Smooth(ie) Review

Upon announcing my new vegetarian diet, my roommate immediately posted the link to a FABULOUS blog written by fellow NY-er and nutrition enthusiast, Michelle Davenport. Be still my healthy little heart- Within 30 seconds of viewing PrinceandLime.com, I knew the first recipe I had to try: the Body- Friendly Pumpkin Pie Smoothie.

Photo courtesy of PrinceandLime.com

The Simple Recipe: 

A few scoops of pumpkin pie filling

A few scoops of greek yogurt 

A pinch of pumpkin pie spice (I used nutmeg to spice it up.... literally.)

A splash of milk (I used non-fat soy milk but you can use any milk you prefer. Michelle prefers hemp milk- I might try that next time!)

Optionals: Green lettuce, spinach and/or kale (I went with spinach) and a little squeeze of honey.

Blend together until smooth and top with a dollop of greek yogurt and a sprinkle of nutmeg

I followed her recipe almost to a T and it was so tasty. Admittedly, mine did not come out quite as pretty as hers- in fact, mine was GREEN beuse I used *too much* spinach but it still tasted plenty pumpkin-y and I am making it again ... and again and again! Thanks, Michelle!

Just for laughs, here are two pictures of mine.... I swear they still tasted very good!

A Kick in the Mouth

Personally, I tend to associate corn with the sunnier, summer months of the year so perhaps it's due to the unseasonably warm winter we're experiencing up here in the City that I was inspired to try this super delicious- and equally easy to prepare- corn chowder. On those nights it does get a little chilly, this soup will warm you right up! Fair warning: It is on the spicy side!

                          Tangy Vegan Crockpot Corn Chowder

Gather your ingredients:

• 2 (12 ounce) cans whole kernel corn
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 3 potatoes, diced (I used two sweet potatoes and one baking potato)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 red chile peppers, minced (I accidentally put three in mine! Whew!)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon parsley flakes
• black pepper to taste
• 1 3/4 cups soy milk
• 1/4 cup margarine (I added one tablespoon of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!)
• 1 lime, juiced

Chop your veggies and throw all ingredients (except the milk and butter) into your crockpot. Set it on "Low" for 7 hours. Carry on with your busy life in the meantime. ;)

After seven hours, transfer your soup into a blender and allow it to pulsate into creamy goodness. Return the soup to the crockpot and add the milk and butter. Stir and allow to continue heating for another hour.

Eat up! I put together a spinach salad w/ baby tomatoes, mozzarella cheese shavings, and apple slices to accompany this hearty soup.

The recipe I followed comes from the AllRecipe website. I followed it for the most part but I decided to use a little less butter in my own soup. No wonder my soup was so SPICY- I also added an extra red chili pepper by accident! Stick with one or two to be safe. Let me know what you think!

Also, here are a few fun facts about corn: 

- The high amount of fiber present in corn helps lower cholesterol levels and also reduces the risk of colon cancer. 

- Corn, if consumed in moderate quantities, has been seen to be beneficial for those suffering from diabetes. 

- Those suffering from anemia have shown positive effects after consuming corn. (This factoid is music to my borderline anemic ears!)

- Owing to the presence of thiamin, corn has been said to help in the metabolism of carbohydrates.

- Regular consumption of corn, in moderate quantities, has been associated with better cardiovascular health. 

6 Weeks of NO MEAT

Hey, all! Well, this post is prettttttttty straight-forward. Like the title up there says: I'm going straight vegetarian for the next six weeks. Well, the next five weeks and two days actually because I started this diet five days ago.

I've decided to do this for a few reasons but what really spawned the idea was watching a documentary called Vegucated. (Thank you, iTunes, for delivering on a less than exciting night in!)  For six weeks, Writer/Director/Editor and food activist Marisa M. Wolfson followed three NY-ers in an experiment in Veganism. She introduced them to the philosophy behind it, opened their eyes to the atrocities that happen in far too many animal plants around the country, and taught them about the exponential number of options they have in eating a non-carnivorous diet.

Now, I have seen plenty of documentaries that focus on the same topic, or one closely related to it. In fact, I will be reviewing a couple of them over the next six weeks right here! So often, I am turned off by the "holier- than- thou" tone of the creators. They sometimes act as if it isn't true that the taste of a perfectly fried slice of bacon in the morning is not delicious- PUH-LEASE. At that point, they lose all credibility with this girl.

In Vegucated, Marisa is much more open- minded to the idea that people probably won't want to give up all meat and animal products immediately. She "gets" that most of us grew up around kitchen tables where meat was the main course and that was that. Our food "choices" are really habits we've cultured since we were old enough to give up the bottle and for most of us- no matter how horrific the undercover footage of sadistic abuses against animals can be or how unhealthy we KNOW all of the greasy meat we consume is for us- are not going to give it up easily. Instead, all Marisa asks is that each of us learn the facts and make informed decisions about what we eat. Will we get it right all of the time? Probably not. Will we do better if we're willing to open up our minds and eat consciously? Most likely.

So, predictably, here I am feeling inspired and embarking on a vegetarian diet. I decided baby steps was the name of the game and not to try veganism just yet- Never say never, though! Over the next five weeks and two days, I'll share some of the vegetarian recipes I test, give a shout out to the NYC restaurants and cafes with great vegetarian selections, and share my general experience.... the "good", the "bad", and the "ugly", if you will. Maybe you'll be inspired to do this with me? Maybe you're a badass and can go full vegan (please share if you do!) and maybe you'll eat meat just one less time/week than you normally would. The goal here isn't to be competitive but simply to pay attention to your food choices and know what you're eating. After all, as my cousin so eloquently put it in her guest post a couple weeks ago, "one day my body will be a prison" and right now, I plan to treat it well and enjoy it to the utmost of my ability!
                                                                    Wish me luck!

                                             (Honestly, five days in, it has been 95% easy to stick to this new habit!)