northstar burgers, dirty frank's and cucumber sake sorbet, oh my!

i have some GREAT food updates! and then the downside...

we went to cbus to escape our closing nightmare last weekend. we had a blast and ate a lot of wonderful food. our first day we went shopping in short north (cbus's artsy/college/out-skirt of downtown area). very hipster. very wonderful. (side note: columbus, OH is like a little chicago, IL in my book. you just have to look.) for breakfast we had drinks from sonic. mmm... rt 44 diet cherry limeade. real cherries and lime wedges and, of course, their famous ice! then shopping and coffee! for lunch we met our friends at a fellow herbivore's recommendation, Northstar. they are a local chain with about 3-4 stores and growing. i had their northstar burger. brown rice, black beans, spices and beets!? it was DELICIOUS! a slightly sweet taste, but the perfect texture. the beets seemed to really hold that grilled flavor. we shared some guacamole and salsa. also, very good. my wife had there buddha bowl. fresh veggies, rice and meat or tofu with a peanut sauce. very tasty. chelsea had a flat bread pizza that everyone loved and could also be done vegan/vegetarian. after eating way too much for lunch, we walked it off with more shopping! the next couple days we spent at nick's family lake house. we had some grilled boca burgers, more wonderful guacamole, salsa, and lots of fresh fruits/veggies. when we came back to the city we resumed eating more wonderful foods! we ate dinner at dirty frank's in downtown. let me preface this with the information that i have NEVER been a fan of hot dogs. even before my eating changes. these are incredible... some of the best flavors i have ever tasted. good news for all my carnivorous friends, too! they had MANY options for both! they had most of their menu available vegetarian or vegan. i had the hot bollywood (spicy hot indian mango chutney), a chicago (fresh tomatoes, diced onions, Vienna® Sport Peppers, pickle relish, dill pickle, yellow mustard, & a dash of celery salt) and a fire on the rhine (spicy sauerkraut grilled with sriracha, chile paste, garlic, & onions). all using there Tofurkey dog option. i also had the delux vegan tater tot-chos. so delish! for desert the girls wanted to go to jeni's for ice cream. reassuring me, they said,"they have sorbets, too!". "wippy!" i thought. more sorbet... :/ at first taste, i realized i was sorely mistaken. it was so unique and different. i tasted their 2 regulars, Riesling Poached Pear and Cherry Lambic. both very creamy with a hint of tart. then i had the seasonal Sake Cucumber! i was floored. i ended up with a scoop of sake and a scoop of riesling. very good combo. before we left, we of course stopped at patty-cake's! an amazing vegan bakery (ALMOST as amazing as my wife's!). chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting, chocolate chip banana muffins, hoe hoes and a big 'ole slice of vanilla cake with strawberry cream cheese frosting! uuuuggggghhhhhhh... we could barely breathe on the way home. (another side note: they had t-shirts that were super cool/cute. my birthday is sept. 11th and i take a xxl if they fit small. ;] )

after all of this wonderfulness, i felt like crap. given, it was a lot of food and richness for anyone. i was on vacation. i had been stressed out all month. i was in vegan food option overload. i am still sick. i have a health issue. not an animal issue. (well, i have both. but the first is my priority.) i am happy to visit and have so many options. i would be in the same boat i was 3 months ago if i lived close to all those options. i have been getting lazy with my eating habits either way. it's not JUST vegan. i am trying to be healthier. i need less processed food. more fresh. hopefully a house with a garden will be inspiring. it did re-inspire my love and passion for food. for awhile i have only seen food as a source of energy and have lost my want to create wonderful dishes. this past weekend definitely helped me regain part of that back.

go. try new. try vegan!

a collaboration

faux vegan and mrs. faux vegan (aka wifeofafauxvegan.blogspot.com) collaborated for dinner tonight. we decided to switch it up tonight. we had been having a lot of brown rice and stir-fry (our meat and potatoes) lately. so we made rice and veggies! haha! it truly was different, though. we made a variation of chiles rellenos. we used yellow rice and black beans, mixed with ground boca crumbles, and stuffed in red and orange bell peppers. the plan was to grill the stuffed peppers, but the briquettes were damp (later it started to pour, so it was for the best).

first, she started the rice, beans and boca crumbles. i was attempting to light the grill.




in the mean time i prepped the bell peppers and preheated the oven.




the peppers weren't able to stand on there own, so i made bases for them.






then we mixed the rice, beans and crumbles.



stuffed the peppers with the mixture and sprinkled with sea salt.





put in a pan with 1/4" of water in the bottom at 400 for 30 minutes and 450 for another 15 minutes.




voila.


serve with salsa and hot sauce to taste (veggie cheese and tofuti sour cream would be good, too. we were out.).

love this poem!

Godzilla's Avocado

Tonight, Prophet
is helping Noni make
"creatures," the term

she "cooked up" for mussels.
I am "Noni," her
fake baby daddy,

the one she got
her style from, not her
"soft and buttery"

bottom lip, that came
from Mommy. Nonies see things differently.
Waffles, brown skin.

Lady Liberty making us all healthy
holding up her green
flame of asparagus.

Prophet's a beaneater,
a yummy Kingpin critter.
Run, edamame, run,

the same sun
that rises in orange juice
sets in mac and cheese.

From a lumpy russet, swirling
in a cosmos of miso,
colors mash into casserole.

Kids love kitchens, the sushi chef
re-ending monsters
with embassy-precision.

Life's raw rolls, ready
to unravel the difficult answers
we wrap in seaweed.

"Love is when two people
like the same food
and the same toys,

but war is when lots of people
dress up like salads
and eat each other."

Messy imagination.
All meals need metaphors.
Poems, cutting boards.

An artichoke's heart does not pump ketchup.
It pumps pesto,
oily, olive clots of guacamole.

Prophet is learning
to grow things, including time,
real time, some sense

of the vitamins of radiance.
The seedling on
the window sill, slow to trust sun.

Kids love nature, things smaller than them,
like mushrooms,
cooked into clouds.

Radiation.
Fooling time, rushing food,
hurts the body.

Pesticides are a big deal, poor bees.
The microwaves
hives fear.
Our silver age of dining.



by Thomas Sayers Ellis

insects and tastes

something weird that i've noticed lately is that i seem to have less fear of bugs and reptiles i used to have major fears of. i've felt a strong connection and compassion towards animals my whole life. everyone that has ever known has known i love animals. i find myself feeling more like who i am created to be by eating the way i am now. a side effect of that seems to be less fear. spiders, bugs, creepy crawlies and snakes and reptiles of the sort don't seem to scare me as much as they used to. i know that the linkage doesn't seem to connect. it's not like i was eating bugs and reptiles before and now i'm not. i'm not really sure the reasoning, but it is one of the effects.



i have not been as strict lately. i find myself taking tastes or not checking all ingredients as much as i should, and i am paying the price for this. one night i stole a bite of ice cream from my wife's stash. a couple times, while eating out, i just assumed something would be ok without asking/checking ingredients. last night, i knew there was a bit of cheese in some pasta salad and the pasta probably had egg in it, i ate it anyway. i got sick every time. i won't go into detail about that, but my can attest to this. my liver is still broken and i feel my body will never go back to letting me eat the way i was before. i am ok with that.



i am, like stated before, realizing this is who i am and who i am meant to be. i am, also, realizing that just because this is who i am, this doesn't mean this is who everyone is/should be. i do believe that, as a whole, americans need to greatly change how they eat, but that doesn't necessarily mean (faux)vegan.

My lunch today is a spinach, wild blueberry, smoked almond and red apple salad with an olive oil vinaigrette dressing. All organic and partially local. I've received many questions asking about whether I'm also eating organically. We try to buy what we can organically. My main concern being chemical free and not genetically modified. We do prefer to buy local and seasonal as much as possible as well. We've discovered that you actually save money this way, too.
I've lost 7 more lbs in the past week. That was a real inspiration to me after seeming to have plateaued for awhile. Thanks for all your ongoing support and love!

the forgetful vegan

"man, this is really good pepperoni piz... CRAP!"
-Zach G.

I am no good at updating blogs, but I am good at being on my phone, so I'll try it on here.

Italian food and cereal seem to be my lazy ways out now. Chocolate and Banana Cheerios in almond milk (with a scoop of peanutbutter of course!) make a great dessert. It should probably not be every night, though. Another, healthier, dessert substitute is frozen and whipped bananas. Let's call it "Frozen 'Naner Fluff (with or without PB)". Start with sliced bananas on wax paper. Freeze for approximately 2 hours. Then put in food processor until smooth and creamy (add PB here if desired). At this stage it is similar to soft serve ice cream. You can also refreeze it to make it more similar to hard ice cream. Grilled brucheta was a huge success. I took Italian bread and spread a garlic and smart balance on it. I grilled it on both sides until crispy. Then I mixed diced tomatoes in basil and pesto and put a dollop of that on slices of the garlic bread. Very yummy. For the pizza, I grilled an onion, potato, mushrooms, green peppers, green onions, and asparagus. I first heated the premade crusts on the grill, then added sauce and toppings, and then put in the oven for 8 min.s or so. Tonight, my wife made the meal for youth group. She made the pasta we always use (rozini healthy harvest). The sauce was just stewed tomatoes with oil and spices reduced. She made chicken breast as an option for middle schoolers and also the boca ground "meat". Very good. She also made garlic bread and chocolate chip cookies (all vegan)! Also, very very delicious.

As far as eating out has been... We had the most amazing Indian food on mother's day. Taj of India across from castleton mall has many vegan options, mostly vegetarian, and there where a couple options for my meat eating friends. While in Chicago, we ate at the Soup Box. All fresh ingredients made fresh everyday. They had a good amount of vegetarian options, but guaranteed, whatever you get, will be A M A Z I N G ! ! !

I am encouraging my wife to start a blog, "wife of a vegan", or something of the sort. I know she is going through major changes with all of this, too. She's doing great and we are both eating healthier as a result. Regardless, I feel it may be harder on her in some ways.

I am finding new ways to be encouraged always. Whether it be, some research I did on social responsibility, watching "super size me" and "food, Inc.", or talking tofu with a tattoo artist, there are many people making changes and encouraging going meatless (or at least being aware).

Take heart, it will lead to a healthier one.

vegan burgers (and their problems)!... plus some other recipes.

so last night was attempt number 2 at veggie/vegan burgers. i am trying to concoct a recipe that i can grill with. the only solutions i've found online are mushroom caps or an assortment of grilled veggies. i don't accept that as a solution (especially when my wife isn't a fungi fan). first try was a chic pea, tofu, oats and cooked rice mixture. i added some salsa for more binding. they stayed together well, but seemed to crack (too dry). this time i used more veggies. onion, bell pepper, potatoes, black beans, tofu (extra firm), salsa, brown rice, bread crumbs and i added some oats to try and dry it out some. it was too gooey to grill so i did them inside again. they were tasty though.
for buns we had been using the arnold sandwich thins. no HFCS and vegan friendly! now other brands are catching on. we got the aunt millie's slimwich. less sodium, softer and cheaper!
one very good success has been veganaise. http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Vegan-Mayonnaise-123538
be sure to read the comments to the right. very helpful.
i had about half a cup left so i added 3 avocados to it and some salsa. it was probably the only success of last night.
we love stir fry. to switch it up, try using some curry and coconut milk (peanuts optional). it'll be a bit more thai-esque.

you don't have to give up on cooking and great flavors to eat healthy.

enjoy, be daring, have fun.

a little background.

sooo... here's a little on who i am and what i'm doing with my (health) life:

i am a 25, going on 26, yo that grew up in florida with ribs, burgers, steaks, bacon, eggs, cheese and a lot of butter. it's "comfort" food. it is comforting if you eat it right and properly. that was my problem and part of what i have been trying to deal with these past 7 months. "why i eat". i ate for comfort too much, and health, not enough.
my whole family loves food and loves to cook. i have always had trouble distinguishing the difference between the two. i love to cook and love to eat delicious, new and original flavors (sorta like remmy).
when i was about 17 i had decided to be a vegetarian for about a year. it was mainly some sort of rebellious stage i think. i stopped that with a 24 oz steak.
i've varied greatly in weight most of my life. i try different diets and i've "change my eating habits" a many time before. some helped, some not so much and they all just drove me nuts.

oct. of '09 i was the heaviest i have ever been. about 450 (not many scales go up that high to know for sure). i am 6'4" and have a very large frame. it was brought to my attention, more than once, that it was getting to be more than just really over weight. it was growing to be more than inconveniences. you know, like shopping at b&t stores for ALL my clothes, not being able to fly comfortably anymore, running out of breath doing my normal job... that sort of thing.
this all changed.
i started dieting, again. the tried and true. meat, fruit, veggies and water. i lost some. felt a little better and then started eating the lazy way again. 24+ eggs a week. a lb. of bacon or more a week. whole chickens. too much dressing.
then the pain started. it was right above my bellybutton to my right. a sharp, burning knife to the gut sort. then i never felt like eating. i did research online. gall stones seemed to fit. i started a list of things that i ate and what made me sick. i ate mostly apples and chicken breast. i went days without eating a thing. i dropped probably 20-30 more lbs. during this whole time.
then i finally went to a dr. who had me get an ultrasound. the result was NAFLS (non alcoholic fatty liver syndrome). something 50 yos get after eating steak and eggs everyday for breakfast. basically i had really high cholesterol.
at this point i had a pretty well adjusted diet. food in general made me nauseous to even look at. it was like my body was throwing in the towel. "you won't do this on your own?! well then we'll make you, fatty!".
being that we could barely afford the ultrasound and dr's visit i opted out of going to the specialist. the nurse i spoke with for my results advised me to continue the diet i was doing and watch my cholesterol intake.
i did some research, again. basically, a low cholesterol diet is about 200-300 mg of cholesterol a day. so why not a NO cholesterol diet? that's where the vegan came in...

today i am at 345 and continuing to drop! i feel better than i ever have (even when i've lost weight in the past)! at first i was still eating maybe 1 chicken breast a week, or some ground turkey breast, but now i am meatless! no cheese, no milk, no butter, no eggs. nothing that comes from an animal. for all intensive purposes, "vegan". the faux comes in with the leather products i still wear/use. (sorry to any real vegans i may have offended with using this word).
side note- i am considering going full vegan. baby steps.

my wife occasionally still eats chicken breast and some dairy products. we have both joined the y thanks to a scholarship and my very generous/encouraging dad and nan! we are adjusting to both. we aren't perfect. we still slip and try to take easy ways out sometimes (too much taco bell every blue moon or so), but we are getting in our niche.

one more thing about how i've changed my eating habits. i try not to eat meals anymore. when i do, it's usually a one normal size meal a day thing. whether it be lunch, breakfast, a snack, dinner, supper, a bedtime snack (yes, i know you shouldn't eat right before bed!), dessert... whichever i feel like. when i'm hungry i eat, just something small first, then maybe a handful of something else, then maybe a meal. and lots of water (and some coffee)! i've found what i've always heard to be true. sometimes feeling hungry is thirst.

so, that should catch anyone up that hasn't been around for it. any questions feel free to ask. i'll try to be a better blogger with this than my 'cats got the speaking in tongues' blog.