Breakfast Reinvented: Nut butter and Jam Oatmeal

[May 15]

I do my very best to avoid all processed, refined grains and flours (we eat only sprouted grain bread in the house).  Breakfast is generally the toughest meal to avoid eating breads or baked goods when eating a vegan diet with kids around.  It’s all too easy to throw together a sandwich for breakfast and eat it on the move.

Recently I’ve been trying to make more oatmeal for us.  Avital loves it!  It’s straight up whole grains.  An almost perfect breakfast.  I drink a green juice first thing in the morning while I’m preparing it for a good dose of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, energy, detoxification…you get the point.  I cook the oats in fresh nut mylk and a pinch of sea salt.  Then after it’s cooked I add cashew butter (we’re a little obsessed with the Better Than Roasted raw cashew butter) and a small spoonful of sugar free jam (I’m a raspberry girl).

Nut butter and jam is the perfect way to finish off your morning cereal giving you a bit of added protein and sweetness to start your day!  It’s easy, quick, and totally delicious.

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Chia Pudding

[May 1]

As of recently I’ve been exploring more and more raw and superfoods.  I promise, I’m not going raw (I could never give up a steamy bowl of brown rice or any of my soupy stews…  That said, I’ve been incorporating more raw and superfood foods into my diet and have been feeling more energized and light (despite the MAJOR lack of sleep due to little miss baby Bar).

One of my new fridge staples (along with fresh almond mylk and sprouted cashew butter among others) is chia pudding.  It’s so soooo easy to make, totally versatile, an immediate burst of energy (perfect for before or after a workout), and super tasty.

In the morning I sprinkle some granola and gogi berries on top and for dessert I mix in a  bit of raw cacao  and banana for a banana chocolate pudding treat.

On top of all that yumminess and versatility, it is packed with fiber, has more omega 3 fatty acids than flax seeds, is packed with anti-oxidants, and is chock full of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, molybdenum, niacin and zinc (see Dr. Weil for more info).

So with no further adieu, here’s how I make it:

Ingredients:

  • 3 tblsp chia seeds
  • 2 cups fresh nut mylk (you can of course use boxed or coconut or rice or soy as well)
  1. Mix ingredients and let sit.
  2. Stir every 5-10 minutes for 20 minutes to avoid clumping.
  3. Optionally add: vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, date paste, agave, honey, maple syrup, dried fruit, raw cacao powder, raw pomegranate powder…basically anything that floats your boat;)
  4. (Depending on how loose or firm you like your pudding you can add more mylk or seeds.  Play around with it.  You can add either at any point in time, just give the seeds enough time to gel.)

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Vegan Shiitake Porcini Barley and Chickpea Soup

[April 30]

Today both Baby Bar and Richie were sick in my house.  Oh AND I have a sprained ankle which I have no clue how I got.  Plus there hasn’t been too much sleep around here, so we’re struggling on the energy front.  We’re a pretty pathetic bunch.

It felt like a night for a superheating dinner.  Seeing as I wasn’t going too far today between the Baby that needed to sleep on me only and the ankle that only stopped throbbing when elevated, I needed to work with what we had around.

Luckily I had enough ingredients for either split pea soup or mushroom barley (for which I had no recipe and would need to wing it).  Richie chose mushroom barley, so I took the challenge.

This soup was perfectly simple, earthy, and borderline elegant.  It was easy and hearty and totally healing.  Here’s how I did it:

Ingredients:

  • 2 packages of shiitake mushrooms, sliced and stems trimmed and sliced
  • 1 small carton of dehydrated porcini mushrooms, rehydrated and drained
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 6 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 cup of hulled (whole grain) barley
  • 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 carton of No Chicken Stock (or your favorite veggie stock)
  • sea salt to taste
  • olive oil
  • toasted sesame oil
  • truffle oil
  1. In a large cast iron soup pot (that’s my choice of pots for soup making, but you can use whatever you’ve got around), sauté the shiitakes in 1-2 tblsp of olive oil and a pinch of salt.
  2. Meanwhile rehydrate the porcinis.
  3. Cook the mushrooms until theater cooks out and they start to get pretty fragrant.
  4. Remove the mushrooms from the pot and place them aside on a plate.
  5. In the pot sauté the onion in 1-2 tblsp of olive oil.
  6. Once they start to sweat add the garlic and another pinch of salt.
  7. Cook for apx 2-3 minutes then add the stock, mushrooms (both types), barley, and chickpeas.
  8. Bring to a boil and then down to a simmer and cover.
  9. Cook for 45min-1hr.
  10. Ladel into bowls and finish with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil and truffle oil.

This soup was absolutely perfect for a night like tonight and both Richie and Avi loved their bowls and finished every last drop!  I served it with some simply sautéed kale and garlic toasted sprouted grain bread.

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East Hampton Sea Salt Hair Spritz

[April 26]

Ok, so I called this spritz instead of spray cause I think that hair spray has a connotation to it.  This is definitely not a hair spray.  It’s just a little sunthin to add a bit of beach to your hair.  The sea salt’ll make your hair perfectly piecey and the coconut oil will keep those locks moisturized and smooth.  Plus the combination of both will make you smell like the beach all day!

After getting my hair dyed (for the first time since high school), Kim (my stylist who is also an amazing singer, she rocks!) spritzed me with a “sea salt spray”.  It made my hair look awesome, but after looking at the ingredients, laced with parabens and other ingredients I could barely pronounce, I couldn’t bring myself to purchase it.  But I got the idea stuck in my head…and as with many ideas I get caught in my head, it stuck.

That weekend we headed out to the beach with some friends and I realized the beach would be the perfect place to get some beach hair and bring it home!  Saturday was absolutely gorgeous so we took our combined four babies down to the beach for a walk and splash in the supercold ocean (just feet of course).  I snagged myself a (sippy) cup full of ocean water and was intent on making an “all natural” beach hair spray.

Seeing as coconut oil is just as good for our outsides as our insides, plus is smells about as beachy/islandy as you can get, I figured it’d be the perfect balance.  I bought myself a mini spray bottle at CVS, melted the coco oil, combined it with the sea water, and voila!  The only snag is I have to melt the coco oil each time.  I’ll run it under a bit of warm water from washing my face or let it float in my bath tub before using.

And here’s what it looks like in the locks:

(Please please excuse my before bed look...that's often when I have time to sit down and blog, so that's when I snapped this pic.)

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6 Months Postpartum: the half way point

[April 20]

Postpartum recovery is truly a full year.  Flushing your body of all those crazy hormones, shrinking your pelvis back to size (well as far back as it will go…often your shape postpartum is different from preconception), losing all those lbs, replacing your nutrient stores (assuming you’re working toward this…it takes major discipline) from which you pulled to pull a rabbit out of a hat (read: build a baby from scratch), meanwhile keeping the rest of your life and family in some sort of order takes major time and commitment.

For me, this round has been even more challenging than the first (with Avi of course I mean), yet even more rewarding.  There is twice as much to keep up with and even less sleep to have, but having done it once before, I have a confidence and set of skills I did not previously have.  It allows me to enjoy it a bit more and take absolutely nothing for granted.  As some of these days feel so long and challenging after coming off of only a few hours of sleep, there is a constant reminder that these days are fleeting and I should love and cherish every second of them.

That said…losing this weight has been the biggest challenge.  And while it sounds superficial, it’s a bit more profound.  Here’s why: between the conception period, two miscarriages (1 and 2), and the 10 long months of pregnancy, it’s been a long time since I’ve felt like myself.  My body has been through so many changes (both physical and emotional) and so many restrictions, it’s been hard to feel like my old, fun, wild self.  Having my body (at least resemble) what it once did, being able to fit into my old clothes reminds me that at some point, I’ll be able to be me again once in a while, not just Mama 24 hours a day.

The cleaner I eat, the more yoga I do, this new interval training I’m doing, and Soul Cycling I’ve started, the quicker I see myself jump off that plateau I landed on and my size start to shrink back.

Between the last time I posted and now, my weight really did plateau.  I had a serious problem getting below the 128lb mark.  I was literally stuck there for the last two months.  But in the last week since I’ve started this new exercise regimen and really concentrated on not overeating (which is touch when nursing) and incorporating more raw foods with the arrival of this beautiful weather, I’ve lost another 2 lbs in the past week.  I’m pretty sure over the last few months of yoga I’ve gained a bit of muscle as I can feel myself significantly stronger.  So that’s where I am 126lbs!  I definitely would like to shed a few more off my belly (and love handles;)), but I’m starting to feel happy about where I am!

But more importantly than that, I’m feeling great energy from my work outs, less bloated from the foods I’m eating, less cravings, and generally happier (regardless of the fact that the major lack of sleep continues!).

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Soul Cycle kicked my butt! And I’m going back for more.

[April 19]

(Red faced from our Soul Cycle workout...was this red for hours!)

I have to admit that exercise has never really been my thing.  I’ve always been part of the artsy crowd, not the athletic one.  In college I started yoga in college and fell in love.  And since then, that was my main form of exercise (that and walking like crazy of course).  Yoga feels fantastic to me.  It resonated with my  body and mind and is a staple in my life.  Since having Bar, my yoga classes have been helping me get toned and strong and remain sane.

The thing is, in so many books I’ve been reading (like Mark Hyman’s UltraMetabolism and Andrew Weil’s 8 Weeks to Optimum Health and John Douillard’s The 3 Season Diet and others) these top holistic doctor are talking about interval training and how important it is to getting to your proper weight and maintaining optimum health.  For so so long I breezed through these parts of the books focusing only on the nutrition and lifestyle sections.  It was really a block for me and a laziness coming from a place of knowing that hard, heart-pumping, sweaty exercise was uncomfortable for me and I’d prefer not to do it.

But in my struggle to lose this last bit of baby weight, and hitting a major plateau, and being so tired from lack of sleep and maintaining my status quo and no more, I decided last week to start some interval training.  There’s no reason I can’t fit it in (it only takes 25 min) and I have a gym in my building and Baby Bar sleeps for a hour every morning (during which I was walking with her in the stroller…i.e. the bare minimum exercise I could do).  No excuses!

The interval training on the treadmill made me feel awesome.  I was sweaty and hot and I could totally get through it.  I was even using some of John Douillard’s recommendations on breathing exercises (basic pranayama) while I ran and it felt great!  Ujai breathing and sprints?!?  What a fabulous combo.

Jump to this past Saturday when my sister-in-law, Rachel, convinced me to let her sign us both up for spinning class this week.  Jump to this afternoon: anxiety, nervousness, spinning shoes on my feet, and ready to go.  Our teacher Jolie was amazing!  She was 7 month pregnant and in waaaaay better shape than me!  She had amazing energy, dj skills to impress any amateur like myself, and had me sweating my face off (literally I was dripping down my face onto my shirt, though you couldn’t tell cause I also drenched my shirt).  She was inspiring to say the least.

I couldn’t come close to doing all the moves.  There is a lot of choreography and strength work combined and I’m far from the most coordinated as many of you know.  That said, I made it through the whole class and never stopped moving.  It incorporated abs, upper body, weights, sprints, resistance work, full full body.

Everyone said I’d be addicted.  Not sure if I’m addicted…yet…but I’m definitely up for the challenge.  Soul Cycle, here I come!  Baby weight, here you go!

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Raw-ish Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake

[April 17]

This recipe was supersimple, totally delicious, and a burst of sunshine!

I cheated a bit and bought a graham crust from Wholly Wholesome, but next time I promise I’ll make my own and raw so that my recipe is 100% raw.

Raw foods are fabulous for warm weather.  They are cooling and enzymatic and packed with immediately available energy for active days in the sun.

Here’s how I did it:

Ingredients (makes 2 pies):

  • 3 1/2 cups raw cashews soaked and drained (*a little tip- soaking longer and blending longer will produce a smoother filling like cream cheese, soaking for an hour or less and blending a bit less will produce a grainier/lumpier which resembles a ricotta type consistency…it’s up to you;))
  • zest of 2 lemons
  • 3/4 cup lemon juice
  • 2/3 cup melted coconut oil
  • 2/3 cup agave
  • seeds of 1 vanilla bean
  • 1 pint of blueberries (or as many as you’d like to pack on there)
  • 2 pie shells
  1. Place the cashews, lemons, zest, oil, agave, and vanilla in the bowl of a food processor or blender and blend away.
  2. Fill the pie shell with the lemon cheesecake filling.
  3. Top with blueberries.
  4. Freeze for 2 hours or refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
  5. Serve as is!

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Baked Better awesomely easy breads!

[April 16]

A while back (yes I’m a procrastinator with a tiny baby who hasn’t slept in waaaaay too long= a bad combo) the supercool crew over at Baked Better sent me a few samples of their amazing bread mixes.  Basically you just plop the dry mixture plus a pack of yeast (provided) in a bowl along with a liquid of your choice and let it sit for a few in a warm spot then bake away.  Done and done.

The other day Avi was at my parents house and Richie and I had the afternoon and evening alone (read: with Bar).  We were lying in bed, channel surfing, when I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to bake a loaf of fresh baked bread.  Ha!  But really no ha!  It was totally that simple.  The bread was in the oven in no time and I even got a little fancy adding orange and fresh almond mylk and walnuts and a dab of honey (I know some of you vegans don’t do honey, but I buy mine from friendly local bee keepers.  Promise!).  The end result was crispy and warm and sweet-ish and delicious!

I started with the Park Slope Staple which is just an organic whole wheat bread that you can do alone or add whatever it is you desire.  I still have the Dumbo Delicious and Cobble Hill Crave to try out.

Here are some photos of my Baked Better bread baking experience:

(all my ingredients...ps- I mixed the orange juice with the almond mylk and let it sit for a few to "curdle" and buttermilk-style itself before I added it to the mixture)

(Isn't my Juliska loaf pan pretty?!? I got it at the annual warehouse sale in CT.)

(The final product)

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Passover in Pictures

[April 10]

As usual, for the holidays we do a lot of shuttling around so that we can see as much of my family and Richie’s as possible. For Passover every year (give or take) we celebrate the first night with my family and then head to Florida to spend the second night (and a handful more) with Richie’s fam.

Both Seders (dinners) were delicious and Avital found the afikomen both nights!

Here’s how it looked according to my iPhone:

(Avital and I went to Brooklyn Baked on Wednesday and painted a seder plate for Passover)

(Not sure if it's technically kosher for Passover, but Bar had her first barley teething biscuit and it was messy and delicious!)

(My dad and Bar wore matching cipot;))

(Bubby veganized her cabbage soup for Yum!)

(A self-inflicted photoshoot of Liza and myself over dessert...)

(Auntie Liza cuddled Bar to sleep)

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Green Juice the day away

[March 27]

I wrote about our juicer here when we first got it.  We had the best of intentions, but weren’t sure how much we’d really use it.  After warnings from so many people about pricey purchases that just sat in their kitchens unused, we decided we were different and took the plunge.

Turn out we are!!  We totally juice almost every morning and love love love it.  Days that we start with our green juice are inevitably better!  It’s not exactly the same every day, but I try to keep my fave green ingredients in the house plus lemon and ginger (organic only of course) so that we have some version of that juice that energizes and cleanses us oh so well.

Here’s my list of ingredients:

  • kale
  • celery
  • cucumber
  • romaine
  • granny smith apple
  • lemon (with the rind)
  • ginger (I don’t peel this either)

This green juice is light and refreshing, appropriately filling, and cleansing, and gives a fabulous burst of energy without making you feel dragged down with digestion first thing in the morning.

Here’s how my morning goes (on an ideal day):

8a wake up and drink a warm water with lemon or some version of my lemon aid

Wash up, nurse the baby…

8:30a make our juice (often I make one for me immediately, one for Richie, and another I can sip in the afternoon)

Drink my juice while I pal around the apartment making the bed, getting Avi dressed, etc.

9:30a eat a small-ish breakfast like coconut kefir with banana and a sprinkling of granola or cooked oats with cashew butter and gogi berries

10a walk with the baby in the stroller for about an hour for exercise (some days I have early yoga at 9:45a, other days it’s later in the day)

past that isn’t morning any more;)

The juice though is the perfect way to break the fast of the evening.  It’s easily digested, a burst of energy, and totally tasty and bright!

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