Almond Butter

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been reading a lot of news about the salmonella outbreaks in peanut butter. I usually don’t worry about food scares, because I eat healthy and I don’t eat meat. This time, however, fear struck me like it never has. The recall was at my beloved Trader Joe’s. I am devastated to the point that I don’t know if I will ever want to eat peanut butter again. I realize that is irrational, but through out it all I’ve come to terms with my paranoia because the tragedy has led to a new discovery…

Almond butter! Almond butter is a good alternative to peanut butter because it is not as mass produced.

Shopping for Healthy Vegetarian Food

Fruit and berries in a grocery store, Paris, France. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A fascinating phenomenon has been sweeping over the vegetables and fruits in the grocery aisles of my local supermarket. I’ve been paying attention to this for years and no one has ever mentioned anything about it. Since I am a skeptic  I’ve kept silent for years as I observed it from afar. Finally it is becoming so obvious that the phenomena is absolutely undeniable: Vegetables and Fruits are undergoing a freakish mutation into enormity.

Freakish Peppers and mutant apples are expanding and have reached the size of melons. At Safeway, the kiwis have ballooned to the the size of large grapefruits- not to be out done by the strawberries which are bigger than tomatoes-which look like giant pomegranates. What is happening?

Vegetarian Protein

Sautéed tempeh with green beans (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of the most common arguments I come across is that vegetarians can’t get enough protein through their diet. My response to this is that I feel it’s a common misconception. From my research I’ve learned that including meat in two or three meals a day will far exceed your recommended daily limit, and it’s especially a problem because the portions we are used to eating overwhelm our kidneys ability to process it all, which is extremely harmful to the organs. (Not to mention meat is linked to cancer.)

Vegetarians can obtain their proven from many different sources. I do not recommend veggie meat; such as veggie patties, veggie hotdogs, or veggie anything as a protein source because those types of foods are overly processed and should be consumed as a last resort. Your healthier options are as follows:

B-12 and Iron Supplements

The perfect supplement for vegetarians

There are many misconceptions about the vegetarian diet and many people, however well-intentioned, wrongly believe that the vegetarian diet is unsustainable and harmful. One of the challenges of being vegetarian is dealing with worried friends and family members who believe that humans are evolved to eat meat and that we can not survive without it.

To address this important issue simply, I would like to say that it is true that you can’t get all of your necessary vitamins from a meat-free diet. You must supplement Vitamin B12 and Iron (Ferrous Sulfate). Vitamin B12 is needed for energy and iron is needed to allow your blood cells to absorb oxygen. Without it, anemia develops and you will feel weak and faint. 

There’s more….

Protein and Energy Breakfast Smoothie

This is the reason I wake up in the morning.

Our first recipe will be for an irresistable creamy tart breakfast smoothie that took me three years to perfect. I can not emphasize how important and life-changing this smoothie will be for you, especially if you are like me and don’t want to taste the vegetables: The ingredients are perfectly and harmoniously balanced to mask the taste of the vegetables. There is no better way to start your day then by getting all of your  healthy nutrients in one fell swoop

This recipe takes five minutes and it’s perfect for vegetarian beginners or for those that have a hard time meeting their recommended daily vegetable intake, which is around two and a half cups or “five-a-day”. Because I recommend you follow the recipe exactly and not leave anything out, I am going to list the main reasons for each ingredient below.

Energy and Fiber Snacks

dried apricots Français : abricots secs traités aux sulfites (anhydride sulfureux) Italiano: albicocche secche (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I don’t drink coffee or tea so I’ve been on a mission to find a perfect healthy snack to give me energy. I just discovered this fruit and veggie snack at Trader Joe’s and it is my newest obsession. It’s become my go to snack for when I’m on the go and in need of a healthy energy boost. The fiber in this bar is great for my stomach and digestion. It keeps me full and it is easily stored in a backpack or purse. The best part about it is that it tastes like a regular dried fruit snack, but this one is chock full of root vegetables like carrots and beets which add vitamins and make this snack nutritious and healthy.