Quinoa Nachos

I LOVE quinoa.  I think it's one of the greatest foods in the world!  And I LOVE nachos.  However, the way I like nachos is not necessarily Weight Watchers friendly.  I kind of like my nachos a little trashy.  The kind of nachos you would get at a not healthy at all kind of restaurant.  But this summer, I was able to go to the Spiral Diner again in Dallas and I ordered their nachos.  I thought it was awesome that they put quinoa on their nachos!  But I really haven't tried making my own nachos since I have been vegan.  Vegan cheeses on the market just didn't melt the way they needed to for nachos.  However, Daiya cheese came along and the wheels started turning in my brain.  It melts and it's stretchy, so it was only a matter of time before I made some vegan nachos.  So, with the help of Daiya and the Spiral Diner, quinoa nachos are my take on the traditional nachos I used to eat.  You can make them as healthy as you want based on what you decide to put on them.  With all of the veggies and spices, you can alter it to fit your taste buds.

Quinoa Nacho Mixture 
-1 cup cooked quinoa
-1 cup cooked black beans
-1/2 cup corn
-1-2 bell peppers (I prefer red and orange)
-1/2-1 package of mushrooms
-4-5 stalks of green onion
-2-3 handfuls of raw baby spinach
-1-2 tsp chili powder
-1/4 tsp garlic salt
-salt to taste

In a large pan, saute the bell peppers first.  While the bell peppers are cooking, add the chili powder and garlic salt.  When the bell peppers are almost tender, add the mushrooms and green onions.  Then add the corn and spinach.  When all of the veggies are cooked, add the quinoa and black beans.  Stir well.  Add salt to taste.

Assembling your nachos 
There are all kinds of possibilities with nachos.  This is how I create mine:
-1 1/2 servings (42 grams) of Trader Joe's Organic Baked Blue Corn Tortilla Chips
-1 serving of Daiya Cheddar Style "cheese"
(Melt the Daiya "cheese" over the chips in the microwave for about 30 seconds or until melted.)
-After the "cheese" is melted, add about 1 cup of the quinoa mixture on top of the nachos.

Other possibilities for the nachos
These are some of the "fixins" I add to my nachos:
-Trader Joe's organic salsa style refried beans
-Tofutti Sour Supreme or Follow Your Heart Vegan Sour Cream
-Fresh diced tomatoes
-Salsa
-Avocado
-We Can't Say It's Cheese Spread (If you prefer to have a "cheese" sauce instead of the Daiya, you could use the We Can't Say It's Cheese Spread and melt it in the microwave and pour it over your nachos.)

So the possibilities for vegan nachos are limitless!  Enjoy!

Peanut Butter vs. PB2 vs. Better'n Peanut Butter

I definitely have a love affair with peanut butter.  When we went on vacation this summer, I gave myself permission to eat what I wanted to for one week.  I was craving peanut butter, avocados and granola.  I know that doesn't seem unhealthy but portion control gets me into trouble.  That's why I do Weight Watchers.  Even before I started Weight Watchers last summer, I felt like I ate relatively healthy.  But portion control has to be a part of your healthy lifestyle too.  So on vacation, I ate as much peanut butter (the good, full fat kind), granola and avocados that I wanted.   I also ate some other things that were less healthy (I don't really need to mention those!)  :)  When I got back, I had gained 6 pounds!  That was with hiking every day in the national parks!  But I got it off in about 2 weeks and started losing again. 

Last week, I ordered some PB2 and got it in the mail yesterday.  I ordered both the regular and chocolate kind.  I was like a kid on Christmas morning, I couldn't wait to open it up and try it!  Nothing compares to the "real deal" (meaning delicious, full fat peanut butter) but I am up for trying the alternatives.  I thought it might be useful to kind of do a pros and cons list of the different types of peanut butter products out there.  I haven't tried all of them (especially since some of the products aren't vegan) but this is what I have tried. 

Regular Peanut Butter

Regular peanut butter is delicious and full of protein.  I also love that you can buy it organic.  I try to buy as many organic products as possible and most of the peanut butter alternatives are not organic.  I don't really think there's an alternative product on the market that gets the taste of true peanut butter just right.  However, real peanut butter is not too Weight Watchers friendly.  You can have 2 TBSP for 4 pts.  That's pretty pointy.  But you can have 2 teaspoons for 1 pt.  If you use peanut butter like a condiment, this can satisfy your craving for peanut butter without costing you a lot of calories, fat or points.  Sometimes I will toast an english muffin (Nature's Own 100 Calorie Multigrain is just 1 pt.) and then put 2 teaspoons of peanut butter on it with a little Organic Zero sweetener or Truvia.  It's a good snack that keeps me full for awhile.  Even though peanut butter is considered a very healthy food, I have to really watch myself with it.  I tend to eat way too much so I have to keep the alternative products on hand for that reason. 

PB2

I ordered (from Netrition.com) both the regular and chocolate of PB2.  The regular has 45 calories, 1.5 grams of fat and 2 fibers for 2 TBSP.  That means if you do 4 TBSP, it's still going to be just 1 pt!  And the bonus is that when they take out the fat, it doesn't affect the protein.  2 TBSP of PB2 still has 5 grams of protein.  So when I had 4 TBSP of it with my english muffin yesterday, that was a 15 grams of protein snack for 2 pts.  (I also sprinkle a little sugar alternative on this too b/c I like my peanut butter to be a little sweet.)  Another perk is that since it's powder, you can take it on an airplane in your carry on bag!  

Later on last night, I decided to try a smoothie using the PB2.  I took a frozen banana, 1 cup of the Silk Pure Almond milk Original and 4 TBSP of the PB2 (mixed with 2 TBSP water) and put it in the blender.  The smoothie was okay but not spectacular.  I probably won't make it again.  It did have a peanut butter taste though.  I think if I play around with the smoothies a little bit I will be able to get one that I like.  I plan on trying the chocolate kind soon, but the nutritional information is just slightly different for it so I won't be able to have 4 TBSP for 1 pt-just 2 TBSP. 

Better'n Peanut Butter

Better'n Peanut Butter is very sweet.  That can be a good thing or a bad thing.  It's almost like a dessert food for me.  In fact, it's kind of a trigger food.  I have noticed that when I put it on my english muffin, I tend to put way more than the 2 TBSP I set out to use.   I think it's the sugar in it that causes me to do that.  With that aside, I do like the Better'n Peanut Butter.  It doesn't have the same consistency as real peanut butter but I still like the taste.  It also doesn't have quite as much protein.  I have noticed that when I use it for my breakfast, I don't feel full for very long.  I find myself wanting to eat something again right away.  I think that might actually be more of the sugar than the protein that causes that.  

So, my conclusion is that real peanut butter is ALWAYS best.  If you can eat it without worry in your diet, then you should go for it!  However, if you are like me and you need some alternatives, I would definitely recommend the PB2.  I ordered it from Netrition.com and they have a flat rate shipping fee of $4.95.  (That is a better deal than ordering it from Bell Plantation.)  I can't say that I would really recommend the Better'n Peanut Butter.   I think there's a whole lot of ingredients in it and overall it just seems like empty calories to me.  But that's totally my opinion.  :)  I hope this helps you on your quest for delicious, healthy peanut butter!  

Book Review: Get Healthy, Go Vegan

I have to be honest, I have never read one of Dr. Neal Barnard's books.  He has written countless introductions in the many vegan cookbooks I own, but I have yet to read an actual book he has written.  (It is definitely on my to do list!)  When I found out about his cookbook though, I knew I needed to get it.  And now that I own it, I couldn't be happier about it.  I have made 5 recipes and they have all been delicious and relatively easy.  I will go through the recipes I have made so you can have an idea about them.  Another added perk to this cookbook is that it includes all of the nutritional information at the bottom of the recipe.  This helps out a lot if you are counting calories or tracking Weight Watchers points. 

Vanilla French Toast:  I just used the non-dairy milk I had on hand for these which was Silk Pure Almond Original milk.  I may have added a little extra milk to the recipe too.  I cooked the french toast on the griddle using a small amount of oil.  The good thing about using silken tofu in this recipe is that it provides protein to keep you full longer.  I also made some Gimme Lean Sausage style patties to go along with the french toast.  The recipe turned out great and I only used 1 TBSP of maple syrup to go with the french toast.  It was enough syrup to cover the french toast without adding a lot of sugar.  This recipe was easy and a hit! 

Fire Roasted Tomato Black Bean Chili:  I am really not that fond of chili-it's just never been one of my favorite meals.  However, my spouse loves it.  So I try to make it every so often for that reason.  I did like this chili recipe as far as chili recipes go, however, I would make one change.  The recipe calls for 2 TBSP of chipotle seasoning and I would use far less than this.  I used the 2 TBSP and the chili was VERY spicy!  I would probably use 1/2 TBSP or maybe even less.  Other than that, the recipe turned out great and was a very easy dinner to make. 

Mixed Veggie Curry with Whole Wheat Couscous:  I LOVED the flavors of this recipe!  Once again, this was another easy to make.  It wouldn't be out of the question for a busy work night.  The thing I love about couscous is that it cooks up so fast and the whole wheat variety has quite a bit of protein per serving.  If you wanted to add extra protein, I would throw in some chickpeas to the recipe or serve them on the side.

Three Layer Tortilla Casserole:  Instead of using a pie plate for this recipe, I used an 8x8 casserole dish.  This recipe was very filling and was also super healthy.  I loved how the recipe basically has you make your own refried beans out of black beans.  You put the cooked black beans in the food processor along with some other spices and ingredients to create more of a bean paste than actual beans.  I think this is a good move for a layered casserole.  I use the Carb Watch tortillas from Trader Joes which are very Weight Watchers friendly.  This recipe was very low in points and it's on my list of recipes to make again! 

Raspberry Cake:  This cake makes 2 servings.  So if you are entertaining you will probably, at least, want to double the recipe.  With that said, I have made this cake at least 4 times now!  The first time, I made it exactly like the recipe said.  Very delicious!  The second time, I decided to make it a chocolate cake.  I think I would have to do a little more tweaking to that to make it just how I want it.  The only drawback to this recipe is that it calls for Grand Marnier to be poured over the cake.  I didn't realize this until I got into the liquor store, but Grand Marnier is expensive!  At my local liquor store, it was $25 for the smallest bottle they had.  But luckily the recipe just calls for 2 TBSP to be poured over it.  I even use less now.  I just use one TBSP over the cake and that's plenty.  It was actually a little strong the first time I made it.  The cake is super easy to whip up, but you have to allow at least one hour for the Grand Marnier to sit on the cake before serving.  So you have to be willing to wait a little while for dessert.  :)  Another thing I slightly changed is that I don't sift out the seeds from the raspberry sauce.  The seeds don't bother me or my spouse so I just cook the raspberrys until they are a sauce and pour it directly over the cake.  That saves a little extra time and energy. 

These are the recipes I have made so far.  When I first got the cookbook, I went through and wrote down every recipe I wanted to make.  I still have 25 recipes to make!  :)

Butternut Squash Mushroom Lasagna

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I LOVE butternut squash.  We planted a whole row of it this year in our garden and it's now starting to produce butternut squash that's ready to be picked.  I couldn't be happier!  Last fall, I got obsessed with cooking butternut squash, but we had to buy them and sometimes they can be a little pricey.  But one of my favorite dishes that I started making last fall was a butternut squash stuffed shells with Hurry Up Alfredo Sauce from Vegan Yum Yum.  However, when I use pasta, I like for it to be whole wheat and I can't seem to find large whole wheat shells.  Plus, it's already a fairly time consuming recipe, so stuffing shells just added to the recipe time.  So when we picked our first butternut squash the other day, I decided to reinvent the recipe to make it more Weight Watchers friendly and a little quicker to make.  It's not the prettiest lasagna, but I love the taste.  Here's the recipe:

Butternut Squash Mushroom Lasagna

(Makes 6 servings)

-1 small to medium butternut squash

-whole wheat lasagna noodles

-1 batch tofu ricotta (recipe to follow)

-1 batch Hurry Up Alfredo (I will note my modifications to this recipe)

-2 packages mushrooms 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut and prep the butternut squash-it should be cut in small cubes.  (Here's a link to a video for cutting a peeling a butternut squash.) Spray a pan with nonstick spray.  Sprinkle some salt on butternut squash before baking.  Bake for 10 minutes and, with a spatula, move the squash around and cook for another 10 minutes or until tender.  Once it is done, take out of oven and set aside.  

Make a batch of tofu ricotta:

-1 tub firm tofu

-1/8-1/4 cup soy or other nondairy unsweetened milk

-1 tsp sugar

-1 tsp salt

-1 TBSP dried basil

-1 TBSP lemon juice

-1-2 cloves garlic (minced)

Make sure tofu is drained or excess water.  Tear into pieces and put into food processor.  Process for a few seconds. Add all other ingredients until it has the consistency of ricotta cheese.  Make sure all big clumps of tofu are processed down.  Once "ricotta" is made, put in bowl and set aside.  

Boil the whole wheat lasagna noodles and drain when they are tender.  I run cold water over them to keep them from sticking together.  

Next you want to prepare the Hurry Up Alfredo Sauce.  These are some of the modifications I have made to make it more WW point friendly.  I use 1 ounce of cashews instead of 1/3 of a cup.  I use Smart Balance Light instead of Earth Balance.  I use 1 tsp of tahini instead of 1 TBSP.  Once you prepare the sauce, set aside.  

Then you want to saute the mushrooms.  I just saute them in some water and maybe just a pinch of salt.  Once they are ready, put them in a bowl and set aside.  

Now you are ready to assemble the lasagna.  Using an 8 x 8 pan, put some of the alfredo sauce on the bottom and on the sides.  Then place enough lasagna noodles on the bottom to cover the bottom of the pan.  Then place a layer of the "ricotta cheese" over the lasagna noodles.  Then some of the mushrooms and butternut squash.  Then some more sauce.  Cover with lasagna noodles and repeat the process.  My lasagna has 3 layers of noodles (on the bottom, middle and top).  I also try to save some of my butternut squash, mushrooms and sauce for the top.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until warm all the way through.  

For best results, let the lasagna sit for about 10-15 minutes before serving.  

Veg Blogs and Websites-Part 2

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Several days ago, I posted a list of veg blogs and websites that focus on low fat, healthy veg*n living.  After posting the list, I either had one of those, "Why didn't I mention that one" type of moments or you made a suggestion to me about another site.  So, here's part 2 of the veg blogs and websites list.  

11.  Dr. McDougall-This site has so much to offer.  There are podcasts you can download and you can also sign up for a free e-newsletter.  Dr. McDougall is definitely one of the spokespeople for a low-fat, low-sugar vegan diet.  

12.  The Vee Word-Rhea posts some outstanding looking recipes and she also includes a lot of information about her vegan weight loss journey.  It's always great to be able to hear about someone else's journey to health and veganism.  

13.  101 Cookbooks-This site has amazing photos of the recipes!  Not all vegan, but as many of us vegans know, we can usually adapt a vegetarian recipe into a vegan recipe without too many complications!  

14.  Peas and Thank you-The author of this site is a veggie mom raising her kids.  Many of the posts focus on that which is a great resource for those of you veg*ns with kids.  

15.  Making Love in the Kitchen-A website/blog from a nutritionist.  I believe that all of her recipes are vegetarian (many of which were vegan).  Her recipes sound amazing and healthy.  I can't wait to try some of these!

16.  Choosing Raw-I am not a raw foodist, however, I definitely see the health benefits in eating a raw foods diet.  I am always interested in raw foods recipes and I am always game for trying something new.  Many of these recipes sound great and I always love how raw foods can just be a different way of looking at a classic recipe.  

17.  Vegan Cookbook Critic-I love how this site has a link you can click on to see all of the vegan cookbooks the author has reviewed.  There are so many times you are wondering if you should buy a vegan cookbook or not (because you already have 356 of them) and it helps to hear what someone else loved or hated about it.  

18.  Christina Pirello-I know I have a link to Christina Pirello on my side bar to the right, but I can't believe I didn't mention her on the last post.  I LOVE Christina!!  She is a vegan superhero.  I recently finished reading This Crazy Vegan Life and loved every minute of it!  If you haven't heard Christina's story, I would definitely suggest reading about her.  She has made an amazing journey.  

19.  The Kind Life-This past winter, I read Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet.  I really enjoyed this book.  She created a website focusing on aspects of the book.  Some of her recipes in the book are not necessarily WW friendly, but if you try to focus on the superhero recipes, almost all of them are WW friendly and very healthy.  

20.  Pure 2 Raw-Another great vegan, raw site.  So many great sounding recipes! 

21.  Oh She Glows-The author of this site is now vegan.  Some of her recipes listed are from before she went vegan.  I just wanted to make note of this.  Almost all of the recipes are vegan and she is currently vegan....I just didn't want there to be any confusion.  :)

That's all I have for now!  If I hear of any more great resources, I will plan on posting a Part 3!  

Helpful Veg Blogs and Websites

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One thing that helps me with my weight loss journey is to be able to look at other people's blogs and websites for inspiration, information, education, etc.  If you check out my blog, I am sure some of these sites I post will be of no surprise to you (the Fat Free Vegan).  However, hopefully there will be something listed that may be new to you.  Also, if you look at my list and see that I am leaving off a great veg blog or website, PLEASE let me know.  Knowledge is power and I love to have so many wonderful blogs and websites to visit.  Here's my list so far:

1.  The Fat Free Vegan (Probably the most well known of the sites I will list, but it's such a GREAT resource!  So many recipes to try!  One thing I have found with this site is that other people can also post recipes to the site.  I have had much better luck with the author's recipes.  She has her blog attached to the website and I really enjoy her recipes, photos and blog posts.

2.  The Happy Herbivore-I have recently started checking out this site.  The author doesn't use oil in her recipes which makes it very easy to cook with Weight Watchers.  Sometimes I will sub out agave nectar and stevia for the sugar that she uses, but that's no big deal.

3.  Dancing Through Life-Maintenance with Ashley-This is a blog from a vegan Weight Watchers Leader.  I love to see all of the foods she prepares and eats.  She shows pictures of mostly unprocessed gluten free vegan foods.  She's also an inspiration to read.

4.  Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine-I recently bought Dr. Neal Barnard's Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook.  After reading the introduction to the cookbook, I decided to check out the website and see if it included additional recipes and it does!

5.  Spark People-Along with doing Weight Watchers, I like to track my calories, carbs, protein and fat on Spark People.  It's free and very useful.  I also like to check out their vegan recipes.

6.  Vegetarian Times Recipes-I think this is a great site to find recipes.  Their database gives you the option to really narrow your search down for exactly what you are looking for.

7.  Diet, Dessert and Dogs-An all vegan website with great looking recipes.  Also, the author makes her dogs the stars of the website-that will get brownie points with me everytime!  :)

8.  Healthy Happy Life-All vegan site with beautiful photos of the recipes.  This site was recommended by one of the people I talk with on the Weight Watchers Vegetarian Message Board (another great resource for knowledge and information).

9.  Two Blue Lemons-A vegetarian and vegan recipe site.  This site was also recommended by someone on the Veg Board.

10.  100 Best Blogs for Delicious and Healthy Recipes-This article has some vegetarian and vegan blogs listed on it (77-90).

This list is just a start.  There are so many great vegan blogs and websites out there with a focus on health and weight loss.  Many of the people I talk with on the Weight Watchers Veg Message Board have blogs but I am not going to post them here because I have not asked them if I could do that.  But I find out so much great information from reading their blogs and these listed above.

Keep Your Eyes Open.....

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You might just find a gem of a recipe anywhere!  I was at the dentist office the other day waiting and I was flipping through a magazine.  There was an All Bran Cereal recipe for a Lemon Poppy Seed Cake.  I looked at it and it seemed pretty healthy with a little tweeking and it didn't seem too hard to veganize.  So I tore it out of the magazine and decided to try it.  I don't usually gravitate towards lemon flavored things, but it was good to mix it up from my standard chocolate desserts.  So here's what I changed to make it vegan and more Weight Watchers friendly.

Lemon Poppy Seed Snack Cake 
-1 cup whole wheat flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
-1/4 cup granulated sweetener (I used Erythritol)
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/4 tsp salt
-1 TBSP poppy seeds
-1 cup All Bran (I used Nature's Path Smart Bran because it's organic-I used 30 grams instead of 1 cup)
-1/4 cup almond milk
-2 TBSP ground flax seeds plus 4 TBSP warm water (Mix this up in a small bowl and set aside)
-3 tsp oil
-1/2 cup apple sauce (or a little less)
-1 container of lemon soy yogurt
-1 1/2-2 TBSP lemon juice
-powdered sugar (I put about 1 tsp on each piece when serving it)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray an 8x8 pan with nonstick spray.

In a mixing bowl, mix the cereal, milk, flax and water mixture, oil, apple sauce, lemon juice and yogurt.  Let stand for about 5 minutes or until cereal softens.

In another bowl, mix the flour, sweetener, baking powder, baking soda, salt and poppy seeds.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just mixed.

The original directions say to cook for 25 minutes but I have found I need to cook it quite a bit longer than that.  I cook it for at least 40 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean.

Once it cools a bit, sprinkle the powdered sugar on top and serve.  I like to serve it with a serving of vanilla So Delicious ice cream.