We did it! 30 Days strictly vegan! We ended the challenge right with a delicious Carrot and Quinoa Soup made with some of the beautiful fresh and organic produce I received from Farm Fresh to You! Have I not told you about Farm Fresh? Well let me get started…

A patient recently referred us to the company and I thought I’d try it out. The farm is located in the Imperial Valley, privately owned and completely organic. I received my first delivery this Tuesday morning. 8:30am and it was already waiting for me outside my front door. How exciting to wake up to a box of fresh fruits and vegetables. I love delivery!

What I like most about this CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) that differs from others is there is no commitment. I can cancel up to 48 hours in advance to a delivery and suspend a week if I’m going out of town. I can also choose to order weekly, biweekly, and even choose which produce I don’t want to receive. This prevents us from wasting foods we might not like.

The price is very reasonable and look at all the great produce we got!

So tonight I made one of the recipes included with my veggie box. (Isn’t that cool? It comes with recipes!) It called for the carrots, and carrot tops, and onion included in the box. I added some of the FarmFresh basil and the rest of the ingredients I picked up at Trader Joe’s on my way home from work.

Here’s the recipe for those who’d like to partake in it’s nutritional goodness! It’s a simple but hearty recipe…vegan, gluten-free, low on the glycemic index, basically good for everyone, unless you hate carrots. But who hates carrots?

Carrot and Quinoa Soup

• one bunch carrots and carrot tops (chopped)
• one onion (chopped)
• 4 garlic cloves (chopped)
• 4 cups veggie stock (plus extra if needed)
• 1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed (I used red – but it doesn’t matter)
• salt and pepper to taste
• red pepper flakes (if you like it spicy)
• herbs of your liking (I used basil and parsley)

Saute onions, garlic and red pepper flakes over medium heat. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until carrots are tender. That’s it!  Simple, tasty, and good for you. Enjoy!

Oh by the way. If you live in California and are interested in signing up with Farm Fresh to You, contact me and I’ll send you a code that will save you $5 off your first purchase!

Happy Days!

Still going strong with the Vegan Challenge. We’ve been eating lots of beans and vegetables. My anti-oxidant levels should be through the roof. I feel good. No need for meat yet, though The All-Star explained to me this morning that eating meat makes him happy. I do believe that happiness is an important part of wellness, so we’ll let him have his hamburger on Day 31.

We finally took a trip to the Long Beach South East Farmer’s Market last Sunday. For $25 we scored a bunch of really delicious organic and locally grown fruits and vegetables. I bought some really inexpensive swiss chard that we still have plenty of. The strawberries were incredible, though must be eaten quickly as they are not long lasting.

Here’s a few pics of our awesome finds!

Amazing smelling basil – which I didn’t but buy will this Sunday- I sense vegan pesto on the menu for Monday!

The All-Star loves his cauliflower!

Crazy hybrid potatoes. The farmer said, “I’m the only one who’s got em.”  Lol, crazy farmer.

Nothing beats an Orange County strawberry!

Baby bok choy, the last of it for this season – can you it was starting to bloom?

The full bounty

Twice as much organic Swiss chard for half the store price!

Lots of delicious veggie dishes this week, and one big baking success. I made another really awesome ragout. It was super fast and easy to make. It was just a large can of diced tomatoes, onion, sherry and assorted dried herbs. So simple and so good. I also added some chard ribs which I worried would make it bitter but did no such thing. I’m really excited about this ragout. The best part is that it doesn’t take hours to simmer like my Sunday Sauce does. I wish I had some pictures for you. You’ll just have to create your own visual.

More zucchini from the Hernandez garden was turned into a fabulous zucchini bread creation.  I found the recipe on Hell Yeah it’s Vegan and tailored it to fit the diets of everyone at the office. Bob’s Redmill Organic Rice Flour to make it gluten-free and Ener-G Egg Replacer for those of us challenging to be vegan. There’s also a very similar carrot cake recipe that I’m dying to try. I just have to figure out how to make the icing. I’m leaning towards coconut cream.

The recipe on the website calls for vegan cream cheese which is soy based. Most vegans use a lot soy. Soy milk, vegan cream cheese, tofu are common replacements for their non-vegan counterparts. We’ve been using organic soy milk in our morning coffee but I’m starting to think this isn’t a good route for the Cultivate Your Wellness household. We’ve both had an headache for a few days and neither of us ever get headaches. My digestive system is definitely off, and he’s felt bloated since Sunday. I’m blaming our symptoms on a possible sensitivity to soy. Once the carton is done, we’ll switch to rice milk and see how we feel.

Food sensitivities seem to be on the rise in this county. I blame processed foods and poor diets but regardless of where you place the blame, modifying your diet is necessary so as to not reap preventable havoc on your health. If you have unexplained symptoms you may want to consider food sensitivities to be the culprit.  Trying an Allergy Avoidance Diet can give you insight into what types of foods you make need to omit. Gluten is a big one, as is soy. But it could be dairy, or corn, or even yeast. The only way to know for sure is to remove a food from your diet and monitor your symptoms. For more information on food sensitivities visit the World’s Healthiest Foods website.

While giving a look around the internet for some healthy starch choices, I happened upon the website for the Whole Grains Council. Man, there’s a council for everything.  Anyway. The folks over at WGC have come up with the “grain of the month” and for March it’s quinoa.  Clap clap clap.  Congratulations to the mother of all grains! (That’s what the ancient Incas called it.)

I also learned that 1/2  a pound of quinoa seeds is enough to plant a whole acre which can yield 1200-2000 pounds of new seed. The United Nations calls it the super-crop because it’s drought resistant and can grow in poor soils.  AND the seeds have a bitter flavor coating which acts as a natural pesticide. Nice!

Nutrition wise, it’s my grain of choice.  High in potassium, fiber and gluten-free, it can be served as a side, an addition to soups, stews and salads, and its flour can be used to make many a baked good!

Not sold yet? Studies have suggested that quinoa is useful in preventing and managing Type 2 diabetes. Most likely because it serves as a healthy alternative to starches with a high glycemic index. But also because it has high levels of quercetin, an anti-oxidant that also acts as an anti-inflammatory and an anti-histamine. Studies are examining quercetin’s ability to prevent cancer.

To learn more about this “mother grain” visit the Grain of the Month page on The Whole Grain Council’s website.

They’ve got some good recipes there too. It’s super easy to cook and only takes 15 minutes! I use my rice-cooker. 1 part quinoa, 2 parts water is all you need. One cup of uncooked seeds yields 4 servings. Just make sure you rinse the seeds a couple of times before cooking. Remember that bitter coating I mentioned? You want to avoid bringing that flavor to your food.

Enjoy and be healthy!

I found this website that I really like: EatingWell.com. 

I think Eating Well started as a magazine but who needs paper when you’ve got all their delicious recipes and diet help right at your web-browsing fingertips.  I especially like their Diet, Nutrition and Health section where you can find descent information about food and your health as well as special recipes for those with specific diet needs, ie. gluten free, diabetes, low calorie, etc.  They also include nutritional facts, which is always good.  I’m certainly not saying this is the end all website of healthy cooking but like I say, “when in doubt, go home-made” and this is another great resource for adding healthy choices to your personal recipe collection. 

As always, use your discretion and make healthy diet choices that are best for you.  When in doubt, follow the advice of your doctor.