Holistic Eating In The New Year

 Now that Christmas is over and a better year (hopefully awaits) it's time to start thinking about eating better. Holistic eating is a start in the right direction. You can lose weight  but without the strident rules of other diets.

Some may dismiss holistic eating as being too New Age. However it's the best thing that can happen to you and your body. You can finally break up with the diet culture and trust your own instincts about what's good for you. Another important aspect is seeing it as fuel, something to drive you. It's not filler. It's also honoring your body and the signals its' giving you. Doing such will give you satisfaction and a new self respect. Start off with a temporary food journal - nothing long term or you'll make yourself crazy. Do it for the first couple of months. Record how hungry you were when you sat down as well as the mood you were in. Did you eat everything or left some on the plate? How satisfied were you with the food and what did you eat. Other questions deal with experiencing emotions and did you feel any gastrointestinal problems? Note flavors. You may notice patterns arising during your meal times. You may feel hangry or a mix of hungry and angry when you eat lunch. There may be stress at breakfast or tiredness at dinner. are you gravitating towards more processed than fresh foods? Do you drink soda and tea with your meals or just water? Look at all the bad habits you have and try to amend them.

What should you eat on a holistic diet? Load up on fruits and veggies. Try to get as much organic as possible. Hit the farmer;s market when they eventually come back (this may take a while thanks to Covid and the communities welcome back to open air markets). Try to eat as much raw as possible however don't feel guilty if you have steamed broccoli or pan roasted carrots. One of the most important steps in  creating a holistic diet is ditching all those white flour and processed products. Go for whole grain and gluten free. If you're into baking then go for King Arthur and  Bob's Red Mill gluten free barley, oat and buckwheat flours. There is even a  holistic cookie recipe that calls for white beans. Beans and legumes are a must. Think chickpeas, black beans , lentils and peas. They are full of protein, Vitamin B and dietary fiber. They  also help build the much needed healthy gut bacteria.Just don;t eat them raw. Cook them if they're not already cooked before canning. You will need healthy fats. Eat more avocados, nuts and olive oil. All three are very versatile and can be used in a number of dishes. What do you get rid of? Sugar!!!!!! Ditch the white stuff and switch to honey and/or maple sugar. That means nixing all those sodas and drinking water or flavored seltzer.

The New Year is fast approaching. Treat yourself and your body with a holistic eating. It's a way of getting in shape not just with your body but also your mind and life.

All That New Stuff

 Many home chefs around the globe probably received a lot of fun kitchen stuff yesterday. Yes, you're excited but take it slow. There's a lot to take in and and much as you want to make everything in that accompanying recipe book, don't . Take it easy. Start small.

One of the most popular kitchen items gives is the air fryer. It is a must have in any home, alleviating all the trouble of using your conventional oven. As much as you want try to cook everything in it , go easy these first couple of uses. Some home chefs may become frustrated trying to adjust a food's cooking time and temperature. The best bet is if the instructions say "Cook at 450 degrees" set the air fryer at 400 degrees F. It's basically  a convection oven so the food will be crisp and well cooked  thanks to the hot air circulating around it. Another trick is taking the cooking time and halving it. If the package says cook for fifteen minutes ,halve that to seven or eight minutes. Check the food, turning it over so its' completely browned and then cook for  a lesser time, like three or four minutes at a lesser temperature. Think 350 to 370 degrees F. Another Christmas gift is the Instapot. Many home chefs are probably beyond thrilled at this new "toy". Keep in mind that your dishes will not be instant. (that's what microwaves are for). They will take some time to cook. An important must not is don't place it on your stove top. It's for counter use only!! Please keep it away from external heat sources. Remember to also include the sealing ring otherwise you will have a ruined meal. It is key in pressure cooking.

Many bakers love what they've received for Christmas. I'm sure many have unwrapped cookie presses. These produce beautiful professional looking cookies, worthy of any bakery. However it takes a lot of practice and the right dough. You have to use the spritz dough, a mix of sugar, egg  butter and flour and then roll it into logs. The logs are then chilled in the fridge and inserted into the gun or tube of the press. That's the easy part. it takes practice and patience, trite as that sounds.If the dough is too warm, it sticks to the tube and also produces blobs  - not defined shapes as its' extruded through the tube. Try it out with one or two shapes is another good idea. The dough wields two or three big batches which can also be tiring to make. Another gift that many bakers probably have received is a cake decorating kit. There are probably visions of creating fancily frosted cakes and cupcakes. Again, go easy with this. Those rosettes aren't always simple to make. Even something as basic as leaves can be exasperating especially on the first few tries. Start with small fleurettes that can be piped on the edge of the cake. As for cupcakes, don't go fancy. Just do  squiggle and then work your way up to more elaborate flowers and shapes.

Those kitchen Christmas gifts are beckoning their new owners. Go easy. Yes, be enthusiastic, but proceed with care. Learn first and get used to this fun new present.

A Very Tiring Christmas

 This was the year home chefs cooked and baked their hearts out. It has been a little tough out there yet we persisted.

This is what's left of my Christmas dinner - gravy and Brussels sprouts along with stuffing.

Hopefully everyone  had a very good holiday , full of good food and good presents.

My heart and thoughts go out to the emergency and  first responders out there too, who couldn't be with their families this  year.

Happy Christmas - where ever you are.

A Good Holiday

 Have a good holiday to all my readers far and wide. 

The Kwanzaa Feast

 Kwanzaa is a relatively new holiday yet it's packed with centuries of tradition. It centers around seven principles  such as faith and  purpose that should be practiced year round. with this holiday comes the rich tradition of food. Families are celebrating and cooking at home. Their tables will be filled with good food and good deeds.

Nicole Taylor , chef and author of The Up South Cookbook interviewed five families around the country for today's New York Times Food section. The holiday starts Saturday , December 26th with families eating and free thinking. The holiday itself began in Los Angeles in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, an African American professor who taught African-American studies. Dishes are plentiful and some include slow cooked meatless collard greens Trinidadian grilled fish and bread puddings. The special meal, karamu is held on the day ,kuumba dedicated to creativity. For the Orr-Frasier family of Portland ,Oregon, the meal will be a nod to parents, Rashad and Keita  North Carolingian roots. There will be jelly cakes along with pineapple upside down and red velvet ones. His recipe for coffee rubbed branzino is also featured, highlighted with a rub of medium ground coffee,onion and garlic powders and cumin. There's also brown sugar to even out the spiciness and then it's grilled for five to six minutes on each side.

Folami Prescott-Adams, of Atlanta Georgia gave her BBQ tofu recipe which are slabs of tofu slathered in a mix of melted butter, tamari and barbecue sauces. They're broiled for a couple of minutes in the broiler for a crisp on the outside , tender on the inside main course. Ms. Prescott-Adams cooks ten(!) pounds of it along with nut based meatballs and a vegan Southern stringbean recipe. For Maati Keprimeni Angaza  it will be vegan foods in her Brooklyn apartment. The young dancer will have curry potatoes and black eyed peas along with her step-mother's bread pudding rife with sweet potatoes and raisins. In Richmond Virginia, Janice Bell will have her grandparents recipes of sweet potatoes and corn pudding. she is a pescatarian so there will be fish on her table. Sisters Kerry Coddett and Krystal Stark Kwanzza will be vegan pancakes, shrimp and a mushroom lasagna(made with homemade vegan ricotta) shared with their younger brother. They'll also take out from Sugarcane with such dishes as callaloo, roti and plantain. They will also drink champagne too.

Kwanzaa is a time of thought and creativity. It's also a time of food. The holiday will be different this year but the food will be homemade .

The Fake Egg Baking Experiment

 Vegan bakers used to have it hard. The very basics of baking involve such animal products as eggs, butter and milk. It was a hit or miss trying to sub in such diverse ingredients as white vinegar or apple sauce . Now there are various subs that actually work.

I decided to use one. Vegg Uncaged Baking Mix. Only one teaspoon mixed with a quarter teaspoon of white granulated sugar and a quarter of a cup of cold water equal one egg. I decided to try it with the Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix (which has been sitting in my kitchen for a year - don't worry I checked it is safe to use).

The dough was relatively the same as it would have been with real eggs. Vegg Uncaged is made with nutritional yeast which may be responsible for the cookies lift and flavor.

it was mixed with a stick of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, long a staple in both my cooking and baking arsenal. 

I made the biggest size cookies, which was a tablespoon size scoop.

They took a little longer to bake in a 375 degree F oven. I don't know if it was because of the Vegg or the cookies' size.

The flavor and texture were the same as the ones made with eggs.. The mix's age didn't affect it nor did the Vegg.

They were chewy and buttery, the perfect Christmas cookie with tea or hot cocoa.

Vegan bakers should take advantage of Vegg Uncaged Mix. It works for baking, giving anything from cookies to cakes that eggy flavor and lift. Try it  today for all your holiday baking and for all  those baking days afterwards.

A Good Vegan Cookbook

 A good vegan cookbook is just the thing for those longing for a dietary change in the New Year. Luckily there's a new cookbook that can make meatless, eggless and dairyless eating a snap. It's the perfect Christmas gift for those who want a healthier lifestyle.

The Complete Plant Based Cookbook :500 Inspired, Flexible Recipes for Eating Well Without Meat  ( America's Test Kitchen Publishers 2020) written by the experts at America's Test Kitchen. This is a must have for vegans, vegetarians and those seriously thinking about embracing the meatless lifestyle. This is chock full of advice. The first chapter is a plant based primer with tips on how to store fruits and veggies along with what to do about preserving any ingredient's unami, that special oomph of of flavor. There are pages dedicated to the veg-centric plate and the importance of aqua faba - that all important and versatile chickpea brine or water. The books also shows how to make a vegan meal more filling, usually with the addition of grains and good crusty bread.There are recipe suggestions about pasta dishes and grain dishes. There are also recipes for what's known as building block recipes such as vegetable broth , fish sauce substitute along with creating home versions of rice, soy , almond and oat milk. Vegan home chefs will also love the aquafaba mayo and cashew ricotta. There is also a basic almond milk yogurt, perfect on its' own or mixed with fruit. Some  basics can even be made ina slow cooker like the vegetable broth. Those with celiac allergies will appreciate the section on gluten free dishes. Do the chefs approve of the whole Impossible Meat or Beyond Beef movement? Yes. They even show you how to cook the perfect burger

The recipes are great , with the chapters being divided into eleven chapters.Every kind of dish is represented here, from brunch to pizza to main courses and even dairy  and egg free desserts.Breakfast lovers will enjoy the millet porridge with maple syrup or the hash browns omelet with kimchi, Soups and salads are well represented here too, Chickpea Salad sandwiches are the perfect lunch full of tang and textures thanks to the beans with the addition of scallions and celery.A fiery Caribbean style Swiss chard and butternut squash stew is the perfect winter lunch or dinner bowl. warmer days will warrant the Summer Vegetable Gratin a casserole of different squashes onions and tomatoes, baked with breadcrumbs and olive oil. There's international dishes of cauliflower biryani and vegetable fried rice. There are also fun dishes like Thin Crust Pizza with Mushrooms and Cashew Ricotta and plant based meat Beef Tacos.Bean lovers will enjoy the many bean recipes like red beans and rice with okra and tomatoes. Dessert lovers will enjoy the richly flavorful peach crumble with the crumble enriched with coconut oil (although you can also try I Can't Believe It's Not Butter) and the Chocolate  Espresso tart made with water based ganache instead of a cream one. There's a yummy recipe for Coconut Ice Cream too and semolina pudding with almonds and dates.

The Complete  Plant Based Cookbook 500 Inspired Flexible Recipes For Eating Well Without Meat is the perfect vegan and vegetarian cookbook. it has a plethora of recipes that are delicious and filling. It's a good addition to any home chef's library.