2 Super Simple Sunday Recipes

I usually eat avocados 5 out of 7 days per week.  If I was stranded on a desert island, there had better be an avocado tree!  Most everyone has had avocado toast and if you haven't, why the hell not!  There are so many different ways to create avocado toast, you can let your creativity flow.  Our daughter Bree makes an awesome avo toast:

Avocado Toast

Toast 2 Slices whole grain bread.

Mash 1 ripe avocado in a bowl.

Season with ground pepper or we use:

Trader Joe's "Everything but the Bagel Sesame" seasoning blend which is: white and black sesame seeds, sea salt, dried minced garlic, onion and poppy seeds

Spread mixture on toast.

Top it with a Free-range organic egg.

I mostly adhere to a plant-based diet, but occasionally I will have an egg for an additional dose of B12. I guess I am a "veggan".😊

Add a bowl of mixed fresh organic berries.

If I will be working locally the following week, on Sundays I will do a little lunch meal prepping.  

One of my favorite recipes is;

Coconut Ginger Beans and Rice

Prepare one cup rice of your choice.

Prepare beans of your choice and season with spices you like.( cumin, smoked paprika, garlic salt, etc., get creative.

Dice and saute sweet onions in coconut oil.

When rice is done, add 1 tb. each coconut oil, ground ginger and ground turmeric.

Stir in beans and onions.

Cube a small pack of cooked seasoned tofu or "Tossables"

This makes around 4-5 lunches, including bowls or wraps with fresh greens.

Have a great week.

Be kind.

WASH YOUR HANDS
Judd

Recommended Reading 01/25/20

It's the first 2020 Recommended Reading time!

Introducing the newest addition to our family:

Miso and Mochi

The sweetest sister and brother rescues who joined our family at the end of the year.   They were just 8 weeks old and have 7 other siblings who all have been adopted.  It is quite an enjoyment to watch them play and grow.  They will never take the place of the Queen Lizzie, but they definitely are creating their own Kingdom,

The Queen

Let's get started with:

CRAZY SHIT

U.S. households throws out $240 billion dollars a year worth of food, that's crazy!  Don't go to the grocery store hungry.

This is both crazy and scary: One Nation, Tracked,  12 million phones, one dataset, zero privacy.

GM is bringing back the Hummer, thank God it's electric.

For a blast from the past, check out a new hotel at JFK airport that recently opened: TWA Hotel,  our daughter Bree spent some time there this past week while on a short business trip in Manhattan,  She was very impressed, saying it would be great to spend the night there while on a layover/early flight to Europe.

ENVIRONMENTAL

8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced since introduced in the 1950's.  Most all of it is still here and 91% of it is not recycled.

New technology from RESYNERGI know just what to do with it.  They have compact mobile equipment that turns chipped plastic waste into clean fuel sources.

4 Environmental laws that athletes(and everyone) should know and fight for.

Possible BLUE/GREEN  -Green New deal proposed by Elizabeth Warren.

A short important video from Ocean Unite: #Love30x30. 

The ocean gives us life: it provides half the oxygen we breathe, has absorbed a quarter of our CO2 emissions and over 90% of the excess heat trapped by those emissions, it puts food on our plates and is home to 80% of all life on Earth.

I know there are endless issues we all face everyday.  But the most important issue the world faces right now is the climate crisis.  If we all don't work together and solve this, all else really doesn't matter.  WHAT IF WE SURVIVE?

EXERCISE, FOOD and WELLNESS

Build strength, stamina, stability and power with these 4 Essential Bodyweight Exercises.

Another reason why we should just give up sweeteners all together, Not Sweet Nothings.

Joking aside, for health reasons we need to "cut the cheese"  Nut cheeses  have come a long way and are way more healthy and earth friendly.

Here's another take on "Crazy Shit", Wasting Food: Steps You Can Take to Stop Food Waste.

How to order a healthy plant-based meal from any restaurant menu.

For a rainy afternoon video, watch Rich Roll and Dr. Zach Bush at the Nantucket Project.

For a quick and delicious meal whip up Chef Chloe's vegan Avocado Pesto Pasta and steam some fresh broccoli topped with nutritional yeast.

Have a great week.

Be kind.

Judd 

Homemade Salad Dressings

Hi readers, it's Kris here!  If you're a regular visitor to our blog, you're probably aware that Judd is the main contributor here and I'm his helpful little editor.  I'm also the lucky lady who gets to benefit from his knowledge and research of all things related to living a clean-eating, holistic lifestyle and am I ever grateful for that!  This week, however, I'm taking over the blog to share a few of my favorite homemade salad dressings with you.  Before I get to the recipes, I have to share a few funny anecdotes that come to mind when it comes to the topic of salads:

When I met Judd 26 years ago, he did not use salad dressing.  Not even a drop!  I remember the first time I witnessed this, I thought it most peculiar.  I'd never seen anyone eat a salad that wasn't drizzled in some sort of fabulous dressing.  To this day, when he orders a salad in a restaurant and replies to the server that he doesn't want dressing, he is met with a puzzled look and some form of the question "none at all?" or "would you like it on the side?"  Now that we make our own dressing at home, he really does enjoy it!  And honestly, on the rare occasion that we eat out these days, it is usually at some fabulous vegan restaurant that we've discovered and the last thing we want to order is a salad! Which leads me to my next thought...

Nourish Bowl from Nourish Cafe in San Francisco

If you eat solely a plant-based, vegan or vegetarian diet, you've probably encountered this scenario as well:  You're invited to lunch or dinner with a group of your friends, co-workers, family etc.  The restaurant they choose has little to no vegan friendly options.  It never fails that someone in the group says "they have salad" or "oh, you can't eat that can you?"  My first thought is "Yippee, they have salad.  Because that's all I eat."  I try not to get too offended by these comments, but sometimes it does get to me.  If you have a polite, non-snarky response that works for you, please share it with us!  And if you are one of our meat eating readers, please try to remember that even though you may find our diet unusual, we truly aren't aliens and we're really not that different than you, with the exception that we don't consume animal products.  We love stuffing our faces with delicious meals, snacks and desserts and while we adore cute little bunny rabbits, we don't necessarily eat like them.  Our appetites are just as adventurous as yours, and we sure don't want our meals to be bland and boring. With that being said, when we do eat salad we do it up right!  From a wide choice of greens and toppings, to our flavorful, homemade salad dressings made with all natural ingredients, our salads tend to be the main course and not just a puny little side dish.

And now, without further ado, please enjoy some of our favorite dressings. They can be whipped up quickly and will keep in your fridge for about 1 week, but once you taste them I have a feeling they won't last that long!

GREEN GODDESS DRESSING

1/2 cup Vegan Mayo 

(We use Vegenaise, Hampton Creek Just Mayo or Hellman's Vegan Dressing)*

2 tablespoons raw honey

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Juice of 1 lemon (approximately 1/4 cup)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup water

10 large basil leaves (we have a basil plant growing on our porch at all times)

2 scallions or green onions, lightly chopped

1/2 ripe avocado

Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

You can also toss in a few sprigs of cilantro, Italian parsley, tarragon, and chives if you have them on hand.  I'm not a a fan of cilantro, so I leave it out, and I usually just sprinkle in a tablespoon of Italian Seasoning if I don't have fresh herbs on hand.

*If you aren't strictly vegan, you can use a plain Greek Yogurt.  I suggest Fage.

Combine all the ingredients in a powerful blender until completely pureed.

This dressing also makes a fabulous veggie dip!

Watermelon Arugula Salad w/ Apple Cider Vinaigrette

APPLE CIDER VINAIGRETTE

1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard

3 tablespoons raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons good quality maple syrup

1/2 cup olive oil

Course sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper.

Whisk together the mustard, vinegar & maple syrup in a mixing bowl; slowly add the olive oil and continue to whisk. 

OLD BAY RANCH DRESSING

1/2 cup Vegan Mayo

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

1 garlic clove, finely minced

1 tablespoon finely chopped chives

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.

HONEY VINAIGRETTE

This simple yet delicious recipe is the perfect portion for a couple of salads.

  Double or triple the recipe to make enough to store in your fridge for a week:

3 teaspoons honey

3 teaspoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.

Pack up your salad and a comfy blanket, and find a lovely spot to have a picnic like we did here at Pebble Beach in beautiful Monterey, California last month.

I hope these quick and easy recipes encourage you to ditch highly processed store dressings in exchange for a much healthier, delicious salad experience!

xoxo,

Kristen

Be Smart, Eat the Right Foods, Part Two

Be Smart, Eat the Right Foods, 

Part Two

In this second part on "brain foods", we will look at Avocados.   Avocados have been dubbed "the world's most perfect food".  Also known as the "alligator pear", it provides nearly 20 essential nutrients that support heart health, inflammation, improves blood sugar levels and is high in heart-protective HDL cholesterol  and low in LDL cholesterol.   The monounsaturated fats support the production of acetylcholine, which helps in memory and learning.   Avocados are high in vitamins C, E, K, and the B complex.  They also act as a "nutrient  booster to help in absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, and are very high in tyrosine which helps keep you motivated and focused.  Our brains are around 60% fat and every cell in our bodies need "good fat" to perform at its best.  Avocados do just that, by providing more calories per gram than any other food.  Far from being empty calories, they are a functional food that provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition.  Here's a great article on their benefits: Avocados: Nutritional Benefits.

I usually eat 5 avocados per week.  On sandwiches, salads, toast, and in buddha-bowls, they are incredible gifts from nature.  You can also use avocados as a dairy replacement  in many ways. 

Kris makes an awesome "Green Goddess" salad dressing with avocados, here's the recipe:

In a blender or food processor mix;

10 fresh basil leaves.

a couple of chopped green onions.

2 tbs of Italian seasoning.

1/2 -1 ripe avocado(peeled!).

1/4 cup non-dairy "Vegenaise or "Just Mayo".

2 tbs honey.

2 tbs white wine vinegar.

Juice of 1 lemon.

3 tbs extra virgin olive oil.

1/4 cup filtered water.

1/2 tsp sea salt.

1/4 tsp black pepper.

Store in a Mason jar for up to a week.

You'll have used it before then!

Check out: "How to pick & buy the perfect Hass avocado"

Go get smart!

Have a great week.

Be kind.

Judd