“When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use; when diet is correct, medicine is of no need." –Ayurvedic proverb
Fall is my favorite time of year! I love all things autumn, including the reprieve of cooler weather! Cool-weather means warm food, and this soup is a family favorite! I always keep the queso dip around, so for me, this whole meal is on the table in 25 minutes! No dairy and no oil. This soup is better for you than Panera and tastes just as good. You can also add a diced potato to this recipe and make a yummy broccoli potato soup! I hope you enjoy it!
XO,
Steph
One of my “favorite book” recommendations is a book that I used to gift to my health coaching clients. It is called “The Mindful Diet How to Transform your Relationship with Food for Lasting Weight Loss and Vibrant Health (Wolver, Ruth, et al.,2015). The cover is a little tattered and torn, but no worse for wear, as they say! Deeply rooted in Psychology, I like it because it helps you understand your relationship with yourself–from many angles. And we, the readers, are gifted with tools and easy ways to create sustainable changes for a healthy life.
I am on day 4 of a 7-day detox, in which the first two days are an herbal liquid fast. When you don’t eat for 68 hours, it’s an easy way to understand and know your cravings! You can even write them down if you want. It’s an excellent way to check in with ourselves.
During this time of fasting, I realized that I had ebbed away from the things that brought me actual physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. I know how I feel when I take care of myself in all those ways, And I also know what it feels like to neglect myself in those ways. Holistic health is the Tao of Happiness!
I have also decided to give up alcohol for the time being, if not forever. And not just because it’s awful for my body. My reflux and weight gain are directly correlated to my alcohol consumption. But I am rebelling against our cultural love of alcohol. Alcohol is poison. It is not medicine. Though I believe many people use it that way. It numbs, but it’s also death to more than just brain cells. I know someone in a coma RIGHT NOW because of a drunk driving incident.I saw a great quote: “Alcohol is the only drug that if you DON’T do it, people assume you have a problem. Now, that’s a problem. But it’s everywhere. EVERYWHERE!
And I want to fall in love with good nutrition again because guess what? It can also taste good! That idea is what made me want to become a professional chef. I also know that I want to eat good food and not just eat what tastes good. Oreos are vegan! And guess what? Our healthy tastebuds have been hijacked!
Our entire understanding of what to eat has been conflated and confused. We are disconnected between what goes in and what comes out of us! But no wonder we have commercials for “Arby’s—We got the meat.” The next damn commercial is for Lipitor or Viagra. I just read that the average 40-year-old takes two long-term prescription medications daily. It goes up A LOT the older we get. The number of pills my 82-year-old stepdad takes is staggering. Watch the documentary “Game Changers.”
Change is possible, but it is also incremental. One of the things that I always say is, “Think Evolution, not Revolution. Change takes practice. Like anything else, it takes a desire and effort, but pace yourself. I tend to take off quickly! Also, we need to get out of our way. My friend did the Hard 75. Her advice is, like Nike, “Just do it.” Hey, monkey mind, stop thinking about it and go do it already!
In psychology, we talk a lot about the mind all the time! But how many of us understand what it even is? Ha! Here’s a quick Psych 101 lesson. The first layer of our mind is the waking mind, also known as the chattery mind. It’s the always-thinking, mile-a-minute mind that likes to achieve satisfaction!
The second layer of our mind is our reactive mind. The “what do we do mind.” “Do I go home and fix dinner or run yourself through a drive-thru?” This is the judgmental mind that loops all of us! This mind can trick even the most experienced of us! “Eh, I’ll make dinner tomorrow night.”
And the third and final mind is the wise old owl mind. The mind simply does what it needs to do, even if it’s hard, because it knows it’s essential. It is also the practicing mind. Repetition and practice are what allow change to change us!
In effect, it is from this perspective that one can become a teaching mind. It takes discipline as well as desire to achieve “real” change. From now on, my hope is to share what I know. And I promise to practice what I teach. I love cooking. Food is life. But there is so much more to proper health and well-being than what we eat. Don’t worry. I’ll still share recipes because I will never stop cooking!
From this day forward, this space will be all-encompassing, holistic, and from a place of authenticity and selflessness. It’s not about me, yet it is about me. This is why I share my cooking videos, but I’m not in a bikini doing it! In fact, you’ll rarely see my face. I believe in plant medicine, and yes, I am pro-marijuana. I believe in moving and stretching the body, but I don’t think that has to be in a gym. I will explore topics in alternative medicine, psychology, and spirituality. I believe in a higher power. In practice, I am an omnist; I don’t believe there is one path to transcendence (though much of my practice is rooted in Buddhism), and I am not here to judge or deny anyone for their beliefs.
And as to the knowledge I share, I humbly say that most of what I know comes from standing on the shoulders of giants. Those brave souls paved the way for folks like you and me to know and grow! So you will often hear me reference doctors, researchers, educators, activists, mentors, and musicians. I will also share personal experiences and stories of my friends and me.
I am an ardent follower of people like Dr. Michael Greger, MD, Dr. Neal Barnard, MD, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D.; and Dr. Stephen Cabral, ND.
I hope to impart wisdom and humor from great contemporaries like Maya Angelou and Matthew McConaughey (if you haven’t read his “Greenlights” book, ya gotta); and neuroscientist Andrew Huberman just to name a few.
Furthermore, I will reference activists like John Muir, Sierra Club, Peta…and THAT list goes on and on! Just a forewarning, tho, on the topics of animals and our planet, I’m going to be factual and blunt.
Finally, I encourage people to have reasonable, even heated, discussions! I am a very passionate person! And I love being in the scrum! But I will literally block people from my page if they cannot have a dignified and respectful conversation.
Helping others by helping ourselves is the best gift we can give the world.
#The journey of 1000 miles…
XOXO —Steph
“What we seed, we feed.”
It’s been a while! Hello everyone! I hope you had a wonderful summer! Mine was spent exactly how I envisioned it! I had lots of time in the water, spending time with loved ones and living my lazy best life! That said, I am ready for autumn! While I love living a Jeff Spicoli summer, “All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I’m fine,” around this time every summer, the wheels start coming off the bus. So now that the kids are heading back to school next week and Kevin is gone for the week, I will have the house all to myself for the first time in years. Years.
I am in a creative mood and hope to get the ball rolling on some new recipes. I am still working on some recipes for my cookbook and improving my food photography skills. I have just shy of 100 recipes written and photographed. It’s a pet project that I have been working on and want to finish by next Spring! I am pretty sure this Mushroom Carnitas recipe will be in the book!
The book is divided into sections and will be called “Vegan Around the World!” Recipes like Mushroom Empanadas, Sweet Potato Galette, Vegan Faux Gras, Chickpea Aloo Gobi, and Cajun Gumbo are sure to have a taste for every palate!
I have also dedicated several recipes to friends and family. One of my favorite vegan chefs is Joanne Lee Molinaro. I love her stories and how she weaves her culture into her recipes. I hope to share some of my philosophies regarding veganism, sustainability, and the science of health for not only us humans but also the health of the planet. I would also like to share some of my culinary instructions and advice. As someone who’s been in the culinary world in one form or another since the early 1990s, I can offer some easy substitutions and suggestions and maybe expand your culinary knowledge!
So, without further ado, let’s get to it! This Mushroom Carnitas recipe is nearly perfect. What does that mean exactly? Well, it has precisely 12 ingredients, it’s ready in under 30 minutes, and it is so good you will want to make enough for seconds. Promise!
I used two kinds of mushrooms for this recipe. There is a lot of flexibility in the mouthfeel for whatever type of mushroom you fancy. I used half king oyster mushrooms and portobellos, but you could also use shitakes, lions mane, really just about anything other than the small white button mushrooms. You want a nice “shreddable” mushroom. With a nice dusting of spices like cardamom, cumin, orange zest, and Mexican oregano, the carnitas are oven roasted for about 15 minutes.
I like to keep it simple. Much like the shredded pork variety, I used onions, jalapenos, garlic, and orange juice. I also like the addition of the vegan Worcestershire sauce, and you could even use a tiny amount (1/8 tsp) of liquid smoke if you like.
The Violife vegan feta is an excellent substitution for Mexican Queso Fresco. Highly recommend it! Add some pickled red onions, avocado, and fresh cilantro, and call it a day, mis amigos!
tables
This recipe is an oldie but goodie! It’s super easy and a perfect meal for summer. I love the mango salsa just by itself! Also, you can use butternut squash in place of the sweet potatoes, or papaya in place of the mango! The options are endless!
I have modified this amazing recipe because I am doing a Candida/Bacterial overgrowth protocol, and there are a lot of things I can’t have. However, this recipe came really close to checking off all the boxes and it is soooo good. But I must give all the credit to Food Faith Fitness for her mega talents in the kitchen! I’ve made a few modifications (chives for onions, cream of coconut for the full-fat coconut milk, and cut back on the oil).
Serving Size: 2
Coconut Curry:
Mango Salsa:
Directions
One of the first things I want to eat when I go to New Orleans is a steaming hot bowl of Red Beans & Rice. I also want an Abita Amber Ale out of Abita Springs, LA, the small town in St. Tammany parish, where my husband Kevin and I got married (we got engaged on the back of The Creole Queen paddle wheeler in the Bay of New Orleans).
Kevin’s family has been in New Orleans for five generations! His great-grandpa Michael D’Argonne was a college professor and the head of the Sociology department at Xavier University in the 1920’s/30’s. His grandparents lived in Metairie, LA until their passing a few years ago. Now, most of his family lives across Lake Ponchartrain on the Northshore.
And so a year after getting engaged we got married at the Abita Quail Farm. It is THE most beautiful place! I am still indebted to Kevin’s Aunt Janice, for telling us 22 years ago…”I know where ya haf ta have ya weddin’!” It was a dream wedding with 100 of our closest friends and family. John, the owner of the farm is a good friend of her husband, Paul. John surprised us with fireworks over the lake at the end of the night. The memory still brings tears!
Our uncle, Paul La Rocca, on the Italian side of the family, is a local banker on the Northshore. The man knows everyone from Mandeville to Hammond and everywhere in between, including Abita Springs. We had our rehearsal dinner and after-wedding party at the Abita Brewpub per his suggestion (they graciously stayed open until 3:00 AM for us).
And it was Paul’s uncle Anthony who taught me everything I know about New Orleans food and cooking. He would call me and we would literally talk for hours about everything, but mostly food and cooking. He had built a professional kitchen in his backyard off Milan Street in Midtown and sometimes he even cooked meals for the Arch Bishop of New Orleans! He was in his 80s when he died and he became one of my very good friends and favorite teachers.
Needless to say, my heart and my stomach both live in Louisiana! This Red Beans & Rice recipe is a variation of my mother-in-law, Miss Cheryl’s recipe. I added a little heat, but the show stopper is the New Orleans Creole Cream Style “Blue Runner Brand” Kidney Beans. Now, most of us cannot find them locally, but Walmart has been known to carry them (and is the cheapest way to buy them online), and if you’re from St. Louis, I can bring you some next time I’m down there.
You can also purée kidney beans with a little vegetable stock and saute them up with the “cajun trinity,” celery, bell pepper, and onions, and flavor ’em with a creole seasoning. It’s an extra step but it is a game-changer in a recipe that runs the risk of being a little on the dry side. You’ll thank me, I promise.
Anyway, here y’all go! And as always, let me know how ya like it!
Pase yon bon joune!
Steph
This bowl is a family favorite! I love the tofu cutlets, and the BBQ makes it sooooo good! Feel free to use whatever veggies you have on hand. The great thing about a bowl is that there is no wrong way to make it! I love the Southwest flair this dish has, and it makes a perfect weeknight dish!
You can make the cilantro lime rice ahead of time, and it helps when you have several things cooking at once. I used a smoky-sweet Kansas City-style BBQ sauce, but again, it’s your preference! This dish would also be great with coleslaw instead of rice! You could also go Korean style with some Gochujang, black rice, and baked cauliflower! The possibilities are endless!
As always, tag me if you make it and let me know how you liked it!
XOXO,
Steph
Are you looking for an easy appetizer? Well, who doesn’t love a good dip? Admittedly, it’s one of my guilty pleasures! And this recipe is the first to come to mind! I love all things dip, hummus, queso, cream cheese, and my vegan peppercorn ranch, but I especially love this Smoky Poblano Corn Dip! It’s delicious and gorgeous and will be a hit among your non-vegan friends and family.
I like to set it out and watch people gobble it up. They will often ask who made the corn dip and when they find out it was me, they are always amazed that it is 100% vegan!
I typically use poblano peppers for mine, but you can use anaheim or hatch peppers. And for reasons of sustainability, I also use Follow Your Heart sour cream because it contains no palm oil. I use R.W. Garcia chips because they are yummy, the family has a great story, their products are organic/non-GMO, and they are a sustainable climate pledge-friendly company.
As always, tag me and let me know how you like it!
XO,
Steph
Harvesting the “heart of palm” kills most palms. So wild harvesting can be very damaging if done on a widespread basis. The hearts of palm that I buy is the “Native Forest” brand. Here is a quote from their website—”Here we rely upon the Euterpe precatoria, or huasaí palm tree, which grows profusely throughout this vast Amazonian rainforest.
Long-term leases secure approximately 240,000 acres of pristine native forest for the wild hearts of palm ecological project, thereby protecting the land from any rain forest-destructive development. In addition to preserving the region’s ecology, this project brings needed employment to those who live deep in the Amazon basin, providing them the opportunity to work closer to their families and their ancestral homes.”
But not all brands are as conscientious as Native Forest, and it’s best to check. The Environmental Working Group’s page is an excellent resource for studying everything from sustainability to child labor and products that contain pesticides, GMOs, etc.
So back to the recipe! The hearts of palm are a perfect replacement for crab meat. These little gems are crispy on the outside and flaky and moist inside. My mother-in-law (who is not vegan) was utterly blown away! You can pan-fry, air fry or oven fry them, whatever your preference. Just be sure to heat your oven to the lowest setting and add them to the range to keep them warm. Serve with a side of corn maque choux and enjoy!
This is a super easy recipe for making corn tortillas! I like the blue corn masa harina because it contains 20% more protein than its white corn counterparts. It is also gluten-free and has less starch and a lower glycemic index (GI) than white or yellow corn. Like blueberries, blue corn contains naturally occurring anthocyanin. Anthocyanin is the pigment that makes a plant or grain blue, red, purple, or black. These richly colored foods are high in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties!
Once you make homemade tortillas, I promise you’ll never want to use storebought tortillas again! You can use masa harina for making tortillas, tamales, gorditas, corn chips, enchiladas and sopes! You don’t need a tortilla press, but they are super handy, especially if you’re like me and use a lot of tortillas. You will want to buy one.
It is essential to follow these directions implicitly. While the ingredients are simple, the process is precise. A few things to note– do not press the tortilla too hard, or it will smear. And remove the parchment from the tortilla and not the tortilla from the parchment. This prevents the tortilla from tearing. I typically remove the top sheet of parchment, place the dough side down on the comal, and carefully remove the second sheet. If the dough sticks to the parchment, spray with a tiny bit of oil.
Enjoy!
I love tacos. And I’m pretty confident I will have made them in every possible way before I die. I could eat a different taco variety daily and never tire of them. And these tacos are my new favorite. I recently discovered the versatility of oyster mushrooms and decided that they would make an excellent filling choice for my next taco venture.
The word taco comes from the Nahuatl (Aztec) word ‘tlahco,’ which means “half or in the middle,” referring to how it is formed. It is believed that the taco originated in Mexican silver mines in the late 19th century. To mine the silver, Miners added gunpowder to paper which was then folded in half and inserted into rocks before detonation. Taco de minero translates into “miner’s tacos.” The tacos then were very different from tacos today. Typically they were made using a soft corn tortilla filled with fish or organ meat. Nowadays, there are dozens and dozens of taco varieties.
I used smoked paprika and ancho chili powder to get a smoky cauliflower taste without pulling out the smoker. I thought the ancho chili powder would pair well with its daddy, the poblano. Made from dried poblano chilies, ancho chili powder is quite different from regular chili powder, usually some form of a dried chili cut with cumin, oregano, and paprika. You could also obtain the same smokiness using chipotle powder, but because it packs some heat, you must cut the ingredient amount by half.
I have included the recipe for my blue corn tortillas. A good tortilla is the only thing I love more than a taco. If you’ve never made them before, fear not. They couldn’t be easier to make! Only two ingredients, the key is good masa flour and to use only enough water to create a dough. I have a tortilla press because I generally always make my tortillas. But you don’t need a press. You only need something heavy to press them with, like a heavy baking dish. I promise once you start making your tortillas, you’ll never return to store-bought again.
As always, tag me and let me know how you like them!
XO,
Steph
