Plant Based U

Fat-Free and Low Fat Vegan Plant Based Recipes

Product Review: Amy’s Kitchen Bean And Rice Burrito Non Dairy

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This was my first time trying one of Amy’s burritos. The bean and rice burrito sounded like a good bet for a vegan version. I was a little surprised at the calorie count for it though because at 320 calories it’s way more than a snack, but the burrito is fairly small so it looks more like a snack or part of a meal.

Nutritional Info and ingredients.

It tastes pretty standard for a pinto bean and rice burrito, good, but not amazing. It’s a little too high in fat and sodium for my liking, but maybe for a small meal it will work for others. It reheats really easily which makes it an easy meal. I think I will make a recipe for this myself because it’s pretty simple to create. 🙂

Here’s my overall review score.

Basic Nutritional Info: 300 calories 8 grams of fat 24% fat by calories 10 g of protein

Price: $1.98 USD  In Canada about $4

Taste: 4/5

Texture: 4/5, tortillas is a little dry but that’s to be expected in lower fat tortillas

Healthfulness: 2/5 (high in fat and sodium)

Looks: 4/5

Low fat: No, medium fat recipe

Vegan: Yes

Gluten Free: No

Soy Free: Yes

Nut Free: Yes

GMO Free: Yes

Would I eat it again? Yes, but I think I’m more apt to make one myself.

What could be improved? Use less oil in the recipe and lower the sodium content. It’s a little too high to be considered health food.

Disclosure, I’m doing this review of my own accord, I was not given any free product nor was I paid to do this review.

Have you ever had Amy’s Bean & Rice Burrito? What did you think?

 

Questions Answered: Is Cooking Spray Ok To Use and Can You Make Oil-Free Kale Chips?

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After posting about The Myth of Moderation: The Impact of “Just a Little Oil”. I got some questions so I decided to answer them so everyone can benefit.

 

Q: Veronica – what is the impact of using  the cooking oil sprays? 

We all have probably heard about Pam non-stick cooking spray. On the front of the container it actually says “fat free” which they are legally allowed to advertise if 1 serving is less than 0.5 g of fat.

 

Look at the back of the container and it says that 1 serving is actually 1/3 of a second spray.

 

Do you know anyone that can spray a fraction of a second?

 

I don’t either.

 

Read the ingredient list and it says: canola oil, grain alcohol from corn, lecithin from soybeans, and propellant.

 

So is it possible for any food to actually be fat free, when the first ingredient it contains is oil?

 

No. Absolutely not.

 

The primary ingredient in all cooking sprays is oil. They’ve just conveniently changed the serving size to something absurd to weasel around food labelling laws.

 

This only serves their purposes, not yours.

 

When you use cooking sprays, do you spray for even just 1 second?

 

Doubtful.

 

Usually it takes a few seconds to cover a pan or some vegetables on a tray with cooking  spray.

 

So at best you’re adding a fraction of a teaspoon of oil to your dish, and at worst it’s a teaspoon or two.

 

But it’s really hard to know for sure.

 

And that’s not all, they use propellant in cooking spray which is a pretty vague term.

 

Propellant in cooking spray can include n-butane, isobutane, nitrogen dioxide and carbon dioxide.

 

While they are used in small levels, it’s not something you want to be consuming and using every day in your cooking.
 

Every little bit can add up.

 

Have I used cooking spray ever? Yes.

 

Do I use it regularly? No. Almost never in fact.

 

Instead of using cooking spray and oils, why not master the art of oil-free cooking?

 

For cooking in a non-stick pan, use some water or vegetable broth to sauté. If you’re doing only onions or mushrooms, you actually don’t even need any liquid, as they will naturally release them while cooking to prevent sticking.

 

For baking or roasting, try using a little balsamic vinegar and water with seasonings, or vegetable broth in a roasting pan and seasonings.

 

While we cannot replicate cooking with oil, we can increase the healthfulness of our cooking while still achieving good flavor.

 

There’s far too much oil in restaurant and prepared food as it is to need to use any of it at home.

 

All oils and cooking sprays are highly refined foods and should not be a regular part of your cooking.

 

Q: I made kale chips awhile back and they were very good…both my wife AND i LOVED THEM BUT…IT TOOK A COUPLE OF TABLESPOONS  OF OIL which was rubbed on the kale  to prepare them for baking… is ther[e] a better way to make kale chips?

 

While I haven’t made kale chips in the oven, I have made them in a dehydrator (as they started out as a raw vegan snack at first.)

 

I would suggest using another liquid such as balsamic vinegar, or lemon juice instead to toss the kale in and using seasonings such as nutritional yeast, soy sauce and chili flakes instead.

 

I even found an oil-free oven dehydrated kale chips here. For oil-free raw vegan kale chips go here.

 

A quick google search will often yield oil-free versions of your favorite recipes. So don’t be afraid to use it.

 

If you’re looking to learn how to cook without oil and transform your body with the power of plant-based cuisine I highly recommend my Comfort Foods From Around The World recipe ebook.

 

It contains over 60 low fat recipes that will wow your taste buds and make eating healthier a whole lot easier and tastier.

 

 

Just take a look at the photos and your mouth will be watering for these delicious meals that are not only good for you, but good for your waistline too!

 

No more diet foods. No more bland and boring recipes. The secret is to learn how to cook your old favorites a healthier way that will satisfy your hunger and suit your family’s needs.

 

We’ve all been guilty of not eating enough fruits and vegetables, and my way makes it much easier to do so. When you’re filling up on plant-foods it won’t even feel like a diet and the weight will melt right off.

 

Go to:

 

 

You can do it, and I can help. 🙂

Product Review: Amy’s Kitchen Roasted Vegetable Tamale

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I’ve actually never had a tamale before (you don’t often find them without meat or cheese). But I quite like this Roasted Vegetable Tamale by Amy’s. It’s much different than Amy’s Enchiladas and has some good flavor and texture to it. The tamale portion is delicious and different, the black beans? Mmm not so good. I absolutely love black beans, but these ones crushed my expectations and not in a good way. All I could taste was salt and nothing else. 🙁

Ingredients all vegan!

Nutritional information. This recipe is lower in fat than some of their meals, but seriously high in sodium. Over 2 1/2 times the amount health experts recommend per calorie (mostly in the beans).

I wish these tamales came by themselves because I would enjoy eating them again. They were flavorful. But the beans are too salty. I’m not sure if they are catering to the lowest common denominator in salt lovers or what. I like some salt in beans but I don’t know why Americans eat such salty black and pinto beans, it’s hard to taste anything else but salt. Other seasonings like cumin and chili powder can add some interest and reduce the amount of salt needed in a recipe.

On to my overall product review.

Basic Nutritional Info: 280 calories 7 grams of fat 23% fat by calories 9 g of protein

Price: $3.38 USD on sale ($4.99 reg) In Canada about $6.29

Taste: Tamale 4/5 Black beans 1/5 way too salty

Texture: 4/5

Healthfulness: 3/5 (high in sodium)

Looks: 4/5

Low fat: No, medium fat

Vegan: Yes

Gluten Free: Yes

Soy Free: Yes

Nut Free: Yes

GMO Free: Yes

Would I eat it again? Yes, but not the black beans portion.

What could be improved? Use less oil in the recipe and much less sodium in the black beans and other seasonings instead.

Disclosure, I’m doing this review of my own accord, I was not given any free product nor was I paid to do this review.

Have you ever tried Amy’s Roasted Vegetable Tamale? What did you think?

Product Review: Amy’s Kitchen Indian Vegetable Korma

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This is probably my favorite Amy’s meal that I have tried so far, because there are 3 distinct dishes in it. It’s not spicy, but has some nice flavors to it. Most of Amy’s Indian meals have cream or paneer cheese in them, so I was happy I could try one that was vegan.

They even make it easy to tell on the ingredients list that it’s all vegan. 🙂

Nutritional Information for Amy’s Vegetable Korma. It has about double the amount of sodium per calorie that health experts recommend so it’s a bit too high. It’s also over 34% fat by calories.

Taking it out of the package.

After it’s reheated. It looks a little bit messy, but it tastes better than it looks! Here’s my overall review of it.

Basic Nutritional Info: 310 calories 12 grams of fat 35% fat by calories 9 g of protein

Price: $3.38 USD on sale ($4.99 reg) In Canada $6.29

Taste: Vegetables 4/5 Rice 4/5 Dal 3/5

Texture: Vegetables 4/5 Rice 5/5 Dal 4/5

Healthfulness: 3/5 (high in fat and sodium)

Looks: 4/5

Low fat: No, medium fat recipe

Vegan: Yes

Gluten Free: Yes

Soy Free: Yes

Nut Free: No

GMO Free: Yes

Would I eat it again? Yes for a quick meal.

What could be improved? Use less oil in the recipes and a little less sodium in the dal, it was pretty salty.

Disclosure, I’m doing this review of my own accord, I was not given any free product nor was I paid to do this review.

Have you ever tried Amy’s Vegetable Korma? What do you think? 

How To Stop Sabotaging Your Weight Loss Goals

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“We all can’t help everyone, but we can all help someone” is a phrase that I came across recently that really rings true for me.

I know that I can’t change the world or get everyone eating I talk to eating healthy, but I feel it’s really important to share knowledge and help others. I’ve always been an extremely inquisitive and curious person, and whenever I learn something new I just feel the need to share it.

So if I can make a difference for just one of you today with this post, I’m going to do it.

First, I’m going to start off with a basic assumption: I know you want to be fit and healthy. Who doesn’t? But it’s not very easy to be once you’ve learned some bad habits is it?

We really want to change and have more energy, lose the weight and feel great. But something happens along the way…

You may or may not know what it is, but I think I know.

We tend to get in our own way and kind of sabotage ourselves, whether it’s subconsciously or not.

Let’s take a look at the some the top reasons we prevent ourselves from reaching our goals when it comes to achieving health and weight loss.

-Bad Attitude & Negative Perspective
-How You Talk To Yourself
-Wanting to Look Good To Impress Others
-Lack of Preparation and Planning
-Lack of Motivation

Bad Attitude & Negative Perspective

Your attitude about diet and lifestyle can stop you from succeeding before you even get started.

What not to do:

As dieters, we can have this attitude that eating healthy isn’t attractive. That the food doesn’t taste “good enough” as what we’re used to, that we’re deprived from our favorite treats, and somehow we’re being punished for our sins until we can drop the weight or gain our health back.

Then once we’ve achieved our goal we hope we can have a few treats again and relax a little.

You might even be telling yourself or others “Oh I can’t have that any more, I’m on a diet!!!”

Let me tell you from personal experience, this approach does NOT work.When we look at our new food as “the enemy” or not as good as what we used to have, we start to feel upset and stressed and resent it. And this can leave you seeking solace in your old favorites, trying to comfort yourself to feel better or feeling depressed and frustrated day after day.

What to do instead:

Change that attitude into a positive one.

Say to yourself something like, “I want to turn over a new leaf and start choosing foods that are not only delicious but are good for me and make me feel good.”

You know some of your past food choices haven’t been ideal. That’s ok. Today is a new day and try to have a positive attitude just to try it out. If you have to, fake it til you make it.

Try to look at your situation as wanting to be kind to yourself in a different way, a better way that not only keeps you healthy but brings more to your life like energy, happiness and longevity.

Try saying to yourself “I can eat whatever I want, but I want to choose foods that are healthful instead”.

Turn the negative into a positive. You make the decisions for you. You decide what you eat, and you choose different foods that are healthy, they are not forced upon you. Keep it positive and avoid any negative talk or attitude about your plant based meals.

By the time you get used to eating new healthier foods, your tastebuds will have caught up with you and you’ll realize these foods do actually taste pretty good, better than you thought they would.

Wanting to Look Good To Impress Others

Let’s face it, sometimes we can be a little insecure and vain.

We look at pretty and attractive people on tv and in the magazines and we can start to envy them.

Surely we would be happier if only we looked like them right?

What not to do:

You try to convince yourself to eat better and start exercising so you can dress to impress and look good for your spouse or flaunt it in front of friends and acquaintances.You think having people envy you will make you feel better about yourself and that should be motivation enough to stick to a new plan.

The truth is you’re actually sending a really bad message to your subconscious.

That somehow because you’re not currently getting praised for your looks or health that you aren’t worth it and if you were that would mean you were a success and make you feel better about yourself.

This is a bad situation.

The person who should care the most about your health is yourself. No one can force you or motivate you better to get healthy than yourself. Trying to diet or lose weight for someone else will not work for very long and soon you’ll be back to square one and still feel pretty crappy about yourself.

What to do instead:

Realize that you are the best motivator for getting healthy. Tell yourself that you want to get fit and feel great because of what a positive effect it will have on your life.

Get excited about all the benefits you will have by getting in shape and eatingbetter.

Things like:

-more energy
-better mood
-clothes fitting better
-being more outgoing
-feeling confident about your body
-wanting to dress up and go out
-not feeling guilty about food

All of these things will be a much better at motivating you to get healthy than just to look good for someone else or impress acquaintances and strangers.

Feed your soul and not your ego and you’ll naturally feel this positive shift in your perspective and behavior.

How You Talk To Yourself

This will predominantly concern women as we tend to be very critical of ourselves and expect perfection.

What not to do:

You look at yourself in the mirror and feel hopeless and depressed. “How did I let it get this far?” you might ask yourself. You don’t feel worthy, you feel ashamed and suddenly you just want to sit around and open up a tub of ice-cream to console yourself.

If you ever feel like this please do not lose hope. The problem is not what you see in the mirror. The problem is what you are saying to yourself and how you are treating yourself. The mirror is only a reflection of your previous behavior. You’ve made yourself feel unworthy of health and success somehow turned to food to help fill the emptiness or sadness you feel.

What to do instead:

Realize that you are not the sum of what you see in the mirror. There is far more to you than what can be seen on the surface. But you need to look at that reflection of yourself as your friend, actually your best friend.

If you’re not your own best friend, don’t expect anyone else to be able to treat you better than yourself. Look at yourself and say “I accept myself unconditionally as I am right now.”

It helps if you can say this at least 5 times a day.

Even if you feel silly, even if you think it’s a lie, please just try it.

It helps to train your subconscious to associate your image with love and acceptance, instead of shame and guilt.

Visualization is highly beneficial for success. If you have any other conditions such as heart disease, diabetes or cancer you can use positive affirmations to help
your body heal as well. Envision yourself at your ideal body weight and in perfect health. Try to think about yourself like this throughout the day.

It will send signals to your body that will help you achieve your goals.

Lack of Preparation and Planning

What not to do:

You buy a bunch of recipe books or you spend hours online looking at recipes you want to make only to let them sit there in the back of your mind “to try one day”.

You don’t make a shopping list of items to buy, and you don’t really think about when you’ll go grocery shopping or when you’ll have time to make lunches or dinner.

So you come home from work, stressed out and feeling guilty and you order take out or pull out something unhealthy from the freezer to reheat.

You tell yourself “maybe next week I’ll do better… but I don’t know if I can do it.”

What to do instead:

This is something I really had to work on myself.

When I have been most successful in eating healthy I’ve prepared all of my meals at home, and brought food with me wherever I went.

1. Find some recipes that you want to make for the week. Plan out some simple meals like smoothies or oatmeal for breakfast, soup, stews, wraps or sandwiches for lunch and some casseroles or entrees for dinner.

2. Write down all the ingredients you need to buy and plan 1 or 2 times that you can shop for groceries. If you plan on making a lot of green smoothies or salad it helps to go twice a week as sometimes you can run out of fridge space for those bulky items.

3. The last step is to schedule some cooking/prep time for meals. If you don’t make time for this you really won’t be able to succeed and you risk having your produce go to waste.

Even if you have a busy work schedule or family life, try to find 1-2 hours at least 2-3 times a week that you can dedicate to creating healthy meals. Just take it slow, start out with a few recipes until you get the hang out if it.

If you make sure you have healthy meals already prepared in the fridge you are more likely to eat them whenever you get busy and stressed. Don’t let yourself get to the point where you’re starving, cranky and there’s nothing ready to eat in the fridge so you go out and get some fast food instead.

Anticipate those situations that make it easy for you to feel tempted to grab take out or fast food and be prepared.

Every time you have one of your healthy meals instead of something else, smile and praise yourself a little. You’re on your way to success!

Lack of Motivation

You may feel a lack of motivation towards many things, exercising, grocery shopping, preparing meals, eating healthy
etc.

Try to determine the root cause of your lack of motivation.

If you’re just too tired, try to go to bed a little earlier and get a little more sleep. If you feel uninspired or afraid of trying something new, ask your spouse or a friend to do it with you for moral support. (This could be exercising together, shopping together, cooking together etc).

You can also meet like minded people on websites such as www.meetup.com if you’re looking for some activity partners or veggie enthusiasts to talk to.

If you feel like you don’t have any time to work out, look at your schedule and plan all your other activities out and then see where you have some time. Even if you just
make time 30 minutes 3 times a week before work or after dinner to go for a walk or a light jog it will make a difference.

The key is to make realistic goals and start out with what you can manage and stick to it.

Studies have shown that once you have created a new habit and stuck to it for at least 21 days, it becomes almost second nature and is very easy to keep up.

The hardest part is going to be getting to that 21 days. But just take it one day at a time and praise yourself for the little victories along the way.

So now that we’ve covered some of the mental blocks that might be preventing you from being successful at a health new life style, I want to encourage you to remember the important things I’ve covered in this post.

-Start having a positive attitude with healthy food

-Don’t change for anyone else, change for yourself

-Accept yourself for who you are today

-Plan ahead for success

-Make time and get motivated with friends
or loved ones

While I can’t personally coach everyone on living a successful lifestyle (I’m still working on myself too!) I can help you when it comes to making meals with my mouth watering plant based dishes.

My Low Fat Vegan Starter Kit is the perfect way to get started in this journey.

100% real food, with no oil, and no processed ingredients.

All with tantalizing photos to inspire you every day. Best of all they are omnivore and picky eater tested and come with a 100% 60 day money back guarantee so it’s risk free to try.

Get the Low Fat Vegan Starter Kit here:

http://www.plantbasedu.com/LowFatVeganStarterKit

And I want to say thank you for all that you do by reading my emails and blog posts because without you I wouldn’t be able to reach out and help the world.

So in turn we are helping each other. 🙂

P.S. If you’ve already bought one of my ebooks in the package you can definitely upgrade to the whole package at a discount. Just contact me and I’ll give you the
details!

Jeff Novick On The Myth of Moderation Pt 2: The Impact of “Just A Little Oil!”

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If you missed out on The Myth of Moderation Pt 1: check it out here.

As humans we tend to be fairly curious and like to test the limits of what we can and can’t do. Often when people opt for a new diet or eating plan they try to stretch the boundaries of what they are “supposed to do” and try to do what they perceive is acceptable, normal or even healthy. In the case of a low fat vegan diet, many people still believe just a “little bit” of oil can’t hurt anything, and in fact is good for you.

While I won’t argue that a healthy individual with no ailments would be harmed by a little bit of oil in one recipe eaten only once, a little bit of oil here or there does add up and it counts. I like to strive for a whole foods based diet as much as possible, and the fact is oil is a refined food and just isn’t included in the optimal diet.

We have plenty of opportunities to get omega 3’s from chia seeds, flax seeds and walnuts, and omega 6’s from other nuts and avocados. Adding olive oil or coconut oil is not necessary for health, and you will benefit from more nutrients and antioxidants if you just ate the whole food instead.

Jeff Novick, MS, RD talks about the concept of adding just a little bit of oil to your salads or veggies and how that actually makes more of a difference than you think.

For more information, I also highly recommend Jeff Novick’s lecture From Oil To Nuts: The Essential Facts About Fat Oils. You can watch a free section of it on YouTube, but it’s definitely worth getting the whole lecture on DVD. He also has a short excerpt from Going Nuts Over Nuts his 2012 lecture on YouTube.

The Myth of Moderation Pt 2: The Impact of “Just A Little Oil!”

So now you’ve got Jeff’s take on adding “healthy” oils to your salads and vegetables. If you’re cooking veggies you have a few oil free options.  You can steam them on the stove, microwave them, or saute them in a non stick pan.

Jeff Novick on the Myth of Moderation Pt 1: Do All Foods Really Fit?

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I love watching presentations by Jeff Novick. First he always presents great information that challenges the beliefs of the mass public and secondly he is very engaging and entertaining while doing so. I also highly recommend his lecture From Oil To Nuts: The Essential Facts About Fat Oils. You can watch a free section of it on YouTube, but it’s definitely worth getting the whole lecture on DVD. He also has a short excerpt from Going Nuts Over Nuts his 2012 lecture on YouTube.

One of the objections I often hear from readers and friends about a low fat vegan diet, is that everything in moderation is ok. They argue that oil, sugar, meat, dairy etc. should be fine in moderation and that an oil free low fat vegan diet sounds too extreme.

The problem with “moderation” is that it’s sure hard to moderate your intake when we are surrounded by food at home, at the store and restaurants, where it’s difficult to be aware of just how much of one thing you are taking in. We don’t have regular lean times in the winter anymore. We don’t need to load up on fat to keep warm for the winter and make it through on less.

Most of us in fact will never willingly skip a meal or even a snack, because the media tells us it’s bad to skip breakfast and we have a tendency to not just eat when we’re hungry, but when we’re bored or celebrating as well.

So is it even possible in a world of abundance to self regulate this moderation? I think it would be quite difficult. And though it sounds extreme, aiming to have zero oil or animal products in your diet gives you a better chance of having low amounts of these foods in your diet, as opposed to too many. If you regularly opt to eat these foods you will inadvertently consume high amounts over the week or month as it adds up. The only way to truly avoid certain foods 100% is by making all of your food every day from scratch and I doubt that many of us are doing that on a weekly basis, let alone for the rest of our lives. So that’s why I make oil free vegan recipes and aim for no oil, no meat, no dairy. Because occasionally when I do eat out, it’s a guarantee there’s going to be some extra oil or fat in that dish and I don’t know how much of it there is.

Let’s hear what Jeff Novick has to say on moderation.

The Myth of Moderation Pt 1: Do All Foods Really Fit?

 

So if you like to consume everything in moderation, how can you be sure you are consuming the proper amounts of fruits, vegetables, water and getting enough vitamins, minerals and fibre? It’s very difficult to consume enough fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains every day when you start trying to add in meat, cheese, oils, alcohol desserts and snack foods every day.

Has any of this information changed your perception of moderation? Discuss.

Engine2 Inspired Tempeh Mushroom Panini Melts

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I was watching Engine 2 Kitchen to the Rescue on Netflix the other day and got a hankering for a homemade panini melt like Rip was showing in the recipe section of the film. This recipe is DELICIOUS! I’m definitely going to be making this regularly because the combination of mushrooms and caramelized onions is one of my favorites.

Hummus is a great cheese-free way to make an ooey gooey panini melt because it adds some nice flavor and moisture to it and gets all melty when heated. So make sure to slather it on thick! For a healthier oil free version of hummus be sure to check out my recipe link below.

This is an adaptation of Engine2’s recipe and I’ve added more ingredients to the panini.  🙂

Vegan Hummus Mushroom Tempeh Panini Melts

Makes 2 panini

Ingredients:

4 slices whole wheat bread (look for oil free) *use GF if desired
low fat hummus (see my recipe)
4-6 strips of tempeh (I used sesame garlic tempeh)
6-8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 slice of onion cut into strips
1 tsp soy sauce or gluten free tamari
1 tsp maple syrup *optional
handful of baby spinach
2 pieces of fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. In a small non stick pan, cook the tempeh strips over medium heat until lightly browned on both sides. Set aside. (You do not need any oil.)

2. Sauté the mushrooms and onion slices in a non-stick pan in soy sauce and maple syrup for 5-6 minutes until soft. Set aside.

3. Spread all 4 slices of bread with a thick layer of hummus (you don’t want it to be too dry!) and top 2 slices with tempeh, mushrooms and onions. Lay some spinach leaves on top and sprinkle on a few bits of cilantro. Top with the other slice of bread.

4. In a non stick or cast iron skillet place the sandwiches one at a time over medium low heat. Top with something heavy such as a cast iron skillet, pot or plate with a weight on it. Cook on each side for 3-4 minutes until browned being careful to not let them burn. *Alternatively you can use a sandwich press (cut it in half first) or a panini press and cook for 4-5 minutes.

place the sandwich on a non stick pan with something heavy on top of it

*Or use a sandwich maker or panini press and close the top down on the sandwiches

5. When done slice in half and serve.

panini made in the sandwich maker

panini made in the pan with weight on top

Variations:

If you don’t want to include the tempeh, feel free to leave it out. I like adding it so it’s a little higher in protein and more filling.

You can also mix up your panini by using a different flavored hummus, adding roasted bell peppers, jalapeños, artichokes or smoked tofu instead of the original ingredients.

What’s your favorite vegan grilled sandwich or panini?

Vitamineral Green Smoothie Recipe

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So can you use green powders in green smoothies instead of fresh greens? Why yes you can!

I think a lot of us are guilty of not getting enough green leafy vegetables in their diet day after day. Myself included. Sometimes I don’t have enough room in the fridge to have salad ingredients every single day, and sometimes I get tired of chewing salad every day. So I often opt for a green smoothie to get more greens in my diet and it’s pretty fast and simple.

You kind of need a decent blender to blend the fresh greens though otherwise they can end up a little chunky or not so smooth. So you may consider using green powders in your smoothies instead for texture.

Or you may not have access to the best fresh greens all year round so a green powder is a more attractive option for you as well.

You can find a variety of green powders at the health food store and on Amazon.com. Some are based on wheat grass, barley grass or a mixture. I picked up a new one the other day to try out called Vitamineral Green. I’d heard people talk about it before and really liking it so I thought why not give it a shot.

I first tried mixing Vitamineral Green into some water and stirring well in an attempt to drink it.  I figured I could manage it. I was dead wrong! It’s not very edible this way! So instead I’ve been playing around added it into smoothies instead of my regular baby spinach or baby greens or kale.

As soon as I started drinking this green smoothie I immediately felt more alert and had a very positive reaction to it. My body definitely enjoys getting more greens!

This is my favorite version that I came up with so far and it definitely tastes like a fruit smoothie with some greens in it, instead of a strong green drink so I think you’ll enjoy it.

Veronica’s Vitamineral Green Smoothie Recipe

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

1/2 cup filtered water
2-3 large bananas (I use 3 so it’s filling)
1-2 heaping tablespoons of Vitamineral Green (I use 2, but you can work up to it)
1/2 cup frozen pineapple
1/2 cup frozen mango
1/2 cup frozen cherries or blueberries

Directions: 

Place ingredients in a Vitamix or blender in the order listed and blend on high for about a minute until smooth and creamy.

*Note: You can adjust the thickness of the smoothie as desired by added more or less water and banana. If desired you can add some ice and blend again.

Other Tips:

Make sure to add enough water and sweet fruits such as banana or mango to help mask the strong flavor of Vitamineral Green or other green powders.

You don’t have to use Vitamineral Green, you can use another green powder. Be careful as straight wheat grass or barley grass powder may be stronger in taste. Use a small amount of Vitamineral Green or green powders to start until you get used to them. Gradually increase until you use 1 – 2 heaping tablespoons per smoothie.

Try using 1 banana and 1 fresh mango and frozen berries.

Try 1 Hawaiian papaya 2 bananas and frozen berries.

Try 3 bananas, 1/2 cup almond milk and a scoop of cocoa powder.

 What’s your favorite green powder to use? How do you drink it?

How To Make Vegan Food Taste Good Without Cheese!

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Cheese might be the #1 food that prevents many vegetarians and omnivores from believing they could eat vegan, let alone be happy eating that way.

So if you feel upset or frustrated at the thought of not eating cheese regularly, don’t worry you’re not alone.



Cheese is naturally highly addictive to humans because it’s both fatty and very salty and contains casein (a dairy protein that has been shown in studies to be as addictive as opiates believe it or not).

The combination of these factors makes it extremely hard for anyone to willingly give it up cold-turkey.

But let’s say you already know that cheese and dairy products aren’t good for you because you’ve read books like The China Study or seen the film Forks Over Knives.

How do you make meals taste good without cheese?

Option #1: Substitute Vegan Cheese

Depending where you are on your vegan journey you could switch to a vegan cheese for starters such as Daiya Vegan Cheese. I don’t often use it, only very occasionally as it still contains oil and is high in fat, but it may be helpful to make a plant based transition for you or family members who need a little sprinkling of something for certain recipes. Please go easy on adding vegan cheese, it tastes quite rich and you don’t need as much as you normally would with regular cheese. All cheese and cheese-like foods are made with oil and are high in fat, it is not health food.



Option #2: Make Faux Cheese At Home

Another option is to use a mixture of crumbled tofu with miso paste and nutritional yeast to create a sort of tofu ricotta mixture that is tangy and feels
creamy like regular ricotta. (I show you how to do this for Plant Based Lasagna in my Comfort Soups From Around The World recipe ebook.

If you are looking for a creamier cheese to drizzle you can try using cashews and blend it with some water, garlic, lemon, miso paste, nutritional yeast and liquid sweetener to create a nut cheese. There’s even a whole book about making faux cheese called The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook!

For low fat cheese sauces check out my Comfort Foods ebook again for cheezy sauce for vegetables or mac & cheese recipes.

http://www.plantbasedu.com/comfortfoods

Use lots of sauce and veggies on pizza and you don’t need cheese!

Option #3: Go Without and Use Other Seasonings

Eventually you want to be able to enjoy healthful foods without resorting to cheese like toppings (because they are often high in salt and fat).



I recommend using more veggies and adding fresh herbs and more seasonings to make recipes taste delicious without added cheese.

For example, for pizza roast or sauté veggies in different seasonings and load up a healthy pizza crust with lots of pizza sauce and a variety of veggies. I often like to add sautéed mushrooms, sautéed zucchini, sautéed onions, wilted spinach, fresh basic, fresh garlic, red onions, pineapple, artichokes (packed in water), peppers etc. If you want something creamy on top you can take thin slices of avocado and put it on top of the pizza after it’s cooked for that creamy texture.

For pasta sauces I like to use fresh garlic, basil and onions to kick up the flavor to canned tomatoes or bottled sauce and cook it and blend it together so it has more flavor. If your sauce is tasty you won’t need cheese for that tangy salty flavor.

While your cheese cravings won’t likely disappear overnight, please know that they will greatly diminish as you start eating less and less of it and trying new
foods.

Also you should know that your tastebuds regenerate every 10-14 days! So you can train your tastebuds to want other foods instead of cheese by eating them instead.

Just like any other addiction, the more you have it the more you want it. So try to gradually reduce your cheese and dairy consumption until you no longer think about it.



Once you are accustomed to eating a low fat, oil free diet even vegan cheese can lose its appeal and seem like nothing more than salty oily goo. I quite enjoy eating
homemade vegan pizza as more of a flatbread topped with lots of veggies and find it doesn’t need anything else.

For tasty plant based meals that don’t require any fake meat or fake cheese check out my ebook

Comfort Foods From Around The World

And learn how to make a healthy version of your old favourites using things like nutritional yeast, miso paste, squash and tofu instead for that creamy cheese like flavor.



I hope I’ve given you some helpful tips on how to banish those cheese cravings. Just take it one day at a time and soon cheese will be in your rearview mirror and you won’t even be missing it at all.