Is a Vegan Lifestyle Really Healthy (Part 2)

If you followed my last blog "Is a Vegan Lifestyle Really Healthy (Part 1)" then you may be here again for "Part 2" and wanting some more ideas. I will certainly post some fun and tasty recipes that I will be trying this week! My assistant Kimberly inspired me to find out how to make Vegan Eggs! I thought, what a great idea!

Often overlooked in obtaining a healthy lifestyle, and important to bring to our attention is exercise. Before I inspire your pallet with some exciting and colorful recipes, I'd like to say for the record, that exercise has been proven to be even more important than the food we eat. That's right. I will say it again. If you and I don't get our blood pumping for at least twenty to forty-five minutes daily, we may end up with some health problems that food may not so easily solve.

Depression affects ordinary people daily. Exercise has been proven to reduce depression. It's certainly worth running or walking and seeing if feelings of well-being return before becoming dependent on a prescription drug that could be a problem for your brain and body later down the road.

Stress is a killer so make sure you are not chasing the carrot and failing to take the time just to enjoy life with loved ones away from the grind. A break from the TV as well as any sedentary (depressing) activities has also been proven to improve one's outlook on life.

With that being said, and assuming you exercise a few times a week, a Vegan lifestyle is certainly not a boring one! I enjoy vegan foods very much and I see the upside in many ways including but not limited to health.

Okay, so onto some fun ideas! Let's go!

This one I found on ilovevegan.com Yummy Vegan Lentil & Chickpea sandwich.

INGREDIENTS

Lentil + Chickpea Salad

• 1 cup cooked red lentils
• 1 cup chickpeas, canned (drained)
• 1 celery rib, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, grated
• ¼ red or green bell pepper, finely chopped (optional)
• 2-3 green onions, finely chopped
• 1 medium pickle, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
• ½ tbsp lemon juice
• 3-4 tbsp vegan mayo (I use 4) (or sub for hummus)
• 2-3 tbsp nutritional yeast (I use 3)
• ¼ tsp black salt
• black pepper, to taste

Lentil + Chickpea Salad Sandwich

• 2 slices of sprouted, whole grain, or gluten free bread
• ⅓-1/2 cup of lentil + chickpea salad
• 1-2 leaves of lettuce (butter, romaine, spinach, or iceberg)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Wash, chop and prepare all ingredients. Make sure the vegetables are chopped nice and fine. Feel free to use the chop/slice function on your food processor.
2. Lightly mash chickpeas with a fork. Add the lentils, finely chopped vegetables, mayo, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, black salt, and pepper. Mix thoroughly with a fork.
3. Blend ⅓-1/2 of the mixture with an immersion blender (or use the pulse function on your food processor). Mix thoroughly with a fork to even out the texture.
4. Optional: Chill for 3+ hours before serving.

Lentil + Chickpea Salad Sandwich

1. Scoop ⅓-1/2 cup of Lentil + Chickpea Salad on one slice of bread and lay 2 leaves of lettuce on the other slice of bread. Close the sandwich, slice diagonally and enjoy!

NOTES

Serve this salad with crackers for a quick healthy snack.
Approx. ½ cup dry red lentils (split) = 1 cup cooked. Rinse ½ cup dry red lentils (split). Add the lentils and 1 cup of unsalted water to a small-medium sized saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for 5-10 minutes (until lentils are just tender.)

Here's one I am dying to make this week. It comes from Nouveauraw.com and you can get the recipe on my Pinterest page as well under "VEGAN" or go directly to their link above.

And here is another eggless "eggy idea" similar to the above photo and recipe that is easy to follow and to the point. It comes to us from thebloomplatter.com

approximately 2 cups

14 ounces firm tofu, drained (not Silken–a test proved it to be unsatisfactory)

1 1/2 teaspoons black salt, or to taste (you may substitute sea salt for a different, but still delicious, result)

2 stalks of celery, trimmed, sliced vertically into 4 strips and sliced thinly crosswise

3 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (if you don’t have any on hand, use white vinegar or even sweet or dill pickle juice)

1/2 to 1 teaspoon yellow mustard (I like a generous 1/2)

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed

1 teaspoon dried dill weed or 1 tablespoon fresh minced dill

1 teaspoon natural sugar or to taste

freshly ground black pepper to taste

Here is one video on a Vegan egg(less) recipe that I plan on trying for sure.

While we're on the subject of eggs, check out this little number below!

You can find this vegan egg free recipe on my Pinterest page under "Vegan" Me and a Tree Pinterest Page and yes the white part is also VEGAN! What a great idea for a party, right? Mmmmm.

So I hope I have inspired you and you realize how much variety we Vegans really have! If you're creative you can adapt these fun and healthy recipes into hundreds of other interesting ideas as well, and if you're not feeling too creative- well that's why I am here to inspire you!

One last one... Dinner or lunch... I have tried a variety of beet burgers and they taste better than veggie burgers in my opinion. This one comes from itdoesnttastelikechicken.com

This looks awesome! The ingredients for this is below

Recipe:

(Makes 3 large or 4 medium burgers. Double, triple or quadruple for a feast).

5-7 pickled beets

1/2 cup-ish of cooked lentils (I used canned)

1/2 cup-ish bread crumbs (use gluten free bread crumbs if you prefer)

1/2 cup -3/4 cup brown or white rice cooked

1/4 of a large onion or 1/2 a small

2 cloves garlic

2 big spoonful's peanut butter

2 big spoonful's nutritional yeast

1 spoon of white miso paste

big pinch of thyme

big pinch of sage

big pinch of chili powder

big pinch of mustard powder

couple grinds of pepper

Ok, easy peasy. First toss your beets into a food processor and pulse a few times, just to grind ’em up a bit. Then toss in everything else.

Pulse several times continuing to scrape down the sides. You don’t want to pulse so many times it turns to mush, so just make sure you have some nice texture. If your burger dough is too wet, add more breadcrumbs, if it is too dry, add more lentils and beets. If you are brave and can handle putting what looks like raw ground beef in your mouth, do a taste test. If you can’t just trust the recipe and try later.

Chill the mixture for 10-20 minutes in the fridge to let it set. Or if you are super patient (unlike me) a couple of hours, so they will be easier to form. Then form your patties. Isn’t it creepy how much it looks like ground beef! Fear not! Trade an “f” for a “t” and live happily knowing it is ground beets.

Lightly spray a pan or grill or grill pan with oil, unless you are oil free, then you probably have a super awesome new nonstick pan (not like my tortured pans) and you won’t need to use oil. The key here is to cook slowly over medium heat. Probably 10-12 minutes each side. You want to form a nice crispy outer layer. Dress your burgers with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

Bon Appetegan!