Category Archives: Food

Adventures in Plant-Based Nutrition

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My Plant-Based Nutrition Plan on miaprimacasa.com

I’ve been a vegetarian (actually more of a pescetarian, really) for five months already. I originally toyed with the idea of switching to vegan and cutting out all animal products all together. But I was skeptical. Would that really improve me health? Would I have less energy? How would I be able to eat out? And what about the stigma around the word “vegan” itself?

Plus, I really, really love cheese.

And ice cream.

And more cheese.

But then I watched the documentary Forks Over Knives, which introduced me to the plant-based diet. A plant-based diet is a bit different from veganism. Besides not eating animal products (including dairy, eggs, and meat), people following a plant-based diet also limit their oil, refined sugar, and refined carb intake. And this is what appealed to me the most. I’ve always had this nagging feeling that sugar and refined carbs might be contributing to my sluggishness, worsening allergies, and poor, sensitive skin.

I’ll admit it; I’m not ready to dive cold turkey into a plant-based diet. I still love and cook with olive oil (having an Italian family and living in Florence for a bit makes the idea of cutting out olive oil earth-shattering), and I’m hesitant to give up fish.

So instead, I’m giving myself the following easy guidelines to follow:

1. No meat (duh).

2. No dairy (including cheese and milk). For my coffee, I’ve switched to agave nectar for sweetening and soy milk.

3. No refined sugar.

4. Eat whole foods (veggies, grains, you get the idea).

5. Eat processed whole foods (crackers, pita bread, and cereal) sparingly.

6. Avoid adding oil when cooking and limit oil consumption to coconut and olive oil when possible.

7. Eat fish, but sparingly and buy the highest quality possible (think: wild salmon over canned tuna).

8. Make more of my own training food: protein bars, gels, sports drinks. I have a feeling this is going to save me some money as well!

9. When I travel (to say, Amsterdam to visit my sister), I’ll try my best to eat according to the plant-based diet, but enjoy the local food to its fullest. So yes, I’m going to eat stroopwafels. Just maybe not ten of them….

10. Try new things. Cook with new veggies and beans. Continue to try new ethnic restaurants with a new perspective. Use my crock pot more often. Buy more cook books. Experiment with my own version of recipes. Fall in love with food- real, whole, and delicious food.

11. Share my adventures and recipes in plan-based nutrition with you all on MiaPrimaCasa!

What do you think about my plant-based nutrition plan? Any suggestions or recommendations?

Plant Based Diet Reading on miaprimcasa

My Plant-Based Education Reading List:

Forks Over Knives by Gene Stone, T. Colin Campbell, and Caldwell B. Esselstyn

The Idiot’s Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition by Julieanna Hever

No Meat Athlete

The Kind Life

Related Posts:

Running Hard, Getting Healthy, & Going (Almost) Vegan

How to Open a Bottle of Wine Without a Corkscrew

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Video courtesy of Mirabeau Wine

I think this guy opened his bottle faster with his shoe than I did with a real corkscrew…

And also, please admire this gorgeous wine stopper my friend’s father made. That’s right…made, created, handcrafted. It’s almost as impressive as that time my dad offered to make me a pulley system to lower my bicycle from my second story balcony to the sidewalk.

How to Open a Wine Bottle Without a Corkscrew miaprimcasa.com

Cheers (to talented dads and easy-to-open wine)!

Sarah

Vegetarian Pasta Dish in Just Ten Minutes

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The hardest part about trying to eat more vegetables is actually incorporating them into a weekday dinner. By the time I’m done with work and have finished my workout, I have little to no tolerance for cutting up veggies and doing anything with them, let alone sautéing them and adding them to (my usual) pasta. But then, Christmas came! And my ever clever little sister gifted me the wondrous Brieftons Spiral Splicer.

Briefton Spiral SlicerOh so realistic Photoshopped image courtesy of Amazon.com. You get the idea though, right?

So this evening I boiled my usual whole wheat pasta, but instead of reaching for the boring can of tomato sauce, I spiral cut  a whole carrot and about 12% of a large cucumber (in literally 30 seconds). Feeling ambitious, I sauteed the veggies in olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper and added a quarter can of diced tomatoes to the mix. It took longer (9 minutes) for the pasta to cook than for me to prepare the veggies. Most certainly the healthiest meal I can think of that takes less than 10 minutes to make. And look how gorgeous it looks, too?

Vegatarian Pasta Recipe in Ten Minutes miaprimacasa.comVegetarian Pasta Dish: 1 cup whole wheat pasta, 1 carrot, a bit of a cucumber, a quarter can of diced tomatoes, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper

Cheers!

Sarah

Euro Brunch, Vegetarian Style

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Image

Mini baguette, organic apricot preserves, organic mixed berry preserves , Nutella, honey goat cheese, cantaloupe, wildflower honey, coconut water, Fair Trade organic coffee

All admit it, I’m stilling missing proscuitto. But proscuitto or not, this homemade brunch was amazing. And great post-run fuel!

The Easy, Healthy, Cheap Popcorn Recipe

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Easy Healthy Popcorn

This recipe is so simple, I don’t know how I didn’t know about it for so long!  Recently, my friend told me the easiest way to make healthy popcorn your way:

Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil into a large pot. Add salt, pepper, garlic, or whatever other delicious combos you can think of! Pour in 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels. Be sure to add the lid to the pot, then set on medium high heat until the kernels begin to pop. Shake the pan occasionally to be sure the kernels don’t burn and are evenly coated in the oil and seasoning. In true vegan fashion, I added one and half tablespoons of nutritional yeast (kind of like vegan cheese topping) to the popcorn. Super easy, as healthy (or not) as you want, and also cheap (I bought my kernels in bulk at Whole Foods for a couple bucks). Yum!

Veggie Tofu Omelet

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My pre-ride meal.

Veggie Tofu Omlet

Three eggs, cherry tomatoes, extra firm organic tofu, low sodium soy sauce, green onions, cilantro

Next time, I’ll try it with a little spinach!

Running Hard, Getting Heathy, & Going (Almost) Vegan

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This was my lunch today…

Vegan Salad Recipe w/ Chia Seeds

Spring greens, extra firm organic tofu, sweet cherry tomatoes, cranberries, carrots, chia seeds, and lite ceasar dressing

…and it was amazing! On Monday I decided to commit to vegetarianism (and to slowly transition into veganism in my own time). For now, I’m cutting out all meat except fish and also cheese. As a runner, I was hesitant to consider cutting out meat because protein is fundamental to my diet, but that was before I read Eat & Run. Wow, is Scott Jurek convincing! I’ll be honest; proper treatment of animals is important to me, but it was never enough to convince me to take the leap. Jurek’s transition into veganism is simply practical.  Food=fuel=great performance. (Supporting animal rights and the environment is just a plus that comes along with it!) Vegansim made the runner feel better, perform better, and win. I’d be a fool not to at least hear-out the advice of an ultramarathon champion. I run marathons. Jurek runs 150+ miles races through deserts and up mountains. On a plant based diet. Just try not to be curious!

Eat&Run by Scott Jurek

I’m sick of getting sick, of bonking out on long runs and rides, and feeling sluggish at work, so I’m giving a vegetarian diet a try!  And eating vegan when I can limits my diet is good ways. At the work cafe, if no options are vegan, I have no choice but to eat the salad I brought that day.

The result?

Feeling deprived? Not getting enough protein?

Nope.

Just a really, really delicious homemade lunch.

Vegan Diet

How to Make a Brandy Watermelon

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How to Make a Brandy Watermelon

Making a brandy (or tequila, or vodka…) watermelon is probably the easiest, most gratifying recipe you can make all summer long. I looked up lots of different recipes before making my watermelon, but here is what I found to be the easiest way to complete the job:

You will need: 1 seedless watermelon, a bottle of brandy, a knife, and patience

Directions:

1. Start by cutting one triangle shaped hole into the top of the watermelon (and when I say top, I mean the side. Obviously, the melon will be resting on it’s side when you cut into it). Pull out and save the wedge- you will use it to recork the watermelon later.

2. Cut two more holes at the top of the watermelon, a few inches apart. Again, keep the wedges.

3. Next, pour as much brandy as you can into each hole.

4. Now, you will need to let the brandy seep into the melon, which may take some time. I refilled the melon with brandy about every half hour until I put it in the fridge for the night.

5. Recork the melon and let sit in the fridge overnight.

6. Cut as you would a normal melon, and enjoy! It’s absolutely delicious served chilled. If you want to take your melon to the next level, scoop out balls with a melon scooper and freeze for ice cubes- they are perfect for a summer mixed drink!

Ciao,

Sarah

Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Banana Buttercream Frosting

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Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Banana Frosting Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Banana Frosting

Banana and peanut butter just might be the best food combination (second only to Nutella and bananas…), so a peanut butter cupcake with banana frosting, sounds perfect! Usually, I stick to making cookies, since cookies are relatively straight forward to bake, but this cupcake recipe is simple enough for even a beginner like me. Next time, I’m going to replace the peanut butter with Nutella…and if all goes well, I’ll post the results!

The recipe (from Coffee and Quinoa) calls for almond milk, but I used regular 1% milk instead, which seemed to work well.

Ciao!

Sarah