When it comes to changing our eating habits or any habit, we start by tracking it from a physical point of view.
We start to work out or stop buying products or foods that we state are bad for us. But many people end up stopping and reverting to old habits when making such a significant change.
I know many of us are guilty of this. But what if I say you are doing it wrong! What if I say to change a habit truly, it does not start with the physical, but it starts with your MIND!
Yes, you hear me right. The mind is what makes change and keeps change from reverting to the old.
Check out my podcast to hear more about how you can change any habit and sustain the new for life.
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When you think of okra, you think of the south, but it was initially brought here by the enslaved from West Africa. Traditionally, in some areas of Africa, okra is used as food, sacred plant, and medicine.
Although many cook the plant, I would like to tell you that you can eat this plant straight from the garden raw. Yup, pick and eat! If you like me, I pick rinse, salt, or hot sauce, then eat. LOL
Before I share this amazing okra recipe, let me tell you about some benefits on why you should add it to your plate.
-Reducing high blood sugar
-Alleviating constipation
-Lowering high cholesterol
-Relieving respiratory congestion
-Soothing digestive inflammation
Now, are you thinking about trying to eat okra? If so, that’s a great idea. Check out the simple recipes below and start today.
Talk to you soon! Roberta Lowe Restauranteur, Author, and Coach
1) Heat the olive oil in a large skillet (or pan with a lid) over medium-high until shimmering but not smoking. Lower the heat to medium and add the onions, garlic and chopped jalapeno peppers. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes stirring regularly (do not let the garlic burn, if needed adjust heat).
2) Add the okra and sautee for 5 to 7 minutes over medium-high heat.
Season with kosher salt, black pepper and spices. Toss to coat.
3) Add the crushed tomatoes and water. Stir to combine. Add the tomato slices on top. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low and cover most of the way (leave a little opening at the top). Let the okra simmer on low heat for 20 to 25 minutes or until the okra has softened. Uncover and add juice of ½ lime (more to your liking).
Remove from heat and serve over rice or with warm pita bread.
Arrange the okra slices in one layer on a foil lined cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
Ready to start your transition to plant-based eating but can’t afford my personal coach service. If that is you don’t let that stop you. My online 30 day program is for you. Try it for 3 days FREE!
In today’s world, we are all working longer hours than before, whether that’s on our school degree or longer office hours. Our 24-hour timeframe now consists of more than 16 hours of working on your degree or job or business, 2-4 hours of travel, and 4-6 hours of sleep. With a schedule like that, who has time to think, let alone cook three meals a day, including shopping for the meal. This is why convenience foods are becoming so popular. As of 2020, Americans spend over $239 billion annually on the quick-service restaurant. Yes, at the height of the pandemic, fast food restaurants were still winning!
It takes less than 10 minutes to pull up to a drive-through window and get a complete meal to go. Talking about convenience! Over 20% of American meals are eaten in cars , a concept that didn’t exist before fast food. Most of us, when taking a lunch break, get a least 30 minutes to break such convenience is our best option. You need your food prepared fast so you can eat it quickly. I get it!
Nutrition goes out the window for most of us when it comes to convenience meals. Not because we don’t want to eat a more nourishing meal on the go but because we just don’t have those options available to us like a McDonald’s or Chick-fil-a. Right now, McDonald’s is the largest fast-food restaurant that has locations worldwide. Therefore, when we are traveling or working long hours, we are unsuccessful in making healthier choices because of the lack of healthy convenience options available on the go.
Now imagine a world where you are able to get that quick service along with a great price point, great taste, and it’s better for your body! Which option would you choose?
VegBox allows you to get the same convenience as Chick-fil-a with the added benefits of eating healthy meals. Yes, it is possible to have a healthy, convenient food joint.
So just know you no longer have to sacrifice your diet for convenience. The convenient food space is changing, and you will not have to wait too much longer.
Talk to you soon! Roberta Lowe Restauranteur, Author, and Coach
Ready to start your transition to plant-based eating but can’t afford my personal coach service. If that is you don’t let that stop you. My online 30 day program is for you. Try it for 3 days FREE!
1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, plus 2-3 teaspoons adobo sauce
2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup corn kernels (canned, fresh, or thawed)
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 flax-egg (1 tablespoon of flaxseed + 2 1/2 water
Tofu Scramble
1 tablespoon olive oil 8 ounce extra firm tofu 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast 1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste 1 teaspoon turmeric 1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1/4 cup of chopped kale
Fajita
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small red onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, cored and sliced
1 tablespoon of fajita seasoning
15 oz Chipotle black beans mixture
8 ounce Tofu Scramble
½ teaspoon salt
6 corn or flour tortillas
Instructions
Black bean mix: Combine half the black beans in a food processor with the red onion, corn, cornmeal, chipotle pepper in adobo sauce plus extra sauce, garlic, cumin and salt. Pulse until nearly smooth, scraping the sides if needed.
Remove mixture to a bowl then add remaining black beans. Set to the side to thicken up for 5 minutes
Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Crumble tofu in the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes until the water from the tofu is mostly gone.
Add the nutritional yeast, salt, turmeric, onion and garlic powder. Cook and stir constantly for about 5 minutes.
Add kale and cook until bright green and welted. Remove from pan.
Add 1 tablespoon of oil to high heated pan. Crumble in your black bean mixture.
Slightly pan fry for 2-3 minutes. Make sure to keep stirring so mixture will not stick. Remove from pan.
Add 1 tablespoon of oil medium high heat, add the onions and bell peppers, cook for about 6 – 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add fajita seasoning and cook 1 minute more. Adjust seasoning to taste adding anything extra you like.
In a warm tortilla layer your tofu egg, black beans and sautéed veggies.
Top with your favorite sauce and guacamole
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1/2 tsp kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning
3 ea garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste
For garlic aioli:
1 ea bulb garlic, peeled and minced
2 tsp olive oil
½ cup vegan mayonnaise
½ each fresh lemon juice about ½ lemon
2 tbsp water
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat your oven to 400ºF (200ºC) and prepare a large baking sheet
2. Pat the Brussels sprouts dry with paper towels and place them in a large bowl. Add olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Toss gently, coat brussels sprouts evenly.
3. Place the brussels sprouts on lightly oil baking sheet, spreading evenly into one layer. Bake the parmesan Brussels sprouts on the center rack for 25 to 30 minutes – Adjust the time depending on your oven, the vegetables should be golden brown.
4. Make garlic aioli: Heat small skillet with olive oil add garlic. Pan roasted for 30 seconds until light brown. Add remaining ingredients along with pan roasted garlic into small bowl. Mix until all combined and is lose to drizzle over brussels sprouts.
5. Transfer the roasted parmesan Brussels sprouts to a large serving bowl, drizzle with aioli, and sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley if you like.
Let us talk about the vegan products/ brands on the market. I’ll share my top 3 choices with you and why I love them as a chef and refer them as a coach.
Before I get into my top products and brands, I’ll take a quick moment to clarify the use of these products, which are becoming mainstream.
I’m sure we can all agree vegan products have evolved over the years from being flavorless and lacking appeal to a whole 360. There’re currently over a dozen vegan products that give us the visual appeal and have the flavor, taste, and texture of animal products some of us are used to. Companies have managed to simulate seafood, meats, eggs, milk, desserts, and more. The best part is they are all made from plants!
Yay, right?
Personally, I would say it’s a win because it allows people to build the confidence that plants can taste good. On the other hand, all the products on the market need to be consumed in moderation because although they are plant-based, they still have tons of unhealthy additives not good for the body. But I will save that topic for another blog.
During my coaching calls with a potential client, I always start with assessing what transformation level they are on. This allows me to build custom eating plans that will give each client winning results. Some clients are pass needed the products available on the market, and they want to start eating flavorful whole plants dishes. Other clients are just beginning to transition and therefore need the recipes using these products available on the market. When I talk with those clients, I make sure each knows those products must be treated as transitional products only. Meaning, they should use these products for a short while, and together we will monitor and assess them every week to make sure they are not using these products longer than we have to.
The same advice I give to you as the reader. I recommend you use these products as transition plant-based foods. Now that I coved that, here are my top three choices.
photo by engadet
1) Beyond Meat This brand is my absolute favorite. The quality of the product is mind-blowing to me. They cover all areas of visual appeal, texture, taste, flexibility, creativity, pricing, accessibility, and product line. Not only that but their company mission and practices I can stand behind and support.
Vegan Food and Living
2)JustEgg and JustMayo This brand quickly became my favorite when I taste their mayo product. This is another company that passes all areas. They are outstanding with their JustEgg and JustMayo product visual appeal, texture, taste, pricing, accessibility, and quality. The JustEgg product is very silky, and the result always comes out just like the scrambled eggs or omelets I remember.
photo by The Vegan Strategist
3) Daiya (dessert and cheese)
This brand made my top three because they are the only company that has master texture, taste, visual appeal, pricing, accessibility, all while the majority of their products are allergy-free. Bringing allergy-free products to the market is a big deal since over 40% of the population has some form of allergy. Daiya not only brought the products but also made them delicious.
Well, there you have it, folks! My top brand choices. Endless recipes you can make from these brands that I teach my clients. More importantly, there are so many other plant-based brands and products that I did not cover—great replacement for your breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and snack. So understand there is no longer an excise for not switching to a plant-based eating style. Don’t wait. Make the change now.
Look out for my blog about all the vegan “dairy” brands and products available on the market. Vegan cheese, yogurt, milk, etc. are now all available to us, and I will write about those another time.
Make the change now. If you are ready to transition your plate to plant-based and need a coach to help you build a winning strategy, schedule a call with me.
Talk to you soon! Roberta Lowe Restauranteur, Author, and Coach
Looking for help to transition to plant-based? Get my book now @ https://bit.ly/3dL1XO4
Join our email list. Get amazing coupon deals, 100 vegan recipes for better brain health, and much more right to your inbox. Join now @ www.vegboxmd.com
Ready to start your transition to plant-based eating but can’t afford my personal coach service. If that is you don’t let that stop you. My online 30 day program is for you. Try it for 3 days FREE!
