Wednesday 29 January 2014

"Let food be thy medicine"

I dedicate this post to my awesome & resourceful mum:


“Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.” 
(Budda)


When we spoke I promised you a introduction. So here it is!
This might also be very useful for readers who want to gradually go in the direction of a plant based diet. This is a short introduction!


1. Easy, familiar & exciting plant based meals! (Vegan if you like..)
2. Let's bake something!
3. Nutritional yeast, your new pal!
4. Short guide to vitamins
5. Some inspirational vegans



1. Awesome meals!

There are just so many exciting things to eat! Plant based can be both familiar and even fast-food if you like. The most exciting I think is to make things from scratch and also be pleasantly surprised when it can be done in a few minutes. 


Breakfast



Dinner



Christmas

Specialty



2. Let's bake!


Christmas

Pepperkaker (Norwegian)



3. Nutritional yeast, your new pal!

A so called super food. It is also called "gærflager" in Danish and "næringsgjær" in Norwegian. Often added in food for a more nutty flavor. Many recipes recommend this. 
Nutritional yeast is fortified with vitamin B (especially the important B12).

I buy this here

Till now I have used it for: 
  • Lasagna
  • Pizza
  • Taco
  • Sauces
  • sprinkling it on stuff for extra flavor


4. A short guide to vitamins!

Here are something you should think about if you go on a vegan diet.
(I borrowed this from the vegan RD. A vegan dietitian).
  • Vitamin B12("Vitamin B12. You can’t get enough by eating unwashed organic produce or mushrooms grown in B12-rich soil. The recommended dose is 25 to 100 micrograms per day or 1,000 micrograms 2-3 times per week. If you have not been taking B12 for a while, start out with 2,000 micrograms daily for several weeks.")
  • Vitamin D
    ("If you live where it’s sunny and warm all year and you spend time outdoors without sunscreen, you can make enough. The rest of us need a supplement or fortified foods (just like omnivores do) supplying 1,000 I.U.s of vitamin D. (This amount is well above the RDA for vitamin D but most experts think it’s warranted.")
  • Iodin (jod)
    Eat salt with iodin in it.
    ("Omnivores get most of their iodine from dairy products, which pick up iodine from solutions used to clean cows and equipment on dairy farms. Vegans who regularly eat sea vegetables may get enough, but the content varies a lot as it does for sea salt and other “natural” salts. Miso, which some vegans prefer to use in place of salt—because it’s a whole food—is not usually a good source of iodine. The only reliable sources are iodized salt or a supplement providing around 90 micrograms per day.")

Also remember (like meat eaters) to eat or drink food rich in

Calcium (most soy milk have been added calcium, vitamin D and B12)



Omega 3 & 6
I recommend Udo's choice (liquid), not capsules as they are not vegetarian. 

I used to take cod liver oil, but now I have turned to Udo's choice instead. I have read that you also can have it in your food. You don't have to take a spoonful of it if you use it in your meal.

You can buy this in most health food shops.




5. Some inspirational or surprising vegans!

  • Bill Clinton
  • Ellen Degeneres 
  • Ozzy Osbourne
  • Joaquin Phoenix
  • Mike Tyson


Famous vegans and vegetarians





Interview with Bill Clinton on WHY he became vegan




Fantastic speech! If you want to know something about going vegan and why. Watch this! He is a great orator. (In English with danish subtitles). A short intro before the actual speech.

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Sunday 26 January 2014

The avocado love affair!

Don't you just love avocado? I know I do!
So I dedicate this post to two of my favorite uses for this awesome fruit! (Yes it is classified as a single seed fruit. I didn't know either!)

 And the best? 
If you love avocado it loves you right back! --------------->

1. Vegan spread!

 I just love starting my day with avocado! You can also eat it for lunch or as a snack. But try this!
- Slices of bread
- A ripe avocado (or as many as you need)
- Slices of tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes)
- Pepper
- Salt
- Lemon

 Use as many slices of bread and avocado you need. Slice up the avocado and put on your bread. Do the same with the tomatoes. I like the slices not too thick. Then I squeezes some lemon on it (or from a bottle of concentrate) and sprinkle salt and pepper on. YUMMY!





















2. In salads!

 Oh, every kind of salad get's better! (In my opinion) Here are two of my favorites!
Colour-bomb-of-awesomeness

 - Sweet corn (corn)
- Black beans (or kidney beans)
- AVOCADO <3
- Mango
- Red onion
- Cherry tomatoes (or dulcita)
- Fresh cilantro

 You don't need any oils, it is A W E S O M E !
Yummy AND easy! 
Lots of colour is a sign it is HEALTHY!



















Avocado-symphony-in C (for cranberry)

 - Fresh spinach (baby or big leaves)
- Avocado (oh yes!)
- Red onion
- Cherry tomatoes
- Dried cranberries

If you want that salad with a twist I recommend some of these alternatives:

 - Pomegranate
- Rice noodles
- Feta cheese (for the "meat-eaters" who wants "meatless mondays")

 If you are vegan you can make your own feta cheese. Google it!
Add rice noodles & pomegranate for a change?
Avocado symphony of deliciousness
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Monday 20 January 2014

I'm vegan....ish ?

After seeing an Oprah episode about the studio going vegan for a week, I discovered a new term which I felt at home in! "Being veganish".

My last post here was about how I couldn't allow myself to be called a vegan, since I from time to time would have to be vegetarian. At home I live mainly vegan, but when on tour I need to be vegetarian from time to time and cannot live strictly vegan. I felt it was wrong to use a term I couldn't live up to, but now I have found a term I feel at home in, and can "defend".

 Being veganish
My dinner today!

At the moment I am singing away from home for a month and lives in an hotel. I don't have any kitchen facilities so what I can make myself is limited. Another thing that is limited is the vegetarian alternatives in this little town. (If you eat out). Vegan is impossible, and feels rude to ask for. So I have ended up with making some food at home. It is also MUCH cheaper. At the moment is is just salads and bread and cereal-kind-of-food. I have a little fridge (it is BAD that hotels have the tendency to drop the fridges in their rooms now!)

What is good, is that the shop here have a pretty well stocked "gluten- dairy-free section". So I have rice milk for my cereal and some spreads for my bread. I usually go down to the dining room when breakfast is served, get some slices of bread and eat them with the spreads I have in my tiny fridge. 

But when I was on a tour of northern Norway earlier this year I changed hotel (city) every day. And I didn't have the time or possibility to get my vegan alternatives. And from time to time I had to eat some cheese on my bread. 

One "fun" story though was when I was in Hammerfest and ordered a quesedilla without meat. It went something like this:
Me: 
I would like a quesedilla without the meat. 

 Waiter: 
No, that is not a meal. It wouldn't be quesedilla.

 Me: 
I have made it at home several times. Just put more of the other stuff in there? Like onions, mushrooms and so on?

 Waiter: (laughing) 
but that is not dinner.

 (At this point another waiter says: "just let her get it")

 Waiter: 
I will get the chef! (leaves)

 (The chef arrives)

 Chef: 
You want without meat? No (laughs) No, you need your protein!
(imagine my "you are kidding me" -face here....)


Ok, I was extremely surprised that the chef cared so much for my well-being that he had to come out from the kitchen to tell me to eat protein. I was close to thinking it was all a big joke. But no, this was serious. I ended up getting a meal, but not without "fighting" for it ;)

 So this is one of the reasons I have to be veganish when on tour and other "strange" small places. It is hard enough to be vegetarian and I before I stopped eating meat I never noticed how Norwegians put meat in EVERYTHING! Several kinds of meat preferably. 

 My gosh, I envy people in countries with whole foods, and awesome cities like Berlin. They seem to be vegan heaven compared to Norway!
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