UPDATE + Mexican Rice

WHOA. And I'm back. After a 7-month hiatus from food-blogging, it may be something I want to start doing again! (Time permitting).

Essentially, the short explanation for my disappearance from this blog is that 1) I live in Mexico City now; 2) I keep really busy with work and travelling (as can be seen at my other blog, Aventuras en D.F. ); 3) I have a tiny kitchen and the stove doesn't even have temperature labels; and 4) I have fallen off the vegan train. Oops! You see, living in Mexico, being vegan is much more difficult than it is in the states, for numerous reasons. However, the big reason for me was that pretty much all Mexican food includes cheese, sour cream, and/or milk. Aaand, vegan substitutions are non-existent around here. If I lived in Mexico, and never ate Mexican food, I would feel like I'm missing out on a big part of the culture here! So, I've added dairy back in to my diet. (Organic and family-farm raised, whenever possible, of course). To tell you my really dirty secret, I've even added shrimp back in to my diet. Forgive me, die-hard vegans.

SO...What does this mean for the blog? Really, nothing. If I have cheese in a recipe, it can just as easily be substituted with vegan cheese. Same thing goes for milk / almond milk, cream / coconut cream, sour cream / tofu sour cream, etc.. So, without further ado, let me give you a fully-vegan recipe that I made for lunch today: Mexican Rice. (How fitting).

Ingredients:

1 cup rice

2 cups veggie broth

1/3 cup tomato paste

1 tsp-tbsp (depending on how much you want) garlic powder

1/2 tsp cumin

~1/3 medium onion (you can use more if you wish, but I don't recommend using the whole thing)

1 cup peas (I used frozen)

Olive oil

Directions:

Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high flame, and generously coat the pan with olive oil. Toss in the rice, and mix with a spatula until all the rice is coated in oil. Sprinkle the cumin and garlic salt over the rice, and mix again. Allow the rice to toast until golden (being careful not to burn!). In the meantime, roughly chop your 1/3 onion, and mix that in as well. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes.

Now, mix the veggie broth and tomato paste into the pan as well. Crank the flame up to high heat and allow to boil out. For me, this couldn't have taken more than 15 minutes, just be sure to stir/fluff the rice every couple minutes. When the soupy-ness goes away, you'll be left with a reddish-orange rice. Reduce the heat back to medium-low and toss in the cup of green peas. Stir-fry for another 3-5 minutes, or until the peas are soft. (Or in my case, unfrozen). Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Enjoy!!

New Year's Confession (plus weight loss tips!)

Okay...Time for a New Year's Confession. I've been going back and forth in my head about whether or not to make this post, because it's a confession that I'm both proud of and ashamed of. Sound weird? Let me explain--you see, in 2012, I lost a ton of weight (that needed to come off). I'm really proud that I did it, and very happy with where I'm at now, but I'm ashamed that I didn't used to care about myself enough to keep myself healthy and my weight in check. I don't even have "before" pictures that I can find, because I was so ashamed of the way I looked that I would avoid cameras at all costs. Not a good place to be.

This is uber-scary sharing it on my blog that my friends and family check up on. I've never given anybody a number as to what I was at this time last year, but, I will tell you what came off in the last year: 70 pounds. Whoop, there it is! More than half of that I would attribute to diet changes. Going vegan last January was difficult at first, but got easier with time, and I found myself actually enjoying eating more fruits and veggies. I don't miss milk, because I grew to love almond milk more. I don't miss butter, because I love olive oil more. I kind of loved cheese, but I discovered that Daiya brand dairy-free cheese is just as good! And in learning that art of substitution, being vegan became one of the easiest things in my life. A vegan diet cuts out dietary cholesterol completely, which my heart has thanked me for. Switching to a veg-diet also cuts out a bunch of calories (meaning you can eat more food and consume fewer calories...um, deal!). So changing my diet was a huge part of my weight loss, but there are many other things I had to do in order to lose that 70 pounds. Here are some weight loss tips, the key things that helped me lose:

• Portion control--I came to realize that I was eating much bigger portions than my body actually needed! A way to fix this is to, instead of grabbing a dinner plate to fill up, grab a salad plate. Fill it with your regular food, just in smaller portions. It's okay if they look too small, if you're still hungry 20 minutes after you start eating, then go ahead and grab a little more.
• Fill up on fruits and veggies first--We all know that fruits and veggies are good for us. Full of vitamins, high in fiber, all-natural...and they also tend to be very low-calorie. Start your meal with fruits or veggies, fill yourself up a little, and you will likely eat less of your higher-calorie entree.
• Eat 5 small meals each day--Like the hobbits in the Lord of the Rings movies!! (What is it they have, breakfast, second breakfast, 11sies, lunch, tea, dinner, supper....okay, that's way too much food, but still). Eating 5 small meals everyday that average about 300 calories each will keep your blood sugar from dropping and spiking, you'll feel full all day, and you are less likely to binge.
• Water--Waterwaterwaterwaterwaterwaterwaterwaterwaterwater. Get the picture?
• Don't drink empty calories--I had two soda drinks this year, and I didn't even really enjoy them. By cutting out soda completely, I saved myself a bunch of calories (I used to think I was addicted to Dr. Pepper). After not drinking it for awhile, I found that the carbonation in the drinks kind of hurt my mouth, and flat soda doesn't even taste good. Trust me, the first two weeks are the worst: if you can get through those, then you're golden.
• Plan your meals a day ahead of time--Having a plan will keep you from standing in front of an open fridge and succumbing to a binge. Be sure to have a plan that you like, or else you may not be keen to stick to it.
• Keep an "emergency" stash in your car or purse--you never know when something unexpected will happen, so always be sure to have a water bottle and some fruit or a granola bar close by, to power you through to the next meal if you're going to miss one.
• Treat yourself--If you feel deprived of something, eventually you're more likely to binge. But 100-calorie snack packs of a tasty treat will take away that feeling of deprivation, and help to keep you on track.
• Find at least 2 exercises you really like--And alternate them throughout the week. When exercise is enjoyable, you're going to keep at it, simple as that. As all the experts say, aim for an average of 30 minutes each day! (They say it because it works, I promise).
• Keep trying new things--The more we challenge ourselves physically, the more quickly we will see results. Even try things that you didn't used to like! Give something two weeks, and if you still hate it at the end of two weeks, you can stop. Make goals for yourself, like trying two new things each month. Running, walking, hiking, mountain biking, spinning, ballet, zumba, elliptical, yoga, kickboxing, calisthenics, swimming, rock climbing, stair-stepping, sports, a new workout video, ice skating, skiing...I could go on for ages, but there are so many ways to work up a sweat.
• Motivate yourself!--Read inspirational quotes, subscribe to a fitness magazine, hire a personal trainer, get a diet-and-fitness buddy, utilize self-talk...Do whatever you have to in order to keep yourself motivated and on-track. Motivation gets you started, then habits form and keep you going. :)

Well, I think that's all I have for tonight! May the New Year bring you all the best, and may you achieve each of your New Year's resolutions :)

EVE's Birthday!

Welcome to the launch of my new blog, Earthly Vegan Eats! The title says it all: EVE is all about healthy vegan foods/recipes that are good for both our bodies and the world around us. Wait, don't leave just yet! I promise, the recipes I post are delicious to vegans and non-vegans alike--no cardboard here.

I'm starting EVE for a few simple reasons, the most important being to share some tasty healthy recipes that I just can't stand to keep secret anymore :) Also, I want to show just how easy and yummy getting good nutrition on a veg diet can be! Whenever I tell someone that I don't eat any animal-based products, there are two common reactions. One is a sort of a "why in the world would you ever want to do something crazy like that" paired with scared face. (It's a lifestyle choice, not a disease...) Another reaction is just the question: "So what do you eat?"

There is a big, big world outside of meat and dairy. It definitely gets easier with time, figuring out which foods are okay for a vegan diet and which aren't. Eventually, a veg-diet becomes so easy that you'll never feel limited in your food choices! So, check out the page often, I'll do my best to keep posting new healthy and delicious recipes, as frequently as I can. Here's to the start of EVE!