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Posts Tagged vegan

Dressed Up Like Tabouleh

Mar 15

Posted by Shari B. in Recipes | 5 Comments

I LOVE tabouleh (or tabouli if that’s how you prefer to spell it). :D I love it made using couscous as the base or quinoa as the base or bulgur or chickpeas… you name it.  So it occurred to me that I should just put the flavors I love from tabouleh into a salad dressing and then I can just drizzle it over EVERYTHING (read: leafy greens).


Tabouleh Salad Dressing:

As written this will yield just under 1/2 cup.  Add more or less of any of these ingredients to adjust to your own taste. I like the tang of lemon so it’s in equal parts with the olive oil.

  • 1 cup parsley tops
  • 1/3 cup mint leaves (from about 4 small sprigs)
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (or other favorite cold-pressed oil, like hemp)
  • 3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 2 small lemons depending on their size and juiciness)
  • 1/2 clove of garlic, minced or pressed (if you like garlic, go for the whole clove!)
  • sea salt and pepper to taste – start with 1/4 tsp of each and adjust as you like

Place all ingredients into a small blender or Magic Bullet and blend until smooth.  Store in a glass jar.  I use it fairly quickly anyway, but I’d say definitely try to use it up within 3-5 days.

The advantages to this dressing are that you can use a good amount on your salad if you so desire.  Plus you are basically adding more greens to your greens!  It doesn’t get much healthier than that!



I added it to salads and drizzled it into wraps.  I love it with greens, chopped red onion, chopped tomato, cucumber and avocado.

To add some extra Middle Eastern flair, heat a Falafel Sunshine Burger to crumble over a salad or into your wrap.



Super fast, very easy and extremely GREEN!

– Shari B. =)

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Walk for Farm Animals

Sep 21

Posted by Shari B. in Food Rants | 1 Comment

Hi friends!

I found out about this event completely by chance from a retweet on Twitter recently and since I got excited about it, I wanted to help spread the word.  Let me preface this post by stating that I don’t ‘officially’ fall under the categories of fully vegan or completely vegetarian.  I’m not trying to convince people not to eat meat.  (I will admit I love to see people avoid factory farmed products and minimize their consumption of animal products in general.)  Regardless of “diet labels”, and whether or not you eat meat, one thing is certain.  Factory farmed animals really do live HORRENDOUS lives.  As an animal lover and a compassionate being on this planet, it breaks my heart when I see and hear these accounts.

You may already be familiar with Farm Sanctuary.  (If not, you can read more about the organization HERE.)  I’ve seen Gene Bauer in a few food-related documentaries and I admire what he’s doing.

Here is an excerpt from their website:

We started out by visiting farms, stockyards and slaughterhouses to document conditions, and we found animals literally left for dead. Hilda, a sheep found on a pile of dead animals behind Lancaster Stockyards, was the first animal to be rescued by Farm Sanctuary. She lived with us for more than a decade, and died of old age.

Through the years, we have rescued thousands of animals, and educated millions of people about their plight. People are shocked to learn about the intolerable conditions that are commonplace on today’s industrialized farms.

That’s why “Walk for Farm Animals” appealed to me.  And I was excited to see that there is one in Denver!  It looks like there are a bunch of them all over the country AND early registration is only $15.  If you are at all interested in participating, here is a link to their website to search for locations.  They also have a “Sleep In for Farm Animals” option.

I think I may have a walking buddy or two (more if I count my pups, since DOGS are welcome!).  If you’re in Colorado and think you’ll be attending, let me know!  And if this is something you believe in, pass on this post to help get more people walking for this cause.

– Shari B. =)

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The Big 4-0-0

Aug 30

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 11 Comments

Hi blog buds!  So excited that a lot of you are on board for the 3 weeks of clean eating challenge! Thank you for sharing your workouts and food, love reading what you guys are doing!

Today is another FitFeat milestone and that is the 400th post!  Interestingly enough, if you do a 4 exercise ladder workout this week you’ll be doing 400 reps!  (koinkydink!)

I’ll be planning the leg ladder for later this morning. I’m a little freaked out at how sore my legs will be tomorrow, if the soreness in my chest/back is any indication.

Recap of yesterday’s eats:

Lunch was a Smoky Mushroom Salad from my newly purchased Speed Vegan cookbook (using two of my all-time favorites on my spice wall:  smoky paprika and smoked sea salt).

Along with a plate of spiralized zucchini and arugula topped with a vegan meatsauce:

The ‘meat sauce’ was some leftover spicy tomato and peach sauce I’d made for dinner last weekend and I added leftover crumbled Walnut & Black Soybean meatless meatloaf that I’d made Sunday for lunch:

Both of my lunch dishes were mighty spicy so I needed just a bite of something to cool my palate a bit.  A little of this goat cheese with blueberries did the trick:

In the afternoon I had a piece of Miso Almond Butter Toast:

With a side of Teeccino and almond milk:

Teeccino rocks!  I’ve had it off and on for about 15 years now but it works great in a Keurig machine, so that I can just make single cups.  If you’ve never heard of it, look into it.  It’s herbal “coffee”.  It tastes somewhat like coffee but without the caffeine and acidity.  Maybe someday I’ll switch to all Teeccino and give up my coffee habit.  But not yet.  ;)

Here are the ingredients in this bag of Teeccino:

For dinner I had leftover meatless meatloaf again, this time as an open-faced sandwich and a side salad:

This meatless loaf is incredibly filling.  You use crushed walnuts and black soybeans as the base, along with some sauteed veggies and a lot of spices.  I found this recipe in a book I borrowed from the library called “New Vegetarian“.  I was worried that it wouldn’t hold together well like a regular meatloaf and I was right.  So when I try it again, I’ll add some egg to it (or maybe a flax / chia ‘egg’ mix) to see if it binds better.  It’s not pretty but it sure tastes good!

After dinner Cory and I took a walk – it was perfect weather so I had to get out in it for a bit since I’d been inside all day long.  I can’t believe how short the days are getting already.

OK, friends – I better get downstairs for today’s workout!  Challengers:  If you want to be accountable, post here with your food and/or exercise if you’d like to!

Have a TERRIFIC Tuesday!

– Shari B. =)

 

 

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Juicehead

Apr 16

Posted by Shari B. in Handy Kitchen Tools, vegan | 8 Comments

High-Dee-Hoe friends!  Any Jersey Shore fans out there?  If so, let me assure you the title of this post is not “juicehead” in the same meaning used on the show, LOL!  ;) (But I must admit my Thursday TV line-up feels a little blah now that Season 3 is over!)

Anyhoooo – I think I may actually have (partially) rejoined the land of the living.  This “cold” or whatever it is has really wreaked a little havoc on things around here.  Primarily my SCHEDULE!!  Oh yeah, and any thoughts of wanting to exercise.

I feel like my poor liver is going to be a toxic wasteland after all this, because I’ve resorted taking Advil, Nyquil, Mucinex, Jack Daniels, Ambien, you name it, if it might make me feel better, I was ready to pop it (and just to be clear, I am not taking these at the same time.  Well, except for the one night that I did have Nyquil and a cup of hot toddy which does have whiskey in it ;D ).

This bug is very stealth.  It likes to trick you into thinking you are getting better because during the daytime you feel physically OK for the most part.  But then evening hits, and BAM, it takes you DOWN in a hurry (and steals your sleep with it)!  Hence trying anything each day to see if I could get a few zzzzzzz’s.

I feel the need to do a little “cleansing” because of all this so I actually caved and got a juicer.

I’ve always been a bit “anti-juice”.  I think this comes from way back in my “Zone Diet days”.  Juice was the devil because you were getting all of the sugar and none of the fiber, which would in turn cause your blood sugar to spike.  This is partly why I prefer “blended” juices (like green smoothies) where the fiber remains for consumption.

Let me state for the record that I still feel this way about most fruit juices.

However, I think I’ve been sold on green juice.  On a recent trip, I had the good fortune of being treated to an organic, fresh, all-green juice.  It was fabulous and I literally felt a sense of ‘energetics’ in my body shortly after drinking it, almost like a caffeine buzz.

So I searched high and low for a place around where I live that makes fresh ORGANIC green juice.  I found two places about 15 miles away, but neither is using organic veggies.  Which just wigs me out when it comes to juice.  I do not want a glass of concentrated pesticides, thankyouverymuch.

The next nearest place was 30 miles – but a 60 mile round trip for juice is just a little silly.

Enter the “20% off” coupon from Bed, Bath and Beyond and I’m now the new owner of a Breville JuiceFountain.

For my first few batches I used celery, cucumber, parsley, ginger, and a little lemon.

Then this morning I got a little more brave.  This combo sounds like it should be gross but it was so good! Don’t let the red fool you though, this juice was mostly from greens.

  • 1/2 raw beet
  • 2 large stalks from heads of broccoli
  • about 1 head of romaine
  • large handful of parsley
  • about 2″ of ginger root
  • 1/4 fuji apple
  • 1 english cucumber
  • juice from half a lemon (which I just squeezed in at the end)

It made about a glass and a half of the one pictured above.  I forced encouraged MSP to take a sip, which he finally did.  Let’s just say he’ll be sticking to carrot apple juice for now.  :)

I’ll never replace my green smoothies, that’s for sure.  But I like having the option to add even a little more “green” to my day, especially while I clean all the ‘junk’ from my system over the next few weeks.

Are you a fan or foe of juicing?  If you juice, do you have a favorite veggie? My great friend Keri (owner of Om of the Rockies yoga) shared with me that she likes to include daikon radish in hers.  I thought that was genius and I can’t wait to give it a try!

Have a SPLENDID Saturday!

– Shari B. =)

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Ginger Pineapple Acai Smoothie

Feb 26

Posted by Shari B. in Recipes, vegan | 7 Comments

Hey friends!  Happy Saturday!

The sun is shining here which always energizes me!  I got up early, got in a quick but effective strength workout and then played around with a new green smoothie.  It was so refreshing I had to share it with you.  (And yes I promise my two recipes from my final will still be posted this weekend!)

Ginger Pineapple Acai Smoothie

Ingredients:

  • 10-12 oz water
  • 1 Sambazon Açai (pure unsweeened) frozen smoothie pack
  • 1 rounded tsp minced ginger (I love the pre-minced jarred one from The Ginger People)
  • 1/2 peeled cucumber, chunked
  • 1 cup frozen pineapple
  • 1 scoop raw sprouted grain protein powder
  • 1 cup frozen spinach
  • juice of 1/4 lemon (optional)

Place all of your ingredients in your blender (my Blendtec is well worn!):

Blend until everything is smooth!

Pour, garnish and enjoy!

It may not be the most beautiful color, but the flavor was wonderful!

Here are some of the health benefits of this smoothie:

  • GINGER is a warming food, which is handy to add to a very cooling drink like this, especially in winter months.  It is beneficial for good digestion and has strong anti-inflammatory properties.
  • PINEAPPLE is a great food to add to your post-workout smoothies.  One, because it is a high-glycemic fruit which is helpful in getting fuel quickly to your muscles to replenish glycogen stores after a workout but also because it contains BROMELAIN, which is a natural anti-inflammatory to help speed recovery and reduce soreness.
  • The SPINACH and CUCUMBER are green foods which are highly alkalizing and assist in maintaining alkalinity in the blood.  CUCUMBER promotes healthy connective tissue (and isn’t that part of why we exercise our bodies?) and is extremely hydrating.

And for those of you who like to know the calorie/macronutrient breakdown, it’s really balanced:

Are you guys still drinking your green smoothies?  What fun things have you been adding to yours?

***

As I was taking pictures for this post, I also figured this would be a great time to mention that I am a Blendtec affiliate now!  I absolutely LOVE my Blendtec and when I saw that I could apply to become an affiliate, I was psyched because I think they have the best blender.  (For some reason that *other* blender company that starts with a “V” and ends with “MIX” seems to get so much of the publicity.)  I’ve used the other brand in school, and I still far prefer my Blendtec.  They have a new WildSide jar (a five sided blender!) that I’ve had my eye on.  Maybe someday soon I’ll get one.  My smoothies are LARGE and the WildSide holds 3 quarts!  (I could make green smoothies for my whole neighborhood!  :) )  So if you ever decide to check out blenders in the future, I’d be super grateful if you check them out through my link (there’s a banner on the right side of the screen) – this girl’s gotta pay back her culinary school loan somehow and every penny helps, right?  ;)

Have a GREAT day and I’ll be back again soon with my recipes from class.

– Shari B. =)

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Sinus Clearing Snack (or Dehydrator Onion Rings)

Jan 15

Posted by Shari B. in Adventures in Dehydrating, Recipes | 4 Comments

Hi friends!

Wow, I’ve missed you guys!  How have you all been?  I’m getting a TON accomplished on my project list, but I have to admit it’s been a little tough to stay away from blogging!  So I thought I’d pop in today to say hello and share a few fun things from the last 9 days (and at the end I’ll talk about that snack referenced in the title).

We had a pretty good snowstorm and some FRIGID subzero temps hit us last Sunday into Monday, so I had my first sketchy (and S-L-O-W) commute to school of this winter season.  But what a gorgeous drive it was.  I took this photo from my cell phone driving along at about 50 mph so it’s not the best quality, but it’s still pretty.  I never get tired of looking at the scenery here.  Check out all the colors!

We’re in the Therapeutic module at school and learning about cooking for diabetes/blood sugar control and candida at the moment.  Yesterday my improv recipe assignment was Kale with Arame, Ginger and Sesame.  It may not be the most colorful dish, but it turned out very nicely and felt very warming from all of the fresh ginger. I left the kale leaves raw, cutting them into very thin ribbons (known as a chiffonade cut) and then lightly dressed them with sesame oil and tamari (use your hands to “massage” the dressing into the kale – this will wilt it slightly and help to increase it’s digestibility).  I cut the kale stalks into tiny pieces and sautéed them with grated ginger (about 2 TBSP), minced garlic, sesame oil, tamari and vegetable stock (to keep it from sticking without using too much oil).  Then I added the soaked and drained arame (seaweed) to the sauté.

Using the raw kale as the “bed” I then topped it with the sauté mixture followed by some toasted sesame seeds.  Extremely mineral rich and full of fiber.

Some of the other photoless recipes I’ve done with our improv assignments have been:

Spicy Gingered Bok Choy with Arame and Goji Berries
Baked Mung Bean and Brown Basmati Burgers
Curried Adzuki Bean Soup
Skillet Tempeh Reuben with vegan Thousand Island

I am enjoying this segment of school a lot.  I’ve had the opportunity to work on recipes alone which has been a nice change.  I can’t believe how fast time has been flying by.  We only have 6 weeks left!

So yesterday for a snack, our Kitchen Manager set out some DELICIOUS no-fry onion rings that he’d made in the dehydrator.  They were insanely spicy and insanely good!  He listed off the ingredients he’d used but no amounts so I came home last night and tried to recreate it.

Now let me warn you first:

1. These are CONCENTRATED onions so they pack some punch.  Not only will your house smell like onions while they dehydrate, but your BREATH will rival that of a dragon’s after you eat them.

2. Keep a mint handy for the sake of your friends and coworkers -OR- you may only want to eat these in the privacy of your own home.

3. If you are eating these around your significant other, make sure he/she eats them too so that you can BOTH have dragon breath.  Share the love.  One person with bad breath is no fun.  Two people cancel each other out, especially when it’s time to kiss goodnight.  ;)

4. I have a feeling these will clear out your sinuses.  Mine sure seemed more open after a few bites of these!

But the flavor of this super healthy and LIGHT snack is definitely worth the breath and the long wait during dehydrating.

Dehydrator Onion Rings

Credit for this recipe idea goes to Chef Nelson Schwab, our über-creative Kitchen Manager at Bauman.  I’m not sure if he used the same measurements or not but here is my interpretation.

  • 1 yellow onion, peeled and cut into rings
  • 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
  • 1 tablespoon almonds, finely ground
  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
  • pepper to taste
  • water at the ready

Combine all ingredients except for the onions and water in a mini-chopper or Magic Bullet (or you can do this by hand in a mixing bowl – it just takes longer).  Add just enough water to create a dressing that is about the consistency of thin pancake/crepe batter.  Pour dressing into a Tupperware bowl, throw in the onion rounds, seal the lid onto the bowl, and shake well until all of the onions are well coated.

Place on a dehydrator sheet lined with either parchment paper or a Teflex liner.

Dehydrate overnight at 105 degrees and up to 20 hours or until your desired level of crispiness is reached.

Action shots!

Batter:

Onions after tossing in the batter:

Before dehydrating:

After dehydrating (amazing how tiny things get when you remove all the water!):

And time to snack:

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!  Let me know what you think if you give them a try!

(If you don’t have a dehydrator, no worries!  Bake ‘em in your oven. Start with a low temp around 250 and keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.)

Until next time,

– Shari B. =)

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Indian Spiced Quinoa

Oct 12

Posted by Shari B. in Natural Chef Culinary School, Recipes, vegan | 12 Comments

Here is the recipe for the Indian Spiced Quinoa from my homework assignment that I promised to share with you.  I’d love to know what you think if you try it!

This is a super easy recipe that provides a lot of flavor punch for the small amount of effort involved.  You will definitely want to use the dates and FRESH mint leaves (as opposed to dry) – the power of the fresh flavors in those two ingredients makes all the difference in this recipe.

  • 1 cup quinoa (measured dry)
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1 small shallot, minced
  • 1 orange pepper, chopped (feel free to use red or yellow)
  • 1 finger of ginger, peeled and minced
  • ½  teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 3 medjool dates, pitted and minced
  • Mint leaves from 3-4 sprigs, finely chopped

Directions
Soak quinoa for 30-60 minutes prior to cooking.  Rinse well, drain and set aside.

Melt coconut oil over medium heat.  Add shallots, orange pepper, garlic, ginger and garam masala, stirring often until peppers soften, about 5 minutes.

Add quinoa and stir well to coat with spice mixture.

Add vegetable broth.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until quinoa begins to look fluffy and liquid has absorbed into the grains.

Allow to sit uncovered for 3-5 minutes.  Using a fork, mix in dates and mint leaves.  Serve immediately.

Adapted from ‘Carla’ at www.food.com (Garam Masala Basmati Rice)

Health Benefits

Quinoa:  Often thought of as a grain, but actually a seed, one ½ cup serving of quinoa provides 251 mg of potassium, as well as 4.5 grams of complete protein (www.calorieking.com).  Quinoa has a macronutrient breakdown of 71% carbohydrate, 14% fat and 15% protein (www.nutritiondata.self.com).  It is also an excellent source of manganese, magnesium and iron.  Originally a South American crop, it has an interesting Colorado connection, as it was brought here in the 1980s for cultivation by two Americans (Murray 2005, 348-349).

Dates: Dates are a delightfully sweet treat that should be a part of any diet, especially for individuals looking for whole, natural solutions for fueling their endurance exercise. This glucose-rich fruit is easily digestible and highly alkaline (Brazier 2007, 142) providing an astonishing 262% more potassium than an orange per ounce yet providing a relatively low caloric count of 23 calories per pitted date (Murray 2005, 272).  Studies have shown dates to be rich in both antioxidant and anticancer compounds, bringing new meaning to the coined term “The Tree of Life” for the date palm that bears this fruit (Murray 2005, 273).

Sweet Red Bell Pepper: Bell peppers are considered one of the highest nutrient-dense foods based on the ratio of their nutrient level to calories, at only 20 calories per 3.5 ounce pepper.  A one cup serving of bell pepper will provide you with 291% of the RDA for Vitamin C and 105% for Vitamin A (www.whfoods.com).  The red pepper is superior to green from a nutrient standpoint.  Eating bell peppers is thought to be protective against cancer, heart disease, strokes, cataracts and cholesterol levels.  Because bell peppers are members of the nightshade family (which have been thought to worsen the symptoms of arthritis), people suffering from arthritis may choose to reduce or eliminate their consumption of these particular vegetables.  (Murray 2005, 167).

Bibliography

Bauman, Edward. Eating for Health: Your Guide to Vitality and Optimal Health. Pengrove, CA:  Bauman College, 2008

Brazier, Brendan. The Thrive Diet: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life. Philadelphia, PA: DeCapo Press, 2007

CalorieKing’s www address www.calorieking.com.

Livestrong’s www address www.livestrong.com

Murray, Michael. The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods. New York, NY: Atria Books, 2005

SELF NutritionData’s www address www.nutritiondata.self.com

The World’s Healthiest Foods’ www address www.whfoods.com

***

Shari Becht is a Fit Living Coach and ACE Certified Personal Trainer.  She is extremely passionate about teaching people how they can take the steps to fit healthy living into their busy lives.  She has decided to take her love of nutrition one step further by enrolling in the Natural Chef Culinary Program at Bauman College and will graduate in Spring 2011.

If you or someone you know could use some help learning how to fit more “FIT” into life, please feel free to email her at shari [at] fitfeat  [dot] com.  For more information, click here.

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Easy Vegan Butter

Oct 6

Posted by Shari B. in Recipes, vegan | 6 Comments

Hi there blog buds!

So yesterday’s post about making a better “butter” had to be removed because it was causing some technical difficulties.   I’m going to try to paste it below with hope that it works this time.  Ironically, while I was spending a couple of hours trying to figure out what the problem was (and grumbling about why I ever chose to go self-hosted with my blog) my credit card was being charged at that time for the next full year of hosting!  Ha! 

***

The other day when I ran out of Earth Balance vegan ‘butter’, I was getting ready to write it down on my grocery list when I recalled seeing a “better butter” recipe in The Ultimate pH Solution by Michelle Schoffro Cook, DNM, DAc.  I thought this would be the perfect time to give it a try.

It’s incredibly simple and things made at home are always better for you than something that’s been sitting on a shelf at the store.  ;)

This “butter” is made using equal parts coconut oil (extra virgin unrefined) and flaxseed oil.  To a small sauce pan add your coconut oil only (never heat flaxseed oil) and use a very low heat to melt your coconut oil to liquid.  Remove from the heat, then stir in the flax oil, place in a container and refrigerate.  The cooling of the coconut oil will cause the whole mixture to harden like butter.

Michelle also recommends adding fresh minced herbs to this mixture while it’s still liquid, for a flavored ‘butter’.

If you find that you avoid eating flaxseed oil because you don’t care for its strong taste, try using this recipe on some toasted Ezekial bread, then top it with some paste from a roasted garlic.  You’ll never even know the flax it there!  It’s a great way to get in your daily Omega 3s from the flax and the coconut oil is a terrific energy source, thanks to the medium chain triglycerides.  (Click HERE for some further reading you might find interesting about the benefits of coconut oil.)

You won’t want to use this spread in place of butter for any kind of cooking (or baking) though because of the flax – so use it as a finishing product to top onto your warm food.  How about putting a pat over your freshly steamed veggies and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice as they are being served at the table?

Once this batch is gone, I’ll be experimenting with other oils in place of the flax that CAN be used for heating, like macadamia nut oil, to see how it works in cooking recipes.

– Shari B. =)

- – -

Reference:
Schoffro Cook, Michelle. The Ultimate pH Solution. New York: Harper Collins, 2008

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Battle of the (Black Bean) Brownies

Sep 2

Posted by Shari B. in Cooking, vegan | 7 Comments

Doesn’t this look delicious?

How about this one?  mmmm… no drooling on your keyboard or iPhone now!

I promised in the Craving Sweets post that I would be back to share my experience with two different recipes for Black Bean Brownies.  I first tried a black bean brownie a few months back and I was instantly smitten with this healthier alternative to a regular brownie.  This past week, the summer intern at our office had his last day, and I wanted to bring something in to share, so I figured it would be the perfect opportunity for these intriguing brownies to be taste-tested!

The recipe used for the first brownie pictured above (with the nuts) comes from one of my favorite blogs, No Meat Athlete.  Matt’s sister Christine is a fabulous baker and I knew it would be her recipe I had to try for this round of Battle of the Brownies.  It is completely vegan and therefore dairy-free and egg-free.  It is not gluten-free, as it does contain whole wheat flour.

The recipe used for the second brownie pictured comes from a site called Happy Herbivore.  I’ve made this recipe a few times in the past with great success.  It too is vegan, with no dairy or eggs.  It also contains no flour and uses oats and bananas as its base.

The NMA brownie comes out truly like a brownie, with a great cakey texture (below, on the left).  The HH brownie is denser with a definite banana flavor, and a dense almost fudge-like consistency (below, right).

I tried to stay very true to each recipe to be fair to the chefs who created them, other than not having a couple of ingredients and making those adjustments.

Christine’s NMA brownie calls for hazelnuts, and I couldn’t find them ANYWHERE in the store, so I chose to use raw crushed cashews on the top.  Also I didn’t have the instant decaf coffee, so I brewed up some decaf and used it in place of the water in the recipe.

In the HH brownie, I used half carob powder and half cocoa powder, did NOT add the optional raw sugar and used ground old fashioned oats in lieu of instant.

Both are super alternatives for having a homemade dessert to snack on when the chocolate cravings strike!

So which one won?

From a taste perspective, Christine’s NMA brownie won.  Many in the office really liked the NMA brownie cake texture, while some preferred the HH banana bread flavor of the denser brownie.  Personally my vote on taste alone was the NMA brownie, hands down.  Actually to a fault!  Because I had to put the remaining NMA brownies in the freezer as I was having a hard time keeping my hands off!  MSP also voted for the NMA brownie, but said that next time I make them I can cut back on the sugar.

From a nutritional profile perspective (and if you are in a weight loss program) I’d be more inclined to recommend the HH ones.  The raw sugar is optional (which I didn’t use), and the amount of agave in the recipe is negligible.  The main ingredients are bananas, beans and oats, whereas the NMA brownies use a fair amount of raw sugar and whole wheat.

In my opinion, I think you should try them BOTH!  And definitely take them to your next social gathering – telling people that the main ingredient is BLACK BEANS is definitely a conversation starter!  You really won’t believe it till you try them – you don’t even know the beans are there!

Enjoy a little chocolate (and black bean) decadence this holiday weekend!

– Shari B. =)

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A Veggie-versary of Sorts

Jul 24

Posted by Shari B. in Vegetarian | 6 Comments

Hi friends!  Hope your weekend is already off to a great start.  My what a busy busy week it was.  So glad the weekend is here now!

One year ago today, July 24, my sweet hubby agreed to go see “Food, Inc.” with me and a couple of our friends.  I told him before we went in that I thought it might be something that would strongly affect me, but neither of us could have known the understatement those words would really  be.  And that the BBQ chicken sandwich I’d had at lunch that day would be that last time I’d be eating chicken, among other things!

It’s been a year chock full of veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, sprouts, fermented teas, and so much more with an occasional egg or piece of fish or a little raw goat cheese here and there.  What a wild and adventurous ride it has been so far!  I have tried foods that I would never have even considered before or known about if I hadn’t needed to “find an alternative” for our typical meals, especially when eating out.

Like some of these awesome eats…

Delicious Vegetarian Enchiladas with Carrot Puree at Tres Margaritas:

Beautiful Berkeley Vegan Pizza from ZPizza (where I also discovered dairy free Daiya cheese!)

Fabulous Falafel and Hummus Plate at Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill:

Tasty Three Beet Salad at Root Down:

The best Quinoa dish I’ve ever eaten (at Boulder Organic Pizza):

And that’s just a few!  I could go on all day (but then I might start drooling on my laptop…!)

My tastebuds definitely thank me for the change I’ve made!  If I’d still been eating meat when visiting the restaurants above, I would never have even known about these delicious dishes.

Yesterday I decided to pay it forward, so to speak, by giving the DVD to a coworker who seems close to making similar changes.  I hope he finds it just as life-changing as I did, especially in the culinary sense.

Am I trying to change people’s minds or get them to give up meat?  Not at all.  I just want people who are considering cutting back on meat and animal products to see that when it comes to the question of “but what’s left to eat if I don’t eat meat?” the answer is “a heck of a lot of fun foods!”

I’m looking forward to what the next year will bring!

– Shari B. =)

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If you’d like to read more on how I eat, you might enjoy these previous posts:

Shari Becht is a Fit Living Coach and an ACE Certified Personal Trainer offering coaching services to people across the U.S.  She is extremely passionate about teaching her clients how to start making small changes every day to their own lives, built around steps customized to fit their needs.

If you or someone you know could benefit from Shari’s coaching, please feel free to email her at shari [at] fitfeat  [dot] com.  For more information, click here.

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