DoyCave.com

Black Bean “Hummus”

April 18, 2013
This is NOT really the place for innovative vegan cooking. Lindsay Nixon over at The Happy Herbivore does that better than most, I think.

However, I will share something that I eat…OFTEN. It’s one of my “foundational foods” and I use it for EVERYTHING. Well…except for soap. And toothpaste…I don’t use it for that. And motor oil…that would be bad.

I use it a lot.

It’s a “hummus” in name only, mainly because it contains chick peas, but I use it as a spread for sandwiches, a base for veggie burritos and tacos, a dip for vegetables (especially baby carrots…SO good!) and sometimes just out of a spoon. It’s really great and so easy to make.

Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 Can of Reduced Sodium or No Salt Added Black Beans
- 1 Can of Reduced Sodium or No Salt Added Chick Peas (Garbanzo Beans)
- 1 Lemon
- 3 Cloves of Garlic
- 1/2 TSP of Crushed Chiles
- 1/4 TSP of Red Pepper seasoning
- 1 TSP of Paprika
- 1 1/2 TSP of Cumin
- 1 1/2 TSP of Fresh Cilantro
- Low Sodium Vegetable Broth, which we’ll use as needed
First thing I do with all canned beans is put them in a colander and wash them thoroughly. This gets rid of some of the salt and also helps in making the beans less…um…”whistle-worthy” in a manner of speaking. If you’re using dry beans, be sure to note they won’t have as much moisture in them, so you’ll add more vegetable broth when blending. Might want to add a little more lemon juice in that case, too. Not too much, though. Because PUCKER!

When that’s done, I put the black beans and chick peas into my blender. We have a NINJA blender…which I like to say because it’s fun…”We have a NINJA!” It does a great job with this kind of stuff because of the rows of horizontal blades. I haven’t tried it with another blender, so let me know how that goes.

We usually mince the garlic with our mincer from Pampered Chef. It seems to get the flavor in there better than just peeling cloves and throwing them in the blender.

Juice the lemon and pour that in.

Add the rest of the ingredients, except the Vegetable Broth, which we’ll add later…maybe.

When everything is in, go ahead and blend the ingredients. We’re basically blending until you get the consistency you want. I like it a little thicker…almost like refried beans, but we get it a little thinner sometimes, too, and that still tastes great.

If your mixture starts seizing up from being too dry, just add the vegetable broth. Don’t add too much at a time, though. Your hummus can get runny in a flash, and that’s not great.

Serve it hot or cold. It’s wonderful, I tell you.

Feel free to improve this. I’m not a chef in any capacity. This is just a recipe I came to love through experimentation. I hope you’ll make it better!
Foundational Foods

April 15, 2013

One of the most important lessons of eating a strict plant-based whole foods diet is being prepared.

Preparation is what gets you through the trap of, “Oh, man…I don’t have anything here at the HOUSE to eat, and I don’t want to go to the store NOW and so I guess I just have to eat PIZZA, HAMBURGERS and DONUTS with you guys. Oh? We don’t have that here? I’ll have them DELIVERED! I gotta eat, right? RIGHT?!”

Yeah, that trap is actually a doozy, into which I have fallen a time or thirty. Our brains can be the most divisive opponent in the fight for health.

So to combat our superior reasoning powers and the temptations they bring, I make sure I have my “foundational food” in my pantry at all times…or most of the time. It’s like Batman’s Utility Belt…if he were vegan…and…you know…carried FOOD around instead of…smoke bombs and Batarangs.

Black Bean Hummus (Recipe Coming Soon!)
I use this for EVERYTHING. I can use it as a vegetable dip. I can use it as a coating for amazing veggie sandwiches. I can use it with tortillas to make a more mexican-flavored veggie or bean taco or burrito. It’s something I eat A LOT.

Bell Peppers (Red, Green, Yellow and Orange)
The green bell pepper is great for Hopping John (black eyed peas and rice), as well as flavoring a host of other dishes. The brighter colored peppers have a sweeter flavor and are great for adding to beans and rice, serving as a homemade pizza topping, or just going on a sandwich in slices.

Garlic, Onions and Spices
These items will vary based on preference, but I always want to make sure I can season my food. This is kind of a no-brainer, but I make sure I have it all on hand. I like Mrs. Dash spices, Paprika, Onion Powder (not too much because of the sodium), Cumin, Crushed Chiles, Red Pepper and fresh Cilantro. Just make sure you have what you need to create the flavor profiles you like.

Canned, Reduced Sodium or No Salt Added Beans
These are so foundational if you get in a bind. They’re a quick fix, which is a MUST, and can be used in SO many ways. Use them for beans and rice. Use them in black bean burgers. Use them in stews. Use them in dips. Keep them in the pantry. You will use them.

Dried beans
I like to have dried beans in the house, too. Ideally, you want to use the dry more than the canned because they have so much less sodium. You can soak the beans during the day, drain them in the evening and then either use them or refrigerate them to use during the week. It’s just great to have them on hand.

Whole Wheat Tortillas
Tacos and burritos and wraps are fantastic quick fixes. It’s always a good idea to keep these in the pantry. A word of warning, however. The sodium content in ALL brands is fairly high, usually about 250mg to 300mg PER TORTILLA. Once or twice a week at most with these, if you can.

Brown Rice, Quinoa or Whole Wheat Pasta
Make sure your pasta uses WHOLE wheat flour and not just wheat flour. You can get regular brown rice or Minute Brown Rice. Studies have shown them to be about the same nutritionally, so it’s really up to you. Quinoa has a great earthy flavor that you’ll love with beans or veggies. It’s great to have these on hand. They usually don’t take long to prepare and are very filling.

Baby Spinach, Kale or Other Greens
I use Baby Spinach on SO many things, whether on sandwiches, in beans and rice or in a stew. It’s a great vegetable to add to just about anything, and boosts the nutrition immediately.

Food for Life Ezekiel Bread
I love sandwiches and burgers, and with this bread, I can have both. There are several different types of this bread. You’ll find some of their varieties in health food stores or larger supermarket chains in the frozen section. Lightly toast it and enjoy!

This is, again, just my foundational food list. I’d love to see yours! Anything you’d add? Take away?
Eating To Live

April 12, 2013

“Eat to live. Don’t live to eat.”

If you’ve struggled with obesity and the the foods that help it along, you’ve heard this trite cliche from a host of “normals” who don’t struggle the way we do. They pass it along anyway…probably mindlessly to a degree. It’s just one of those things you say, I guess.

For me, however, it’s become a life-giving mantra. It’s the morning hymn that informs my breakfast. It’s the paean call of my lunches and dinners. It is my true North, navigating me through the seas of social gatherings and restaurant visits. It is the evening sunset that strengthens my resolve and reminds me to prepare for another day. It moves me forward, always.

Please do not misunderstand, however. I don’t presume to have figured it all out. I don’t struggle with food and the complex emotions that surround it the way some do. I don’t claim to be a psychologist or nutritionist of any stripe. I’m honestly just a normal guy — thin most of my life — whose horrible eating habits and sedentary lifestyle lulled me into a state of morbid obesity which nearly took my life.

And after some 30 hospital visits, four heart catheterizations, six stents and a battery of heavy meds — all before finishing my 40th year on earth, mind you — I realized it all had to change.

“Why not change after visit number TEN, Brainiac?!”

Yeah, I ask myself the same question all the time. The simple answer is…I didn’t want to change. Not enough. I didn’t have my Ebenezer.

Ever hear of an Ebenezer? It’s a line from an old church hymn and older Bible story, which basically points to a symbol of a fresh beginning. It’s an object on which one could look and say, “Remember how things were bad? And remember how we erected this stone when we started working to change? Yeah. That was awesome.”

Like that, but, you know…meaningful.

My Ebenezer came on New Year’s Day, 2013. I was recovering from my stent procedure, and the cardiologist came in and drew me a picture, included in this entry. It showed me where all my stents had been placed and the level of disease in my heart. More than that, he explained what my future might look like if my lifestyle wasn’t drastically altered.

It was grim.

The inside of my coronary arteries, he explained, looked a lot like a dirt bike track. This “lumpy, bumpy stuff” was everywhere, and further blockages were inevitable. Maybe.

By this time, I had seen the documentary, Forks Over Knives and my cardiologist mentioned “a doctor at the Cleveland Clinic” who was doing some research on heart disease and nutrition. He was talking about Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, who has shown in a 25-year-study that nutrition can not only halt heart disease, but actually reverse it in terminally diseased patients. You can hear some of their stories in Forks Over Knives.

When I returned home from the hospital, I read Esselstyn’s book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease from cover to cover. I was sold. Nutrition could keep me off the bypass surgery table? My choice was clear: eat right or have my chest cracked open. Eat to live. Don’t live to eat.

What does “Eating to Live” look like?

Well…basically, I don’t eat anything with a face. I don’t eat anything that had a mother. No meat. No dairy, which cuts out milk, cheese, ice cream, sour cream and the like. No oil of any kind, whether from olives, canola, coconuts, peanuts or any other vegetable. No oil. NO. OIL. It damages the endothelium in my arteries and exacerbates my Coronary Artery Disease. I also stay away from high fat veggies and legumes like nuts and avocados.

It is restrictive? Yes, it really is, but I’ll also tell you that I LOVE what I eat. The food I eat is delicious, filling and ultimately satisfying. Oh, and I eat as much of it as I want (with the exception of fruit…can’t overdo it on the sugars or you’ll start putting the pounds on).

There’s a great list of what I CAN have, made by Dr. Esselstyn’s wife, Jane, at this website: http://www.meetup.com/Dr-Es-Vegan-No-Oil-Diet-Cleveland-Akron-Ohio/pages/SAFE_FOOD_List_by_Ann_Crile_Esselstyn/

Since beginning this journey back in 2011, I’ve lost 85 lbs, 46 of which I’ve lost since adopting Dr. Esselstyn’s lifestyle plan in January 2013. It’s a long journey for sure, but the old saying “one day at a time” is really the way it works. You just go from day to day, doing what you know you have to do.

I’m literally eating to live, and it means everything to me.

Black Bean “Hummus”

Foundational Foods

Eating To Live