T20 BP Day 1

 Day one of Dr. Furman's Transformation 20

Breakfast

Banana Walnut Breakfast

1serving

1 banana
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup walnut pieces
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

Slice banana into a cereal bowl. Stir in flax seeds, blueberries, walnut pieces, and non-dairy milk.

Thoughts:

This was good! The frozen blueberries made the almond milk turn a beautiful color of purple. It was tasty and filling.

5/5

Dinner

Creamy zucchini and corn soup

3 servings

1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic,
2 lb zucchini (about five medium), chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 cups no salt added vegetable broth
1/4 cup raw cashews
2 tablespoons unhulled hemp seeds
4 cups spinach
2 cups frozen corn kernels
1/4 tsp. Black pepper or to taste

Add onion, garlic, zucchini, basil, time, oregano and vegetable broth to a large soup pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 25 minutes or until zucchini is tender.

Pour into a high powered blender (in batches, if necessary), add the cashews and hemp seeds and blend until smooth and creamy.

Return soup to the pot, add corn and spinach, bring to a simmer and cook until spinach is wilted. Add water if needed to adjust consistency. Season with black pepper.

Thoughts:

I made this wrong. First, I sauteed the onion and garlic with about a Tbsp of avocado oil. I used fresh basil. I misread the recipe, and blended about half of the zucchini mixture with the cashews... Oh, and I used homemade chicken stock I had on hand. Also forgot the hemp seeds!

It was alright. Not the worst Dr fuhrman soup I've had. My alterations probably improved it a bit :)

3.75/5

salad

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Day 4 of Dr. Fuhrman 10 in 20: Chia Breakfast Pudding and Chickpea Curry in a Hurry

Chia Seed Breakfast Pudding( after sitting 15 minutes for the chia seeds to congeal the almond milk)

 Breakfast: Chia Seed Breakfast Pudding

½ cup unsweetened, unflavored or vanilla soy, hemp or  almond milk
2 tablespoons whole chia seeds
2 tablespoons uncooked old fashioned or steel cut oats
½ banana, sliced
½ cup fresh blueberries or frozen, thawed

In a bowl, mix together non-dairy milk, chia seeds and oats. Let mixture sit for 10 minutes or for an on-the-run breakfast, make the night before and refrigerate. Stir in banana and blueberries.

This was good. I've really liked all the breakfasts so far on the 10 in 20 program. It reminded me of the chia pudding mom and I made about 5 years ago... wow, has it been that long?

Score: 8/10

Hummus Wrap with Avocado

Luch: Hummus Wrap (repeat from yesterday, should've been a portobello salad with walnut vinaigrette)

I was short on time, so I just repeated yesterdays lunch and added some avocado. The avocado made this even better. The creaminess seemed to cut the onions. I didn't add the vinegar, but didn't really miss it.

Chickpea Curry in a Hurry

Dinner: Chickpea Curry in a Hurry

2 servings

1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas or 1 (15 ounce) can low sodium chickpeas, drained
½ cup low-sodium vegetable broth
1 ½ cups diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons curry powder
1∕3 cup unsweetened dried coconut
1 10-ounce box or bag frozen chopped spinach*

Combine all ingredients except spinach in a large saucepan. Cook for 5 minutes, then add spinach. Cover and continue cooking until spinach is thawed and curry is warm, about 5 more minutes.

Score: 8.5/10

*Instead of frozen spinach, I used fresh. A 10 oz package of frozen spinach is about 1 1/2 cups. After cooking down fresh spinach with a bit of water, that's how much you should be left with.  (many places online say to saute spinach with a tablespoon of oil, but I used a few tablespoons of water and it worked out fine. So, 1 lb fresh spinach = 1.5 cups cooked and drained = 10 ounce frozen package.

Right before we started the 10 in 20 program I made a vegan Indian chickpea dish called Chana Masala. The flavor was awesome. The naan might have also helped with how much I enjoyed it ;) This was a bit different. The sweet coconut (I did't have unsweetened in my pantry, so the stuff i used had too much sweet flavor) was okay, but I found it a bit distracting. The texture may have been the culprit there, really. The smell and flavor of this dish was pretty good.

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Day 3 of Dr. Fuhrman 10 in 20: Orange and Kale Smoothie, Hummus Wrap, Tailgate Chili

Orange and Kale Smoothie in a bottle, ready to take to the gym :)

Breakfast: Orange and Kale Smoothie

1 ½ cups kale

1 apple, cored and sliced 

1 navel orange, peeled (I use 3 clementines)

½ lemon 

1 tablespoon flax seeds 

2-3 ice cubes 

Water as needed for desired consistency

Blend ingredients in a high-powered blender

I had to take this to the gym with me since I was running late this morning. The bottle I pulled out didn't fit all of the smoothie, so I drank some before I left. Avery thought the little glass was for her and got excited, but as she got closer to it, she decided not to drink it. Probably a good thing, she likes green smoothies, but I put in a little extra kale you could taste it! Overall, this was very good. Tasted very green and fresh. Without the extra kale I put in and a bit more orange, this would've been even better.

Score: 9/10

Here's the leftover smoothie that didn't fit in my bottle. Check out that color!

Hummus Wrap

Lunch: Hummus Wrap

1 large (100% whole grain) tortilla

3 tablespoons hummus  

½ cup chopped romaine

½ cup sliced tomatoes

2 slices  red onion 

Splash balsamic vinegar 

Spread hummus on the wrap, top with chopped romaine, diced tomatoes, sliced red onion and a splash of balsamic vinegar.

So, I used the whole wheat pitas that I already have instead of a tortillas and switched out the romaine with spinach. The raw red onion was strong. I might have used too much. The balsamic vinegar was also strong. Not bad. On the plus side, it was simple and quick.

Score: 7.5/10

Tailgate Chili

Dinner: Tailgate Chili

5 servings 

½ cup uncooked bulgur or quinoa 

1 cup water 

3 cups chopped onions 

3 cloves garlic, minced 

2 green bell peppers, chopped 

26 ounces low sodium diced tomatoes 

3 (15 ounce) cans red kidney beans, no salt added or  low sodium, rinsed and drained 

2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels 

2 tablespoons chili powder 

2 teaspoons ground cumin 

Combine bulgur or quinoa and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, heat 1∕8 cup water in a large saucepan and water sauté onions and garlic until almost soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in green peppers and sauté an additional 3 minutes, adding more water  as needed. Stir in diced tomatoes, beans, corn, chili powder  and cumin. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for  20 minutes. Add bulgur or quinoa and simmer for an additional  5 minutes.

This chili was good. Very filling. Definitely tasted healthier and more bland than regular chili. The recipe made quite a bit. I replaced one of the cans of kidney beans with black beans and added some smoked paprika. I'll probably need to freeze some of this. Not sure how many days in a row I want to eat it. 

Score: 8/10

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Day 2 of Dr. Fuhrman 10 in 20: Berry Bowl...

Berry Bowl with strawberries, blueberries, banana, pecans, flax and chia seed (added the chia later)

Breakfast: Berry Bowl

1 ½ cups fresh (or thawed frozen) blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and/or raspberries
1 banana, sliced
¼ cup unsweetened, unflavored or vanilla soy, hemp or  almond milk
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon ground flax or chia seeds

Top berries and sliced banana with non-dairy milk and sprinkle with walnuts and the flax or chia seeds.

Okay, I really thought just fruit, almond milk, some nuts and some seeds wouldn't be enough for me. This breakfast actually stuck with me for a long while. I ate it at about 11:30 am, almost lunch time! It was so easy, not sure why it took me so long to eat breakfast. This ended up being a good thing because I didn't end up eating breakfast or dinner.

I liked this a lot. I'd definitely have this again. Of course, I love having fruit for breakfast and that's basically all this is.

Score: 9.5/10 

After adding the fruit, nuts, flax and chia

After adding the almond milk

Another pic of the berry bowl, because why not :)

Alright, I think I put off breakfast partly because I didn't have almond milk on hand. Luckily, I'd soaked almonds overnight, so all I had to do was throw them in my Soyajoy with some water. Thank you mom for giving this to me years ago. If I had to make it in my vitamix with a nutbag, it probably wouldn't happen. I tried to figure out if homemade almond milk is cost effective. Actually after trying to remember how much I spent for my almonds, I just googled it. According to a website called Dont Waste the Crumbs, a quart of homemade almond milk costs $1.41 if you buy almonds at $4.23/lb (link to article here). Since it's just a cup to a cup and a half of almonds, some water, salt and sweetener (if you add that), not too complicated.

I made almond okara (pulp) cookies with coconut. The intent was to mitigate waste and provide a healthy-ish post-workout treat for my workout group. I had to make sure they weren't disgusting so I tasted one... which turned into 3! Totally off plan.

My Soyajoy! Thanks Mom for blessing my life with homemade almond milk

It was a beautiful day outside, so after getting Avery to and from preschool, the gym, grocery shopping, etc, we spent some time outside. I did this knowing that Avery needed it (and I promised her that we would, so gotta follow through). I also did this knowing I'd not fixed my lunch yet. After Andrew got home we went over to costco and didn't get back until about 8:15 pm. I wasn't about to try to fix either the kale salad or the zucchini pasta!

Blossoms on our apple tree

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Day 1 of Dr. Fuhman 10 in 20: Soaked Oats, Mexican Salad, and Easy Vegetable Pizza

Soaked Oats and Peaches (Overnight Oats)

Breakfast: Soaked Oats and Blueberries (or peaches?)

½ cup uncooked old fashioned or steel cut oats
½ cup unsweetened, unflavored or vanilla soy, hemp or  almond milk
½ cup blueberries
1 small apple, chopped
½ tablespoon ground flax seeds

Combine oats and non-dairy milk. Soak for at least 30 minutes or overnight. Mix in remaining ingredients.

I didn't go shopping last night, so I  used peaches in my overnight oats instead of blueberries. I happened to have a ton of peaches from our peach tree in our freezer. They added a much needed sweetness to the oats. 

After eating breakfast I looked at the Day 1 recipes and realized I forgot the apple, so I just ate it afterward.

When I've had overnight oats in the past, I've added a pinch of salt, cinnamon or vanilla, and honey to them. Along with frozen fruit I usually have a banana, nuts and chia seeds. This 10 in 20 recipe wasn't bad. I just missed the stuff I usually put in. Especially the salt and honey!

Score: 9/10

Soaked oats (overnight Oats) with peaches instead of berries

Mexican Salad before I mixed it up

Lunch: Mexican Salad

1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
½ cup cooked black beans
1∕3 cup frozen, thawed corn kernels
¼ cup low sodium salsa
½ avocado, peeled and chopped

Toss lettuce with beans, corn and salsa. Top your salad with the chopped avocado.

 So, this was a very simple salad. I didn't have an avocado, so I used some chopped almonds.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed salsa as a salad dressing! So, after getting this salad ready, I didn't have time to eat it before I had to rush my child to preschool and make it to the gym to meet my workout partners. I'm not sure if having a 6 hour gap between breakfast and lunch made it taste better or not (9:30 am to 3:30 pm). Surprisingly I wasn't very hungry until about 30 minutes before I had my salad. I also ate a clementine and a few strawberries. Needed to get the berry portion of my GBOMBS in :)

Score: 9/10

Salsa did a decent job coating lettuce and acting as a dressing

Dinner: Easy Vegetable Pizza

1 large (100% whole grain) tortilla or pita
½ cup low sodium pasta sauce
¼ cup chopped mushrooms
¼ cup chopped red onion
1 cup frozen broccoli, thawed and chopped
1 tablespoon shredded non-dairy mozzarella-type cheese, optional

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Place tortilla on a baking sheet and warm for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and top with remaining ingredients. Bake for 30 minutes.

After watching a vlog about day 1 of this plan by Cheri over at the watering mouth (video link here) I expected not to like this pizza. So, confession time - I was a cheater cheater, pumpkin eater. Instead of buying vegan cheese, which is usually just oils and chemicals (who needs artificial chemical flavor in any of their food), I opted for regular dairy. I know! Not even CLOSE to being on plan. Now If I'd had the time I'd break out the nut milk and agar powder to make my own. As a side note, Kite Hill's vegan ricotta and Parma's vegan Parmesan actually look pretty good if I ever need to buy vegan cheese.

Okay, the whole wheat pitta was pretty much cardboard when compared to regular pizza crust, but overall I liked it. Okay, My tomato sauce wasn't no or low-sodium or oil free, and having real mozzarella really upped the flavor too. Also, I didn't have dinner until 9 pm, so I was pretty hungry.

Score: 8.5 (if this were really Dr. Fuhrman approved, I probably wouldn't have liked it so much)

Yes, I used dairy cheese and the Organic Kirkland tomato sauce I had on hand

My pizza topping station! 

 I decided to have the broccoli on the side, steamed with some Ms. Dash 

vegetarian

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Oodles of Zoodles

Garlic and Basil Chicken with Marinara Sauce over Zucchini Noodles 

Last night I looked at my macros and noticed I needed more protein to hit my goals, but not very many carbs. Looking in the fridge I noticed a lone zucchini and some marinara sauce... Why not make zucchini noodles! So, out came the spiralizer and voila! Dinner was made right quick like.

Brieftons NextGen Spiralizer, photo courtesy of Amazon 

Now, the spiralizer that I have is by Brieftons and is called their NextGen Spiralizer. Is it great? No. Did I get it on the cheap? Yes. I know there's no substitute for a crank-turned spiralizer, but until I start really getting into spiral cut veggies and want to dedicate more money and kitchen space to it, this will do.

Chef Shamy Garlic Butter,with Parmesan and basil
Snagged pics from here

Overall the dish was good, but not amazing. It definitely looked pretty. I really wasn't all that hungry and I think I over salted the noodles, so I might try this again and see how I feel about it. I cooked the chicken up with Chef Shamy's delicious garlic butter. Gotta Love Costco! The marinara sauce is just jarred. I used the Silver Palate San Marzano Blend Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce because it's what I have on hand. I decided to try baking my noodles. Next time I would either leave them raw or zap them in the microwave for about a minute.

Baked Zucchini Noodles

Ingredients:
1 or more medium zucchini
Salt

Step 1: Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with a double layer of paper towels.
Step 2: Spiralize your zucchini and evenly distribute the resulting noodles on the baking sheet.
Step 3: Sprinkle the noodles with sea salt. The salt helps to draw out the moisture while the paper towel will soak it up. Cook for 10-15 minutes
Step 4: Remove from the oven and gently squeeze the noodles with a fresh paper towel to wring out any additional liquid.

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So Nice Cauliflower Rice

Peanut Curry Chicken with Cauliflower Rice

Tonight I wanted something quick, flavorful, and heavy on the protein in order to hit my macros. I saw a video on you tube where a guy made a simple peanut curry chicken using curry powder and peanut butter. I though it would be good with rice, but I'd eaten most of my allotted carbs for the day.

Enter cauliflower rice. I've seen this around the internet and never actually thought about making it. After reading several reviews of the best way to cook cauliflower rice (like the one here from Epicurious, the one here from One Good Thing, or the one here from BBC's Good Food, or here), and  many other blogs (like here at the Minimalist Baker, here at Damn Delicious, or this curried cauliflower rice from Martha Stewart or here) and watching videos (like this one, or this one) I wasn't sure If I wanted to roast it in the oven or cook it in a pan on the stove top.

I decided to roast the cauliflower in the oven. It still had a bit of that funky cauliflower smell when cooking, but it was tasty. I made two batches, because I had a very large head of cauliflower, but I left one of the pans in too long and it started to burn. The "rice" still tasted good. I sprinkled the  cauliflower rice with garlic powder during cooking and sprinkled some parsley on for color after it was done. Did it taste like rice? Nope. It tasted like roasted cauliflower. Definitely made a good rice substitute, though. I've seen people add their "rice" to a wok straight from the freezer in order to make fried rice, so I might try that with the rice that I froze.

Peanut Curry Chicken
Recipe adapted from The Diet Kitchen (link is to a video)

1 Tbs Coconut oil
2 Chicken breast, cubed
Curry Powder, to taste
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1/2 - 1 Tbs peanut butter

Step 1: In a medium frying pan, heat coconut oil over medium high heat until liquefied. Add chicken to pan.

Step 2: When chicken has just started to cook (turning white), add curry powder until covering the chicken pieces, pepper, and salt. Stir until seasoning evenly coats all pieces of chicken. Let it cook 1-2 minutes.

Step 2: Add peanut butter. Mix in with chicken as it starts to melt. At this point, you can add a bit of water and stir in order to make a more saucy chicken. Cook chicken for about 5 more minutes.


Roasted Cauliflower Rice

1 Head cauliflower

Step 1:  Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a  rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Wash and dry cauliflower. Remove all greens and core. Cut into 4 even sections.

Step 2: If cauliflower is not completely dry, let it sit out for about 5 minutes. At this point the cauliflower can be grated with a hand/box grater, or placed into a food processor and pulsed a few times until it's about size of rice granules. Can place 2 cup portions in freezer baggies and freeze at this point.

Step 3: Place cauliflower onto a dish towel or paper towels and gently press to remove any excess moisture. Spread onto foil lined pan and place in oven. Stir after about 5 minutes. Check at about 8-12 minutes. Rice should start getting a nice golden color, but not burnt.

Step 4: Season as desired

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Summer Vegetable Tian

Vegetable Tian

Ahhh, the end of the summer produce is upon us. I will miss the flavorful tomatoes from friend's and family's gardens (we have not planted one yet in our new home, but hopefully that will happen sooner rather than later). I will miss the zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, cucumbers, green beans and corn that are local and often grown by people I know. Sure, I will buy them and eat them throughout the rest of the year, but nothing beats a homegrown tomato! Of course, I am getting ahead of myself, there is probably another month or so for some of these vegetables and then of course all the fall and winter produce is great too...it just doesn't seem as plentiful. I do love me some vegetables. My husband doesn't understand what he is missing out on by being so picky.

So, what to do with tomatoes from our neighbors and squash (yellow crookneck/summer and zucchini) from my mother and father-in-law? I decided to make ratatouille's better looking cousin, a tian. Now, this is really just a fancy looking vegetable casserole/gratin type dish. Did you know that in the movie Ratatouille they actually made a tian at the end, not ratatouille? I'd never realized it until now. On a side note, It's been forever since we made ratatouille. In fact, as a trip down memory lane, click here to see my ratatouille and click here to see my mom's (Jane's).

A traditional Provençal tian is made with tomatoes, zucchini, onions, and eggplant, I believe. I did not have an eggplant on hand. I also looked up some recipes online and saw that many people made a riff on this dish with potatoes. I had a potato. My tian is not as pretty as all those pictures online. I used my mandolin to slice the veggies to an even 1/4 inch thickness, but the potato was huge in comparison to my other vegetables. So much so, that I even stacked some slices of squash on top of one another to to be about as high as the potato slices. Also, I had varying sizes of tomatoes. This meant that I had to slice more tomatoes than I thought (3 in total) and they were all inconsistent in diameter. Oh the frustrations of perfectionism!

Those beautiful overlapping rows of artfully arranged and thinly sliced vegetables may have proved elusive, but oven roasting them into a slightly caramelized state proved successful. I used fresh rosemary because I had it, but the rosemary flavor was strong. I used about 1 to 1 and 1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary. Next time I might just stick with dried herbs for this, either rosemary and thyme, or just Italian seasoning. A few other notes, I chose to slice my veggies into 1/4" rounds, but the potato took a long time to cook. I checked it afer 45 minutes, then 50, then and hour. I had to recover it with foil since the cheese had already started browning, but it wasn't until around the 65 minute mark that the potatoes were really fork tender. I've enjoyed eating this. Too bad nobody else in the house will touch it.

Vegetable Tian

1 Tbs Olive oil
1 medium yellow or sweet onion
2 cloves garlic
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow summer squash
1 medium potato, yukon gold or russet
1-3 medium tomatoes
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 - 1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend or a few ounces of Gruyere, grated

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Sauté onions in a large skillet over medium heat with olive oil until softened and transparent (roughly 5 minutes) then add the garlic until fragrant (about 1-2 minutes).

Step 2: While the onion and garlic are sautéing, thinly slice the rest of the vegetables. Try to slice them into the same shape, a 1/8" or 1/4" thick coin. A mandolin works well, but you could also use a food processor or cut them by hand if you can maintain a consistent thickness.

Step 3: Spray the inside of an 8×8" square or round baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread the softened onion and garlic in the bottom of the dish. Place the thinly sliced vegetables in the baking dish vertically, in an alternating pattern. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, thyme, and rosemary.

Step 4: Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, top with cheese and bake (uncovered) for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.

vegetarian

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Snap Peas and Tofu

Today I tried another recipe from The Blood Sugar Solution. I didn't expect much from this recipe, but it was surprisingly flavorful. I ate it with a side of  butternut squash. I prepared brown rice to go with it, but there was almost no sauce and it was just fine on its own.

Asian Tofu Snap Pea Stir-Fry with Sesame Peanut Sauce
Mark Hyman, MD
Serves 4

1 1/2 lbs firm tofu
2 Tbsp peanut butter
1 1/2 Tbsp white wine or rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
pinch of chili pepper flakes
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp ginger, minced
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
4 scallions, sliced
4 cups snap peas

Rinse the tofu and pat dry. Cut into medium cubes and set aside. To make the sauce, combine the peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce chili pepper flakes and sesame seeds in a small bowl, and mix until smooth.

In a wok or large saute pan, heat the sesame oil, add the ginger, garlic and scallions, and stir-fry for a minute, being careful not to burn. Add the tofu and saute until the sides begin to brown. Add the snap peas and saute 1 minute until tender. Add the sauce and cook for another minute. Serve immediately with brown rice (if desired).

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The Blood Sugar Solution

When I went in for my physical last month Dr. Yamaguchi said my blood work looked great, except that my sugar was a little higher than it has been at past appointments. I decided to be pro-active and do something about it. I read Dr. Mark Hyman's book The Blood Sugar Solution and decided to try the recipes at the back of the book and blog my results.

The braised green I used was red chard. I followed all three recipes exactly.

Mark and Andrew helped judge the dishes. They both didn't like the chard. Mark gave it a D. I kind of liked it and would have given it a B-.

Mark gave the Millet Cauliflower Mash a B. That's about what I'd give it. I thought it needed to cook a little longer so the millet was softer. We all agreed it needed more flavor. Andrew said the Cauliflower and Chard dishes tasted better if you mixed them together.

We all liked the Meat Loaf, but agreed that it needed to cook a little longer (15 minutes?) so it set up better. Mark gave it an A-.

Turkey and Spinach Meatloaf, Braised Red Chard, Millet Cauliflower Mash

 (I forgot to take a picture of the meatloaf by itself. In case of any confusion, it's in the above picture on the far left...with a label below it)

Turkey and Spinach Meat Loaf
Serves 4

1 1/2 cups pecans
1 pound lean ground turkey
10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 eggs
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small onion, diced
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp sea salt
pinch of black pepper

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a food processor, grind the raw pecans to a medium-fine texture. In a large mixing bow., combine the ground pecans with the remaining ingredients. Mix well. Place into an oiled loaf pan and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool 5 minutes before serving. Serve with Millet Cauliflower Mash and Braised Greens with Red Onion and Sun-Dried Tomatoes.

418 calories per serving

















Millet Cauliflower Mash
Serves 4

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small onion, diced
1/2 cup millet, rinsed
4 cups cauliflower, chopped
1 tsp dried sage (or 1 Tbsp fresh)
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 tsp sea salt
chopped fresh parsley for garnish

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the olive oil and saute the onions until they start to brown. Add the millet, cauliflower, and sage and saute 1 more minute. Add the water and bring to a boil, then add the salt. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, until the millet is soft. When done, blend with a potato masher. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve.

122 calories per serving
















Braised Greens with Red Onion and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Serves 4

1/2 red onion, sliced
2 Tbsp sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
4-6 cups thinly sliced greens (any combination of kale, chard, and collard greens works well)
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
splash of balsamic vinegar (optional)

Place the onion, tomatoes, and greens in a saute pan with the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer on low until the greens are soft. Splash with olive oil and balsamic vinegar before serving.

82 calories per serving

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Kung Pao Tofu

Willow and I have decided to take another go at Dr. Fuhrman's Eat to Live program. Tonight I opted to start with a Kung Pao Tofu recipe I found at this site. It's a recipe I'd never tried, so I told Mark I was going to follow the recipe exactly for once. 

I knew I couldn't do it. 

I ended up using only 1/2 each of the red and yellow peppers. I then added onions and mushrooms. I didn't have the optional hot sesame oil so I added 2 tsp. regular sesame oil with about 1/4 tsp. dried pepper flakes.

The first thing I did was cube the extra-firm tofu, toss it with five spice powder and fry it until browned.

The results after stir-frying the veggies and combining it all together were quite colorful and enticing. We served it over brown rice.  (Mark sprinkled a little soy sauce over his at the table to add a little more salty flavor).

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Super Immunity 2

Yesterday morning we ate the leftover Forbidden Rice Breakfast. The rest of the day was crazy and we didn't stay with the program.

This morning we started with the breakfast from day 2, Super Seed Oatmeal. I loved it. It was sweet and creamy and the apple and seeds gave it an interesting crunch. Definitely one to repeat.

The surprise for me is how much Mark liked it. He usually isn't a big oatmeal fan.

There wasn't a review for this recipe on Dr Fuhrman's site.

Super Seed Oatmeal
Serves 2

Ingredients
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick or instant)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened vanilla soy, hemp or almond milk
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1 cup frozen blueberries or mixed berries, thawed
1/4 cup raisins
1 tbsp raw sunflower seeds
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
1 tbsp ground hemp seeds
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions
Cook oats according to package directions, using soy milk instead of water. Mix remaining ingredients together and stir into oats.

M 5   J 5

For dinner I prepared the recipes from day one's dinner. We started with Island Black Bean Dip.

I didn't have Dr Fuhrman's Mato Zest or Blood Orange Vinegar so I substituted the Mrs Dash tomato seasoning and red wine vinegar as suggested in the recipe.

I served it with mini carrots and cucumbers and half a whole wheat pit.

The veggies and pita were great. The bean dip was awful. Dr Fuhrman's site raved about it. The only thing I can imagine is that the substitutions made a big difference.

DF 5   M 3   J 2-3

Next was the Braised Kale and Squash with Pumpkin Seeds. I didn't have the Veggie Zest or the Black Fig Vinegar that it suggested so I substituted basalmic vinegar and 2 pinches of Celtic Sea Salt. I also used acorn squash rather than butternut and baby kale rather than full leaf kale. With all that being said, we still really liked this dish.

I probably should order some of the seasoning and vinegars from Dr Fuhrman's site if I'm going to give these dishes a full chance.

DF 4.5   M 4.5   J 4.5






The Black Cherry Sorbet was great. Dr Fuhrman's site gave it a 4.5. When I looked at the reviews they were all 5's except a one. That person must have got the the rating system turned upside down because their comment was "I loved this recipe! Thank you!" Because of this I'm going to allow it a full 5.

BTW, I concur with the one star commenter. I loved this recipe!

DF 5   M 5   J 5

vegetarian

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Starting Super Immunity

I read Dr. Fuhrman's Super Immunity while Mark and I were in Victoria last weekend. I was so inspired that I decided to try all the recipes at the end of the book and post my results. I've decided to make the recipes in the order of the meal plan, but will give myself longer than 2 weeks to complete them all.

For each recipe I'll try to give the rating from Dr. Fuhrman's website, Mark's rating, and Jane's rating. Dr. Fuhrman's site uses a 5 star rating system. We will do the same. I don't want to give indiscriminate 5's (like it looks like a lot of people do on Dr. Fuhrman's site) so it will take something very special to rate a 5. I'll base my rating on the following criteria:

5 stars - Amazingly Delicious, can't wait to try it again!
4 stars - Very Tasty, will probably repeat this dish again some day
3 stars - Good, might possibly try again with some tweaks or if the ingredients are all in my cupboard and I can't think of anything else to fix
2 stars - O.K., wasn't awful, but probably won't try again
1 star - Nasty

With that said, let the cooking begin...

Forbidden Rice Breakfast
Mark and I both liked this recipe. I put a large dollop of Greek yogurt on Mark's (someone in the comment section on DF's site had suggested that) and I had mine au naturale. We liked it enough that we'll probably try it again some day - OK, like probably tomorrow since we have enough leftovers for both of us to have it for breakfast again.

Dr Fuhrman's site 4   Mark 4   Jane 4

Forbidden Rice Pudding Recipe
2 cups cooked forbidden rice
2 cups unsweetened almond or soy milk
1/2 cup dried apricots, diced
1 cup frozen blueberries
2 large or 4 small dates, pitted and chopped
1 Tbsp currants
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp chia seed

First cook the forbidden rice either using a rice cooker or according to the package directions. Next, place all ingredients, except chia seed, in a medium-sided pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat then reduce heat and simmer on low for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the chia seed, stir well, cover and let stand for 5 minutes.


Lunch was not super or full of immunity. No more needs to be said.

Instead we had Day 1's lunch for dinner. We started with Spinach Salad with Strawberry Sesame Vinaigrette. The first thing I need to say is that I've never liked Dr. Fuhrman's salad dressings. I was skeptical about this one, especially when I realized I was out of sesame seeds, one of only four ingredients. It was still wonderful.

We both loved the combination of the salad and dressing.

I wouldn't mind the dressing as a topping for waffles and fresh strawberries instead of whipped cream.

DF 5   M 5   J 5






I feel bad about the Tangy White Beans and Zucchini. I had planned on making the recipes strictly by the book the first time through.

Then when I started making this recipe I thought, "Hmmm, maybe this could use some mushrooms and onions."

So I added mushrooms and onions.

Then I thought, "Why this looks bland. I know, I'll add a can of fire roasted tomatoes."

So I did.

What I ended up with was nothing like the original dish. In fact, I thought it was just ok. This was sad since everyone seemed to love it on Dr. Fuhrman's site. One commenter even listed it as their favorite recipe.

We'll try it again at the end and see if it's better as written.

DF 5   M 4   J 3

vegan

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Holiday Challenge Day The First (of many)

Yesterday was the first day of the challenge and I actually did it! Here is what I ate (Reduced Fat Wheat Thins not shown):

Cinnamon, Vanilla Oatmeal with Cranberries

Sauteed Vidalia Onion and Bell Pepper Salad with Black Beans

Green Beans with Salt and Pepper

Cashew Vegetable Korma

I love this 3 Month Food Tracker by Weight Watchers
I've never done weight watchers, but this thing is great!

vegan

1

I can do it, I can do it... Can I do it?

Mom called me last week and asked if I wanted to participate in Dr. Fuhrman's Holiday Challenge with her. My first thought was of all the yummy food I would miss out on at Thanksgiving. I love pumpkin pie! Then I thought about Christmas and New Years Eve. The Challenge requirements go like this:

The 2011 Holiday Challenge

Dr. Fuhrman's Holiday Challenge is dedicated to helping you make the best choices which will allow you to achieve overall health and quality of life. Take the pledge and join us in the Holiday Challenge.

I am committed to my health and I am taking Dr. Fuhrman's Holiday Challenge! This year, as I celebrate the holidays and enjoy the company of my family and friends, I will make food choices that support my health.

For the next 6 weeks, I promise to:

      

Eat a large salad everyday

Enjoy a generous serving of steamed
greens with mushrooms and onions  

Satisfy my sweet tooth with three fruits a day

  

Have at least one fulfilling serving of beans
each day

For the next 6 weeks, I promise to:

Avoid white flour

Avoid sugars & artificial
sweeteners

Use oils sparingly

I will not allow peer pressure or tempting toxic foods to derail me from my health goals.
I will not compromise my health to please others.
I will set an example of health-mindedness for those around me.

holiday challenge

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