Product Review: Just Pure Foods Pesto Zucchini Chips

These days, you can find kale chips at just about any supermarket. Due to the popularity of these, it seems that the market is beginning to expand to other dehydrated veggies. Just Pure Foods has a definite edge on these healthy snacks. Recently, I tried the Pesto Zucchini Chips while I was on vacation in Kauai.

Here is a breakdown of the product:

• Flavor: Distinct pesto flavor. Garlic and basil are prominent flavors.
• Texture: Not as crunchy as kale chips. A little bit of crunch but mostly kind of chewy.
• Price: About 7.00 for the bag pictured above. This might seems expensive, but it is justifiable considering the ingredients and the process of dehydration that they must go through to be made.
• Packaging: Has a resealable bag.
• Pros: Gluten-free, vegan, organic, not that many calories(150) if you want to eat the entire bag.
• Cons: You might be disappointed with the texture as they are not really as crunchy as you might wish for them to be.

Product Review: Vega Savi Seeds

If you are not familiar with the brand VEGA, it is a plant-based nutritional company developed by Ironman competitor Brendan Brazier when he felt that he was not getting the right fuel to sustain him during competition.

So here is my opinion on the products. While they may contain a sick amount of plant-based nutrients, they are all seriously lacking in flavor, or have very strange texture and flavor. I have tried the bars, shakes, and Savi seeds and I can honestly say, I have not enjoyed one of the products.

This makes me sad because I kept trying different flavors and products thinking that I would find at least one that I enjoy--and to no avail, I have been left with disappointment. Additionally, these products are really pricey. For example, a large tub of the shake will run you about 70.00.

Recently, on a quest to find a Vega product that I might enjoy, I tried the Vega Karmalized Savi Seeds. Vega touts these seeds as having, "...17 times more Omega-3 per ounce than wild Sockeye salmon these amazing seeds on their own are the richest plant-based source of Omega-3 on the planet!" While this may be true, let me tell you about the taste and texture. The taste is VERY earthy. It has elements of grass, dirt, and pine needles. The texture does not have the oily fattiness most of us enjoy when we eats nuts or seeds (no jokes please lol). The seeds are very dry and grainy.

If you are still interested in trying these, you can begin with a small bag that will cost you about 2.99 ( or 3.99 if you buy them in Kauai lol). If you want to go really all out, you can buy the large package for about 32.99. Personally, I do not think that they are worth the money, but you can judge for yourself. Let me know your thoughts on Vega products.

RECIPE: Mango Tango Salsa

Holy crap it is HOT outside! I can't think of a better way to cool down than to eat some fresh homemade mango salsa, chips, and wash it all down with a frosty glass of beer.

I don't know about you, but every time I buy store-bought mango salsa, it never seems like the mangos were ripe enough when they made it. When mangos are not fully ripened, they have a bit of a sour and flat flavor. Ripe mangoes should be a bit soft to the touch--kind of like a ripe avocado and they should almost have the texture of a ripe peach when you eat them. So here is my recipe! This would be great to share with friends on the 4th of July!

Ingredients
Serves 4-6

• 1 large extra ripe mango diced into 1/4 inch pieces
• 1 tbs of finely chopped cilantro
• 1 tbs of finely minced red onion
• 1 small finely minced jalapeno (take out the seeds and the white membrane for a more mild heat intensity)
• 1 tbs finely minced red bell pepper
• 1 tsp of organic agave (do not substitute with honey--you want the sweetness to have a neutral flavor).

Product(s) Used

• Whole Foods Organic Blue Agave Sweetener

Product Review: Quorn!

If you have gone meatless for long enough, you have had your fair share of faux meats. Meatless alternatives have really seemed to gone mainstream in the past few years. One of the things that I have been trying to cut back on is my intake of soy.

It has been really difficult to find meatless alternatives that do not contain soy--until now. About a year ago, as I was walking down the frozen foods aisle at Whole Foods, I noticed a brand that I had not seen before. It was called Quorn (pronounced "corn" I believe). Intrigued by the yummy photos on the packaging, I picked up a bag of Quorn Grounds and a box of Quorn Burgers.

That night I made tacos using the crumbles and....OMG were they good. Honestly, they tasted so much like real meat I actually had to look at the ingredients again. The thing I like about the crumbles are that they actually maintain their consistency and density as you cook them. Other brands of crumbles tend to break down and get mushy.

I have been able to find Quorn at the following stores:

• Whole Foods
• Target
• Albertsons
• Smith's

Below are some brief reviews of the products I have tried from Quorn so far! Click on the product name for a link to their website and nutritional facts.

• Classic Burgers: Holy mess are these good. They are actually juicy, have amazing texture, and honestly are better than any meat burger that I have had.
• Grounds: These are fantastic as I have mentioned before. I use them in chili, pasta sauce, tacos, and a shepherds pie recipe that I came up with. I will post a recipe when we get into the cooler months. It is off the chain if I do say so for myself :-)
• Turk'y Burgers: These are really good with blue cheese and bbq sauce!
• Meatballs: My husband made spaghetti and meatballs one night with these. He served me up a dish and I thought they were real meat!! They are dense and flavorful like a real meatball and hold up to being cooked in sauce. Some other brands get mushy and fall apart.
• Garlic and Herb Chik'n Cutlets: Seriously these are my absolute favorite product that they have! They are better than the real thing. I use these to make "chicken" parmesan and I also bake them, cut them up and add them to salads. They also make one with Gruyère that is amazing and kind of like a chicken cordon bleu without the ham. Both of these are the bomb.
• Chik'n Nuggets: Why buy those disgusting things from McDonalds when you can have these? They are a little bit crunchy, a little bit juicy, and are fantastic dipped in bbq sauce. Kids would love these.
• Roast: Last Thanksgiving I made one of these. The next day I made "turkey" sandwiches with stuffing and cranberry sauce. Definitely off the hook. When you slice the roast, it holds up like real turkey. Really juicy and meat-like.

Let me know how you like these products and what you made with them!

RECIPE: Vegetarian Burger Idea for the 4th of July!

This is a great meatless burger alternative for the 4th of July!. You will notice that this recipe is meat-free and I promise you, you will not miss it. This recipe serves 4.

 PESTO MAYO

• 1/2 cup of Veganaise or mayonnaise
• 1 cup of fresh spinach ( I use the pre-packaged salad spinach)
• 2 tablespoons of chopped pecans
• A pinch of pepper
• 2 teaspoons of garlic powder

Place the spinach and pecans in a food processor and pulse them until all of the spinach is broken down into little bits. Add the mayonnaise, pepper, and garlic powder and mix thoroughly, but do not over mix--it should not be soupy. Place the mayonnaise in a bowl and refrigerate while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

BURGER INGREDIENTS

• 2 large portobello mushrooms
• 1 small jar of roasted red peppers
• 1 large red onion
• 4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
• 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• pinch of pepper
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• goat cheese or your favorite vegan cheese. Daiya provolone would work great.

In a large bowl, whisk the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper together until the ingredients are well combined.

Slice the  portobello mushrooms relatively thick (about 1/4 inch), remove the gills gently with a spoon,  and toss them into the marinade. Using your hands, make sure that every mushroom slice is coated. Cover the bowl with a paper towel and let them sit on the counter while you prepare the caramelized onions.

CARAMELIZED ONIONS

Slice off the top of your red onion then cut the onion in half , peel and slice into half moons.The thinner you slice the onions the quicker they will cook. However, I have found that if you keep your slices to about 1/4 inch in thickness, they are less stringy and more appealing.

Put 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a large saute pan on medium heat (I like to use my Le Creuset pan). Once the olive oil is well heated, place the onions in the pan and toss them so they have an even coating of olive oil. Make sure to spread them out so they all have contact with the pan. Do not have your heat on too high or they will burn.

As the onions cook. add a couple of pinches of salt. This will draw out the moisture. Also, add a pinch of pepper and a tiny pinch of brown sugar.

Be patient with the onions as there is no quick way to make caramelized onions. Stir occasionally until the onions are a golden color. You will notice that the onions will leave a bit of a dark coating on the bottom of the pan. This is ok as long as the onions are not burning. This process takes about 30 minutes.

Once the onions are done, scoop them out of the pan and place them in a bowl and set aside.

COOK THE SHROOMS

Now it is time to cook the mushrooms! Place them in the same pan as you cooked the onions on medium heat. You will notice that the balsamic vinegar will deglaze the pan a bit. Spread the mushrooms out so that they all have contact with the pan.

Try not to turn them too much so the mushrooms will get that nice golden color on them. Cook the mushrooms for about 8 -10 minutes.

ASSEMBLING THE BURGERS

Toast 4 large crusty buns with butter under the broiler until lightly toasted. Don't forget them!!

Once the buns are toasted, spread some pesto mayo on the bottom side of the bun top. On the other half, lay down slices of the roasted red peppers. (Make sure they are well drained and patted dry or you will have a soggy burger.)

Next, place some of the caramelized onions and mushrooms. The amount will depend on your liking.

Before you close the burger, top it off with about 1 tablespoon of crumbled goat cheese. 

Close the burger up and serve with some oven fries or a side salad--ENJOY!

Products I Used

• Whole Foods brand Goat Cheese crumbles
• Vegenaise vegan mayonnaise

RECIPE: Go Raw Part-Time in the Summer

Ever heard of the 80/10/10 diet? Dr. Douglas Graham created this diet back in the late 70s and has gained a rather large following (some may say "cult-like") in the past 5 or so years. The basic principles behind the diet are that you eat nothing but uncooked fruits and vegetables and very little overt fats--such as nuts, seeds, and avocados.

While I cannot see myself actually ever adopting this diet completely, I do see that it has enormous value for me in the summer time. I live in the blistering hot Nevada desert and when it gets over a 100 degrees, cooking behind a stove or even eating cooked food sounds horrid.

I tend to eat with the season. When it is cold, I crave hot curried vegetable stews, pasta, and soup. When it is hot, I crave fresh watermelon and salad.

Here is a simple recipe for a refreshing salad that I make with a snazzy kitchen tool called a spiralizer. If this recipe looks good to you, you can either make your own "noodles" with a veggie peeler, or you can check out the contraption that I use on my Amazon Store located on my blog.

About the Spiralizer
I use the Paderno World Cuisine Plastic Spiral Vegetable Slicer. It is great for making quick, tasty, and refreshing veggie noodles.

See below, how you use the spiralizer. 

This spiralizer also comes with three attachments. You can make skinny, fat, or flat noodles.

Recipe:
Refreshing Veggie Noodle Salad

• 1 cucumber spiralized
• 1 zucchini spiralized
• 1/2 of thinly sliced red bell pepper 
• 1/2 of thinly sliced green bell pepper
• 1 chopped green onion. (leave off the white ends)
• 2 tbs of your favorite Asian dressing.

Products I Used:

• Fresh and Easy Grocery Store bought Toasted Sesame Dressing. It is nutty, sweet, and reminds me of the Chinese salad dressing they make at the California Pizza Kitchen. 

If you are interested in learning more about the 80/10/10 diet and would like some recipe ideas, I follow a couple of great vlogs on YouTube.

• Megan Elizabeth Easy to Be Raw
• Kristina Carillo-Bucaram FullyRawKristina

Welcome to My Blog

Vegan Beet Burger from Real Food Daily in Santa Monica, CA.

Four years ago, I made the decision to cut out most animal products out of my diet ( I still eat some cheese, eggs, and on occasion grass fed beef and free-range organic chicken). I had just finished graduate school (for the second time) and was suffering from many health related issues that comes from being sedentary, eating bad, toxic food, and not getting enough exercise. I was not overweight, but I definitely was not in the shape I wanted to be in.

I had practiced martial arts for 10 years, played sports, and was a fanatic about working out and eating right. However, when I really got into developing my career and finishing my education, these things that I once loved, became secondary in my life. I was eating food that was making me sick. All of this food however was and is considered "normal" in the standard American diet.

Too much sugar, too much fat, and too much caffeine was making me tired, irritable, and really...really...depressed. Foods like bagels, Hamburger Helper, lots of bad hormone-ridden meat, cheese, and dairy products made up the majority of my diet. Vegetables and fruit were more like small accompaniments or side dishes. One day, I had had enough!

I decided that I was going to make a change. I knew that I wanted to go back to being a vegetarian for the majority of my diet (something that I had flirted with for two years during my early 20s--I am now 35). I started to hit up YouTube. I began conducting searches for "vegan" and "vegetarian" recipes. Through my searches, I discovered a video featuring Alicia Silverstone. It was a video featuring her doing a photo-shoot for her book called The Kind Diet. I immediately went that evening to Barnes and Noble and purchased her book. That evening, I began reading the entire book into the wee hours of the next morning. That was it. It was time to make the change.

The next day I headed to Whole Foods and began to substitute what I normally would purchase for healthier (and yummier) products. I purchased "crazy things" such as: seitan, tempeh, kelp noodles, and nutritional yeast. Instead of butter, I purchased Earth Balance butter. I also purchased TONS of fresh fruit and vegetables and whole grains such as quinoa and brown rice.

That evening, I made a stir fry with seitan, broccoli, fresh bell pepper, and onion over brown rice. It was amazing. After I ate, I didn't feel bloated and gross like I normally would when I was eating food from my "old" diet.

Four years later, I feel so much healthier. My allergies--especially food allergies have almost disappeared. I have almost zero digestion issues and I feel like I can also eat A LOT more. This is something that is awesome because I LOVE to eat!

I know that is may be controversial that I still occasionally have meat and dairy products, but I am definitely more conscious of the kind of animal products that I purchase. For example, I would NEVER eat veal or foie gras.

I would definitely call the way I eat a sort of "hybrid" diet. 80 percent of my diet is packed with fresh fruit, vegetables, and whole grains, nuts and seeds. On occasion, (once or twice a week), I will have dairy, eggs, or some grass fed, free range beef or organic free range chicken.

My hope in this blog is that I will be able to introduce you to products, food, recipes, and health tips that may help you in your own journey to health and fitness. ENJOY!

Healthy Vegan Breakfast

This may look unhealthy, but it is actually packed with protein and energy to get you through your morning. This hearty breakfast is also VEGAN!

MENU

• Sliced tomatoes from the vine drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette
• Sliced yellow potatoes pan fried in a tiny bit of olive oil
• Tofu scramble with diced onions, yellow, green, and red peppers.
• Tofu scramble is seasoned with: tamari, nutritional yeast, turmeric, garlic powder, Herbamare salt, cumin, and a bit of smoked paprika. All seasonings are added to taste.
• One vegetarian sausage patty.

PRODUCTS I USED

• Fresh and Easy brand extra firm tofu
• Follow Your Heart Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Herbamare Original salt/herb blend
• KAL Nutitional Yeast Flakes
• San-J Gluten Free Tamari
• Simple Truth Meatless Breakfast Patties