SAUTÉED WEEDS

  I´m all nuts for wild edible greens now! It´s been a rainy spring, which apparently has made the "weeds" grow luscious and generous. I´ve been collecting them almost daily with my three-year-old daughter, trying to pass down the knowledge. =)

  Today I boiled the first new potatoes of the season and served them with sautéed wild greens and tofu for the whole family.

A pan full of the most nutritious and natural greens ever, straight off our yard (we never fertilize).

This time there´s goutweed and fireweed, seasoned with fresh chives and lovage from the garden.

The recipe (serves 2-4):

4 cups (1 liter) freshly picked mild-tasting wild edible greens
a bunch of chives
a few leaves & stems of lovage
2 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
soy sauce

+ Chop the greens and lightly sauté in a skillet in little olive oil with the garlic.
  Serve over potatoes (or rice or pasta) and drizzle soy sauce over it.

  Super healthy, nutritious and free of charge! Can it get any better?

BROWN RICE WITH TOFU AND TOMATO SAUCE

  This dish is so simple, yet tasty and satisfying. It´s a genuine grab-what-you-have-in-the-fridge meal I conjured up. Healthy, lean, and provides lots of good carbs and protein, so you can eat as much as you like without getting fat. Is that perfect or what?  =)

Brown rice, skillet-fried tofu, and chunky vegetable-tomato sauce topped with yeast flakes.

  The recipe (serves 2 generously):

Rice:
1 cup brown rice
1 3/4 cups water
+ Rinse the rice first with cold water, then with hot, to remove excess starch. Place in a pot with the water and cook until the water is absorbed. Place a kitchen towel between the lid and the pot, and let sit for at least 15 min before giving it a fluff with a fork (a neat trick I learned from "It´s All Good").

Tomato sauce:
2 carrots, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely sliced
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup (2,5dl) of canned crushed tomatoes
1 tsp honey
basil
oregano
cayenne pepper
ground dried paprika
sea salt
2 Tbsp corn flour+some water
+ Sauté the carrots, celery, and bell pepper in olive oil until the veggies soften a bit. Add the rest of the ingredients and let simmer until the vegetables are al dente.
  (In place of the specific veggies listed above you can use pretty much any you happen to have, but hold on to the tomato part.)

Tofu:
7 oz. (200g) firm tofu
1 Tbsp olive oil
soy sauce
Herbamare
+ Slice the tofu and fry in skillet in olive oil until crispy and golden. Season to your liking with soy and herbal salt.

  Arrange on a plate and sprinkle with dried yeast flakes to give a cheesy flavor.

  I made this for lunch, but also ate it for dinner, and the rest for breakfast the next morning. =) Really good stuff!

EATING PLAN FOR IMBOLC

  Taking a leap towards macrobiotics again. After eating raw foods for months, my body craves cooked grain now. And since I´ve always been a fan of intuitive eating, I trust macrobiotic-like food being good for me now. Variety is always good.

A basic macrobiotic-style breakfast. Oatmeal sprinkled with green nori flakes, small green salad, and kukicha tea.

  Ten years ago I bought my first ever macrobiotic cookbook. It was informative, even too much so, but it left me confused and not knowing how to proceed. The recipes were not mouthwatering either, so I buried the book in the shelf for years.
  The second macrobiotic book I ever bought was "Mayumi´s Kitchen". So much easier to read and follow, but it was not hard core macrobiotic, and after all did not differ that much from ordinary vegan eating. But it was interesting and a good experience.
  Now I´m eagerly waiting for my copy of "Changing Seasons". Until it arrives, I glimpse at the online version of it.

Purple cabbage-celery-apple salad with yogurt-ginger-mint dressing.

  I´m taking a relaxed approach to macrobiotics by focusing on whole grains or whole meal, home made products like porridge and bread. Along with grain I´ll eat both raw and cooked vegetables. Some fruit and vegan sources of protein accompany the previous, but not even every day. What I will add to my daily menu is small portions of seaweed, miso, and fermented cucumbers. White sugar is eliminated, but more natural sweeteners such as dates and honey can be used in moderation. That about wraps it.

Wholemeal pasta with carrot-parsnip-rosemary sauce and fermented pickles.

  Since I´m a girl with a major sweet tooth, this will be an experience to me. On weekends I will indulge in chocolate or candy, but otherwise I try to reduce my sugar intake. How awesome would it be to live sugar-free Mon-Fri?!

Wholemeal spelt bread dough on the way.

The plan: is to eat whatever low-fat grain-vegetable dish I want at any time of day. I will test and learn from the suggested 7-day meal plans of "Changing Seasons" macrobiotic cookbook, but I will also use other sources of vegan recipes, altering them if needed to lower fat content and increase wholeness in grains.

Chocolate-zucchini cake sweetened with dates.

  Meal times follow those of my diabetic ten-year-old son´s healthy ones:
 8-9am breakfast
12pm lunch
4pm dinner
7pm supper

    Yum, healthy Imbolc!

EATING PLAN FOR YULE

  Evolution has brought me to this:

Breakfast:
1 cup green tea w/ soymilk
2 cups freshly squeezed vegetable/fruit juice
1 banana topped with coconut oil and honey

There´s cucumber, celery, and apple in this glass.

Lunch:
1 cup water w/ Echinacea drops
raw food meal of choice

Tzatziki dip with veggie sticks is a great lunch option.

Dinner:
1 cup green tea w/ soymilk
2-3 cups green smoothie/pudding

Cinnamon-flavored green pudding. Made of spinach, banana, avocado, water, honey, cinnamon, and vanilla. I left the banana a bit chunky for something to bite on.

  If/when I get hungry in the evening after eating all three meals of the day, I´ll grab fresh fruits and veggies to fill me up.

  This plan combines raw foodism and principles of Clean eating by dr. Alejandro Junger (where he recommends eating two liquid meals and one solid meal per day)

  All the above examples happen to be green, but that´s not the intention (except for the green pudding of course =). I use mostly seasonal veggies and fruits as the base of all meals, bulking them up with avocado, coconut oil, and occasional cold smoked salmon or goat´s cheese. I´d love to eat an all-raw vegan diet, but at least for now my stomach doesn´t agree with nuts & seeds. A girl´s gotta do what a girl´s gotta do... which is enjoy this nutrient and enzyme rich fresh diet for the next six weeks or so!

TODAY´S GREEN SMOOTHIE

  This is the third day of gulping down masses of green smoothie. Here´s what nourished me today:

Looks delicious like this too, but I would not enjoy eating the greens whole. Blending magically makes the tough greens "disappear", and what´s left is a sweet fruity flavor.

A two-quart (liter) pitcher full of green gold... heavenly.

Here we go again! Yum!

The recipe for "Tummy Settler" by Victoria Boutenko (makes 2 quarts/liters):

3 cups romaine lettuce
1 cup parsley
3 cups pineapple chunks
2 bananas
3 cups water

+ Blend all until smooth.

EATING PLAN FOR SAMHAIN

 My stomach has gotten picky lately, so I´ll have to make some changes to my usual eating habits. It is unhappy with cooked vegetables, nuts and seeds (much fat in any form), and legumes. I don´t know why, and how long it´ll last, but for now I need to replace those foods with something else.
  So here is a brand new, healthy and slimming, eating plan for Samhain, with a new perspective. It now includes some organic dairy and even fish once a week.

 9.00am Breakfast:
 a cup of green tea
 a green pudding made with leafy greens, fruit, and vegetables

Green pudding made with dinosaur kale, zucchini, banana, and water.

1.00pm Lunch:
a cup of water + 20 drops of Echinacea extract
raw-food meal + an avocado, or 3.5 oz. (100g) cold smoked salmon (once a week), or 7 oz.(200 g) cottage cheese

A sample lunch of veggie dip, the sauce made with either avocado or organic sour cream.

4.00pm Tea:
a cup of green tea
a generous cup of flavored yogurt

Yes, dinner is really this simple, a bowl of yogurt. This one is apple & cinnamon flavored. It provides some fat, protein, and good bacteria for the gut, and acts as dessert for the day. Going cold turkey with sugar does not work for me. This much I allow myself.

7.00pm Snack:
a cup of green tea
1-2 apples

9.00pm Nightcap:
a cup of herbal infusion + soymilk
(and raw vegetables if hungry)

Saturdays: feel free to eat your favorite foods!

  This plan bases on one I created when I was sixteen, and lost nearly twenty pounds with it. I was way too skinny then, but luckily soon I left for the U.S. for a year as an exchange student, which fixed the problem more than enough. =)
  I use Erica Palmcrantz-Aziz´s book to guide me with the daily lunches. It keeps the menus varied and interesting without having to think for myself. =)

  I hope my stomach will agree with this plan, as it did twenty years ago. Wow.

ELIXIR OF YOUTH

  A couple of weeks ago I bought a few cans of mild cider at a grocery store, and the cashier lady asked me for id. Me! You need to be 18 here to buy it, and I´ll be 37 next month! Yipee! I thanked the nice lady and told her how she had just made my day. =)

  Every now and then I hear people say how I look younger than my age, including a top photographer (in which case I lost a photo shoot because of looking so young =(, and the head of my modeling agency). My age is not yet an issue to me. 36 is totally young these days. After all, fifty is the new thirty now!

  Still taking care of oneself helps to keep the good looks, and makes you feel great. One of the secrets to a lively and healthy (a.k.a. youthful) appearance is raw leafy greens. The darker the better. I prefer fresh greens over dried superfood ones. Now kale is in season, so it is time to enjoy it.
  After getting a high-speed blender (Vitamix) for Christmas last year, I have been able to enjoy super smooth green juices. They say that when food is broken down to such tiny particles, your body can use it up better. So I figure blending raw leafy greens I get the most out of them. I prefer blending over juicing because then the juice still includes all the fiber too.

A fountain of youth, raw green juice with pulp.

    The recipe (for one):

5 leaves dinosaur kale (or any available raw leafy greens as much as your taste buds can tolerate)
4 sprigs of mint (or any fresh herb desired to taste)
20 drops of Echinacea (I use merely for taste, but possible health benefits are only a big bonus. My aunt has used it for decades, and swears on it´s cold-preventing properties.)
water

+ Blend the kale and mint in a high-speed blender with 1 1/2 cups water until all smooth. Add water enough to reach 2 cups. Pour into a glass and add the Echinacea drops. Stir and drink with your lunch for extra boost.
  Shine, radiate, and get ready for compliments!

RAW STIR-FRY

  This is a raw version of my long time favorite, vegetable stir-fry with brown rice. Raw foodists often substitute rice with finely chopped parsnip. I still like my cooked rice, so I made a compromise by mixing the two. The result is tastier and healthier than plain old brown rice. Yummy!

Vegetables soften without cooking too. Simply marinate them in olive oil and soy sauce. It is easy to prepare them, say the night before or in the morning, and they are ready to eat by lunch. Quick and easy.

Parsnip pulse-chopped in a food processor looks much like rice, and is nice and easy to eat.

Tuck in!

  The recipe (2 portions):

for the vegetables:
2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
1 small bell pepper, thinly sliced (or 1 cup sliced mushrooms if you have any. I didn´t.)
1 cup broccoli, in small florets
1/2 clove garlic, minced
1 inch piece fresh ginger, finely grated
1 Tbsp dried shredded coconut
1 Tbsp olive or sesame seed oil
soy sauce to taste

+ Combine all and let sit in the fridge for at least two hours to let the vegetables soften.

for the rice:
1 parsnip, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 cups cooked brown rice

+  Pulse the parsnip in a food processor until the texture resembles rice. Stir in with the rice.

  Place half of the rice mixture on a plate and add a mound of vegetables on top. Serve and enjoy the good vibrations in your body!

RAW BROCCOLI SOUP

  Wednesdays have been my soup days lately. Today I made broccoli soup seasoned surprisingly with cumin.

The main ingredients.

Blender does the same trick as cooking; softening and breaking down particles to ease chewing and digestion. But blending also reserves all the  enzymes. The recipe is from the gorgeous evergreen miss Mimi Kirk´s, book Live Raw. Oh, how I wish to keep my looks the way she has at still way over seventy!

A smooth and velvety combination of broccoli, avocado, and soymilk seasoned with cumin.

  The recipe (for 2-3):

2 cups almond milk (I used soymilk)
2 cups broccoli florets
1 avocado, cut in chunks
1 tablespoon onion (I used chives)
1 clove garlic
1/2 stalk celery
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

+ Blend all in a high-speed blender until completely smooth. Refrigerate for 2 hours to meld ingredients. Warm carefully until baby-bottle warm and serve.

  Two slices of wholemeal bread and 1/2 cup of chickpeas accompanied my meal.

BACK TO PRE-BABY WEIGHT?

  Okay, it´s settled. I will try to see if I can get back to my pre-baby weight after nearly eleven years!
  There is about seven pounds (3,5 kg) to drop, so it´s not that much really. But I guess mentally it makes a bigger difference. My BMI is now 21.0 and my goal is to drop it to 20.0. No more, I do not want to be skeletal.

  While getting ready for the lingerie photo shoot I came up with this plan for weightloss. It allows big portions of food, but restricts calorie dense foods to about 1200 kcal a day. Also apart from my usual lifestyle, I did some exercise. As a result I did see progress in less than two weeks!
  Here´s the plan:

Eating:
Include: grains, legumes, nuts & seeds, some eggs, berries, apples, and vegetables. Exclude: dairy, meats, seafood, sugar and fruit. Grains, eggs, and legumes cooked, everything else raw.

Apples grow here locally, and are now in season, so they are on my menu. Berries are the only other sweetish ingredient allowed, thanks to their locality. 

- Breakfast choices:
1. Viking porridge
2. Yogurt

- Lunch choices:
1. 2-egg omelet + 5oz. (150g) corn + raw veggies on top of the cooked omelet
2.  a generous cup (3dl) cooked pasta + 1/2 avocado +  raw vegetable sauce
3. raw vegetable soup + 1/2 avocado + 3 slices of wholemeal bread
4. vegetable salad + 1/2 avocado + 3 slices of wholemeal bread
5. a snug cup (bulging 2dl) cooked brown rice + 1/2 avocado + raw stir fry
6. a home made scone (2oz. (60g) wholemeal flour + pinch of salt + 1/4 tsp baking powder + 1/2 cup (bulging 1dl) finely shredded zucchini/carrot etc. + water. Combine all, adding water enough to reach a thick batter. Form into a flat round on baking sheet and bake at 440F (225C) for 15-20 min.).
7. 1 lb (400g) cooked potatoes + mustard/margarine/soy sauce + raw vegetable pieces

- Dinner choices:
Make a double batch for lunch and eat the other half for dinner to save time in cooking.

- Supper choices:
The same as breakfast.

Salt is used sparingly, but herbs in abundance. Cayenne pepper sprinkled here and there.

  All the above meals contain about 350 kcal, and if extra hungry, it is possible to have a fifth meal per day without gaining weight.
  Saturdays are the days off of the plan. Then I can indulge in anything I have craved during the healthy week. I have a massive sweet tooth, and it is utopia to think I´ll never eat sweets again. One day a week for the sake of staying clean for the rest.  

  Exercise:

On rainy days I feel heavy and soaked like this bumblebee, but I will need to overcome the uninviting feeling for a greater cause...

  Inspired by this I will do some jogging 3-4 times a week plus 30 min. walking (or other light exercise) twice a week. While preparing for the shoot I did 5min. walking for warm up, then 1min. jogging + 1min. walking x 15, followed by another 5min. walking for cool down. It worked.
  Now I´m doing 2min. jogging + 1min. walking x 10. Next step will be 3min. jogging + 1min. walking. Minute by minute rising the amount of jogging, keeping the total in 30min. so it does not become too time-consuming.

Light and pretty as a butterfly in the end?

   I will try to follow the plan until my BMI is that set 20.0. I have no idea how long it will take, but the firmer I am able to stick with the plan, the sooner I will see results.

  If I ever reach the goal, my pre-baby weight, it will be interesting to see what it would take to stay there. But I´m not there yet, so I´ll worry about that later. =)
  Now I´m off to the new start!

SLIMMING SUMMER VEGGIE SOUP

  Recently I have strongly craved for vegetables. Cooked ones for a change. This is the latest form I have eaten them in:

This was actually my breakfast today. =) I made it yesterday for dinner, and it was simply the fastest grab this morning.

Packed with flavor and fiber, but low in calories. This soup can virtually be made with any vegetables in season, so it is a good choice around the year. Here I used carrots and  red bell pepper (which I happened to have in the fridge) as main ingredients soaked in tomato-based broth.

  The recipe:

a kettle full of seasonal vegetables, chopped into bite-size pieces
(carrots, red bell pepper, celery ribs, zucchini, and spring onion in mine)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 quart/liter vegetable stock (I used 1 vegetable bouillon+water)
1 cup (2 dl) puréd canned tomatoes
fresh herbs (lovage and oregano in mine)
cayenne pepper, to taste
1-2 bay leaf(s)

+ Heat the oil in a big pan and lightly fry the vegetables in it, until just beginning to soften. Add the tomato puré and enough stock to cover the veggies. Stir in the bay leaf and cayenne pepper and let simmer until the veggies are al dente (a.k.a. nearly softened but still a bit crunchy). Remove from heat and add chopped fresh herbs.

  This summer veggie soup resembles the cabbage soup in cabbage soup diet in a way, that it can be eaten freely, as much as desired, all day long, without getting fat. But I went taste first, and the slimming effect was just a nice bonus to my soup. =)
  Makes a nice any-time-of-day meal with wholemeal bread, pasta, or brown rice!

EATING PLAN FOR LAMMAS

  I must be out of my mind to do this, but now I feel like I should try shedding sugar from my diet. Not only that, but also test out adding eggs to my mostly vegan eating regimen. I´m not sure how my digestive system will react to that, but since I feel the urge to do so, there must be something my body needs from eggs. We´ll see.

  I ditched fish, seafood, eggs, and all meats in 1993 as a teenager. In 2005 I let go of most dairy too. Every now and then I have had a craving for white fish, but I don´t even like it. I take it as a sign from my body that it is missing something animal-based. B12 vitamin perhaps? In any case, lately I have pondered on what would be the most ethical animal food to consume. I could not kill a living being, so meat is definitely out of the question. Fish is a more simple-looking creature, but I could not kill one only for my culinary pleasure either. I even feel bad for crabs and kinds being thrown in boiling water! What an awful way to die. No way would I ever do that either. Sometimes I have had to kill very sick small fish from my aquarium, and I have done it by boiling them. It feels awful seeing them take the final sprint (although probably purely by reflex) in the hot water.
  Milk (especially cow´s milk) is something I did not even understand to ditch until this millenium. Never before had I thought of what happened to the calves the milk was biologically meant for. It is so sad, and scary, that I dare not google for any links here...  =(
  Overall I do not want to eat anything I could not prepare myself from scratch. It´s just not fair.

  But eggs are a different story. I could easily go grab a fresh one from a chicken´s nest. No killing involved. I make sure I only buy organic eggs during my experiment. It is very important! There is so much inhumanity going on in many egg farms, and I want to do my best not to support them.

  But back to my eating plan. A nice and eco-friendly one.  =)
  My goal now is to reduce sugar consumption. In a way I think I´m substituting sugar with eggs. The experiment is to see whether adding a bit of animal protein will ease my addiction to sugar. Sugar is my only bad habit left, so I´m not majorly worried, but aiming for better is always the way to go.

So here it is, a breakfast omelet. The point of the eggs is mainly to hold the veggies together. This particular one is the second omelet I have ever made in my life (and I´m 36 already =). Tasty, packed with delicious veggies, and low in calories. Keeps me satisfied for surprisingly long, and gives a different kind of fullness than grain. Interesting.

For lunch and dinner, loads and loads of various types of veggies plus whole grain bread. Here is broccoli-potato soup with rye bread.

In the evening, a splash of whiskey or rum seasons my nightcap.. =)

  The plan:

Breakfast:
2 cups of refreshing and cleansing drink (juice of 1/2 lemon+cayenne pepper and ginger to taste)
an omelet made with two organic eggs, 1/3 cup of almond milk, salt and pepper, tons of finely chopped veggies. Once cooked, drizzle a little soy sauce on top and garnish with fresh herbs.

Lunch and Dinner:
2 cups of green tea, plain
1. a fresh, raw, vegetable salad+dressing of choice and whole grain bread. OR
2. vegetable soup made from whole, fresh veggies. Can be cooked or raw. Plus whole grain bread. OR
3. a scone/bread roll made with wholemeal flour and tons of finely shredded vegetables (zucchini is the best, but anything goes) and berries if desired.
 The recipe: 2 cups wholemeal flour
 2 tsp baking powder
 1/2 tsp sea salt
 water
 shredded/finely diced veggies (+berries if desired)
+ Mix the dry ingredients. Add enough water to get a soft/loose dough/batter. Add in the veggies and divide into four flat breads on a baking paper-lined tray. Bake in a 430F (225C) oven for 15-20 min. Butter up and enjoy!

Supper:
2 cups of nightcap (1 cup hot water+1 cup of almond or coconut milk+1/4 cup rum or whiskey to add flavor)
a handful of nuts/seeds OR
2 Tbsp strong tastes like pesto sauce or a few chili marinated garlic cloves

  My mealtimes follow that of my diabetic son´s:
9am Breakfast
1-2pm Lunch
4-5pm Dinner
8pm Supper

I´m trying to eat a steady amount of calories throughout the day, and at regular times to avoid getting too hungry (and then grab anything unhealthy at hand). This is once again an all-you-can-eat eating plan, but one that will not make you fat!

HEALTHY PASTA BOLOGNESE

  Pasta Bolognese is always in place, year round. This time I made it low in fat and semi-raw, meaning that the pasta and TVP (textured soy protein) are cooked, but the tomato sauce itself is all raw. A nice and healthy combo, keeping in mind that the swimsuit season is approaching...

Brewer´s yeast on top adds a nice, cheesy, flavor without all the fat.

The recipe:

Cook pasta.

Soak TVP in some water, season with soy sauce.

Tomato sauce (yields 1-2):
9 cherry tomatoes
1/2 red bell pepper
3 sun dried tomatoes, soaked
black pepper
sea salt
piece of garlic (adjust to taste)
two pinches of paprika powder

+ Blend all with a hand blender (such as Bamix), until broken down into small pieces, but not all smooth. Done!

Quick, easy, cheap, and will not make you fat. Can it get any better than that?!

TZATZIKI SOUP

  The combination of garlic, cucumber, and dill is totally irresistible! Here it is in a soup form, which makes a nice and healthy meal with whole grain bread.

I can´t get enough of it! My tzatziki soup is very smooth and creamy, vegan and mostly raw. A real all-you-can-eat-without-getting-fat food.

The recipe (makes 3-4 cups):

1/2-1 clove garlic
1 avocado
1 cucumber
dill, dried or fresh
1/2 zucchini
pinch of sea salt
soymilk

+ Place all ingredients in a blender, add soymilk as needed to reach the desired consistency. (I like my soups thick.)

  I enjoyed this soup with whole grain spelt bread with vegan margarine. Simply satisfying.

EATING PLAN FOR OSTARA

  My goal in eating is to stay healthy, slim, and energetic without having to count calories. Also I loath cooking, so I want to get by as easy as I can. My diet is mostly vegan, of which some is intentionally raw. I have found that juiced and blended foods suit my stomach well, so those are included  in this plan.

 "Daily essentials" make for the stem of my eating plan for this Ostara:
1. 1-2 cups of veggie juice
2. 1-2 cups of green smoothie
3. 1/2 cup of raw dip/sauce

  In addition to the previous I can eat pretty much whatever I want, including unhealthy desserts like milk chocolate.

  Another corner stone of the plan is the time of eating. I will try to finish eating for the day by 5pm. That supports the studies showing that it is in our genes not to eat in the evening or at night, and that only through this daily "mini fast" can our bodies do their job properly.
  After 5pm it is all about drinking water and brushing my teeth, which helps reduce my cravings. =)

Breakfast (by 10am): 
1-2 cups of veggie juice (with some apple or other fruit in it to give a bit of sweetness)
nuts or bread

Lunch (around noon):
1-2 cups of green smoothie (including greens and 1/2 an avocado, the rest is up to the content of the fridge)
pasta, rice, bread, tofu, etc.

 Dinner (by 5pm):
about 1/2 cup of dip/sauce with chopped veggies
1-2 cups of green tea with soymilk
dessert of choice (I´m forever addicted to chocolate...)

  The idea for each meal is to eat the daily essential first, and then have whatever (vegan and quite low-fat) I want according to my appetite.

  Two incredibly inspirational raw-foodists out there are Ms. Tonya Zavasta and Ms. Mimi Kirk. I want to be like them when I grow up!

SEASONAL & LOCAL LUNCH

  A big brown paper bag full of root veggies arrived at my doorstep today. Once again my neighbor, the friendliest organic veggie farmer, delivered awesome food to ous: potatoes, carrots, parsnips, root celery, beets, onions, and cabbage (not a root, I know =). Those are pretty much the only fresh, local and seasonal food left at this time of year over here.

  After a few weeks of eating mainly raw veggies, I decided to try cooking for a change. Here´s what I made:

A delicious veggie casserole with coconut milk and a green juice.

The recipe (yields 4): Peel, chop, and sauté the following in olive oil in a skillet: 8 egg-sized potatoes, 2-3 carrots, 1 onion, 1 beetroot, 1/2 zucchini, and 2 stalks celery. Season with salt, pepper and an herb of choice. Butter an oven dish, and place the veggie mixture in it. Pour 1 cup ( 2 dl) of coconut cream/milk over the casserole, and bake in a 350 Fahrenheit (180 Centigrade) oven for an hour. (We went outside to play in snow until the food was done.)

This nettle &  cucumber drink delivers raw goodness to the meal. Last May I collected some wild edible greens from our yard and put them in my freezer. Freezing is my favorite way to preserve greens. To make this drink (for one), I took three sprigs of nettle and a 2 inch (5 cm) piece of cucumber, and blended them in my Vitamix with enough water to make 2 cups (5 dl). To my surprise the taste was so mild, that I did not need to add any seasoning.

  The olive oil and coconut cream make sure this casserole is not something I would call light. But eating a normal-sized portion, which in this case is 1/4 of the batch, will make sure I don´t get fat. When combined with the beautifully green drink, this lunch left me feeling satisfied and energetic. So good, that I ate another portion for dinner! Really nice.

SOFT SMOOTHIES FOR IMBOLC

  It is that time of the month again... Time to check out Nelland Living on PaganPages.org!
  Now it is all about mouthwatering, but healthy, smoothies.

  As my eating plan for Imbolc is full of smoothies, I share a few really soft, mild, soothing, and easy-to-eat recipes to get anyone going nuts for smoothies.

  Let´s go!

EATING PLAN FOR IMBOLC

  Studies show that fasting prevents cancer. Cancer is the #1 killer in my family. My grandmother, of whom I never even got to meet, died at age 40 of stomach cancer. Makes a girl think...

  Well, I´m not going to fast all through Imbolc, but I will try an eased way of eating. There are many different ways of eased fasting out there, but I will try this: eating two liquid meals and one solid one a day. My plan loosely bases on Dr. Alexandro Junger´s Clean Program, but I do a relaxed version of it. I use whatever fresh whole-food ingredients are in season in my fridge. =)

  I will follow a few simple guidelines:

9-10 am: for breakfast a smoothie made of fruit/berries and veggies/greens. (This is a smoothie made with avocado, cucumber, zucchini, garlic, sea salt, and dill.)

1-2 pm: for lunch a regular, solid, vegan meal with green/herbal tea.(For example a quick and easy stir-fry is always in place, accompanied by brown rice.)

5-6 pm: for dinner another smoothie, including a handful of nuts/seeds. (This will probably become my staple, hot chocolate. Here made with pumpkin seeds, almonds, cacao powder, vanilla sugar, sea salt, honey, and agave.)

   This is an all-I-can-eat plan, and I let intuition decide the adequate amount. Between meals I can drink water and green/herbal teas as demanded by thirst.
   Eating like this leaves a mini-fast between dinner and the following day´s breakfast. It gives the digestive system the rest it needs.

  Easy and no-fuss!

INDEPENDENCE DAY

  This weekend we celebrate the independence of Finland. It is also my son´s name day. That all calls for a celebration!

  Snow fell just in time to beautify our yard for the occasion:

This is a sneaked a peek to our neighbor´s. We don´t have a flagpole, so I had to "borrow" it from them. Thanks!

Our backyard. An apple tree, gooseberry bush, pond, and sauna.

  I hosted a small and intimate dinner party to our family and a couple of friends.

I set the table with only little decoration. I honor the ending of WW1 and WW2, and there was not much to set on to the table back then.

Pure well water and (less than pure) diet lemon pop for drinks. Diet pop is on the menu for kids because it can be freely consumed by diabetics too.

Salad of course!

My special treat: cold smoked tofu (straight from the market shelf  =). I love it cold, simply sliced, perhaps with some mustard. Yum!

Plain veggie bites for the kids.

Loads of delicious mashed potatoes!

For dessert something I´ve been wanting to make for years: chocolate & prune cake. I soaked and puréd prunes, then seasoned the mixture with shredded fresh ginger, vanilla, and cinnamon, and filled the cake with it. Then I sprinkled small bits of orange marmalade all over, and covered the treat with whipped (vegan) cream.

Shredded dark chocolate gives great contrast on top of the cream. To crown the whole thing, I snapped a twig of juniper.

 After some twists and turns our party ended up consisting of two grown-ups and three kids. Never before have we celebrated independence day together, so this was a lot of fun and kinda exciting!

After stuffing ourselves, we went outside to play and enjoy the party (and X-mas) lights I had put up.

This year I put lights not only on the outside, but also on the inside, of our garage.

In the end of the evening we all built together this lantern of snowballs, and lit a candle inside it. It is still flickering beautifully outside, reminding us of a wonderful day spent together.

   Happy 96th birthday Finland!