A couple of weeks ago I discovered this non-profit health initiative to encourage people around the world to go meatless one day a week for their health and the health of the planet. I think the idea is really awesome and could possibly help raise awareness of alternative eating styles. I won't repeat all the information available on their website, but they have printable posters, information kits, and tons of recipes to help you start your own Meatless Monday!

I have grown accustomed to meatless dishes, but I understand it can be daunting to know where to start. So in honor of Meatless Mondays, I am going to present a tasty recipe as inspiration!

Easy Chickpea & Vegetable Curry
(Adapted from Pampered Chef's Cookbook "The Vegetarian Table")

1 medium onion
1 small potato (I used several tine red potatoes)
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups garbanzo Beans, cooked
2 Tbsp curry powder (I used a green curry powder)
1 can coconut milk
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 head cauliflower, chopped
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 cup frozen peas (I just poured and didn't measure. I like peas!)
Salt to taste

Cook onion in oil until softened. Add potato, chickpeas, curry powder, and milk. Bring mixture to a simmer; cover and cook 8-9 minutes or until potato is tender.

Add cauliflower, peas, garlic, and lemon juice. Simmer a couple more minutes, or until cauliflower is done to your likeness. Salt to taste. Enjoy!

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I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I brought a dish to the family dinner that ended up being more popular that I thought it would be. I was looking for a nice, savory, harvest-themed dish that was meatless. My searching led me to 101cookbooks.com where I discovered a recipe for Hazelnut Chard Ravioli Salad. I had always wanted to cook with Swiss Chard, but never quite new what to do with it. Here are a few pictures from the final stage of preparation:
In the future I think I'll opt to make it without the ravioli in order to be more true to my non-processed food guidelines and to make it gluten-free. But the idea was wonderful and everyone really enjoyed it!
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Well Thanksgiving is right around the corner! I have been busy adapting and creating unique and friendly recipes to share with the family. So far today we have a pumpkin cobbler!
I grew up with more cobblers than pies, and this is one of my favorite recipes from my mom's cookbook "Recipes from a Kitchen Garden." I love that the 'crust' is poured in first and that it rises to the top of the pumpkin mixture while it bakes. It truly is yummy!

Pumpkin Cobbler
(Adapted to be gluten-free, vegan, and flourless)

Filling:
2 T ground flax seed + 6T water (mix in a small bowl and set aside)
1 cup coconut milk (or almond, rice, etc.)
2 cans of pumpkin puree
1 cup demura sugar
1 T arrowroot powder
2 tsp Penzeys Cake Spice (I was gifted this, but you could also use 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp cloves, 1/4 tsp nutmeg)
1/2 tsp salt (I used Real Salt)

Crust:
2 T Earth Balance

1/2 cup quinoa, soaked for at least 3 hours
1/2 cup demura sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup coconut milk (or almond, rice, etc.)
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Oven temp--350F

1) Mix together flax seed mixture, milk, and pumpkin. Add the rest of the filling ingredients and mix well. Set aside.

2)Place Earth Balance in a 9x11 baking pan and melt in the oven(I used two smaller stoneware dishes). In a blender, combine quinoa, sugar, salt, milk, and vanilla. Blend until a smooth batter-like consistency is achieved (about 2-4 minutes depending on the blender). Whisk in the baking powder (note: the mixture will be very bubbly!

3) Pour the batter into the pan with the melted Earth Balance. Spoon or slowly pour the filling over the crust mixture in the pan. Bake for about an hour. Cool and Enjoy!

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    My wonderful mother sent me a box of various Penzeys Spices! Here is a picture of the contents:

Teacher's Gift Box
    --1/2 cup jar Penzeys Forward!
    --1/4 cup jar Penzeys Cinnamon
    --Teach! pin
    --Teachers Care bumper sticker
    --Teach! book of stories and recipes

Kind Heart Gift Box
    --1/4 cup jar Penzeys Forward!
    --1/4 cup jar 33rd & Galena
    --1/4 cup jar Arizona Dreaming
    --1/4 cup jar Mural of Flavor

Jar of Raspberry Enlightenment
Jar of 4/S Special Seasoned Sea Salt
Another jar of Penzeys Forward!
A bag of Cake Spice with a separate empty jar.

I am really looking forward to trying some of these with dinner tonight!
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    So couple of days ago I ditched all facial cleansers. I felt like they were irritating and stripping my face of natural oils, thus interfering with its ability to regain equilibrium. My biggest fear in doing so has been dryness. I have combination/oily skin by default, but it is always terribly dry after I wash it. And no matter how much moisturizer I use, it doesn't seem to help. Then, by the end of the day it is soooo oily I can't stand it. So out with the cleansers, and in with this:

I have also ditched standard shampoo and conditioner for the time being (a story for another post) but I figured if it was good for your scalp and hair, maybe there could be some benefit for skin problems. ACP is known to have natural antibacterial and PH balancing properties. I used in semi-diluted as you would an astringent after showering. Results so far? No dry skin! Not sure just yet on how it is impacting breakouts, but I'm being patient there. I can tell my system is still trying to get rid of toxins from years of bad dietary habits, but I have noticed a change in manifestation of the breakouts. I haven't experience any deep, cystic breakouts on my face or jawline since the cleanse/diet changes. However, I'm seeing more random whiteheads in places I haven't really broken out before (ie. my forehead). My back has seen the most improvement though. I haven't had any major breakouts yet and the older spots are starting to heal up! I'm encouraged my that. Something must be working!
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One Month! 11/14/2011
 
    I have been on my extended cleanse for one month as of today. A series of intersecting events led me and my husband to do a three day juice cleanse followed by an extended herbal cleanse. My diet also received a major overhaul.  Since it has been a month, I thought I'd take some time today to talk about the cleansing program I am following. Back in high school I had taken coursework from The School of Natural Healing in Utah. I actually completed the Nutritional Herbologist & Herbalist programs, but stopped coursework due to major opposition from one of my parents. One of the most important thing I learned from the courses is that what you eat has a direct impact on your health. I also learned that you need to deal with the cause of the ailment, and not just the symptoms. At that particular point in my life I gave up eating all processed sugar and meat/dairy products. This didn't go over well with most of my family (it was considered teenage rebellion >.<).

    When I made the decision to go to college to study music, everything I had learned about health and nutrition was put on the back burner. Plus I found it nearly impossible to have healthy lifestyle and eating habits while living on campus. Things improved slightly when I finally moved to an apartment, but my life was still practically dominated by the Standard American Diet.    In the months leading up to and after my wedding and master's graduation, I felt compelled to go back to the basics so to speak. I knew that my skin problems were more than just a surface issue because none of the surface treatments worked. I only had one of my books from my SNH studies in my possession, and so I began to do some online hunting. It is amazing what you can forget in seven years! My husband is very open-minded and the more I started talking to him about food and health, he suggested that we do the juice cleanse that I had mentioned. And the rest is history...I wish!

    So what is a three-day juice cleanse? Master Herbalist Doreen Spackman writes that it "is a wonderful way to let your body know that you are going to start doing things differently, whether it is for purifying and removing mucus from your body which will enable better healing, desiring to be more trim and be at a healthy weight, or maybe you’ve decided you want to start eating food that will help your body to assimilate nutrients more effectively."

Three-Day Juice Cleanse Basics

       • Prune juice
       • Apple juice
       • Olive oil
       • Distilled water

   1. Drink 16 oz of prune juice first thing in the morning.
   2. Drink 8 oz of apple juice the next half hour.
   3. Drink 8 oz of distilled water the next half hour

The alternation of juice and water is continued through the day until you go to bed. The olive oil is important so that your liver and gallbladder function properly. I personally took about 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil a day. We started this on a Friday and ended on Sunday night. It is important to introduced foods back into your diet slowly in the days following the cleanse. For additional information on the cleanse, you can read the following article.

    After the initial three-day cleanse, we started an extended herbal cleanse in conjunction with new dietary habits. The extended cleanse is essentially made up of four herbal combination that are supposed to assist in rebuilding the elimination systems of the body:  Lower Bowel,  Liver & Gallbladder, Kidneys, and the Blood Stream. Additional information of the extended cleanse and the formulas used can be found here.

    My apologies for a long-winded post...that is what I get for waiting so long to create this blog!
   
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