Sunday 25 April 2010

A curious thing happened on the way to the Kitchen...

Hey ya'll
I test tried one of the new veggie meals that i have made a decision to try and OMG its the greatest meal ever. I truly enjoyed it, I mean i should have known it would be great it was a clean eating veggie meal. (no i dont work for them) but i must say they do know what they are talking about when they tell you to follow these meal plans want to guess why?? Ok i can't hold back much longer: I HAVE LOST WEIGHT.

Now i know many of you (hahaha thats a joke but im writing for future audiences not just you internet) are wondering why would i try something that i didn't think would work. See the difference is Clean Eating isn't just a diet its a lifestyle choice, its me making the decision to actually take charge of one of the few things we as humans actually are in charge of : our health.

Now if i haven't said it before let me explain i have tried the clean eating diet before and lost a lot of weight BUT I never maintained the lifestyle that was needed I like most people went back to eating at all hours of the day and I quit working out and just got real REALLY lazy. I have Lupus and i need to maintain a healthy weight, but sometimes life gets in the way and you stop taking care of the "little" things.  So I'm back taking care of myself and my health, which i have to admit have led to some great experiments in the kitchen. I'll continue to share the really great meals i have just as soon as these three weeks are up i;; be making more vids & posting more. But for now just know that im upping the ante on this blog and ill let you know whats going on soon.

Oh and the total weight i have lost; 10 lbs
Old weight :230
New weight 220

goal weight: whatever healthy for a five three woman is ( i don't care really about numbers on a scale just as long as im healthy --well as heatlhy as one can be with a chronic disease)

the really great part for me was on Thursday i got out of a meeting early and had ten minutes to make the train (its a ten-15 min walk) i made it with two minutes to spare and man did it feel good to be able to push myself and make it. I realized though that didn't just want to almost make it next time i wanted to be able to know that i could run it without having a heart attack (ok highly unlikely at my age but you know what i mean).

thanks for stopping by and reading

Love and Light always
Blessed be
Aisha

Wednesday 21 April 2010

Vegetarian Menu: Starters

So i wanted to share some new recipes Im trying and will be making for this season:







Hummus:
Ingredients: 


i clove garlic
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup tahini ( Sahadi and Joyva are good brands)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup water

(Makes 2-3 cups)

Directions:

1)whiz the garlic and olive oil in a food processor
2) add the remaining ingredients and process them slowly adding the water


Serve with raw veggies, crackers, tortilla chips, or pita bread.

Artichoke Dip
Makes about two cups


Ingredients:

1 can (14ozs) artichoke hearts
1/2 pound tofu (firm or soft)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
sea salt to taste

Directions:

Blend ingredients in a food processor or blender

Serve with blue corn chips or your favorite tortilla chips


These recipes courtesy of the Accidental Vegan. Tope you love them!!!

Thanks for stopping by and reading
Love and Light always
Aisha

Tuesday 20 April 2010

Vegetarian Cooking Class

Hi Internet

So I have come up with the menu for my cooking class on Beltain and i cant wait
for appetizers we will have Artichoke Dip
Main Course will be Pasta Primavera
and For dessert i will make date and almond rice pudding

all the recipes came from the Accidental Vegan by Devra Gartenstein

i will do a dry run and share with you how it comes out. Ill put up the videos here and on my YT: AishaOaktree1122 is the name.

thanks for stopping by and reading
Love & Light always

Saturday 17 April 2010

Super Excited:

At my church we are doing a 40 days of learning about the earth and alternative thing we can do to make a difference in our lives.

So i volunteered to teach a cooking class, about being vegetarian and i know that i am a Flexitarian (someone who eats meat rarely and mostly vegetarian meals) so i wanted to teach people about this and i am in the process of creating the menu for that day (Beltane-May1st).

So i will share with you the menu as soon as i finalize it. I will have a snack, a main dish, and maybe a dessert!! I cant wait this is going to be a great meal and another chance to get out of a eating rut!!

thanks for stopping by and reading
Love and Light always


Tuesday 13 April 2010

Eggs

Clean Eating Eggs


I had this morning a great breakfast with my greek yogurt smoothie and these delicious clean eating eggs i hope you enjoy!! Dont forget to comment and let me know how you like your eggs

Happy Eating!!!

Love & Light Always


Monday 12 April 2010

Quick Update

Hey Internet:

I have been having a little bit of difficulty getting what i wanted up on the header. Ugh!!! But on the other hand i have been having fun relearning all this stuff!!! i can't wait to fine tune this weblog the way i want it.

In other news i will be linking my Youtube channel here with videos having to do with my meals and resources and tips and tricks.

I have also figured out the schedule i wish to have for this and my youtube account. I will be posting two -three days a week , while linking my videos in here also, so that i will be updating both this and the YT channel at the same time. I know we all have lives and are busy so i want to set a schedule i know i can stick to so that im not feeling guilty about filming and but not posting.

In other news i have enjoyed the change in weather and have been going outside so much more now than before.. Here is a picture of my neighborhood trees begining to blooming into Spring.

Thanks for stopping by and reading

Have a blessed day
Love and Light Always

How to Make Chicken Stock:


1lb Chicken Bones
2 unpeeled onions:quartered
2 unpeeled carrots, chopped
2 sticks celery leaves still attached
1 bouquet garni
12 black peppercorns
14 cups of Water
1 scotch bonnet pepper (optional)
Instructions:

Place first four ingredients in the water in a thick stock pot and allow to come to boil slowly. Skim the surface as required & add the bouquet garni & peppercorns. Reduce heat to low & simmer gently for 3 hours. Skim the froth from the surface regularly.

Ladle the stock in batches into a fine sieve sitting over a bowl. Gently press the solids with the ladle to extract all the liquid. Let the stocl cool, then place in fridge until cold & spoon off any fat or use a papertowel to skim off any grease at the top.

You can place back on the stove & allow to reduce to concentrate and just add water when you wish to use it or you can seperate and spoon into containers to store
makes 10 cups

Bouquet Garni: (based on used of food)
(for soups use herbs best suited to the flavor you wish to have for chicken i used)

3 Bay leaves
3 sprigs thyme
Fresh Kosher salt to taste
Parsley
2 cloves garlic slightly crushed

Can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days or 6 months in the freezer.
adapted from "Cooking, a common sense guide"



Love and Light

Sunday 11 April 2010

Making braised Endives

I made this a few weeks ago and loved it!!
 I thought i would share with you here. Recipe care of About.com


Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

•2 Tbsp. butter
•10 to 12 Belgian endives (I used :2 Large Belgian Endives)
•1 Tbsp. lemon juice
•1/4 tsp. salt
•1/3 cup water
 
For those that need the instructions written down they can be found here: http://localfoods.about.com/od/fall/r/braisedendive.htm
 
 
Well i hope you enjoy as much as i did!!!
 
Thanks for stopping by
 
Love & Light Always
Aisha

Saturday 10 April 2010

Dinner: Turkey Meatballs


Turkey Meatballs
1 1/3 lbs ground lean turkey
1 egg
1 cup panko (or whole wheat bread crumbs)
1 tsp parsley dried
½ parmesan cheese
Seasonings of your choice:
I use Chili, Black pepper, Salt (sea),
Tomatoes (or Ketchup)
Cooking Instructions:
Mix the ground turkey with all the ingredients add bread crumbs if too wet, mold into small balls
You can bake them or as I do use olive oil or your choice oil and fry them til crisp on outside. Remove from oil onto a paper towel in a dish.
Remove all the oil from the pot:
add peeled tomatoes (you can use the ones in the can), 1 tsp sugar, black pepper, and let it boil down until you create a tomato sauce.
Or with Ketchup use 2 cups water and 1 tsp whole wheat flour mixed in add to ketchup add in meatballs and allow to cook down until gravy is nice and thick.

Serve with rice, spaghetti or even with Lentil stew (see listing for this recipe)

Enjoy!!!
Love and Light Always 
Aisha



Breaktast Recipe

Power Packed Breakfast Yogurt:
1 cup Chobani (or your choice) Greek Yogurt
1 handful of blue berries
1 scoop your choice Protein Powder ( I use chocolate chip from GNC)
1/8 cup Silken Soy
1 spoonful Flax Oil ( I get mine from GNC)

In a Blender/ Food Processor:
Combine first two ingredients and blend until smooth
Add in last three ingredients and blend well making sure all the ingredients have been mixed in
Serve
Enjoy!!!



Love and Light Always
Aisha

Thursday 1 April 2010

Updating

Hello internet:

i am in the process of learning Html (or i should say relearning it ) so that i can update this page the way i really want to. so please bear with me as i work out the kinks. The goal is to get aligned with my youtube so that as i put up a meal video i put up the menu here. This will take me a few weeks cause its almost finals time and i have to knuckle under to make sure i make Deans List again (this is how i get my scholarships) so thanks for stopping by
Bear with me and Ill be back in no time

thanks internet

blessed be
love and light always
aisha