spinach
asparagus
radishes
celery
cucumbers
tomatoes
aduki beans
jicama
arugula
kale
bok choy
kohlrabi
broccoli de rabe
radicchio
burdock
salsify
celeriac (celery root)
sprouts (alfalfa, lentil, mung bean, wheat)
chicory (curly endive)
Swiss chard
cocozelle
taro root
collard greens
turban squash
daikon
water chestnuts
endive
watercress
garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
Jerusalem artichoke (sunchoke)
etc.

Foods NOT Allowed On The McDougall Program

The following is a list of the foods that are not allowed, with ideas for possible substitutions.

Don’t Eat: Possible substitutes:

Cow’s Milk (for cereal or cooking) Lowfat soy milk, rice milk, fruit juice, water
Cow’s Milk (as beverage) None; drink water, juice, herb tea, or cereal beverages
Butter None
Cheese None; after 12 days you may substitute soy- and nut-based cheeses
Cottage cheese None; after 12 days you may substitute crumbled tofu
Yogurt None
Sour cream None
Ice cream Pure fruit sorbet, frozen juice bars; after 12 days you may substitute Lite
Tofutti
Eggs (in cooking) Ener-G Egg Replacer
Eggs (for eating) None or after 12 days, Tofu
Meat, poultry, fish Starchy vegetables, whole grains, pastas, and beans; after 12 days tofu for
“meat”
Mayonnaise Homemade Tofu based mayonnaise
Vegetable oils (for pans) None; use Teflon, Silverstone, or silicone-coated (Baker’s Secret) pot and
pans
Vegetable oils (in recipes) None; omit oil or replace with water, mashed banana, or applesauce for
moisture in baking
White rice (refined) Whole grain (brown) rice or other whole grains
White flour (refined) Whole grain flours
Refined and sugar-coated cereals Any acceptable hot or cold cereal
Coconut None
Chocolate Carob powder
Coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and black teas De-caf herb tea, cereal beverages, hot water with lemon
Colas and un-colas Mineral water or seltzer (flavored or plain)

In addition to eating an oil free starch based diet, Dr. McDougall recommends that people exercise (even if it’s just going for a walk) regularly to help maximize weight-loss, improve high blood pressure, lower high blood sugar, improve circulation and have more energy.

At www.LowFatVeganChef.com I try to present easy to make carb/starch based recipes that contain mostly whole foods and have no added oils that can be used as a part of the McDougall program. Occasionally I use things like light coconut milk or avocados in my recipes and those are not recommended for those in need of a strict diet to reverse disease, so keep that in mind. Quite often I eat simple starch based meals at home and a dinner of baked potatoes, boiled sweet corn (plain) and steamed greens is both satisfying and McDougall Program friendly. So give it a try.

The McDougall’s run a variety of events every year from 3 Day Study Weekends, a Full 10 Day Immersion Program to Adventure Travel Vacations With McDougall Meals. For more information on Dr. John and Mary McDougall check out their website here.

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Vegan Food Swap Canadian Edition May 2012 and Gourmet Salt Recipes

June 1, 2012 by Veronica Grace 1 Comment

I received my first Vegan Food Swap (Canadian Edition) package yesterday from KimmiKillZombie in Ontario. I had sent my food swap package earlier to Fraser of Cashews Rule Everything Around Me who blogs from Victoria, Canada. Check out what he thought of my package here.

May was the first run of this swap in Canada and if you want more details on what it entails you can check it out here, (for Americans you can go here).

I received:

-Oskri Coconut Bar Original (264 calories, 16.9 g fat)

-Oskri Coconut Bar Pineapple (246 calories, 14 g fat)

-Rene Rey Soy Chocolate Bar (295 calories, 24 g fat)

-Rene Ret Ginger-Cayenne Chocolate Bar (267 calories, 20 g fat)

-Mrs. May’s White Sesame Strips Goji Cranberry (160 calories, 10 g fat)

-Mrs. May’s White Sesame Strips Pom Blueberry (160 calories, 10 g fat)

-5 organic suckers

Kimmi told me after she sent the package that she’d been sick for 2 weeks so that’s why her box isn’t as creative, so I understand but I must say I was a little disappointed. I’d asked her for oil free, light on the nuts items and explained that i teach people about how to eat a low fat diet. So these items are not something I would would buy/eat myself as they’re so rich in fat. (We were to list any dietary restrictions/allergies along with only sending vegan food items.)

I have tried a few of the fruit-only Oskri bars and liked them but stayed away from the coconut ones because they are so high in fat. (These bars contain 14g and 17g of fat and I look for ones around the 0-3g range.)

The other two bars are straight up chocolate bars. The ginger cayenne chocolate bar sure sounds interesting, but I really don’t like cayenne or hot peppers but that’s just me. (I know I’m a baby, I like mildly spiced food…)

This was a fun experiment though and I enjoyed putting my box together and waiting for my box to arrive. Everyone is matched with a different person each month and the person you receive from is not the person you send to so it’s random. I was paired with someone in Victoria so it was quite close to Vancouver and I could send some fresh baked goods as they arrived the next day. My package coming from Ontario though surprisingly took about 2 weeks to arrive so this is why Kimmi wouldn’t have sent fresh items.

I already shared my recipe for Oil Free Vegan Fudgey Blackberry Brownies that I sent to my swapee and I thought I’d share 2 other neat recipes with you that I sent off as well. Most people buy gourmet salts but never make them (and you can pay a hefty price for a tiny amount). I found that it’s actually much cheaper to make your own salt blends and surprisingly I already had all of these ingredients at home, so it was very easy.

Pictured above is coarse sea salt, Kala Namak (“black” Indian salt), and garam masala mixed together to create Spicy Black Indian Salt in the foreground.

Spicy Black Indian Salt Recipe

I just bought some Kala Namak from Amazon and haven’t used it yet and found a recipe for a gourmet Indian salt so I thought I’d try it out. Use this to sprinkle on roasted vegetables, add to curries or even scrambled tofu for a spicy egg-like flavor.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp Garam Masala
2 tbsp Kala Namak (Indian Black Sulphur Salt)
¼ cup fine sea salt

Directions:

Mix together. Store in a tightly sealed jar for up to 1 year.

It’s often hard to find plain vegan chocolate nowadays as they put milk products into most chocolates to give them a creamier texture and make them more addicting, but this is the one type of Ghiradelli squares I’ve found that don’t contain any milk. You can also use another dark chocolate of choice.

Chocolate Himalayan Crystal Salt

Use in baking or to sprinkle on top of baked goods for a chocolate salty contrast.

Ingredients:

2 squares Ghiradelli 72% Dark Chocolate
3 tbsp Himalayan Pink Salt
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

Use a fine grater to grate the chocolate squares into curls. Combine with salt and cocao. Store in a tightly sealed jar for up to 6 months. Best in a refrigerator or cool dark place.

——————

I have yet to actually use these salts myself, but I plan to use the Spicy Indian Black Salt in some curries and tofu scramble and the Chocolate Himalayan Salt I put into my Oil Free Vegan Fudgey Blackberry Brownies

Travel Photos From Kauai, Hawaii

April 26, 2012 by Veronica Grace 12 Comments

Kapaa, Kauai

Landscape photography is my first love, even more than making recipes, photographing them and eating them! I always dreamed of one day traveling around the world and taking gorgeous photos of places I’d only seen in magazines. Traveling is one of my favourite things to do! So I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.

I’m in Kauai for the next couple of days still and I wanted to share with you some of the beautiful spots I’ve found. Kauai is home to one of the wettest spot on Earth, the summit of Mount Wai’ale’ale (Wai alay alay) which means “overflowing water”. This spot receives over 462 inches (11,500 cm) of rain a year! It’s one of the reasons it’s so green and lush on the north and east side of Kauai, but they also get strong winds and grey skies during during the winter/rainy season. It’s still technically the rainy season so the weather has been some sun, some cloud and some rain since I’ve been here.

The first photos are from when I went on a photo tour around the north eastern part of the island earlier this week and it just happened to be cloudy, windy and rainy for half of the day so my pictures aren’t super paradisiacal-looking, but you get the idea. On a gorgeous day these places are even more beautiful.

At the end are different days which were sunnier. All of these places are on ONE island. You won’t believe the diversity there is on Kauai. It’s just amazing so have so many beautiful features to the island all in one place. And this isn’t even including the gorgeous Napali Coastline either! (Think King Kong’s mountains from the movie). They’ve used Kauai as the back drop to many Hollywood movies. Gilligan’s Island, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park III, Mighty Joe Young, George Of The Jungle, Hook, 6 Days/7 Nights, King Kong, Tropic Thunder, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Avatar, The Descendants (with George Clooney), Soul Surfer and dozens more have all been filmed on Kauai. Chances are you have seen not only one but many many movies that used Kauai as the breathtaking backdrop for their exotic scenes.

Kealia Lookout, Kauai

Anahola Beach, Kauai

Moloaa Beach, Kauai

Anini Beach, Kauai

Lumahai Beach, Kauai

Me at Waimea Canyon

Waimea Canyon, Kauai

Kalalau Lookout, Kauai

Secret Falls Trail and Secret Falls

The west side of Kauai where Waimea Canyon is is drier because most of the rain falls at the summit in the centre of the island and so it’s rather sandy, grassy and sunnier on this part of the island (along with the south side). It’s like a totally different island on this side. So whether you prefer lush greenery and regular rain or dry dessert-like conditions you will find it on Kauai!

These are just a tiny fraction of all the beautiful spots on Kauai. If you’re looking for some tropical island/adventure inspiration check out this gorgeous and professionally filmed video of Kauai. It’s excellent!

Aloha From Honolulu Hawaii!

April 17, 2012 by Veronica Grace 4 Comments

Yesterday I arrived in Honolulu, Oahu, for a much needed two-week vacation
following the launch of my first ebook (and the completion of testing my recipes
for my second ebook). I have to say it feels great to be “off my feet” so to speak
and out of the kitchen for a while!

Honolulu Oahu Hawaii Ala Moana Beach Park

(The view from Ala Moana Beach Park)

Honolulu Waikiki area

Hawaii is one of my top favourite places in the whole world. Every time I come
here I just feel so relaxed and happy. Stepping off of the plane you are greeted
by the fragrant scent of tropical flowers, a warm breeze envelopes you like a
cozy blanket and you feel like you’ve entered a magical paradise that you never
want to leave. I know I feel like that every time I come here…

What’s great about Honolulu and the Waikiki area is that you don’t need a car.
We have a friend pick us up from the airport and we can just walk to everything
around here. Generally we don’t even take cabs, but if you wanted to say go to
Costco or something you can go there by cab or bus. We’ve taken the bus a
few times here, it’s pretty easy. The busses announce their names and each
stop so it’s great for tourists trying to orient themselves in a new place.

One of the things people on Oahu complain about is the traffic, but if you’re on
vacation you probably won’t notice it unless you’re driving around in rush hour
or going on a tour all around the island. If you check out the North Shore you might
get to see some sea turtles coming inland or bathing on the beach by the side of the
highway. If you go to the West side of Oahu you can check out Matsumoto’s Shave Ice.
Shave ice is like a finely shaved snow and much better than a snow cone. Most of the
shaved ice in Hawaii is the same, and it’s kind of like a slurpee/snow cone and really loose.
Matsumoto’s is better because they actually pack it in like a snow cone, so it doesn’t melt as
fast and the flavours stay separate on each side. After having it once and then some other
shave ice places I can say it’s definitely worth checking out if you’ve never had it before.

Ala Wai Canal

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To jumpstart your healthy lifestyle before summer, get my DVD series
“Savory Raw Dinner Recipes.”

Go to: http://www.plantbasedu.com/savory

————–

Because I’ve been out of the kitchen for a few days and won’t have access
to my usual kitchen tools and ingredients I’ll only be sending you one
vegan recipe this week instead of the usual two.

BUT the recipe I’m going to send you is a good one! Actually my friend
Karmyn, who lives on the Big Island of Hawaii just told me there’s a new
vegetarian restaurant opening up that wants to put one of my raw recipes
on their menu! (Karmyn was raving about it and convinced them it was so
delicious, easy and healthy, they couldn’t refuse.)

This is so exciting that I’m going to share the recipe with you on Thursday.
I know you’re going to love it, especially now that it’s spring and you’re
craving something new and refreshing.

Now is the perfect time to start thinking about eating healthier and getting
active. Eating some fresh produce whether it’s in smoothies, salads or
even whole is relatively easy to add to your diet. But for those of you looking
for a little guidance and some sure-fire tasty raw dishes to add to your
repertoire, there’s my Savory Raw Dinner Recipes DVD and recipe book
collection.

Since I’ve arrived I’ve already eaten a ton of fresh Maui Gold pineapple (this is
some of the best sweet pineapple you will ever have) and a bunch of Hawaiian
papayas. Yes we can get these things at home, but they are just so fresh
and delicious here I feel even more drawn to them.

Eating fresh and seasonal produce is one of the best things you can do for
your health. The fresher and least amount of processing, the better. I know
salads can be something you either love or hate, just based on the dressing
alone! I know I like salads myself, but only if there’s a good (and oil-free)
dressing that really adds another dimension to it. And I don’t like eating
the exact same one every day either!

This is one thing I think most people have a problem with. They kind of get
stuck in a salad rut and use the same old store bought dressing every time,
or just give up eating salad because they don’t really know what to put in it
or on it.

This is why I created some awesome salads and raw entrees and added
some killer combinations to them to make the flavours pop in your mouth
to savor.

It’s called Savory Raw Dinner Recipes because fruit salad and
smoothies are pretty simple in terms of preparing and flavor combinations,
but mixing salad, fruit and vegetables together into a healthy dish can be
a little trickier and more complex.

If you want to eat more raw foods but are bored with typical raw recipes,
salads and veggie sticks and dip, I think you will love Savory Raw Dinner
Recipes.

————–
Get over 50 more healthy and delicious raw recipes here:
http://www.plantbasedu.com/savory
—————-

In addition to the DVD version, we’ve now created a DIGITAL VERSION
of this program for those who prefer to download everything right away and
not wait for post man!

Have you ever been to Hawaii before? What is your favourite place? Where would you like to go?

Honolulu on Dwellable

Gordon Ramsay Finally Empathizes With Vegetarians – Shocked At Factory Farming Practices

April 10, 2012 by Veronica Grace 5 Comments

Although this is about farming practices in the UK, don’t think that it’s not just like this or worse in the USA or Canada. Pigs, cows, chickens, and turkeys are kept in horrific environments and under often dangerous and unsanitary living conditions.

Gordon Ramsay prefers to use free range vegetarian fed animals in his cooking, but at least after what he sees going on in factory farms he admits that he can see why people would choose to give up the taste of meat to become vegetarian or vegan. This is really really great to hear. I have been a fan of Gordon Ramsay for a while, but was always bothered by his often dismissive and negative comments to vegans and vegetarians on his shows. They could have been edited that way, but it sure seemed like he didn’t like us before. I have seen him create a few vegetarian recipes, but I am not sure of any vegan ones being made on his shows.

There are SO many more reasons to go vegetarian or vegan as well besides just animal cruelty. It does send a message when you vote with your dollars to buy fruits and vegetables instead of meat and dairy products. But you also are taking more control over your health and what goes onto your plate by questioning where it came from and how it was produced. The sad fact is that most meat and dairy products come from animals that are treated very poorly and sometimes even brutally and that’s not something that I want to be a part of. While some may argue it’s not natural or hard to be vegetarian or vegan, I think it’s important for your health, the planet and the animals to not support these disgusting factory farms. Everything you buy counts as your vote to have more of that. Big companies are profit driven and what you choose to eat every day makes a big difference.

If I can help people learn how to enjoy cooking and making vegan food, or even just eat more of it (and less meat) that makes a difference. Every little bit counts.

Is There A Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Butter? (Like Nutella) Why, Yes There Is!

March 28, 2012 by Veronica Grace 3 Comments

Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Blend (It's Vegan!)

Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Blend with Strawberries

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “Is there a chocolate hazelnut butter or spread that is vegan?” I have. And when I previously googled it, I came up with nothing but homemade recipes for chocolate hazelnut butter spread. Hazelnuts are expensive, and I didn’t plan on making it for just a small sample. Plus if it’s fresh it also goes bad within a week and I was not about to eat the whole batch in one week.

I think everyone remembers eating Nutella as a kid, or if you live in Europe, you probably ate it or still eat it regularly. They have this serious OBSESSION with Nutella in crepes filled with fruit. Very decadent indeed… That get’s me thinking I need to make a vegan chocolate hazelnut crepe recipe soon, I’ve never had one… but for now we’re going for chocolate hazelnut butter on toast with strawberries.

Since I’ve traveled in Europe a lot and there are also many creperies in Vancouver, Canada many places I’ve seen serve crepes with Nutella and because it had dairy in it, it’s not vegan. (The crepes are also not vegan as well.) I’ve often wondered if ANY company was going to get up the guts to actually make a healthier chocolate vegan hazelnut spread without the dairy and for the longest time could not find any. I checked the health food stores in Canada and no dice. I checked a bunch in the USA as well, and just recently found 2 different brands that were dairy free! This was a surprise to me because I had been casually reading labels for a while.

Since the dairy industry has been so adept at lobbying for companies and restaurants to put milk and cheese into everything, it can be very hard to find plain chocolate ANYWHERE. Almost every chocolate and chocolate bar EVEN DARK CHOCOLATE that is manufactured in the USA contains milk fat solids. They do this because dairy is highly addicted, just as addictive as opiates are actually and it makes people eat and crave more. So they now put dairy in all of the dark chocolate to make you eat MORE. How rude!

Same goes for creamy chocolate hazelnut spreads, they put dairy in it to make it more addicting and get you to eat more. Plus it probably is cheaper to add milk to it and less hazelnuts as those are more expensive.

I started looking for vegan alternatives a while ago, but never found any until now. It’s not something I would eat regularly, but more of a treat to put on a slice of toast or a crepe or for a vegan waffle or something. You know, a healthier-than-the-original-version treat.

Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Blend on toast with strawberries. A filling snack or treat for you or your kids.

The strawberries are nice because it makes it not too sweet and has a little tartness to it.

This little baby I found in Portland, OR at Whole Foods Market on a recent trip. I have sampled Justin’s peanut butter cups (the dark chocolate variety are vegan) and was quite impressed at their not too oily or too sweet peanut butter cups. (Christmas treat).

Here they had an entire line of natural nut butters. Including chocolate peanut butter and chocolate almond butter. Crazy! I know…

Let’s take a look at the side. Ah a nice note, it shows they are trying to make a product that is healthier than the major competitors. Who eat’s frosting for breakfast indeed? Nutella eaters that’s for sure. Here are the list of ingredients in Nutella from their website: INGREDIENTS: SUGAR, PALM OIL, HAZELNUTS, COCOA, SKIM MILK, REDUCED MINERALS WHEY (MILK), LECITHIN AS EMULSIFIER (SOY), VANILLIN: AN ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR.

Ingredients and nutritional information. It still contains some oil in the form of palm oil (saturated fat), so sad face 🙁 but at least it’s not hydrogenated and it’s one of the last ingredients on the label, not the first. It’s 90 calories and 7.5 g of fat per tablespoon. Ok good to know. One or two tablespoons max is all you should use for a serving.

Nutella comes in at 100 calories per tablespoon and 5.5 grams of fat, so it’s a little less fat than Justin’s… but Nutella’s first ingredients are sugar and oil and then it’s hazelnut taste is watered down by milk and whey. Justin’s doesn’t have sugar until the third ingredient, and oil is the third last, before vanilla and salt. If you were going to pick one that was a healthier option between Justin’s and Nutella, Justin’s would win. It definitely has more natural ingredients and whole foods in it than mass produced Nutella.

Here is Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Blend inside. It’s quite thick. There’s no oil on top and it doesn’t look rock solid like coconut oil does at room temperature.

Here’s another vegan Hazelnut Butter. This is the first vegan chocolate Hazelnut Butter I found by New World Natural Foods, it’s from a local health food store in Bellingham, Washington. I thought they were the only brand that made a vegan hazelnut butter, so I picked it up.

Upon closer inspection though, it is fattier than Justin’s. 100 calories and 8 grams of fat per tablespoon.

They use cocoa butter instead of palm fruit oil. This butter is stable at room temperature (a saturated fat), which means it is a solid at room temperature and not a liquid. So this must be why they chose to use it in their butter.

Here is what the chocolate hazelnut butter looks like inside. It’s very solid looking and actually looks like cacao or coconut butter. If you seen these you might see the resemblance. There’s little white solid flecks in it, and this is the oil, solidified.

Here is a comparison on warm toast for you. Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Blend is on the left and New World Natural Food’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter is on the right. Immediately I could tell the difference in the two. The one on the right melted very quickly into a liquid. Justin’s was a little harder to spread but more like a nut butter. New World Natural Food’s was more like chocolate sauce when spread.

Here it is again from up top.

So there you have it, there are at least TWO options for vegan chocolate hazelnut butter for you. Justin’s also makes chocolate peanut butter and chocolate almond butter (it is cheaper than the hazelnut butter) if you’re looking for a more affordable treat for your family.

Like I said I was mostly curious because there was a lack of vegan options for this kind of product and I remember eating Nutella as a kid. If it’s your only source of nuts for the day and you have 1 or 2 tbsps, you should be ok. If you’re still eating oils, lots of nuts and avocados and meat and dairy however, this may be a diet of too many rich foods already. Adding this on top of it won’t be healthy.

So which one do I prefer? Hands down I prefer Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Blend. I like that it isn’t too sweet, it’s a little thick, it doesn’t melt into chocolate sauce and it’s ingredients are much more natural than Nutella. For an occasional treat I like this product and they make a ton of different nut butters you can get at Whole Foods Market as well.

Have you ever tried a vegan chocolate hazelnut butter? What did you eat it with?

How To Bake A Russet Potato Without Oil For Baked Jacket Potatoes

March 27, 2012 by Veronica Grace 16 Comments

Oil Free Vegan Baked Potato Hummus Salsa

Oil Free Vegan Baked Potato with Red Pepper Hummus and Salsa

Just a reminder that my Comfort Soups To Keep You Warm recipe eBook is out! I’m already getting lots of great feedback on how delicious the soup recipes are!

Today I’m going to show you how to bake healthy baked potatoes in the oven without all the oil and fat!

I think baked jacket potatoes are something that most people love or have fond memories of eating. It’s a comfort food for them and I know Dr. John McDougall is certainly very fond of them as well! Potatoes can be healthy, or unhealthy depending what you put on them though. If you’re on the McDougall Program you might be interested in baking russet potatoes regularly and without oil of course.

Or maybe you just really like having something warm and filling for dinner, either way baked russet potatoes are a good way to go for a low fat, satisfying meal or side.

The baked potato above is topped with roasted red pepper hummus (that’s oil free and low fat) and salsa and is served with a side of my Low Fat Vegan Tangy Collard Greens With Coconut Milk and Mushrooms . (It’s also delicious to pour some of the coconut cooking liquid on top of your baked potato.)

So the main reason people like to oil and salt their potato skins before baking them is because it makes the skin all crispy and taste, well salty! The other reason is that it cooks it a bit faster but it raises the temperature it cooks at. Baking in oil at such high temperatures can create carcinogens and adding excess oil to a potato skin is not the best for health.

It’s also not beneficial to your health if you load your baked potato or potato skins with bacon, cheese, butter and/or sour cream. These things are far too rich and the negative effects of these toppings outweigh all the health benefits of eating a baked potato for vitamins and fibre. If you’re watching your weight, cholesterol or salt intake, please don’t add those things to your baked potato. There are many healthier alternatives.

While leaving their rich potato toppings out won’t make it taste exactly the same, it will be healthier for you and you can dress up your potato skins with some healthy low fat vegan alternatives like:

Fat free salsa (homemade or jarred)
Tobasco sauce
Hummus (original or roasted red pepper, low fat of course. Look for oil free or make your own.)
Baked beans (homemade or canned)
Salt and Pepper
Fresh chives or green onions (scallions)
Nutritional yeast
Fat free vegan queso or “cheezy” sauce
Steamed veggies like broccoli or kale

What Potato Do I Use For Baked Potatoes?

Use the dark brown rough skinned russet potatoes you find at the grocery store. They make the best baked potatoes and are also good for mashed potatoes. Don’t use the smooth waxy skinned yellow or red potatoes for baked jacket potatoes, these are better suited for potato salad, mini roasted potatoes, steamed or boiled potatoes and used in stews and soups.

Make sure that you select russet potatoes that are about the same size so they cook at the same time. If you bake medium and large ones together the large ones will not be done when the medium ones are ready.

Should I Cover My Russet Potato In Tinfoil For Baking?

No. I have no idea why people think they should do this, much less why some grocery stores sell russet potatoes in tinfoil. Maybe if you want to barbecue them, but when you put tinfoil on it you are STEAMING the potato from the inside out and not BAKING it. So it is not going to turn out like a baked potato and be all dry and fluffy inside. It will be more watery and dense like potatoes steamed in water. Don’t do this. Bake them uncovered for best results.

How To Bake a Russet Potato Without Oil

from Comfort Foods From Around The World

Step #1: Preheat your oven to 400 F/ 205 C (375 F on a convection oven)

Step #2: Wash your russet potatoes well and cut out any “eyes” or bad spots in the potatoes.

Step #3: Use a fork and poke a lot of holes all over your potatoes. This stops them from cooking unevenly and possible exploding in the oven.

Oil Free Baked Oven Roasted Potatoes

Step #4: When your oven has come up to temperature, place them directly on the rack in the middle of the oven. Leave enough space between them that they are not touching.

Step #5: Bake your potatoes for 50-70 minutes (depending on size) and check on them between 50 and 60 minutes. Using a pot holder or oven mitt, you want to gently squeeze the potatoes and see if they give. If they seem soft all the way through to the middle they are done. If you are not sure you can cut one in half and check. If they need more time, continue to bake, or you can microwave for a few minutes more to finish them off if you’re in a hurry. (Once you know the exact cooking time for your oven and this size of potato, write it down or remember it so you don’t have to check on it and guess next time. Usually they will be done within 60-70 min).

Step #6: To fluff your potato you’re going to make a slit across the top of it, and using pot holders or oven mitts gently squeeze the bottom of the potato together (like how a crab would close it’s claws) and this will push the insides up and open it for filling. (This is something I learned when I worked in a restaurant and had to plate food.)

Step #7: Fill your potato with your (hopefully healthy and vegan) seasonings and serve.

When I bake giant potatoes like this it become a whole meal when served with a side of greens. So this makes it a really easy AND cheap vegan meal!

Time Saving Tip:

You can bake multiple potatoes and keep them for future meals in the fridge and just reheat them for a quick lunch or side dish the next night.

I know a lot of Americans like to “nuke” their raw potatoes, but I really don’t like this. They can get all hard on the bottom and be a different texture. I prefer to bake mine and only reheat if necessary and not to use the microwave to cook anything that was raw.

Oil Free Vegan Baked Potato With Baked Beans

Here’s another oil free baked potato served with homemade baked beans. The baked beans recipe will be in my upcoming “Comfort Dinner Recipes From Around The World” eBook.

What do you like putting on your oil free baked potatoes?