A review! Dr. McDougall's Vegan Chicken Ramen

 I was working away on finishing my sandwiches for pictures in the kitchen and it hit me – the most intense and wicked craving for ramen – EVER! This was not completely out of the blue. Last night Jason and I were talking about ramen and other horrible things we used to eat, so the seed was planted in my brain. I went into our pantry, which is the best stocked vegan grocery store in the area. There, I found a cup of Dr. McDougall’s Vegan Chicken Ramen that I purchased on an earlier travel adventure. These cups are a healthier version of the traditional cup of noodles that got many of us through high school and college. Based on previous experience with this line, I also grabbed the salt shaker. Dr. McDougall is a champion of good health and would probably frown with me over salting is soup, but if you are having a junk food craving, you’re having a junk food craving.

I waited with some great anticipation. After all, this was either going to be really good or really bad. In the meantime, I calculated the WW Points per cup (4 points if anyone else cares) and waited for my noodles to cook once I added the boiling water.

After adding a pinch of salt, the result was magical. This tasted exactly like chicken – so much so that I think it would fool people who still were meat eaters, and made my own vegan self check the label again with a ‘is this vegan?’ moment. The bright intense flavor and the starch of the noodles was magical. I ate it all and my craving for ramen went away, filed under ‘satisfied’. 

In this, there are 200 calories, 8 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber. My biggest gripe is that the label says there are two servings inside. Who are they fooling? This cup is about 1 ½ cups, but not enough to share. I have noticed that some people, especially some of the vegan doctors prescribe bird size portions of food that would not satisfy a kiddo as a way of keeping calorie and fat count low. Maybe it’s just me, but this cup was perfect. Half would not have made me feel full or happy.

That being said, I love the portability of this product. After the “Great New York Starvation” I always travel with two of these McDougall soup cups. Because they are dry inside and light, they are perfect for carryon luggage. If you are on a long flight you can get hot water for tea and pour it inside – instant meal!

So with a little salt and the understanding that you are going to eat the whole thing, I love this product. This is something I will seek out and buy in the future.

 

Highly recommended, and 5 out of 5 stars.

A girl and her blender. A blog about aging, travel, and eating well

This year, with some great deal of fuss and trauma I turned 35. This meant I was officially in my MID-THIRTIES!! We have several fur babies at home but a human baby has not shown up yet. I bit my nails, was cranky, and dreaded May 27^th even though it was the 4^th anniversary of my first date with Jason. Luckily, my husband and family rallied to support me, and on the 27^th, I was still alive, still myself, and did not turn into an instant mummy like the archeologist that chose poorly at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

He's making a poor choice!

 

 

Partially because I have a lot of stuff, and partially because I was a depressed mess in that week leading up to THE DAY my mother-in-law, Patti offered to take me shopping and let me pick out what I wanted. She usually does this, and I was prepared. I racked my brain coming up with what I might want. I decided that with all the traveling I do I could really use a small blender. After doing some research (I earned my nickname of Hermione) I decided on the Hamilton Beach blender. We went to Target and she smiled, then told me to pick out some more. After that, we headed to the makeup aisle. :>

 

What I thought would happen when I turned 35. It didn't.

This last weekend  I went to Lincoln, NE for business. With a desire to make sure I ate SOMETHING for breakfast I went to the store and picked up soymilk and cherries. I was lucky that this hotel had a fridge. That allowed me to defrost these and keep them cold.

 The blender works like a dream. It is light and traveled well. I wrapped it up in my clothes to bring it there and back, and checked it. In the room, I reassembled it, gave it a rinse, and off it went. The quiet motor did not disturb the rooms next to me and the size of the container makes the perfect smoothie for my 5’ 1” hobbit self. I loved making this so much that I ended up using this personal blender instead of my VitaMix. I love Mr. Vitamix, but because the canister is so large I often make smoothies big enough for Andre the Giant, then I drink them out of guilt. This leads to having WAY more calories than I really should. This gives me the perfect amount of breakfast calories.

 

The Hamilton Beach mini blender in my go-to colors

 

If you decide that you can’t live without your own personal blender, I have the link below. Of course, mine is black since that is my ‘go-to’ color, but these come in all colors, including purple. If there are two of you that will be using this, there is a white Hamilton Beach that has two blender tops that is only about $24 on Amazon.com.

I will say this is now a must have for trips, and drinking smoothies out of this will make 35 a healthy year.

http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-51101B-Personal-Blender/dp/B0017XHSAE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372379150&sr=8-1&keywords=hamilton+beach+blender

 

Blender image from target.com

Indiana Jones images from http://www.benjamingran.com/tag/zach-peterson-comedy/.

Confessions and Salads, with TWO RECIPES!!

So  I have a confession to make. I am a chef, culinary educator, vegan, and I have horrible migraines. This is not something that I talk a lot about. I feel there is a mystique around being vegan, that it is a panacea that cures all ills. It cures most ills. Even my migraines are not as bad as the other women in my family and I can control them with more mild medication than they take. Still, migraines are a pretty embarrassing affliction in many ways. I try to cover it, but when mine hit my brain stops working quite right. I mix up my words, sentences are harder to form, and I have problems with my balance. Basically, I look and sound drunk. Talk about bad for business. :<

 I decided it is time to do everything I can to help this. I am by no means super thin, so I am cutting back on some of the awesome vegan treats and really building in all the fresh fruit and vegetables to help take off a few pounds. The only hitch in this awesome plan? I have a horrible ulcer from my misspent youth that hates raw veggies. I mean, really, really hates them at times. But there are other things I can eat and drink, like smoothies.

I am sharing this not because I want sympathy, but I feel like I need to let everyone else know that you can be vegan and still have stuff in your system go haywire. But, as vegans we have better tools to cope, and a better support network of other people who are eating healthy and leading active lifestyles.

Plus, in sharing this I want to let you guys know I am taking my blog in a more personal direction. I want to share reviews, recipes, and even just some random things I am loving. I opened up a new blog http://madelynpryor.blogspot.com that will be like an open journal, so if you want to know what is going on with me, I will try to be open and honest there about everything, the ups and downs.

In the meantime, I have this wonderful recipe for a great, easy salad dressing and salad. I have really been craving the spicy and sweet combination lately, so here is a great and easy salad that fits those flavors. When I made this I ate half and packed the other half. Later I took it to Starbucks for a nice refreshing meal while I drank unsweetened green tea and worked away. It traveled well, but the dressing made the juice of the tomatoes come out a bit so make sure your lid fits well before you take it with you.

 

Sweet and Spicy Dressing/Marinade

Makes 1/3 cup

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons agave
2 teaspoons ancho powder
2 teaspoons mild chili powder
½ tsp salt

Combine all ingredients and stir to combine.

Allow to rest at least 15 minutes for the flavors to meld.
Use as a salad dressing or marinade.

 

Sweet and Spicy Lunch Salad

Makes 2 servings, or enough for 1 really hungry Madelyn

 2 medium heirloom tomatoes

½ cup of loose cilantro leaves
4-5 green onions
½ cup of black beans
½ cup of cubed, marinated tofu (I used Trader Joes savory
½ batch of the sweet and spicy dressing

Cube the heirloom tomatoes.

Wash and mince the cilantro.
Slice the green onions.
Discard the roots.
Rinse and drain the black beans.
Cube the tofu.
Use ½ batch of the Sweet and Spicy Salad dressing (about 2-3 tablespoons for this size batch).

 

Cooling Off - Coconut Chai with a recipe!

Well, here it is hotter than the sun in Phoenix, Arizona. Once the weather is hotter than 110 degrees I become a little preoccupied with finding ways to stay cool. After all, when it is so hot it hurts to run errands, that is a little scary.

One thing I noticed was that with the spike in heat, it becomes dangerous to do things outside between about noon to 5pm. Jason and I have been spending a lot of time going to Starbucks to write recipes. There is nothing wrong with this at all. I love going a few times a week, but I suck down the green teas. Each one I get with 4 pumps of sweetener, so two is 200 calories of just sugar. Kind of scary, depending on how many times you do this. Also, cost can be a factor. Yes, I am a gold card member (many times over) but my green tea is about $3.89 with tax. Not the most expensive drink at Starbucks, but with trying to cut back and save more money, not something I want to do every day.

I looked in the pantry and we have a lot of tea. And when I say we have a lot of tea, I mean we have a LOT of tea. A while back, Sprouts was clearing out their better teas and we were getting Zhena’s Gypsy Tea for .99 to 1.99 per container. We bought them all. Then we stopped drinking tea at night shortly after. They just were in our pantry, wanting to be used.

Looking at the pantry one day, I realized I could solve multiple problems, so I started making various dressed up teas, and keeping them in the refrigerator. Now, Jason and I reach for these, and I do not find myself wanting to go out as much.

Other than whipping up teas for easy summer entertaining, even if I am just entertaining myself, I have been working on recipes for the next issue of the Vegan Culinary Experience, teaching some classes, and working on 2 cookbooks at the same time, because I am like that.

I will try to post pictures soon of all the tasty things being made over here both on the blog, facebook, and my new twitter account. I am on Twitter under Madelyn Pryor is anyone is interested.

Hugs to everyone and stay cool!

Madelyn

THE RECIPE

This recipe is for coconut chai. The original flavor is Coconut Chai with Black Tea http://zhenas.com/coconut-black-chai-tea-bags.html . I made this with a whole tea kettle full of water (about 8 cups) and 6 teabags. I boiled the tea and stepped the bags for five minutes. Then, I added to sticks of Mexican cinnamon and 1 can of light coconut milk. At Trader Joes these are only $.99.  Then I added ¼ cup of real maple syrup, grade B. This is a sugar, but also is unrefined and has its trace minerals. I place all this in the refrigerator to chill, then we can drink it when we choose.

 

 

Birthdays and Spicy Tofu Scramble (with recipe!)

Yesterday, I had one of those milestone birthdays. Milestone. More like millstone around my check. Somehow, I thought that my last night on earth would be Sunday night and the next day when I reached the venerable age of 3something, the world would just swallow me. It didn’t. I woke up Monday with my beautiful husband, my kitties, and a knowledge that I needed to start taking better care of myself.

Wakeup calls come in many forms. For some of us, it is hitting a certain birthday or age. “Now that I am X, I need to be more careful.” Yeah, I had that along with another wakeup call. Recently, my friend landed in the hospital with some scary problems. I knew that could be me. After all, I had been taking care of myself, but not perfect care to be sure. Some days I don’t get enough beans, most days I don’t eat enough greens. But seeing her laying there and knowing how close we are in age made me realize that shizznit needs to come to a close. I need to handle my life with more authority and grace.

One huge help has been my review copy of Vegan for Her, Virginia Messina’s new book. I have dropped all my other reading to plow through his book and take notes. If you can’t wait to get your hands on a great book on vegan nutrition or if you are a guy, check out Vegan for Life by Messina and Jack Norris which is a great work as well. With these you can see if you are eating as well as you think you have been and check out any places to improve.

I knew that I needed to improve the way I approach breakfast. Since I hate the first meal of the day I ignore it exists until my body starts getting very cranky with me. By then, I am usually messed up and super hungry! I overeat and then feel like crap. Not the best way for me to start the day.

Today I made myself a simple, spicy scramble. At just around 200 calories and 12 grams of protein, this was a great choice for me to get myself going. The spice in the scramble also made me feel awake and significantly more bright eyed.  If you need a little something to help you get out of bed, then read on.

 

Spicy Tofu Scramble

Makes 1 serving

½ tsp of oil

½ a poblano pepper or ½ a jalapeno, depending on taste
¼ tsp turmeric
1 pinch of black salt (use regular salt if you can’t find black salt)
½ package of firm, aspic packed tofu
1 can (4 oz) of mild diced green chilies
2 tbsp daiya cheddar ‘cheese’ or other vegan cheese
A vinegar based hot sauce such as Tabasco or Cholula

Heat a skillet or wok over medium heat.
Dice the pepper, removing stem and seeds.
Add the oil to the pan and the pepper.
Cook the pepper until slightly tender.
Add the tofu by crumbling it slightly and the turmeric and salt.
Stir and add the green chilies.
Cook for about 5-10 minutes.
Remove from heat and add the ‘cheese’.
Place on a plate and add the hot sauce.
Enjoy.                                                                                                       

 

 

 

Try new things, like this awesome Bell Pepper Chili!!! (Recipe included)

You can add some extra color with cilantro or green onion!!

You can’t be afraid to try new things. Well, you can be, but you shouldn’t be. I just spent an hour gluing on fake fingernails. Why? Because I have not done it for 15 years and last night I thought “I don’t like my real fingernails, why not give fakes a shot again?” Is it perfect? No. Did I have fun? Yep. My friend Liz started going to a local project called Market on the Move, where $10 gets you up to 60 pounds of produce. She brought some for me, and I immediately resolved to try going myself.  Something new to try!

 

Rocking blue sparkle fake nails!!

Sorting through the produce, I noticed that some of it needed to be used sooner than later. There were beautiful bell peppers with just a few bad spots, easily cut off, and VERY ripe romas. They were perfect at the moment but in two days they will be in roma tomato heaven.  I wanted to make something tasty and beautiful to honor the gift. Gathering a few things from the kitchen, I got to work.

 

The result was the chili you see below. It was very delicious and rather mild. The best thing about this chili is that it is delicious, low calorie but hearty, and would freeze very well!! Interested in making your own frozen dinners? This is a great one for you.

 

So get out there and try new things? Try that hike you’ve been meaning to do, or even that bright eye shadow that has been scaring you. If Liz hadn’t tried Market on the Move for the first time, we would not have this chili. So try making this chili for the first time because it is amazing!

 

Bell Pepper Chili

Makes 4-6 servings

 

2 large yellow bell peppers
3 large red bell peppers
10 large roma tomatoes or 13 medium roma tomatoes
1 large yellow onion
4-5 cloves of garlic
2 cans of black beans, whole, undrained
1 package of soy chorizo (12 oz)
1 tablespoon cumin
2 tablespoons Mexican oregano
½ teaspoon or more of salt

Remove the seed packets from the bell peppers and dice the rest. 

Dice the onion.
Dice the tomatoes.
Place all in a heavy pot, such as a cast iron enamel pot.
Heat over medium for 10-15 minutes, until the tomatoes are tender and the onion is translucent.
Add the garlic, beans, soy chorizo, cumin, Mexican oregano and salt.
Cook for 10-15 more minutes, until the veggies have reached your desired level of tenderness.
Remove from heat and salt to taste.

 

I HATE mornings, but I love my Lemon Breakfast Bites! (recipe included!!)

A sample serving with two lemons from our tree.

 

I hate breakfast. Those that know me well know this. I envy the people who wake up in the morning rosy cheeked, refreshed and ready to face the day. I wake up pinch faced, crabby, and always feeling like I need two more hours of sleep no matter how much I just got. I stumble into the kitchen and make myself a cup of coffee before setting off to see what the cats destroyed and what dishes need to be done. I sip my coffee while I get ready and then just fall into managing the challenges of the day. Two or three hours later I might figure out that I need to eat something, and by then I am usually shaking and cranky.

 

I have learned that not eating breakfast, even when I don’t feel like it, is one of my bad habits. Matter as fact, it might be one of my worst habits because it sets me up for being cranky and overeating the rest of the day. People who eat breakfast are more likely to be thinner. I could definitely be thinner.

 

I also have a goal of eating at least 50% raw foods. Through experiments on myself, I have learned that blend of raw and cooked is helping me control my horrible migraine headaches. My headaches leave me drained, dizzy, and worried that I will sound like an idiot. A frequent symptom of my migraines is my thoughts and words getting jumbled. The less of that mess, the better.

 

Raw breakfast bites are one of my favorite things in life! I keep inventing new combinations and flavors. Based on my love of lemon desserts and the fact I have lemons on my tree, I made these – lemon breakfast bites. Hopefully these will allow you to help enjoy your morning. Personally, I eat 2-3 and a bit of fresh fruit. The combination leaves me feeling refreshed and full. More importantly, it helps me face the day.

 

 

Lemon Breakfast Bites (Raw)

Makes about 24 (1 tablespoon each)

 

2 cups of raw cashews, unsoaked

½ tsp lemon powder (powered lemon peel) OR 2 teaspoons lemon extract

¼ cup lemon zest, loosely packed

½ cup of lemon juice, fresh

½ cup of raw agave nectar

1 ½ cups of shredded coconut, unsweetened

 

Place all ingredients except for the shredded coconut in a food processor and pulse until you have a thick paste with some texture.

Add the shredded coconut and pulse until the coconut still has texture, but is broken up slightly.

Place tablespoons of mixture onto a dehydrating sheet and press with your fingers so you have more of a flat cookie shape.

Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 3-4 hours, turning the cookie over after 2 hours.

Remove from the dehydrator and enjoy.