Sunday, February 27, 2011

Sarah's Vegan Lentil Goulash

So this is a recipe I invented one evening that turned into a few months of dinners since it was high in protein but low in calories so I could eat as much as I wanted. For someone with hunger and portion control issues this was perfect.  For the story behind this recipe and my subsequent weight loss, read on past the recipe.

 I made this again last night after 9 years and it's still delicious. Tom loved it.

1 cup of dried Lentils, sorted, rinsed and drained
1 quart of water

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups of cubed Sweet Potatoes or sliced Carrots
1 package of frozen Brussel Sprouts halved, or 1 lb of green Cabbage chopped
1 quart of your favorite Spaghetti Sauce (add water to thin out) or diced tomatoes

Start by putting the Lentils and water on to cook in a 2 qt. sauce pan. Next saute the onion and carrots in the oil over medium high heat then add the brussel spouts and spaghetti sauce. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. When the Lentils are cooked (about 1 hour) add them to the vegetables. Eat as much as you want.

The entire pot has approximately 1,100.

I lost 30+ lbs. by eating an unintentional vegan diet of oatmeal w/soy milk and either raisins or chopped apples and cinnamon for breakfast, an apple w/almonds for a mid-day snack, hummus w/cucumbers, tomatoes and pita for a late day lunch, and as much of this goulash as I wanted in the evening. I'm sure my diet was more varied but this is what I can remember eating for about 3 months.

Prior to eating this way, in the throes of a depression (for various reasons) I had become addicted to Brie, which I previously hated and I now know is a food allergy (and still my favorite cheese). I had gained about 35 pounds the year before while in a bad relationship and a health condition known as Menorrhagia had returned after 5 years probably due to my weight gain and heavy consumption of hormonal dairy.

Rather than go to the doctor and be prescribed birth control for the third time I decided to figure out the cause and not treat the symptoms. So I stopped eating hormonal meat and dairy and lost weight and I've never had Menorrhagia since.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Chicken Sausage!!!

Tom and I have all of these chickens and we don't always want to eat them straight up. So I did some searching and found a few recipes for sausage spice mixtures and improved on them. In my recipes all the herbs and spices are dry, but you could use fresh just adjust the amounts appropriately, four times the amount fresh. When making spice mixtures I find it easiest to throw everything in a spice grinder and blitz. With the breakfast Sausage recipe this works very well, with the others it's a matter of preference. If you don't have a grinder, a mortar and pestle works, or the back of a spoon on a chopping block to crush seeds and spices.

Breakfast Chicken Sausage

For every pound (lb) of ground meat add:
1 tsp. ground Sage
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 T. Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp. crushed Red Pepper
pinch of cloves
1/4 c. of reserved chicken fat

Put all the spices in a food processor and blitz it fine and well mixed. Add fat and spices to ground meat and mix (I use the kitchen aid for this). Patty out freeze on cookie sheets lined (or not) with wax paper. Once frozen put them in a large storage bag for the freezer. You can take them out and cook them from frozen right in your skillet.

Hot Italian Sausage
For every pound (lb) of meat add:
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. each of black pepper, parsley, garlic powder, crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp. each of paprika, onion powder, basil, oregano, crushed anise seed

Favorite Sausage
For every pound (lb) of meat add:
1/2 Tbs. salt
4 tsp. Paprika
1/2 Tbs. Garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Fennel seed crushed
1 tsp. black Pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed red Pepper

Friday, February 11, 2011

Berry Good Yogurt Smoothie

I started making these the first time I followed an insulin resistance diet...The South Beach Diet. Originally created by Dr. Arthur Agatston for heart patients, it touts eating lean meats, legumes, nuts, low-fat dairy, non-starchy vegetables, and non-starchy fruits. This is basically the diet I'm following now except I eat any meat or dairy I want regardless of fat, and not really any fruit. Just this week I bought some frozen organic berries - after realizing the berries in my freezer from last summer tasted like freezer and plastic, boo. I use organic, plain, low-fat yogurt (although I'm going to have to stop buying kroger brand because I noticed how "thick" it was and it turns out it has added corn starch, among other things). This isn't the first time Kroger, even their Private Selection, has disappointed me with adding ingredients to a formerly great product. If I had my druthers it would be my own sheep or goat's milk yogurt. But until then my favorite brand is Seven Stars Farm.

1 cup plain, organic yogurt
1 cup frozen, organic fruit
5-10 drops of liquid stevia, or 1 packet of powdered (2 servings at most)
1 Tablespoon ground Flax seed (optional, tastes great when using frozen Mango)
Organic Milk, Juice, or Water if too thick to blend

Put all ingredients in a blender (I use the Magic Bullet), and pulse till smooth. Enjoy!