For more tips and recipes to simplify embracing a vegan lifestyle, check out PCRM’s vegan kickstart!

ROSANNA’S FAVORITE RECIPES

Rosanna’s Superfit Smoothie

My favorite breakfast is a green smoothie (any combination of spinach, celery, fresh fruit, and a banana), which provides me with more energy than a cup of coffee.

Makes 2 to 3 servings

3 cups spinach or kale

3/4 cups sliced pears or green apple

1 1/2 cups green grapes

1 banana

Juice of 1 lemon

3 to 4 celery stalks

3/4 cup ice

3/4 cup water

Add all ingredients in a blender or food processer. Blend for two to three minutes and enjoy!

Quinoa and Carrot Salad

This light, spicy-sweet salad with tease your taste buds. Try adding any leftover beets, broccoli, or other vegetables you have on hand.

Makes 4 servings

1 cup quinoa

1 1/2 pounds carrots, thinly sliced

Juice of 1 1/2 lemons

1 1/2 teaspoons agave nectar

1 garlic clove, minced

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

3 pinches cayenne pepper

Kosher or sea salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup golden raisins

Rinse quinoa in a fine sieve under running water for about 1 minute. Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Pour in the quinoa and return to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring 2 quarts water to a boil in a large saucepan. Drop in the carrots and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the lemon juice, agave nectar, garlic, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Add the quinoa, carrots, and raisins. Toss. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Rosanna’s tips.

1. Educate yourself about nutrition. Learn about the impact your food choices have on your overall health. A diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes can greatly improve your health and reduce the risk of major lifestyle-related diseases, including heart disease and cancer. Buy a new plant-based cookbook or sign up for a cooking course.

2. Get rid of dairy products. I feel so much healthier on a plant-based, vegan diet. The amount of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients in plant-based foods gives me an extra edge as an athlete. It also helps propel me through long days in the science lab, between biochemistry exams and long photo shoots.

3. Be kind. Think about the impact your food choices have on animals, your long-term health, and the environment. Also, be kind to yourself; reward yourself for your personal health goals. Splurge on a snorkeling trip or nice dinner with your family.

vegansofig:

I’d like to start off by apologizing to anyone with a nut allergy, because this post is nuts. Nuts are very healthy and nutritious. Nuts are high in essential amino acids and healthy fats, making them an important part of any vegan’s diet. Here are some key nuts and seeds that should be apart of your diet.

1⃣  Almonds are a good source of protein, vitamin E, manganese, magnesium, copper, vitamin B2 (riboflavin), and phosphorus. Almonds are also concentrated in protein; a quarter-cup contains more protein than the typical egg. Although one-quarter cup of almonds contains about 18 grams of fat, most of it (11 grams) is heart-healthy monounsaturated fat.

2⃣  Cashews are high in antioxidants and have a lower fat content than most other nuts; additionally, 75 percent of their fat is unsaturated fatty acids. Cashews are also a good source of monounsaturated fats, copper, and a good source of magnesium and phosphorous.

3⃣  Flaxseeds, also known as linseeds, are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids. Flaxseeds are also rich in fiber and manganese and are a good source of folate, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), magnesium, phosphorous, and copper, and lignan phytonutrients.

4⃣   Peanuts are actually legumes, but they are a good source of heart-healthy monosaturated fat, flavonoid (resveratrol), antioxidants, phytosterols, phytic acid (inositol hexaphosphate), and folic acid. Peanuts are also a good source of vitamin B3 (niacin), folate, copper, manganese, and protein. FYI, some Planters dry roasted peanuts contain gelatin. Choose another brand. 

5⃣  Pumpkin seeds are a good source of the essential fatty acids, potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, manganese, zinc, iron, and copper, protein, and vitamin K.

6⃣   Sesame seeds and tahini are rich in beneficial minerals. Not only are sesame seeds a very good source of manganese and copper, but they are also a good source of calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorous, vitamin B1 (thiamin), zinc, dietary fiber, and healthy (monosaturated) fats.

7⃣  Walnuts are an excellent source of omega-3 essential fatty acids. Walnuts are also a good source of manganese, and copper. Walnuts are also an important source of healthy (monounsaturated) fats. Walnuts also have bio-available melatonin, which helps regulate sleep.

Nutritional yeast kale chips.

Haven’t made these in a while so figured I’d share again.

-Preheat oven to 350f
-Wash, de-stalk and chop kale into desired size. (Any kale works, try using a few different colored ones for fancy chips)
-Toss kale in a little olive oil til it’s lightly covered.
-Place on baking sheet and sprinkle with nutritional yeast (powder or flakes, I used powder)
-Bake for 10 minutes until they’ve darkened and lightly crisped.
-Eat.

Blueberry Chia “jam”.

I loosely followed this recipe but used frozen blueberries, just heat them much slower to start if you’re doing this- http://ohsheglows.com/2012/06/26/magical-blueberry-vanilla-chia-seed-jam/

Yum!

I will make my own one of these some day but until then, here are some helpful ones i found online.

Good staples to keep in any kitchen!

http://ohsheglows.com/2012/04/09/my-vegan-pantry/

http://cheapveg.tumblr.com/post/29995829007/the-cheap-vegan-pantry-what-you-need-and-what

http://www.veganhousewives.com/a-few-vegan-pantry-staples/

http://girliegirlarmy.com/nosh/20100906/meatless-mondays-a-list-of-vegan-pantry-must-haves/

Sautéed kale, sweet potato, mixed beans and a poached egg.

- Prep the sweet potato by peeling and cutting into small cubes. You don’t need to use the whole thing, i just cut thick slices off as i use it and wrap the end in Saran Wrap. Place in a bowl with a small amount of water, cover and microwave for 1.30 to 2.00 min.

- While the sweet potato is steaming wash and cut the kale up and put garlic and ginger through a garlic press (add as much or as little as you want).

- In a big pan, add olive oil and the garlic/ginger paste and heat on low until it starts to brown. Add the sweet potato just to crisp up the edges and the chopped kale.

- Poach an egg in a pan of water or substitute it for a tofu steak or skip it all together.

- Once the kale is wilted and the sweet potato has browned you can plate it up, add some mixed beans and put your egg on top.

Yum, yum and yum.

Okay this is a weird one but still tastes delish. 🍐 1 pear, some kale, frozen mango, 1 scoop #vega one and topped off with rice milk. I use vega one like medicine and its certainly been helping me recover from norovirus really fast with all those probiotics! #health #food #vegan

I get so many messages from you guys asking if X diet is good or if Y diet is too unhealthy and honestly, if you have to ask- its probably not a good plan.

To start with i really hate that these unhealthy diet plans are classed as “diets” because when i simply want to refer to what i eat as my diet.. you can tell people are thinking of crazy fasting or living on cucumbers and almonds. Instead we should call them “junk”, i find that more fitting.

If you’re thinking of trying one of these junks, before you buy the book or the diet plan or whatever it is they’re asking for money for: try and ascertain what the gist of the junk is.

For example theres a junk called the “Reverse Diet” that boasts about helping you lose 100lb by following it. In actuality all its suggesting is that you eat your biggest meal for breakfast, medium size meal for lunch and smallest meal for dinner. This isn’t anything new, i’ve heard it referred to as eating “like a King for breakfast, a Prince for lunch and a Pauper for dinner”. 

I think the belief behind it is that your body’s digestion slows down towards the end of the day and so can’t process big meals at night.

Some people might believe this and find it helpful for them but others think that your body stores nutrients and fats the exact same way no matter what time of day it is.

The point is that instead of buying that book, why not just eat a bigger breakfast and smaller evening meal and see how it works for you? Simple.

The other types of junk are ones that suggest you live on juice or 3 nuts and an apple or cayenne pepper drinks. In my opinion a diet that you cannot keep up long term is indeed… junk. (Besides the times when people need to lose a lot of weight quickly for a reason like surgery or extreme health conditions, obviously consult with your MD then)

If you’re still curious and want to try one of those diets why not just try replacing one meal with a juice or simply upping your intake of chosen wonder food and see how your body reacts.

There are so many diets out there that really take advantage of people who don’t know that much about nutrition. They end up much worse off than when they started, beginning the cycle of yoyo diets, constant disappointment and a bad relationship with food.

Here are some of the ludicrous diet plans featured on Web MD. Its got to the point where clothing companies (who should stick to making clothes IMO) now have their own diet plans: Victorias Secret and Abercrombie for example. Also Dr Phil… really… because he’s clearly a vision of pure health.

Then there are the diets that are just plain crazy… the hGC diet based on injections/serums of the hormone found in pregnant womens’ piss and a 500 calorie daily intake. To me this is so outrageous!!! Pregnancy hormone injections? Why not contract a flesh eating disease instead, its probably safe?

Your body cannot function on 500 calories a day.

Also Atkins? The diet that tells you its healthy to live on steak, cheese and bacon but don’t touch fruit. Fruit is bad. You might end up with heart disease and your breath will smell foul but at least you’ll be skinny, right? Try smoking too, i hear that helps.

The best thing you can do for your health is to educate yourself on nutrition. What your body needs, what it doesn’t need and everything in between. 

Don’t gauge your success on the number on the scale, gauge it on how healthy you are being, let good HEALTH be your goal.

Think of your body like a luxury car: it might run okay on cheap gas but it will be sluggish.. to get the most out of your car (body), you need premium fuel!

If you still feel like you need guidance, try making some simple life changes and keep them up, see how your body reacts.

-Drink only water and green tea (you should drink half your weight in oz so if you’re 130lb you should drink 65oz water).

-No junk food.

-If you can’t pronounce the crazy chemical ingredients of foods you buy or if you couldn’t tell someone what that ingredient looked like, don’t buy it.

-Swap butter for an olive oil spread or other healthy alternative if you MUST have butter.

-Use less salt and sugar

-Eat small meals through out the day when possible, this will keep your metabolism (engine) working at it’s finest.

-Walk more, whether its with your dog, friends or just park further away at the grocery store.

-Cut back on wheat, a lot of people have mild intolerances to wheat so try some alternatives.

-Cook at home more and do it from scratch. This will make you much more aware of what you’re putting in your body.

-Aim for colorful meals, i’m not talking a bag of candy, i’m talking salads, stir fry, veggie soups. Plus your meals will look prettier on instagram them ;P

I know this probably came across preachy or pissy but it really is a lot easier than you think but these diets cloud that view.

Quiet night in with a yummy face mask, cheap wine, quinoa dark chocolate (that absolutely makes it a #health #food ) and 3 furry beasts.