Green Split Pea Soup

Ok so doing this vegetarian thing again hasn't been as challenging as I thought it would be.....especially if I decide to cook.  It's also pretty cheap, because meat is expensive.  Another common "excuse" is "But where do I get my protien from?" There are vegetable protein sources and beans & legumes are one of them.  I love split pea soup, especially in the cold months.  Here is a vegetarian version I hope you will like.

 

Ingredients:

 

about 3 cups of water

 

vegetable boullion

 

1-1/2 cups of green split peas

 

diced or shreaded carrot

 

1 tablespoon of olive oil

 

garlic powder or diced garlic (to taste)

 

salt & pepper (to taste)

 

 

Directions:

Bring water to a boil.  Add boullion and seasonings and oil.  Then add the peas & carrots.

 

Simmer until peas start to breakdown and become mushy (but you should still see some whole peas).

 

Cook for about 30 minutes and you're done!

SMOOTHIE:  Morning Zinger

 

WAKIE WAKIE!

 

INGREDIENTS

 

MANGO (PEELED DICED)

 

ORANGE (PEELED DICED)

 

1/2 LEMON (PEELED DICED)

 

CARROT (PEELED DICED)

 

GINGER (PEELED DICED) - TO TASTE - THIS IS THE ZING!!!

 

ICE & WATER

 

Spicy recipe!  Wakes up the digestive system!

 

 

 

Sauted Okra

I personally am a BIG fan of okra.   I'll eat it raw, fried....anyway it comes. Typically, I don't like it boiled unless it's in stews, but I'll eat it that way too.  But this is one of my favorite ways.  Real simple and fast.

INGREDIENTS

Okra (tops chopped off and hole or cut in small slices)

1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

garlic powder or chopped garlic

salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Heat oil in a pan.

Add the okra & seasonings.

Saute until slightly browned.

EAT!

Yummy Banana Almond Chai Smoothie

For some reason I was craving chai tea this morning and I didn't have any.  But I remembered a recipe that I heard of for a Banana Chai Smoothie.  So I went online to check you tube to see how people were making them.  Most of them used Tazo Chai tea or a brewed bag chai tea.  I didn't have either of these at my disposal at the time - however, I did have a cabinet full of spices.  So I decided to make my own.  Here's my recipe:

INGREDIENTS

2 Bananas

Ice

Almond Milk (or the milk of your choice - about 1 cup)

A handful of Almonds (mine were dry roasted with no salt or seasonings - raw may be better)

Chai Blend (using what I had in cabinet)
      (None of this was measured, but I estimated quantities for you here)

• ground cinnamon  (about 1 tablespoon)
• ground allspice      (about 3 teaspoons)
• black pepper          (about 1 teaspoons)
• ground cardamom (about 1 tablespoon)

Maple Syrup, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Blend it all up and enjoy.  I think this is probably about 2 servings so don't go overboard!  :)

Beet Juice Anyone?

Hey guys!  I wanted to share this one because I really like this recipe.

I know, I know....I was a skeptic at first too, but I promise if you try it you'll like it.  Beets are sweet and such a treat!

Sweet Beet Juice


1 raw beet peeled & diced

1 raw carrot peeled & diced

1 mango (and/or 1 apple)

ice & water or optional for added sweetness choose apple, grape or orange juice, depending on your taste buds

Vegetable Chowder

INGREDIENTS

5 cups of water

6 medium sized potatoes (washed thoroughly and diced)

2 tablespoons of oil (I used vegetable)

1 onion diced

1/2 red bell pepper

4 cloves of garlic diced

2 celery stalks diced

1 bunch of parsley

3 carrots chopped and diced

2 ears of corn shucked

1 vegetable bouillon

chives (I used dried) to taste

dill (I used dried) to taste

1 crown of broccoli diced

6 mushroom buttons diced

salt & black pepper to taste

FLEXITARIAN OPTION (items below are optional - see directions on how to make this a "real vegetarian" meal)

2 tablespoons of oil

2 tablespoons of cornstarch or flour

1/2 cup of half & half or heavy cream

DIRECTIONS

1.            Start to boil the water in a large stock pot. Once water boils add the chopped carrots, bullion, dried herbs and parsley to the pot.

 

 

2.            In a large pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil and add diced potatoes.  Cover and cook until they start to become slightly translucent and slightly toasted.  When they are almost done, add the onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic.  Lightly sauté the ingredients together.  The aroma will be wonderful!

3.            Add the ingredients in the pan to the pot.  Let them cook down until the potatoes start to thicken the broth. 

4.            FLEXITARIAN OPTIONAL STEP -If you are a full out vegetarian leave this step out.  In the same pan (you want that aroma from before so don't wash the pan out!), heat two tablespoons of oil (some recipes use butter) on medium heat.  Add corn starch or flour.  Mix the starch into the oil and then add the milk.  Mix until smooth.  It will make a gravy. 

5.            Set it to the side and add the broccoli, mushrooms and salt and pepper to the stock pot to taste.  Once the last ingredient cook down, then add the "gravy" in the pan.

6.            Lastly, take about a third of the soup from the pot and put it in the blender for a few seconds to puree it.  This will make the texture smoother.  If you are a vegetarian, this will give your soup a smooth consistency that you may want for this chowder.  Crackers and toast go wonderfully with this soup!

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Going veg - again!

CONFESSION ROOM

Well,  I must admit....I've been away for awhile.  Various reasons but I won't provide you with any excuses......I like chicken.....along with all the other junk that I shouldn't eat.  Unfortunately, last year my physical activity decreased DRAMATICALLY.  Desk jobs suck but hey, someone's gotta do them.  A combination of poor eating and sitting on the computer has packed on over 20 lbs this year.  And it sucks.

Not only does the weight suck, but my clothes don't fit, my energy is lower, and I just don't feel good about me.

SOLUTION

Refocus on me and take care of me.

Plain and simple.  It's time to stop sending all of that energy to my family and job.  It's time for me to take care of me.


RECENT PROGRESS

Over the past month I've taken up hoop dance.  It's great and I'm so excited about my progress.  I was never able to hoop as a child or an adult.  But now I'm doing all kinds of tricks.  It's so much fun and it makes me feel alive.  Check out hooplovers.com to get you started if you are interested.  She has a great 30 day hoop camp that I'm working on.

I've also picked up yoga more often at home again.  I use myyogaonline.com and they have some great teachers and resources available.  There are a lot of online workouts you can look into depending on your interests. 

Both of these work for me because my window to work out is very slim.  I have to get it when I can and going to a gym after work isn't feasible.  I can hoop inside, outside, at the park - whereever!  I can take my computer or smart phone anywhere and do a yoga or meditation center at any time.

UPCOMING POSTS

This blog site was supposed to be dedicated to my 21-day detox journey a few years ago.  To stay with that theme and to prepare to do a detox at the beginning of the year, I will also be posting some of my new vegetarian recipes.  I want to ease myself into it and make it through the holidays.

New posts are on the way!