Veggie Reubens

Recently a friend and I were talking about food, as we often do, and she shared a recipe with me that is to DIE for. I have always loved reuben sandwiches, but since becoming a veggie, they had fallen off my radar. When I realized I could still eat them, I was ecstatic! I remember my Mom making these for dinner when I was younger and that was a dinner that I loved and missed. However, I had to admit that the combination of ingredients in the veggie version seemed strange to me, but I gave it a try. My kids, who I always trust as my true critics, loved these as well! If a kid eats it, it has to be good! Now we have these at least weekly, and we never have any leftovers. So, here you go.....enjoy!!!

Veggie Reubens

1 loaf crusty garlic bread (not the frozen variety...bread from your supermarkets bakery)
1 avocado
swiss cheese (you can find this with microbial enzymes if you look hard enough)
thousand island dressing
sauerkraut
grainy brown mustard


Slice the garlic bread and toast lightly. Apply a thin layer of the brown mustard. Slice the avocado and layer the slices on the bread. Add the sauerkraut, as much as you like. There is no rule to how much you use. Then pour the dressing over and top with swiss cheese. Broil under the broiler for about 5 minutes, until the cheese melts. LOVELY!!

After School Bruschetta

After school snack time can be challenging, especially if you want your kids to eat healthy foods instead of the junk that comes out of the snack machines or off the grocery store shelves. The other day, my daughter had a friend over after school, so of course the subject of a snack came up. I asked what they wanted, but got the usual "I don't know" response. So after a few moments of thought, I decided to throw together some bruschetta. I had not ever made it before, so it was truly an experiment. I had a small loaf of crusty garlic bread...the kind that your local store probably has in the bakery. I was very surprised to find that the bread at my local supermarket does not use any hydrogenated oils or corn syrup. So, I sliced the crusty bread and lightly toasted it in a large skillet with some butter. I then made the dressing for the tomatoes, again, guessing at the amounts of the ingredients. The ratio that I came up with was 2 to 1, with more olive oil used than balsamic vinegar. Whisk this together and add a little basil. Dried or fresh, whichever you happen to have. I chopped up some roma tomatoes and sweet onion, then tossed that in the dressing I had made, and spooned it on the bread. The girls devoured every single bite!! Check out the photos....makes me hungry just to look at it!! Thanks for reading and enjoy!

Poached Eggs & Hollandaise sauce

SO, today I was inspired to try something that I have never made before. I only had 5 eggs in the house, so I knew I had to make the best of it. I also have a child that is home sick, and she thought it sounded pretty good too. So, into the kitchen I went, armed with a little knowledge and a big thirst for learning. And learn I did!! My first order of business was to make the hollandaise sauce. This required 2 egg yolks, so I was down to 3 eggs for poaching, which made me nervous! What if I goofed and was left with one egg?? Well, the sauce came together beautifully...one thing I did discover however, was that once the sauce is together, remove it from the heat! I did not do this, and what happened was that the sauce starts to separate again. It still tasted wonderful, but did not look as pretty as it should have. Now it was down to poaching the eggs. You do not want to boil the water, you want it to simmer. I used a large skillet type pan (I despise non-stick cookware, so I use stainless) in which to simmer the water. Here is a tip that helps immensely....put about a tablespoon of vinegar in the water when it simmers. This will help your egg whites to coagulate and cover the yolk more easily. Also, it helps to crack your egg into a tiny bowl and then slip the egg into the water instead of plopping the egg directly into the pan. So, the moment of truth was here....my water was simmering with the vinegar, and my egg was cracked into the little bowl. I gently slipped it into the water and waited with great anticipation for the end result. I did help the egg whites a little, but not as much as I thought I would have to....they folded themselves onto the egg yolk in a fine fashion! While the eggs were cooking, I toasted a couple english muffins (purchased at the health food store to avoid the partially hydrogenated oils that I avoid like the plague). Once the eggs were done, I dried them a little on a towel, placed them on the english muffin and topped it with the lovely hollandaise sauce. Then it was time for the moment of truth....the taste test. My daughter & I sat down at the table, and simultaneously took our first bites. WOW......a taste explosion. Who knew that butter, eggs and wheat english muffins could taste SO good!!?? I think the kids will be dining on poached eggs with hollandaise sauce on lots of mornings to come!
Below is the recipe for hollandaise sauce....good luck!!

Hollandaise Sauce

2 TB white wine vinegar (I used rice vinegar)
1 TB water
2 egg yolks
4 oz unsalted butter
lemon juice
salt & pepper

Pour water and vinegar into a small pan and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes, or until reduced by half. Remove from heat and cool.
Put egg yolks in a heat proof bowl and beat in the cooled vinegar water. Set over a pan of gently simmering water. Cook, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, until mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon.
Keeping the water simmering, add butter, a piece at a time, until the sauce is thick. Add a bit of lemon juice if you think it is too thick. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Remove from heat if you are not using immediately.


Poached Eggs Perfecto

There is really no recipe for this, just some tips. Add some vinegar to the simmering water to help coagulate your egg whites. Use a large skillet type pan. Crack your egg into a small bowl and then slip the egg into the water instead of cracking and plopping the egg directly into the water. Cover and simmer for a few minutes. Your yolk will be harder the longer you cook the eggs, so this part is personal preference. Bon Appetit!!

A Word About Karma

Karma, by definition, is 'action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad.' I like to think of Karma in relation to the food that I eat, or choose not to eat. Being a vegetarian, I of course avoid meat....but why?? What are my reasons for this choice? I am confronted with this question whenever someone asks me what made me become a vegetarian. In all honesty, my reasons were not at all Karmic in the beginning. I had read an article in a fashion magazine about a woman who died from Mad Cow disease. I know what you might be thinking....an article about Mad Cow in a fashion mag?? But, very true. It was a very touching article, and instantly made me re-think my food choices. I am sure that most of you remember the outbreak of Mad Cow. It was a horrible thing that resulted in the destruction of many many thousands of cows. Yet, some of the cows that had this horrid disease, were ground up and fed to other cows!! So, an animal that is made to be an herbivore is now a carnivore. Not only that, if the animal that had to be destroyed had a disease, why would you feed it to a healthy cow!? Calves are given the blood of the cows that have to be destroyed in their food?? What is wrong with the cattle industry??
The second reason I could add to my list was watching a video online about chickens. Yes, chickens. Some might think of them as stupid unfeeling animals, but I know for a fact that this is not true. A friend of mine's family raised chickens when she was a child, and there was one chicken in particular that would come up to the door of the house to be 'put to bed' at night!! That is one story that will always stick with me....the image of a little chicken coming up to the house at dusk. Makes me think of Chicken Run!! (if you haven't seen it, it's a great little movie. British humor is THE best). So, on to the video. I believe it was on the PETA website, and it honestly made me cry. I suppose they might embellish a bit to play on your emotions, but the scenes that were shown were heartbreaking. Do you know that chickens are given so many hormones that they are ready for butchering in 90 days? No way is a chicken that is left to grow naturally anywhere near being mature in 90 days. Ninety days!! Because they are given so many hormones to quicken their growth, and because they grow so rapidly, they get sick. Because they get sick, they are given high doses of antibiotics. They get to be so big and heavy that they can't walk. They just lie there, in their own poo and pee. The levels of ammonia in the air in the chicken coops are not safe for a human to breathe, so how is that ok for animals?? Animals that people are going to eat?? Don't even get me started on battery eggs!! Those poor chickens are stuffed into cages, sick and diseased. Forced to lay eggs on a much quicker scale than nature intended.
To me, the two reasons listed above were reason enough for me to become a vegetarian. Animals that are raised (non-organically) for food, egg or milk production, are mistreated, injected with drugs, sick, afraid, and just plain miserable. Who would want that kind of karma in their food?? I do still eat eggs and cheese, but I am very careful about my choices. The eggs I buy are local and are from free-range chickens that are not on steroids or antibiotics. The cheese I buy is rennent free (that is a subject for a future blog) and organic.
I am outraged at the food industry in general! Why do they do things like this that they know will harm the people that eat it?? It is ALL about money. Make the chicken grow 200 times faster and fatter than nature intended, and the farmer gets his money quicker and gets more money because the animal is bigger! And, this is America after all, so bigger IS better, right?? Not in my mind! I say healthy happy animals are better. Animals that are allowed to graze and eat the food they were made to eat. In all truth, the human body was not designed to eat meat, but that is another subject for another blog. If I have heard this once, I have heard it a million times.....'where do you get your protein from??' That question always prompts a laugh from me because most humans eat WAY more protein than their bodies need. And why is that? Because the FDA tells you that you need it. If you think about it, the 'Food Pyramid' that they put out there is pretty messed up. Someday soon when I have time, I will make a food pyramid of my own that is much healthier, and post it on my blog. For today, this is where I will trail off......stay tuned and thanks for reading!!

Day Four ~ Christmas Party Food!!

If you are like me, you will have to go to a Christmas party or 2 this holiday season, and you might be wondering what you are going to eat. It is funny how people quite often don't think about the possibility that there are people out there that don't eat meat. I was at a party this summer where they were having cold cut sandwiches, chips, and not much else. My daughter & I looked at each other, a bit baffled, and decided to make sandwiches for ourselves out of the condiments and some lettuce & cheese. If you prefer to not have that issue at Christmas parties, here is a great dish you can bring....and the best part is, non-veggies will love it too!! I have made this a few times and my 12 year old daughter LOVES it. Amazing how kids love healthy food when they have it every day. Trust me, kids will survive without crap food like Twinkies and Pop Tarts. Not only will they survive, they will cultivate a life long habit of good eating that they will pass on to their families. What a great thing!!

Black Bean Nachos

8 oz canned black beans
1 1/2 C grated cheese; cheddar, fontina, romano, asiago, or a combination of any of these
1/4 tsp ground cumin
4 TB sour cream
1 TB fresh cilantro (or about half that amount dried)
handful of shredded lettuce
torilla chips

Spread the beans in a shallow ovenproof dish, sprinkle cheese over the top. Sprinkle with cumin. Bake in preheated oven, 375* for 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and melted. Remove from the oven and spoon sour cream on top. Sprinkle the cilantro and lettuce on top. Arrange the tortilla chips around the beans. Serve at once.

Great little dish to throw together with items that you might already have on hand. Canned beans are a great thing to have around just incase you need them for a soup or dip. Chickpeas are great on salads too. Enjoy!!

Day Three.....Granola Bars

Ok, so is it not true that vegetarians are often seen as granola bar toting hippies?? Well, I for one fit that description and I am proud of it! However, most of the granola bars in the stores are anything but healthy. Some are made with corn syrup (which is one of the evil ingredients that I avoid like the plague) and some even have hydrogenated oils....another evil ingredient that I believe came from Satan himself. Not really, but it is nasty stuff. Hydrogenated oils are oils that have been chemically altered so that they have a longer shelf life. Funny, they will have a longer shelf life while making your life shorter! Seriously, they will kill you. And, this might shock you, they are everywhere. They can be found in foods like crackers, cookies, cereals, chips, cool whip, creamers, pre-made pie crusts, hot chocolate mixes. Oh yes, friends....an ingredient that is known to harm the human body is in our food! If you are surprised, you shouldn't be. In truth, the FDA does not care one iota about you or your health. Neither does the food industry. It is all about the almighty dollar and nothing else. Do you know why high fructose corn syrup is used SO much?? Because it is something like 100 times sweeter than sugar and therefore, cheaper for the manufacturer to use. Nevermind that obesity in America is at epic proportions....let's keep adding chemically altered substances to our food. The rule of thumb that I adhere to very strongly is that if it comes in a box, be very wary of it. It is most likely not healthy (unless you are at a health food store or in the healthy food section of your grocery store) and most likely contains some ingredients that you can't even pronounce. That's another good rule...if you can't pronounce the ingredient, it is a pretty safe bet that it is bad for you. So, after all that gloom and doom you might be wondering where the good news is! Well, here it is. I make my own granola bars, and it is SO easy. My son told me the other day that if he were stranded on a desert island and he could only have one food, he would want it to be the granola bars I make. Now how's that for a stamp of approval?? So, here is the recipe. Enjoy!!

Good Karma Granola Bars

1/2 C honey
1/3 C peanut butter
1/4 C grapeseed oil
3 C granola

Place honey, peanut butter and oil in a small pot and bring to a gentle boil. Do not boil over a high temp or you will burn it. Place granola in a large bowl. Pour the ingredients from the pot into the large bowl and mix well until granola is well coated. Press into 8" square pan. Make sure you press really well to flatten the mixture out. Refrigerate for a few hours. Cut into bars. These can be pre-wrapped for convenience as well.


Now for my personal notes on the recipe....I use organic everything, from honey to the granola. The grapeseed oil is very nice and it has lots of good things in it. It has good for you fats....the polyunsaturated kind, as well as Omega 6 and Vitamin E. The granola I use is Cascadian Farms organic dark chocolate. You can add chocolate chips, dried fruit, nuts....the possibilities are endless. These are WAY better than the crappy bars you buy in the store. They only take about 10 minutes to put together and it is a fun way to get your kids involved in healthy cooking and eating. I wonder how many of you have ever watched the show "You Are What You Eat"?? It is a British show, and therefore brilliant....but the focus, of course, is on healthy eating. I have only seen a few episodes, but it is very intense. It really makes you think about what you eat, and how much you eat. Funny thing that I remember from one show was that the teen age boys who were involved in the show had their 'spots' disappear after changing their diet....yet there are TONS and scads of zit zapping products out there. Typical....treat the symptom instead of trying to find the cause. Oh, I feel another blog subject brewing for tomorrow!! Stay tuned and thanks for reading!!

Health tip of the day.....Day 2

Today I would like to address the issue of time. There are lots of people out there who say that they don't have time to cook healthy food for themselves or their families and I understand this. I have 2 growing kids and 2 jobs, so time is of the essence to me as well. I made a commitment last January (which was immediately challenged by the love of my life) to cook breakfast every day for my kids before school. It was a huge undertaking for me since I was not a morning person. The me of the past was rushing out of bed at the last minute, while the kids were stuffing some cold cereal down their necks before running out the door (sometimes eating in the truck on the way to school). So, last January I made a resolution to change that horrid habit. I am happy to report that I have indeed made them breakfast every single day...much to their delight. Not only that, but they also get a home made lunch every day to take to school. Yes, my 18 year old takes a lunch box to school. LOL! I think his friends are secretly jealous, but that is just me. Making their lunches is something that I have done for years, and since making the switch to veggie land, it has become somewhat of a challenge. But one that I embraced with high hopes of endless creativity. So far it has gone well. I shall share some of my lunch ideas at another time....get ready as they are fantastic! So, back to the time issue. My breakfast casserole (the recipe is posted on the blog from Dec. 16) is a good one since it can be baked the night before and warmed up in the morning. I have also started to make them hot cereal in the form of Oat Bran. I serve it with REAL organic maple syrup and some organic butter. Sooooo good. Nice and warm in their bellies before sending them out into the cold Michigan winter morning. I also make whole grain pancakes and waffles (vaffles if you are German :) ) and some melt in your mouth eggs with fresh chives and lots of butter. All it takes to make a great breakfast is just a little pre-planning and a few extra moments. The rewards will be huge...for you and your family. You will feel good knowing that they are getting healthy good for them food, and they will love you for it. I know my kids love it that I cook for them, even if they don't tell me every day. So, stay tuned for more breakfast recipes and ideas. I plan to post something every day, time permitting. That is my goal for this coming year!! Thanks for reading!