Celebrating a plant-based Easter (+Pineapple Carrot Cake recipe!)

My family and I don't often get a chance to eat together, so when holidays come up, we absolutely make time for an awesome feast, if we don't do anything else. Sunday was Orthodox Easter, and although we are not religious, my parents and I do LOVE to eat... so we did just that.

Traditionally, Serbians (like us) and other Orthodox people celebrate Easter with dying eggs using onion peels to colour the eggs, and flowers to create a pretty design on the egg. During Easter, we would grab an egg and crack it on top of another person's egg to see who's is stronger. 

As a kid, I ate a boatload of eggs during Easter! My dad and I are now plant-based, so my mom did make eggs, but she is the only one actually eating them. I know it's not very vegan of me to participate, and honestly I wouldn't have gone and dyed the eggs myself, but my mom still holds the tradition, so I cracked some eggs, and she ate them.

In the past, we would eat a ton of meat and very heavy dishes during any and all holidays. Easter was a time for lamb, musaka, a bunch of smoked meat, pita, and other traditional Serbian dishes (yup...very similar to Greek!). This year, my mom and dad gladly left it in my hands to handle the menu for Easter lunch.

Needless to say, I wanted to go for something much lighter and more refreshing this year. With warm weather coming at us full force, it was a perfect weekend to make some delicious raw recipes. Eating more raw foods in the warmer months is what your body craves and needs. I had gone to a farmer's market the day before, so I had tons of delicious local veggies to work with.

I had prepped a dehydrated raw pizza crust a couple days before, so I figured it was a perfect time to use it! I used a recipe in Doug McNish's book Eat Raw, Eat Well. It is totally amazing, by the way. A staple book in my kitchen! I came up with a raw tomato sauce myself a week before, and I totally wanted to throw some of my own recipes into the mix, so I topped the pizza with that. I put a cashew cheese (recipe from Doug's book) on top of the sauce, then added just some fresh basil and sprouts I had freshly sprouted in my kitchen. Simple, and DELICIOUS! A big hit with the fam as a main course.

As a side, I used as many greens as possible and made a giant salad. I added superfoods like chia seeds, dulse, and goji berries, as well as a few sunflower seeds. I topped it with a raw vinaigrette. The light salad was a great compliment to the rich and savoury pizza flavours.

After our raw meal (enjoyed with wine), we finished it off with a recipe I just came up with for a pineapple carrot cake. When I'm on the bus, out and about, whatever, I like to just jot recipe ideas down into my phone. I perfected how I wanted it, and went to work debuting it during Easter. I used the same recipe for a raw cashew coconut icing as I had for my cake at the Vegan Bake Off. It's an awesome icing for cookies, cakes, whatever! This cake turned out exactly how I'd wanted. It is vegan, of course, and wheat-free, but it is not gluten free. I used fresh spelt and kamut flour from the farmer's market, both whole grain, and I found my picky tummy was OK to digest the cake.

My family really enjoyed the meal. We all left feeling energized and light. We wanted to go out walking and enjoying the sunshine, not taking a nap as we usually do after a holiday feast. I think eating lighter raw foods as a holiday meal really has it's perks!

I wanted to share my recipe for the carrot cake. I guarantee you will love it. It's free of refined sugars, no artificial BS, just good, REAL ingredients. If you don't regularily use kamut or spelt flour, I suggest just getting the amount needed from a bulk food store. 

Happy eating!

Tropical Pineapple Carrot Cake

with Cashew Coconut Icing 

Ingredients

Cake:

-1 cup spelt flour
-1/2 kamut flour
-1 tsp each baking soda and baking powder
-1 tbsp pumpkin spice
-2 tbsp cinnamon
-1 tbsp fresh minced ginger (use 1/2 if using dried ginger)

-1.5 cups shredded carrots
-2/3 cup fresh pineapple, diced into very small pieces
-1/4 cup apple sauce, unsweetened
-3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
-3/4 cup almond milk
-2 tbsp Cocovie coconut jam (preferably pineapple flavour)
-1/2 cup crushed walnut pieces, or golden raisins, or a mix of both (optional)

Icing:
-1/2 cup cashews, soaked for at least two hours, or overnight, and rinsed
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-2 teaspoons lemon juice
-1/4 cup coconut flour
-1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
-1-2 tbsp coconut nectar (as sweet as you like it)

-1 cup of water, or as needed

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine carrot and pineapple in a large bowl. Use a potato masher or fork to mash, so the pineapple releases juices but some pineapple chunks remain. Add remaining wet ingredients and stir until well combined. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then slowly add to the carrot mixture and mix well. Add walnuts/raisins, if using, and stir just until evenly distributed.
3. Pour mixture into a loaf pan lightly greased with coconut oil. (To facilitate removing the cake from the pan later, you may use wax paper to put on the bottom of the pan.) Use a spoon to evenly flatten the batter in the pan.
4. Bake for 40 minutes.
5. Remove from oven, and let cool for at least 15 minutes. Flip the loaf pan carefully to put the cake on a plate. You can chill the cake overnight in the fridge, or just wait until it’s completely cool to add the icing on top. Mix all ingredients for icing besides water in a blender. Make sure the melted coconut oil is not very hot, to ensure it combines properly with the other ingredients. Feed water through the top of the blender while the motor runs, until a smooth consistency is achieved.
6. Pour icing evenly over cake and spread to cover top and sides. Serve immediately, or store in fridge for up to a few days for maximum freshness.

 

My "6 weeks no cheats"

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am not too keen on the concept of "cheat days". I truly believe that there's no reason to treat your body like a garbage disposal all day just because you can. However, a lovely blogger named Christina (check out her site! www.theathletarian.com), who I have grown very fond of following on Instagram, embarked on a personal goal of "6 weeks, no cheats". She has a mostly clean and plant based diet, but obviously some candy and not so clean treats make it in there sometimes, so she wanted to try 6 weeks of pure clean eating before going away on a trip.

I thought about it, and I actually got excited to try it out myself. I always make an effort to put the cleanest things I can in my body, don't get me wrong. But at times I was just having too much of a good thing. I suffer from stomach aches and digestive issues, and truthfully, I knew it was from poor food combining and excess sugars. Somehow I was throwing my intestinal flora out of wack. I would eat my dinner, and I'd constantly crave something sweet, so I would just have a teaspoon of honey here and there throughout the evening. I did this with peanut butter too at times. I have vowed not to be a calorie counter, so my main concern out of this was the tummy aches it gave me. And chewing gum made my aches awful! Once I got going with these things, I couldn't stop.

For my 6 weeks no cheats, I decided I'd give up gum, nuts, nut butters and honey. I also vowed to stay away from vegan desserts and alcohol, which I never drink anyway. This came at a perfect time, because I'm training for my second Tough Mudder! 6 weeks to the date, I began my journey.

I felt so awesome just from kicking that stupid gum. I hate gum, hate how it makes me feel, and hate what crap is in it. It makes me bloated and messes up my digestion. I always knew it was bad stuff, but once I get going, I can't seem to stop. It felt so good to take a break from honey, too. I adore honey, and I think it's an extremely beneficial health food, but it is too much sweetness for my tummy. Nuts and nut butters were a little harder to kick, because I eat them all the time! Nuts are hard to digest, and my tummy was happy to let them go for a while.

This brings me to the Total Health Show, which I volunteered at. I absolutely love health food shows. Great, vibrant people, amazing products, and samples galore! I knew I would be tempted to have some "cheat" stuff at the show, and food combining would be taking place undoubtedly. I am all for not beating yourself up. I did indulge, but I didn't overdo it and I didn't beat myself up. The pic above is me with my Cocovie ladies (the company I was volunteering for) and the pic underneath are some goodies I snagged!

Since I began, I have had a few nuts here and there and I put PB on my toast once. I was able to acknowledge that, and I moved on. I truly think I've found my happy place.

I have FOUR more weeks to date until Tough Mudder, as of today. I've really focused on training my upper body these days, and I'm feeling stronger and better. I've ditched my scale, I eat when I'm hungry, and I eat when and where I'm comfortable and relaxed. Whole foods and plant based is my philosophy, as always. But if life gives you Giddy Yoyo samples, and Daiya grilled cheese with it...you eat it!

My conclusion is that commitment and self discipline can be important, but sometimes we need to pick our battles when we beat ourselves up. I am feeling really good at the moment, and I'm going to continue to maintain my positive thoughts and see where my "no cheats" takes me!

I have been and will continue to chronicle my progress on my Instagram account, and post some recipes (including for the food pictured below) frequently! Check it out, y'all: missveggievibes

Happy (ch)eating! ;) Here's some food porn from the last little while:

Black Bean Burgers - Dinner's Nutritional Powerhouse!

We vegans can't seem to get enough of explaining how we manage to get protein in our diet, as well as the micros like calcium and iron. Just as an FYI, I did an assignment in school where I had to count what I ate in a day and compare with Canada's recommended daily amount. BAM, exceeded my recommended protein (for my weight and activity level) by a few grams!

Another myth: Calcium only found in dairy? Beg to differ. In fact, I'm a believer that the plant-based sources are more beneficial. Yes, there is calcium lurking in many plant based sources. Dark leafy greens (is there anything they DON'T do for us?), almonds, soy products and...BEANS!

 

Beans are a magical food which nature has blessed with a very high protein and fibre content, low number of calories and fat and a sweet amounts of iron and calcium to boot! Not only are they nutritional powerhouses, they are also a very affordable protein source. I like to buy my beans dry (organic dried beans are very affordable!), and cook a bunch at a time to have in the fridge for the next few days. I used them in salads, wraps, dips, sauces or burgers (just like the recipe ahead). Yes, soaking overnight and cooking them takes more time. But once you start learning to cook them once a week or so, you will fall in love, and leave the cans on the shelf where they belong. I'm kind of a can hater, to be honest. But I do occasionally grab a can of organic beans when in need. Eden Organic canned beans are BPA free.

Lately I've had massive craving for a veggie burger. I wanted to take a wack at making some myself, because everything made with love in your own kitchen is better than anything else. THEY TURNED OUT DELISH! Yay!

Not gonna lie, at first they were not holding together how I liked, so I tweaked my recipe here and there. I assure you, this end result is spectacular. High fibre, folks...you may wanna sit your butt at home after these.

I enjoyed mine on a toasted Ezekiel English muffin with baby spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, Dijon mustard and lots of Sriracha. Pickles cooled off the heat nicely.

Happy cookin'!

"Where Do You Get Your Protein?" Vegan Bean Burgers: 

-2 1/4 cups cooked beans (divided in half)

-1/4 cup tahini

-1 cup cooked brown rice 

-2 tbsp miso paste

-2 flax/chia eggs

-4 tbsp tamari 

-1 tbsp chili powder

-1 tsp cumin 

-2 tbsp nutritional yeast

-cayenne pepper to taste

-1/2 cup milled flax seeds

Mix half of beans and all remaining ingredients except milled flax in a food processor until well combined. Transfer to bowl, then add remaining beans and mash (potato masher works well), leaving some chunks. add flax and stir well, until mixture is thick and manageable. Wet your fingers and form into patties of desired size (I got 9 medium burgers out of this) with an equal thickness in each burger. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes, flipping them halfway. Grill on the BBQ or on a skillet for a few minutes per side before serving, if desired. Serve on your favourite GF or whole grain bun with all the fixings, on a bed of lettuce, or any way you desire!

Protein "bowls" to fuel your day!

I have been on a huge smoothie kick these days. They are nutrient dense, fast, delicious and very versatile. What more could you want? I’ve also been loving making them a little thicker so I can eat them with a spoon. I just feel very satiated after actually eating my meal/snack as opposed to drinking it down. And I love to add protein powder to make them a complete meal. So, I call ‘em my “protein bowls”.

Now, I’ve really been going wild with these. I start with either my Vega One chocolate (which is absolutely freaking out-of-this-world delicious) or my Sun Warrior vanilla flavour (the Warrior Blend), add a liquid base, and then combine with fruits, veggies and any other superfood additions. Here is a step-by-step of making the perfect “bowl”:

1.      Choose your flavour preference

-Chocolatey (think milkshake-style)

      -Fruity (very berry, anything?)

      -Creamy (like eating ice cream…)

      -Tropical (pina colada bowl, anyone?)

      -Refreshing and light (cool as a cucumber… in fact, great ingredient idea!)

      

2.      Start with a base

-Coconut water

-Coconut milk

-Nut milk (*homemade or store bought – almond, Brazil nut, etc)

-Chilled flavoured tea (brew concentrated tea the night before, and chill in the fridge. I like to use anything chocolatey from Teavana, and use about 2 teaspoons per cup!)

-Fresh juice

3.      Add your fave (vegan) protein powder!

Not always necessary, but it is quite nice! Not only does it add some sweetness and flavour, but your smoothie gets nice and thick

4.      Pair your fruits and veggies wisely

-Tropical fruits will mask pretty much the taste of any bitter green, in the right ratio (experiment with it, to taste)

-Beets and chocolate pair very well

-Cucumber and spinach are neutral enough to be refreshing with only a touch of sweetness needed

-Beware of too much sweet fruit! Sugar spike alert! Think about how many sweet fruits you’re adding

-Some veggies ain’t never meant for this kinda thing, y’all. If you find a recipe for a cabbage smoothie that tastes good, I want it

5.      Some extra superness

-Organic coconut flakes

-Raw honey

-Maca

-Goji berries

-Cinnamon

-Spirulina (careful now… only add about a teaspoon I would say, and get the tropical fruits in there!)

-Cacao nibs

5. My extra little tips…

-Frozen fruit or ice will make it cold and deliciously refreshing, like ice cream!

-You can start off by adding a little liquid, and feed more through the tube as needed to reach desired consistency

-Food processors are good if you want something a little chunkier, and blenders are good if you like it very homogenized and smooth

Finally, my fave recipes!

Green bowl:

-1 small avocado

-water from one coconut

-1/2 a frozen banana

-handful of spinach

Pie filling in a bowl:

-1/2 a gala apple

-1/2 a steamed sweet potato

-Vega One chocolate

-1 cup nut milk

-1 tsp pumpkin spice

-Cinnamon to taste

Pink heart:

-¾ cup frozen strawberries

-Sun Warrior vanilla

-1/2 to 1 cup Coconut milk

-1 tsp Ruth’s Chia Goodness

Coconutty delight:

-3/4 cup coconut mango mate tea (concentrated, chilled overnight)

-Vega One Chocolate

-1 tsp raw honey

-1/2 a frozen banana

-1/2 an avocado

-Cinnamon to taste

Cheat Days

I’m sure we’ve all heard the term “cheat day”. For some people who consider themselves health-oriented, this term simply means they give themselves a day of leeway from their regularly clean diet. I’ve been seeing photos galore on Instagram and Facebook of some people’s cheats. I have been thinking a lot about this term these days, and I’m not so sure I’m all for this concept. To me, “cheat day” implies that you eat food you don’t like every day, and your tasty food on the day you “cheat”.

There is no reason why “healthy” should be synonymous with “bland”, “unflavourful” or “unappealing”! Conversely, the food some view as the good stuff (enjoyed on cheat days) is what we would generally put in the junk category. Maybe I’m a freak of nature, but I adore my food every day and every meal, and rest assured it is not the junky kind.

And you know what? If you don’t love what you eat every day, you need to change that! This kind of diet is not a long term solution. Goals which are centred on lifestyle change versus dieting can be maintained for years to come. Separating something into the naughty category also tends to make us want it more, which will bite you in the (growing) butt.

Do I eat whatever I want with no restraint? Do I only crave salad greens and caffeine-free teas day in and day out? And do I go and eat food-like substances loaded with fake ingredients which come from a box which has a shelf life that will outlive me? The answer to all of the above is NO! Look, I adore dessert a whole freaking lot, but I really wouldn’t go and eat even an organic and raw vegan dessert every day. I also love coffee, but I’ve learned to limit that to once in a while, so it can serve me well when I need it. I believe the key is to always have food which serves you, but some serves you best when it’s enjoyed only occasionally.

So, it is my suggestion that the junky food people “cheat” with be transformed into something which is really not cheating at all! One of my favourite things to do is “healthify” junk-style faves. Some suggestions:

-Pizza lovers:

Use a brown rice tortilla and top with some tomato sauce, Daiya cheese and grilled veggies, and add anything else your heart desires! Bake at 375 for about 10 or 15 minutes.

-BLT babes:

Get some tempeh bacon strips, lots of fresh and organic greens, some Veganaise and toast your fave bread (or wrap in a tortilla)…voila. A cruelty-free BLT! Also great on a bed of lettuce.

-I’ll have (healthy) fries with that:

Cut up some sweet potatoes into fries. Toss with your equal parts organic olive oil and umeboshi vinegar, add some minced garlic, cayenne and fresh pepper, and bake for about 25-30 minutes at 375. Serve with your fave veggie burger. Yum.

-Vegan Chick-Un Parmesan

Buy some vegan chicken breasts, coat generously with tomato/pasta sauce, top with Daiya cheese (use more than one kind if you got it!) and sprinkle nutritional yeast, fresh pepper and minced garlic on top. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Serve on top of brown rice pasta with more sauce.

My First Visit with a Naturopath

Last time I wrote a post, I discussed my shifting focus in terms of my health from being obsessed with body image to being "obsessed" (or more accurately, "concerned") with my digestive (and overall) health. I wanted to give some updates on my visit with a naturopath. 

From the moment I went into the office, it felt completely different than a regular doctor's visit. The preliminary form I had to fill out took into account ALL aspects of my lifestyle, diet and overall health - a holistic approach. I was treated as a human with an interactive system, and not as a machine with just a few individual problems. 

When I met with the naturopath, we discussed every detail of my diet and lifestyle, my concerns and feeling, and touched on what my thoughts were about what may be the culprit. Immediately I was given recommendations on herbal supplements to take, and was told how my various smaller issues were related to each other. I was relieved.

I was also told to keep a week long food journal. It just happened to fall the week of Christmas...meaning I had a ton of vegan cookies, a little too much wine and way too much digestive upset. But I was also told to record after what meals my upsets were more prevalent, which has actually helped a lot. I was also told to continue and even increase my intenstinal flora supplements (I use Renew Life brand), wake up to a glass of lemon water and then drink dandelion tea first thing in the morning. I can honestly say this has all helped my stomach aches a ton, but being the bad girl I am, eating my "triggers" here and there will still cause the aches. 

I'm now working on eliminating wheat, dried fruit with sulphites (so, not organic), and of course chewing gum to prevent my tummy aches altogether. The only reason I had the first two at all was because if I was with my boyfriend, sometimes I didn't have much else to eat at his place, because he doesn't live in a vegan household. I pretty much could just have some bread with peanut butter, or some nuts and dried fruit as a snack.

I will be having an overall assesment of my body composition, and discuss my progress with the supplements next week. I will definitely keep posting about my experience. All in all, I absolutely recommend seeing a naturopath to everyone. You will be amazed at how much more attention and ultimately resolution your issues get.

Here is a link to the clinic I went to. If youre a full time student, you only pay 15 dollars per appointment! It will be with a forth year student, supervised by a registered naturopath.

http://www.rsnc.ca/

Happy digesting to all! And to all a good night.

My journey to digestive health

Look, I know it may sound weird to some people talking about digestive health publicly. But to me, it is not only normal, but very important! Crappy digestive health sucks - it causes fatigue, affects your sleep, it even affects my ability to exercise! I have been experiencing stomach pain like you can't imagine for months. Something is out of wack.

So, I have decided to keep a journal. My journal will help me to look back and maybe pinpoint when and why my problems occur the most. It is also an awesome idea for when I finally go find a naturopathic doctor to help me deal with these issues (I know, I know, I need to get on that).

I originally thought I'd just write down when and what I ate, but I have now decided to take a different approach. Here is my most recent entry. I wanted to share it with you.

Wednesday, December-12-12

I feel great today. I realized that when I listen to my (gut) instincts, I really do know what is best for me. As long as I’m reasonable, of course, with keeping up with my low sugars, more greens and gluten-free grains. I’ve decided that writing a journal of exactly when and what I eat is not realistic, because let’s face it – I have a crazy life. I’m not always home, and when I do come home after a day or two, the last thing I want to do is write all the crap I ate down. Realistic meets optimistic – the best way to reach goals.

I have decided that instead of listening to other schools of thought word for word, I am going to create my own. I know that macrobiotics is an awesome diet, but I love my fruit way too much to limit it to one piece a day. And I’m not down with wheat. Or fish… But, I can draw tons of inspiration from this diet. Veggies and rice for breakfast? I’m down. Sea veggies, ume vinegar, and tamari are my BFFs since I read about this diet. But I’m not gonna follow it to a tee, I’m not aiming for an A in macro class. I’m aiming for awesome digestive AND mental health. I also love the raw food diet concept – but my climate and lifestyle don’t permit a 100% raw food diet. I would miss my steamed sweet potato way too much anyway! And finally, I do love my drinks and nights out, but I always feel like crap after. Do I know I shouldn’t go out and get wasted? Obviously. Will it happen again? Yes! But all I can do is look into the future and do my best, love myself regardless of my foolishness, and detox the hell out of my body as best and realistically as I can after I screw up. This, my friends, is my realism meeting my optimism.

Most importantly, I’m not gonna listen to the haters. The biggest one being my own mind. I always, always put myself down for doing something “wrong”. Well, from NOW ON, wrong is non-existant. As soon as I put it that way, there is only feeling good and feeling bad. I aim to feel good, and won’t let the bad days or judgements define who I am. If people are scrutinizing what I eat or do, I don’t see how their opinion is helping me with my mental or digestive health. So like I said, I’m not a macro follower, raw foodist, or anything that can be defined. I am me, the girl who is still learning about her own needs and who doesn’t need to worry about what they should or shouldn’t be…they just exist as they are, and I gotta learn to deal with them as they come at me.

I know for a fact that there are a ton of people who suffer from similar digestive issues. I've read a crapload of books and articles on the subject, and I have made progress since beginning this research. Gluten = bad. Poor food combining = very bad. Eating too quickly = pain for hours. I know everyone is different, so what upsets me to no end for days (yes, sometimes days!) may literally be digested in hours by some people. All I can do is experiment with my diet and see what works for me. 

I have decided that my next step, in addition to avoiding my triggers, is to purchase intestinal flora which will help restore my gut's natural bacteria. Do these words sound wacky? Well, they're not much less wacky to me at this point, so I will keep you updated as soon as I try them and learn more.

After that, naturopath it is. Yes, it is not covered by OHIP, which is a pain in the broke student's ass. But health is the greatest wealth, so I would be a giant hypocrite if I didn't go get myself to one ASAP.

Happy digestion all, post soon on updates!