Recipe: Quinoa Chili

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In two weeks (or less) I will complete my training to become a Certified Health Counselor* but until that time I am working hard on finishing up the last modules and studying for my final test.  In addition to this I am working on a few other projects, articles and getting our garden started.  This week is going to be crazy and when the times get crazy I turn to quick, easy and healthy favorites for dinner.

Last night after 9 hours of working it would have been so easy for me to ask Neil to pick up dinner while he was out but I talked myself out of it and made up a batch of Fantastic Foods Nature Burgers, roasted sweet potatoes and parsnips and roasted broccoli with mushrooms. This dinner was healthy and easy to make and came together in less than 30 minutes- with most of that time involving putting the veggies in the oven and letting them do their thing- no work for me.

Since I have been focusing on finishing up my training I haven’t been spending very much time in the kitchen creating anything too interesting.  Mostly we have been having veggies, grains and beans and have thrown a little homemade pizza and veggie burgers in the mix.  Basically quick healthy versions of easy food due to chaotic schedules.  One of my favorite dishes to make when times are crazy and I want something hearty, healthy and filling is my Quinoa Chili from my first e-book. Since I don’t plan on getting to the kitchen and creating new recipes until April check this one out for the time being:

What are you quick go-to meals during busy times?

*If you’d like to learn more about my health counseling or to sign up for my new health and wellness newsletter visit my site here.

Menu Planning Troubles

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The newest Cookbook Club starts tomorrow- we will be reviewing Skinny Bitch Ultimate Everyday Cookbook. I ordered my book from Amazon the other day and received my copy yesterday and was so excited to get down to menu planning for the next few weeks, however my excitement turned into shock and disappointment.  As I flipped through the cookbook I came to see that most of the recipes are centered around oil/Earth balance, faux cheese and SUGAR! The most appalling thing for me was how much sugar is used in many of the recipes I really just can’t believe it and on top of that they list the nutritional value for each serving of the recipes but don’t include sugar which is just strange to me- they include calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, protein, fiber and carbs but not sugar- why not sugar because you probably wouldn’t buy this book if you saw how much they use?

Maybe I’m being a little too quick to judge this cookbook since I haven’t made any of the recipes yet so I am going to spend the next few weeks testing out the recipes and letting them speak for themselves.  However, there are a few recipes that sound really good but are just not healthy (or at least healthy enough) for me that I will be making modifications of.  So after two hours of reviewing the cookbook and planning my menu here are the next two weeks:

Have you tried out this cookbook yet? What are you thoughts? Have the book and want to test it out with us?- send me an email and I’ll add you to the review list!

How Do You Stay Active?

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The Hubz and I have been feeling a little bit of the winter blues and bored with our current workout routines as well as a lack of motivation.  With summer around the corner we are getting excited for  hiking and gardening but until then we need to get ourselves in tip-top shape so 15 mile hikes don’t make us feel like we were hit by a truck the next day. In addition to changing up our routine we are also working on an incentives program to help motivate us to stay on track.

For our incentives program each month we have a set of goals to help us stay on top of being active as well as to track our workout progress.The incentive part of it is that  at the start of each month we will each be eligible for $50* of fun money, to be paid out on the last day of the month IF we accomplish our goal.   The goal:

  1. Work out 80% of the days in the month  OR 70% of the days in the month and 1 hour for everyday missed from the 80% (example: March 80% plus Hours goal–>Must workout 25 days and Total of 15.5  hours OR 70% plus Hours goal–>Must workout 22 days and 15.5 hours PLUS 3 hours for the 3 missed from the 80% days so total of 18.5 hours)

AND

2. Work out an average of 30 minutes per days in the month (October-May) and work out an average of 60 minutes per days in the month (June-September)**

March 2011 Goals

  • Must workout 25 days
  • Total of 15.5  hours

OR

  • Must workout 22 days
  • Total of 18.5 hours

So far this month I am on track with the 80% however since I only have 1 off day left I may be turning to the 70% plan this month…..we’ll see. This is where I am at as of yesterday:Today:

  • Days: 10/25 11/25
  • Hours: 6 hours 7 minutes/15.5 hours 7 hours 12 minutes/15.5 hours

Currently my workouts include yoga, walking, elliptical, weight training and most recently Insanity- have you tried this with Shaun T? What did you think?  As soon as the sidewalks and bike path clear out I am determined to start the Couch to 5k again as well. What do you do to keep active? How do you stay motivated?

Lastly I’ll leave you with my current workout playlist (it’s a work in progress):

What are your workout tunes?

*In case you are wondering why cash? Well Neil and I have a tendency to not spend money on ourselves even when we need to.  This money that we earn will be $50 we can use guilt free towards whatever we want.  Originally we were going to set a specific item/service as our goal but then decided that for us it just din’t make sense.  It works better for us to make a decision when the time comes based on what we need then. Additionally the money allows us to save up for more expensive items such as Lululemon clothes or hiking gear.

** June-September is the time of the year that we do hiking, biking, gardening and (hopefully) running so there are days that we may be active as many as 8-10 hours on a hiking trip that is why there is the increase of total hour goals.

 

* Update (Sunday 3/20/11):

  • Days: 14/25
  • Hours:  8 hours 42 minutes/15.5 hours
    • Thursday: Yoga
    • Friday: Day 4 Insanity
    • Saturday: walked with Hubz
    • Sunday: Off

 

Bee-Free Honee Giveaway

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Honey is one of those things I never thought much about until I went vegan and began reading labels and recipes and now I see that it is everywhere. Then came cooking where honey is often found in baked foods, desserts and granola and finding a vegan replacement can sometimes be difficult. Agave is usually a suitable replacement but the consistency is often too thin and the flavor is slightly too sweet.

When I read about Bee-Free Honee I jumped at the opportunity to review and it and of course to do a giveaway. I am even more excited to do the giveaway now because I really love this product and can’t wait to have you try it as well.
The website describes the product best “Bee Free Honee is a unique sweetener with a slightly tart flavor. It is “apple honey” in that it is made from apples rather than by bees! We use only three all natural ingredients, apple, pure cane sugar, and lemon juice. There is nothing artificial, no added color and no corn syrup.”

Although it doesn’t taste exactly like honey, it has more of an apple flavor- because well yeah it is made with apples. But it really is the closest in flavor and consistency to honey and it taste delicious. I have used it in my tea and oatmeal and on apples with cinnamon and almond butter. I haven’t tried it in baked goods or granola yet but that will be my next challenge.

Now that you know more about this wonderful product I am going to give two lucky people to win a bottle of their own. All you have to do is enter- oh and for an additional chance to win head over to Keri’s blog I Eat Tree’s because she is also giving away a bottle.

To Enter: (leave a comment for each entry) The giveaway is open to U.S. residence only. The winner will be randomly selected on Monday, March 21th, 2011 at 11 PM EST.

  • Leave a comment telling me why you’d love to try Bee-Free Honee
  • Visit the Bee-Free Honee website and leave a comment telling me something new that you learned
  • Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment below telling me you did.
  • Tweet, “Enter to win #vegan Bee-Free Honee @cookveganlover http://wp.me/pFVWo-1H2” and leave a comment to tell me you tweeted.
  • “Like” Cook.Vegan.Lover on Facebook and leave a comment below telling me you did.
  • Sign up for the Cook.Vegan.Lover. newsletter, and leave a comment to let me know you did

http://www.beefreehonee.com/

Coffee = Friend

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With the time change and my hectic to do list a big glass of water and a cup of coffee has been my friend lately. I have to say though I have been a lazy friend to coffee and rather than taking out the french press and making myself a cup I have been turning to our Mount Hagan Organic Instant Coffee packets that I found on sale at the natural food store a few weeks ago.  As much as I love my french press coffee I just don’t have the time or patience to clean it and baby sit it while I wait for my cup of coffee.  We are actually thinking about getting a coffee maker- a whole new thing for us- any suggestions?

With my coffee I have been enjoying a big bowl of hot oatmeal with flax seeds, wild blueberries, cashew butter and Bee-Free Honee (giveaway coming later today so keep your eyes peeled.)  I have been loving this combination of creamy nutbutter, sweet fruit and a drizzle of honee.

Also wanted to share a tip I learned (by actually reading the label on the nut butter); when you have natural nut butters that require stirring- stir them up real well until it is all combined and then stick it in the fridge and it will come out looking so good (see below).  No longer will you have to spend hours stirring your nut butter before you can eat it and you won’t end up with an oily top and dry bottom.

Before I head to the kitchen to make myself a bowl of oats I’ll leave you with a mini updated about our new furry companion; he is settling right in and seems to love being with us.  He has the funniest little squeak he makes and when he wants you to give him love and attention he hisses – strange right? He also has come to love to spend his nights sleeping with us.

Newest Addition

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As many of you know from twitter we lots our fur baby earlier this month due to sickness and old age. We miss her but were prepared (as much as we could possibly be) for the day to come that she would no longer have the quality of life she should. Since then we have been debating over adopting a dog or a cat and finally settled on another cat (for now) due to our current living situation and travel commitments.
We found one kitty that we but in our adoption papers for but never heard anything back from the ASPCA. So after calling all week and never getting to talk to a person and never receiving any returned phone calls we decided that it just wasn’t meant to be. So we headed over to the Chittenden County Humane Society to check out  the kitties they had for adoption.  We had already been checking them out online so we had an idea of which ones would be a good fit for us based on their profiles.  We spent sometime talking and interacting with a number of the cats and final decided after spending some one-on-one time with him that Squeakers (yes he does squeak) was the perfect fit for us.  Below is profile from the Chittenden County Humane Society site.

Settling in at his new home