Vegan, Vegetarian, Omnivore, Carnivore...How about Human Being???

So what are you anyway?  Are you a omnivore, flexitarian, vegetarian, vegan, healthier eater?  Even better are you a Republican or Democrat (since this is an election year)?  Do you identify yourself at all with these words or labels?  How about Human Being...

One of the things I have found most interesting on this journey of life is the penchant of people to categorize or label.  There are sound psychological reasons for this of course as it enables humans to make sense of the very complex reality that each individual human being really is.  The interesting part of this labeling is that we all do it, including me.  When it comes to food and healthy living, we have created all sorts of labels to describe or "group" people who do one thing or another.  What I find regrettable about labels is that many times they also come with stereotypes and judgements.  What do you immediately think of when I say vegan (or ovo-vegetarian, Republican, Democrat...)?

Are you a lacto-vegetarian, or better yet an ovo-vegetarian or both?  Maybe you're a straight up vegan or maybe a true omnivore?  What if you follow a strict vegan diet most of the time, but have visit your grandma's house and have a cookie that she made with eggs in it?  What if you are a vegan that eats Honey?  What does that make you then?  I submit that you are a human being, AND I would say that is more than enough.

Since we began Conveniently Natural, very interesting things have happened in our lives.  Some people who have been friends of ours for years have fallen away and new ones have sprung up from the most unlikely places.  Was this only because we started an organic, vegan delivery service?  Perhaps not the only reason, but a major one for sure.  I find that people who have know us for years now feel like they should apologize if they eat meat in front of us or (and this is even more interesting) they want to debate the vegan or vegetarian versus meat eating thing.  I typically point people in the direction of the immense amount of information out there about all kinds of diet and hope the person makes up there own mind.  That is, in my mind, our greatest gift - to be able to choose our way and what makes us truly amazing.

I recently had a great dinner with several friends, most of whom are not vegan or vegetarian.  There was light hearted banter, tasty food, and amazing fellowship.  I left feeling energized physically, mentally, and spiritually.  It didn't bother me that they ate meat, nor do I believe that it bothered them that I didn't.  We were gathered because we wanted to be there with each other and that is a very good reason to get together I think.  I submit that we are at our best when we do as Rumi said, "Out beyond the ideas of right doing and wrongdoing there is a field, and I will meet you there".  Let us all strive to meet in this field, free of judgment, and live our best (and eat our best too!).  Thanks for reading.

Peace -
Brian

Some Healthy Superbowl Snack Alternatives (or for any occasion)

In the past, the Superbowl has often been an excuse to indulge in copious amounts of fat, sugar, and alcohol for us.  Most of the time it didn't even matter who was playing, it was really about having a good time with great food (and watching the commercials, seriously is the football game even important anymore?).  So while we don't want to change the fellowship and fun that Superbowl parties can foster, we would like to offer some improved food alternatives.  This way you and your body can enjoy together!

Here's some recipes for some great tasting and healthy snacks that we like (and will be present for us this weekend, so we can snack while we are cooking):

1. Socca Pizza - This is an easy, Gluten Free and Soy Free pizza recipe that tastes awesome.  Our two and four year old chow down on this one.

1 cup garbanzo bean flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper (I like white pepper, but black works too)
1 cup water
5 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh basil (or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil)
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary (or 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary)
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Sift flour into bowl. Stir in salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in water to create a smooth batter. Stir in two tablespoons olive oil. Let batter rest for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450. Place 9 or 10 inch cast iron skillet in oven to heat up approximately 10 minutes before ready to bake socca. You don't want the pan to be scorching hot. This will require some timing...

Add basil, rosemary, and thyme to batter; whisk until smooth. Remove skillet from oven (carefully). Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to skillet; swirl to coat the skillet evenly. Immediately pour in batter.

Bake socca approximately 12 minutes. Make sure you check on the socca as it is cooking. It is just right when the edges pull away from the sides of the skillet and the center is firm. Remove skillet.

Add tomate sauce, Daiya vegan cheese and vegetables. Place skillet back in oven and bake for an additional 3 to 5 minutes until vegan cheese is melted or until vegetables and toppings are warm.

2. Sweet Potato Fries - Again a super easy, Gluten Free, Soy Free snack (kid friendly as well).

One or more Large Sweet Potatoes

Sea Salt (to taste)

Black Pepper

Paprika or Tumeric

Cayenne Pepper (to spice it up, can be omitted)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or Coconut Oil to change it up)

Set Oven at 450.  Cut up Sweet Potatoes into wedges.  We like to leave the skin on, but you can peel them if you like.  

Place the wedges on a cookie or baking sheet and sprinkle with Sea Salt, Pepper and other spices.  We don't usually measure this, it is simply to your liking.  You could also use a good Chili Pepper seasoning as well.

Now drizzle the wedges with oil.  Place the wedges in the oven and leave for 15 minutes.

The wedges should be browning.  Flip the wedges with some tongs and cook for 8 to 10 more minutes.  Voila!

3.  Fresh Veggies and Guacamole 

Super easy and super tasty!

We like the following veggies to dip with, but you can substitute others:

Red, Green Bell Peppers
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Zucchini
Yellow Squash

For the Guacamole Dip:

2 Ripe Avocado
Freshly squeezed juice of 1 Lemon
1/2 cup Favorite Salsa (we like organic medium spicy types)

Slice up the vegetables to according to you dipping preference.  We like to cut the Bell Peppers so the pieces are long and skinny.  The Zucchini and Yellow Squash work best when they are cut into discs about 1/4 inch wide.

Cut open Avocados and remove the pit.  Spoon out the flesh into a bowl and add the lemon juice and salsa.  Stir together until mixed thoroughly.  Serve and enjoy with veggies!

4. Quinoa Nachos

We can't take credit for this one.  We found it on the internet and so will direct you to VegNews for the recipe.  We can vouch for its awesomeness though so we highly recommend it.  Here's the link for the recipe: http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=4141&catId=11.






5. Gardien Buffalo Style Wings

If you want something easy, natural, and as close to eating meat as you can get then check out the Gardien company and what they have to offer.  We don't normally recommend much stuff that has been processed, but they do a good job with natural ingredients to create a great snack that tastes like real chicken wings, but it isn't.  Here's a link to their website with more information: http://www.gardein.com/products.php?t=frozen&p=1.

You can find their products in most speciality grocery stores and Whole Foods.





Well that should get you going.  Let us know what you think of these.  Here's to having a great SuperBowl party!