RECIPES: What the Happy Nurse & I Have Been Eating: Enchiladas, Spinach & Artichoke Pie, Carrot Cashew Salad & MORE!!!

Well it been surprisingly harder than I thought to get back into the routine of blogging!  For the past few months I've been commuting 3-5 hours round trip daily to work at a special hospital and between baby preparations, work, studying and driving--well, lets just say it has been very hectic.  Blogging on a consistent routine was challenging pre-pregnancy but not nearly as complicated as it is now!  Anyways, I'll just do the best I can!  

Today, I'd like to share some of the foods the Happy Nurse and I have been eating over the last few weeks.  In early August we decided to get some help with cooking from a friend who does personal chef work. Our friend, the chef, cooked some awesome meals for us.  Her rates were really reasonable for the two weeks we got help and even though its several weeks later, we still have some yummy leftovers in the freezer from her efforts.

Having yummy vegan meals on hand was just the boost we needed for me to become energized about returning to the kitchen again!  So now I'm doing a little bit of cooking each week--nothing near the bulk cooking that my husband and I did pre-pregnancy (I just don't have 4 hours in a row to team cook--WAY too much to do turning our home into a kid-friendly space when I get a block of time off!) and I'll share some of the dishes I'm making myself in a later post.

For now, here are some of the dishes our chef friend made for us--she made her own lentil chili (amazzzing--I'll need to ask if she is willing to guest post on that recipe!) and her own Indonesian salad for us, but the rest were from vegan blogger's recipes I'd been wanting to try but never had the chance...until now.  YUM!!!!  Here is what we ate:  

HGK Enchiladas!

1)  Healthy Girl's Kitchen's Mushroom, Kale & Spinach Enchiladas with Roasted Poblano Cream.  

The Healthy Librarian raved about this dish and already being a huge fan of Wendy (HGK), it was the first recipe I asked our friend to make.  OMG--SOOOOO good!  A fantastic mix of flavors and the Poblano Cream just totally made it outstanding.

2)  Fat Free Vegan Kitchen's Cashew Carrot Salad:

Ok let me just say that my husband ADORED this dish.  He picked it off Susan Voisin's site and wanted it made both weeks we got help. I loved it too!  Sweet but not too sweet.  Made without sugar--this is a seriously good carrot salad and if you have a sweet tooth (as I have this entire pregnancy) then you will LOVE it!  

3)  Fat Free Vegan Kitchen's International Quinoa Salad:  

Once again, another pick from the Happy Nurse.  SO good.  The lime juice is such a great combo with the quinoa and chickpeas.  I completely agree with Susan Voisin--you don't miss the olive oil AT ALL!  Packed with protein--definitely an awesome meal for a person growing a human being!  :-)

4)  My New Roots Winter Slaw

Ok so obviously I'm a huge fan of this salad!  I've blogged about it many many times in the past (here for example)--there is just something awesome about shredded raw kale and carrots.  Talk about dense nutrients--adding the cabbage and the sesame seeds and its a nutritional home run.  YUM!  

5)  Fat Free Vegan Kitchen's Spinach & Artichoke Pie

I've been wanting to try this for ages because Susan Voisin raves about this recipe (along with her blog readers) but was a bit intimidated with the phyllo dough part.  I didn't make it myself of course, but it didn't sound as if it was crazy complicated to make and the finished product was AMAZING!  It is incredible how it can have only 5g of fat and still pack in 11g of protein per serving while tasting SO high in fat!  I absolutely LOVE Greek food--Skanakopita is a long time favorite that I haven't had in years since I gave up cheese.  This pie is just like I remember Skanakopita tasting except it is SO much healthier!!!  Phenomenal.

I love the way I feel physically when I eat vegan--my body just feels so clean and well fueled.  Like its happy I gave it the gift of good nutrition.  

In the coming weeks I'm going to try to make one pot of soup per week to have on hand.  Do you have any soups to recommend??!!!

Thanks! :-)

RECIPES: What the Happy Nurse & I Are Eating This Week! Baba Ganoush, Plant-Strong Pizza, Cuban Black Beans, Salads & MORE!!!

As I write this post I'm waiting for homemade pizza dough to rise in the oven.  I had the afternoon off and after coming home to the exciting discovery of an Amazon box on my doorstep, I decided to delve straight in to Mark Sutton's new book "Heart Healthy Pizza!"  I'll keep you all posted on the pizza construction process but so far it looks very promising!!  


It feels like I haven't written a food plan post in FOREVER, but its been a hectic few weeks and between vacation and work I just haven't had time!  I kept up my commitment to salads (as I wrote in this post) and have actually come up with a few yummy salad ideas on my own!  Much to my surprise, I'm really liking the addition of salads to my daily diet!  It makes getting the necessary veggies (I eat minimum of 2 cups straight veggies per meal) in easier!


WHAT ARE YOU EATING THIS WEEK??!!! ANY RECIPES TO PASS ON?


Snacks:

• Smokey Baba Ghanoush from the Party Vegan by Robin Robertson:  Made this for a party last weekend and WOW it was a hit! I HIGHLY recommend you get this cookbook--I've posted about recipes from it here & here.)
• Robin Robertson's Polenta Crostini with Eggplant Tapenade also from her book, Party Vegan.  I used store bought polenta as the base.  The Tapenade was AMAZING.  You mix together the inside of one eggplant (roasted in the oven for 20 mins & then cooled so you can peel the skin off) with 1/2 cup kalamata olives, 3 garlic cloves, salt and pepper.  I adapted the recipe a bit because I didn't have any capers and was making this all in a big rush before the party!  Everyone LOVED it! 

Entrees & Soup

• PIZZZAAAAA!!!  As mentioned above, from Mark Sutton's new book "Heart Healthy Pizza":  Homemade Pizza with Light White-Brown Sauce topped with olives, sundried tomatoes & peppers.  I'm making the pizza dough with gluten-free all purpose flour from Bob's Red Mill!  To get a taste of the type of recipes offered in the cookbook, check out a few sample recipes on Mark Sutton's website.
• My old AMAZING soup stand-by The Healthy Librarian's version of Robin Robertson's Sweet Potato, Spinach, Fire-Roasted Tomatoes, and a Bit of Peanut Butter Soup
• Healthy Girl's Kitchen's Coconut Curry Kale, Chick Pea and Sweet Potato Soup:  I liked this but it probably wasn't my absolute favorite--which surprised me because I expected it to be!  I was missing a few ingredients though--like the bok choy so I may have just totally missed the boat on this recipe because of incorrect ingredients!!
• Mushroom Tibs from "Appetite for Reduction" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz:  The Happy Nurse and I had a delicious vegan meal at an Ethiopian restaurant on our date night last week so I had to incorporate some Ethiopian food for this week!  YUM!
• Healthy Girl's Kitchen's Cuban Black Beans & Kale:  I've been wanting a Cuban black bean recipe!  After having the vegetarian plate at the FANTASTIC Columbia Restaurant in Tampa (on our vacation) I've been craving some good black beans.  Can't wait to make this recipe this weekend!  I've been waiting for my plantain's to turn black so I can cook them & they are almost ready so with a few onions on top, I may just be able to recreate part of the dinner we happily ate there!
• Beetballs by Susan Voisin of Fat Free Vegan Kitchen:  HELLOOOOOOO wonderful!  I'm so excited to have a "meat ball" without soy in it!  Whooohooo!! :-)

Salads:

• Rice Noodle Salad (cold) mixed with my Shredded Kale and Carrot salad (below) & Cool Slaw Dressing from "Appetite for Reduction" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
• Shredded Kale & Carrot salad--this has been an exciting find that I figured out all on my own!  Inspired by the awesome My New Roots' Winter Slaw recipe, I shredded kale and carrot together for a basic, yummy and nutritious salad.  I've eaten this a few different ways:

• With raisins mixed in, no dressing
• With "Cool Slaw"Dressing from the Appetite for Reduction Cookbook by Isa Chandra (I can't tell you how highly I recommend this cookbook!!!  She has tons of low fat dressing recipes & everything I've made from here so far is excellent) (recipe below)

"Cool Slaw Dressing" (recipe from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Appetite for Reduction Cookbook)

Mix in a blender or food processor:

1/4 cup cashew pieces

2 Tbl minced onions (she says fresh, I used dried minced)

1/2 cup water

5 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp non-cane sugar sweetener of choice

1/2 tsp salt

pepper

• Caesar Salad:  With Healthy Girl's Kitchen's  "No-Oil Caesar Salad Dressing,"  I modified the recipe a bit.  I used pinto beans this week instead of garbanzo.  I add more capers (she says 2 Tbl, I add the whole bottle!).  I add more dates (she says 2, I add 5!).  See the original (and I'm sure delicious) recipe here.

COMING SOON!!:

• Preparing for a Joint Replacement--What can YOU do BEFORE surgery to have a quicker recovery? ~post series in two parts: Knee & then Hip ~
• SLEEP:  Why Is it Critical for Your Health ~ Join the Sleep Challenge!!!
• Interviews With My Favorite Plant-Strong Bloggers!
• AND MORE!!

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

Salads For A Full Meal: How I've Resisted Them & Now I'm Learning To Make Them! RECIPES!!:-)

My own pasta salad with vinegar,
sundried tomatoes, carrots, scallions &
rice pasta

So I haven't eaten salads consistently in years.  If I ate them at all I ate them out.  I rarely if ever made them at home!  I think because when I was dieting all those years (and failing again and again), salads were a staple.  Eating them reminds me of those unhappy days and so I avoided doing that often since entering recovery!

But then I became a vegan!  And by force of my dietary limitations (gluten-free, soy-free, sugar-free) I'm starting to slowly warm to them.  All of a sudden I'm discovering that you can actually eat salads for complete, nutrient dense meals!  And eating them makes you feel well nourished and energetic!  

The only thing is, I was kind of at a loss on how to create a diverse enough salad to keep me satiated AND provide me with a wide variety of nutrients.  

Enter the amazing vegan low-fat blog world.  

I am so grateful to all my favorite bloggers for teaching me how to do this!  I've been easing into this slowly but the more I read Wendy's (Healthy Girl's Kitchen) posts on how she and her husband eat a salad for dinner nightly, the more I'm becoming jazzed up to actually give this whole salad thing a try!  At first I didn't think it was practical--how was I going to find the time to prep all the raw veggies, etc, during the week!  And what was I going to put on it for dressing??  But then Wendy once again came to the rescue--just recently she posted that she makes all their salad dressings for the week once on the weekend and she also shared the helpful information that without the dressing, a prepped salad can last for several days!

So I'm going to start trying it!  For my food plan next week salad is going to factor in prominently!  My life is becoming more complicated with each passing day and I'm set to travel nearly all of March so I'm going to need some simpler foods to prepare while I'm on the road.  I'm thinking HELLLLOOOOOO Soups and Salads!  

Some great resources in the blogosphere that I have found to guide this new food category for me include:

Tons of AWESOME resources in Wendy's blog "Healthy Girl's Kitchen:"

HGK's No Oil
Caesar Salad Dressing

• The BIG List of No-Oil Salad Dressings: Wonderful dressing options from multiple sources!  Ranging from Dijon Pistachio Dressing to Chef AJ's Husband's Favorite No-oil Balsamic Vinaigrette!
• How To Build A Nutrient Dense Salad
• Time-Saving Tips To Make Salads AND A RECIPE: Roasted Kabocha Squash, Dried Fig and Walnut Salad
• My absolute favorite salad dressing I've made so far:  HGK's No-Oil Caesar Salad Dressing!  I alter it by not adding the soy sauce.  Instead I add 1/4 cup oat milk (original flavor) AND I add 2 full mini bottles of capers instead of just 2 Tbl!  I think I like the flavor of capers...hehe:-)

Fantastic posts on Susan Voisin's blog "Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen:"

• Right up my alley:  Tips for Eating Salads When You Don't Want To & RECIPE:  Hidden Cashew Ranch Dressing!
• RECIPES:  Salad recipes galore!!  Such a large list and so much variety!  Everything from Artichoke Pesto Pasta to Thai Salad in Pineapple BBQ Sauce!
• RECIPES:  Salad dressings: Once again a wide variety of types of dressings, ranging from Blueberry Vinaigrette to Guacamole Goddess Dressing

Other Amazing Salad RECIPES I like:

• My New Roots Roasted Sesame Winter Slaw
• Romaine & Avocado Salad with Cilantro-Lime Dressing from the Party Vegan Cookbook by Robin Robertson

A BIG thank you to all you bloggers out there who give us SUCH great salad recipes and "how-tos!"

Do you all eat many salads?  If so what are your favorite combos and do you have any favorite healthy dressings to recommend?  Would love to learn more from y'all!!

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions. 

Foods That Heal: #2: SWEET POTATOES!!!! (and RECIPES!)! Does Your Body Hurt? Do You Feel Sick? Want To Prevent Disease? Start Eating These Foods!!

Well folks its time for spotlighting another awesome anti-inflammatory, antioxidant food!  This time I thought I'd pick a starch that may surprise you!  SWEET POTATOES!!  

Yes, thats right folks, I'm talking about potatoes!  But sweet potatoes aren't really "potatoes" as we think of them!  While doing research for this post, I was surprised to discover that sweet potatoes themselves are actually not part of the "potato family"--they are a root vegetable in their own family completely separate from white potatoes & even yams!  So bring on these "potatoes!"   As I shared last week with KALE, in each post I'll share why each food rocks nutritionally and give you some recipe options to try to prepare it!  Once again, I'd love to hear any recipe ideas that you have to cook/prepare yummy meals with the featured "Food That Heals!"  Please share your ideas in the comments below!

And now:  back to the sweet potatoes!

You'll note that sweet potatoes showed up on all three of the anti-inflammatory/antioxidant lists I've shared on the blog.  Thats because they are full of powerful micronutrients that pack a major punch to fight & prevent pain, cancer & even stabilize blood glucose in diabetics!  Extra bonus--they taste delicious & have a relatively low glycemic index which makes them a perfect food to satisfy a sweet tooth!

I really love sweet potatoes--I have since I was young but when I became vegan and sugar-free I got a bit stumped on how to cook them!  I was so used to having them baked with butter and brown sugar or in a casserole with marshmellows!!  Luckily, the vegan blogger world stood ready to provide me with many tasty recipes to enjoy this nutritious & delicious treat!  I'll share some yummy recipes later in the post but first, why do sweet potatoes rock?  Remember, I'm a doctor but still engaged in my own nutrition education so I'll do the best I can explaining these nutrients!

Antioxidant Value

• Vitamin A (1 cup provides 438% of the RDA!)--as I shared in Kale last week, Vitamin A is one impressive vitamin.  
• It protects cells against cancer and other diseases and is necessary for new cell growth
• It contains Carotenoids: lutein and beta-carotene--studies have demonstrated a cancer-preventive function for prostate cancer and colorectal cancer in particular! 
• The beta-carotene & anthocyanin in the sweet potatoes is what gives them their rich orange color--beta-carotene is a precursor for Vitamin A (which means it is a substance that helps make Vitamin A)!
• Vitamin C--like Kale, according to "Prescription for Nutritional Healing" this vitamin is an "antioxidant that is required for at least three hundred metabolic functions in the body including tissue growth and repair..."
• THE POWER OF PURPLE: 
• In one study, the antioxidant activity in purple sweet potatoes was 3.2 times higher than that of a type of blueberry! This is due to the anthocyanin (discussed in anti-inflammatory value below) which was  found in one study to have the strongest antioxidizing power out of 150 flavonoids
• I haven't been able to find any purple sweet potatoes at my local Whole Foods but I'm going to see if my little organic shop up the street will order me some from these folks that I found via Google!:-)

Anti-Inflammatory Value (some overlap with antioxidant)

• Anthocyanin:  the pigment that makes sweet potatoes orange and sometimes, even purple!
• a class of flavonoids.  As I mentioned last week, flavonoids are extremely beneficial, check out this paper by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.
• Shown in studies to reduce the inflammatory agent  cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) {small informational note: COX-2 inhibitors--things that reduce COX-2--include the drug Celebrex!}

Other fantastic nutritional benefits include:

• Potassium; manganese; Vitamins B6, B3 & B5; copper; tryptophan
• FIBER:  nearly 4 grams per cup!
• and MORE! 

What diseases are Sweet Potatoes thought to influence, prevent, reduce or improve:

• Reduces Pain
• "In animal studies, reduced inflammation following sweet potato consumption has been shown in brain tissue and nerve tissue throughout the body.
• Once again, check out Dr. Neal Barnard's book: "Foods That Fight Pain"
• Helps improve blood glucose control in diabetic patients
• Recent research has shown that extracts from sweet potatoes can help improve the control of blood glucose levels by improving insulin sensitivity in diabetic patients.  
• "It also has been shown to significantly increase blood levels of adiponectin in persons with type 2 diabetes. Adiponectin is a protein hormone produced by our fat cells, and it serves as an important modifier of insulin metabolism." 
• Helps prevent cancer (like all antioxidant dense foods!) 
• May reduce damage to the aging brain, including reducing cognitive deficits
• May help reduce obesity
• studies have shown that the purple sweet potato's anti-inflammatory effects includes suppressing leptin (the molecule that generates fat tissue in the body)
• Helps fight arthrosclerosis & stabilizes the walls of small  blood vessels which can improve blood flow throughout the body
• Improves cholesterol
• A study shared in Dr. Fuhrman's Disease Proof blog indicated that anthocyanin dense foods reduced LDL cholesterol & increased HDL cholesterol

***Caveat:  If you have kidney or gallbladder problems, check with your doctor before you eat a lot of sweet potatoes--they have oxalates in them which can crystallize.***

Recipes:  SO many great recipes!!  What are YOUR favs?

• Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges and Zippy Yams & Bok Choy from p.9 of Dr. Neal Barnard's "Diabetes Recipes" pdf
• Susan Voisin of Fat Free Vegan Kitchen's Millet Sweet Potato Flat Bread sounds AMAZING!  She uses it to make a "cheese" sandwich!  Going on my list for next week!
• Probably my FAVORITE soup: The Healthy Librarian's version of Robin Robertson's Sweet Potato, Spinach, Fire-Roasted Tomatoes, and a Bit of Peanut Butter Soup
• Ok this looks amazing and I'm so sad that with my soy-free life I can't have it but for the rest of you:  The Vegan Epicurean's Sweet Potato Torta with Dijon Cream
• My New Roots Sweet Potato Hummus:  OK YUMMY!!!
• Sweet potatoes for breakfast?  Oh yes!  Check this out from "Oh She Glows":  Sweet Potato Oatmeal Breakfast Casserole and this other Sweet Potato Breakfast Salad recipe from "Choosing Raw"
• Healthy Girl's Kitchen shared this great looking Sweet Potato Stew recipe from another blog The Jana/Dr. Joel Project 
• When Lindsay Nixon's new book the "Everyday Happy Herbivore" came out, she was kind enough to send me one of the recipes as a preview--yummy Sweet Potato Dal!

Ok thats all folks!  Enjoy!

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

Does Your Body Hurt? Do You Feel Sick? Want To Prevent Disease? Start Eating Foods That Heal: #1: KALE!!!! (and RECIPES!)

As you know I'm a huge fan of the concept of addressing chronic pain issues and other inflammatory diseases (Arthritis, Acute Muscle Strains, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, Heart Disease, Diabetes and Cancer) with dietary change to improve healing and reduce pain!  I've written on my own journey with anti-inflammatory foods here and here, as well as shared with you some anti-inflammatory foods for kids AND a list of anti-oxidant foods to promote healthy skin!  


But lets face it, those lists can be really confusing!  Its just too much information sometimes.  So I've decided to start a post series focussing weekly on ONE powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory food that HEALS!  I'll share why each food rocks and give you some recipe options to try to prepare it!  Even better, I'll get feedback (hopefully) in the comments from all of you with other tasty ideas for preparing the "Food That Heals!"


This week the magic food is:  KALE!!!


Its one of my favorites--pretty much since I went to the farmers market last summer and kale was on sale for 1 pound for $1.  I had no idea how much kale weighed, so I told the man:  "I'll have 5 lbs!"  Oh boy, thats a lot of kale!!! Wowsers.  So I started cooking it. And liking it!  Then in Dr. Esselstyn's book Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease, Ann Esselstyn also extolled the virtues of kale.  And so on and so forth.  Dr. Joel Fuhrman's nutrition density scale ranks it #1 out of 20,000 foods according to PeerTrainer.


Kale makes it on every anti-inflammatory, antioxidant list because it is chock full of nutrients.  Lets review what those are!  Remember, I'm not a nutritionist.  I'm a doctor learning how food interacts with the body systems I've studied in minute detail! 


A great article in the Huffington post on kale is here.


Kale's Antioxidant value centers on:

• Vitamin C--according to "Prescription for Nutritional Healing" this vitamin is an "antioxidant that is required for at least three hundred metabolic functions in the body including tissue growth and repair..."
• Vitamin A--protects cells against cancer and other diseases and is necessary for new cell growth
• Carotenoids: lutein and beta-carotene--studies have demonstrated a cancer-preventive function for prostate cancer and colorectal cancer in particular! 
• Flavonoids: the big ones in kale are kaempferol & quercitin but there are 45 different flavonoids in kale!  Flavonoids are extremely beneficial, check out this paper by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.

Anti-inflammatory power (many antioxidants also double as anti-inflammatory agents):

• Vitamin K: interesting study demonstrated that high Vitamin K status is associated with lower inflammatory markers (the agents of inflammation).  KEY CAUTION:  if you are on coumadin (warfarin) and eat kale or other leafy greens make SURE to talk to your doctor about this to adjust your dose as it can have a dangerous effect on your blood thinners.
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids (ALA) (yes!  Kale has Omega-3's!)
• " It only takes 100 calories of kale to provide us with 25-35% of the National Academy of Sciences' public health recommendation for the most basic omega-3 fatty acid (alpha-linolenic acid, or ALA)."

Other fantastic nutritional benefits include:

• Magnesium, Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), Calcium, copper, potassium, iron, manganese and phosphorus
• FIBER:  5 grams per cup!
• and MORE!  Check out this link for more details!

What diseases is Kale thought to prevent, reduce or improve:

• Reduces Pain significantly if eaten on a regular basis like all cruciferous vegetables.  Check out Dr. Neal Barnard's book: "Foods That Fight Pain"
• Helps lower cholesterol (due to the fiber's effect on bile acids--this effect is maximized when kale is cooked!)
• Helps reduce heart disease (by absorbing fat through the bile acid binding mechanism derived from fiber)
• Helps prevent osteoporosis (through Vitamin K's role in creating osteocalcin, the protein in bone tissue on which calcium crystalizes"
• Helps prevent cancer (excellent source of glucosinlate phytonutrients)
• Studies that show kale & other cruciferous vegetable's role in preventing colon cancer
• Literature supports reductions in prostate cancer & ovarian cancer with kale as well.

IMPORTANT CAVEAT:  Buy Organic Kale whenever possible!!  It is part of the "Dirty Dozen" list of high pesticide foods!!

Here is a sampling of recipes from some of my favorite bloggers and authors:

• Healthy Girl's Kitchen's Sri Lankan Kale (I loved this, you can read about it in my post here)
• My New Roots Blog's Winter Slaw (probably my favorite salad of all time, I talked about it here)
• The Fat Free Vegan Kitchen's "Cosmic Cashew Kale and Chickpeas with Confetti Quinoa"
• The Healthy Librarian's Potato & Kale Enchiladas (YUM!)
• Dr. Fuhrman's California Creamed Kale & Kale Fennel Soup
• Ann Esselstyn's Kale & Lemon Sandwiches (from The Healthy Librarian blog)
• Dr. Andrew Weil's Tuscan Kale Salad
• A few recipes for Kale Chips: 
• "Sour Cream" & Onion Kale Chips from "Oh She Glow's" blog (OMG this sounds SO good!)
• The Happy Herbivore's Oil-Free Kale Chips
• Mrs. McDougall's Baked Kale Chips

Ok!  What is YOUR favorite Kale recipe??!!

Any requests for foods for next time?:-)

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

Best of the Blogosphere From the Last Week!! Tons of PARTY RECIPES for The Super Bowl Party, Diabetes & Vitamin D, Small Town Living & MORE!

Well it looks like everyone in the blogosphere is gearing up for the big day:  The Super Bowl!!  We're off to Florida for vacation next week (thank goodness!!!) and Sunday is my husband's birthday so the Super Bowl action has been a bit off my radar!  Still, any party is a challenge food-wise if you are a compulsive overeater OR someone with food restrictions (i.e. vegan, gluten, sugar, etc).  So thank you thank you thank you fellow bloggers for giving us all some fantastic healthy ideas to make a party weekend fun and delicious!!  Below, I have a list of some great Super Bowl or snack related blog posts, but first, a caveat:

If you are worried about maintaining your healthy eating habits during a social event, I encourage you to check out my blog post Holiday Survival Tips.  Here are the party tips in a nutshell (I explain the tips in the post):

1) Use the "One Plate Method" of eating at all events involving food

2) Call ahead to events so you can plan your food strategy & if appropriate, offer to bring a dish

3) Talk about "allergies"

4) Make sure to have a lot of yummy meals on hand at home (your FAVORITES) throughout this season so you never feel deprived.

5)  Eat at home before food events and eat the foods from Tip #4!

6) Become willing to believe that there is NO SUCH THING as "one bite" or "just a little taste" or "just this one time" or "I don't want to offend anyone by not eating this lovely meal."

7)  Use your resources

8)  Remember the point of a party

9)  Leave

10) If you slip once, get right back up and march on as if it didn't happen!

11) Make new traditions that don't involve food

12) Be realistic

OK, moving on.....

The Best of the Vegan Super Bowl Party Blogosphere:

• Susan Voisin from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen shares a fantastic CHILI recipe and some wonderful tips on staying healthy during the Big Game :-)
• Angela Liddon from Oh She Glows shares a yummy recipe for Easy Black Bean Chili Dip!
• Forks Over Knives shared this recipe for "Dirty Rice" by Meg Wolff in the Huffington Post.  Sounds delicious!
• The Happy Herbivore shared this great "Super Bowl Party" menu!
• Robin Robertson's book "Party Vegan" has an awesome Super Bowl menu in it, but here is her blog post on it.  She also has a fantastic selection of vegan dips on this blog post about the Super Bowl!  
• This isn't a Super Bowl specific post but Post Punk Kitchen posted a yummy looking recipe for "Baked Garlic Curry Fries" that sounds like some awesome Super Bowl finger food to me!

and now non-Super Bowl, my favorite blog posts for the week:

• Awesome post from The Healthy Librarian on Type 2 Diabetes:  How Exercise Intensity, Meat & Fat Consumption, Vitamin D, Body Weight, & Muscles All Affect Type-2 Diabetes. Vitamin D is my research area--I just completed a study Vitamin D's effect on falls--many people are not aware how important this Vitamin is for a number of body functions.  I feel the current RDA for Vitamin D is incorrectly low--for folks over the age of 65, 2000IU daily is a much better dose (if you don't have hypercalcemia or renal disease).  That said, I do not believe loading folks with high dose Vitamin D (50,000 units etc) is safe with regards to bone metabolism!  And on a funnier note, OH MY GOSH I SOOOOO want to put this cartoon that she shared in the story on a t-shirt and wear it every day!  
• Ok this is technically from last week but its too good to pass up mentioning!  This blog post on the Nutrition Facts blog is a fantastic way to learn more about which foods are dense in anti-oxidants:  Acai to Zucchini: antioxidant food rankings
• If you live in a small town than definitely don't pass up this Engine 2 Diet blog "The Daily Beet" post:  5 Tips for Small Town Living.  I did part of my medical training in a very rural area and we are considering returning to a rural area to practice in the next few years so I found this post to be an awesome guide!

Well thats a sample of MY favorites!  What were YOUR favorite posts this week?!

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

RECIPES: What the Happy Nurse & I Are Eating This Week! Soups, Falafels, Parsnip Fries, Quinoa Salad, Zucchini Hummus, Mac & Cheese, Chocolate Chia Pudding & MORE!!!

Well I'm super excited about our food plan for this week!  What I've made so far has been delicious (with only one minor kitchen disaster:-))!  I've happily tried a bunch of new, very simple recipes from the Everyday Happy Herbivore Cookbook (which I FINALLY got from Amazon this week after being back ordered since December!!).  No time for bulk cooking again due to my call schedule.


What do YOU have on your food plan for this week?!  Any recipe ideas to share?

Dinner Monday Night :-)
Spinach & Dried Cranberries
Homemade baked tortilla chips &
 Gluten-Free Crackers
Homemade tahini-free hummus & veggies
Tarragon Rice w/ Kalamata olive
Ambrosia

On top of a busy clinical week, I have an exam on Friday (yes, Doctors continue to have exams forever--we have to retake our specialty board exams every 5-10 years in order to continue to be described as "board certified!")  For me, this time its an important mock Board exam as I'm nearing the end of my specialty training.  Thus, I'm throwing in a bunch of familiar favorites this week to keep the pressure off as I study!  That said, I need variety to keep my disease of compulsive overeating at bay--so I've also chosen a few simple new recipes AND used the slow cooker!    

Soups:  (Slow Cooker, YAY!)

My FAV:  The Healthy Librarian's version of Robin Robertson's Sweet Potato, Spinach, Fire-Roasted Tomatoes, and a Bit of Peanut Butter Soup:  Tried it in the slow cooker this time and it worked beautifully.  Just threw everything but the oat milk and the spinach in at first and then right before taking it off the heat I transferred it to a big pot and added the oat milk & spinach & cooked for about 3 mins.  YUMM.  I like a little more spinach in the soup so this time in addition to the fresh spinach I added a bunch of frozen spinach too.  I also cut the sweet potatoes up into tiny cubes instead of big ones--just a preference thing.  I think more flavor soaks in!


My Own Split Pea Soup:  Yes I'm biased but I love this.  Basically I put 4 cups (one box) of Vegetable Broth in, a lot of green split peas (enough so I can see them about 1 inch under the surface of the broth), 2 chopped up carrots, 2 celery stalks chopped and two bay leaves.  Literally thats it!  SO good!


Black Bean & Salsa Soup from The Everyday Happy Herbivore Cookbook!  Can't wait to make this--another extremely easy recipe using canned salsa!


Chana Saag (not a soup but a slow cooker recipe!) from the  Vegan Slow Cooker by Kathy Hester--I LOVE Indian food & I love spinach so this dish is perfect!  Really looking forward to this!


Main Dishes

Falafels from the Party Vegan by Robin Robertson:  Ok these were amazing and super healthy.  I didn't fry them in oil, instead I used a bit of spray oil on both sides of each patty & it tasted great!  I think the key is processing the chickpeas into a fine powder, refrigerating per her instructions and not skipping out on the fresh parsley (don't use dry).


Healthy Girl's Kitchen's Butternut Mac & Cheese:  Going to do this AWESOME looking dish (and one of my recipes of the week on the Best of the Blogosphere post) this weekend after the exam is over!


Lemon Basil Pasta from The Everyday Happy Herbivore Cookbook!  Made this two days ago.  SO easy and super yummy except for one small disaster--I added a ton of dried basil instead of fresh.  Not as yummy as it could be I'm afraid!  Next time it'll be fresh basil!  I love that this is oil-free and basically uses lemon juice as a sauce :-)


Curried Quinoa Salad from The Everyday Happy Herbivore Cookbook!  I love Quinoa and I love curry--hello awesome lunch (with the perfect balance of all essential amino acids).


Sandwich Spreads, Snacks & Side Dishes


Lentil Spread--still haven't made it--like I said, crazy week! I LOVE this spread though and talked about it last week.  Its on the docket to be made tonight. 


Parsnip Fries with Roasted Tomato Ketchup from My New Roots:  Can't wait to make these!  She made them with parsley root--first of all, I have no idea what that is and second of all, we have a bunch of parsnip in the fridge and she said we could substitute with parsnip!  I'm going to alter the recipe a bit by forgoing the canola oil thing in favor of a little bit of spray oil.  On the roasted tomato ketchup front I've cheated and bought a can of roasted tomatoes!!  Ah time saving techniques!


Zucchini-Almond Hummus from Choosing Raw.  This looks amazing and I'm really enjoying this new (to me) blog!  (Thanks Wendy for the rec!)

Green Olive & Sundried Tomato Biscotti from the Party Vegan by Robin Robertson:  Repeat effort as promised to reduce the oil in the recipe--I've now gotten it down from 3 Tbl to 1 Tbl and am delighted to report that it is still just as delicious!  Next time, no oil, only water!  This time around I saved time by skipping the crushing the pine nuts step and threw them in whole!  It worked great :-)

Spiced Rice-Lentil Squares from Susan Voisin's Fat Free Vegan Kitchen:   Ok so I made a kitchen error with this one and used long grain brown rice instead of short grain--the result--it completely (and I mean completely) fell apart when I was baking it--nothing to stick it together & the chia egg wasn't enough.  (by the way first time using a chia egg and I loved it!!!)  So instead I poured the cooked mixture into a bowl and ate it cold as a salad.  Oh OH SO yummy!!  The spices were perfect--very Persian.  Ah kitchen improvisation!


Cool Slaw from "Appetite for Reduction" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz:  This was recommended by a reader and wow was she spot on!  Easy due to the store bought bagged shredded cabbage and carrots (coleslaw kt)


Desserts!!! (not a regular category for us but I'm feeling like some this week!)

Chocolate Chia Pudding by Susan Voisin from the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen:  Ok so this was extraordinarily good!!!!!!!!  I can't even explain how good!  I had no idea that you could use chia seeds (a great source of Omega-3's) this way!  If you like the consistency of tapioca pudding you will LOVE this!

Ambrosia by Susan Voisin from the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen:  Once again SO delicious.  I just finished the last of it and can't wait to make more.  I loved that she just peeled the orange and chopped it up--no intricate peeling of the individual slices.  The pineapple really add a lot to this dish!


Post Punk Kitchen's recipe for Raspberry Truffle Brownies: Making these as a treat after the exam.  Will need to eat and give away the rest immediately as my husband can't have sweets in the house.  See my post for my ideas on how to alter the sugar aspect.

Ok that's all folks!  Enjoy! Oh!  And let me know if you have any ideas for recipes for Spaghetti Squash!  I've had one sitting on the shelf for awhile!! 


The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.