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Archive for the ‘Body’ Category

For those of you who love soul food you can still eat great soul food dishes without animal products. Upon first starting my journey I did not know there were this many delicious options with vegan meals, until I came upon a local restaurant while living in Tallahassee called Soul Vegetarian Restaurant. I fell in love with this place, because the food was delicious and free of animal products. This restaurant opened up my eyes to all of the different ways vegan food can be prepared and it has truly inspired me. When I first tried their food I was not fully Vegetarian, but shortly after I was.

Soul Vegetarian has a chain of restaurants located in Tallahassee, FL, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, CA, Atlanta, GA, and Chicago, IL. The food is delicious and non-vegetarians eat at this restaurant as well so that says a lot about it.

Today I chose to make Greens, Fried Tofu, and Macaroni with homemade cheese sauce.

Battered Tofu

Ingredients:

1 block of firm or extra firm tofu
Corn Meal
Peanut Oil
Flour
Seasonings of your choice

1. Squeeze water out of the tofu until completely dry.
2. Cut up into squares or rectangles
3. If you would really like the texture to be chewy like meat then place tofu on an oiled cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes.
4. Remove when tofu is slightly brown.
5. Season cornmeal for flavor of your choice.
6. Dip tofu into seasoned corn meal.
7. Saute’ tofu in the skillet on medium heat.
8. Cook each side for about 1 minute or until brown.
9. Once the tofu is cooked remove and let cool.
10. You can add barbecue sauce or a marinade of your choice to add more flavor.

Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

See Video post on How to Make Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

This recipe is a personal favorite, but after I became Vegan I did not know how to prepare them to taste good, because I was raised with greens that had some type of meat added to them for the flavor.

When I discovered this recipe I was ecstatic. It’s simple and contains no animal products.

Ingredients:

Bunch of Greens (Collards or Mustards)
White Onion
Garlic
Sea Salt
Olive Oil

1. Wash all of the dirt off of the greens. You may need to wash them a few times just to make sure they are clean
2. Cut up a white onion.
3. Put a little bit of water in a pot and place on the stove on medium heat. You do not need to put much water in the pot, because the greens will naturally cook down and create their own water.
4. Begin to add the greens and layer the onions in between the greens.

5. Place lid on the pot and let cook down. This usually takes a few hours.
6. Make sure to check on them occasionally to make sure the water has not evaporated and stir.
7. When they are cooked down add garlic for more flavor to taste.
8. Once the greens are done they will be soft and flavorful. You can add Sea Salt if you choose and a teaspoon of olive oil.

Enjoy!!!

From a young age I can recall struggling with my weight and feeling like I was never small enough. As a result I always used fad diets to quickly shed the pounds off. I’ve been on various fasts, the grape fruit diet, the low carb diet, the one meal a day diet, the cabbage soup diet, you name it and I have probably tried it. While they all provided me with instant gratification, they did not give me lasting results. I would then revisit the unhealthy eating habits and consequently would re-gain the weight. Year after year I repeated these unhealthy habits until I finally experienced an awakening that changed my life.

There was a time in my life when I had fallen ill and was forced to take prednisone (steroids) to reduce the inflammation in my body that the illness had caused. One of the side effects of prednisone was weight gain from water retention in the body. My health improved, but I was faced with a new issue; Within a short period of time I gained 40 pounds. I thought that I would get rid of the weight with one of the lose weight quick fad diets that I used in the past, but I was wrong. I tried different methods to lose weight, however with this massive weight gain none of them worked. This was the heaviest I had weighed in my entire life. I could not fit into any of my clothes, my ankles were swollen, and it was painful to walk. I felt self conscious and uncomfortable in my own skin. I did not want to leave the house from a fear of being judged, because I did not look the way that people were used to seeing me.

I fell into a deep depression and gained an additional 10 pounds, which brought me to a 50 pound weight gain. I made a commitment every week to “start my diet” but I would quickly get side tracked and cheat only to promise myself that I would start over again on Monday. Well needless to say months passed and still no progress. I eventually gave up and felt that I would never lose the weight. I did not have any new clothing, because I thought that I would quickly lose the weight and fit right back into my old clothing, but that did not happen.

The self defeating thoughts only lasted for a diminutive amount of time, because I was determined to lose the weight. With all of the free time I had sitting at home I conducted a great deal of research and gained a tremendous amount of knowledge on diet programs and tips. At the time a large number of people were reporting positive weight loss results from going on low carb diets. They reported that this regimen worked as long as you adhered to it exactly the way it was designed. So I decided to try it; after all I had nothing to lose but weight. I lost 15 pounds on the low carb diet. The problem was once I decided to stray from the strict regimen the weight instantly returned; I did not want to live like this; therefore I knew I needed another option.

While researching one day I discovered a weight loss program that seemed very simple to follow based on reviews. I learned that this was a sensible diet program that did not force you to starve or deprive yourself of different foods and it taught you how to make healthier food choices. I decided to try it and the rest was history. The weight melted off. I was able to lose all of the weight that I had gained which was 40 pounds and have kept it off by using a more sensible eating approach.

I am still in awe of my weight loss results. I have been able to maintain my weight loss and surprisingly I have lost more weight, because I’ve grown accustomed to making healthier food choices. Today I love my body and no longer feel the need to be on any type of diet.

For any of you who are struggling with losing weight or feel helpless I am empathetic to how you feel, because I have been in your shoes. I believe things happen for a reason and I am so excited to share my knowledge with anyone wanting to lose weight; whether it is 5 pounds or 50 pounds. Trust me you can achieve it if you set your mind to it, are tenacious on your journey, and build strength to give up unhealthy foods. The power is within YOU!!!

If you have any additional questions about My Weight Loss Journey please don’t hesitate to contact me as I would be delighted to speak with you.

When you are attempting to eat healthier; it is always easier to carry around snacks with you just in case you get hungry; this way u wont be tempted to indulge in unhealthy eating, some snack examples are.

PEANUT BUTTER on WHOLE WHEAT CRACKERS, APPLE SLICES, or WHOLE WHEAT BREAD-

If you are allergic to peanut butter; there are various types of nut butters that you can purchase; soy butter and almond butter just to name a few. I have purchased these from stores such as Wal-mart and Publix.

CEREAL-

You can place your favorite whole grain/wheat cereal in a small sandwich bag, and snack on it throughout the day, or eat it with some Almond Milk and fruit.

FRUITS AND VEGGIES-

You can never go wrong with fruits and veggies. Gather up your favorite fruits and veggies, place them in a to go bag or container, and you are all set. You can also juice them and drink your snack; just make sure to keep cold or drink it immediately.

VEGAN GRILLED CHEESE-

To make vegan grilled cheese you will need whole wheat bread and a dairy substitute for cheese. There are various types of cheese that you can experiment with at your local health food store. Select vegan cheese are also sold at Wal-mart and Publix grocery stores. Pictured below are a few that I have tried and I would have to say my favorite is Daiya cheese, because it tastes great and melts just like dairy cheese.

HUMMUS DIP-

Hummus Dip can be purchased or make your own homemade hummus; if store bought just make sure it does not contain dairy because some do. There are various ways you can eat hummus: it can be placed on crackers of your choice, pita bread, or in a tortilla shell with additional veggies. It can also be used as a dip for tortilla chips. It can be eaten by itself as well the choice is yours.

NUTS AND SEEDS-

Carry nuts, sunflower seeds or both in a bag and snack when you feel hungry.

These are just a few snack ideas to keep you going on your journey. If you have any additional suggestions, questions, comments, or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me.

Ingredients:

½ block of firm tofu
Veggies of your choice
Seasoning Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
1-2 tbsp peanut oil
1 1/2 cups long Grain brown rice
Lawry’s Teriyaki sauce
Crushed Red Pepper to taste

1. Drain Tofu; Cut up tofu and poke holes; pour Lawry’s Teriyaki Sauce and let marinate for an hour.
2. Cut up veggies of your choice, and season them with garlic powder, pepper, and seasoning salt.
3. Boil 2 ½ cups of water and add 1 ½ cups of rice
4. Heat wok or skillet to medium/high heat and add oil. Once the oil is heated slowly add cut up seasoned veggies of your choice.

5. Cook veggies until tender, then add tofu. Add more teriyaki sauce and seasoning to taste.

6. Cook for about 20 minutes to blend the flavors

7. Finally, add rice slowly until mixed well. If needed add more teriyaki sauce.

8. If you enjoy spicy food add crushed red pepper to taste
9. Let Cool and enjoy

Serves about 4-6 people