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Vegan Italian Quinoa Dinner

Posted on 02. Feb, 2010 by kris.

Hello Everyone!

Thank you ALL for the wonderful comments on yesterday’s post on How to Deal with Negative People in your life.  It was topic I figured we all could use a little “refresher” on  You all had so many wonderful tips for as well, thank you!

Well Monday has now gone and we are moving further along in this beautiful week!

Today was full of a ton of water, tea, and protein bars!  I don’t know why, but when my throat is sore, I need something sweet.

Now, I don’t want you to think that is ALL I had for eats today.  I did have 2 ghetto greens, a large salad for lunch, a grapefruit, lots of protein bars and beautiful Italian Quinoa dish for dinner.

Sun dried Tomatoes are a fave food of mine.  I always purchase them organic, and without sodium. Some brands out there try to kill you with sodium, read your label next time, its insane.

I find sun dried tomatoes add such a wonderful flavor to pasta, quinoa dishes, pesto, and even crackers.  I added some to these bad boys over the weekend – WHOLY wowza were they amazing!!

Ryan and I ate the whole cookie sheet of crackers I baked in one sitting……while watching the movie “This is it”.

Italian Quinoa

*Please note this dish makes a lot with the measurements I am providing.

2 cups quinoa
5 cups water
2 vegan bouillon’s
2 medium zucchini’s
1 large red pepper
1 – 2 cups mushrooms
2 cups spinach
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
1/2 onion
2 tbsp evoo

Cook quinoa with 4 cups water and 1 bouillon

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.  Add the onions and sun dried tomatoes.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes.

In a small sauce pan bring 1 cup of water with the bouillon to a boil.  Turn heat down and let simmer.

Add the rest of the vegetables (except basil) to the frying pan and cook for 2 – 3 minutes while stirring.  Add the small boiling vegetable broth to the vegetables and let cook until veg are done.

Add the vegetable sauce to the quinoa and toss.  Add the chopped basil to the dish and serve.

I am looking forward to leftovers from this dish tomorrow for lunch!!

What do you crave when your throat is sore?  How do you prepare quinoa?  Is it a breakfast food for you, or dinner?

XXOO
Kris

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Healthy Lentil Soup for Chilly Days

Posted on 29. Dec, 2009 by kris.

Happy Monday Everyone!

I am back from another successful day grabbin all the sale items!

I just walked in the door from spending a wonderful day with my mom which included returning an item from Santa, purchasing make up and then we picked up my dad for a little starbucks trip and then went off to purchase me a printer!

It was a long day out and I was starving when I got home, so thankfully I have some wonderful left overs from last night.  Ryan is working late filming some videos so I am home alone…..and loving it!

Here is my dinner for today, which is super easy and very warm for these chilly days around here.

Easy Lentil Soup:

3 medium sweet potatoes
2 cups lentils
1 vegan bouillon
2 cups water
sea salt
pepper
mrs. dash

1. Boil Sweet Potatoes
2. Cook Lentils with bouillon.
3. Once both are done cooking, combine the sweet potatoes and the water from boiling the sweet potatoes into the lentils.
4. Blend and add spices- I used my hand blender.
5. Serve

Easy and really tasty!

I also baked some veggies to go along side and had a wonderfully large salad.

Roasted Veggies:

Squash
Bruessel Sprouts
Sweet Potatoes
EVOO
Sea Salt

Bake at 350 for 30 – 40 minutes.

In the roasted veg dish I used this new squash I found -delicata squash.  This squash has a thin, delicate skin so you can eat it after baking!  It is delicious and has a similar sweet taste to corn.

I am off to finish my vision board for 2010 – I know…..I was supposed to reveal this sucker today, but my printer went on the fritz so now that I have a new one, I can print out my pics and I will post an amazing Goals post tomorrow!

I need some more chilly day dinners.  Can you send me any links to some recipes??

XXOO
Kris

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Raw Chocolate Date Truffles

Posted on 18. Dec, 2009 by kris.

Hey Pals,

Well today has been a whirlwind of a day, let me tell you!

Yessss finally the Internet is all up and running smoothly and my office is now on my way to being complete.  Currently Ryan and I share and office, but I want to move mine into the den, so I am working at setting that den up “Kris Style”.  Hopefully I can focus some time in that this weekend.

I was starvin marvin all day today and I stopped for my “lunch break” at 11:00 this morning – wow, early huh??  I felt like something different than my normal salad, so I decided to slightly wilt some spinach and add carrots, avoacado and sea salt to it. Mmmmm I don’t know why but I crave wilted spinach and avocado together……so good!

After lunch it was a blur, I was so busy and felt bad because I was not able to be on my social media hub as much as I would like too!!  Tomorrow will be my online day for my friends Today was hardcore “getting things done” day – booking meetings, etc.

We had to fly out of the house to get to our Niece and Nephew’s Christmas Concert for 6, so dinner was freakin’ quick! Lucky just earlier this morning I was reading the blog OhSheGlows looking for a recipe and came across these dolled up savory oats and whipped up something similar!

Kris’ Dinner Oats:

2 cups Organic Quick Oats
4 cups water
2 cups Organic Frozen Peas
2 medium tomatoes – diced
3-4 cups spinach
1-2 tbsp Mrs. Dash
Sea Salt
Pepper
1 Avocado
Dollop of Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Spread (optional)

Add Oats, Water, Peas, Spices to Pot and bring to a boil.

Add tomatoes about 1/2 way through cooking time

When oats are done, add in spinach and toss.

Plate up and add avocado and a bit of red sauce on top

YUMMMY and Quick!

We made it to the Christmas Concert just on time and enjoyed the little ones singing their songs in their Santa hats

Back at the Casa I felt a little sweet tooth coming on so it was time to make a quick and easy “balls” – In the bowl went some softened dates, almond flour, tad bit of coconut oil and vegan chocolate chips. Mushed it all up and rolled into balls……well….Truffles sound a bit nicer, so we can call them that!

It’s always a slice my friends!

Tomorrow is Friday, Any plans??

Remember – If you liked any of the info here retweet!!  Everyone will love this Truffle recipe

Follow me on Twitter!

XXOO

Kris

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Vegan Cookie Monster

Posted on 17. Dec, 2009 by kris.

Happy Mid of the week my fellow bloggers and readers!

I hope you are all enjoying your day as much as I am?  Our Internet has been on the fritz since Saturday and our wireless has been down (the Wii fried it!) so like I said before my “office” was located at the dinning room table, and Ryan’s office is the kitchen counter – close enough to the closet so we can hard wire our computers to the line in the entry closet!  It was not pretty and really uncomfortable!  But it is now successfully working and I have my own separate office and Ryan has his so we can stay out of each others hair when we are working.  Do you find that working with your partner is hard all day?? 

I would also like to thank you all who commented and sent loving encouraging emails my way after my post on my Life Coach visit.  It really means a lot to me that I have made such wonderful friends.  We all complement each other very well, don’t we?

I have been asking myself throughout the day today “what am I grateful for right now”  WOW do I have a lot to be grateful for and life is always a bit more interesting when you are able to sit back and acknowledge all the beauty!

The sun started shining through the clouds and that made me happy!

FOOD:

Today has been a beautiful healthy eating day and like usual I started my day with my Ghetto Green(has been brown lately due to the chocolate vega) but it has been full and vibrant with fresh raw Kale, 1/2 banana, 1/2 apple. 2 tbsp Chia Seeds, 1 cup nut milk and water!  Perfect punch to start the wheels turning!

Throughout my morning I had consumed a lot of water!  I feel so alive when I drink water and notice a large difference in my performance when I am fully hydrated.  Water is the juice of nature!

I might have also thrown in a couple mint chocolate cookies throughout my day   Plus Baked some more!  These are a staple item in our home now as they are easy, tasty, full of holiday goodness and healthy! 

Lunch was a beautiful and large salad – 3 cups Mixed Greens, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, handful of sprouts, 1/2 an avocado, hemp seeds, lemon juice and a dash of Mrs. Dash!  Mmmmmmm perfecto in my tummy!  Salads keep me happy

I also consumed some tea and other snacks…..

Tonight I need to replenish my Veggie Stash – I go through piles of veg through the week and I know the grocery store clerks cringe as I walk in because they know they have their work cut out for them remembering all of their produce codes.  I am sorry Choices Market…..

For dinner I made curry quinoa and made sure to make enough for 2 dinners and a few lunches as I feel less stress when dinner is already in the fridge for tomorrow. 

Fitness:

This morning was cardio day!  I woke up at 6:15 headed down to the gym in the building and rocked that tread mill.  I FINALLY don’t mind that stinking thing!  I bring magazines with me and prop them up so I can’t see the time and any of the digital readings so when I am done reading I look and like 30 min have passed already.  BRILLIANT! 

I also whipped out some 10 pounders and did lunges back and forth across the room a bunch of times.  Lunges with weights sure work the sides of my thighs better than anything else.  I hate the lunges, but love them at the same time.

Tonight I am resting off of P90X and will pick that back up tomorrow   I feel I should take some time for myself tonight and possibly give myself a mani……ahh spa night at my place – who’s in?

Ok, I have walked passed my warm cookies and have eaten a TON – 45 min treadmill workout tomorrow??  YIKES

What are you Grateful for today??  I can’t wait to hear from all of you!

XXOO
Kris

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Quick Kale Salad

Posted on 10. Dec, 2009 by kris.

Top of the morning to you my Friends! 

How was your Humpday yesterday??  Mine was a very interesting day…..but a good day.  I got quite a bit accomplished on my “to do” list getting things ready for the Festivities Saturday so I am starting to feel a little calmer.  Are you like me and create list upon list of what needs to be done before you host an event?  I think I write the same list 5 or 6 times and stress out about it every time I write my silly list!  Ahhhh the joys of being “me”

I  concocted again today for my afternoon snack, I was running a bit behind yesterday morning and I needed an afternoon snack so I threw together some Black Kale, a Tomato, some sea salt, a dash of Mrs. Dash and a squeeze of lemon!  This was a mighty tasty little snack I took with me!

I just read on a post done by Liz Stein that you should be eating a dark leafy green with almost every meal.  We all know my love obsession with Kale and I have these luscious greens in my morning smoothie and usually with dinner and now sometimes in my snacks!  So eat your Greens people – your body and skin will thank you.

I have received a few emails regarding what I eat on a daily basis.  So here it is folks -

My daily eats:

Wake up – 500ml of water with either fresh squeezed lemon or daily detox drops (I normally drink 2.5 L at least of water a day!)

Breakfast – Green Smoothie

Snack – 1 cup Nutmilk or water with a scoop of Vega Meal Replacement

Lunch- Salad – Mixed Greens, Carrots, Celery, Sprouts, 1/2 an avovado, and hemp seeds - with fresh lemon juice

Snacks (throughout the afternoon) - Carrot Sticks, Celery with Almond Butter, and usually a baked good or homemade granola bar ;)

Dinner – The weekly list:

Quinoa with Veg
Vegan Taco Salad
Mung Beans and Veggies
Salads with Hemp Seeds
Vegan Pasta

The list goes on

I will not lie – I usually have another treat, (2 or 3 more) here after dinner……

Dinner was wonderfully made for me when I arrived home last night and we dined on Mung Beans and Veg.  Ryan sure knows a way to a girls heart  

After dinner I worked out Back and Bicep P90X style!  I have noticed such a difference in my body since regulating my “organic” potato or taco chip intake…I know they said there was healthy ingredients in them, but bottom line they were making my bottom bigger!  I have not had any since going on the detox on October 1st and I tell you the body really loves it when  you say no to chips (every once in a while is ok   But I ate them often – even if it was only a handful here and there!  My weekend “snack” with movies now are Mary’s Crackers, Carrots and my baked treats!  YUMMMM

 What do your daily eats look like?  Are your breakfasts always the same like mine?!

Have a great day!!

GIVEAWAY ENDS SUNDAY!  Please submit your Holiday Dessert Recipe to me, I would love to see them!  The winner gets a lovely Starbucks Gift Pack valued at $40!  Send entries to iheartwellness@gmail.com

XXOO
Kris

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Daily Detox Drops & Veggie Stew

Posted on 07. Dec, 2009 by kris.

Happy Monday Everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend doing your weekend thang and are enjoying this Monday just as much!  I once heard – “You know you are on the right path in life when your Monday feels like a Saturday” Very true isn’t it?!  This weekend was very enjoyable for me, we almost finished our Christmas shopping, the gifts are wrapped and I got some baking done.  Staying in and baking is one of my all time favorite Christmas activities and I was lucky enough to have some time to do that yesterday afternoon.  I baked a bunch more Mint Chocolate Cookies and froze them for the week ahead. 

The beautiful thing with my cookies and baking is they are all healthy so eating a cookie or two a day isn’t going to hurt you.  I love healthy bakin’  In case you missed it here is the recipe for these wonderful minty treats.

Last night was a very proactive night for me and we actually whipped up dinner for tonight and Tuesday already.  Don’t you love when you are able to do this?  Now I can go home and just pop it in the oven!  We made some delicious Veggie Stew, with Mung Beans.

Look at how wonderful this stew looked as we were assembling it.

Veggie Winter Stew:

1 small Red Cabbage
3 medium Sweet Potatoes
4 Beets
1 bag Frozen Organic Green Beans
Carrots
Onion
2 cups Mung Beans
2 Vegan Bouillon’s
Dashes of Mrs. Dash
Salt and Pepper
6 cups water

Throw everything in a pot and simmer until Mung Beans are done cooking – roughly 30 – 45 minutes.
You can add as many veggies and spices as you would like!  Canned tomatoes are also a good option in here if you like them

I ended up with enough for 2 dinners, and a few lunches – Perfect!

 
HEALTH NEWS:

For the last 2 weeks I have been taking daily detox drops in my morning water.  These drops are to help with eliminating bad bacteria (Candida) and keeping the Good Bacteria in tact in your GI tract and make your insides healthy and glowing!  Since taking these drops I can feel my urge for sweets, especially fruit calm right down which is great.  Previous to these drops I could have eaten fruit all day long because I was craving the sugar so much.  Now I only have one apple in my morning green smoothie.  I recently read that women should only be eating 1 piece of fruit in the winter time and I honestly feel better since doing so.  I knew I had a bit of parasites in my GI tract from when I went for that detox scan in the very beginning of my detox machine appointments and now it is all gone!  I feel clearer and I am noticing a difference in my appetite.  I find I crave way more veggies, and I can eat less throughout the day of good wholesome foods and I am completely satisfied.  No more parasites craving my food. 

Anyways I would like to thank my little morning detox drops for repairing my tummy

 
BEAUTY:

I learned that switching up your Shampoo every other wash is great to do for your hair.  I do follow this and I rotate between 3 organic shampoos.  By switching them up your hair always has volume, shine and looks healthier.  The reason is your hair never gets used to a shampoo so you get continuous shine and beautiful hair! 

I rotate between (no judging) Dessert Essence Organic Italian Grape Shampoo, Live Clean Volumizing Shampoo and Hudson’s Buddy Wash Shampoo.  Ok this is where no judging is allowed – My dogs shampoo is all natural and no harsh ingredients.  It has coconut oil in it!  So I googled it and sooo many people use this on their hair as well, so I am not the only one.

When I first used it Ryan came into the washroom and said “you gave the dog a bath?”  I said “no, why?” “It smells like his shampoo….” Well that would be me!  It actually smells really good

Hudson Hates bath time so it is always a struggle to get him in there to lather him up! 

Do you rotate your Shampoo??  What shampoo do you find works well for you?

Enjoy your day all!  I hope the weather is as sunny where you are as it is where I am!

XXOO
Kris

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Cinnamon Sweet Potatoes

Posted on 03. Dec, 2009 by kris.

It’s Thursday all!  Only a couple more days until the weekend!

Another beautiful day today (a bit chilly) and I am constantly reminded why I live in such a beautiful city!  We are blessed with mountains and ocean and a clean, pretty downtown and on sunny days there is no better place than Vancouver.

How is the weather for you where you are??

As you all know I had another Life Coach appointment on Tuesday and it was really, really good.  I knew it was going to be a good one before I even got there because I knew I could feel a difference in myself since the last visit.   I am feeling great, motivated and confident and I am rollin’ baby!  Isn’t it wonderful when you stop and think and know you have the ability to live your life exactly the way you want??  Do you ever get this?  Wow, life is amazing and really fun, when you realize why things have always been a struggle for you.  This was huge for me to realize and I feel like a thousand pounds has been lifted off my little shoulders.  “I can live the life I really want” I don’t need to stress and worry all of the time (like I was finding I as doing) and I am allowed and have the power to live my dream life which before I thought would ‘be nice’, but now I KNOW I can.

I also worked with Ann on my fear of rejection.   I mean getting rejected is not fun and it can happen in everyday life, blogging and business, but she said I could really learn a lot from it if it happens and just move on and grow.  She asked me “when you bake a batch of cupcakes and they don’t turn out, do you never make a cupcake again?” I said “Are you kidding me?!  I am back in that kitchen making more!”  She said that is what you do with your life.  Ahhhhh see now I could understand……she gets me with the cupcakes.

Onto food now -  I knew I needed a snack to take with me for my afternoon nibble so I baked up some sweet tatters and sprinkled them with cinnamon…..oh my…..Have you had this??  I could eat these for dessert!  They were very tasty and gone before I knew it.  I ate them cold in the afternoon and they were just as tasty.

I baked 6 small sweet potatoes tossed with EVOO @ 350 for about 30 minutes.  When I removed them from the oven, I grabbed the cinnamon (organic of course) and sprinkled away!

Look at these beauties….I could eat them now!

I also had my staple salad at lunch yesterday…..Everyday Salad, isn’t she lovely

Salad:

Mixed Greens
Celery
Carrots
Alfalfa Sprouts
Hemp Seeds
1/2 Avocado

I sprinkle my salad with Lemon Juice.

Last night was Mexican night!!  Haha far from fajitas, but tastes just as good and way more healthy for me!  I made this taco salad with Mung Beans as the protein and it was delicious!

I hope you all have a great Thursday!! 

How do you do up your sweet potatoes???  I can always use new recipes with the holidays coming up!

CONTEST - Holiday Cheer Dessert Recipe Contest!  Enter Here  or Email iheartwellness@gmail.com with the recipe and pic for a chance to win a Starbucks Gift pack and Holiday Gifts!! 

XXOO
Kris

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Healthy Foods Your Pets Should Avoid

Posted on 28. Nov, 2009 by kris.

Happy Friday!!!

How was your day? Mine was great, and busy and sweet because it was treat day. I had carob covered almonds today and they were divine. I actually wish I was eating more right now

So last night my mom, sister and I went to a premium denim sale and we all walked out with 2 pairs each!!  It was so wonderful and I have been looking for some new good denim, so I was so excited when they had lots of pairs in my size.  WOOO HOOO!  I wore my new pair of black jeans today…..I love new clothes!

Fidelity Denim Warehouse

Anywhozzle (this is my new word lately – no idea where it came from!) Yesterday I was given this article out of Real Simple magazine on different foods harmful to your animals. We all know that our animals are our family and hold a special place with us, so we should all be aware of these foods which maybe healthy to you, but not the furry babies.

Here is the list from most (1) to least (8) dangerous foods that will make your pet’s sick.

Chocolate – I think we all know this.  When I first got Hudson and I brought him to work with me, one of my co-workers didn’t know that chocolate basically kills poopy dogs,  and well had been feeding him chocolate out of her hands.  I had my first “mom” freak out and called the vet right away!! Luckily he was ok…..so now no food at the office.

Chocolate stimulates the nervous system and the heart.  This is to be avoided by “all species” it says – does that mean ME?!  Especially dogs it states as they are most likely to eat dangerous quantities.

Grapes & Raisins – This damages the kidneys in both Dogs and Cats. Grapes and Raisins will increase their thirst, increase urination and cause lethargy and vomiting. I know lots of people who feed their dogs grapes!! Watch out…

Garlic & Onions– Ahhhh the good ol’ garlic – not good for me and not good for my pooch.  This damages the red blood cells and causes anemia in both Dogs and Cats.  You can tell if your animals got into the garlic, not only if their breath stinks, but also by different colored urine. Nice…..

Xylitol – This is found in Sugarless gum. I know my Spry gum is sweetened with this and I also know there must be a few lost pieces under the seat of my car!!  I better find them asap as Hudson rummages around under there.

Xylitol causes increased insulin in Dogs and this results in lower blood sugar levels. This can cause seizures in your poor pooch!

Alcoholic Bevy’s– Ok, some people might think this is common sense, but honestly I have a few friends that own dogs and cats and their pets love beer.  They will go around a party drinking up everyone’s bevy’s!  So you better watch your animals next time a house party is happening.  The alcohol can cause many health issues with your pets, including Difficulty breathing, tremors, coma, and seizures.

Raw yeast or Bread Dough – Don’t eat raw dough!  Didn’t you mom ever tell you that you will get worms if you eat raw dough!? Well for your pets they will experience abdomen issues, seizures, lack of breathing, just to name a few….

Macadamia Nuts– Aloha!!  Don’t let you poochies hit the macadamia nut tours with you next time in Hawaii. If they were to slip a few they would increase their body temps and cause tremors.

Avocados – I heart avocados!  But animals can not have these.  Especially birds!  Avocados cause so many health issues in dogs, birds, rodents you name it!

That’s it! Straight forward, remember this list when you are out and about or bring your animal into work with you as some people have no idea what your little buddy can or can not have.

This is what Hudson does when you bring him into the office…..begs!  Please NOTE this is not my sammie

Keeping up with the Food Topic– But this is for Humans now, I have been loving my quinoa for dinner!

It is so simple to make, and I throw a bunch of colorful veggies on it and voila a well rounded meal!   Quinoa is Super-Dooper Super food!

This super grain has more protein than than most cereal grains (22 grams per one cup!) and it is considered a  complete protein because it contains all eight of the essential amino acids we need for tissue development.

Quinoa is also super high in calcium, iron, magnesium, the list goes on!  Bottom line – eat quinoa.  Special tip for you all – soak your quinoa for at least 10 minutes in filtered water before cooking, you will benefit from the whole grain more

Until tomorrow my friends!

I am off to rent a movie!! 

Much Love

XXOO
Kris

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Vegan Past Dish and My View on Soy

Posted on 25. Nov, 2009 by kris.

Howdy Everyone!

I hope your Tuesday flew by like mine did?!  I have been up and about since 6 am and I am finally fed, face washed and my pj’s on!  On the way home Ryan and I stopped at the grocery store to replenish some of our essentials as I was flat out of apples!  Don’t you hate that when you realize on the way home you have NO APPLES?!   We eat a lot of apples a day between the two of us, so we picked up a couple bags of organic sweetness

After the wonderful shopping experience, we had dinner (Left over pasta – recipe below) and then hit the gym!  P90X kenpo style….I really do love this workout because there is a lot of variety.  I will be honest I am probably not good at kenpo karate, but it makes me smile, so that is all that matters.

Now I am sitting by my tree with the dog and my tea!  Perrrrfect.

This is dinner from last night and tonight – Pasta

Kris’ Garden Green Vegan Pasta:

1 package Brown Rice Pasta (I used whole grain brown rice spaghetti)
1 vegan boullion cube
2 cups water
2 zucchini’s
1 red onion
1 bell pepper
3 medium tomatoes
1 cup sun dried tomatoes (no sulpher or sodium)
2 tablespoons EVOO
2 cups frozen peas
3 cups spinach
1/2 cup fresh basil
Sea salt to taste

Boil Pasta and cook according to package
Heat olive oil over medium heat
Add boullion to water in separate sauce pan and bring to a boil
Add the onions and sun dried tomatoes to the olive oil and cook until onions are clear, Add the zucchini, pepper, tomatoes, and peas.  Stir around for a couple minutes.
Add the broth the the veggies and simmer until the pasta is done.
When the pasta is done add the fresh spinach and basil and stir into the veggies.

Add pasta to plates and top with the sauce!  YUMMM!

My Soy View

I have been speaking to a few people who have been asking me if I eat soy, and if I think it is a good choice of protein.  I do not eat it.  I am allergic to it, but even if I wasn’t I would not eat it.  I hope no one gets upset with me dissing the soy products!!  I always had issues with tofu and soy milk after I ate them, so  I always knew it wasn’t good for me.   At one of my appointments I heard that soy is really not good for women, I really started to research this.

Some people believe Soy products are a good source of protein,  and they may also believe that it protects you against cancer, heart disease and reduce menopause symptoms.

The research that has concluded that all soy products are healthy, are too far from accurate.

I have been told to stay clear away from Genetically modified soy at all costs! The GM soy are the worst for your body due to the pollutants they add to the soy.

If you are thinking - phew, I eat unfermented soy – think again.  Unfermented soy is a real issue….this includes tofu, soy milk, soy baby formula, soy protein powders and alternative meats (ex. Tofurkey!).  These are all made from hydrolysed soy powder.

What is wrong with this you ask?  “I thought Soy was a legume, so it is healthy”!?  Yes, soy belongs to the good ol’ bean family and most people would think this is great!  The thing is, soy has a large amount of phytic acid and phytic acid in large amounts can block us from essential minerals such as, calcium, copper, magnesium, iron and zinc in our intestinal tract.

I know, ’tis the season for Tofurkey to rear it’s head in all the vegetarian’s homes for the holidays, but before breaking that package open please see some of the areas that this type of soy does not benefit your bod!

Soy contributes to thyroid disorders, promotes kidney stones, it can weaken the immune system and contribute to food allergies and digestive intolerance!   I think I know that one

The area I found most scary about soy is that the phytoestrogens in soy actually mimic the effects of the female hormone, estrogen. They say drinking 2 glasses of soy milk a day for 1 month can alter a woman’s cycle.  wow.  Unfermented soy also contain high levels of aluminum which is a major toxin to the nervous system and our kidneys!  Why do health stores even carry these products?

Don’t get me wrong, you can benefit from soy, but it has to be fermented soy – such as organic miso, natural soy sauce, and organic tempeh. Fermented soy is good for your tummy as it benefits the friendly bacteria in the large intestine.

Remember, Fermented soy = Good
Unfermented Soy = BAD

Of course this is my own opinion and I have researched what I have on this over the years, and I know my body does not like soy, so I choose to stay away.

There are so many other healthy, clean ways to get protein when a vegetarian or vegan, just do some research and follow all the other lovely blogs out there that provide a wonderful variety of soy free foods.

That is my little 2 pennies

CONTEST!  Of course, I have to remind all of you beautiful people!!  You can enter the Holiday Cheer Dessert Contest here

And Dolls, I am on twitter – Follow me and I will follow you!

Does anyone else have soy issues?!?

XXOO
Kris

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Vegan Granola Bar Type of Day

Posted on 16. Nov, 2009 by kris.

Happy Sunday (or Monday Morn’ depending on when you read this.)

Sunday was a day of getting things done around here and I felt so good about it!  I was up early, out of the house early, groceries done early and this allowed us to have some time to cruz up to Cypress Mountain to see some snow!  Hudson loves the snow, so as soon as we reached the top he was out of the car with his lil’ jacket on and he was running around and digging away.  Unfortunately the snow was pretty wet so we got soaked rather quickly which made us leave sooner than we anticipated.  But it was a great time, I stopped at Bucks on the way to pick up a little red cup action and that’s all I need to be tickled pink on a Sunday

When we got home I decided to pull out the good old christmas tunes and blasted Charlie Brown christmas while baking and doing some work.  I have not decorated yet like I thought I might have this rainy Sunday, but Ryan has been way too busy today and we decorate together while drinking a christmas bevy (normally a christmas flavoured tea, or I whip up a homemade warm spicy cup of somethin’!).  So hopefully we can schedule our tree lighting ceremony on Friday!! 

I decided that I should make some granola bars for the week ahead and I couldn’t be bothered to find a recipe so I just threw things together and made some pretty yummy and healthy tasting bars.  These are perfect for in lunches, on the go snacks or even a healthy dessert ! 

Kris’ Granola Bars

2 cups oats
1 cup chopped Almonds (I did mine in the food processor so they were fine)
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 Chia Seeds (optional)
1/4 sea salt
2/3 cup Milled Flax Seeds
6 tbsp Almond Butter
4 tbsp Coconut Oil (I only use the Extra Virgin Coconut Oil)
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 cup Date Paste **see below for instructions (you can use Agave Nectar if you do not have dates)

Add some chocolate chips or other dried fruit pieces if you would like

Preheat the oven to 325

Mix the oats, almonds, coconut, salt and chia seeds in a bowl.

In a separate bowl combine the flax seeds, almond butter, coconut oil, vanilla and date paste and mix together by hand.

Once the wet mixture is fully mixed – add it to the dry bowl and mix well.  Add in your chocolate chips or other dried fruit if you are adding any. 

Spread out the mixture on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  (I greased my cookie sheet with a little bit of coconut oil) 

Place in the oven and bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until golden brown.

 I decided to make a quick icing of Cocoa, agave and coconut oil to drizzle on the tops of the bars once they cooled. 

Date Paste:

For this recipe – Soak 1 cup dates in warm water (just enough to cover the dates) for about 10 min

Drain some of the water and keep about 1/2 cup of the soaking water for the paste.

Add the dates to the Food Processor and add about 1/4 cup of the date water leaving the rest in case you need it.

Blend until smooth.  Add a bit more water if needed.

The Dry Ingredients

The Wet Ingredients

The Finished Product – TaDa!

After my bar baking I was on the phone on hold with telus for nearly 45 minutes.  For some reason my voice message disappeared after I purchased my new phone!?  Anyways, it is back now and waiting to be full   Dinner was very easy tonight - I just quickly put together Indian Dal with Mung Beans, but I jazzed it up with peas, carrots, and peppers.  It was very satisfying! 

I seem to do my blog crawl on Sunday nights where I go in and check out all my fave blogs!  There are so many I follow now, I get taken in for a few hours.  I am not at all complaining as I honestly love it and I love that there are so many wonderful people with the same passion!  I read an interesting post on Averie’s site explaining why she went vegan and mostly raw.  I had a very similar experience as she did and I have been asked by a few people how I got to where I am today with my diet, so I think a post explaining my adventure is in order!

Now my friends I am snuggling my pooch and getting ready to sit down to read my book. 

Who am I kidding?  I will most likely bake or play my Mario!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

What do you normally do on a Sunday night to unwind?

XXOO
Kris

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