Looking Back

During the month of October I tried to challenge myself by making a few key changes, namely moving to a strictly vegan diet.
I started the month strong, with lots of fresh produce, homemade shakes and smoothies. It was very exciting, and I learned a few new kitchen tricks. As the month wore on, I lost some of that enthusiasm and relied on premade meals. I stuck to it though, and made it through the month eating only vegan foods.
I still want to change some other habits, and I'll be working to make adjustments to my fitness habits and practice routines.
The month of October brought many changes, namely a significant change in my employment situation. I'm now working entirely in music, which is very exciting. I'm still adjusting to the new job, but it's been fun to be working with a group of great kids.
As we move forward to the end of the year, I'll be trying to get back to a higher level of focus and drive in my professional life.

One Week Vegan

I'm so glad to say that I survived this first week of eating entirely vegan! 

*One thing that I do want to clarify from my last post is that I absolutely do not regret watching documentaries on veganism. I'm so very glad that I did. It's really helped to give me the push to change my diet in a way that I've been wanting to for a long time, and that's something that I'm very grateful for!*

There were a couple factors that played into my ability to follow through with this goal. First of all, I watched a lot of relevant YouTube videos. I watched mostly presentations or discussions about why the vegan diet is more effective and healthier, plus some videos by vegan YouTubers about what they eat, some of their favorite recipes, and tips on how to successfully transition. The biggest tip that I saw was that if you switch to lots of whole fruits and veggies, then yes you will consume a much higher volume of food. Knowing that helped me to know that it's okay to load up on food at meals, and getting hungry between meals doesn't necessarily mean I'm doing it incorrectly.
Another helpful thing, which was sort of incidental, was that I found good, filling breakfast ideas that weren't fruit smoothies. It's a veggie smoothie! I've had fruit smoothies, and I like them, but I just wasn't able to get nearly as much variation as I wanted, plus they turn brown and start tasting funny very quickly, so making them in advance wasn't really an option. The veggie smoothie recipe that I tried was this:

1 medium carrot
2 celery stalks
one big handful of spinach
1 pear (or apple)
coconut milk (or other vegan milk)

It's very tasty! The pear/apple adds a little sweetness without going overboard. I've also been adding two kale leaves and half an avocado to mine which makes it more filling and creamier. Another thing I tried which worked well was I put in about a quarter or less of bell pepper. That spiced it up and changed the flavor profile in a very positive way. I'm going to add/subtract ingredients so that I can slowly increase my options and increase variety further. Usually I would drink half of the smoothie, saving the other half for the next day/later that same day, and eat a bowl of corn flakes to get some carbs too.

While I did everything I wanted to with my diet, I still didn't get as much exercise or as much practice time in as I wanted to. Now that I have feel like I have my diet in a good place that I can maintain, I'm really going to focus on the other two.
To that end, I'm going to go switch the laundry over and then hit the stack of recital music that is currently staring me down. November 24th, here I come!

31 days of Change

Last night I made the mistake of watching a lecture on veganism, and it's safe to say that I'm pretty skeeved out by animal products now. Besides that little adventure, I have been eating in a pretty unbalanced way and I need to get myself heading in the direction I've been wanting to for a while.

I'm going to try to make it 31 days eating strictly vegan.

Yes, I said "try." I know that it takes commitment to make these things happen, but if I just say that I will do this and then mess up, it's all going to be over. So, in an attempt to keep myself on the path that I want to take, I'm going to say "try."

I have a few other goals for this month, but I'm going to put them a little lower on the totem pole so I don't overwhelm myself. The first goal is to practice every day. Every. Day. I'm getting ready for a recital in November, and the spring and summer will be taken up by the Latin Flute Affair, so I want to get some quality practice in now, and stock up on some solid technique as well as assuage some body use issues before the pressure hits.

Besides regular, quality practice time, I need some exercise. My yoga practice has fallen by the wayside since we moved. Mostly, it's because getting to my old studio would require me to drive in fairly heavy traffic, and I haven't found a new one in my area yet. Plus, I just haven't made it a priority lately. Mostly it's that. I'm also hoping to go walking/jogging more.

So far today I've been a good vegan and a good flutist, let's keep it that way!

Garbanzo Bean Salad

It's been a [long] while since I posted any recipes, so I thought I'd share something that I made just now. It's just a simple cold side salad, but would work well as the entree of a light lunch too!

What you need for the beans:
one large or two medium garlic cloves
1 cup dry garbanzo beans
approx 2 1/2 - 3 cups veggie broth (or just water is fine too)
salt and pepper to taste

What you need to make the rest of the salad:
One medium/small carrot, shredded or chopped into small pieces
several slices of dill pickle, diced
 2-3 tbs. vegan (or regular) mayo - start with less and add more to taste
approx. 1 tsp. of dill

Instructions:
1. Peel and coarsely chop the garlic. (Save the ends/skins for making soups or broths!)
2. Cook garbanzo beans and garlic in broth (or water) overnight, seasoning with salt/pepper to taste. 
3. Drain and save bean liquid. Pat beans dry with paper towels.
4. In medium bowl, mix beans, carrot, pickle. Add mayo to taste (I prefer just a light coating), and then add dill to taste.
5. Enjoy! This should last several days in the fridge, and the recipe can be increased/reduced as needed.

I hope you enjoy this dish! It's very flexible, let me know in the comment section what variations you tried and liked!

Watching What I Eat

School is going well, I have one student each on clarinet, saxophone, and flute now. My students are doing well, I'm enjoying it, blah blah blah. Let's talk food.

In the past year, I've started making changes to my diet. Some have been more successful, some are important to me, some are convenient, and some most have been failing miserably lately. The most important change for me has been cutting out dairy and finding non-dairy replacements for foods I still really want. Another important shift for me has been the move towards a vegan diet. Without fail, any (non-vegan) person I talk to about veganism (is that a word?) says "Oh I could never do that," "It's so hard," or "I just couldn't - I love cheese (or bacon, or whatever) too much."

Which is true. But also not.

If you know me, you know that I LOVE bacon. And cheese. And meat. And ice cream. I love pretty much all food. Despite all this, eating vegan has been reasonably feasible for me. How?

First of all, I know that really I can't do cold turkey (pardon the pun). I have to work my way into a new habit or routine. If I tried to wake up one day and cut out all animal products no questions asked - I would never be able to do it. Instead, I started making smaller, feasible changes. I replaced my cow's milk with almond milk. I started increasing my veggie count, decreased the amount of meat. I tried Daiya vegan cheese (which is surprisingly amazing. You should try it sometime.) and have really enjoyed.

Along with allowing myself the time to switch, I've also given myself flexibility. I know that some days I'll be totally happy to have a tempeh sandwich with vegan everything. Other days, I really just want a burger. And that's okay! If I've been eating a standard American diet (full of meat, cheese and sugar) for some 25 years, then it's fine if it takes me a little bit of time to change my habits and cravings. 

Now, if I allow myself to slip a little whenever I "just want a burger," how do I keep myself from falling off the bandwagon? I don't stock non-vegan foods in my house. The only time I eat non-vegan is when I'm eating out. By not stocking non-vegan foods, I keep myself on track (generally). Plus, eating out is more special because I don't to do it very often.

I'd highly recommend that you try out at least a little bit of a vegan diet, even if you just try Meatless Monday. If nothing else, it's kinda fun to try these new things! Also, there are some really yummy meat substitutes.

I plan on talking more about this topic later, but let me know if you have any questions about anything I've talked about!

Quinoa with Tomatoes and Basil

I got this weeks recipe from a chef friend at work. It's pretty straightforward and super yum.

1/4 c. diced white onions
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cooked quinoa
6-8 cherry tomatoes, halved
couple sprigs Basil
Vegetable Broth
2 Tbs. (vegan) butter
1 Tbs. (vegan) Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Melt 1 1/2 Tbs. butter in skillet, add diced onions. When the onions are almost translucent, add the garlic. Keep sauteing until the onions are translucent and starting to caramelize. Add 1-2 Tbs. vegetable broth and quinoa. Cook the quinoa in veggie broth for great flavor. Stir for a couple minutes, then add tomatoes. Roll basil leaves and cut into strips. Add to skillet. As a final touch, add the Parmesan, and salt and pepper as desired.

I must apologize for not having pictures, but man, it's delish. You gotta try it. Now. Go, go make it. Stop reading. Food. Quinoa. Yum.

My Homemade Chili

This chili is less expensive and healthier than store bought chili. Remember that the fairly pricey initial purchase of spices will pay off big time in the long run. They last a long time and can be used for many, many different recipes.
My chili recipe is two-part: the chili itself, and the seasoning (which is never store bought!) Hope you enjoy!


Homemade Chili (completely from scratch)


4 c. Water*
1 to 1 and 1/4 c. Beans (I use mostly Kidney Beans and make up the rest with lentils and cranberry beans)
3 Tbs. Chili Seasoning, divided (see below)
2 c. drained and chopped vegetables (I'll use 1 c. canned tomatoes, then add diced onions, bell peppers, even chipotle peppers if I feel like it. Almost anything southwestern will work).


* Instead of water, I like to use vegetable broth, liquid drained from the tomatoes, etc. This adds a great flavor to the beans.


In a crock pot, combine 2 ½ cups water, beans, and 1 1/2 Tbs. of chili seasoning. Let cook on Low until beans are soft (I usually let them cook overnight). Once beans are cooked, add vegetables and 1 1/2 Tbs. of seasoning. Add more water as needed. Cook until veggies are soft.
Add more seasoning if desired. Serve with fresh avocado and shredded cheese on top of a nice bowl of tortilla chips for an amazing meal! It stays good in the fridge for several days, and is freezable if you want to make a lot and save it for a rainy day.

Should you desire to add some meaty texture, I'd recommend using TVP (textured vegetable protein). It may sound weird, but it's very similar to ground beef, but with lower fat content. If your finished chili is runnier than you want it to be, the dry TVP will absorb some of the extra liquid.
If you would rather just use ground beef or turkey, cook it separately and flavor it with more chili seasoning. Make sure you drain it VERY well before adding it to the chili, or you'll be adding a lot of grease.


It's a pretty straight-forward recipe, but here's the deal: it's hyper-flexible. Don't like bell peppers? Don't add them! Prefer crushed tomatoes to diced? Fine! Like a wetter chili? Add more liquid. Etc, etc, etc. Prefer more beans, less beans, more veggies, or less? Make it spicier, garlickier, plainer, fancier, whatever you want!
That's what I love about cooking at home. Much more personalization is possible. Really, most recipes are. For instance, with the banana bread posted last week, if you don't like all the spices, then you can omit them, and you can add nuts instead. Or add both. Also, if you happen to be living in a vegan household, use non-dairy milk and butter. It won't change the final product significantly.

Chili Seasoning
1 Tbs. Cumin/Cumin Seed (a heaping Tablespoon!)
1 Tbs. Paprika
1 tsp. Fennel Seed (I use whole)
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp. Black Pepper
1 1/2 tsp. Salt

Basically, just mix all ingredients and store. This amount of seasoning will get you through two batches of chili, depending on how much you decide to use. I always try to use whole Cumin Seed and Fennel Seed (as opposed to powdered or ground), but that's mostly because I like using my mortar and pestle. It gives me the (possibly misguided) impression that the end result tastes better for having hand-ground the spices.
For spice (optional, but certainly recommended!): Some Cayenne Pepper, Chipotle Pepper, or Chili Powder. Be very careful, as a little bit of spice will go a very long way when dealing with crock pot cooking! Always start with less and add more as needed.

This spice mix is also great for ground beef or TVP (if you're vegetarian or vegan) when adding it to chili, or for taco night.

Spiced Banana Oat Muffins

I started this blog with the intent of discussing and sharing multiple facets of my life, and so far it's pretty much only been about music and practicing. I've been wanting to branch out and bring other topics into the mix but wasn't sure where to begin - until yesterday when I finally started cooking at home again. Since we're a vegan household, all of the recipes I post will be vegan, BUT you don't have to make them vegan if you don't want. We use almond milk and soy butter, but you can certainly use regular dairy if you want!

I'm going to start with Spiced Banana Bread. The recipe I use is based on this one. I've increased the milk slightly since I've added the grains. The vinegar helps make the bread more moist. I decided to add it to the banana bread after I saw it in few vegan cake recipes. You may also want to use 3/4 cup sugar, if you want it a little sweeter.

1/3 c. margarine, softened

1/2  c. sugar

2 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 mashed bananas

3/4 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. allspice

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

2/3 c. assorted grains (oatmeal, plain granola, etc.)
1 tsp. white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix margarine and sugar in a large bowl.

Sift in the flour and spices, mix well.

Add liquid ingredients and grains and mix well.

Pour into greased muffin pan...

and bake for 45 minutes!

The recipe makes about 18 muffins, depending on what size you make the muffins. As you can tell, six of them have a little streusel-esque topping (melted butter, sugar, cinnamon, milk, wheat germ and granola). I don't know what the proportions I used were, I'll get that later. Here's a shot of the delectable finished product:

For the 'grains,' I use a mix of oatmeal, wheat germ, granola, whatever I have or want to put in. You can even use nuts if you want - I once made a banana bread with cashews in it that was pretty yummy. For this one I used these 'nutty nuggets' that I found in the cereal aisle of Kroger when we lived in WV. I thought they would be nice to mix with bran cereal for a tasty breakfast, but no. Just, no. They have NO flavor, are incredibly hard - not crunchy, just hard, and just suck. However, they work great in baked goods, so it's not a total waste!

Also, about the bananas. We always have bananas around for breakfast and snacks, but sometimes they go bad before we eat them. When they do, I just throw them in the freezer. Most people already know that, you probably do too. Now you know twice. You're welcome.

Hope you try these out and enjoy them!