Feasting on Gratitude

Nearly a decade ago, a sweeping transformation happened in my life following a 30-Day gratitude challenge. During this time, I simply began each day by writing down five things for which I was grateful.   These things didn’t need to be extravagant, though sometimes they were. More often it was a warm cup of coffee, a great laugh, or appreciating that my husband wakes up in a good mood each day.

Developing a practice of gratitude trains your mind to look for more things for which to be grateful. Gratitude and thanksgiving can benefit us simply by boosting the mood, but it goes much deeper.

When creating a practice of gratitude and looking for more things to appreciate in life, you engage the reticular activating system (RAS). This is a transitional part of the brain stem that plays a critical role in consciousness. Think of the RAS as a reducing valve that allows us to filter out what we don’t want and invite more of what we want into our experience.

Have you ever noticed that when something comes to your attention, more of it comes to your attention? For example, my mom used to send me owls from beyond the veil. As the years went by, less and less owls have visited me. About a month ago, someone asked if I’d had an owl visit recently and my answer was no. It got me thinking. Two days later, owls landed in the trees outside my bedroom window, and I’ve been hearing them hoot consistently ever since. Maybe the owls were there before, and I didn’t notice. Maybe I attracted them. Hoot knows?

What we know is that feasting on gratitude helps us raise our vibration and might even engage the law of attraction through our energy and the chemistry of our brain. After my gratitude challenge, my mind kept looking for those things that made me feel grateful. I believe it was the catalyst for discovering new purpose, changing my career, and thus my life, for the better. And for that, I give thanks every day.

Easy Vegan Zucchini Bread

I am grateful for knowing how to veganize almost any recipe! This is an adaption of my vegan banana bread recipe, which was an adaptation of my non-vegan banana bread recipe. You may substitute 1 cup of pumpkin puree for the zucchini.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour or brown rice flour

1 – 1 ¼ cup brown sugar or sucant

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground flaxseed or chia seeds, mixed with 3 tablespoons water. Let stand for 15 minutes or until thickened (this is a vegan egg)

½ cup mashed tofu or vegan mayo

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 ½ cups shredded zucchini

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients

In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients

Bake in a silicone bread pan or bread pan lined with parchment paper or sprayed with cooking oil

Bake @ 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean

“Turkey” Tetrazzini

Creamy, filling, vegan. I discovered this recipe at a vegan potluck and have made some modifications. I really appreciate vegan comfort food!

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 12-ounce package of spaghetti

4 ounces dry or 2 cups of reconstituted Soy Curls, drained and squeezed of excess liquid. Alternately, you can substitute with 2 cups of plant-based tenders of choice cut into ½ inch strips or chunks

12 cherry tomatoes, halved

½ to 1 cup vegan mozzarella shreds, optional

Chopped fresh basil for garnishing, optional

 For Tetrazzini Sauce

2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

2 cups unsweetened soy milk

3 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot powder

½ cup raw cashews

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup of celery, chopped

8 ounces of white or cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 large Portobello mushroom, sliced or chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

½ teaspoon poultry seasoning

¼ cup apple cider vinegar or ⅓ cup sherry

Directions

Cook pasta per package directions.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 For the sauce

Heat 2 cups of vegetable broth to almost a boil.  Lower to medium heat.

In a high-powered blender, blend raw cashews with 1 cup of the soy milk and poultry seasoning until smooth and creamy.  If you use a regular blender, you’ll need to soak cashews in water for about 4 hours and then rinse and drain before using.

Whisk cornstarch/arrowroot into 1 cup of unheated soy milk.  Dissolve completely.

Add the cornstarch/arrowroot and unheated soy milk mixture into the almost-boiling broth — whisking constantly, over medium heat or until it starts to thicken and bubble just a bit, but not a rolling boil.  Once thickened, add the blended cashew and soy milk mixture into the broth-soy milk mixture on the stove.  Heat through until desired thickness.  Adjust seasonings. Add the apple cider vinegar.

Sauté the vegetables and soy curls

In a large non-stick frying pan, sauté the onions, celery, and mushrooms until they are softened, and liquid has evaporated.  Covering the pan as they sauté keeps them moist.  Stir occasionally to keep from sticking, adding a little water if needed. This takes about 7-10 minutes.

Add the rehydrated soy curls and tomatoes.  Mix well.  Season with salt and black pepper if desired and a little of the poultry seasoning.

Mix the spaghetti, sauce, vegetables, and Soy Curls in a big bowl and combine.

Put mixture into 9 x 13 pan and top with vegan mozzarella, if using. Cover with foil and bake for 20-30 minutes.  Uncover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes, until it’s bubbly and lightly browned.

Accidently Speaking Truth……

Plandemic

 “If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything” – Mark Twain

On this occasion, Jen Psaki accidently told the truth and said the quiet part out loud.

Why would she say PLANDEMIC instead of Pandemic? Perhaps because, as Mark Twain implied, it’s harder to remember a lie.

If you want to know more about what she knows and isn’t telling you, watch the documentary InDoctorNation. It’s the second film of a two part series. You can find this highly censored information here:

https://plandemicseries.com/

Empowered living is about facing truth and realities that may be difficult to swallow. In doing so, we claim our self respect, sovereignty and retake our power. The ultimate immunization from what ails our world.

https://plandemicseries.com/

Healthy Eating – Vegetarian Eating- Were We Born This Way?

World Vegetarian day is October 1st, and so is my birthday.  Coincidence? Probably not.

Is it possible we are born to be vegetarianI’m convinced I was born this way because even as a small child, if I just started thinking about the animal who I was eating, I’d have to push my plate away. I could not enjoy meat while thinking about what the animal might have suffered.

The group think is that humans are designed to eat meat. After all, isn’t it said that we evolved more rapidly during the meat-eating paleo days? Aren’t we hunters before gatherers?

Looking at our digestive system might give us a different view. While the data points below vary according to the source, it appears that the digestive systems of herbivores and humans are more closely linked.

  • Saliva – Carnivores and omnivores do not have enzymes in their saliva to digest carbohydrates, whereas herbivores and humans do.
  • Acidity – The stomach acidity of carnivores and omnivores is higher than herbivores and humans.
  • Intestines – The combined small and large intestines of carnivores and omnivores is 3 to 6 times the length of the body, where herbivores and humans have intestines that are 5-10 times the length of the body.
  • Colon – The colons of carnivores and omnivores are short and smooth; the colons of herbivores and humans is long and sometimes sacculated (a medical term meaning a structure formed by a group of sacs).
  • Kidney – Carnivores and omnivores have highly concentrated urine where herbivores and humans have moderately concentrated urine.
  • Teeth – Carnivores and omnivores have many sharp teeth for ripping into flesh, while herbivores and humans have more flat teeth better suited to grind plants.

 Living in harmony with our design by eating more of the foods that our bodies were born to digest is a more biological approach to good health and a robust immune system. So, even if you aren’t ready to eat vegetarian all the time, I invite you to celebrate World Vegetarian Day and my birthday on October 1st with these recipes, or by serving up your favorite veggie meal.

Vegan “Meatloaf” 

Makes 4-6 Servings

This is my version of a popular online vegan meatloaf recipe. I’ve simplified it a bit. You can play with this recipe by adding veggies you have on hand, or by increasing the oats to give it a firmer texture. One of my clients served this “meatloaf” to a family member who refused to believe it was vegan!

Ingredients

1 large minced onion

1 teaspoon minced garlic

8-10 ounces minced mushrooms

1 large minced carrot

3 cups cooked green lentils

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

2 teaspoons low-sodium tamari

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon ground sage

1 teaspoon paprika

Salt to taste – optional

1/4 to 1/2 cup organic barbecue sauce or ketchup

Garnish with fresh herbs if desired

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a sauté pan or wok, cook the onions for a few minutes on medium-high heat until they begin to soften. The moisture of the veggies should prevent sticking. Add water, one tablespoon at a time, if needed. Add the garlic, mushrooms, and carrots, and continue cooking for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the mushrooms are soft.

In a medium bowl, mix the cooked lentils, oats, nutritional yeast, tamari, paprika, black pepper, rosemary, onion powder, dry mustard, and sage.  Drain the veggies if the mixture is too wet before adding them to the bowl of lentils and spices, and stir until it becomes somewhat sticky. A sticky consistency means it is ready for the loaf pan.

Coat the bottom of a loaf pan with 1/4 cup (or less) of ketchup or barbecue sauce, then add the vegetable and bean mixture. Try to level the surface before spreading another thick layer of ketchup or barbecue sauce on top.

Bake for 1 hour. Allow this dish to cool a bit. It cuts MUCH better when it has had time to cool and set.