Yummy Plant Based/Vegan Snack

These seaweed snacks can be found at Whole Foods and they are delicious.  They are not very filling, but they are perfect for that salty craving.  There are a couple different brands available, but this one is my favorite. If you're a big fan of sushi, you'll probably love this snack.  If you are not a huge sushi lover, the taste and consistency might throw you off a little.  It has somewhat of a fishy taste...

Foul "Ful" Mudammas Recipe

I recently discovered "Foul Madammas" or "Ful Mudammas" at my favorite local Mediterranean/Greek restaurant ~ Mediterranean Deli in Chapel Hill.  They list out the ingredients so I created a recipe to try to duplicate this dish.  It's not exactly the same, but it's close.

Old MacDonald had a .... WHAT?

Up until recently, I lived in a super naive world. I don't think I ever thought twice about where my food really came from.  I'm technically a City girl, so I have no idea how a farm operates.  I had this vision of happy little cows grazing in a field until they grew old and were ready to be sent off to slaughter.  This idea must stem from the childhood "Old MacDonald" nursery rhyme or something.  The documentary, Food Inc. was a very enlightening film.  Did you know that on many of these farms a baby chick is ready for processing in just 49 days?  The chickens' breasts are so big that their legs can barely hold them up.  Something is very wrong with this picture.

Best Baba Ghanouj!

Thought I'd share this recipe I came across for Baba Ghanouj - so delicious!  It's perfect served with some pita chips....

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/eggplant_dip_baba_ghanouj/

Plant Based Pesto Pizza

After the pizza came out of the oven, I added the Cashew Creme to this pizza, from the Portobella Mushroom Pizza recipe - and it was fabulous!

12 Foods to Eat Organic

The latest list of foods with the highest pesticide residue includes some familiar fruits and vegetables, and some surprises.  Add these to your list of foods you purchase USDA Certified Organic:

1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Strawberries
4. Peaches
5. Spinach

Homegrown Tomato Plate

We enjoyed homegrown tomatoes with breakfast this morning.  These were the gold and pink varieties and they were so delicious!

This is one of our staple recipes that gets rave reviews and thumbs up from vegetarians and meat lovers alike!  I modified the recipe from a recipe I found on Gojee.  The heat of the chipotles and the sweet from the potatoes is a match made in heaven.  Delicious!

Chipotle Bean Bowl

Veggie Stuffed Tomato Recipe (Vegan)

So, tonight I experimented with a stuffed tomato recipe.  I got the idea from The Kind Life website.  I'm not a fabulous photographer but here's a glimpse of how they turned out.  They were pretty awesome!

Lunchtime Veggie Wrap

Here's our lunch for tomorrow - wheat wrap with hummus, carrots, sprouts, yellow squash, spinach, tomatoes and avocado!  Mmmmm..... 

Engine 2 Diet Lasagna = YUM

 

My backyard garden

Here are some shots of my veggie garden!  I'm pretty proud, I've grown everything this year completely organic with no chemical pesticides or fertilizers.  I used Bon-Neem Insecticidal Soap by Bonide when I spotted harmful pests and fertilized with Organic Gardentone by Espoma.

My Dusky Eggplant

Cherokee Purple Tomatoes

The turning point

I've never been a huge meat person, never really liked chicken, not a fan of ground beef or any ground meat for that matter - but I've always loved seafood of any kind.  About 2 years ago, we adopted a somewhat plant based diet, except we were still eating fish once or twice a week and eggs and dairy regularly.  After watching the Forks over Knives film, we decided to make an even more drastic change.  I highly recommend watching this film - I found it fascinating how people could quickly reverse their degenerative and life threatening diseases if they were willing to change what they put into their bodies.  If you haven't seen it, check it out - it's also available on Netflix! http://www.forksoverknives.com/

What exactly are we eating?

We were pretty disturbed by the answers we received when we started asking this question a couple months ago.  After being overwhelmed with some of the answers, we gave our diet a major overhaul.  I'm planning to use this blog to share interesting/troubling information about farming in our country, share delicious healthy recipes and pictures and updates from my very own vegetable garden.  Hope you enjoy!