Tag Archives: vegetarian

Healthy Lifestyle Change for JUNE– Exercise regularly

1 Jun

Most of you already know that to be in good health we must exercise.  Running, jogging, aerobics, spinning, and even brisk walking are all great forms of exercise.  I particularly like Hatha Yoga…  Hatha Yoga is a psycho-physical way of exercising that works the body and the mind simultaneously.  It’s a form of exercise developed thousands of years ago that has been in fashion for the last 10-15 yrs.  There are many versions of yoga exercises, but the hatha yoga practiced at the yoga center I attend is designed to help your body and your mind to be quieter during meditation.  Some of its benefits are:

  • It’s simple
  • You can do it at home
  • It tones your body muscles
  • It quiets the mind
  • When you finish a session you finish reenergized instead of tired
  • You can be in vogue by saying you also practice yoga exercises…

      

Personally, hatha yoga has helped me to have more balance and concentration and to have stronger will-power.  Hatha yoga should be practiced about 3 times a week for optimum results, but just doing it at least once a week is a good start.

 

Look for a yoga studio/center near you to start practicing hatha yoga regularly.  In the meantime, you need to move your skeleton… so try any or a few of these easy ways to exercise:

  • Walk around your neighborhood – create a route that would take you at least 30 minutes to complete.  Or you can embark on an adventure – in Puerto Rico, you can walk in the Paseo Tablado de Pinones, Paseo Lineal in Hato Rey, on the outside trails around Parque Central, etc.  Or walk on a treadmill if you prefer to exercise while watching TV…

  • Walk on the beach – I love to listen to the waves when I walk on the shore.  It’s a real theraphy for the mind and spirit.  Go to your nearest beach and walk it from one end to the next.  Isla Verde beach, from one end to the other back and forth is about 3 miles in total.

  • Do some exercises at home using an exercise DVD or Video – I am hooked on the P90X exercise DVDs, but the Biggest Loser series are also really good and customizable to your level.

  • Ride bicycle or do spinning – I prefer doing this in a closed environment where there are no cars around me… but if you’re adventurous, you can ride on a Sunday morning on really nice routes.

  • Swim in a pool or at the beach – it is low-impact and you will not feel the sweat…

 

Doing a combination of these will bring variety to your exercise routine… after 3 weeks of exercising regularly, your body will crave it more often… Make time for your health.

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Sublime Vegan Restaurant Review

18 May

I have a thing with vegetarian and vegan restaurants…  the fact that their food usually is filled with so many substitutes or tries to use so many “exotic” ingredients that the flavor is not there.  That’s why I sometimes prefer to just go to traditional restaurants and navigate through their menus to find something delicious yet still suitable for me to eat.  Funny… but sometimes I’ve found a great meal in a steakhouse…  the best baked potatoes and salad you’ve ever tasted!!!  But that’s another subject…

Last month I was in Miami with my mom visiting my sister and coincided with my mom’s 67th birthday.  My sister decided we should celebrate her by going to dinner at a vegan restaurant in Ft Lauderdale called Sublime.  I have heard of this restaurant before, but hadn’t had a chance to go up there.  And from my feelings above, I was a bit wary of what we would find there…

The ambiance at Sublime is really nice… low lights, nice décor, small tables for 2 or 4…  like any fine dining restaurant should be.  The music was nice and the bar area looked really nice.  Sorry I do not have pictures because the low lighting does not allow for nice pictures with or without flash.  Sublime is a vegan restaurant… so even though they do not serve any animal products or any eggs or dairy, they do serve alcohol and chocolate, which are not included in the line of vegetarianism I usually follow.  Just wanted to clarify…

It’s so refreshing to go to a fine dining restaurant that you know that you can eat EVERYTHING on the menu… it’s now a matter of what you like and what you’re in the mood for… not a matter of what can I have, what questions should I ask the waitress, will it have bacon?  But still, I was careful to check out if the food will taste good…

The menu is large… but not unmanageable.  They had appetizers, a “sushi” menu, salads, pizzas and main entrees.  I ordered a “Sublim-ade” which was their featured non-alcoholic drink – really delicious limeade.  I can’t remember if I had one or two.  We were in the sharing mood, which was wonderful for this article – I had a chance to taste what Vanessa (my sister), Wichi (my bro in law), my mom and I ordered… and this is what we had:

 For appetizers:

Crispy Eggplant Rollatini

We ordered this to share for all 4.  This was really good even though the cheeses in the filling were not made from milk.  The eggplant seemed it was fried in panko breadcrumbs.  It was not hot in temperature, but it was really delicious.  I would have ordered another one just for myself had I known what you’ll learn later on…

 

Soup of the Day – lentil vegetable soup with chickpeas

This is the only thing I did not taste. Wichi liked it a lot; so did Vanessa.  The taste was very authentic according to them.

 

Florasian Sushi Roll – made from rice, tempura avocado, vegenaise, mango and toasted coconut.

My sister ordered this for herself because she’s “eating for two”. She wasn’t planning to share, but she was in for a surprise. 

I do eat often regular vegetable/vegetarian sushi made at traditional Japanese sushi restaurants, so I have a good comparison point…  this tasted interesting, to say the least.  My sister tasted the coconut, I did not.  Nor did I taste the mango.  The avocado was good, but I never knew if it was tempura or not.  What difference could it make???  To me these sushi pieces were too chewy for my taste…  I would not order them again.  Sorry…

For main entrees, we had:

Pizza Margherita Classico

My brother-in-law ordered this… I was also considering it too.  The taste was good – the tomato sauce was a bit sweet, the basil super fresh and the “mozzarella cheese” did not taste plasticky.  Now, the crust left a lot to be desired… and to me, the best torture test of a great pizza is the crust.  It was kind of soggy and burned.  So it was OK, but we’ve had better.

 

Portobello Stack – a Portobello mushroom cap filled with sautéed spinach and topped with slices of red potato.  It was served with gravy and a side of “smashed” cauliflower.

My mom ordered this…  and this was very delicious.  I really enjoyed the few bites I had.  I am not a fan of gravies, so I found the taste a bit bland.  The spinach and mushroom had enough moisture that the dish didn’t feel it needed a sauce.  Now, the cauliflower did need a bit of help.  It was dry and bland.  It felt as it was raw cauliflower shredded and put on the plate.  It did not taste as if it was cooked, mixed with something liquid to soften – like “milk”, “butter”, “sour cream”, or stock at least.  Maybe that’s the purpose of the gravy on that plate.

 

Sublime Loaf –a mock “meatloaf” made of lentils, brown rice, water chestnut, accompanied by Israeli couscous and grilled asparagus

My sister ordered this…  I was never a fan of meatloaf when I ate meat, so I have no real point of original comparison here.  To me it was no show-stopper…  it tasted OK with the not-so-interesting gravy mentioned before, definitely not something I would order the next time around.  The Israeli couscous tasted just like plain boiled pasta without any seasonings or flavorings – a missed opportunity in my opinion. And the grilled asparagus, to me, were the best thing on the plate.

By process of elimination, what did I order???  You might be asking yourselves…  Well, I originally ordered the Ravioli – house-made pasta, spinach “ricotta”, slow-roasted tomatoes, garlic confit, herbs…  doesn’t it sound good???  I was soooooo looking forward to the roasted tomatoes and garlic confit…  Well, something happened in the kitchen that they could not bring me the ravioli.   They had me order anything else I wanted from the menu, compliments of the chef.  When I was perusing the menu, two things jumped at me…  the side dishes, so I ordered the mac and “cheese” with the olive oil mashed potatoes.  I figured if I ordered side dishes, the plates of the other people would not get too delayed.

     

NOT!!!  I have a master’s degree in whipped potatoes with olive oil…  I make these for myself all the time.  These mashed potatoes tasted NOTHING like the ones I make.  They looked old, mushy, and were bland.  I had to sprinkle salt from the salt shaker and I never do that in a restaurant.  But these were REALLY bland.  And at some points it seemed as if these were left to dry for a while in a kitchen corner, because they tasted dry, dry, dry.  Apparently the olive oil they use there is neither Spanish nor Italian… because I could not taste it at all.

And the macaroni was a complete mistake… it was bland and you could taste the “cheese” was not real cheese at all.  And I have made vegan pastas before, I know they’re a challenge, but you can achieve success if the right ingredients are used.  Not here… we all tried it and no one liked it at all. 

 

Now for the desserts… this was a celebratory birthday after all, so we needed some sweets to finish off the night.

Strawberry Cheesecake  

My mom ordered this one because she is a strawberry fan.  It tasted really delicious and we enjoyed the strawberries were mixed in with the cheesecake and not just something on top.  The almond crust was also delicious.

 

Chocolate Nirvana Cake

Like I said, the restaurant and some of my dinner companions are chocolate lovers.  And me, being a choco-holic in a “12-step separation program”, we ordered this chocolate cake.  It had a coffee-flavored Kahlua “butter creme” and dark chocolate ganache…  I only had a few bites because it is not often I can taste cakes without eggs in any restaurant… so a little chocolate was not going to stop me.  This cake was awesome…  one of the best things we had all night. 

Our compliments to the pastry chef… certainly.

So, after all this review, what’s the VEREDICT:

Sublime is OK, just not awesome.  I will go back again and try some of the other dishes on the menu… but now knowing what to stay away from.  I would like to try those ravioli the next time, certainly… and maybe some of the other appetizers.  The frito mixto certainly was calling me a bit. 

But if you’re in the Ft Lauderdale area or just visiting like we were, give Sublime a try.  Just stay away from the mac and mashed potatoes, OK??  Deal…

 

1431 N. Federal Hwy., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33304
954-615-1431

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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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Lifestyle Change for May – Eat 1 Green Salad a Day

1 May

Food that is ALIVE or RAW– that do not need any cooking for us to enjoy – are the foods with the richest nutrient value.  Fruits, vegetables and nuts are all included in this category.  And the best way for us to make sure we are getting our daily fix of the necessary fruits and vegetables is to accustom ourselves to eat one big green salad a day.

  • Salads contain lots of insoluble fiber that helps with constipation issues – therefore you’ll be able to go to the bathroom more times and more efficiently
  • It’s the easiest way to ensure we eat as freshly as possible

                                                  

You have full control of what will go into your salad.  You can add as many or as few ingredients in each salad as you wish.  I have made salads with lots of ingredients – some raw and some cooked – and salads of just one ingredient.  But take this challenge as an opportunity to venture into trying new salad ingredients, new vegetables you have never tried before… it’s a chance to expand your salad horizons.  Just commit to including into your daily diet the habit of adding a salad to one of your meals.

Here are a few ideas for those of you who are not fully vegetarian yet:

  • Try to make yourself a side salad with every meal you prepare at home.  Here are a few examples of simple salads you can always make at home:
  • If you still eat occasionally at fast food restaurants, ask for a side salad instead of the French fries
  • If you bring your own lunch to work, always have a bowl for your salad – add lettuce, tomatoes, some cucumbers… or even cut corn, whatever, just always include a salad bowl as part of your lunch.
  • Always ask to include salad greens in your sandwiches – lettuce, tomato, onions, sprouts, cucumbers, spinach leaves, shredded carrots, etc.
  • Try to add fresh vegetables to some of your cooked dishes – create a pasta primavera or a pasta salad with fresh peppers, tomato and onions, etc.

 

Sometimes, the key to eating more salads are the DRESSINGS… here are a few dressing ideas that will bring more pizzazz and variety to your salads:

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Healthy Lifestyle Change for MARCH – Not eating Animal products once a week

10 Mar

I know that it’s sometimes difficult to shed a habit so much ingrained in us such as eating animal products.  Especially when we were raised with the belief and within a society that promotes healthy eating with eating meat and other animal products. 

 If you were to tell me 12 years ago that I was going to be a vegetarian and that I would be writing a blog sharing my recipes and experiences with the world, I would have laughed in the face of whoever told me that then.  But destiny has proven to be different and being vegetarian I have found a whole world filled with happiness and health.  And that’s what I want for you all…

But I do not pretend that a decision that big should be taken lightly… the decision to become vegetarian needs to come truly from within.  That’s why I would like for you to try consciously to think about eating 3 meals in a day without any animal products… no red meat, no chicken, no pork, no bacon, no fish, no seafood, no eggs  – nothing of that nature just one day a week.

It’s not that difficult… this blog is filled with recipes that do not include any of those.  And in line with my previous post on MeatFree Mondays, it’s not also a great way to see that you can indeed feed and nourish yourself but here are some other benefits of not eating meat products once a week:

  • Animal products/meats are much harder to digest than vegetable-based foods
  • Animal products are many times associated with constipation
  • It’s a way to contribute in the reduction of green house gases, and contribute to the helath of our planet.
  • And we should create a new habit of thinking that RICE or even a SALAD is the focal point of our dinner plate, not a piece of meat.

Here are a few of our most popular recipes to help you kick-start your menu imagination…

 salade-nicoise.jpg

Comme Ci Comme Ca Salade Niçoise

veggie-cuban-sandwich

Veggie Cuban Sandwich

Sweet Plantain and Spinach Pastelón

 

Soy Picadillo

Veggie Sancocho

camarones-enchilados

“Shrimp” Creole

Yuca con Cuban Mojo

couliflower-and-cheese-mac

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

tembleque-mami

Mami’s Tembleque

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