Salad Tutorial from Mrs. Plant

Making a healthy and satiating salad is done with a conscious effort. I try to have a 2-quart salad a minimum of FIVE times a week. Here are some of the deliberate decisions I make when I make my salads to make sure they are life-giving and nutritionally sound.
NOTE: My salads are 100% animal-free, made without dairy, eggs, or any other animal products.

Bowl Size:
I use a two quart-sized bowl for my salads. The ones I love came from Amazon. I bought this set of 2 porcelain bowls, and they are still like new even though I use them daily! I make sure to fill the bowl to the top first with greens -- Romaine or red-leaf lettuce, spinach, kale, or whatever I feel like for the day.

Greens:
As I mentioned above, I fill the 2-quart bowl with a mixture of greens or just Romaine lettuce, which is my fave. I chop it all into bite-sized pieces--not really super small like some people do. I think I get plenty of greens in this bowl without having to chop it into itty bitty pieces. I usually wash, spin to dry, and store lettuce for 2 days of salads at a time, leaving the top slightly open to keep them from getting soggy or turning pink. You can also use lettuce that is already washed, dried, and pre-cut in bags from your favorite grocery store. Whatever gets you to eat greens is the right way!

Cruciferous:
In order to get some cruciferious veggies into my salad, I generally add some shredded red cabbage (about 1/4 cup). However, you could add raw or cooked broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, or any other cruci-veg you like!

Veggies and Fruits:
I always make sure to add lots of chopped veggies and fruits with PLENTY OF COLOR. EAT THE RAINBOW! Tri-colored bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers, celery, tomatoes, and so forth. One of my faves is oil-free roasted, cooled, and chopped beets! Leftover roasted veggies that have been cooled in the fridge are also delightful added to a salad. I also love to add berries, chopped mango, or fruits like chopped apple or pear with the peel left on, or the sections of a couple of cutie oranges. If I don't add the fruit into my salad, I eat if after I finish my salad as my dessert (like a big apple or orange, or a bowl of melon).

Legumes:
I will also add 1/4 cup of oil-free (usually homemade) hummus, or 1/2-3/4 cup of cooked and cooled beans, lentils, or green peas. Legumes are full of healthy protein, low in fat, have the helpful resistant starch that our bodies need to slow down the absorption of glucose into the blood stream, plus LOTS of fabulous fiber! Fiber helps make you feel full and is crucial to keep you "regular" daily. 😊

Starch:
I don't always add starch into my salads, but a 1/2 cup of cooked quinoa, brown rice, farro, or other grains can be a delicious addition to a salad because it will add a new texture that makes your salad more interesting. Most of the time, I eat my starch on the side, like a small baked sweet potato  or some air-fried potato "fries" (about 200 grams).

Whole Plant Fats:
I like to top my salad with a nut or seed-based homemade dressing. This is where I get about 1/2 of my whole plant fat calories for the day. I especially love Spicy Peanut dressing (recipe below)! If the salad is more of a Mexican style, I may use salsa for the dressing and top with 1/4 of a chopped avocado or a scoop of guacamole. If the dressing is more of a vinaigrette, I will add 1 T of pumpkin seeds or chopped dry-roasted almonds or peanuts. You can also add sunflower seeds or other nuts and seeds that you like. Some people also add their daily 1 T of ground flaxseeds into their salad if they didn't get it into their breakfast. I usually get mine in during breakfast, so I rarely add it to my salad. Occasionally, I add some chopped olives to my salad, as well.

Fermented Vegetables:
I almost always add 1-2 T of garlicky sauerkraut (store-bought or homemade) to my salad or kimchi, if I have some available. Fermented veggies are great for positive gut health.

Salad Dressing:
Salad dressing is what keeps us coming back to salads, no? I just know that for me, really good salad dressing seems to be necessary to get me to consistently eat my produce. So, check out my oil-free salad dressings section of my website, or consider buying High Carb Hannah's "Let's Get Saucy" eBook or Dreena Burton's Oil-Free Dressings eBook.

My Favorite Spicy Peanut Salad Dressing:
2 scoops (or 1/4 cup) of Naked PB Peanut Powder (no salt, oil, or sugar added -- Non-GMO)
1 T tamari or low-sodium soy sauce
1/2-1T Sriracha sauce
1/2-1T date syrup, maple syrup, or agave
1/4 t ground ginger
1/4 t garlic powder or 1 small clove of crushed garlic
cold water to thin out


Disclosure: Mrs. Plant makes use of Amazon.com affiliate links when they are available. These are products I have personally purchased and recommend based on my experience with them. Your use of these links for product purchases provides me with a commission which pays for the food and supplies I use to keep this website alive. However, your use of these links as a reader is not required.

Cooking OIL-FREE in a Waffle Iron

The worst thing you can do when you buy a waffle maker with nonstick plates is to use oil on it or in the batter. Rather than being nonstick, they eventually become "gummy" and it will become impossible to remove the waffle. The key to oil-free cooking in a waffle maker is HOW you cook them.

Tonight, we made my typical Veggie Hash Browns, but this time in our relatively new waffle maker (which we absolutely LOVE, by the way!) I am including the ingredients I used below, but you will have to decide how many you want to make and how much of the ingredients of each. You almost can't mess this up. Anyway, the KEY to making this recipe is to PRE-HEAT the waffle maker, setting it between MEDIUM and HIGH HEAT. Then, fill waffle iron bottom plate right to the edges with the Veggie Hash Browns ingredients, close the top, and CAREFULLY press the top down with an oven mitt. Reduce the heat a bit on the waffle maker to just a little higher than medium, and set a timer for 25 minutes.
DO NOT OPEN THE TOP!
If after 25 minutes, your waffle won't come up pretty easily with a silicone spatula, close the top, and go another 5-10 minutes until the waffle can be lifted off with ease.
NEVER USE A METAL UTENSIL IN A NON-STICK APPLIANCE!

This is what I put in my Veggie Hash Browns:
Cooked and cooled whole Yukon Gold potatoes, shredded with a flat metal grater into a bowl
I gently mixed in:
Spinach, finely chopped
Carrots, finely chopped
Onion, finely chopped
Red/yellow/orange bell peppers, finely chopped
Paprika to taste
Garlic Powder to taste
Salt to taste

Here are the delicious oil-free waffles we made by Shane and Simple last week in our new waffle maker!

Check out the things I like to use in my cooking and kitchen in my AMAZON SHOP!



Disclosure: Mrs. Plant makes use of Amazon.com affiliate links when they are available. These are products I have personally purchased and recommend based on my experience with them. Your use of these links for product purchases provides me with a commission which pays for the food and supplies I use to keep this website alive. However, your use of these links as a reader is not required.

How to Roast a Butternut Squash WHOLE

It makes me nervous to cut up a butternut squash myself. They're so hard, and I am afraid the knife will slip. So, usually I peel it with my amazing Messermeister serated peeler first, then chop it from there. Works pretty well! But, sometimes, I just want to use roasted squash to make a sauce, and roasting it whole is a better option! Here's how I do it:

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2) Wash and dry the butternut squash
3) Make several jabs into the squash with a small paring knife
4) Place directly in a METAL 13x9 pan or a pan lined with foil
5) Bake/Roast for an hour to an hour and a half -- until a knife can enter into the center smoothly and the outside of the squash is browned and beginning to collapse a bit
6) Let cool, then cut open, remove seeds (SO easy!), and use the cooked flesh inside. If you want the inside to be more roasted and dark, cut the cooled squash in half, place the two sides (facing up) in the pan and roast another 15 minutes.

Disclosure: Mrs. Plant makes use of Amazon.com affiliate links when they are available. These are products I have personally purchased and recommend based on my experience with them. Your use of these links for product purchases provides me with a commission which pays for the food and supplies I use to keep this website alive. However, your use of these links as a reader is not required.

How to Make Oat Flour at Home - Cheaper and FAST!

Making oat flour at home is super easy and MUCH cheaper than buying a package of it at the store. If you have a good strong blender (like a Vitamix, Blendtec, or even a Ninja), you will be able to make your own oat flour.

Remember that when you ground down the oats, the volume you have left will be less. So, make sure you blend enough if you have a certain amount you need for a recipe. I add about 1/4 cup more oats for each cup of oat flour I need.

Simple place any kind of oats--old-fashioned or steel-cut-- into your blender. Cover the blender with the top--securely! Turn your blender to the highest speed (slowly). Use the tamper if you have one to move the flour around as it is blending, or stop every five seconds or so and stir around the flour so the larger pieces get blended. Blend until you have the consistency you want. Make sure to store in an airtight container AFTER the flour has cooled off a bit.


Disclosure: Mrs. Plant makes use of Amazon.com affiliate links when they are available. These are products I have personally purchased and recommend based on my experience with them. Your use of these links for product purchases provides me with a commission which pays for the food and supplies I use to keep this website alive. However, your use of these links as a reader is not required.

ANOTHER Altering a Recipe for Health

You don't always have to make a recipe exactly as it is written! In this recipe, the dressing contained oil and a sweetener I didn't want to use. I simply replaced the sweetener with 4 pitted dates and used 1/4 cup water instead of the oil. I just blended the dressing ingredients in the Vitamix until very smooth. It came out perfect for my husband's lunches this week!

Here is the original recipe. It's a great one! Make sure to carefully read the recipe--there is only 8 oz. of whole wheat pasta and 24 oz. (2 bags) of broccoli slaw (plus all the other ingredients!).
https://www.wellplated.com/asian-noodle-salad/

HOW TO MODERATE (mod-er-ate) TO LOSE OR MAINTAIN WEIGHT

Quick history...Simply by switching from SAD (Standard American Diet) to WFPB over 6 years ago, I lost 50 lbs in the first year (probably in around 7 months). During that time, I did eat some processed vegan food but no animal foods at all. As I continued to eat that way, the weight stayed off, but I found that I wasn't losing anymore. I was still eating the same amount of calories I ate (more or less) at the beginning of my journey, but I weighed a lot less. I just couldn't continue losing weight eating the same amount of calories. I also had a couple of ups and downs with my diabetes (eating less clean caused my a1c to rise), but ultimately found that I had to eat clean MOST of the time for optimal results. Now, I aim to eat clean 95% of the time.

A couple of years ago when High Carb Hannah's Lean and Clean eBook came out (awesome way to get back on track and start losing again!), I followed her 2-week jumpstart plan, but I found that I was having to moderate (eat less of) some of the foods (potatoes, rice, oats, dates, fats) in order to keep my blood sugar in check. Doing that, I was still feeling great and lost 9 lbs in a month. I will link her eBook and coupon code below.

Me before WFPB

Anyway, that really got me thinking. Even though I had heard from SO many people that I could eat all the whole plant foods I wanted until I was satisfied, I realized that I was not like the typical person. I didn't seem to have those working sensors that told me it was time to stop eating until way too late. Even when I ate more slowly, I still never felt full. But, believe me, I was physically PLENTY full. Perhaps years and years of pushing the limit--eating beyond full--wrecked my ability to feel fullness. So, I decided to combine what I had learned in every past diet I failed to stay on (you'll see why in a minute) and combine it with the magic of whole plant foods.

Whole plant foods do contain many magical qualities. Like the fact that they are loaded with nutrients and provide the perfect fuel for the body. However, we don't put more gas in a car than the tank can hold. There is a limit--a tank--and keeping the tank full but not overflowing was a challenge for me.

I knew that I did NOT want to count calories and weigh and measure my food ALL the time. And, I don't do that now, so please don't misunderstand. However, when my weight loss stalled (and I even gained a few pounds back), I knew I needed to put myself under the microscope and see where I needed to tweak my diet.

I started by signing up for a FREE account at cronometer.com.
I chose this site specifically because they don't allow random people to enter in foods and their information like other sites do. The information comes from a couple of databases (USDA and NCCDB) that were more reputable that the average human. However, in order to track what you are eating, you do have to make sure you are actually eating specific amounts of food. You'll have to do some weighing and measuring. I know--a little bit of a pain. This was not something I planned to do forever--just for a few days. I just ate as I normally would, entered this information into Cronometer, and found that my macronutrient distribution of carbs, proteins, and fats was WAY off. And, my caloric intake was anywhere from 100-500 calories too high every day. #realitycheck

Me after WFPB

Tracking food is absolutely more work when you eat complex meals. So, eating more simply helps tremendously. My breakfasts and lunches were a breeze to enter into Cronometer (because I eat much more simply at these meals), but my dinners were generally much more complex recipes. PAIN, RIGHT? For the long haul, I knew I would not want to be entering in every one of my recipes/servings into Cronometer. However, I did add some of them to get me through my test days. It was helpful to get an accurate picture of my caloric intake and macros distribution.

Armed with some new information, I made some changes to my diet. I knew that eating less than 10% of my total caloric intake in fat was not good for me--even as a T2 diabetic. My hair, skin, and nails were especially dry, and I just didn't feel as good. So, I upped my whole plant fat intake to a total of 10-15% per day. I was able to maintain optimal blood glucose levels and feel good. I also lowered my carbohydrates from 80% down to 75% simply by moderating my starches. I actually measure out my starches (some before and some after cooking). I have a cheat sheet in my eBook of exactly what I moderate and in what quantities (bit.ly/tameyourdiabetes). And, I upped my intake of the lowest calorically dense foods--non-starchy veggies and fruit. So now, I only weigh/measure starches and fats. I just eyeball my beans/legumes, but for some people these might also need to be moderated. I actually have to make sure I am eating beans/legumes because I didn't grow up eating them and wasn't used to including them in my meals.

So, how do you figure out IF you need to moderate some foods and how much to moderate? This is a VERY personal and individual thing that I cannot decide for you. Some people have tried doing what I do with incredible success. Others have to increase their caloric intake because they weigh more than I do. Others need less. You have to experiment. I just believe that the higher calorically dense of the whole plant foods--starches, beans/legumes, nuts, seeds, avocado--are the foods we tend to overeat when we are eating clean. Fruit can also be a problem for some people, in the form of smoothies and nice cream.

From SAD to WFPB

So, here's a quick view of how I did it. And Girl, please know that I am NOT at my goal weight because I don't eat clean all the time. I try to stay on my plan 95% of time. That's about 1 meal off of every 21.

- I began by tracking my present food intake in Cronometer for a few days to see how many calories I was eating and to see the macronutrient distribution of those foods.

-  I decided to begin eating 1200 calories of whole plant foods (a number that was slightly lower than what charts said I needed to lose weight) and to eat 75% of my calories from carbohydrates, 15% from protein and 15% from fat. I actually planned out my meals in Cronometer THE DAY BEFORE and followed that plan pretty strictly for a while (maybe 2 weeks).

- Seeing that I was losing weight (weighed in each morning at the same time), I increased the calories by 100 calories for a few days. I continued to lose weight, so I increased by another 100 calories. I stalled again. So, I found that my "sweet spot" is around 1200-1300 calories per day. However, if you weigh over 180 lbs, starting with around 1500-1550 calories a day is probably a better starting point for you. I would increase by 100 calories every couple of days to find YOUR "sweet spot." People who weigh over 200 lbs may be able to eat closer to 1800-2000 calories a day (or more!) and still be able to lose weight. Test and see!

-- Ongoing, I didn't want to track my food every day. So instead, I simply moderate the foods that I tend to overeat--potatoes, rice, oats, tofu, nuts, seeds, processed vegan food. This is continuing to produce steady maintenance of my weight loss and even some additional weight loss. You could even do better than me if you eat super clean ALL of the time. I just choose to be a little less strict at times because I plan to do this forever.

I hope all of this makes sense. Please post questions you have below, and I will answer and also update this post to add in information I may have forgotten.

If you want my CHEAT SHEET and to read more specifically about my philosophy, read my eBook. Use the code NEWBIE for a discount on it.
Link to eBook >> http://bit.ly/tameyourdiabetes

Also, if you want a GREAT jumpstart to help you get off processed food and begin eating clean, check out High Carb Hannah's LEAN AND CLEAN. This eBook truly made an impact on me. I couldn't eat some of the portion sizes (I ate slightly less starch and used a lot less dates) due to my diabetes and my current weight, but the recipes were delicious (I did the low-salt option versus the salt-free) and I lost weight following her plan.
Use the code 25OFF for 25% OFF any of her eBooks. 
Link to eBooks>> http://bit.ly/mrsplant

I'm Confused!

What percentage of fat should I eat? Protein? Carbs? Is it OK to oil my pan before cooking? Do I have to give up salt completely?

With the plant-based lifestyle becoming more prevalent in the mainstream, you're probably reading lots of articles, books, watching videos, or talking to friends about what foods you should or should not be eating. It gets EXTREMELY confusing when you hear one thing is OK, and then you hear from somewhere else that it's not OK.

How do you manage this dilemma?

I, too, have become frustrated lately with the mixed information being shared online. But, there is one remedy for this...you do what works best for you!

Sure, there are some basics that we all know are going to improve our health -- like eating fruits and vegetables, whole grains are generally better for you than white, limit sugar and salt, and beware of processed food. But, there are differing views about what to eat beyond that, and you have to decide for yourself how you're going to navigate those other "seas." Your health is unique. Do what works for you!

If you don't have an addictive personality and can handle chocolate occasionally, it's probably OK for you. If when you bake a banana bread and it just stares you down from the counter until you polish it off, don't tempt yourself by baking! Get to know yourself better! What makes YOU gain weight? What tempts YOU to overeat? What causes YOUR blood sugar to get out of control? What raises YOUR blood pressure. Get real with YOU! 

Yes, we should consider the science and research (UNbiased, of course!). And, we should probably test it out and see if what the research says works for us...and it may! But sometimes, we are the exception and not the rule.

In addition, log your experiences. If every time you eat a certain meal at a restaurant, your blood sugar soars into the 200s or 300s, that meal is probably not a good choice for YOU. If you gain unwanted weight eating unlimited rice and potatoes, you may have to adjust. If having a glass of wine gives you a headache, you may have to cut that out. Mark down what works for you and what doesn't. Design your own specifications within this lifestyle that improve your health and wellness. Don't fret if you're not doing this exactly the way another person is. As long as you're doing what optimizes YOUR health, that's all that matters!

Grow Your Own Sprouts!

I watched a YouTube video a long time back where a woman used an aseptic container (from veggie broth or plant milk) to grow mung bean sprouts. I thought this was so clever! So, I decided to try my hand at it, and now, this is the way I grow them. SO easy! The aseptic container provides a dark place for your mung bean sprouts to grow!

Step 1: Clean out an aseptic veggie broth container well.

Step 2: Use a funnel to pour 3  T of organic mung beans into the container through the sprout opening. You can do this by hand, but it takes longer.

Step 3: Fill the container with cool water. Close the top and shake gently. Do this 3-4 times to rinse the beans.

Step 4: Snip the 2 front corners off of the box (opposite from the spout).

Step 5: Fill the container one last time, close the top, and set it up on the counter overnight (or for at least 8-12 hours).

Step 6: Drain ALL of the water out of the box through the holes you created on the corners. Let the box sit on the counter to rest.

Step 7: TWICE DAILY, fill the box with cool water, shake gently, then drain through corner holes.

Within 3-5 days, the entire box will be filled with mung bean sprouts that you can use to make all sorts of awesome Asian dishes! Simply cut the box open with a knife and see the beautiful sprouts! You can pour them into a bowl of water and allow the little green seed covers to float to the top. Then, discard them.

Pressure Cooking and Why It's Worth the Investment

We originally bought an electric pressure cooker because we thought it would make cooking our dog food easier. GOOD call. We can whip up a batch of dog food that will last for 9 days in no time. But, we decided to try some "human" recipes to see if cooking was as quick and easy...and cheaper. Here's what we found...

1) You can cook a BIG batch of brown rice in MINUTES! I put 4 cups of brown rice in the pressure cooker (pc) and 5 cups of warm water. Then, I set the pc for 22 minutes. When the rice kicks over to the "warming" setting, I leave the pc on for 10 more minutes (on the "warming" setting). After the 10 minutes have passed, I release any remaining steam. It comes out PERFECT... every, single time! Also, I generally freeze several containers for future use.

For Jasmine or Basmati rice, add 2 cups of rice and 3 cups of water to the pressure cooker pot and set on high pressure for 4 minutes with NATURAL RELEASE. Open when all of the steam is naturally released. You can double this for more rice!

2) You can cook a BIG batch of beans for CHEAP! I've made batches of chickpeas and black beans at a fraction of the cost of canned. I pay anywhere from $1 to $2.49 for a can of organic beans in the store. I can make around 7 cups of cooked beans with only 1 pound of dried beans. I just bought some non-GMO dried chickpeas from Vitacost.com for $1.29 a pound. This is equivalent to 28 cents for 1 1/2 cups of cooked beans (the amount in a can of beans). Also, they're so easy to cook. If you soak them ahead of time, chickpeas can be set for about 20-25 minutes with natural release (meaning, you wait for the pressure to come down naturally--allowing the top to open without having to release the steam valve). You can also cook them from their dry state in about 40 minutes. The best part is that you can set it and forget about it! Again, I like to freeze containers of 1 1/2 cups to use when I would have normally used a can of beans.

3) You can DUMP and GLOW! What I mean by that is you can make soups, stews, and chilis by dumping in all the ingredients, but your friends will think you slaved over the stove for hours! Sure, you have to do a bit of chopping (or make sure you prep each week to make this cooking during the week faster!

4) You can SAVE MONEY by not buying vegetable broth! Save your veggie scraps and make your own salt-free vegetable broth! I've paid anywhere from $1.99 to $3.00 for a container of organic vegetable broth. It costs NOTHING EXTRA to make your own with veggie scraps!

5) You can use it like a dutch oven! When we went to Healthfest a couple of weekends ago, we made Corn and Potato Chowder and PlantPure Nation Creamy African Stew before we left home, stored them in our coolers, and warmed them in the pressure cooker for dinner in our hotel room! We just set the pressure cooker to the "Sauté" mode and stirred the brew until it was warmed!

6) You can steamed veggies to perfection! If you add the metal stand that comes with the Instant Pot to the bottom of the pot and place a steamer basket with your veggies on top of that, you can add water to the bottom and steam them! They retain their beautiful color and nutrients!

7) You can brown onions before you add the ingredients for soups, stews, and chilis using the "Sauté" feature. And, the best part is, you don't need any oil for this! If the onions begin to stick on the bottom of the pot, just add a bit of water or veggie broth and stir!

8) You can cook a cauliflower--WHOLE! You know all those awesome cauliflower-based alfredo sauce recipes that require cauliflower florets to be cooked well? You can simply cook the whole cauliflower in the pressure cooker without having to do all the work of cutting off the florets!

9) You can make a HUGE pot of PASTA SAUCE! A pressure cooker is perfect for making a big pot of pasta sauce. It can be a simple or more complex recipe...whatever your family likes best!

10) Cook a bag of potatoes to PERFECTION! I love to put an entire bag of Yukon Gold potatoes or sweet potatoes in the pressure cooker with a cup of water at the bottom. It takes anywhere from 15-20 minutes to cook them perfectly on high pressure with natural release. Then, we have lots of potatoes for the week--for snacking or a last-minute meal (Baked Potato Night!)!

11) Cook your GREENS without a SCENE! Just wash a bunch of kale or chard, tear them into pieces, and cook them in the pc with about 1/4-1/2 cup of water in the bottom for 3-5 minutes on pressure with quick release. Drain the water and splash a little of your favorite balsamic vinegar on top, and you've got a nutrient-rich side dish for a meal!

12) Your HEART will THANK you! Cook your oats in the pressure cooker with ease! We make a batch of Apple Cinnamon Steel-Cut Oats for the week and store them in the fridge for breakfasts.

Disclosure: Mrs. Plant makes use of Amazon.com affiliate links when they are available. These are products I have personally purchased and recommend based on my experience with them. Your use of these links for product purchases provides me with a commission. However, your use of these links as a reader is not required. 

Traveling as a WFPB Eater

Dehydrated Bananas for snacks on a trip

Traveling can be tough when it comes to healthy meals and snacks. However, if you prepare ahead of time, you can make it work. This post is going to be devoted to car travel, though many of the tips can be adapted to air travel. Obviously, space is generally more limited when you travel by air.

When we go on a trip in the car, we take coolers. We have an awesome plug-in cooler that we use while the car is on and also in the hotel room. This allows us to take food that needs to stay at refrigerator temperature while on the road. That said, we can take pasta salad or quinoa salad for lunches and even ingredients to cook dinners in our pressure cooker. Of course, this allows us to chill our plant-based milk for cereal, as well. Sometimes, we also bring a traditional cooler (that you use with ice) when we have a lot of food or will be gone for several days.

The next item that is essential for us to take is our pressure cooker. We can take ingredients with us and quickly make a soup, stew, or chili in no time! We always make sure to bring empty plastic storage containers for leftovers, and we also bring a silicone spatula to scrape out the pot well before the final rinse (which generally has to be done in the bathtub unless the hotel has a kitchen area).

For breakfasts, I like to take Overnight Oats, all packaged and ready for each day of the trip. I simply bring one short jar with me, pour in the baggie I have prepared with the ingredients, and add the plant milk. Then, I place it in the cooler or hotel fridge overnight. In the morning, I add additional fruit if I desire. It is such an easy way to get a filling breakfast in while traveling. The guys tend to like cold cereal, so they will bring a couple of boxes of their favorites with extra goodies to add in (ground flax seeds or chia seeds, raisins, buckinis, etc.). If you're going to meals eat out while traveling at least save some money by bringing your own breakfast!

In addition, we usually dehydrate some fruit for the car ride and in between meals. Our favorites are dehydrated bananas (we split bananas lengthwise, flatten them between the dehydrator mat a piece of parchment paper. We use an old meat tenderizer--the flat side--to flatten them) and mangoes.

Sometimes, I will also make my own version of Mary's Gone Crackers in the dehydrator or oven, or we will just buy Mary's Gone Crackers online or from the store as they are oil-free and made from whole foods. This next trip, we plan to bring High Carb Hannah's Almond Feta Cheese to spread on them! We also like to make our Kale Crackers sometimes (a great way to get more greens in!). We might also pack some Oil-Free Low-Fat Sweet Potato Hummus to eat with Oil-Free Baked Pita Chips.

Other snacks that we like to take are Nature's Bakery Whole Wheat Fig Bars. They come in several fruity flavors (and now even in 4 BROWNIE flavors). I love the raspberry and blueberry ones the best. They're easy to throw in your purse for a boost when it's not quite mealtime.

Since we don't eat nuts by hand as a snack, I might incorporate some nuts or nut butter in Snack Bites, Homemade Snack Bars, or Power Balls for our road trip. We do limit our nut generally, but on a trip, they help sustain us between meals.

We also like to make Lavash Crackers before we leave to snack on with meals (particularly soup). However, they are quite crispy and crumbly, so we generally don't eat these in the car! We also bring a big container of air-popped popcorn or pop some in a paper bag in the hotel room to have for a later-evening snack in the hotel room. We like to bring a little nutritional yeast and salt to sprinkle on top.

Another excellent meal is to bring good 'ol homemade peanut butter and jelly (fruit-juice sweetened, like Trader Joe's or Polaner) with some whole grain bread for quick lunches or in-between snacks.

Don't forget compostable plates, bowls, flatware, serving spoons, napkins, chip clips, and food storage containers! We always bring our water cups and bring a jug of filtered water in our cooler for fill-ups.

Hope this post gives you some good ideas for traveling. If we want to make eating whole foods plant-based no oil a lifestyle, we have to make sure we are prepared for travel!

Water Fasting - Why Do I Do It?

DISCLAIMER: This post is not intended to recommend water fasting. It is merely to explain what I am doing this week and do from time to time to clear my system. Water fasting should NOT be done unsupervised for more than VERY short periods of time.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, I want to share with you something that is a part of my life that is the complete opposite of cooking and eating...water fasting!

As a Type 2 diabetic, I am combating this disease with diet and exercise rather than medications. In the past four years, I have been able to lose a lot of weight and bring my blood sugar levels down eating whole foods plant-based with no oil included in my cooking. I also walk or run regularly, which assists in keeping my blood glucose levels low. Though many Type 2 diabetics who have adopted a whole foods plant-based lifestyle have fully reversed this disease (meaning, their A1C levels are around 5.5 or below), I have not yet achieved this low level. I'm close but not quite there. Therefore, diet and exercise IS my medicine.

However, about three times a year, I partake in a 3-5 day fast where I consume only distilled water. I know...CRAZY! It's especially crazy when much of my life revolves around food. Water fasting is an age-old practice to remove toxins from the body and clear the system. I was introduced to water fasting through various articles I read and videos I watched (which I will note at the bottom of this post). Not being able to travel to California to the only medically supervised water fasting program in the country (because of work), I decided to try out a short fast on my own. My main purpose was to release as much glucose from my system and begin burning the fat in my muscles which causes insulin resistance. On this journey, I have had many ups, but I've also had some downs with my diabetes. This particular time, I was struggling with some elevated blood sugar levels and wasn't sure what the cause was. I felt that clearing my system might allow me to reset my body.

That first water fast was amazing. I only fasted for three days, but my blood sugar levels came down to normal, and I felt awesome. I was surprised that not eating wasn't hard. I missed the cooking part more than the eating! I found that my body function improved greatly after the fast. It also seemed to get me past a weight loss plateau (which is probably the cause of the blood sugar buildup in my blood).

Since then, I have found water fasting to be a helpful practice. My doctor agreed to me doing up to five days on my own, making sure to check my blood pressure and blood sugar levels. It is essential to go past two days because the body is only burning glucose in the first 48-72 hours and doesn't get into the fat stores until the around the 3rd day. When the body enters into ketosis (using fat as an energy source rather than glucose), the healing really begins. The brain no longer signals the body that it is hungry, so you don't even feel hungry after about the second day. If you want to learn more about water fasting in detail, check out this video.

So, next weekend I will be running in my very first 5K race. I decided to water fast a few days this weekend (Friday-Monday) and then eat raw foods for a few days after that, to get my body clear and ready.  I'm super excited about the race, and I want my body to be in optimal shape.

Remember...water fasting is NOT something anyone should do without educating themselves and getting clearance from their doctor. If you do take medications, it becomes even more complicated, and you should check with your doctor first before considering it.


Fasting: Safe & Effective Use of an Ancient Healing Therapy

Fasting – Back to the Future

The Benefits of Fasting

Roasting Potatoes...WITHOUT OIL!

We love to have roasted potatoes along with a lunch or dinner or as a snack. Traditionally, people put oil on potatoes to help seasonings stick and to roast them "properly." Yet ANOTHER misnomer! You DO NOT need OIL to roast potatoes! In the photos below, I have combined several of my favorite herbs and spices (dried rosemary, dried thyme, Himalayan pink salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika) and simply tossed the freshly cut potato chunks (picture 2) into the seasoning mix (picture 1). As you can see, all of the seasoning is evenly coated on the potatoes and no longer on the bottom of the bowl (in picture 3). Lay the seasoned potatoes on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake at 400-425 degrees in an oven or toaster oven until tender inside and golden and crispy on the outside. NO OIL NEEDED! You CAN lose weight eating potatoes like this!!

Homemade Almond Milk

Doesn't every plant-based food blog have to have a post on making plant-based milk? The reason I am writing this post is to share with you the benefits of making your own plant-based milks...both economically and nutritionally.

Making Homemade Nut Milk
These are the items you will need to make it:

~ A blender
~ A nut milk bag - I have had a couple of nut milk bags, and the one I just bought is BY FAR my favorite one. It's by a company calle d EcoPeaceful. The bag is completely made of organic cotton, and doesn't have any toxic plastic in it like some nut milk bags do. The weave is very fine, allowing you to completely separate the pulp, leaving smooth and creamy milk behind.
~ 1 cup of almonds
~ 5 cups of filtered water
~ vanilla extract (optional)

In a medium-sized bowl, add the almonds and 2 cups of filtered water. Let the nuts soak (covered) for 6-8 hours on your counter. Drain the soaking water and rinse the nuts well.

In your blender, add 3 cups of cold, filtered water and the soaked nuts. Blender for about 2 minutes, until the nuts are pulverized well.

In the same bowl you used to soak the nuts, place the nut milk bag in it with the opening spread wide. Pour the almond mixture into the nut milk bag, gently squeezing all of the milk through it until you can't get anymore milk out. Twist the nut milk bag well to make sure all of the milk has been released into the bowl. You can save the nut pulp inside the bag for other uses. I will write a post on this, as well. For now, place it in a zippered baggie in your fridge.

Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the almond milk, if you desire. Stir well. Store the milk in a tightly closed container. It will stay fresh in the fridge for about 3 days. You will yield about 3 1/4 cups of almond milk.

NOTE: If you like your almond milk thinner, add more water and stir.

Cost Comparison
So, what does this homemade milk cost compared to buying some in the store?
About 4 cups of Silk Almond Milk (shelf stable) costs about $2.24 at Wal-Mart.
There are approximately 3 1/2 cups of almonds in one pound.
A pound of almonds costs $8.99 at Sprouts, which would make about 3 1/2 batches of almond milk, costing you $2.57 a batch. If you could find almonds on sale, it would be even cheaper.
But, the best part is that the milk is made from nuts and water. No added garbage! And, it tastes amazing!!!

Mrs. Plant's Audio Podcast #7 - Vitamins B12 and D - Get Your Levels Checked!

Mrs. Plant's Audio Podcast #6 - Vitamin Supplements - Do I Need Them?

Mrs. Plant's Audio Podcast #5 - Carbohydrates - Angelic or Evil?

Mrs. Plant's Audio Podcast #4 - Advocating For Yourself When Going to a Restaurant

Mrs. Plant's Audio Podcast #3 - Tour of Mrsplantintexas.com Website

Mrs. Plant's Audio Podcast #2 - What To Eat On A Daily Basis

Mrs. Plant's Audio Podcast #1: The Simplicity of a Whole Foods Plant-Based Lifestyle