PLANT-BASED : QUINOA

Quinoa (pronounced keen-waa) is a very versatile whole grain. It isn’t even really a grain as much as it is a seed. A little known fact about quinoa is that it is actually related to Swiss chard, spinach and beets! It is naturally gluten free and is a plant-based source of a complete protein which means it provides all nine essential amino acids.

Quinoa can come in three different varieties: white, red and black. Just one cup of quinoa contains 8 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber, 15% DV iron, 30% DV magnesium, 19% DV folate as well as heart healthy omega 3 fatty acids.

I like to use quinoa in place of rice AND oatmeal. Yes, I said oatmeal. I will have quinoa for breakfast quite often and I find it fills me up longer than just a bowl of oatmeal.

Quinoa can be prepared just like rice but will actually cook faster. For basic plain quinoa, I often take 1 cup of quinoa, 2 cups of water or broth and place in a pot and turn the pot on to high heat. When the water starts to bubble, I lower the heat to low, cover the pot and set my timer for 20 minutes. I find that 20 minutes is just right for me, but many have luck at 15 minutes.

I buy a large bag of Quinoa from Costco (ranges about $13 per bag) but a little goes a long way, trust me.

On Sundays, I will often make 1 cup of quinoa (which requires 2 cups of water) and cook as directed above. I then divide the cooked quinoa when done into four or five containers with about a half a cup of cooked quinoa in each. At this point you can store (covered) in the fridge, or cool and prep your breakfast for the week if you know what you like ahead of time (just leave off the nondairy milk). I like to put my plain quinoa in the fridge and then add ground flax seed, cinnamon, blueberries and almond milk and throw in the microwave to warm up each morning before work (or reheat at work).

I will also post two recipes for two meals using quinoa below.

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I challenge you to buy some quinoa this weekend and experiment. Quinoa is very much like rice in that it takes on the flavor of the food mixed with it or used to cook it (i.e. vegetable broth vs water).

Here are the two quinoa recipes for you to try:

Acorn Squash with Quinoa and Pistachios (recipe from With Style and Grace)

Pizza Quinoa Casserole (recipe from Peas and Thank You)

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

 

 

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GETTING MOTIVATED

Since my last big post,  I have been trying to get motivated to do a lot of things that I feel I put to the side during training. Since AR50, I’ve been spending more time with the girls, more time resting, hanging with friends and planning birthday parties for the Peanut and Squeaker.

I have also been contemplating this blog and my last big post about being Plant-Based. I am basically learning on the fly and finally diving into what this website can do or really, what I can do to this website.

What I have learned is that I cannot have a “blog” like format (i.e. multiple posts) on separate pages. So that Plant-Based page I was dreaming of, did not quite materialize as planned. Instead, I spent quite a bit of time “Categorizing” my posts into separate…well, categories. If you see on the right hand side of your screen, there are four categories listed: Trail Running, Plant-Based, Race Reports and Uncategorized.

So basically, I will have to continue posting on this page (Home) BUT if you recall a post that you read here that you’d like to go back to, or if you missed a few (hey, it happens I can’t expect everyone to subscribe – hint hint) then just click on the Plant-Based category and you’ll find what you are looking for (I hope anyway).

I am working on a few posts (in my head) that I need to sit down and pan out a bit. Time has been consumed lately with a certain little Peanut’s 7th birthday that is quickly approaching as well as an awesome get-away weekend with some old and new friends.

The Trailmomma family traveled to La Porte, California (population 26 – maybe on a good day) for a wonderful weekend where we “unplugged” so to speak and enjoyed good company and great food.

Stonegate planned and organized the whole thing and she did a fantastic job. She assigned me to a crew that consisted of 3 or 4 other families for our Saturday evening meal prep. I was in charge of the vegan/plant-based dish. I lugged my Instant Pot all the way to La Porte and it came through 100%. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a photo of my final meal, but it was pretty tasty and I used a new (to me) bean called a Pinquinto! I followed this recipe here modifying it a bit to my liking.
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The Saturday Night Meal Spread
The Saturday Night Meal Spread

Also, I have a Facebook page – www.facebook.com/trailmomma that mostly consists of plant-based nutrition posts or photos. So if you like that kind of thing, feel free to head on over there as I tend to post more frequently over there than I do here. 🙂

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Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

 

 

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POTATOES – GOOD OR BAD?

So I realized the other day, as I was maintaining my Plant-Based “page” on my internal work “Facebook but not Facebook” page that I am recreating the wheel here.

So I thought I might get a twofer done by reposting some of what I post on my work page here, until I can figure out the best way to manage this Plant-Based page. The WordPress “gods” won’t allow me to post “entries” like I do over on my trail running page, but it does allow me to post new pages – hence we have this Potato Page. :)

Recently, someone asked me to talk about “bad veggies,” for example, potatoes or corn and to dispel any myths that may be associated with these veggies.

So today, I’ll focus on the good old potato! It seems that the introduction of the Paleo diet all but destroyed the lovely potato’s healthy reputation. And they ARE healthy. Just look at its nutritional stats!

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Potatoes are low in calories, low in fat and low in sodium and sugar. They are high in potassium, Vitamin C, magnesium, Vitamin B-6 and our friend FIBER – we need more fiber in our lives!

Potatoes do not make you fat. I repeat, potatoes do not make you fat. What makes a potato “bad” is what you put ON the potato. Fried, sautéed or roasted in oil or perhaps topped with cheese, sour cream and butter and let’s not forget creamy mashed?! Yup, those are not the spuds I am talking about here. Those potatoes are a recipe for disaster (pun intended).
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I eat potatoes, whether it is sweet, russet, Yukon or red almost daily. It’s true, I do. I actually make a whole bag of potatoes in my pressure cooker and then store them in the fridge in a container. Potatoes are versatile and have quite a long shelf life. If I get home late I know that I have an already cooked potato in my fridge that I can top with broccoli, nutritional yeast or salsa and have a quick, easy and filling meal. I usually like add black beans too which really completes the meal. I often do this on a bed of spinach or kale to bump up the nutritional value.

Remember, potatoes are not the enemy. The important thing is that you vary what you eat. Change things up a bit but don’t avoid the almighty potato for fear of gaining weight. Just be mindful of what you top your spud with … you’d be surprise how filling a veggie loaded baked potato can really be!

Side note: for those with Diabetes, here is an interesting article pertaining to a vegan diet and diabetes. Potatoes and diabetes do not always “gel” but you can enjoy the occasional (healthy) spud if you are able to get your (Type 2) diabetes under control or quite possibly eliminated.

 

*I am not a doctor or nutritionist/dietician. Please do not mistake what I suggest as medical advice especially if you have a medical condition. 

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HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED?

I know I usually write about my super fun trail runs or some PTA function that has rubbed me the wrong way but tonight, as I was cleaning up from dinner and from some extra baking that I was able to fit in, I started thinking about this post.

I have been wanting to write something like this for a very long time but I guess I just never sat down and penned it out. Maybe I didn’t think I had the proper platform or audience but really, this blog is as much a hodgepodge of things as I am in real life so why not right?

Of course these are my own observations (as random as they are sometimes) so do what you want with it but for me, it seems pretty clear or perhaps CLEAN is the word I am looking for here?

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How many of you have a pan that looks like that one? In all honesty, that’s what I call my “meat pan.” While I have been plant-based for over 22 years now, 10 years ago I married a man that was not. Together we had children that were also not born and raised plant-based (in hind-sight, yes I would do it all differently).

That baking sheet above has cooked all the “meat” that has ever entered my home. I have a frying pan that I call my “meat pan” as well. I will not eat anything that has touched that pan or cookie sheet. Not only for the meat factor but also the gluten factor. Still, every time I look at it, I get a little more grossed out. Trust me, I have cleaned, scrubbed and soaked this pan numerous times. It just never seems to get clean enough. It has this film over it that never ever goes away.

Fast forward a few years and Vans is now plant-based and the Peanut and Squeaker, while in this house, are also plant-based (minus cheese – we’re working on it – baby steps). I haven’t touched these pans in a very long time (unless it is something that contains a lot of gluten that I don’t want contaminating my other pans).

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That is the pan I use all the time NOW. Notice the difference? I’ve probably used that pan over one hundred times.

Yes, I use parchment paper or silicon sheets when I bake things like cookies for my trail runs or for the girls.

Engine 2 Cookies!
Engine 2 Cookies!

Yet, the one thing that I have noticed in both my baking sheets AND my frying pans (I have meat free frying pans as well) is that EVERYTHING and I mean everything is SO much easier to clean. No residue. No stickiness. No dark patches where fat or grease has seared to the pan.

What exactly IS grease? Has anyone ever looked it up online?

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Hmmm, oily or fatty matter? Does that sound appealing? Would you want to eat a nice plate of oily or fatty matter each night for dinner?
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Now, let’s take this image just one step further shall we? Imagine, just for a moment that the first pan I showed you … here, let me show you again …

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… now imagine THAT is your heart, your intestines, your stomach! To be honest, that is probably not a far off image from what it probably DOES look like inside your body IF you do eat meat, oil and other greasy things.

Have you ever cooked dinner and then had to soak your pot or pan just to try and remove the grease and sludge that was left behind? What about brillo pads!? Maybe you’ve scrubbed with those for a few minutes trying to get back that new pan glow? Guess what? I don’t even own a brillo pad. Do you know why? Because my pots and pans look like this.

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When you cook plant-based and OIL free (key word being oil free) you don’t have to scrub. ANYTHING. I never have to let anything soak a few minutes to let something “unstick” so that it can be clean.

Think about it. Do you let your stomach soak? Your intestines? No. Typically you follow your meal with a dessert or perhaps another snack later? That oily greasy film is building. It is building in your arteries and destroying your endothelium cells. That means it is slowly clogging and forming plaque bit by bit. Greasy food by greasy food.

For me it is simple. That imagery of my super easy to clean pan verses one that is sticky, oily and turning black? Just translate that to what is inside your body. Sure you can cover up that pan with tin foil as many people do but that’s the same as taking statins when you have high blood pressure or cholesterol medication when you have high cholesterol. You are just masking the problem. Not fixing it.

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Food doesn’t have to be cooked in oil. When I make a “stir-fry” I use vegetable broth or water. I bake using parchment paper or silicon baking mats. You do not have to cook with oil to make your meals taste good. I don’t. While I haven’t always been this way, I have slowly learned and educated myself more and more. Oil is pure fat. There is zero nutritional value to oil, any oil, what so ever.

Honestly, the proof is in the pudding, or should I say pan? Do me a favor, take a look at your pots and pans. Is there a greasy sticky oily residue on them or are they super hard to clean? Chances are, that’s what your heart will look like too some day.

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

 

 

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NOW WHAT?

My Certificate
My Certificate

It’s official! I finished my six month online plant-based cooking course with Rouxbe. The ending was some what bitter sweet for me. When I started this course last August, I really didn’t know exactly what to expect. I’ve been plant-based for over 20 years so what more could I possibly learn throughout this course?

Well, as I came to realize (about mid-way through the course), is that this program was very much geared towards ME becoming a professional CHEF! Ya I know, the course title alone (Plant-Based Professional Certification Course) should have been a major clue but I was curious and of course I can’t forget that generous offer by Joe Girard, the CEO of Rouxbe too. Read about that here.

I would be lying if I said I did not struggle some during my certification. For me, the hardest and biggest obstacle of all was time. Finding the time. Making the time. Having the time. It was difficult and I was often challenged quite a bit by either throwing things together at the last minute or not really focusing well on my assignments.

I admit that I did not do quite a few of the practice dishes that I was supposed to do before each unit exam. It was not that I was challenged by the course content so much, it was 100% the lack of quality time for me to devote fully to the course. That doesn’t mean I didn’t love it and that I didn’t learn anything. I definitely picked up quite a few tips and tricks along the way. I also came to realize that presentation is huge when presenting a meal (just maybe not so much at home).

With all that said and done, I would recommend this course to anyone. It doesn’t have to just be for the chef in that restaurant who is curious about expanding their menu more with plant-based meals (although I truly hope restaurants and chefs consider this program for that reason alone). No, this program could benefit stay-at-home moms who do want to learn how to cook plant-based meals for their family, or for someone who is retired and wants to better their health or who just may like to cook or perhaps someone who has a part-time job and is just not entirely sure where their life is headed.

I truly think Rouxbe’s program could benefit someone who is very curious about plant-based living and who does not know where to even start. The support and content within the program is great and they will help and guide you. Those who work in hospitals or nursing homes, should be required to take this course just to expand and broaden their knowledge and to SEE how food does impact your overall health and well being.

So, I am happy that I signed up for the program. I am proud that I finished. I am proof that you can never know too much about one thing. 20 years of eating plants and I am proud to say that I have a certificate from Rouxbe and a certificate from T. Collin Campell’s eCornell plant-based nutrition program.

I am very passionate about plant-based living (just ask anyone who knows me). I do not shove my knowledge in your face and I never judge what is on your plate, but if you ask me for advice, I will give it to you 100%. My passion for nutrition and beliefs fall in line with those of T. Collin Campbell, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Rip Esselstyn and the Engine2 group. I am a strong believer that food is fuel and that food can heal.

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Which is why when my mother-in-law and father-in-law came down with some medical issues recently, I jumped at the chance to make them a few meals for the week to help them get by. It was super easy too because one of my presents to myself upon completing the Rouxbe course was an Instant Pot.

Chickpeas, homemade veggie broth and oat bran.
Chickpeas, homemade veggie broth and oat bran.

Yes, I just learned how to make these elaborate meals and garnishes through Rouxbe and what do I do? I buy a pressure cooker/steamer/crockpot where I basically can make one pot meals super fast. 🙂 The Instant Pot ROCKS. I have to say. It has transformed my life.

Red Lentil Chili
Red Lentil Chili

In less than 30 minutes (usually) I have been making all kinds of beans from scratch, not from a can. I have been using all kinds of new veggies and throwing the scraps into a baggy so that I can make my own veggie broth (in 5 minutes I might add). I have made broth before but the process was always so time consuming. Not anymore. I love my Instant Pot (or instapot as I call it).

It is fabulous and I really enjoy making these meals for people to consume. So with my new certification, I may not become a chef in a restaurant but I have become the plant-based doctor of our family so to speak. 🙂 Although I am still working on getting my girls to eat new things. Baby steps.

So now that Rouxbe is over and my instapot is creating more time for me, what exactly am I doing with all this “free” time? All kinds of things! In my first full week done with Rouxbe, I enjoyed some quality time with my family.

We hit the skate park with some friends.
We hit the skate park.

I went on a beautiful run through the fog in Auburn.
I went on a beautiful run through the fog in Auburn with friends.

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Watched my girls so Vans could ride and take these awesome photos.
Watched my girls so Vans could ride with the guys and take these awesome photos.

And of course I continued to cook some amazing meals (our fridge is looking a little crazy at the moment).

Curried Cauliflower and Carrots
Curried Cauliflower and Carrots
Peanut Butter Banana Cookies (for my runs - and well every minute in-between)
Peanut Butter Banana Cookies (for my long runs – and well every minute in-between)

Life has been good. I know it won’t be long before I get some kind itch to try something new or take on another adventure but for now, I am content to just enjoy my family, continue to experiment with plant-based dishes and of course run. Speaking of running, my training has been going really well. I feel strong when I am out there on the trails each weekend. Weekdays I may drag but once I step foot on the dusty trail, I explode with energy and excitement. I am looking forward to my 50k in February.

And of course coming home to these two beauties and not having to complete an assignment or take a test is just icing on the (plant-based) cake. 🙂

Peanut & Squeaker
Peanut & Squeaker

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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