Gramma's Biscochitos

My "gramma" used to make these cookies every Christmas. My grandparents lived in an old adobe house in Española, New Mexico - which is near Santa Fe. They lived on about an acre, with an old apple orchard, big cherry trees, and lots of snow in the winter. The smell reminds me of blinking red chili lights in the kitchen windows and being home. These cookies are great for snacking on or dipping in hot chocolate or coffee :)

[I've substituted an egg mixture to make these vegan. Gramma liked animals and would understand!]

Ingredients

6 cups flour (all-purpose)
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 anise extract
2 cups shortening (Crisco)
2 egg-replacement = 4 tablespoons water, 2 tablespoons oil, 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup brandy
1/2 cup sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions

• Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together
• Mix the sugar and lard thoroughly
• Add "eggs" and anise, mix
• Add brandy, mix
• Add dry ingredients gradually, mix
• Add enough water to hold dough together (you might want to to dump the dough on the counter and see if it holds together in a pile)
• Roll dough out with a rolling pin - about 1/4" thick
• Cut cookies out (the fleur de lis is traditional, but the circle, star, diamond are what my family uses)
• Dip tops of cookies in cinnamon mixture
• Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes - or until cookies are a light brown.

Feliz navidad!

A week in the (fridge) life

I've been wanting to lay out a typical weekly menu on the blog lately. I love seeing what other people cook and eat, especially runners! I am always curious how athletes get their nutrients and what whole foods they eat. So if others are equally curious, here's some info on what's been working for us! Also, a lot of people assume "organic" and vegetarian diets must be expensive and bland. In fact, my meals, my health, and my wallet have all benefitted from going veggie.

Breakfasts are always coffee and toast (or waffles) with peanut butter and bananas, plus some other fruit (kiwi or pear). Lunches are leftovers from the night before, plus an apple, a snack (right now it's roasted pumpkin seeds - but is also frequently Puffins or Wheat Thins). On long days, I grab a Picky Bar, too.

Dinners are the main event! So here is a peek into our kitchen...


Monday: Chickpea Sandwiches
(Adapted from Thug Kitchen)

The easiest dinner ever - just takes a can of chickpeas, a dallop of Vegenaise, celery, and onion. Mash the chickpeas in a bowl before adding the other ingredients. I season with a tablespoon of red wine vinegar, oregano, salt, and pepper. We add sandwich fixins - like pickles, lettuce, and avocado - and stack it all on sourdough bread. Noms.


Tuesday: Charlie Hong Kong Bowls
(Inspired by CHK in Santa Cruz)

An early beta version with tempe and sans bok choy.

Bok choy is a super underrated ingredient - it's always really cheap, but it's delicious and adds a lot of nutritional value. Check out its ranking on "worlds healthiest foods":

• Boy choy "provides good, very good, or excellent amounts of 21 nutrients. Unlike some other members of the cabbage family, these ranked nutrients include omega-3s, as well as the antioxidant mineral zinc."
• AND "Recent studies have identified over 70 antioxidant phenolic substances in bok choy. These phenolic antioxidants included numerous hydroxycinnamic acids, which have often been referred to as "chain-breaking" antioxidants due to their method of scavenging free radicals. In this context, bok choy has also been included in some current and ongoing large-scale human studies about dietary antioxidants and cancer prevention."
• And if you still aren't running out to buy bok choy right now, you should know "bok choy ranks as our 11th richest food in vitamin A. Significant amounts of other carotenoids—for example, lutein—are also provided by bok choy."

The main players in the bowl are soba noodles, the (badass) bok choy, and dry-fried tofu. The supporting actors are sautéed garlic, onion, and mushrooms. Add raw shredded carrots and chopped green onion at the end. It's topped of with a spicy peanut butter sauce (and lots of hoisin and sriracha).


Wednesday: Mac'n'Cheez Casserole

This is such a clutch dinner dish. Stephen throws everything together in a deep pyrex and takes normal mac'n'cheez to a whole new level. He uses regular pasta noodles (whatever kind you like), adds broccoli florets, and pours a homemade, creamy "cheezy" sauce over it all. He mixes in Daiya, sprinkles more Daiya and Panko crumbs on top, and then bakes for about 20 minutes.

Detailed recipe coming soon!


Thursday: Roasted Vegetable Gnocchi

Trader Joe's has bomb gnocchi in the dry pasta aisle. It's a really inexpensive way to have dinners stocked up in the pantry. We roast asparagus in the oven - tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper. In a deep pan on the stovetop, toss halved cherry tomatoes and quartered artichoke hearts (available canned in water at TJ's too) with olive oil and a bit of salt. They sear nicely, and at the end, we add a toss the vegetables and cooked gnocchi with a handful of fresh spinach, which wilts nicely. If you haven't cooked gnocchi before, just be aware that it cooks really quickly - and if you overcook it, it will just turn to mush. When they float, they're done.


Friday: Veggie Spring Rolls

Warning: requires some assembly :)

The ingredients are simple - dry-fried tofu, sautéed mushrooms and onion, sliced cucumbers, chopped avocado, and greens. We also boil mung bean noodles, and then wrap everything in Banh Trang wrappers. I like to make a wasabi-soy sauce dipping sauce. Stephen goes with sriracha and hoisin on his. If you wanna get fancy, add mint and sprouts!

Minimalist baker has a great spring roll recipe (although a little fancier than ours).


Saturday: BBQ Pineapple Pizza

(Full recipe on our earlier blog post)
Premade pizza dough makes this dinner really easy. Plus we use canned pineapple and canned artichoke hearts - which are so easy to keep in the pantry. I like stocking up and then never worrying about having necessary ingredients.

Pairs nicely with Menage a Trois table wine!


Sunday: Beyond Meat Chicken Pot Pie

(Full recipe on our earlier blog post)
My favorite dinner of the week is pot pie night! It comes together surprisingly quickly and makes leftovers for a day or two!

French Lentil Soup

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes

This soup is simple but hearty. It's great served hot or cold, and is perfect for after a long run. It pairs great with garlic bread, a big salad, and a bottle of wine. Be patient with the lentils as they soak up veggie broth - it's worth the wait!

Making a big batch of lentils for the runners of the Silver State Endurance Runs

Ingredients
Makes a batch of about 8 cups

2 tablespoons oil (neutral oil like avocado)
2 big carrots, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
Salt to taste
1 carton of veggie broth
2 cups lentils (any variety - I like the green or orange/brown ones)
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon non-dairy butter (go with something like organic Earthbalance)

Instructions
1. Chop the onions, carrot, and garlic.
2. In a pot (not a pan), warm the oil over medium/ medium-low. Add the onions, carrot, and garlic. Cook until onions are clear and soft - about 10 minutes.
3. Add the spices to the pot. Stir and let simmer for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add all of the lentils. Stir to coat them in the oil and veggie mixture.
5. Add half of the veggie broth and turn the temp up to medium. Let it simmer - the lentils will soak up the liquid.
6. Continue adding veggie broth as the lentils soak it up. You can also add a bit of water if you run out of veggie broth. Add liquid until you're happy with the consistency - we like a really thick, chili-like consistency.
7. Taste the lentils - they will break down and get soft. When they aren't hard anymore and you like the consistency, turn off the heat.
8. Add the mustard, nutritional yeast, and Earthbalance butter. Stir and taste before adding salt.

Bon appétit!


P.S. This freezes well. Let it cool before pouring it into a storage container - easy dinners for later!

Beyond Meat Chicken Pot Pies

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes

This is a perfect fall dinner that's surprisingly easy to pull together. It is full of veggies, completely vegan, and packed with protein - this is a comfort dish, a recovery meal, and a lot of fun to cook.

Broth

-Ingredients-
3 tablespoons oil (olive, veggie, or avocado)
3/4 cup diced red onion
2 cloves diced garlic
3.5 cups veggie broth
1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt (to taste - depending on how salty your veggie broth is)
Pepper, to taste
Dash of oregano
8 to 12 ounces of frozen veggie mix (corn, green beans, corn, carrots, etc...)
1/2 package of Beyond Meat Chicken Strips, cut into 1/2" pieces

-Instructions-
Making the broth starts with a roux.
Note: Gordon Ramsay makes a roux in the first minute of this video:

Instead of butter, we use oil. Instead of milk, we use veggie broth. 

Sautéing the onion and garlic in the oil before adding flour just adds flavor to the whole shebang.

We use a 2.5" deep cooking pan. By the end of it, the broth is almost filling the pan.

1. Warm the oil in a deep pan over medium-low heat. Sauté until the onions are clear and soft - about 8 minutes.
2. Turn the heat up to medium and add the flour. Stir it around the pan so it soaks up the oil and forms a paste-like substance. The flour will kind of clump together. You want it all to have some oil in it - if there is dry flour in your pan, add a little more oil and continue stirring. Stir for at least 5 minutes so that the flour cooks. Watch the first minute of the above-linked video of Gordon Ramsay to see what the cooked flour paste (the roux) should look like.
3. Once the flour has soaked up oil and cooked a bit, add the veggie broth. Whisk it in to form a smooth sauce. It won't be completely smooth because of the onions and garlic. Let this get hot - keep stirring. The broth should be opaque and thicker than soup broth.
4. Add the frozen veggies and the Beyond Meat "chicken" pieces.

Turn the heat back to medium-low and let the broth thicken while you finish the biscuits.

Biscuits

Uncooked biscuits ready for the oven

-Ingredients-
2 cups all purpose flour
4 tablespoons non-dairy butter - keep this in the fridge until you're ready to go.
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup almond milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar

-Instructions-
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees (F)
2. Measure out the almond milk into a pyrex or cup. Add the lemon juice or vinegar. Stir and let it sit.
3. Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
4. Cut in the cold butter - the colder it is, the easier this will be. A pastry cutter is an awesome kitchen tool that will make your life easier. Alternatively, mix in the butter by hand.
5. Dump the almond milk mixture into the bowl.
6. Mix by folding the flour - you don't want to beat the crap out of it. You want to gently fold the mixture, letting the flour clump to the liquid and make a shaggy dough. It should be sticky. If it's not, add a little more almond milk. You do NOT want it to be wet. You just want it to be tacky.
7. When the dough has formed a shaggy ball, flour the counter and dump the mixture onto it. Knead it with your hands (fold over and gently push), working flour in so it doesn't stick to the counter. Knead it about 5 or 6 times.
8. Form the dough into a 1" flat disk with your hands or a rolling pin (gently).
9. Cut out biscuits with a cookie cutter, lid, etc..  that is around 2" wide.

Putting it all together

When the biscuits are ready, pour the broth into a deep pot
Gently place the biscuits on top of the broth to form a crust.
Bake the extra biscuits along with the pot pie - I always want more to dunk into the broth!
Cook for 12-15 minutes at 425F.


Adapted from:
http://minimalistbaker.com/1-hour-vegan-pot-pies/
http://minimalistbaker.com/the-best-damn-vegan-biscuits/

Sweet & Spicy BBQ Pizza

This is one of the easiest, most delicious dinners. We make it regularly and have got it down to a science. It comes together in about 15 minutes and cooks for 15 more. On the plus side, no animals were harmed in the making of this meal!

INGREDIENTS

The Basics
Premade pizza dough (I go with Trader Joe's)
Premade pizza sauce (Again, we usually go with TJ's)
BBQ Sauce (Stephen insists that Sweet Baby Ray's is the best)

The Toppings
Canned pineapple chunks
Canned artichoke hearts (in water)
Onion (sauté first - or they won't be cooked through)
Beyond Meat Chicken Strips (we go with lightly seasoned)

If you wanna get fancy
Cornmeal
Sundried tomatoes
Red pepper flakes
Mushrooms (sauté first - or they won't be cooked through)
Garlic cloves (roast or sauté first - or they won't be cooked through)
Vegan cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Strain the pineapple chunks and chop them into smaller bits. Let them kinda dry out while you do everything else or the pizza can get soggy.

2. Roll the dough out. This is the most annoying part. Let it warm up a bit.
Throw some flour on the counter so it doesn't stick. If you want to get fancy, add a little cornmeal (1/4 cup), it adds a nice crunch. If you don't have one, invest in a rolling pin. Or struggle with your hands :)

3. I like to put the rolled-out dough on a foil-wrapped cookie sheet. Easy clean up.

4. Sauce it up: The ratio is about 2/3 pizza sauce + 1/3 BBQ sauce.

5. Add all of the toppings you like.

6. Bake! It usually takes about 15 minutes.

Let it sit for a few minutes when you take it out or it's sloppy cutting it. I can never wait, but good luck to you!

NUTRITIONAL INFO

With wheat dough, 3/4 cup pizza sauce, 1/3 cup BBQ sauce, 1/4 cup pineapple, 1/2 cup mushrooms, 2 cloves garlic, 1/4 cup onion, 1/4 cup artichoke hearts

Whole Pizza
Total calories: 1,233
Fat: 17g
Carbs: 213g
Protein: 57g

Per Slice (9 slices)
137 calories
1.9g fat
23.7g carbohydrate
6.3g protein

Blood Test - the results are in!

By Stephen

I first made the shift to a plant-based diet (no animal products consumed) about 4.5 years ago after discovering the legendary Scott Jurek. I had just started running, and wanting every advantage possible, I decided to tweak what I ate to see if I could duplicate Scott's results. While they weren't immediate, and I didn't started crushing races, I did feel better all around: running was easier, I felt lighter, my recovery times were shorter, and all the while I was indiscriminately destroying veggie burritos and vegan s'mac'n'cheese. Since going vegan (I was off and on for the first 2 years) I've finished 25 ultramarathons and have had relatively good success along the way. More importantly, I'm able to sustain multiple high-mileage weeks (generally around 85-100 miles/week, sometimes 120+ when peaking) without wasting away or fear of injury.

Anyways, as part of a routine doctor's checkup, I decided to have my blood tested. It had been about 2 years since my last visit, and while I had no reason to believe that anything was wrong, I took a "better safe than sorry" approach. Full disclosure here: I'm not a doctor, and I don't completely understand my results, but from what I'm told, they're exemplary. Again, without knowing which results are the best indicators for "good" health, I've included a smattering of numbers that interested me:

Lipid Panel

Cholesterol, Total:                              122 mg/dL      (reference interval: 100 - 189)

Triglycerides:                                      85 mg/dL        (reference interval: 0 - 114)

HDL ("good") cholesterol:                  49 mg/dL       (reference interval: >39)

LDL ("bad") cholesterol:                    56 mg/dL        (reference interval: 0 - 119)

Hemoglobin                                       14.2 g/dL        (reference interval: 12.6 - 17.7)

Hematocrit                                         42.9%             (reference intergal: 37.5 - 51%)

Hemoglobin A1c                                5.4%               (reference interval: 4.8 - 5.6%)

Metabolic Panel

Glucose, Serum                                   95 mg/dL         (reference interval: 65 - 99)

Calcium, Serum                                   9.9 mg/dL       (reference interval: 8.7 - 10.2)

Protein, Total, Serum                          6.5 g/dL           (reference interval: 6.0 - 8.5)

The test was performed during a relatively high mileage training block of two 85 mile weeks, which included three demanding workouts per week. Whether or not this affects anything, I don't know; but, it will interesting to get tested again after 8-10 weeks of consistently difficult training. Now, I realize this is less scientific than Matt Laye's thorough and well-documented high fat experiment, but knowing what I do about these results suggests that I'm at least not unhealthy. Please, if anyone is curious about any other result just let me know, and the same goes if I am way off with my assumptions. I wanted these results to be more of an affirmation of my dietary habits, rather than a vegan manifesto aimed at converting people to the dark side. I had an inkling that following a vegan diet wasn't hindering my performance or objective health, and this was exactly the confirmation that I needed to stay the path. Hopefully, this is helpful for those curious about experimenting with going plant-based, and while I realize that not everyone will react the same to a particular diet, it's worth a shot. After all, a couple of months of eating plants won't kill you, and you'll even save more than a few critters' lives!

Hit the trails!

Food, Nutrition, and Staying Healthy

By: Maggie

My mom is training for her first 5km race with a friend (go mom!) She took a class through the local college targeted at beginners. Unfortunately, the instructor sounds like he is used to more advanced clientele, and was largely dismissive and uber-technical in his training advice. The students are adult professionals with varying levels of fitness. Several dropped out because of the teaching style (hint-hint, buddy, if professional adults are dropping your "beginner" class, you're doing something wrong). The students were told not to worry about drinking water during exercise since they are "only walking a 5km." Grrrrr.....

While I feel terrible about the students' experiences in this class, it has been a great opportunity for me to talk to my mom about things that I love - RUNNING AND EATING! My mom and I got into a discussion about nutrition (apparently the instructor gave them "body types" and a restrictive diet based on those). I couldn't disagree more, and I sent my mom the following information. I realized it might be helpful for others to see, too.

*Note: These are just my opinions, based on my physical education & nutrition classes and my  exercise sciences classes in college and based on my personal experience in training and eating.

Portabello panini with sprouts, mustard, and veganaise.

DIET IS MORE COMPLEX THAN BODY TYPE

There are two main aspects to diet:
     1. Quantity of Calories: How MUCH should you eat?
     2. Quality of Calories: Carbohydrates, Proteins, and Fats

1. CALCULATING YOUR CALORIC INTAKE

These calculations are based on a "lightly active," what I would consider "average" day.

WOMEN:

[655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)] x 1.3

MEN:

[66 + (6.3 x weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)] x 1.3

THEN, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN:

ADD 100 calories for every mile you run or walk 

*Note: This is roughly what the body burns per mile. Larger people will burn more, smaller people will burn less. Running burns more per mile than walking. I prefer just to use 100 to keep it simple.

WATER: 

Drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces every day.  

During exercise, I try to drink about 20 ounces per hour.

EXAMPLE:

My mom's daily calories = 1580 calories
4 mile walk = 400 calories
TOTAL = 1980
Total water = 63 ounces + 20-30 ounces during exercise

*Note: If you want to LOSE weight, 1 pound of fat = 3500 calories. So you would need to cut out 500 calories per day in order to lose 1 pound of fat in a week (because 7 days x 500 calories = 1 pound of fat).

I combined my nutrition class knowledge with info from this website: (http://weightloss.about.com/od/eatsmart/a/blcalintake.htm)

The makings of vegan mac'n'cheeze

2. CARBOHYDRATES, PROTEINS, AND FATS

When you eat calories every day, you will be eating carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. These are all different TYPES of fuel. Carbohydrates burn fairly quickly, proteins repair muscles, and fat fuels your joints, brain, and other organs. It's important to eat the right ratio of these different fuels.

For example, think of if you ate ALL fat calories for a day - it would be like eating butter for every meal. Your body would not feel good! Also, you might think it's very challenging to only eat 1900 calories in a day - but what that means is that you have to eat SMART. A soda is a total waste of calories. Instead, you could eat a gigantic salad and feel full (and receive rich nutrients!) 

EAT STRATEGICALLY.

Here is what I recommend:

60% carbohydrates
20% protein
20% fat

*Note: This is my opinion. Some people prefer 70 / 10 / 20 or 55 / 25 / 20. Find your happy ratio.

(Here is a good article about calorie proportions: http://www.ghc.org/healthAndWellness/?item=/common/healthAndWellness/conditions/diabetes/foodBalancing.html)


WHAT THIS MEANS:
Fruit, vegetables, and grains contain all of these types of fuel. My advice is to only eat whole foods (straight from the earth!) Or processed foods with less than 10 ingredients. If you can't spell it, don't eat it. Stick with quality food, and these proportions will fill themselves.

You will probably not need to worry about "getting" calories from fat or protein. They are in pretty much everything - spinach, kale, whole grain bread, beans. I'm vegan, and I easily meet all of these goals. 

BUT, if you want to really geek out on this (which I have, and I really enjoy), you can plan your meals to hit this proportion - so you would look at what you're eating and calculate.

EXAMPLE:
On a day when she runs 4 miles, my mom needs to eat:
1980 x 60% = 1188 calories of carbohydrates
1980 x 20% = 396 calories of protein
1980 x 20% = 396 calories of fat

Useful website in calculating calories: http://caloriecount.about.com
*Note: 1 gram of carbs = 4 calories; 1 gram of protein = 4 calories; 1 gram of fat = 9 calories

1 apple = 116 calories
     Carbs: 116 calories
     Fat: 0 calories
     Protein: 0 calories

1 cup of brussels sprouts = 47 calories
     Carbs: 32 calories
     Protein: 12 calories
     Fat: 3 calories

1 cup pinto beans = 251 calories

     Carbs: 180 calories

     Protein: 62 calories

     Fat: 9 calories

3 cups spinach = 28 calories

     Carbs: 13 calories

     Protein: 12 calories

     Fat: 3 calories

Roasted carrots, sweet potatoes, asparagus, and brussels sprouts: a standby!

I hope that information is useful! Again, this is what works well for me. 

Do what makes you feel good!

Another Way

By: Maggie

In procrastinating my studying, I just read an article in The American Scholar about choosing to eat meat. It is worth reading, but long. So here are my digestible info-bites (totally just my personal take-aways).

Two calves on the dairy farm I worked on in Ireland in 2010.

The American Scholar
Loving Animals to Death by James McWilliams
Cover Story - Spring 2014

The article questions the Food Movement's primary assumption that what is "wrong with animal agriculture - with eating animals - is the practice, not the principle" (as stated by Michael Pollen). Williams frames the story with an "ethical" farmer's personal statements that he believes his work is contradictory and actually deeply unethical. He outlines the basic ideas and players in the Food Movement, identifies the Movement's philosophical underpinnings, identifies a serious contradiction in the principle and the practice of the Movement, and then carries the actual principle to its logical conclusion. He concludes that eating meat is never really ethical and that the Food Movement should focus on that option rather than dodging the real "heavy lifting of moral consistency."

The Food Movement (FM)
The main players:

     Michael Pollan                 The Omnivore’s Dilemma

     Mark Bittman                   How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

     Jonathan Safran Foer       Eating Animals

Principle:    We have an ethical mandate to understand food and its impact on the system as a whole. 

However, the FM "players" all conclude that the only option is ethically sourced meat because eating less meat is EASIER than eating no meat.

The Inconsistencies

The FM dodges the question of moral consistency (that they raise with their principle) and ignore the facts:

1. Veganism is 7x more energy efficient than eating meat, and that if embraced globally, veganism could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from conventional agriculture by 94%.

2. The economics of nonindustrial agriculture doesn’t work. Consolidation pays. "Ethical" meat is expensive, so it becomes available only for privileged and elite consumers. The FM concept of "ethical" meat is not feasible as a movement.

3. Small “ethical” farms are only nominally more accommodating of farm animals’ full interests than industrial agriculture. The same abuses that happen in factories, happen on "ethical" farms because no matter the size of the farm, the animals are being treated as commodities for consumption.

The Start of a Solution

1. Shift agricultural practice: we need more diversified systems of production that focus on growing plants for people to consume, rather than for animals to consume.

2. Shift consumers' focus: we, as consumers/ marketers/ communities, need to make enlightened, intelligent, and informed choices about what we eat. Having an understanding of the environmental, health, and ethical effects of consuming animals leads to the logical conclusion that meat consumption is not viable (nor necessary).



Food for thought!

Recovery Pancakes

By: Magphen

Banana blueberry pancakes - they're vegan AND gluten-free!
Recipe credit to [Love & Lemons]. Photo credit to Stephen!
I didn't do anything but eat them :)

Ain't no party… like a panini party!

Made AMAZING portobello mushroom paninis, with dijon mustard, veganaise, and pea shoots. Yummmm!