What I Eat In A Day

Today, I thought I'd share with you what I typically eat in a day. This is just an example of a random day I decided to take photos of what I eat, but it definitely varies from day to day. On this day I didn't have class and just spent the day doing laundry, cleaning, homework, and running some errands. Let's take a look at what I ate. . .

Breakfast (11:30)

I love to sleep, so when I don't have class sleeping in late is my favorite thing to do. Breakfast didn't get started until around 11:30, so eating this late isn't very typically for me but I love a good brunch every now and then!

I always try to start the day off with lots of water and love putting freshly squeezed lemon juice in it, lemons are great for cleansing and help to jumpstart your digestion first thing in the morning!

Because this day was very cloudy, I took a vitamin D supplement, the kind I use is liquid so I just drop a little drop on my tongue on days when the sun isn't out. I also take a vitamin B-12 supplement (which I recommend everyone get their levels tested, vegan or not!) which is completely food-based and also liquid.

I had two slices of Ezekiel bread (my new favorite..they use sprouted grains, so it's better for digestion/absorption and it's also very delicious!) one slice I topped with peanut butter, the other with blueberry jelly. 

Along with that, I cut up about eight to ten fresh strawberries and one banana. 

And of course I had a cup of black coffee! 

Lunch (3:00)
So for lunch I had a huge green smoothie. I need to run some errands, so I whipped up a smoothie and headed out the door. I love taking these on the go, because it's not messy and easy to drink in the car.

The smoothie had 3 frozen bananas, 2 cups of spinach, 1/2 medium sized cucumber, 4 stalks of celery, 1/2 cup orange juice, 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger root, and lots of water!

Snack (5:00)

Once I got home, I heated up some leftovers from dinner the night before which was a stir-fry with sweet potatoes, spinach, rice, tempeh, tomatoes topped with curry sauce. I paired it with some corn tortillas. I also ate a few dates afterwards.

Dinner (7:30)

For dinner I made some fresh sushi (keep a look out for a sushi recipe coming soon!). In the sushi I put white rice, cucumber, tofu, carrots, and avocado. I had about four rolls, and some "samples" while making them. I ate the sushi with some liquid aminos (soy sauce substitute).

Late-night snack (10:00)

I was still a little hungry, and wasn't going to bed anytime soon (Netflix was the culprit of keeping me up so late) so I decided to have another slice of Ezeikel toast with peanut butter and I topped it with a few fresh strawberries. 

Luna's Living Kitchen | Restaurant Review | Charlotte, NC

Recently I, along with one of my friends who is also a nutrition major, attended the North Carolina Dietetic Association's quarterly meeting in Charlotte, NC. While in Charlotte, I decided to check out a restaurant that I had heard great reviews about. Luna's Living Kitchen is mostly raw and vegan, so obviously I was in love with it before even going to the restaurant. The atmosphere was a wonderful; quiet, dimmed lighting, comfortable seating, and great service.

After feeling overwhelmed at looking at the huge menu filled with delicious sounding food and drinks, we each settled on what we were going to order. I got the Mock-Tuna Salad Sandwich with a side of Broccoli Waldorf and Hanna got the Pad Thai dish. Our food came out in less than ten minutes, and we both tried to savor the delicious food but it was so good we quickly devoured it. I love going to vegan restaurants, specifically raw vegan because it never takes very long for the food to arrive. Because the chefs aren't dealing with meat, or sometimes stoves/ovens it takes very little time to prepare which is the best when you're really hungry!
My sandwich was made with two slices of vegan bread, I'm not sure if they make this in-house but it was delicious regardless. Inside the two slices of bread was some cashew mayonnaise, I wasn't too sure about this part of the sandwich because I've never enjoyed real mayonnaise but surprisingly it was so yummy and didn't taste at all like real mayo instead it was light and creamy. There were also some crisp lettuce leaves and a few slices of tomato.

My favorite part was the huge scoop of the "tuna salad." Before giving up meat, I had never even tried tun, so I wasn't sure what to expect for this mock version of it. It was amazing! The consistency was creamy and hearty, and I loved the texture of it in the sandwich along with the other ingredients.  The broccoli salad was also delicious, and had the taste of both sweet and savory: my favorite combination. Hanna let me try some of her pad thai which consisted of raw spiraled sweet potato and zucchini and a thai peanut sauce. It was also delicious, and the flavors were spot on. For dessert, we got raw vegan ginger snap cookies that were incredible. It brought me right back to fall time, yum! 
Overall, the service was great along with the food, and the atmosphere was perfect for a nice, relaxed meal. I would definitely recommend Luna's Living Kitchen to anyone that is in the Charlotte area, it is great for everyone even if you're not vegan the food is delicious! I can't wait to go back and try something else.
Check out their website at http://www.lunaslivingkitchen.com 

Massaged Kale Salad

With kale being in season, I thought I would share with you all my simple, and easy kale salad recipe. This salad is great because it lasts in the refrigerator for almost an entire week, and is a great to pack for lunch or even a snack. It's very easy to make, with simple/inexpensive ingredients.

Massaging the kale allows all the nutrients to get released, and also takes a lot of the bitterness out of the green. I love massaging my hearty greens, like kale, because it gives it a great texture and flavor. The quinoa in this salad can be taken out, but I highly suggest using either quinoa or rice to help make this dish a full meal and more filling. Also, either rice or quinoa will add protein and some complex carbohydrates to the salad. 

Kale and Quinoa Salad

7-8 servings

Salad:

3 cups kale (roughly chopped)

1 Vidalia onion (diced)

1 English cucumber (diced)

2-4 medium sized carrots (diced)

½ cup cherry tomatoes (whole or cut in half)

½ cup raisins (or other dried fruit)

½ cup seeds or nuts (pumpkin, sunflower, almonds, pine nuts)

1 cup dry quinoa (optional)

Dressing:

2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

4 Tbsp. balsamic vinaigrette

3 Tbsp. Raw apple cider vinegar

1 lemon (juiced)

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. black pepper

3 Tbsp. oil (optional)

Prepare quinoa in water or stock (chicken, vegetable, or mineral), let cool. Place rinsed and chopped kale in bowl, and gently massage with clean hands for 5 minutes or until the kale has become soft and a vibrant green. Combine the rest of the veggies, fruit, and nuts/seeds, as well as the cooled quinoa.

Wisk together the ingredients for the dressing and combine with salad.

Store in air-tight container for up to a week.

I also was able to create a Nutrition Facts label for this recipe with a food processing program that my school has. Each serving is about a cup of the salad. Check out that vitamin A and fiber content! 

My Thoughts on Dairy & Why I Went Dairy Free

We are conditioned our whole lives to believe that milk is good for us, and that it's essential to our diets. Between all the advertisements, promotions, and doctors, almost everyone is pushing milk as a healthy beverage vital for proper nutrition. We assume that all of this is true, and so most of us begin drinking cow's milk as soon as we are weaned from our mother's milk. Since becoming vegan and doing research on the meat and dairy industry, I've come to realize how wrong all of this is. Not only morally wrong, but chemically and biologically wrong.

Let's first think about how it is biologically wrong for us to be drinking milk from a cow. So we are born, and almost immediately begin drinking milk from our mother. This breastmilk is perfectly designed to have all the nutrients and calories to sustain life, and help us to develop. We drink our mother's milk, the person that gave us life. Cow's milk, on the other hand, is not from our mother; it's from a different mammal. In fact, it's milk that comes from a mammal that gives birth to a 825 lb. baby. A calf is typically weaned from its mother's milk between 7-8 months of age, as are humans. But we as humans continue to drink cow's milk. Humans are the only mammal that continues to drink milk after infancy, and we also are the only animal that consumes milk from another animal. We don't see dogs drinking milk from a cow, or cats drinking milk from a dog. It's not biologically normal.

When we are born we have an enzyme in our bodies called lactase. This enzyme is to help us digest the sugars in our mother's milk, lactose. As we age, our bodies no longer need this enzyme, due to us weaning off of breastmilk and consuming other foods. So chemically, our bodies are not made or fully capable of digesting milk our entire lives due to the decreased production of lactase. This is one of the reasons why lactose intolerance is so prevalent, people have lost the enzyme/ability to digest the sugars in milk.


"But milk is the only way you can get calcium." This is a common question that comes with an argument against drinking cow's milk. This is completely untrue; calcium can be found in hundreds of different plant-based foods. Not only that, but the calcium in milk (especially when pasteurized, which is required in many states) is barely absorbed in the body. Yes, there is nearly 300 mg of calcium in a cup of milk, but there are many studies that show that very little of it is absorbed. Aside from absorption, milk actually has been shown to cause us to LOSE bone mass. "Drink milk for strong bones" is a common phrase we all hear growing up, but because of the acidity in milk, calcium stores are depleted when we drink it.


Although dairy is an entire "food group" on the USDA MyPlate, that doesn't mean that it is good for us. The dairy industry pays big bucks for that spot on the updated Food Pyramid. The USDA includes dairy, and pushes it because they get paid by the dairy industry to do so. The government spends about $30 billion dollars in subsidies for animal products, encouraging meat and dairy farmers to produce as much as possible. Unfortunately, the government spends barely any money to subsidize farmers that grow fruits and vegetables. The government and the USDA are on board with promoting animal products because that's how they can make money; not because it's good for us.

It has become socially acceptable to drink cow's milk, and we have distanced ourselves so much from the actual process of drinking milk from a cow's nipple it almost makes me sick to think about it. We just see milk in a jug at the grocery store, we never think once about how we are drinking from a cow's udder, just like a baby calf. Cows produce milk for their babies, but in order for us to drink cow's milk it has to be taken from a baby calf, which is often killed, or pumped with hormones to "grow" big enough to then be slaughtered and used as meat.When we drink cow's milk, we are drinking milk that doesn't belong to us.


We don't think about this, because we don't have to see it, hear about it, or even process it. Really, whether you like animals or not, this is wrong on all levels. Most everyone doesn't want to look at photos of where their milk actually comes from, but at the end of the day it comes from a tortured, hormone-pumped, sick, depressed, unhappy animal. It took some research and a little common sense to make me realize how wrong I was for not only drinking cow's milk, but for financially contributing to the dairy industry. Whether or not you believe in drinking cow's milk, the way it is generally obtained is enough reason to stop buying and drinking it. I can get protein, calcium, and nutrients from other sources; there is no need for me to be drinking cow's milk and contributing to that type of cruel, money-obsessed industry.

Maybe all of this is a little graphic, or a little disturbing to think about, but it's all true. Often times vegans get a bad reputation for forcing our opinions on others, or being hateful, or judgmental, but most of us just want to inform people about why we are vegan. Sometimes it takes some daunting photos, or images to make us really think about things, and open our eyes to the truth. Being educated and informed on what we're putting into our bodies is something we should all be concerned with.

Dairy is something I cut out of my diet nearly a year ago, and I am so happy that I did. I feel so much better, both physically and mentally, because I'm not putting something into my body that I'm not supposed to. Giving up dairy is easy, and definitely worth it! Do your body a favor and go dairy free!

For more information about the dairy industry, check out this link!
For some dairy substitutes check out these websites: http://dairyfreecooking.about.com/od/techniquessubstitutions/tp/Cooking-Substitutions.htm
http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/080112p38.shtml
http://www.eatingwithfoodallergies.com/dairysubstitutes.html

Homemade Granola

With Christmas less than a week away, I thought it would be a good time to share my homemade granola recipe. This granola recipe is super healthy, using flax, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds, as well as unsweetened applesauce (instead of oil). It is also low in sugar, using only a small amount of honey. My granola recipe is packed with nutrients, and is great to snack on throughout the day.


Once I make a big batch of granola, I package it in inexpensive jars (I found some at Walmart) and tie a ribbon around each one with the list of ingredients and a gift tag. This way, the recipient can reuse the jar once the granola is gone.

I kept this granola recipe very basic, it is definitely build-able  Throw in some cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger and substitute the applesauce for pumpkin puree to make it a pumpkin spice granola. Or add in some cocoa powder and shredded coconut to make it a little more sweet. There are so many different nuts you can add as well: chopped almonds, pecans, walnuts, cashews, or macadamia nuts.

Ingredients:
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup milled flax seeds
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp. sea salt

                  

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Use cooking spray to coat two large baking sheets. 

Pour the raw granola onto the baking sheets in a thin even layer. 











Bake the granola for 20-30 minutes, flipping/stirring the granola every 10 minutes (VERY important!) to make sure it's cooking evenly and not burning. 

Let the granola cool before transferring to storage containers. Enjoy!

My Favorite: Documentaries

I have always loved a good documentary, and over the past several years I've found myself watching  variety of different types. From food to serial killers, becoming a part of a journey or situation that is different than my own is so fascinating to learn about. I really wanted to share my favorite documentaries that I've discovered over the past several years, and highly recommend for you to watch! Most of these can be found on Netflix, or streamed online so go check them out!

Forks Over Knives
   Forks Over Knives is by far my favorite food-related documentary, it basically changed my life. This documentary is based off The China Study, which is one of the most comprehensive nutrition-related studies that has ever been doneIt was initiated by Dr. Colin Campbell which is one of my favorite doctors/researchers. All of his work is so powerful and in-depth, and I highly respect everything he does. Forks Over Knives not only shows how a plant-based diet is the most beneficial diet, but it proves how powerful eating plant-based is. This documentary is very easy to understand, and it shows both the science part, as well as the impact the study had on individuals.


Farmageddon
    This is one of the first food documentaries I ever watched, and it really opened my eyes to how the USDA/ government doesn't necessarily put our best interest ahead of theirs. Farmageddon really shows how small farmers are effected by large government corporations. Also, it portrays the little freedom we really have to what we choose to consume.

         







 
GMOOMG

    There was a screening for this documentary at my school this Fall, and I jumped at the opportunity to go watch it. I love learning about how our food industry is changing, and this documentary does an excellent job at showing the effect of GMO on the food we eat and the lives we live. GMOOMG has a very non-biased approach to the effects of GMO, and I really appreciate that. Not only does this documentary show research, but it shows the personal effects of GMO production which I think is very important. I think that you can stream this documentary online, or purchase it to watch. I highly recommend either option, because this documentary is very informative, and really allows you to form an educated opinion about the effects of GMO.


Blackfish
    I think that most people have seen this documentary, it is fairly well known. If you haven't seen it, you definitely should. Blackfish is well made, and so intriguing. I think that it is very eye-opening to things that go on "behind the scenes" in large corporations. This is a pretty controversial documentary, some people may say that it is biased, but regardless I think that it brings attention to an important problem amongst our society. Using animals as a form of entertainment, and removing them from their natural habitats just for human pleasure/making money is a problem that this documentary address that, which I think is important to become more educated and informed about.

Nursery University
    I love watching documentaries that I don't really know anything about, and this was one that I stumbled upon and ended up loving it. The pre-school system in New York City is something I know absolutely nothing about, so learning all about it through this documentary was so fascinating. Nursery University is so eye-opening, and about things I know nothing about so I found it so much more interesting. If you have kids, watching this documentary will probably make you very happy that you don't live in NYC. I really enjoy the transition between personal stories and research/information in this documentary. I think the balance between the two is excellent.

The Jeffrey Dahmer Files
    If you know me, you know that I have a weird fascination with crime, and law shows. I love learning about serial killers, and criminals because I think they fascinating people. Learning a little bit about why they did what they did, and how they did it is so interesting to me. There are lots of crime related documentaries on Netflix, but I stumbled upon this one and thought it sounded good so I watched it and ended up loving it. I love how it is made, using reenactment, real footage from the case, and interviews from witness/friends of Dahmer. I would definitely recommend this documentary to all my fellow crime-show lovers, it gives a very realistic depiction of real-life serial killers and not just unrealistic ones portrayed on Criminal Minds and Law and Order.





Tiny: A Story About Living Small
    This is another documentary that truly changed the way I thought about life. I began this documentary and basically watched it with my eyes and mouth wide open in pure fascination and intrigue. I had never even thought of the idea of "living small" until I watched this documentary, and I am so glad that I now know how easy it is to live small. I love the personal experience of a man building his own tiny house, I think it gives a very realistic approach to the subject matter and gives viewers a true insight into living small. Ever since I watched this documentary, I have began forming new goals and dreams that I have for myself. I have fallen in love with researching, and learning more about this interesting and practical lifestyle and hope to one day spend a period of my life "living small."

   

So now all you need to do is brew some tea, make some popcorn the "right" way (http://cookinglittle.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-right-way-to-make-popcorn.html ) and check out one (or all) of these awesome documentaries!