Zesty Adzuki Bean Salad! Recipe is courtesy of Whole Foods.

I made this for Pete today since he’s still having some pain. This turned out to be really good. It lives up to it’s name: zesty. It’s easy to make too which I like. Whole Foods had all of the ingredients. You should be able to get all of these (or substitutes) at your local grocer store:

1 1/2 cups dried adzuki beans
1/4 cup arame sea vegetable
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
3 tablespoons of canola oil
1 1/2 tablespoons of finely grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 1/4 cups of finely chopped basil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon of tamari
1/4 cup of lime juice
1 cut of sliced green onions
1 cup of grated carrots

Place beans in a large bowl, cover with water and set aside to let soak for 8 hours or overnight. Drain beans and put in a large pot with 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until tender, 45-60 minutes. Drain and rinse gently under cold water. Set aside to let cool completely. Meanwhile, soak arame in cold water for 15 minutes, drain and rinse well.

Put oils, ginger, garlic, basil, vinegar, pepper flakes, tamari and lime juice into a large bowl and whisk to make a dressing. Add cooled beans, arame, green onions and carrots and toss gently to combine.

Note from the chef (me!): I made the started soaking the beans around 10:00 am until 7:00 pm at which time I cooked them on the stove for about 55 minutes. From there I rinsed them and let them cool. The cooling process is quick when you rinse them in cold water so they do not need to set out long to cool. I put mine in a tupperware container and put them in the fridge until morning. The next day I assembled the rest of the ingredients and also soaked the arame. It was easier for me to do it in two steps and over two days so I didn’t feel like I was a slave to the kitchen. This is about as easy as it get folks. If I made it then I know you can make it.

I hope you enjoy this recipe courtesy of Whole Foods. It is delicious and very zesty with tons of flavors mixed in for your palate to discover!

Sara Sawochka

I posted The Broken Clavicle Bone Vegan Project Surgery when Pete had his surgery. Lots of people grab food from vending machines while they are waiting for their friend or relative to have surgery. What’s tough about vending machines if you’re a new vegan is all of the ingredient lists are not facing you so you have no clue if there are animal byproducts lurking in your food until you deposit your $1.00 and the food falls into your hands.

In my post I took a picture of the vending machine and said that the Oreos were vegan. Here is the follow-up information on other products I thought might be vegan but turned out not to be:

1. I checked out the Austin Zoo Animal crackers and those are not vegan because they contain dairy.

2. The Gardetto’s Original recipe snack are not vegan as they contain non-fat milk.

3. I checked the ingredients on the Planter’s Fruit and Nut Trail mix and that is vegan.

On a good note, my vegan friend, with an alias of SH Smile, verified that Nutter Butters are vegan. I don’t like peanut butter that much so that product was unfairly not even on my radar. I apologize to people that do enjoy peanut butter. You have SH Smile to thank for pointing out that Nutter Butters are vegan.

If you’re going to hit up a vending machine anytime check out the Oreos, Nutter Butters and fruit and nut trail mixes. Those are safe options!

Sara Sawochka

Sara Sawochka

Sar

Pete’s vegan project is coming along nicely!

I went grocery shopping for US yesterday. Usually I shop for me and Pete shops for himself. Since Pete can’t shop and we are doing the vegan project while he’s injured I was able to buy food that, ethically, I agree with buying. This project initiated because I was going to be Pete’s nurse-maid while his shoulder heals and I won’t touch meat. Even before I became a vegan I wouldn’t touch meat.

Here’s Pete’s lunch on 9/1/2012. Who says vegan food can’t be fun and smiley?

Smiling vegan food! A vegan PB&J with potato chips and carrots.

Here is what Pete had to drink that he requested from the store: vanilla soy milk. I tried to get something close to whole dairy milk that would be similar in flavor but couldn’t come up with anything. Pete despises the taste of skim dairy milk and likes the richness that whole dairy milk. I thought if I got him a sweet plant milk that taste would make up for the lack of fat. It didn’t go over so well…even in a Jack Daniel’s glass!

Even in a Jack Daniel’s glass, this was not a hit!

Here was Pete’s dessert. I got two of these coconut milk ice creams. I got the mocha almond fudge below and also a peanut butter and chocolate swirl. Pete had the peanut butter and chocolate swirl and said it was good but that the texture was slightly different than dairy-type ice cream which he was used to. I think, given time, he could get used to it!

I had mocha almond fudge for dessert and it’s awesome. Pete had the peanut butter and chocolate swirl and said the texture was different than dairy ice cream but this still tasted pretty good.

For breakfast Pete had the usual smoothie and for dinner he had an Amy’s Roasted Vegetable pizza (no cheese). YUM! I had one too. Just a note: you can eat the whole pizza if you feed the crusts to your dog. If you eat the crust, you will have leftovers if you eat this pizza alone. Pete had three leftover pieces. And I had none (Mr. Biggs, my dog, got all of my crusts)!

That’s yesterday’s report! Enjoy! Today you can look forward to a post later about Elizabeth making vegan food for us. She is a friend from church that calls Pete Mr. Poop. I’ll tell you more in the next post. But she was kind enough to make us some vegan food today. We are going to pick up the food so Pete can meet Elizabeth and also so I can see her adorable baby!

I love the smiling vegan food. Don’t you? Haha!

Sara Sawochka

An introduction from Sarathlete: This is a guest blog written by Amanda Caldwell who was my foodie pen pal. This is her blog post on the box she received from me!

“Hello world! My name is Amanda Caldwell. I am a wife, mother, pharmacist, and first-time foodie penpal!

Being the first-time foodie penpal that I am, I got so excited about the box on my front porch that I immediately ripped into it and forgot to take any pictures! Here’s a retrospective account of the delicious goodies I found in my box:

I told my penpal Sarathlete that I had a huge sweet tooth. Let’s just say I underestimated a little. More like a wooly mammoth sized sweet tooth.

I have for your consideration, Exhibit A:

I cannot be trusted with Oreos in my presence. But it wasn’t just me, I swear. Hubby, baby, and the neighbors all joined in on this action. Estimated lifespan of a package of Oreos in the Caldwell residence: about 2 hours.

Exhibit B would be a picture of Reese’s peanut butter cups, but they too suffered a tragically short life.

Even my otherwise healthy breakfasts have to be topped with a little somethin’ sweet.

Exhibit C

Overnight oats made with 1/3 cup quick oats, 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup plain yogurt, a dollop of peanut butter, and a generous spoonful of delicious apple butter!

I’ve never been a fan of the salty/sweet combination, so I saved the popcorn for another night. So cool to learn that Orville Reddenbacher is made in Indiana!

My penpal also challenged me to guess which item was vegan-friendly. I’m going to go with the apple butter. Hope that’s right!

Thanks again, Sarathlete, for making my first time memorable!”

Thank you as well Amanda for making my first time with this experience memborable as well.

As Amanda said, I challenged her to pick which item was vegan: Reese’s peanut butter cups, Oreos, Apple Butter with Honey or pound cake (which is not mentioned in the blog because her husband ate it on his way to Indiana)! Anyways, the guess was incorrect but very close. The Oreos are vegan. The apple butter would be vegan if it had no honey in it. Good guess though Amanda!

If you want more information on this program please check out my post A Foodie Pen Pal Experience for more information on how to sign up. This is a fantastic way to connect with people you’ve never met all over the USA. I highly recommend it!

Sara Sawochka

This month Danielle Prestejohn had the privilege of having me as her foodie pen pal. She contacted me promptly and requested my address, any dietary restrictions and also anything else I might like!

For more information on Danielle’s blog, please check out Clean Food Creative Fitness.

This blog is loaded with pictures of food and a note from my foodie pen pal’s box that she sent me!

Read my blog post on A Foodie Pen Pal Experience to find out more about the program.

Here is the shiny shoe box filled with lots of goodies. Can you just feel the anticipation???

Here is a photo of the inside of the box when I opened it. Lots of goodies and a note which is one of the requirements of foodie pen pal program. And yes those are my unpolished toes in the picture too!

Next we have a picture of the note Danielle wrote me! We have to include food and one written item in the box. Here is her note to me:

Next are the contents laid out in the box of everything in the box. Check out the captions below the pictures for my comments on each product.

I’m not a fan of black licorice so I gave this to Pete and he absolutely loved it!

This turned out to be a life saver when Pete had his cycling crash. I rode home and made this mixed with 2 bananas and unsweetened almond milk. It was nutrition for Pete and I on our way to the ER after our 18 mile bike ride which ended in a broken clavicle bone.

These are spicy and make your lips tingle but are really good!

These sun-dried tomatoes were awesome. I put them on my boring hummus and sprout sandwich on Ezekiel bread and they really jazzed it up and gave it some flavor. I will be purchasing more sun-dried tomatoes in the future for sure.

This turned out to be a great post-workout drink. It tastes so good too in water! It gives it some flavor. However, if you don’t workout much I don’t recommend products like this. Eating your normal diet is fine if you don’t do much working out. There’s no need to add extra calories to your diet if you’re not going to burn them off.
I noticed I did not have as much muscle soreness the next day. I love Vega because it’s all about raw nutrition too which is very important to me since I believe my body absorbs more enzymes from raw foods.

Ok I know this is baby food and I don’t have a baby but this proved to be a good snack! It’s organic which is what I would want to feed my child in the future. I was hungry after a workout one day so I ate this as a post-workout snack. It’s just sweet potatoes and apricots. It was loaded with vitamins and ready to go. It was like eating a gel or GU. It was pretty good, low in calories and held me over until after church was over until I could get to Panera for lunch!

I haven’t tried these yet but I’m going to take them with me and have them as a post-workout snack. We’ll see how they taste. They look good and mangoes rock!

This is a pre-workout energy mix. I have to admit I didn’t feel energized. However, I don’t know that it’s a fair assessment because I had sat through Pete’s surgery and driven him back home that day. I will say that a for a pre-workout snack it tasted good mixed with water. And I never felt low on energy on my workout. Maybe that’s how I’m supposed to feel! It wasn’t heavy on my stomach at all which I really appreciated.

Danielle sent me vitamins. I admit I do not take vitamins regularly. I believe a person should be able to get their vitamins from food alone. I’m not a fan of processed vitamins. Since it was part of the program I did take them. I probably won’t buy any in the future.

I used this coconut milk in my morning smoothie! Coconut milk is a great alternative to any kind of dairy milk.

Lara bars are really good. They use very simple ingredients and taste delicious too. These are usually what I use as my pre-workout snack. They digest quickly and have some carbs for some extra kick.

I saved my absolute favorite for last. I love chocolate. When Pete took me to the winery for my birthday we took this chocolate with us and had some with our wine. It was delicious. I’m sorry to report it’s also all gone!

It was like Danielle had read my blog, knew what I liked and sent it to me. She did a fantastic job sending food to someone she’s never met. I loved everything except the licorice which went to a good home. Everything Danielle was vegan. Props to Danielle on that!

I highly recommend this project. Thank you so much for everything Danielle. Your efforts are much appreciated!

Sara Sawochka

According to Guardian, “Leading water scientists have issued one of the sternest warnings yet about global food supplies, saying that the world’s population may have to switch almost completely to a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years to avoid catastrophic shortages.”

Currently omnivores are getting about 20% of protein from animals (i.e.chicken, duck, pork and beef, etc.) and animal byproducts (dairy milk, dairy cheese, etc). We will need to drop down to 5% in order to feed an extra 2 billion people expected to habitate the planet in 2050 according to the Stockholm International Water Institute.

Americans have an expectation and fear that they’re not getting enough protein in their diets. However studies show that Americans consume too much protein following the Standard American Diet. Heavy meat and dairy-laden diets require a lot of digestion on the part of the body. Water helps the digestive process in the human body which is why Americans are instructed by the FDA to drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water per day.

Following a plant strong, vegetarian diet, you will be consuming much more vegetables and fruits, nuts, seeds, and grains which naturally contain a lot of water already in the plant. The closest you can consume the plant in its natural state, the more water you will find it contains. In other words, raw foods contain the highest amount of digestive enzymes and water. After that would come cooked plants and vegetables.

For an interesting experiment, find a friend with a juicer and watch them juice a cucumber or watermelon. You’d be amazed at the amount of water and juice that the fruit or vegetable is made up of.

Start small with cooked vegetable meals like stir-fries. Plants have a lot of protein. If you are looking for something to replace meat like chicken with try tofu. Tofu is very porous and can be dressed up with a marinade or spices and goes great in a vegetable stir-fry. If you put the stir-fry over some whole grain rice or whole grain noodles then you’ve got a fantastic meal complete with proteins and carbohydrates.

If we start now making simple changes like substituting tofu for chicken and eating more vegetables so we don’t need to drink as much water for digestion, perhaps by 2050 we could change the statistics and not need to heed such a strong warning.

We can get our water from a plant strong diet which comes directly from a (wishfully) unprocessed environment leaving more water for our own food crops. This would mean less need for bottled water to drink to aid in digestion which would mean less plastic left to decompose in landfills and would leave less of a carbon footprint contributing to global warming. Global warming is why we have droughts which affects our animals and crops. If we didn’t have to feed so many crops to animals to keep them alive so we could consume them and profit from them, then there would be more crops for us to eat and more water in those crops for digestion in our bodies. It’s a circle that could start and never stop if only we could break the cycle.

The circle of change will start with you making a commitment to chose a vegetarian lifestyle. Take a step in the right direction and you won’t have to drink 8 glasses of water a day. You just have to eat it!

Sara Sawochka

No pictures tonight…sorry!

However I’m pleased to report Pete is home from surgery and resting comfortably.

The vegan project is going well. Pete had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on Ezekiel bread for lunch. For dinner Pete had Japanese Pan Noodles with tofu from Noodles and Company (yum) which is vegan!

I’m going grocery shopping for us tomorrow. I would bet you have no idea where I’m going but if you guessed Whole Foods you wouldn’t be wrong!

Pete has requested Oreos from the store. He was rather upset that I didn’t bring him any home tonight after my workout.

Pete has also requested plant or nut milk from the store that tastes the closest to whole dairy milk. It’s been a while so if you have a suggestion let me know. I’m thinking of doing a vanilla almond milk, coconut or soy milk to get him started. Whole dairy milk is going to be hard to replace in flavor which is what Pete is looking for. I’m going to try hard to find it. He wants it to drink and also to put in a morning bowl of oatmeal.

Given that he has one arm to eat with this week, I’m thinking we’ll try a yummy sandwich this week Panera-style with sun-dried tomatoes, hummus, cucumber, an avocado and cucumber with some lettuce and tomato on Ezekiel bread. He will need something easy and not messy to eat.

My friend, Elizabeth, from church is going to be cooking us a vegan meal. She says she has a vegan cookbook. I have no idea what she is going to make but we are really looking forward to what she is going to make!

Have a fabulous Labor Day! And even though the clavicle is technically not broken anymore please keep reading the vegan journey now entitled: The Fixed Clavicle Bone Vegan Project!

Sara Sawochka

Pete is heading in for surgery right now. He’s really nervous but if everything goes ok he should have a speedy recovery!

Here’s a bit of vegan stuff on our journey at the surgery center.

Pete wasn’t allowed to eat anything this morning but I thought it would be fun to post what Pete normally drinks for breakfast! It’s very vegan friendly with 4 bananas, 10 ice cubes, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries! I top it off with chia seeds, cocoa powder and unsweetened almond milk. And yes, it totally looks like mud. Remember that looks aren’t everything!

And what hospital trip would be complete without checking the vending machine for something vegan for fun! I found, sadly, only a few items that were vegan!

Here’s the vending machine! Can you spot the items?

Ok that’s kind of like finding Waldo. Here’s my favorite option even though it’s not the healthiest one: Mini Oreos!

I’m pretty sure the pretzels are vegan also and most likely the fruit and nut mixes are too. There are two other questionable items that I don’t know about: the Gardetto’s Original Recipe snack and the Austin Zoo Animal crackers. It just goes to show you that you can’t trust the product is vegan unless you either know that it is like the Oreos or if you can read the label. It is hard to read a label in a vending machine when all of the labels are turned away from you.

I will look up more information on the products I wasn’t sure about and send another post to let you know if they are vegan or not!

Sara Sawochka

Ok not really hot, but it was all vegan!

I’m pleased to report that Mr. Sawochka made it vegan through the whole day!

He had some tortilla chips and hummus for an afternoon snack, Chinese food for dinner and Oreos for dessert! No it may not he healthy but not all vegans are healthy either.

I’m pleased to report that Pete is seriously sticking to this project. He made sure to tell his family about his project and that was insistent upon sticking with it for a week.

Lastly, before we get to the hot pictures, Pete has already been eating a lot of vegan meals with me as I’ve become a vegan over the last six months. When they weighed him at the doctor today he had lost weight and also has a normal blood pressure. Not too shabby for a 42 year old man!

Ok here are the pictures:

We made the vegan trip to Noblesville! We started the morning with a smoothie.

Then we headed to Starbucks where Pete and I shared a vegan Grande Soy Latte.

And here is Pete with his vegan raw bar from Starbucks as a morning snack!

We have seen the doctor and he recommended surgery so we are scheduled for tomorrow morning at 9:00am. Here’s why the doctor rocked (besides the fact he was cute…sorry Pete): When I asked him if diet mattered in healing and if Pete needed more calcium the doctor said that it is debatable whether we need as much calcium as recommended by the FDA. The doctor also said that you don’t need to drink dairy milk to get calcium. He said that there are lots of plant sources like kale, spinach and plant milks that have plenty of calcium! The hot doctor (sorry again Pete) rocks!