You say oatmeal, I say "Yes Please!"

I love oatmeal. I love it plain or fancy, it is one of my favorite breakfast foods. Sometimes I like to experiment with new ways to make this favorite morning food of mine. I've added many different kinds of fruits and vegetables to jazz up my bowl. This morning I was thinking about an infant cereal that I use to feed my son, almost 26 years ago. *yikes* It was called Milupa and was made with rice and peas or carrots. James loved it. It made me think of adding carrots to my cereal and jazzing it up with spices to be a bit like carrot cake. Apparently this is not a new idea. I googled carrot cake oatmeal and came up with all sorts of recipes. Most of them were a tad more elaborate than I cared to be...seriously, icing on your carrot cake oatmeal? I prefer my oatmeal unsweetened and felt that the sweetness of the carrots and raisins would be sweet enough and I was right. That said, I added a sweetener to the recipe as an option for those of you that prefer a sweeter breakfast.


Carrot Cake Oatmeal

1/2 cup oatmeal
1 med-large carrot, finely grated or whizzed in the food processor until fine
1/4 cup raisins
1 cup almond milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 t cinnamon
1/8 t ginger
pinch nutmeg
1-2 T sweetener of your choice , maple, rice or agave syrup would work well (optional)
1-2 T chopped nuts

Place all ingredients except nuts and sweetener in a small saucepan. Cook over med-high heat stirring often until mixture comes to a boil. Once mixture comes to a boil stir until oatmeal is the desired thickness, usually about 6 to 8 minutes. Taste and sweeten as desired. Place in one bowl for a large serving or two bowls for smaller servings, sprinkle with chopped nuts.

*You could also drizzle a bit of soy creamer over your oatmeal if you would like a bit of richness.

Day three...I am craving sugar! aagghhh.

So far so good. Except for the intense desire for something sweet right now. I made carrot ginger soup for lunch with the hopes that the sweetness of the carrots would, perhaps, satisfy my sweet craving. No such luck. It truly is not so bad that I can't ignore it but it is slightly harder because there are vegan cookies in the kitchen. I very, very, rarely buy store bought cookies..they are just so easy to make and I don't want to pay all that money for something I can make myself and will most likely taste just as well or better! My mother in law gave me four bags of vegan cookies, oatmeal chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin. So right now it feels like they are calling my name. I will ignore the loud obnoxious cookies and proceed with my detox. I have to mention I have had a headache for at least part of all three days. I don't think it is solely because of the detox but a combination of lack of sugar and caffeine and hormones. : / I will get though this and feel amazing on the other side. No more sugar or caffeine dependency for this vegan goddess! Aaahhh, that will be nice.

Carrot Ginger Soup with Lentils

1 T olive oil
1 med onion
1 lg or 2 med cloves garlic
3 inch piece of ginger root
5 lg carrots
1 cup red lentils, rinsed
5 cups water
1/2 t salt
juice of 1 small lemon
black pepper (to taste)

Heat oil over med-high heat in a med saucepan. Peel onion, ginger, garlic and carrots if not organic. Cut onion and carrots into chunks. Whiz the onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor quickly or chop all very fine, add to pan and saute until fragrant and soft. (add water if it starts to stick) Add carrots to food processor and process until finely chopped or chop by hand, add to pan along with lentils, stir and add water and salt. Bring to a boil and reduce heat and let simmer about 30 minutes. Add lemon juice, stir and taste...add more salt if needed and add pepper to taste. You can leave it chunky or use a immersion blender to create a smooth and creamy soup...either way, Yum!

10 day detox and -24 degrees outside! *YIKES!*

Seriously?! This is nuts! I want to curl up under my big heavy quilt and stay in bed all day. But unfortunately I have things to do so I will dress in many layers and battle another Maine winter day, much colder than usual but just another day.

Today starts day 2 of my 10 day detox. Yesterday I started with a big glass of warm water with the juice of one organic lemon and a pinch of cayenne pepper. This aids in getting your insides moving and believe me it works! I did a half hour of meditation. I would have done yoga but my body was still so sore from Saturdays 2 1/2 hour session that I just did some stretches and called it good. But exercise is important during a detox. It also helps with circulation and keeping things moving...which is sort of the point. Out with the bad, in with the good. ; ) I then dry brushed my whole body starting at my feet and working to my head then showered. It was invigorating. For lunch I had veggie sushi made with brown rice, daikon, carrots, kale and nori and some kombucha. Then for dinner, more brown rice, kale and a mixture of steamed brocolli, carrots and pea pods..sprinkled with a tiny bit of sea salt. I was hungry and it was delicious. I drank a lot of water all day and would have had some kukicha or green tea but I was not at home for most of the day and didn't think to take some with me.

My plan for today is warm water with lemon and cayenne again in place of my morning coffee. A green juice or green smoothie if I get hungry through out the morning. Morning meditation. Gentle yoga practice and then dry brushing and shower. Lunch, left over rice, kale and veggies. I haven't decided on dinner yet but I am thinking maybe a squash soup or carrot soup with lots of ginger.


Green Juice

all ingredients should be organic

1 cucumber
2 granny smith apples
1 handful kale
2 handfuls baby spinach
1 small handful of sprouts
1 lemon
1 " piece gingerroot

juice all ingredients in a juicer or Vitamix.

Already sick and tired of winter in Maine....

We are having another blasted snow storm. The worse thing about this storm is that after almost a day of snowing it is now freezing rain. The weather man says that after it does this long enough to break power lines and tree limbs and make the roads a skating rink it is suppose to snow again. One thing that I am happy for is that I am currently unemployed and don't have to drive in this mess! Being stuck in the house gives me an oppurtunity to try out new recipes though. : ) Yesterday I came across a recipe for an African Sweet Potato Stew on Yummly.com. It sounded delicious and so became the inspiration for last nights dinner. Served with steaming hot brown rice it was, in fact, delicious.



African Sweet Potato Stew

2 T olive oil
1 1/2 - 2 T curry powder (start with the lesser amount and add more later if needed)
2 med/lg onions (diced)
6 cloves garlic (minced)
3 celery stalks (diced)
2 carrots (sliced)
1 cup red lentils ( washed and picked over)
6 cups vegetable broth
4 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes (with the juice)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1 t crushed red pepper flakes
2 cup green beans (chopped)
2 cups frozen chopped spinach (more if using fresh)
3 pounds sweet potatoes (diced)
1/2 cup coconut milk
salt and pepper

Add oil to large pot placed on med high heat. Add curry powder and stir until fragrant. Add onions, garlic, celery and carrots stirring occasionally until onions start to sweat and everything smells nice. Add red lentils and sweet potatoes and stir. Add broth, tomatoes with juice, peanut butter, cayenne pepper and crushed pepper flakes. Bring to a boil and stir until peanut butter is completely melted. Add green beans, spinach and mix in. Reduce heat to low and allow stew to simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add coconut milk, stir, and allow to simmer for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over brown rice or jasmine rice.

This stew is seriously scrumptious! ; )

Nor'Easter in Maine!

The perfect kind of day to bake and cook. While the boys were out shoveling I decided to make some chocolate chip cookie bars. I accidentally used spelt flour instead of whole wheat. I decided to go with it and adjust the recipe and see what would happen. The end result is very tasty but a little drier than whole wheat would have been. I think that is because of the grainy texture of spelt flour. All in all they are very good and I would definitely make them again. It is nice to take a break from using so much wheat all the time. Spelt is not gluten free so they are not celiac friendly.



Spelt Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

preheat oven to 350 and spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray

3 cups Spelt flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 cup brown sugar (compacted)
1 t baking soda
1 t sea salt
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1/2 cup soy cream or non-dairy milk
2 T flax meal mixed with 6 T water (set aside)
2 t vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Combine flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add oil, milk or creamer, flax mixture and vanilla. Mix well. Add chocolate chips and walnuts and stir to combine. Dump into prepared pan and gently press down with your hands until evenly spread and compacted.
Bake for 25 to 27 minutes. Cool in pan and cut when cool or almost cool. ; )

I'm am such a lazy blogger...

I don't mean to be lazy about blogging but I am. It is something I want to work on for 2011. I have recently been laid off so I should have time on my hands. Evaluating my next step in the employment field. I am thinking I want to be a yoga teacher. I am doing some research on programs and playing with the idea in my head. I will update when I decide.

Tonight or early tomorrow morning we are suppose to get a nor'easter. Not looking forward to that but happy I won't have to drive in it. Tonight I made a big pot of soup for dinner and can't help but think how perfect it would be for a cold and stormy night. I served over brown rice but it would be equally good served over some type of noodles. It was hearty and filling and went over great with the family.



Hearty Chickpea and Vegetable Soup

2 T olive oil
1 onion (chopped)
6 cloves garlic (minced)
1 large potato (diced)
1 large celery stalk (diced)
2 med carrots (chopped)
1 small zucchini (chopped)
1 t red pepper flakes
1 t basil
1 t thyme
3 cups chopped tomatoes with juice
1 quart unchicken broth or vegetable broth (homemade or your fav. store bought)
1 quart water
4 cups cooked chickpeas
1 15 oz jar artichoke hearts (drained and chopped)
5 cups kale (chopped)


Heat oil in a large pot over med heat, add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic, celery and red pepper flakes, cook for a minute and then add carrots, potatoes, thyme and basil, cook for another minute and then add remaining ingredients. Turn heat to med-high stirring occasionally, cook until boiling, reduce heat to low and let simmer until vegetables are tender. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve over brown rice or noodles if desired.