Tag Archives: food

A Vegetarian Baby Shower…

18 Oct

My sister is about to have her first baby… the first grandson and nephew for our side of the family.  And Titi Madelyn gave herself the task to plan a baby shower for my sister.

One of my most daunting tasks for this baby shower was to plan a menu that would be pleasing to all invitees and that it would still be vegetarian and it would represent me well.  I couldn’t bear myself to say I planned a baby shower that would be filled with food and treats that I wouldn’t be able to try out or taste.  The next toughest thing was to find a caterer that would be open to create a fully vegetarian menu where the meat-eaters would never miss the meat.   

I was very lucky my sister and brother-in-law trusted me and my taste in food and didn’t even question my choices.  I only informed them of the menu selected after it was all planned.

I decided to make the Appetizers and a Signature Drink or Bull and have the lunch catered by someone professional.  I had too many things to look after to make food for 35+ people…

  

The appetizers we served were:

  

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Red Bell Pepper Dip with an assortment of whole grain crackers

  

Rosemary Almonds

Erasmo, husband to my cousin Marilyn, fell in love with these Almonds…  I gave them all to him to enjoy for later on.

  

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Asparagus Sandwiches

Spinach Pinwheels

Spinach Pinwheels

We baked these the morning of the baby shower and they kept very fresh for the party.  My sister’s nieces and nephew were cautious of these “pastelillitos” and their parents were almost sure they would not like them because spinach is not in their repertoire, but they were all surprised on how delicious they were.  I was a bit afraid they would not leave enough for the other guests at a point… that’s how much they enjoyed them.

Passion Fruit/Guava Fizzy Drink

The catered part of the lunch included:

Green Tossed Salad with Candied Pecans and Cranberries with a Balsamic Vinaigrette

Whole Wheat Rolls with butter

Butternut Squash Risotto made with vegetable broth

Penne Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Creamy Sauce

Green Beans with butter and garlic

     

 At the end, my sister and brother-in-law were very pleased with the baby shower we planned.  And no one  missed the meat…  at least they never mentioned it to me!!!

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Healthy Lifestyle Change for OCTOBER – Do not eat eggs

1 Oct

Eggs are filled with cholesterol and substances that are more harmful to your health than beneficial.  Eggs are very difficult to digest and if I start telling you all the diseases they could carry, we would never finish.

My plan for those of you out there that are not vegetarians yet is to at least, try to stop eating eggs in their integral form – not fried, not scrambled, not poached, not in a traditional Spanish tortilla, not in an omelet – not even the whites.

 

To replace all these forms of traditionally eating eggs, there are plenty of much healthier alternatives and some of them even with fewer calories:

Instead of Making: You’ll prepare:
Scrambles Tofu Scrambler – it’s a mixture you add to tofu and it’s available at most health food stores
Spanish Tortilla Make the tortilla using cheese or other egg-free alternatives.  Here are my recipes for Tortilla Espanola
Potato Salad Make the same potato salad with egg-free mayonnaise and without the boiled eggs.  It’ll taste just the same…
Breakfasts Eat oatmeal, hot or cold cereals, fresh fruits, toasts…

 

But just because you’ve decided to not eat eggs anymore, the world will not stop turning.  Here you’ll find several dishes traditionally made with eggs, you still can enjoy just making them a little bit differently:

Tortilla Espanola 1

Spanish Tortilla

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Eggless Mini Fritatas

Crepes

Carrot Cupcakes

 

Eggless Scramble

 

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Tuno Sandwich

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Mario Batali supports Meatless Mondays in his Restaurants… NOT!!!

10 May

I recently read through an email I received from the Meatless Mondays campaign people that Mario Batali now joins the Meatless Mondays movement by offering at least 2 vegetarian options in all his 14 restaurants across the US every Monday.

         

 

This is the quote straight from the press release:

“The fact is, most people in the U.S. eat way more meat than is good for them or the planet,” maintains Batali. “Asking everyone to go vegetarian or vegan isn’t a realistic or attainable goal. But we can focus on a more plant-based diet, and support the farmers who raise their animals humanely and sustainably. That’s why I’m such a big believer in the Meatless Monday movement.”

“Every Monday, there will be at least 2 vegetarian dishes served, such as pasta or pizza.”

 

Photo from www.mariobatali.com

Initially sounds like a great idea and initiative… no?  Hey, big chef Mario Batali is making this big statement.  However, when you think about it in detail… is it really???

I don’t think so!!!!!

 I like the exposure the Meatless Monday is getting by associating with Mario Batali.  And in all honesty, I like Mario Batali’s TV shows, his recipes and hey, I have eaten at several of his restaurants already…  However, committing to have at least 2 options in a menu, which on average has between 60 and 70 items to choose from, represents a mere 3% out of the total menu options without counting desserts.  Not a big change or statement in my opinion. 

 To me, ANY successful restaurant that wants to cater to a wide audience should AT LEAST have 2-3 vegetarian/meatless options EVERY DAY!!! Not just on Mondays…  I know I like to eat out any day of the week.  I am sure all other vegetarians also feel this way…   And please notice I say vegetarian-suitable options, not just meatless… because the vegetable soup made with chicken stock or the pasta made with pancetta drippings or veal stock does not count and does not qualify to be on the Meatless Mondays list, in my humble opinion.

 Now, if Mario would have said ALL 14 restaurants, or maybe even just some of them, ONLY OFFER vegetarian/meatless dishes all-day Monday, every Monday, now that’s an initiative truly embracing the Meatless Monday’s concept.  Eradicating meat dishes from all restaurants on Mondays would demonstrate his true commitment and would make a real statement and impact on the environment and on public opinion.   But just 2 dishes on each menu?????  Give me a break…

 And why does Meatless Mondays agree to this??  Just to ride on the curtails of Mario Batali’s fame and media-draw?? 

“We’re delighted that Maestro Mario is helping to move the movement,” declares Sid Lerner, founder and chairman of Meatless Monday, an initiative of The Monday Campaigns. “If anybody can entice meat lovers to enjoy their veggies as well, it’s Batali!”

Because if I were Sid Lerner, I would try to work my charm to convince Mario to go big or go home.  I think the statement above is just using Batali’s fame to promote the movement.  And not lobbying to get Mario and his restaurants to do more is just wimpy in my opinion.

 And a question I would like to pose Mario himself…  Do you embrace Meatless Monday in your personal daily diet??  Do you cook meatless dishes every Monday at home?  Do you teach your children that meat-products are not necessary in a healthy daily diet and that they’ll start with Meatless Mondays??

 Now that’s something inquiring minds like me want to know…   Please feel free to share your comments about this news here.  I will make sure the Meatless Monday people get the message from me and you.

 Thanks in advance.

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Healthier lifestyle changes for 2010

3 Feb

Now that we’re in February and the Xmas season in Puerto Rico is over… now I can start thinking about my new year’s resolutions.  This year I have included as part of my resolutions:

  • To exercise more – that’s why Santa left me at my sister’s house the P90X exercise program that I started last week… and to do more hatha yoga , which is a different kind of psycho-physic exercises to which I attribute a lot of my health benefits in my life…
  • To eat one big Green Salad a day – I have been lazier about this one in the first few weeks of the year…

       

My belief is you can’t create a huge list of resolutions that you might be overwhelmed in keeping.  If it’s too many changes in a short amount of time, something will have to give.  I found myself saying this over and over again the last few weeks – to friends and acquaintances who all are seeking better health, more fitness but sometimes lack the self-discipline to achieve long-lasting changes.  That was the inspiration for this series…

About 5 years ago I gave my friend Ana Yolanda a Xmas gift… when she asked me she wanted to be thin like me, I told her she needed to make small changes in her regular lifestyle that will bring her and her family health on a long term basis.  Her ways of Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers have worked on the short term to lose some weight, but nothing proved to provide her with any long-term results.  Her experience with my Xmas gift… well, I think it had more to do with her attachment to certain foods and certain habits.

What I am about to share is something I have experienced first-hand… This is not necessarily scientifically proven, but these are changes I implemented in my own life and I have seen results – results of a healthier, slimmer and more energetic me.  I will share with you what I wrote to Ana as a Xmas present and I have given to many other friends when they seek my advice on how now I am healthier and in better shape than I was when I was in college.

There are some words of wisdom:

We can’t expect different results

by always doing the same things the same way.

 

The moral of the story:

To get different results,

we MUST make some behavioral changes

– we must do things in a different way.

When I returned from living in NYC, I was still the same 5’ tall I am now, but I was wearing a size 8.  I have not always been like that, but since I adopted a healthier lifestyle I have really seen a difference in my health and what my regular normal weight is.  Now I regularly wear a size 0 and XS clothes.

I want to inspire you to make some lasting changes in your lifestyle and for them to stay with you for the rest of your life – so you can in turn educate your children the same way and create a generation of healthier and more active kids.  I do not pretend you turn into a full-fledged vegetarian if that’s not your choice.  But I do ask you to ADOPT ONE MONTHLY CHANGE.  Only one.  I have heard that if you implement a change for 15 days straight, it becomes a habit.  That’s my goal – for you to adopt 11 healthier habits into your lifestyle during this year.

I would like for you to forget about weighing yourself…  Your new gauge will be how fit you feel, if you have more energy, how many less colds you have gotten in the year compared to before, if you happen to have to buy yourself new clothes because the ones you have feel somewhat looser…

I know I should have shared this with you back in January, but heck… the idea came just now and I do not want to wait until next year’s resolutions to share:

 

ELIMINATE SOFT DRINKS

To me, it’s necessary to eliminate all soft drinks from your diet because they have no nutritional value whatsoever.  You need to ingest foods/drinks that will provide some sort of health benefit.

Why?

  • You need to drink plenty of water to alleviate any constipation, a great cause of many ailments
  • Soft drinks have no nutritional value
  • The sodium in sodas only make us retain water
  • The chemicals in soft-drinks adversely affect our kidney function

So instead of drinking a soft drink, you’ll now drink:

Water

  • In every fast-food out there you can order your combo or sandwich with a bottle of water.
  • Try at least to drink 6 glasses of 8oz of water…  it’s not optimal, but it’s a start.

Juices – preferably natural.  I try to buy fruits when they’re in season and make the juice myself… but I know we are always pressed for time so when I buy prepared juices…

  • Read the labels to avoid purchasing juices with added sugars
  • Some brands to try:
    • Lotus Pineapple Juice – from a container, not the can
    • Tropicana Orange Juice
    • Caribik Sun Passion Fruit Juice
    • Simply Orange or Simply Lime
    • Mott’s regular and Natural Apple Juices
    • Martinelli’s Unfiltered Apple Juice
    • Apple & Eve’s juice boxes – for those who have kids and needs portion control.  I love the Fruit Punch and Berry varieties.

              

Also, when I go to parties, they usually have these juices as mixers for drinks, so I usually order a glass of Orange Juice, Grapefruit or Pink Grapefruit Juice or Cranberry Juice instead of the typical soda.  And Simply Lime with crushed mint leaves and added fresh lime juice tastes just like a mojito…

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Pumpkin Polenta

30 Oct

I am a fan of Italian flavors… and this recipe fits very well with the flavors of autumn.   We do not have autumn here in Puerto Rico, but pumpkin is a favorite of mine and I wanted to do something that would highlight the flavor and nutrition of the pumpkin.  Plus, I still had some pumpkin seeds in my fridge I wanted to use up…

 Pumpkin Polenta

 

PUMPKIN POLENTA

1 ½ cups of pumpkin, peeled and cubed
4 tbs quick cooking polenta
½ cup of water
½ cup of milk
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
¼ cup pumpkin seeds, toasted – as garnish

 

  1. First we steam the pumpkin… place in a steamer for about 10-15 minutes to cook thoroughly.  After the pumpkin is done, mash it well and place it in a colander lined with a coffee filter or a paper towel and let the moisture of the pumpkin drain out a bit.  This can be done well in advance before moving on to the rest of the steps.
  2. Then we make the polenta… I heat the water, milk and salt in a medium pot and bring to a boil.  Add the polenta while stirring to avoid getting lumps.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue stirring until the desired consistency, which is like a smooth cream of wheat.  I’ll be honest; I follow the instructions on the polenta package I buy.  If the instructions on your package are different, follow the instructions on your package, but what I do is to replace ½ the water the recipe calls for milk – makes a creamier polenta, in my opinion.
  3. When the polenta reached the desired consistency, add the drained pumpkin puree, the grated cheese and season with pepper.  Stir well for the cheese to melt and the pumpkin to combine well with the polenta cream.
  4. Serve warm and sprinkle with the toasted pumpkin seeds.

 

Great vegetarian alternative for Thanksgiving lunch or dinner… don’t you think?

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