Almost vegan: the edited Trader's Joe Greek Salad

Trader's Joe has a Greek packed salad. It is 2.5 portions and has some chopped lettuce (not a lot), same red cabbage, chopped cucumbers, olives and roasted red peppers, onion, a little bit of feta (that is why I call myself almost vegan) and an envelope of dressing with what it looked like oil, vinegar and herbs. When I've tried the first time I mixed all the ingredients and firstly it was waaay to sour (to much vinaigrette) and I as I had romaine leaves in my fridge I added quite a lot of them. The taste of rest of the ingredients still came through, maybe except the onion. 

The next time when I bought this prepacked salad, I added extra onion, cucumber lettuce and it became a favorite very quick to put together salad that could feed few people also didn't wilt so I could refrigerate it and have the leftover the next day.

On one of this "next day" as I saw there was still lots of vinaigrette on the bottom of the salad bowl I thought to add some beans, I had cannelloni beans around (meanwhile I tried with pinto beans also) and it was soo good.

I played with adding plant protein. Here is a pic with the salad with added garbanzo beans, but I do prefer this salad with the cannelloni or pinto beans.

Almost vegan: lentil stew with soy mashrooms

Being that I am almost vegan I eat lots of plant base protein like all kind of beans and legumes. I like to cook my own so I can add some aromatics (like bay leaves), to control the salt and avoid the potential health issues of eating canned products packed in metal cans. I cook big patches and I freeze some portions. I also try to have in the pantry cans with every variety of beans when I need them and I don't have in the freezer. 

However there is one type of legume that I loved cooked by me, and cannot tolerate canned, and that is lentils. Luckily they cook quickly, in 20 minutes. I add flavor and sweetens by starting with sauteing a small onion with turmeric, black pepper, bay leaves and coriander seeds. Then I add the lentils and water and it is done.

I pair the with lots of things. One of the latest paring was with mushrooms. I start by sauteing the quartered mushroom without salt (salt makes them watery) and after they they brown a bit I salt, pepper usually garlic and whatever I'm in mood for like more garlic, wine, parsley, and this time I remember seeing a recipe with soy glaze... so I added soy instead of salt. It cooked down to a glaze very quickly and it had more "umami" than my other versions. And it paired really well with the lentil stew and a simple mixed green salad on the side.

Monthly skating review: progress and goals adjustment

The plan for last month was to get back into skating and to develop awareness of positive and negative factors affecting my skating so I can plan better for the future. More specifically, I planned to skate 3 times a week, work continuously on the blade alignment, pay attention to building muscles, stamina, add more protein to my diet (plant base protein, as I'm almost vegan), and work on finding goals and motivation.

It was not easy, the first 2 weeks I had to push myself to go skating, there were also moments of doubts that I could get myself to skate regularly and enjoy it. But by the 3rd week I started to feel less tired, the boots felt better and better. I also found one more rink I cold eventually skate at, and with more sessions available, there are more chances to do skate 3 times a week, so less pressure. I kind of did it! I feel I've finally got where I was planning to get 6 months ago, after I've got the new boots (well 2 years ago if I make it about boots, because it was 2 years and 4 pair of bots that I've went through). Anyway, analyzing all the points from my post last month...

- Equipment (boots and blades) is a big issue, I think it is the biggest deciding factor in keeping skating. The boots are still not as tight as my previous ones (because of the new high toe box design of Riedell), I feel hesitant when I change the lobes/edges quickly. The harder I tie them, the better, but I've got feet pain.The blade alignment is not worse than I had 2 years ago, the issue is the same, I pronate on my right foot so I would need corrective insoles, only I have hyper mobility and the corrective insoles gave me  plantar fasciatis. I am stuck with commercial insoles and wedges between the blade and the boots. I may try again some extra wedge in my right boost, the left felt fine for few sessions in a row.

- Rinks: My home rink and the hockey team rink are in the city, they are at 15 minutes drive without traffic, up to 30 with traffic, the advantage is that I can run errands in my way to or from the rinks. I went occasionally for lessons at rinks on north suburbs at 30 minutes without traffic, to 45 minutes with regular traffic, drive on expressway. BUT, there is big repairs done on the expressway so I get 40 minutes towards the rink AND between 1 hour and 1 hour and a half coming back... that is just not doable for my life. My home rink doesn't have ice that fits my schedule in the summer, and before the summer, it was very crowded anyway. The hockey rink has a different schedule and level of crowdiness every day, plus days without ice.  But, I found Monday, Wednesday, Friday noon public skate, not crowded for the 2 sessions I went to, at a west suburb at 30 minutes driving both way, hopefully it will work! 

- Food, the attention to add more protein, I think had a bigger impact than I realized. The half portion of vegan protein shake that I succeed in drinking after skating (it is too sweet for my taste o drink more of it) definitely helps. Keeping track of the more successful recipes with added plant base protein, was also a good idea, because I have plenty of less successful, so less enjoyable ones. 

- The muscles felt better as I skated more regularly. I also went to a weekend gentle yoga class, that felt more like restorative yoga, and it felt great, I hope to keep it in my schedule. I'm trying to add some arms and core exercises at home, with mixed success.

 - Motivation. As I expected, when I started enjoying skating, I wanted to go... I didn't have to push myself. The only thing I figured out that helps with motivation, is consistency, or it is actually the other way around, lack of consistency hurts motivation. For now, I just wanted to get back into a rhythm, and consistency is the key, but if I'll work again for progress I know I will get frustrated  so I need too keep looking for things that help.

For the next month I plan to keep an eye on all these. Ideally I would take a lesson, maybe start to really work towards future tests... I thought that if this month will go as the last 2 weeks of last month I will be happy enough. This week I skated Monday and it was fine, Thursday a complete disaster (I was stiff and distracted, and the public session at the hockey rink was crazy busy), then it was better but not good on Friday. So  think it is a wise plan to take it as it comes...

Almost vegan: cauliflower soup

I remind you that I'm trying to "up" my plant base protein intake (as I am almost vegan), and keep track of the more successful recipes.

This is a variation of the "healthy soup". I love, looove cauliflower! I wanted to be able to taste it, so I took out from the healthy soup what I thought will compete with the cauliflower delicate taste, and that was the cabbage, parsnip, tomatoes and buckwheat. 

I started with  sauteing onion, carrots, celery with salt, pepper and turmeric. I added one head of cauliflower, one sweet potato, chickpeas. At the end I added fresh dill. 

It was per my family, the best soup they had in a very long while!

Ingredients: onion, carrot, celery, cauliflower, sweet potato, chickpeas (as protein), and fresh dill

Almost vegan: the healthy soup

This soup is inspired by one of my friend's vegetable soup for weight loss. I don't have the exact recipe but I remember she used cabbage, cauliflower, sweet potato,  turmeric and fresh dill, cilantro and green onion on top. I remember it was filling enough and I really loved the sweet potato in it as it didn't feel as sweet as it is when cooked by itself.

 Because I'm almost vegan, all my meals, especially when I skate/ exercise, need to incorporate some (plant base) proteins, otherwise I cannot get enough protein to sustain muscle recovery/ gain. And so, my "healthy soup" always incorporates some kind of beans. I also a little add buckwheat, as I feel adds umami taste and it is healthy. I usually use the cabbage because it is filling and the sweet potato, because that gives me the signature taste of this soup.

I started with sauteing onion, carrots, celery and parsnip with added turmeric. Then I added cabbage and sweet potato. I had 3 long stalks of broccoli (the florets I've used already) and I used those instead of the cauliflower. I added chickpeas for my protein, buckwheat some preserved hot pepper and a can of crushed tomato. You cannot see the chickpeas and buckwheat in the picture and I didn't have any fresh herbs, but trust me, this soup hits the spot every single time!

Ingredients: onion, carrot, celery, parsnip, cabbage, sweet potato, broccoli, chickpeas (as the  main protein), buckwheat (also a pretty good source of protein), crushed tomatoes, salt, paper, turmeric and pickled hot pepper, ideally fresh dill should be also added

Almost vegan

I find myself lately thinking a lot about food. I think it is related with the skating, as I need to eat more when I work out. I eat more often and also differently, as I need more protein, and interestingly I crave sweets (that I usually don't crave), so comfort food. Protein is complicated for me, as I am almost vegan, I think 90% of my food intake is plant base, I don't eat meat at all, but I do occasionally eat fish, cheese and I eat eggs from sources that I know are humane. And comfort food... I have to find something healthy.

I also hope to lose some weight. I gained 15 pounds during covid and I've lost just 5. This would help skating and my clothing to fit better.

So, I'm thinking to start a new category of posts covering food, I actually did have a post with soups during covid, see it here...

Anyway, the purpose of this posts would be firstly to keep track of the recipes, because many of them are created on the spur of the moment and I forget them. Also, vegetable meals take quite a lot of time to prepare, there are days when they are simpler, not as satisfying, I would like to use these posts also as a thinking ahead moments to help me keep the food interesting.

Mid month update

I had a nightmare last night. We were going back ice skating, there was pre registration to get on the ice and a waiting line outdoor. I could see that the skaters getting of ice were excited and that built the excitement for me to get on ice already! And then, as I entered the building, the rink wasn't familiar. It was redesign in terraces, different levels of ice surfaces. BUT they were very very small... the one on the bottom was the length of a tennis court but narrower, and the upper terraces were really more like balconies. I just couldn't believe that other skaters were content about it. I woke up from the dream right then, so I don't know if I actually tried skating or I just left. In real life I would have left for sure...

As time is passing without skating I have this growing worry that skating won't be the same, for me... I put in the past quite an effort into it. I had to come up with a time management that included sacrificing social life and not pursuing other things. What's happening right now, was unforeseeable...  Still, it is general wisdom that a person should strive to balance different aspects of life.

As I don't have skating to motivate me, I am not keeping up with the muscle conditioning. I was always slim by eating healthy and not sitting much, but before skating I was never what one would call active. It was hard and literally painful work to build up my muscles for skating, mostly through skating, but added lately strengthening exercises to help my skating. Now, I let those go... I am still doing some yoga, ballet, pilates in a relaxed, no pressure manner. Pre covid,myy ballet class was offered through the city park district and now it is moved online. The same instructor also offers online classes light yoga and pilates and ballet conditioning, so I take all of them, but honestly I do less then I would do in a live class.

I came back to my old (before skating) eating habits, light and fresh. Because I'm not active, I'm never hungry these days... And also I don't have to worry about the protein intake (as I'm almost vegan) to keep the muscle strong. Yes, it is clear, skating did make me alter my way of eating... Anyway, I've started to loose the weight I gained last month...

I feel that last month I was in standby, keeping myself ready to start skating at days notice. This month I actually fell I'm consciously letting go of skating so I make room for other things. It could be months until the skating rinks open, and even then, the schedule will be altered and I really cannot just stand and wait. And later, if I'll get now into other things, it's gonna be a fight again to take away time from these other things and put into skating. And even when circumstances will allow, and I would eventually decide to go back to skating as it was, it would be very very hard work. I fell very confused....

Food: the soup of the week

I don't usually cook soup every week. It just happened that now I did. I cooked five soups in five consecutive weeks... They are almost vegan, I don't eat meat, I do occasionally eat some fish, eggs and cheese. Here they are:

1. Smoked trout chowder. I have a happy memory from a skiing vacation about a corn chowder with truffle oil and micro greens. I liked it so much I went and had it tree days in a row. Then, I had a smoked fish chowder at a local brewery, that may or may not have had corn. Anyway, I combined the two. On a sauteed base of onion carrot and celery I added one can of smoked trout in oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Then I added water and few cubed potatoes and frozen corn and let it boil. When done I added a little cream, and that's it... I cooked this just before the coronavirus situation really exploded. I may have intuitively needed this comfort soup.

2. Cabbage soup. I make often the traditional eastern European cabbage soup. That is a base of sauteed onion carrots, parsnip, celery, salt, pepper, shredded cabbage, water thyme (very important)  and crushed tomatoes (fresh or canned) with a smoked meat bone, that I skip because I don't eat meat for few years now. But to improve the nutritional content I add sometimes garbanzo beans or some kind of grains. Now I added buckwheat, that I just discovered and I find I like it added to meals and not so much on its own (it has a quite strong taste somehow feels metallic to me). I also added turmeric (at the beginning with the sauteed vegetables, and half of pickled hot pepper for some bite. Again this is a comfort food for me as I had it from childhood cooked by mom and grandma. I also came across cabbage soup as a "diet" food, it must be because it is very filing for the few calories it has...

3. Red lentil soup. This is both a comfort food and a memory... a skating memory. In the good old days when I was skating I used to skate on Mondays a session on my own, at noon, then have a lesson at 3. During that break I either ran errands or had lunch. Almost invariable the lunch was at a Turkish restaurant that is close by the rink and open on Mondays, and has a lunch menu... I often have their red lentil soup (a little spicy and minty). I made it on a base sauteed onion carrots and celery, salt, pepper, turmeric, red pepper flakes, then I added water, red lentils and tomato paste.  And... it was the first time I added prunes. The recipe caught my eye on facebook, and I just happened to have prunes in the house and they were to dried up to eat on their own. I have to say it they added something "warm" to the soup. The traditional Turkish recipe has some barley to thicken it and, at least at the restaurant, was blended a little.

4. Cauliflower soup. I love cauliflower and I've just happened to find a beautiful one in store. I usually cook cauliflower in different kinds of stews (like mediteranean with celery, peppers, olives or capers, or moorish with curry spice and raisins). But now I wanted soup. Staying home all the time, I realized how convenient was to be able to grab a bowl of soup when I wanted something quick and light to eat (instead of grabbing some junk food). I started the cauliflower soup with sauteed onion. carrots, celery, red pepper, salt, pepper, turmeric, water, cauliflower, half of pickled hot pepper, red pepper spread (sometimes I put tomatoes but as I had the pepper spread on hand I thought is gonna be a nice change and keep the color of the soup lighter). I usually add potato to the cauliflower, but  I wanted something a little more filling and I added cannellini (white) beans, hoping they wouldn't compete in taste with the cauliflower and I was happy with the choice.

5. White bean soup. This is my favorite soup! but as my grandma was making it, I cannot ever get even close to that, but guess what, neither is my mom. I'm wondering if maybe is more about the happy childhood memories, then the actual soup. Anyway, I was talking to my mom about this, and she said "of course you loved grandma soup, she added tarragon!". The "of course" was in regard with the very well known fact that tarragon is my favorite herb. This soup I make from dry white, cannellini beans. I don't use white beans often, the previous week I used a can that I bought when stocking up the pantry for the quarantine. These white dry beans I had were a little old I think, I had them in the pantry for a while, I really use them just for this soup. Either that, or I didn't cook them enough, so they were a little hard in the soup. The base was sauteed onion, carrots, parsnip and celery to which I added the beans that I cooked for half hour before separately, with the liquid, and close to the end I added tomato paste and tarragon. "Of course" I loved the soup with the tarragon, but I don't really associated it with my grandma soup, sight... My grandma usually used a smoked bone, so that may be the difference, but she surely made it without meat at points. It's gonna be a forever mystery!

That's were my soup streak ended, the next "light" cooked meal of the week was a zucchini stew.

Monthly skating review: progress and goals adjustment

At this point we know the lockdown will continue probably for the whole month of April. And truthfully, skating is less and less in my mind, other thoughts are taking over. But I still feel that part of what I do is related to skating, or habits I've got while skating. I also feel that the desire to go back to skating makes me more aware and willing to keep up with exercising and eating well.

But let me tell you about last month. 
The first week was a regular skating week. I was working towards making my skating training more process oriented then goal oriented. And I talked about that idea here and how I started to implement it here.
The second week of last month I described here.
The third week of March (quarantine week 1)
This week I was self quarantining under the city guidelines to stay home if you can.  At first I was sad to see all the entertainment gone, concerts, ballet, restaurants and, of course skating. Then, I accepted it and started to organize. The first days, I was busy and productive. I cleaned the  house,  and only got out to do some quick shopping for non perishable food, and keep the appointment for spay/neuter. The news weren't terrible just yet. The weather was rainy all week long and in the week-end it snowed, so staying in was not so bad.
Regarding skating, I missed it soo much, it really hurted. I had a dream where I was skating, very vivid and intense... I did a double axel! I can still feel the flight and the rotation. It felt so real, I was sure if I would have had ice right then, I would have been able to replicate it. (I remind you that in real life, my jumping ability stops at the waltz jump....) But that is what dreams are good for! Back on the reality side of life, my coach sent to all his students some guidelines on how to keep the skating skills alive (practice turns on the floor in front of the mirror, concentrating on alignment and practice the dances as steps on music). Of course I knew I have to keep my body strength. I'm part on a skating group on facebook and many members were sharing their work out plans. For me doesn't work that well to start big, but start small and build on it. I was doing lately some core work. I taught let's add squats, and push ups.
The fourth week of March (quarantine week 2)
This was the first week of mandatory quarantine. The news from Europe were terrible, the news here, confusing. I didn't really need to get out of the house for anything. Because I was in the house more, I have found that I had to clean more, I found myself cooking more, and the days were blending and bleeding into each other. At some point I felt I'm suffocating. It was sunny few days in a row so I went for a walk. It was pleasant, but frustrating too somehow. I saw some people running and I realized how much I missed cardio activity (that I was getting from skating). The exercises I do in the house are just strength and stretching. As I was wondering if I could maybe use this opportunity to start running (which I don't like), the weather got gloomy again, so no running for now. I was looking into ballet, there are so many free classes on the internet. It's not working too well for me because I don't have a big enough space near the computer to do all they are doing and I get frustrated. To be honest, my heart is also not so light and happy to enjoy ballet. And so, I found myself thinking about yoga. I started small and simple: breathing, cat cow, mountain, forward bent and flat back, down dog, lunges, stretches. When doing yoga in a studio I loved the flow classes, where you were moving from one pose to the next. I don't have enough knowledge myself to do that on my own. I tried many dvds in the past and none was the rhythm and poses that I wanted. So I'm thinking for now to keep in simple, study these simple poses and create a habit, then build on that.
Skating... I somehow didn't miss it so much. I try to not think about it, there is nothing I can do anyhow...
The last days of March (quarantine week 3)  
Well, here, I've got lost. This was the moment when it became obvious that the quarantine won't stop on April 7th as it was planned at first. I went to sleep late for few nights, so the I felt tired during the days and I was "comfort" eating. During the first days of quarantine I came across articles (one was about an astronaut in space) advising how to hold yourself together while in isolation. The advice was to keep a schedule (especially sleeping and eating and exercise, that I generally do anyhow) and also schedule pleasant activities.  But it seemed that the harder I tried to basically do the things that I was doing the weeks before, the worse I was in fact doing. My body was restless (from not enough sleep, and I'm wondering if there is such a thing as exercise withdrawal because I move significantly less then while skating), my mind was unfocused, and my heart and soul couldn't really find the pleasant activities. This is when I came across an article saying something opposite, or at least complementary. It was that, times are really hard, don't put extra pressure on yourself, go trough them as painless as you can. This helped a lot, combined with the fact that at that point my sleep was on schedule again. From there, I reassessed the eating. I tried to pay attention and eat when I was hungry and eat a whole meal. The previous days it felt that I was snacking all the time and a little hungry all the time, but not hungry enough for a meal (vicious circle there). It was interesting to look back and see that I was very satisfied eating "the soup of the week". I might write a post about those... Also, I found out that my confort food is: fries. Exercise slid away from me for few days, but I came back, without any effort, to the quick and easy things I was doing before, because they do make me feel better. I hope I can build up to more, but I don't want to put any pressure on myself.
Skating seems very very far away.

Goals? Just do it! That is... crawl trough it...