One of the dreaded but necessary jobs in the kitchen is to clean out your refrigerator. Let’s face it. Food can die on the shelf in the back of the refrigerator. The crisper drawers can be a veggie graveyard too. Sometimes food begins to go south faster than anticipated.
Yesterday was the attack day. This time I put a big soup pot on the stove and all of the almost gone veggies went into it. I had too-ripe tomatoes and mixed veggie leftovers to add. The cauliflower and cabbage were still good but not enough for a meal. I threw in a few green onions, some organic no-salt seasoning and water into the pot. I let it come to an almost boil and then turned it down to simmer most of the day. My results: a clean fridge and this bounty of veggie broth. Clean, cheap and no preservatives. Feeling good.
Sometimes looking back over old posts remind you of the reasons you’re doing certain things now. My husband nor I are gluten intolerant so why do I have a gluten-free vegan cookbook? When did no oil cooking become important and why?
I wasn’t looking for these answers but I stumbled over the post that gave them. It was simple. His cardiologist instructed us to do that. I also unearthed The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook that is plant-based and oil free. I purchased this at the beginning of our journey 3 years ago after watching an Engine 2 video. I read through it and now I am adding the recipes to my re-energized food preparation experiences.
When I was a meat eater, I used to wonder how a person could be a vegan and obese. Those terms seemed to be contradictory but it can happen. My ignorance has been corrected. I am vegan. That is the healthiest choice I have made in my life. But… I discovered this past holiday season that the weight I lost could easily be regained. How?, you say. Too many carbs, too much processed vegan and too much sugar. Oh yeah, the occasional cheating with non-vegan baked goods. Apparently, I succumbed to the muffin and cookie trap.
I also discovered it is harder to give up white sugar sweetened products after renewing that love affair. Had to go cold turkey. The mental withdrawals are worse than the physical. I now have to renew my mind, get back in the kitchen to make my own “meats” and sweet treats. The purchased “meats and cheeses” must be used in moderation.
So to those who wonder why you can’t lose weight on a vegan eating plan check what you are eating. Balance of carbs and veggies is important. More veggies, fewer carbs; Eliminate white flour and white rice. Don’t get sucked in to your weakness with just a little taste.
I am so excited. I have been trying for a while to create my own veggie burger raw and cooked. I have used other people’s recipes. Some were good and others not so much or at least not to my liking. What are my motivations for making my own. I could just buy them. Right? Motivation 1. Mastering my refrig
I also wanted to confidently create my own with whatever I had in the kitchen. That’s what so many said they did in their experiments so why can’t I? Motivation 2 Cost
Buying them can be a budget buster. They are expensive. Here in Texas they are approximately $4.50 and up for 4 patties and they may or may not be vegan. Motivation 3 Satisfying The Cardiologist
This is the hardest. Carl’s doctor has so many requirements. First it was raw so the body could heal itself. Then it was you can add in cooked but must be vegan,gluten-free, oil-free and clean as possible. Vegan was easy. We had already eliminated dairy and most flesh. Gluten-free required learning how to use different grains and seeds and the flours made with them to make waffles, bread etc. Keep in mind the raw, clean and oil-free parameters. Oil-free is easy to understand but no so eary to accomplish. You don’t want dry burgers, or dry anything. Still working on that one. Then what’s clean.
Clean eating is a deceptively simple concept. … At its simplest, clean eating is about eating whole foods, or “real” foods — those that are un- or minimally processed, refined, and handled, making them as close to their natural form as possible. fitnessmagazine
Minimally processed is the kicker. How can you know if it is minimally processed unless you make it yourself?
I finally found a recipe from The Spruce Eats that was very close to the #Dr. Praeger patties that I buy and fit within the parameters set by the Doctor. So with a little modification here is my offering.
Recipe
1 2/3 cup beans (this was a mix of kidney, lentils and leftover black)
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 c chopped on onion
1/2 c chopped yellow bell pepper
1/2 medium fresh jalapeño
1/2 medium avocado
1 Tbls brown rice flour
1 tsp chia seeds in 2 Tbls of water
3 Tbls of liquid aminos or to taste
Pinch of cayenne
Mix all ingredients in a food processor until well blend. Form patties and bake at 375° F for 45 minutes or desired firmness.
The brown rice flour made them a little crusty on the outside but were moist on the inside. I will try next time with oats instead of quinoa.
7 burgers that were 4″ in diameter and 1/4″ thick
The flavor was great and now that I’ve made them it will be a quick process next time.
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"Black Soil" Living 