General Tso

The recipe below is the most complex we have posted so far (and the most complex I have made, so exciting!)- but also one of the most delicious!

I never grew up eating Chinese food in the house- I can still remember one of the first times I had it, freshman year of high school on my first date (!)- I went for the exotic orange chicken. (Ha!)
Flash forward seven years I would find myself living in China for 6 weeks with a wonderful host family who cooked for me every single day I was there - incredible. The food I had the pleasure of eating surprisingly (thank goodness!) bore little resemblance to the food I ate while on my first date. This food was much less greasy and much more reliant on fresh produce. (So much better!)
However, both styles of Chinese food are incredibly challenging to make and seemed to require a different awareness in the kitchen than preparing traditional "American" (ie Italian, Mexican) cuisine. Let the challenges begin!

Over the past year or so, as Jess and I transitioned to being Vegan, much of what we make has been created from shamelessly mimicking other recipes we have seen.
To this point, we were incredibly pleased when we found Whole Foods serving Vegan General Tso's Seitan at one of their prepared food counters.
This dish, with its heavy hand of fresh vegetables, reminded us of the food we each enjoyed in China and we eagerly bought it and enjoyed on far too many occasions, without actually attempting to make it ourselves.
Given our past resolution, we were THRILLED when the recipe was handed out at this year's Green Festival.
The first time we tried making it (a few months ago), it was good, although it bore very little resemblance to the food we first indulged in at Whole Foods.
The second attempt was much closer to the real thing, and we highly recommend working with and tweaking this recipe for the more ambitious among you!

General Tso's Seitan

Ingredients:

1 12oz package of seitan (or 1 and 1/2 8 oz packages)

1/2 lb. broccoli chopped

2 sliced peppers

1/2 lb. onion chopped

1tsp. minced fresh ginger

3 Tbs peanut oil (2 Tbs if using a non-stick pan)

Batter for the seitan:

1/4 cups all-purpose whole wheat flour

2 Tbs. cornstarch

1 tsp. egg replacer (such as Ener-G)

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 cups unsweetened soy milk (we use light soy milk)

1 Tbs. soy sauce

For the sauce:

1/4 cups soy sauce

2 Tbs. rice vinegar

3 Tbs. Vegetable broth

2 1/4 Tbs agave nectar (or 3 Tbs sugar)

2 tsp. cornstarch

In a small bowl combine all the sauce ingredients, mix and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients for the batter, then whisk in soy milk and soy sauce.

Cut the seitan into one inch(ish) pieces and mix with batter.

Heat 2 Tbs. peanut oil in a wok over medium/high heat and then add the seitan. Fry until pieces are brown and crispy, constantly stir and ensure the pieces remain separate (this can take up to 10 minutes) and then removed the seitan from heat.

Add the remaining 1 Tbs. of oil to the wok and add onion. Cook till almost translucent and add broccoli and peppers (and/or any other vegetables you would like). Stir fry and add ginger. Add the sauce and cook for three minutes and then stir in the seitan.

Serve on its own or with forbidden rice.

All hail to the power of kale!

Kale is one of my favorite vegetables- you can enjoy it in so many different ways (steamed, dehydrated, raw, fried) and it's health benefits are completely out of this world. This was a vegetable that I was pretty unfamiliar with until just a few years ago. I never saw it on the dinner table growing up (which is ironic, because we were SUCH a health conscious family), and didn't recognize it as anything I was familiar with or dared to experiment with in the grocery store.

Yet, a few readings on the nutritional benefits and a few daring attempts to try it when I noticed it in the Whole Foods salad bar line, and I was hooked.

First, a shameless plug for the kale in the Whole Foods salad bar: While insanely expensive, it's also so delicious. I've found it cooked in two ways, one is lightly steamed and the other raw and covered in a delicious garlic sauce. If you're looking just for a taste- I would recommend hitting it up there.

If you've never tasted it before, it is a bit of an acquired taste- sort of like sushi, so just be prepared. It's a bit hard to chew and very filling - all of those dark leafy greens and fiber in action!

So, why chew through this vegetable you ask? The reasons are endless....

Kale belongs to the Brassica family, which is a group of vegetables that includes cabbage, collards and brussels sprouts (all take a bit to get used to, all soooo good for you). Kale can be found in local grocery stores all year long, but it is "in season" from the middle of winter through the beginning of spring (right now!) when it just tastes sweeter!

The (super)powers of Kale...

• It fights fat
• High in fiber: And if you really want to enjoy its fiberous benefits, steam it
• Kale provides your with important cholesterol-lowering benefits
• Kale also helps boost body's detoxification enzymes
• Kale contains seven times the beta-carotene of broccoli, which protects your cells from free radicals and is an incredible source of vitamin A
• Kale is a great source of calcium, which helps fight osteoporosis and makes your bones strong!
  
• Kale contains folate and vitamin B6, which help to treat a number of health issues related to your heart, skin, depression, fatigue and with your nervous system
• The compounds found in kale allows for both antioxidant AND anti-inflammatory benefits to your body
• My favorite: Kale is a natural detox-er, providing your body's detoxification system with insane supports. Recent research shows that the ITCs made from kale's glucosinolates can help regulate your body's detox at a genetic level (!!)

At Eco-Fest this year, I discovered Kale Chips, and it was INCREDIBLE.
Kale Chips are simply dehydrated Kale, made to taste like potato chips- they are crunchy, thin, flavorful and (I think) taste even better! You can buy Kale chips at stores like MOMs Organic, Yes Organic or Whole Foods, but they are a bit pricey. So, I would recommend making your own.

Here was my adventure with making homemade Kale chips last night:

Set the oven to 300 degrees
Rip the leaves off of your Kale bunch (or bunches) and spread over a large cookie sheet
Dust the leaves with oil, pepper and garlic powder

Let them sit in the oven for about 15 minutes (until they are completely dried and crunchy)

Enjoy!

Keeping it simple

I knew that in order to really keep pace with this resolution and accomplish the goal at hand, we would need to keep it simple. If we set off to do 800 calorie burning workouts every day it wouldn't be sustainable or fun. Rather, we set the expectation that each day we would workout- and it can/will take on many different forms and lengths of time. Some will be those ambitious 800 calorie burning workouts, some will be focused on lifting and strength training and others yoga, cycling elliptical, ect. The most important part though, is to remember to keep it simple, achievable and fun.

One way I've found to do this is through jump roping. Never in my life, even on the playground in elementary school (maybe aside from one year in 4th grade), was I ever a huge fan of jump rope. Sure. I could handle your standard double-dutch and nursery rhyme chat, but after that, I would mostly just get board and move on to the field games.

However, about a year and a half ago, I discovered the INSANE health benefits of jump roping. It seems so simple and easy, and even sometimes like an after thought, but jump roping is the bomb- and SO good for your health and body. Actually, I learned that when used in conjunction with a healthy diet, jump roping is actually one of the most efficient ways to burn calories. Only ten minutes of jump rope can be as effective as thirty minutes of jogging! (Human Kinetics, 2003) In the world of sports and fitness training, jump roping is considered one of the fundamental building blocks to improved agility, coordination, endurance and performance.

Endurance is the key though (at least for me right now). It's actually really hard to jump rope for 10 minutes (even five minutes- or two minutes!). To be able to jump rope for a sustained period of time, it required training and practice in and of itself.

One way I try to approach it, which I enjoy and have found to be effective is to alternate rope jumping with lifting hand weights (5-7 pounds). I'll strive to spend five minutes rope jumping and then do five - ten minutes of lifting. I've tried to develop a habit of doing circuit exercises three times, which would leave this at about 15 minutes of jump roping total and anywhere from 15 - 30 minutes of lifting. Using jump ropes in conjunction with lifting allows you to not only tone and strengthen your muscles, but also increases your metabolism for hours after your work out. (BIG bonus!)

So, while it does take a little bit of work to get into the habit of jump roping and to build endurance, here are some extra tidbits that are just too amazing to share:
Top 6 Reasons to build jump roping into your exercise routine:

(1) Once you're jump roping at a steady pace, you can burn up to 800 calories per hour. (!) (Whoever can jump rope for an hour- you must not be human- but talk about something to work toward!)

(2) Not only does it burn calories and fat, it increases muscle strength, timing, coordination and balance

(3) It tones your legs, back, glutes, shoulders, abs, chest and arms (so pretty much everywhere!)

(4) For women, the cross-training function helps us strengthen the bones in our lower body

(5) For folks with tricky knees like myself, jumping rope is a low-impact alternative to running

(6) It's portable and you can do it anywhere! On vacation, inside, outside, at the office- you need so little to do it right, you can really take advantage of this work out from everywhere.

(7) It's inexpensive - as long as you have a jump rope ($5 - $20) you've got your workout!

Excited to hear if anyone currently jump ropes and/or is willing to take it on- It's fun- but sweaty and challenging too.

Happy Jumping!

http://www.xomba.com/discover_powerful_health_benefits_jumping_rope; Michael O’Shea, Ph.D., is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine.