Moosewood

When I was 14, I became a vegetarian for the first time.  I read all of Adele Davis and Francis Moore Lappe's books.  I saw Mollie Katzen on a talk show, talking about her new cookbook and the Moosewood Restaurant that she had helped start in upstate NY.  I may have looked it up and it seemed far away and I gave up on ever eating there, but my mom bought me the cookbook and I have made many, many meals from it over the years.

Last year, when I made the decision to stop eating meat again, I revisited those old cookbooks and recipes and I realized that Moosewood Restaurant was not far from my parents' lakehouse.  I called Jason at work the minute I realized this and he wanted to plan a fall trip to the lake, but Sandy happened and we never got to go.

thyme vodka makes an awesome bloody mary

 So, when Jason wanted to go to this yoga festival, I may or may not have said yes based on the close proximity to Moosewood.  Jason promised we would go there several times.

The food at Moosewood is AMAZING!

burrito and mushroom pie

the place has a great vibe

Spanish Fritatta is awesome!

this veggie burger was to die for!

Peanut butter chocolate pie was the bomb!

Ten MEATLESS Meals My Family LOVES!

I have an eating disorder so eating healthy is a big priority for me.  I have always encouraged my family to make good choices when it comes to food.  We don't ALWAYS eat organic, but we try to as much as possible and we try to eat healthy and well.

I buy a variety of snacks depending on what appeals to me or my family in the store or what is on sale.  But, we always have plain Greek yogurt, lots of fruit, pretzels and non-GMO popcorn kernels available for popping.

I wish I was better about preparing breakfast, but I'm not and it tends to be cold cereal unless Allie makes herself oatmeal or scrambled eggs.

Lunches in our house tend to be salad for me and leftovers of dinner, oatmeal with lots of fruit, smoothies (green & fruit), cheese and crackers or good old p,b &j for the girls.

Dinner is where we try to rock it!  I don't eat meat and for a while neither did my youngest, but now both of my girls and my husband all do eat meat.  It's not as much of a challenge as you would think.

Here are our top 10 MEATLESS Favorite Family Dinners!

1. Lentil Salad with grapes - I've caught my girls coming in for a midnight snack on this one!

2.  Shrimp and Grits - Comfort food at it's finest.  I have made it with and without bacon (I won't use fake bacon--too many preservatives!)

3.  Red Lentil Coconut Curry (I make with Jasmine or Basmati rice) - we all love it!

4.  Tacos - I usually make black beans for myself and steak or chicken for Jason & the girls and we all share the tomatoes, cheese, rice, guac, etc.

5.  Vegetable Curry with Tofu - my oldest asks for this meal every single week!

6.  Summer Veggie Rice Bowls - my husband claims this is his favorite meal of ALL TIME!

7.  Irish Nachos - HOLY YUM FUN!  I have been known to put bacon on half for the fam!

8.  Vegetarian Chili - My husband, who fancies himself a chili connoisseur, says this is amazing chili!

9.  Lemony Lentils with Kale - Ok, this is a fave of mine, but my family eats it with relish!

10.  Hoppin' John  - My kids BEG for this!  No joke.  I have been known to use real bacon in it, but don't tell the vegetarian police.

Of course, pizza, mac & cheese, veggie burgers (when the fam eats all beef burgers), breakfast for dinner, veggie quiches, omelets, & fritattas and gourmet grilled cheese (with goat cheese & figs or brie and chutney) are always a hit as well!

If you are looking for more meatless family meals, please check out my Pinterest boards!

Tacos, Stuffed Poblanos and Skinny Margaritas

My husband grew up in Southern California.  His family ate a lot of Mexican food and it is one of his favorite things.  So, I learned how to cook Mexican food!

Tacos have always been a staple in our house, but now that I don't eat meat they are really a perfect meal since everyone assembles their own the way they want them.

Other than tortillas and meat or beans, there is really nothing you NEED to have.  it's all a matter of preference or what you happen to have on hand.

Tacos

Typically, we use:

tortillas (we prefer soft, but sometimes we do hard shell, it's all up to you)

meat (ground beef, sliced steak, chicken strips, slow simmered pork, fish sticks, shrimp)

beans (carnivores eat them too, but they are a staple for vegetarians!)

tomatoes

cheese

lettuce

black olives

salsa or pico de gallo (or both)

onions

Spanish rice

corn

hot peppers or jalapenos

guacamole

How I prepare the meat:

If I am using ground beef, I just brown it and add some chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic.  Sometimes I will brown an onion in there, too.  Sometimes I throw a tablespoon or two of tomato sauce in.

If I am using chicken or steak, I cut it in strips first.  If I am really organized, I marinate the meat in lime juice, hot peppers, garlic, cumin, and chili powder.  If I am not organized,  I sautee it with some garlic and add some cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, etc.  I pretty much do shrimp the same way.  Fish I bread first and add some cumin and chili powder to the breading (but you can skip the breading and just quick fry it with cumin, lime and chili powder.)  If we are using skirt steak, I marinate it in roasted garlic salsa overnight and then (Jason) grills it directly on the coals.

The girls help shred cheese, chop tomatoes and lettuce, etc.

We just lay it out and everyone helps themselves!

Stuffed Poblanos (Chiles Rellenos)

We don't always eat these with tacos, but sometimes we do.

Ingredients:

Poblano peppers (or bell peppers if you prefer)

1/2 lb (or 1 can) red kidney beans (if using dry, soak them until soft)

3/4 cup salsa (jarred or homemade)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar or jack

1/2 cup raisins

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Mix the beans, salsa, cheese and raisins together and add spices.  Cut the tops off the peppers and stuff them.  Either cook on a grill or roast in the oven.

Skinny Margaritas - single serving

I admit it, I LOVE Crystal Light.  I seldom drink it, but I do love it.  A few years ago, one of my Bunco friends introduced me to Skinny Margaritas.

1 Crystal Light on the go single serving lemonade packet
lime juice
water
Triple Sec
tequila
rim salt (optional)

Mix the Crystal Light and water (I usually add slightly less than what the packet calls for).  Add a shot of tequila, half a shot of Triple Sec and 2 tbsp. lime juice.  Mix it up and enjoy over ice!

A Bulimic's Rules for Organics

Lately it seems that everywhere you turn, someone is telling you the dangers of not eating organic or of eating genetically modified food.

I am just as pissed off as anyone about the Monsanto Protection Act.  May 25 is marked in red on my calendar and the girls and I will be joining some friends at a local March Against Monsanto.

 I have an eating disorder.  Food has been a really big thing to me since I was 12.  I have had "rules" for food for close to 30 years.  I have "good foods"--vegetables, whole grains, lowfat dairy, beans, eggs and "bad foods" anything fried or high fat or containing refined sugar or simple carbs.  I have learned over the years that thinking comes and goes..."eggs are bad for you" and then they find "Eggs are good for you" or "eat more grains and less meat" and then "More meat, less grains!"....  I have learned that the best approach, for me, is to keep everything in moderation and not listen to any trend but to listen to my body--I know I feel better when I eat more vegetables, grains and beans and I feel sluggish when I eat meat or high fat foods.

When I was 12, 13, 14, I was looking for a way to control my food intake.  I wanted a prescribed diet, something where I could feel ok about eating more than iceberg lettuce and diet chocolate soda.  I read Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe and everything by Adelle Davis.  I drove my family crazy cooking things like Lion Balls and refusing to eat anything that had BHT in it or anything that had been chemically treated or anything that was not from the health food store.

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 Frances Moore Lappe and Adelle Davis were the pioneers in raising awareness about carcinogens in our food, air and water.  They advocated strict adherence to eating farm-fresh eggs, free-range chickens, untreated produce and complete proteins.  They wrote of the problems with the American diet in the 1980s, all of the processed foods and refined sugars.  They prescribed an untreated vegetable and grain based diet.

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When Jason was in college in the early-mid 1990s, he took classes and worked in a lab that was playing around with plant genetics.  Although he thought genetic modification had its place for plants we don't eat in terms of disease resistance, he felt it was tampering too much with plants we used for food.

Before we got married, Jason and I made a conscious decision to eat organic.  We lived in Princeton, which tends to always be a little more advanced in environmental issues.  We understood simple economics and realized that the more people that bought organic, the prices would come down.  And they really have over the years.  Really.  Seriously.  No joke.  I remember paying $6.99 a pound for organic produce and today I hardly see anything that expensive anymore.

When we moved to rural Connecticut in 1996, we couldn't find organic produce.  Not at Big Y or Stop n Shop or the IGA.  I am sure they all have it now, but 17 years ago, none of them carried it.  There was a health foods store about an hour away, but their organic produce selection was paltry. I had several anxiety attacks.  I'd left my parents, my home, my friends (I was only two hours away, but still...to me it was a big deal) and I couldn't even get organic produce.  I felt like every non-organic piece of fruit I ate was starting little tiny malignant tumors in my body.  I felt like every salad was a binge.  it was a bad time.  But my husband had made a commitment to this job and I had to grow up and deal and reconcile myself to not having organic produce available.  I had to get myself to a place where I was okay with eating non-organic.

Over the years, having kids, deciding to be a stay at home mom, different life challenges and choices, trying to have a healthy relationship with food, I have had to come up with a plan of how to address the organic-GMO debate.

I am sure there are a lot of people who are so strongly passionate and that they will disagree with the way we make food choices, but here it is:

• if it is less than $1 to $1 more per pound to buy organic, I definitely buy organic.  No brainer.
• if it is $1-$2 more per pound, I will buy organic if it's on the Dirty Dozen Plus list
• if it's $3 or more per pound, it depends on how much I need and what else I need to buy, what my budget is for the week
• I have started to ONLY buy certified organic corn
• We don't get a lot of sun in our yard, but we do grow enough organic greenst o feed our family all summer and during the year, my Costco membership allows me to buy organic greens at a good price.
• I usually buy organic milk.  My husband grew up drinking milk all day, non-stop, the way I drink water.  He can go through a gallon and a half a day.  Costco sells a gallon and half of organic milk for $10, I can't always afford $70+ a week for milk; Jason's concession is to have the girls drink organic while he drinks non-organic, although he has recently decided to start drinking more water and less milk (My friends always ask why our fridge looks like a dairy case!)
• I NEVER, EVER buy vegetables or fruit grown in another country where they have different regulations (I haven't since the 1980s, after learning about it through the Farm Aid concerts--thanks, John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson!)

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I learned from Frances Moore Lappe and Adelle Davis all those years ago, before organic produce was sold in the supermarket and GMO was a household word, that eating VEGETABLES reduces your risk of cancer.  Even non-organic vegetables.

My husband works in the plant science industry and when I get a little crazy about this stuff, he quotes all kinds of facts and figures -- the pesticides used today in the US are so much less and so much safer than what was used 20 or 30 years ago.  (other countries are still using DDT and other really bad things, so try to avoid buying produce from Chile and China, etc.)

When I get nuts about GMOs, he reminds me that we aren't eating Velveeta and TV dinners and all the processed foods that we grew up with.

Yes, we try to avoid GMOs.  Yes, we try to buy organic.  But it's physically dangerous for me to get crazy about this.  I could stop eating or start believing every time I might eat non-organic or genetically modified food, it's a binge.  Stress can cause your cells to reproduce oddly and that's counterproductive to eating organic and non-GMO.  More than anything, I don't want to pass my crazy views about food on to my girls.

My girls have been known to eat Oreos and Chips Ahoy.  They've been known to drink Swiss Miss and eat Halloween candy and Girl Scout cookies.  I eat Special K with Red Berries every day for breakfast.  My kids don't eat sugar-y cereal, but I let them eat boxed cereal for breakfast.  I'm not saying those are the best choices, but that I need to keep things in a perspective that works for me.  I've learned this after almost 30 years of dealing with this.  I think it's easy to hear about this stuff and get paranoid and get upset, but I urge you to find a balance that works for you.  It may look like mine, it may look more organic, it may look less organic.  No matter what you do, the fact that you are learning about this and thinking about this is putting you ahead of the game.

Adelle Davis, a pioneer of the organic movement died of cancer at age 70.  My grandmother is 94 and was a heavy smoker and is pretty healthy, she's never worried about eating organic or non-GMO a day in her life.  She probably ate food coated in DDT and she's fine.  Our own genetics play a part in our health just as much as our environment does.

The more of us that buy organic will bring the prices down.  More stores will carry organic.  Organic things will be more readily available.  

The girls and I plan to attend our local March on Monsanto rally on May 25. I do think we should make our voices heard and I do believe we can make a difference.

But we also need to have perspective and not make ourselves crazy.