Sticking To Your Resolutions!

Leah the Magic Knitter writes, "This is me after completeing the Changwon Tongil 5k race where I had a personal best of 33:03. I made a resolution on January 1, 2009 to become healthier and lose the 80 pounds I had put on over 7 years. Since January, I have lost 50 pounds. My last 5k race when I was 240 pounds was run in 43 minutes. By dropping 50 pounds and becoming active again, I was able to beat that by a full 10 minutes. For all those people who don't stick with their resolutions, I just wanted to say get up and move. You won't regret it!"

Spiralized Zucchini Noodles

Raw spiralized zucchini noodles with a curry sauce, thinly sliced red bell pepper, carrot, mushrooms, and green onions. Read more about it at The Life Of A Vegan!

Delicious, Easy and Healthful Breakfast Granola!

From Anjali at Vegan Wonderful.

1 cup rolled oats
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup raisins
A splash of almond milk

Combine all ingredients except raisins very well in large bowl. Spread out in a shallow baking pan and bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring every ten minutes to prevent burning. Remove from oven, toss in raisins, wait to cool a little bit and enjoy!! :)

Dragon Fruit

Another post from Liz in Nicaragua: "I wanted to share a favorite fruit juice we call pitaya - in English, I believe it is dragon fruit. Derived from a cactus, pitaya fruit is tangy and pungent, high in Vitamin C, fiber, and many minerals.

"We make a sweet lemonade and blend the pitaya in to create a gorgeous and nutritious refreshment!"

Healthy Food in Nicaragua

Liz from Las Frutas de Paraíso writes, "I wanted to share photos from a 'Healthy Foods' workshop I attended. In Nicaragua so much of the diet is fried foods and meat, so it was inspiring to meet a Nicaraguan nutritionist dedicated to educating people about eating better. I detailed my day with Doña Aura in this blogpost.

"In the workshop we learned how to make soy milk and soy meat from the raw beans: here is a photo of our soy 'meat' - it looks a lot like tofu, with veggies on top.

"And we also made this fantastic vegetable chop suey with sauteed cabbage, carrots, peppers, onions, celery, and cilantro."

Chocolate Raspberry Tart

Selene writes, "Both my husband and I had the worst flu ever last week. Our parents collectively gave us loads of fruits to help us through it all, including a bunch of raspberries. Wanting something yummy, but not wanting anything unhealthy that would send me back into the throes of this horrible illness, I made a chocolate raspberry tart: fresh raspberries and rich raw chocolate sauce top a raw nutty chocolate shell. It's like a super delicious dose of antioxidants!"

Recipe at Veganlicious.

Rockin' Moroccan Stew

This lovely image sent in by Michelle at Michelle Ellis Photography. She was kind enough to also send us the recipe:

Moroccan Stew

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
½ cup each diced celery and chopped green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced or sliced thinly
3 cups vegetable broth
3 cups peeled, cubed sweet potatoes
1 can 15oz diced tomatoes

1 can 15 oz chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp grated gingerroot
1 tsp each ground cumin, curry powder, ground coriander, and chili powder.
½ tsp ground pepper
¼ cup raisins (as a raisin hater I hesitated, but they really do add delicious to this recipe)

2 Tbsp each natural peanut butter or almond butter and chopped, fresh cilantro

Directions:

This recipe is super easy, don't get bogged down on exact measurements. I usually add more veggies than it calls for. This dish is even better the 2nd and 3rd day after it's made.(:

-Heat olive oil in a large, non-stick saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery, green pepper, and garlic. Cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 3 minutes.

-Add all remaining ingredients, except raisins, peanut butter, and cilantro. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

-Stir in raisins, peanut butter, and cilantro. Mix well. Simmer for 5 minutes. Serve hot over rice or grain of choice.

A Healthy Holiday

Nicholina writes, "We were, indeed, healthy and active this Thanksgiving. We started our day by snowshoeing 3.5 miles up to a lookout tower we were renting. We had very heavy packs because we were carrying all of our delicious and vegan food for our Thanksgiving feast.

"Our menu was tiny roasted baby potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, sauteed green beans with almonds, whole grain sourdough rolls, stuffing made with whole grain spelt bread, tempeh and homemade cranberry relish. The whole shebang was oil-free, vegan and oh-so-yummy.

"My 11 year old (the short one carrying the pack) was so excited about our meal and kept exclaiming how happy she was that she could eat absolutely everything without worries about it being vegan.

"Later in the evening, we indulged in homemade blueberry pie topped with cashew whipped cream.

"We spent the next couple days playing in the snow and enjoying the lookout before hiking back down to come on home. If you like, you can read more about our trip at The Mournful Cry of the Laundry."