Caulifredo Sauce

Chef Del Sroufe is a chef in Columbus, OH.  He has written several cookbooks, including The Forks Over Knives Cookbook and Better Than Vegan.  It was in the later that I learned about Cauliflower Puree.  Now it seems to be popping up everywhere, including in a recent issue of Wegman's Menu. It's a great way to make creamy foods in a healthier way.  Cauliflower is an incredible source of Vitamin C and a great source of fiber, folate, choline, B6, and Vitamin K.  It's low in calories and has a low glycemic load.  One of my favorite dishes used to be fettuccine alfredo, but it is so loaded with fat from cream and butter that I no longer believe eating it is worth the sacrifices to my health.  After seeing Chef Sroufe's Cauliflower Puree and several recipes using it to make alfredo sauce, I tried it for myself.  Most recipes I found didn't look like the traditional alfredo sauce that I was used to, so I adapted this recipe from The Joy of Cooking.  Here it is...

Caulifredo Sauce

1/4 cup raw cashews
3 garlic cloves
8 cups steamed cauliflower (steam until very soft)
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Salt and pepper, to taste

Place cashews and garlic into food processor and process until crumbly.  Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth.  Add water (from steaming cauliflower, if you have it) as needed.  Serve over pasta.  Mix with equal amounts of your favorite marinara sauce for a yummy pink sauce.

In The News

Vitamins don’t prevent heart disease or cancer, experts find

Bill Clinton - Vegan

Did you know that Bill Clinton follows a whole foods/plant-based diet?

Bill Clinton: Fan of Caldwell Esselstyn Jr MD

Bill Clinton Explains Why He Became a Vegan

I particularly like the last two paragraphs (emphasis mine):

"If you don't have the willpower to do it for yourself, he adds, do it for your loved ones. "A lot of people who are busy and stressed feel that eating and being comfortable is their reward," he says. But particularly for those who, like him, have children, he says "you have a responsibility to try to be as healthy as possible."

Sounding the themes that still drive him every day, Clinton wraps up our meeting with a message, reminding me that "the way we consume food and what we consume" are driving the unsustainable level of health care spending in America. To truly change the conditions that lead to bad habits and poor health, he warns, "we have to demand it by changing the way we live. You have to make a conscious decision to change for your own well-being, and that of your family and your country.""

In The News

Mindfulness in Everyday Life: A Walk in the Woods and Return to Essential Nature

6 Things You Don't Know About Kale

10 Things You Don't Know About Sugar (And What You Don't Know Could Hurt You) 

What Does Biotech Have to Say About the GMO Debate?

More Red Meat = More Diabetes

Did You Know...

Popcorn

Did you know that 3 tablespoons of unpopped popcorn (4.5 cups popped) has 140 calories, 5g fiber (20% RDA!), 4g protein (it's everywhere - more on that later), and 6% of the RDA of iron.

Snack away!

Just be careful what you put on it...  (smile).

Black Bean Dip

This is one of my favorite recipes from The Feast of Santa Fe.

Black Bean Dip

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 tsp cayenne (optional - we omit this)
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin

Put all ingredients into food processor and process until smooth, leaving a little texture if desired.  Top with salsa and chopped cilantro.  Serve in quesadillas, burritos, tacos, or with chips. 

Black beans are an excellent source of many nutrients including protein, fiber, folate, iron, magnesium, potassium, and more.

In The News

News from the American Institute for Cancer Research:

AICR, the China Study, and Forks Over Knives

Recommendations for Cancer Prevention from the WCRF/AICR (World Cancer Research Fund)

News from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute:

Fish oils may raise prostate cancer risks, study confirms

Lawns, Pesticides, and Us

A very moving blog from the Children and Nature Network:

CHILD-FRIENDLY LAWNS AND GARDENS: Ten Things You Can Do to Reduce Hidden Chemical Risks

I especially appreciated the following quote, since I am currently reading Silent Spring:

"People in the children and nature movement often cite Rachel Carson because she eloquently advocated introducing children to nature in her book A Sense of Wonder.  We must not forget that she also wrote Silent Spring, courageously researching and speaking out against the dangers of pesticides. For the sake of our children and all other living things on our planet, we need to spread both parts of her message."

Did you know...?

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics supports a vegetarian/vegan diet.  You can read more about it on their website.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Hummus is a great snack or part of a meal.  With veggie sticks or healthy crackers, it's a guilt free snack.  Since it's made with chick peas, it's a great source of protein, fiber, folate, iron, and other nutrients.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (no oil added)

3 cups cooked chickpeas (or 2 cans, drained)
1 roasted red pepper, peeled
3/4 tsp salt (or to taste, especially with commercially canned chickpeas)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp smoky paprika
1/2 cup cooking liquid, low/no sodium veggie broth, or water

Place in food processor and process until smooth.  Serve as a cracker/veggie dip or sandwich bread.

Roasted Red Peppers

Cut stems off red peppers and clean out seeds.  Place on grill and cooked until blackened on each side, rotating as necessary.  Peel off blackened skins and eat or use in recipes.

Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans)

Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans)

Chickpeas, or Garbanzo Beans, are one of our favorite beans.  Traditionally, they are the main ingredient in hummus (see tomorrow's post!).  We also use them on tossed salad, in falafel, in bean salads, in grain salads with other fresh veggies, and as a replacement in chicken/tuna salad (just mash them up a bit).  You can sprout them to add sprouts to your salads or roast them for a crunchy snack.

Research shows that chick peas are great for decreasing your cardiovascular risk, increasing digestive health, and regulating blood sugar.  For more information on the health benefits of chickpeas, click here.

Chickpeas are an excellent source of many important nutrients.  In just one cup of cooked chick peas, you get 14.53g protein (that's a whopping 29% of the RDA), 12.46g fiber (50% RDA), 71% RDA folate, 8% RDA calcium (not found in just dairy), 26% RDA iron, 20% RDA magnesium, a high percentage of 11 amino acids, and much more.

Chickpeas are also great for the grocery budget.  Where we live, I can find a pound of dried, organic chickpeas for just under $3.00.  Once hydrated and cooked, there will be 3 pounds of chickpeas.  That's $1.00 per pound!  Talk about a great nutritional value for your dollar (literally)!

Tomorrow I'll be posting our homemade Roasted Red Pepper Hummus.  Until then, check out one of my favorite chickpea recipes:  Teriyaki Chickpeas from Happy Herbivore!

In The News

Which Impacts Your Weight More: Diet or Exercise?

New Link

I've added a new link to the list of food links on the left:

Oh She Glows

I hope you are inspired by her story and enjoy her site as much as I do.

--Kathy

Video of the Week

The Toxic Tangle of Food, Government, and Culture

Wow!  What a powerful testimony!

In The News

Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin

Lentil Barbecue

When I was growing up, our church hosted an annual Christmas bazaar.  Many crafts and baked goods were sold to raise money for the women's group.  Lunch was also served and it was always Beef Barbecue.  It was a favorite!  Moving to a more plant-based diet doesn't have to mean depriving yourself of favorite flavors.  Recipes, like this one, that are based on seasonings are easy to convert.  We've actually substituted lentils in many other favorites:  Cincinnati Chili, Sloppy Joes, taco filling, and chili sauce.  The results are just as tasty, healthier, and more economical (1 lb of dry lentils = 3 lbs of cooked lentils)

This is the Beef Barbecue recipe that I grew up on, but with lentils.  It was always made for a crowd, so this makes a lot (the original recipe calls for 6 lbs of beef).  I'm working on testing it to see how it works in smaller batches.  In the mean time, I'm enjoying the large batch that I started with.  I packaged the leftovers in 1.5 cup portions and froze them for future use.  They are wonderful on those evenings when I either don't have a dinner plan or don't have time to cook.  I just thaw/reheat and serve with some baby carrots, sugar snap peas, or some other quick and easy veggie.  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do.

Lentil Barbecue

2 lbs (4 cups) lentils
8 cups water
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 large onions, chopped
1 tsp Tabasco  sauce
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp salt
1 bottle catsup (14 oz)
3 Tbsp barbecue sauce (CNYers - I used Dinosaur BBQs original sauce)
3 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp pepper

Place all ingredients in a large crockpot and cook on low for several hours, until lentils are desired consistency (not crunchy, soft but not mushy).  I'll continue to work on this to get a more specific time for you.

In The News

NYC public school swaps chicken nuggets for tofu, becomes first all-vegetarian cafeteria

Video of the Week

Michael Pollan on the Colbert Report

This is a hilarious interview, but what else would you expect from The Colbert Report?  I'm looking forward to reading Michael Pollan's new book:  Cooked.  If you get to it before I do (and you might, I'm working on several books right now), I'd love to hear your thoughts.  Please feel free to comment.

A Case for Lentils

Lentils have become one of my favorite go-to foods.  They come in too many varieties to count, are good in many types of food, are packed with great nutritional benefits, and are extremely economical!  They are used world-wide and in many different ways, although I do believe that they are under-utilized here in the US (the fact that I have to go to a specialty grocery to find a variety other than green supports this).  Lentils are great in soups, sauces, dahl (one of my favorite Indian dishes), veggie burgers, and more.

To see a selection of recipes using lentils, just click on "Lentils" on the "Topics" list on the right. 

More and more we are using lentils to replace ground meat in recipes.  We've used green lentils, French lentils and black lentils.  Any will work just fine, although our favorite is black lentils.  If you have a Whole Foods nearby, you should be able to find all three of these varieties, and more.  If you are in the CNY area, Wegman's has green lentils and Natur-Tyme and Green Planet Grocery have green and French lentils.  We have yet to find black lentils locally, but we haven't checked the Asian groceries.

Lentils are extremely economical!  For environmental reasons (as well as health and nutrition), I try to buy organic when I can.  Legumes are one area where I can justify the expense.  At one of our local grocery stores, I can get organic green lentils for $1.89/lb, organic brown lentils for $2.29/lb, and organic french lentils for $2.81/lb.  These prices are for DRY lentils.  Once I cook these, one pound of dry lentils turns into 3 (yes, THREE) pounds of cooked lentils.  I use cooked lentils as a 1 to 1 substitute for ground meat in many of my recipes.  That works out to be $0.63/lb of cooked green lentils, $0.76/lb of cooked brown lentils, and $0.94/lb of cooked French lentils.  When was the last time you saw ANY ground meat for those prices?!  This is one of the ways that I am able to feed our household a healthy diet on what the USDA considers a "trifty" to "low-cost plan".

Lentils are packed with great nutrition!  They are a great source of fiber, iron, calcium, folate, potassium and many other vitamins and minerals. There is only one nutritional concern I've heard from others regarding lentils:  carbs.  Due to the successful marketing of some diet plans, the idea is out there that carbs are bad.  What these diet plans don't always tell you is that not all carbs are created equal.  You should limit your refined carbs (bleached flour, sugary cereals, regular pasta, white rice, etc.).  Complex carbs (such as lentils) are perfectly fine and are actually great for you.  You need the fiber that comes from eating complex carbs to help keep your digestive system flowing.  Plus, there are many vitamins and minerals that your body needs from those complex carbs that you will not find in animal products.   

Following is a list of the nutritional benefits of one serving (1 cup) of cooked lentils compared to one serving (4 oz) of grass-fed beef. 

	lentils	beef
amount	1.00 cup cooked	4 oz
total weight	198.00 g	113.4
calories	229.68	175
calories from fat	6.77	27.45
calories from saturated fat	0.94	10.53
protein	17.86 g	26 g
carbohydrates	39.86 g	-- g
dietary fiber	15.64 g	-- g
soluble fiber	2.57 g	-- g
insoluble fiber	13.07 g	-- g
sugar - total	3.56 g	-- g
monosaccharides	-- g	-- g
disaccharides	-- g	-- g
other carbs	20.65 g	-- g
fat - total	0.75 g	8.1g
saturated fat	0.10 g	1.17g
mono fat	0.13 g	2.8g
poly fat	0.35 g	2.5g
trans fatty acids	0.00 g	0.13g
cholesterol	0.00 mg	74 mg
water	137.89 g	83.26 g
ash	-- g	1.92 g
vitamin A IU	15.84 IU	0.00 IU
vitamin A RAE	0.79 RAE	0.00 RAE
A - carotenoid	1.58 RE	0.00 RE
A - retinol	0.00 RE	0.00 RE
A - beta carotene	9.90 mcg	51.00 mcg
thiamin - B1	0.33 mg	0.06 mg
riboflavin - B2	0.14 mg	0.14 mg
niacin - B3	2.10 mg	7.60 mg
niacin equiv	4.77 mg	7.60 mg
vitamin B6	-- mg	-- mg
vitamin B12	0.00 mcg	1.44 mcg
biotin	-- mcg	-- mcg
vitamin C	2.97 mg	0.00 mg
vitamin D IU	0.00 IU	0.00 IU
vitamin D mcg	0.00 mcg	0.00 mcg
vitamin E alpha equiv	0.22 mg	0.25 mg
vitamin E IU	-- IU	0.37 IU
vitamin E mg	-- mg	0.25 mg
folate	358.38 mcg	14.74 mcg
vitamin K	3.37 mcg	1.02 mcg
calcium	37.62 mg	10.21 mg
copper	0.50 mg	0.08 mg
iron	6.59 mg	2.04 mg
magnesium	71.28 mg	26.08 mg
manganese	0.98 mg	0.01 mg
molybdenum	148.50 mcg	-- mcg
phosphorus	356.40 mg	240.40
potassium	730.62 mg	387.82 mg
selenium	5.54 mcg	23.93 mcg
sodium	3.96 mg	62.37 mg
zinc	2.51 mg	4.09 mg

A Challenge!

My sister has just challenged me to remake this recipe:

Crazy Cake

It doesn't have any meat, eggs, or dairy, but it does have oil and a lot of sugar (it is a dessert).  I'll let you all know what we come up with.  What a sister I have, asking me to test a cake recipe!  You don't think she's trying to sabotage my whole-foods, plant-based weight loss do you?