List of Non Dairy Foods I Like

(Photo: Anthony Verde)

Non-Dairy Milk

Soy Milk – The very famous substitute to milk.

1. Soy Silk (My favorite brand)

http://www.silksoymilk.com/

2. Eden Soy
http://www.edenfoods.com/store/index.php?cPath=24

Almond Milk – My favorite non dairy milk - delicious!

 

1. Blue Diamond Almond Breeze (My favorite brand) - I especially love the Chocolate Almond Dream and also Vanilla.

http://www.almondbreeze.com/

Coconut Milk – New in the market, but so delicious.

1. Turtle Mountain So Delicious (My favorite brand)

http://www.turtlemountain.com/products/coconut_milk_beverage.html

Hazelnut Milk – This is so delicious. The only reason I don’t have this is because it is high in calories.

1. Pacific Foods (My favorite brand)

http://www.pacificfoods.com/our-foods/nut-grain-beverages/hazelnut-beverage-1

They also have several other like Rice Milk, Hemp Milk, Oat Milk but they are not my favorite.

Non-Dairy Ice Cream

Turtle Mountain So Delicious Coconut Milk Ice cream

http://www.purelydecadent.com/products/purely_decadent_Coconut_Milk.html

My favorite flavors - Mocha Almond Fudge, Coconut Almond Chip, Chocolate Brownie, Passionate Mango.

Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss

http://coconutbliss.com/coconut-bliss-products


My favorite flavors - Cappuccino, Dark Chocolate, Naked Almond Fudge

Good Karma Organic Rice Divine Rice Milk Ice cream

I find Rice Milk has a bit of after taste and a powdery feel but this brand has done a good job.

 http://www.goodkarmafoods.com/good-karma-foods-products

Mudd Pie and Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge taste good.

Organic Nectars Raw Cashew Creme Agave Nectar Ice cream

http://www.organicnectars.com/nutrition-facts.html

I especially love the Pistachio flavor.

Homemade Granola

 Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons raisins
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon olive oil

Line a baking sheet with baking parchment paper. Mix all the ingredients together and spread it on the sheet.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 25 minutes, mixing the ingredients every 10 minutes.

Remove from oven, cool granola and enjoy!

This recipe yields four servings and each serving is approximately 289 calories.

Annie's Goddess Dressing

 If you haven't tried it already then you gotta have it! It is the best vegan dressing I have tasted so far, very creamy and delicious, tastes yum!

Click here to see information about the ingredients.

Fall Pumpkin Leek Soup

 In my CSA share, I got leeks and pumpkin so I decided to make a soup out of it which turned out to be delicious and very hearty.

1 Whole Leek Chopped in rounds
Pumpkin, peeled and cut in cubes - 2 cups
Olive oil - 1 tablespoon
Garlic - 5 cloves
1 Tomato Chopped
1 Carrot chopped
1 Cup chopped Broccoli
1 Cup chopped Potatoes (red preferred)
2 hot peppers (optional) OR 1 teaspoon ground pepper
2 Bouillon cubes (soup seasoning)

1. In a deep pot on medium heat, saute leeks, garlic, peppers in Olive Oil.
2. Add all the vegetables and saute it until it becomes slightly soft.
3. Add 6 cups water or until the pot is 3/4ths full.
4. Add 2 cubes of bouillon soup seasoning cubes.
5. Let it cook for 30-40 minutes on medium heat or until the vegetables have become super soft.
6. Turn off the heat and let is sit for 10 minutes to absorb the flavor.
7. Serve hot soup with your favorite bread.

Egg White Frittata

 2 cups Egg White Liquid
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1/4 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 green pepper
1/2 red pepper chopped
1 scallion chopped
1 bunch of fresh spinach chopped or 1 cup frozen chopped frozen spinach

In a deep dish pan, heat Olive Oil, add scallions and sautee until it starts to give out an aroma. Add peppers and spinach. Cook the veggies for 5 minutes or until they get cooked down to half their size.

Meanwhile mix in salt, about 1 teaspoon, to the egg white liquid.

Turn down the flame to low and spread the veggies evenly on the pan to make a layer at the base on the pan. Pour egg white liquid evenly on the veggies. Sprinkle the cheese evenly on top.

Cover and cook on low flame for 10 minutes. After 5 minutes, check if the eggs have started to firm. After 10 minutes, turn off the stove and let it sit.

Makes slices and enjoy it with your favorite plain or toasted bread.

Natural Sweeteners

I have three Natural Sweeteners to recommend.

Agave Syrup 

A low Glycemic Index natural sweetener that comes from the Agave plant and tastes fabulous. You can use agave to sweeten anything that you bake or you could use it in your beverages. The Glycemic Index of Agave Syrup is 15 as opposed to 64 that of white sugar. It only means that it does not spike your blood sugar the way white sugar does.

Brown Rice Syrup 

Made from brown rice :). It has a thicker consistency but works great to make sauce that calls for a sweetener.

Stevia

 
Not my favorite because I don't like the after taste but so much better than Splenda. If I need to sweetened my tea or coffee I would go for Stevia Sachets that are handy to carry and sweeten so much better than any other sweetener in a packet. GI of Stevia is less than 1 :) :)

Don't give up your sweet tooth just choose a healthy sweetener.

BBQ Tofu

Make this real quick BBQ Tofu and enjoy it in a sandwich.

Tofu - 1 packet , cut into 1/4 inch slices
BBQ Sauce - 2 tablespoons
Soy Sauce - 1/2 tablespoon
Olive Oil

In a skillet, heat the oil, add the BBQ sauce and Soy Sauce, allowing it to thicken a little. Layer the slices of tofu on the skillet and cover it with a lid. Turn the heat to medium and let it cook for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove the lid and flip the tofu slices. Replace the lid and cover it for another 7 minutes. When the sauce completely thickens and sticks to the tofu, turn off the heat.

Remove tofu from the pan and enjoy it in a sandwich on a bun spread with yummy Nayonnaise (Dairy Free Soy Mayonnaise)

Beets

In my CSA share this week, I got beautiful ruby red beets with fresh beet leaves.

In addition to writing my experience with beets, I have some recipes I would like to share.

Beets are very high in sugar which makes them extremely alkaline. My experience of beet juice is extremely powerful. Drinking beet juice cleansed my body of not only physical impurities, but also deep emotional stuff. If you are looking to do a cleanse with juicing, you can consider juicing with beets but it is important to sense into how your body is reacting to it. If it gets too much, slow it down.

I like a root vegetable medley of carrots, potatoes and beets, baked with olive oil.

1. Grease a 9 inch tray with olive oil and layer 1 cup slices of a carrot, a potato and a beet. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Check if the veggies are cooked by using a tooth pick or a fork. If the veggies need to be cooked further, then add about 1/8 cup water and cover them with a foil and bake for another 5-7 minutes. Once cooked, you can sprinkle some garlic powder, Herbamare, lemon juice and garam masala (optional) and relish the veggies.

2. I love steamed beets with goat cheese. A salad of mixed greens with steamed beets and goat cheese tastes delicious.

3. You can also add the chopped beet greens into yellow split pea soup.
- 1/2 cup yellow split peas dry
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup chopped beet greens or mustard greens
- 1 green pepper hot
- 2-3 cloves of garlic chopped
- salt to taste

Add all the ingredients in a pot, cover it with a lid and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Check if the split peas are cooked. If they are, then turn off the stove and let it sit covered with a lid. Once the soup is ready to be served, optionally add butter or Earth Balance before serving.

Coconut Cilantro Chutney

To make yummy chutney that you can have as a dip or a spread, add all the following ingredients into a blender and blend it into a smooth paste.

1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 bunch cilantro
1/4 inch ginger piece
3 small hot peppers
1/4 cup water
1 tsp agave
juice of 1 lime
salt to taste
5-6 cashews (optional)

It even tastes good on bread :)

Organic Kale sauteed with Avocado Oil

1 bunch of Kale
2 fresh carrots chopped
1/8 cup fresh basil leaves chopped (optional)
5 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 tablespoon avocado oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 tablespoon agave syrup

Heat avocado oil, add the chopped garlic and saute until brown. Add carrots, kale, basil and 1/4 cup water and steam the veggies by covering the pot. After about 5 mins, add soy sauce and agave syrup. Mix the veggies, cover the pot for another 5 minutes and turn the stove off and let the veggies steam.

Enjoy!

Organic Food Bar

If you need a healthy filling snack made with real ingredients then you gotta have the Organic Food Bar. I have tried so many different kinds of bars and all I tasted was chemicals. Some tasted like candles while some others...I don't think I can describe the taste, did it even have a taste? I only ate them because at some point in my life I was hooked on a high protein diet and wanted to get my daily feed of protein so I ate protein bars as meal replacements.

I was suggested initially by a friend to try these Organic Food Bars. They are filling, nutritious, taste great and they have a considerable amount of protein derived from vegetarian source. What I love the most about these bars are that they are natural and the ingredients are real. It is sweetened by a natural sweetener called Agave syrup, which is very low in Glycemic Index.

The bars are high in calorie, one bar is about 310 calories. I usually have half a bar and save the rest. Since the bar has real ingredients, it is quite filling.

I love the Belgium Chocolate Chip flavor the best, but they have many flavors. The only flavor I don't like is the one called Protein. It has extra protein made up of brown rice protein. I don't like brown rice protein and this flavor has a distinct taste of powdery brown rice protein. All the other flavors are great.

http://www.organicfoodbar.com/

So next time you are craving for something sweet, try an Organic Belgium Chocolate Chip Food Bar made with almond butter, sprouts, agave syrup and pieces of chocolate chips that makes this bar so delicious.

Spelt

 
What is Spelt?

Spelt is a grain that comes from the wheat family but is used as a safe substitute to wheat by those who have wheat allergies and wheat intolerance.

Does Spelt have Gluten?

Spelt does have spelt gluten. It is different than wheat gluten but yes, it has gluten and thus spelt is not appropriate for gluten-free diets.

Spelt Products

Spelt can be used for pretty much anything to bake with. I use spelt flour to make muffins, cookies etc. It tastes very much like wheat. The good thing about spelt is it does not get very doughy, like some of the white breads made from wheat flour.

I started eating spelt because of wheat intolerance but I have now started to like the taste of spelt and love many of the spelt prepared products. One of which is the yummy Sesame Spelt Sticks; they are crunchy and delicious and make a healthy snack. I warn you to eat responsibly in small quantities as they are quite addictive.


http://shilohfarms.com/productDetails.php?navid=271&itemNumber=244346

I m also very fond of spelt breads made by Berlin Natural Bakery. Their White Spelt Bread tastes like any other white bread with the benefit of the healthy Spelt grain that feels so good in the stomach.

http://store.berlinnaturalbakery.com/store.html


Spelt Pizza

If you live in or around Manhattan or you ever come by, you have got to try this pizza place called Cafe Viva, that makes natural pizza crusts from different doughs and my favorite one is the one made with spelt. The crust is crispy, wholesome and out of this world. Now, it is not a crust you would compare to your regular Italian pizza but it has a taste of its own.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-viva-natural-pizza-new-york

Mother Earth feeds us with several different kinds of grains, fruits and vegetables, all we need to do is explore our options. Eat Healthy, Eat Natural and Listen to your Body.

Spring Salad with Pears and Walnuts

1/2 head of green lettuce - chopped roughly
2 cups of mixed greens
4-5 Walnuts
1/2 pear cut into small pieces
Cherry Tomatoes - 5 cut into halves
Cucumber 1/4 cup cut into small pieces

Optional - Steamed Asparagus chopped into small pieces with 1/4 tablespoon olive oil and salt

Dressing - 1 tablespoon white wine of your choice, 1/4 tablespoon lime juice and 1 teaspoon Herbamare

Mix the greens, pear, walnuts, tomatoes and cucumber in a big bowl. Add the optional Asparagus. Mix the ingredients for the dressing, pour it over the salad and mix it thoroughly.

Enjoy the nutty taste of walnuts along with the sweet taste of pears mildly distracted by sour sweet taste of the cherry tomatoes. The dressing enhances the fresh green leaves of lettuce, making it juicier
than ever.

What is Herbamare?

Herbamare is a flavorful table salt prepared with fresh organically grown herbs. It contains a perfect balance of herbs like basil, rosemary, thyme, kelp, garlic along with sea salt, giving the salt a mild flavor and yet not taking it away from its natural taste. I call it the salt with a boost. I enjoy Herbamare on steamed veggies, use it on fresh avocado or make a simple dressing of lime juice, Herbamare and olive oil. Next time something calls for a salt, try the flavorful seasoned salt, Herbamare.

Organic Swiss Chard from my CSA Share

I picked up my second CSA share of freshly picked fruits and vegetables this Wednesday.

In my share, I got fresh, green leafy Swiss Chard, with stems that were white, fleshy and juicy. I could not help myself but eat the stems raw and guess what?? They were sweet, juicy and yummy :)

All I did was chop the Swiss Chard and sautee it with 5-6 Cloves of Organic Garlic and 1/2 tablespoon Avocado Oil. Then, I covered it until the veggies became soft. What turned out to be my lunch today is simply out of this world. I could taste the juicy, sweet green leaves with the buttery taste of avocado oil enhancing the flavors of the vegetable, making it feel like the most delicious food that ever existed on this planet.

Am I loving my Chard or what!! :)

Qunioa

Quinoa, pronounced as Keen-Wa, is not a grain but a seed and it is a delicious one! Quinoa has originated from South America and has made its way into the U.S. mainstream market and restaurants now, popularly known for its high protein content.

Quinoa's protein content is very high (12%–18%) and it contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source. It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and easy to digest.

The most popular type of Quinoa is the white colored one, but it comes in red and black. The red and black Quinoa is a lot heartier to me than the white one, although all three have a unique taste of their own.

Here is a simple recipe for preparing Quinoa.

Quinoa Vegetable Mash

1 cup Quinoa (White, Red or Black)
2.5 cups water
2 cups mixed vegetables for eg. broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower, carrots.
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1 potato (red or white) cut into cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
Optional Ingredients for extra flavor: Garam Masala / Curry Powder / Garlic/ Red Hot Pepper powder / Hot Green Peppers
Salt to your taste

I prepare this in a rice cooker but you could also use a non stick pot. In the rice cooker, it is extremely simple. Just add all the ingredients and let it cook. Once the Quinoa is cooked, mash it up so all the veggies, potatoes and quinoa blend together completely.

In a pot, add all the ingredients and simmer it for about 15-20 minutes or until the water is completely dried out. Stir it occasionally to make sure it does not stick to the bottom of the pot. Once the germ separates from the seed, quinoa is cooked. Turn off the fire and let is sit for 2-3 minutes. Mash the veggies, potatoes and quinoa to blend it altogether.

Enjoy a healthy, wholesome and an easy-to-cook meal.

Raw Honey

Raw honey is unheated, pure, unpasteurized, unprocessed honey and my favorite raw honey is Wee Bee Honey; I simply love the taste of it. Wee Bee Honey is also a family owned and operated apiary coming from generations of beekeepers, since 1892. I like to support family owned companies that make products with love and care.

Some of the benefits of raw honey (as per the Wee Bee Honey bottle) is that it helps with poor digestion, oral health, sore throat, cough, allergies, burns, wounds, scars and rashes.

One of the many home remedies I use when I have a cough, cold or a sore throat is chop some organic ginger into very fine pieces and mix it with some raw honey and eat it. It soothes the throat and tastes delicious!

The reason why I am writing this post is to encourage you to try a natural form of honey and see how delicious it tastes.

One of my favorite snacks that serves my sweet tooth is a nicely toasted sprouted grain bread spread with vegan butter and raw honey - it is the most delicious sweet snack in the world.

Vegan Butter

What is Vegan Butter? It is a buttery spread made of expeller-pressed oils that raise good cholestrol while lowering bad cholestrol and is easy for the body to break it down and assimilate. They are a lot less dense than regular butter and taste just like butter. The fat is derived from vegetables as opposed to animals, which makes the fat a good fat/unsaturated fat.

My favorite Vegan Butter is Earth Balance. I particularly love the taste of the Original spread which also comes as Organic whipped. Their other spreads include Olive Oil, Soy Oil and Soy-Free for those allergic to Soy. They are natural and do not contain any trans fatty acids.

Next time you think of bread and butter, I suggest you try a nicely toasted sprouted grain bread and spread it with some vegan butter....it is yummmmmmmy!!!!!

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

Community Supported Agriculture is way of purchasing local, seasonal food directly from the farmer. A farmer offers a certain number of shares to the public. Typically, each share contains seasonal vegetables and sometimes fruits but other farm products may also be included. Consumers sign up for a membership and receive a weekly or bi-weekly share from the farmers. If you would like to find a farmer who delivers to your neighborhood you could go to www.localharvest.org and search based on your zip code.

In order to become a member you have to belong to a local group to whom the farmer supplies the weekly or bi-weekly produce. I live in Hoboken and one of the farmers that deliver to Jersey City/Hoboken neighborhood is Purple Dragon. Their produce is organic and you can read more about them on www.purpledragon.com.

Today, I picked up my first share of freshly picked organic vegetables. Purple Dragon delivers to Jersey City where my group co-ordinator receives the delivery of vegetables and fruits and divides the share for the members. We are a total of 16 members in our group. The bi-weekly cost is 49 dollars for 15-30 pounds of organic fruits and vegetables. In my share of vegetables and fruits today, I got Multi-colored Kale, Lettuce, Green Beans, Broccoli, Carrots, Potatoes, Organic Dill, Tomatoes, Oranges, Apples, Pineapples, Bananas and a new herb that I have never heard of before called Chickweed. I am super excited to cook with these veggies and I will definitely share my experience with you but you have to taste it for yourself.

So, on Earth Day, be green and support your local farmer.

Sprouted grain bread

Today I want to share a product with you which I have been relishing for a few years now. It is healthy, tastes wholesome and it is very easy to digest. It is Sprouted Grain Bread!

Why Sprouted Grain Bread? Before I answer that question, I would have to answer another question: What is Sprouting?

According to Wikipidea, Sprouting is the practice of soaking, draining and then rinsing seeds at regular intervals until they germinate, or sprout.

But what are the health benefits to eating grains that are sprouted or germinated? When you sprout a grain, seed or a nut it unlocks the dormant enzymes in it making the grain a source of energy and very easily digestible. When we consume this food, it makes digestion easy which results in food giving us energy instead of food taking up energy from our body for digestion. When we have enzyme rich foods, our body is supplied with the required enzymes to digest food thus saving us a lot of energy. When the digestive enzymes in our bodies get depleted, the body reaches out to for metabolic enzymes as a source of enzymes for digestion. This is the reason why we can feel fatigued after eating foods that are difficult to digest.

Going back to Sprouted Grain Bread, the brand that I recommend is Food for Life, you can read all about it on their website www.foodforlife.com. I enjoy all kinds of breads made by them, the bread loaves come in different kinds like 7 grain, Cinnamon Raisin, Sesame, etc. You can also try their buns, English muffins, bagels or tortillas. They simply taste wholesome and feel so good in my stomach.

Get some vegan butter (more about it next time) and spread it on that Sprouted Grain Bread and enjoy!!

Cooking Oils

Cooking Oils fall under the category of fats and the word fat has scarred me since a very young age. While I am breaking through the barriers of my mind, and that is an ongoing process, I simply want to classify fats as a category of food and not deny that fats are delicious and make your meals yummy.

We have heard of the terms good fats and bad fats, here is a brief refresh to what they are.

• Good fats are unsaturated fats derived from plants and nuts, that the body finds it easier to break down and they lower bad cholestrol.


• Bad fats, on the other hand, are saturated fats derived from animal sources, dairy etc. and they have a tendency to increase bad cholestrol.

Having said that I am not going the black or white way, I think that if we eat anything that we want within our caloric range and within the body's ability to break it down, then we are good to go. Having a small dab of butter on your food once a while is really not going to kill you.

Going back to my original topic of Cooking Oils, there are several plant based oils of which the popular ones are Canola, Saffflower, Sunflower, Olive, Grapeseed etc etc. But my winners are two not so popular oils *drumroll*.........Coconut Oil and Avocado Oil. Both these oils are delicious and they have a low melting point very close to our body temperature and they are also best broken down and assimilated by our bodies.

I am a feeling person and I go with my intuition. I compared Avocado and Coconut Oil with other oils by simply feeling it on my fingers. These are light oils, that feel less dense and simply smooth away into my skin. Avocado Oil has a buttery taste and I sometimes rub it on my skin on one of those really cold wintery days. Coconut oil is sweet smelling and food cooked in Coconut Oil feels like there was no Oil added at all.

I encourage you to try these oils that are not only healthy but great tasting.

More recipes to come using Avocado and Coconut Oil, I buy my oils from Whole Foods, I buy the 365 Whole Foods brand, they are inexpensive and of good quality.

Garam Masala

Garam Masala literally means Hot Spices. It is nothing but a blend of different spices, roasted and ground. It adds great flavor to foods, especially vegetables in my case and it is indeed the secret to my healthy cooking. Most people think that healthy foods taste like crap, especially when people think of vegetables they think of bland, steamed veggies with salt and pepper. I am so fond of veggies I could eat them as is, steamed with salt and pepper but I do think that life is about enjoying and most of us love food. So, why not spice up our health foods.

Below is a quick recipe of a simple not so hot Garam Masala which can add lots of flavor to any foods.

1/4 cup Coriander Seeds
1 tablespoon Cumin Seeds
1/2 tablespoon Peppercorns
1 small stick of Cinnamon

* Dry roast these on low fire in a skillet. An iron skillet enhances the flavors.
* When you start smelling a nice warm toasty aroma of the spices, turn off the stove.
* Use a coffee grinder to make it into a fine powder.
* Transfer it into a small jar. The spices have a very long shelf life. You could use them for up to 6 months depending on your usage.

Simple Broccoli Recipe

I packet of frozen broccoli (Organic is preferred but not mandatory)

OR

1 head of fresh broccoli cut into small florets.

1 tspn Olive Oil

* In a small pot, on a medium flame add 1 tspn Olive Oil, after the oil warms up, add 1 tspn of Garam Masala.
* Add the Broccoli Florets and cover the pot allowing the vegetable to steam. Check after 5-7 minutes if Broccoli is cooked.
* Add salt to taste, about 1/2 tspn should work.
* Mix the veggies thoroughly so that the Broccoli soaks in Garam Masala and Salt.

You can also add Garlic and Hot Green Peppers as a variation to this recipe. If you don't like Broccoli, you can use Spinach/Cauliflower, these will taste good too.

I Love VEGGIES!!

New Beginnings

I love Spring, the newness of the season inspires me to start something new.

My name is Simmi Vaswani, I am 34 years old, a Pisces, born on March 4th and I am half Indian - half Iranian by heritage.

This is my venture in sharing my passion for health and food. I will be sharing everything I know about healthy vegetarian foods, their health benefits, my experiments, introducing not so popular veggies and sometimes I might just share a food I love, not necessarily healthy :)

I cannot write a blog about food and not mention my Mom and my Husband. My mother is the best chef I have known, she has profound knowledge of Indian spices and a natural flare for understanding food chemistry. My husband on the other hand just loves food and is open to trying new food preparations which inspires me to come up with new ideas. He is the reason why I am writing this blog.

That said, I hope I can engage you all in my passion for sharing what I know about health and food.