Why do I eat what I eat?
Good question and a whole lot of people have been asking this summer from my adult yoga camp in June to yoga camp in July to teacher training in August . As people learn about what GMO is and try to avoid HFC (high fructose corn syrup), tortured animal meat and processed food, the question remains ….so what is safe to eat now??
I don’t know that I have THE answer but I can attest that my family is rarely sick and radiantly healthy. My journey of finding the truth began with the documentary “Food Inc”. and the book by Michael Pollan, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”. Then I read Barbara Kingsolver’s, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” and saw recently the documentary “Forks over Knives” with my teacher trainees. I feel well educated that our food system is poison and the best way to feed yourself is with a diet made up of local, organic food, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes and beans. We eat a minimal amount of dairy and eggs and absolutely no animal flesh. I’ve been vegetarian for nearly 20 years and that means nothing living, of the land sea or sky.
I like to cook a lot of food so there are leftovers for lunches.
Breakfast at my house, is almost always the same – *homemade granola with fresh fruit and almond or rice milk and a dollop of local yogurt.
So, this week’s menu:
All produce comes from a local Richmond farmer’s market or Farm to Family –
*recipe at end of blog –
*Mock Crab Cakes with sliced heirloom tomatoes and potato salad with corn on the cob
*Black beans with homemade salsa on brown rice with field greens salad
*Red lentils with Indian spices on brown rice with a green salad filled with cucumber and onion
Local Bombolini pasta, freshly made, with fresh chopped tomatoes and crushed garlic with basil
Fried eggplant with tomato sauce and a little fresh parmesan cheese and a fresh salad
Farm fresh egg omelettes with mushroom, pepper, and onion with fieldgreens salad
Vegetarian Crab Cakes
Ingredients
2 cups coarsely grated zucchini
salt
1 cup bread crumbs (Trader Joe’s brand works best)
1 egg beaten
1 ½ teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon mayonnaise or plain yogurt
Juice of ½ lemon (optional – I skip this)
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley (optional – I skip this)
peanut or olive oil, for frying
Shred zucchini
Place zucchini and bread crumbs in a large bowl and mix together.
Place egg,OldBay,Dijon, mayo, (lemon juice and parsley) in a small bowl. Mix well.
Pour egg mixture into zucchini-bread crumb mixture, and mix gently and thoroughly. Form into 8 patties the size of crab cakes. Heat a small amount of oil in a saute pan, and cook patties on both sides, browning well.
Serve with ketchup that has no HFC like Trader Joes brand or wasabi mayo (my personal fav.)
BLACK BEANS
Soak black beans overnight and simmer with plenty of water for a few hours until soft
Have just a little water over the top of the beans but not soupy when you add 1 -2 tblsps of Old Bay seasoning
Mix in your own salsa of 1 medium chopped onion, 1 green pepper, 3 medium tomatoes
Serve on brown rice
Indian Lentils
Red lentils simmer in water, won’t take long to soften
In a sauce pan add a bag of Panch Puran spices, (cumin, fenugreek seeds, yellow mustard seeds, fennel seeds) – cook in oil until they are crackling and popping, add garlic, 1 medium onion and 3 chopped carrots
Add the lentils and mix well to allow the lentils to absorb all the flavor
Serve on brown rice with a cucumber salad on the side
Homemade Granola
1 stick of butter
1/2 c local honey
4 cups rolled oats
Nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, raisins, coconut, cinnamon, etc..
Melt butter and honey. Pour over oats, seeds and nuts, mix well so well integrated. Bake 400 degrees for 15 min. in 5 min. intervals – check for over browning!
Add dried fruit, mix well – and enjoy!