Stir fry and hot dogs!

Saturday, April 16

-This day was a big blur. Worked all the day at the market then just ate an insane amount of corn chips. Between the two types of samosas I had today and the Indian food (spinach dish and tomato dish) (3 servings)
-Not sure if corn chips can count for vegetable servings, but I ate a really awesome Organic type that has a lot of calcium, protein and fibre in it, and even though I ate a shitload of corn via these chips, I'm only gonna count it as (one serving)


Total: 4


Sunday


-Breakfast (at 1:30 pm or so) 2c. salad mix (2 servings) with 1/2 c. additional tomato and cucumber (1 serving)

At about 1 am I ate the contents of the above photo. I made the whole thing while I was on the phone, so it was kind of a blur. Cumin red vegetables (beets, carrots, corn,spinach), mashed potatoes with tamarind sauce, and chana masala (tomato). (5 servings)

Total: 8

Monday (apparently a snacky day): 

-leftovers from the night before (1/2c= 1 serving)
-tomato soup (2 servings)
-edamame (1 serving)
-cake (yes, cake! More on this later!=1/2 serving)
-sandwich with various vegetables (1 serving)

Total: 5.5 

Tuesday: 

-2 c. salad mix
-Thai Thing with 1.5 c. cabbage, carrots, parsnips, 1/4c. spinach/jalapeno (1/2 serving), 1/4 c. corn (1/2 serving)= 4
-baguette sandwich with 1/2c. kraut, tomato, lettuce, olive, cucumber (1 serving)


Total: 7


Wednesday


-baguette sandwich with 1/2 c. vegetables listed above (1 serving)

-Then we had a midnight stir fry and veggie dogs! I didn't even consider that this combination was a li'l wacky until Brucifer mentioned it, but I guess it kind of was! This stir fry was HUGE and had 5 cups. of vegetables! We split it, so we each ate 5 servings! I hadn't eaten all day (other than hot cross buns, anyway) and actually had more vegetables than what's pictured here. I was pretty full. Featured vegetables were a beautiful organic orange pepper, corn, sundried tomatoes, a mass amount of cabbage (to make up for the lack of green leafies), carrots. 


Total: 6 

Thursday 

-Earlier today we went to Heartwood and I slowly savoured one of my favourite dishes, a bean burger served with raw vegetable toppings and a  HUGE side of leafy green vegetables and cabbage. That big pile o' goodness netted me (3 servings) of kale, red cabbage, raw onion, lettuce, avo, tomato.

-Ugh. I kind of made a stupidly large stirfry and ate 6 delicious servings of vegetables-- red pepper, cabbage, mushrooms and garlic. I probably didn't need this many. 

 Total: 9 !!

The great nacho FACE-OFF!

Breakfast (at 3pm) today was a scramble with 5.5 servings of vegetables (spinach, mushrooms, peppers, garlic, tomatoes with toast. Yup, I was pretty full afterward. 


While at the grocery store I got a pretty dope idea for dinner that could incorporate a bunch of vegetables and still feel kind of like junk food if you want it to. The photo has probably given it away by now: NACHOS! 

Brucifer defnitely didn't protest, and it was clear we'd do our our own versions: his with ground beef, japalenos, sundried tomatoes and cheddar on a base of Spicy Nacho Doritos and mine on organic blue Que Pasa chips with green peppers, jalapenos, chopped tomatoes, spinach, kalamata olives, mushrooms, and daiya cheese. This meal allowed me to consume 3 servings (or 1.5 c) of delightful vegetables. 

Daily total: 8.5 servings of vegetables!

Which plate o' nachos would you rather eat? It's okay... I won't be offended if you pick Brucifer's. 

Full disclosure!

Before we get into the thick of me counting my vegetable servings every day, I'll show you a couple of things I ate in the days prior to my beginning the official count. These peppers look better than they tasted. For some reason the buckwheat cooked strangely and I felt awkward about eating it. It got starchy and I got eerily full. Didn't use a recipe here, but perhaps I should've.
 

Brucifer and I checked out Threeman's, our pet name for the new Freeman's location in Fairview. This is the Grilled Vegetable Salad. They have it at all locations. I got it with hummus rather than tzaziki. It's a huge salad that I can't finish. It packs in about 4.5 servings of vegetables (3 servings or 1.5 cups of cooked and 1.5 servings or 1.5 cups of raw leafies) and is served with tasty toasts. Big fan of this meal. 


MONDAY:

This was the best breakfast I've had in ages. A scramble with 2 servings (1 c.) of tomato, mushrooms, green pepper and 1 serving (1 c.) of tatsoi (green leafy spinach-tastealike/mini-collard- lookalike), 1 serving/1 c. of spicy salad mix, and some bonus kimchi. I ate this with sprouted grain toast with coconut butter, maple syrup and cinnamon. This is the best fucking breakfast I've had in ages. Same as the first sentence, but with swearing for lack of my being able to explain its awesomeness without it. 

Later I had a sandwich with 1/2 c. of cucumber and tomato (1 serving)

Then apparently I had another sandwich-salad combo with 1/2 c. cucumber, green pepper and kimchi and a salad of tatsoi (1 c) =2 servings in total for the meal

MONDAY's vegetable servings= 7 which meets the MINIMUM recommendation for adult Canadian women according to the Canada Food Guide. I was full all day. Almost too full. 7 servings is pushing it for me. I think I can eat a lot, but I'm still just a l'il girl. Vegetables are filling!
 

I was telling Brucifer how excited I was that I'd eaten 7 servings of vegetables, and he told me he hadn't had any yet today. This was midnight or so. He was upset that I didn't tell him we had cucumber. He then made himself this cute snack of cucumbers, sriracha and salt n' pepa from which he shaped himself the best cucumber pentagram he could muster. 




TUESDAY:

  
Brucifer and I shared some "Thai Thing." We each had 3.5 servings of vegetables (blue potato, carrot, jalapeno, orange pepper, tatsoi and spinach). 


At about 1 a.m, I made myself some sushi that was made in such ravenous haste it was too hideous to photograph. I packed about a half cup of vegetables (1 serving) into it. 

Daily total: 4.5 servings.

WEDNESDAY:
 

Breakfasts can feature a lot of vegetables! I managed to pack 3 servings of mushrooms, carrots, swiss chard into this soup and ate it all (and was pretty full). Eating miso soup for breakfast is an awesome way to pack in some vegetables before you head out the door. It doesn't take too long to make (15 min or so), but if you're in a rush, a smoothie might be a better choice. Yes, friends, I PROMISE to do a miso soup post soon!

Later, Brucifer and I shared some fried rice featuring carrots, spinach and corn. My portion had about 1.5 servings of vegetables. 

Daily total: 4.5 servings. I can already see a pattern emerging. When I get up late (which is most days), I tend to only eat one or two major meals, therefore finding it difficult to pack in enough vegetables. I usually don't get hungry enough to make a huge meal late at night and often don't eat until 1pm or so on days I get up late. 


THURSDAY:

 Brucifer and I clinked glasses while we drank some delicious Purple Counts for breakfast this morning. They were particularly friggin' delicious and each had about 2 servings of blueberries (as you can see, I'm keener on the vegetables than the fruit) and 1/2 serving of banana. I ate some more banana later. =3 fruit servings

This is what I had for supper. I just wanted some beans on toast like the olden days. It wasn't as tasty as the days of yore, but it was quick. I made myself have a l'il salad with 1 serving of spinach and 1 serving of tomatoes and orange peppers. Total 2 servings. Today's total: 5 servings


How many servings of vegetables and fruit did you manage to eat today? It's okay if it's low. Mine's only this high because I'm making a concerted effort in order to solidify this habit for life. I want to help inspire you to eat more.  Let me know how I can do that for you!

TUNO: the tuna that thrills you

I feel so irresponsible, like I've left you ill-informed, in the dark. Maybe you've been huddled in a corner weeping because you wanted to eat a tunafish sandwich, but you don't eat fish anymore and didn't know what to do. I can't believe I've never even told you about tuno! 

I've had this recipe in my roster for 10 years. If you're a close friend, you've probably had this at my house, at a potluck, or seen it in a cookbook or recipe exchange. This is my go-to recipe. I usually make it once a week or so. It's one of the quickest meals I know of, and I've just discovered a new innovation-- adding pickles! Here's how to get 'er done!

TUNO!
 

1 can chickpeas
juice of half a lemon
2 stalks celery diced, diced onion, minced pickle (optional)
1 tsp. or more kelp powder
2 tbsp. veganaise (or regular mayonnaise), or more or less to taste
onion and/or garlic powder to taste (optional)
cayenne powder if you like it spicy!

Mash chickpeas with potato masher. Add lemon juice, diced celery or other vegetables, kelp powder, mayo, onion or garlic powder, cayenne and stir. Serve between pieces of healthy bread,on a bed of greens, or grilled with sauerkraut or some sort of cheese to make a tuno melt! Serve. Takes approx. 5 minutes and makes enough for a few sandwiches.

Tuno is so awesome for so many reasons. Firstly, it takes only a few minutes to make, and it tastes goddamned amazing. Secondly, make a sandwich out out of this and you get a ton of awesome fibre to sweep the garbage outta your intestines-- especially with the addition of a couple of vegetable servings in the tuno mixture or in your sandwich. Thirdly, you're using kelp powder which has hundreds of vital trace minerals from the sea including one we're often deficient in: iodine! Your thyroid needs iodine. A healthy metabolism depends on it!

Anyway, as a former tuna lover, this recipe always has and always thrilled me and fulfilled me. Hope it does the same for you. Holla back and let a sistah know!

 

Hot toddies'll waarm* your everything

Crown Royal will do in a pinch. 

 

I never expected to feel compelled to make this post in April! There's such a gross storm a brewin' outside-- rain, snow, hail, repeat. Yesterday was 100% gorgeous outside and I took my bare legs for a walk in my new mini jeanskirt. Today, by comparison, is really just the pits. I got super soaked and really cold today walking out in this crud today. I've been home for an hour and half, and I'm just nicely starting to warm up. 

I give all the props to my hot toddy!


I throw the term hot toddy around a lot in the winter, especially when my kith and kin are sick. It's a favourite home remedy of mine. While there are no hard n' fast rules regarding what a hot toddy must include, generally speaking, a dark hard liquor like rum, brandy or whisky should be the base, mixed with hot water, lemon and honey. 

The very first hot toddy I made, way back in 2004, was pretty hilarious. I used equal parts Jack Daniels, honey and lemon. No water. No friggin' around. Pretty sure Emily  felt no pain after downing this ill-advised science experiment. Many years later, I still don't frig around when preparing hot toddies. I don't like to make 'em predictable or painless. I want 'em to hit ya upside the head like a big burlap sack o' bricks, but then get you pretty gunned, or at least sufficiently warm n' fuzzy so as to not feel said smack upside the head. 
 

My hot toddy usually goes something like this. I get a little more extreme if I'm treating a cold. Hell, I'll just tell you my extreme version and you can  dumb it down from there if you like, although I recommend going all the way!**


HOT TODDY to make you WAARM!

1-2 shots of whisky or rum
juice of a quarter of a lemon, or more if you like 
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. grated ginger
2 whole peppercorns 
2 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
pinch of hot-as-hades cayenne powder
just-boiled water to fill the mug


If you don't want stuff floating around in your mug, you could use a teaball or piece of muslin. I like to chew on the pieces of ginger, which is definitely medicinal if you're ailin' from a stupid cold or flu. 


Anyway, the noble ol' hot toddy is a favourite of mine during cold nights, when I'm illin' or when I just want a hot drink and some whisky at the same time. 


Recommended brands of rum: Ironworks (local), or Sailor Jerry (strong as hell + spiced). 

Recommended whiskies: Glenora (local), Bulleit Bourbon (my all-around fave liquor).




HAPPY DRANKIN'!... I mean.... waarming up n' gettin' well.



*old folks around these parts, especially those from the South Shore of Nova Scotia, sometimes pronounce "warm" more like "arm" than like "storm." It's hilarious. When you wanna really stress that you're warm, this is pretty effective. And funny. At least to me. And my Dad.

**for my friends that don't drink alcohol, you can omit the alcohol and this is still a pretty delicious and effective drink. Maybe you could put a couple shots of ginger beer (Propeller if you live handy me) in instead.

Wanna know how many vegetables I ate today?

First, let me show you a photo of baked goods!

What kinds of things do I do at 2 a.m.? One of them is make whoopie pies! These were gone by 8 a.m. Hadn't made 'em in years, but they were so good I think I started a recurring trend rather than getting the craving out of my system. They had oats in them, so they're healthy ;)
 

So as you may have picked up, I'm trying to eat as many vegetables as I can. Some days are better than others. Today's "breakfast" (at 1pm again) is a vegetable improvement over yesterday's. It took a few more minutes, but it was worth it. Making my sandwich open-face style allowed for double the vegetable content (which could still be higher, and many times it will be). I also added a shredded carrot and beet to my spicy greens. Yes, yesterday's salad was just greens, olives, dressing and homemade vegan parmesan. 

Estimated vegetable servings at breakfast: 3
snack/lunch (chili): 2
"supper" (guacamole with peppers and corn chips): 1.25 (no, I'm not including the corn chips!)

Total servings so far today: 6.25
 

Oh yes, I wanted chai tonight. I don't have any teabags kicking around, didn't feel like cleaning my frying pan to roast spices, so I decided to just make a single mug full. It wasn't as strong as I liked. I'm gonna perfect this and then I'll share it with you. 

Brucifer's creaming adventure + vegetables for days!

Sometimes Brucifer likes to help me with the baking. Here, he's creaming the sugar and butter. I taught him the technique and he got really into it, suggesting that nobody has never creamed better than he creamed that day. He's making oatmeal chocolate chip cookies which disappeared too quickly to be caught on camera. He actually made them from start to finish by his precious little self. Yes, he bakes in his jean jacket.
 

Last week I got home from the market extremely excited that I could get local tomatoes, cucumbers and spicy mixed greens. Thank you, greenhouses! I made a l'il celebratory salad with my sprouts, some herbed tofu, and the tamarind sauce from Unique Asian Catering. FRAICHE!
 

I picked up another stir fry pack from the local health food store. It was so full they had to tape it shut with stickers. I fried it all up and made a ludicrously-humongous stir fry which we ate with basmati rice and a drizzle of creamy tahini! Hot + crunchy vegetablely goodness! Not much tops the deliciousness that this simple dish can deliver. I power-ate this, despite my own firm suggestion against doing so.

I didn't make this meal, as you can probably tell from the (*gasp!*) disposable plate. It came from Just Spring Roll in Park Lane mall. I love big heaping plates of vegetables consumed in malls. It doesn't seem likely, and it's just so wonderful. Malls are so gross. They seem to zap my energy. Vegetables give that back in spades! Here's my review of the meal on Yelp, where you can see that I ate this in five minutes so we wouldn't be late for seeing hometown-proud "Hobo with a Shotgun."
 

I've been making my fruit crisps lately with my Crowbar granola on the bottom, fruit, then the normal crumble on top. I was inspired by a petite spitfire of a chef who asked why one WOULDN'T have two layers of crisp?!

At first I was making Indian curry, then I decided to make Thai. Then I decided to put noodles underneath. I was feeling very wild and crazy when I made those zany decisions. The decisions resulted in mad deliciousness.

  
 This is what I had for breakfast this morning. It was kinda late, like 1:30 or something. I had vegetables for breakfast. That was awesome.

 It just occurred to me that you don't know what I measure vegetables in! Well, I use this grungy old liquid measure which the lined wore off years ago. This is about 4 cups of vegetables-- in this case: turnip, carrot and GORGEOUS SPRING KALE! WOO! I almost flipped my lid when I saw this at the market last week. I probably screamed like the little girl that I am.

Tonight's supper was pretty badass I must say, and it had three components, the concept over which Brucifer gets all giddy. I'm pretty keen on the one-dish meal-- for the lack of dishes, for ease of digestion, and for the (little) time it takes. The meal was pretty heavy on the legume content- not supremely balanced, but nourishing and tasty it was! All three are new recipes. In the top right corner we have "Blackened Chickpeas" from The Indian Vegan Kitchen: More Than 150 Quick and Healthy Homestyle Recipes. This recipe actually calls for black tea which I thought was pretty neat. It also called for tamarind sauce, and I gladly dumped in a bunch of tamarind sauce from our market friend. This was Brucifer's favourite part of the meal. 

Moving clockwise, we have the straight-forwardly-named dish "Carrots and Turnips" from the same book, which I borrowed today brand new (I'm 99% positive I'm the first one to take this out-- the book is pristine!) from the library. I also went wild and chopped up some kale and put it in there. The vegetables are basically fried up with some cumin seeds and turmeric and some garam masala thrown in at the end (so the aroma doesn't fade away. Important!). I'll probably adopt this method for simple Indian-flavoured vegetables. 

The slop at the bottom was last night's supper and tonight's leftovers, left on the stove all day (not cooking). Yesterday this was subpar, but tonight, it was unbelievable! I wouldn't've recognised this dish if I'd fallen over it. I started to make a urad dal (black lentils) dish last night that I'd made before, and part way through I decided to use the recipe on the back of the spice mix we bought that was designed for urad dal, Dal Makhani Masala. Essentially, you cook up some black lentils and in another pot throw in a heaping half cup of tomatoes (I used canned) and a tablespoon of the Dal Makhani Masala (which you should find at any well-stocked Indian grocery) and let it reduce. Add this to the lentils, as well as a half cup of coconut milk (it called for cream) and some coconut oil (it called for butter). This turned superb overnight, so I recommend if you make this, make it ahead. I also salted this and threw in some Bragg's for extra pizazz. 

What was the most delicious meal you ate today?