Manicotti

This is one of my favorite dishes to serve to non-vegan family and friends. It is a good transitional dish. One day I would like to find whole wheat manicotti, so, if you know where to get it, let me know.

I am sure you can WOW your family with this recipe.

MANICOTTI

Ingredients
● 14 pieces (1 container) manicotti shells
● 10 oz. Vegan Gourmet mozzarella cheese, grated
● 15-16 oz. (1 tub) extra firm tofu, drained and grated
● 4 oz. vegan cream cheese
● 5 oz. baby spinach
● Salt to taste
● 1/3 cup dill, chopped
● 1 jar favorite spaghetti sauce

Preparation
● Preheat oven to 375º F.
● Prepare pasta according to instructions (do not overcook it. I cook mine for 6 minutes). Make sure to salt it.
● While pasta is being cooked, mix grated cheese, tofu and cream cheese, salt to taste.
● Wilt spinach over light heat a little; add to cheese mixture, along with dill.
● Mix everything well.
● When pasta is ready and rained, fill it with cheese mixture.
● Spread about 1/3 of pasta sauce on the bottom of a baking dish.
● Lay stuffed manicotti over it. Spread 1/3-1/2 of remaining pasta sauce over it. Keep some for plating.
● Cover baking dish with foil and place in the oven.
● Bake for 25-30 minutes.
● Spread remaining sauce on plates. Serve hot manicotti over it with a delicious green salad of your choice.

Bone Appétit!

Bulgur Pilaf

Bulgur is made from whole wheat that has been parboiled, dried, then sifted into particles. It is used throughout Greece and the Middle East as an accompaniment to stews and can be used instead of rice in pilafs.

Bulgur is rich in fiber. There are 8 grams of fiber in a cooked cup of bulgur, accompanied by 6 grams of protein. 1 cup of bulgur has only 151 calories!!! If you want to see a complete breakdown of all vitamins contained in bulgur, click on this link.

BULGUR PILAF

Ingredients
● 2 cups bulgur, cooked
● 3 cups water
● Sea salt to taste
● 3 teaspoons cumin
● 2 medium tomatoes, cubed
● 1 cup corn
● 1 cup green peas
● 1 apple, cubed
● 1 cup pineapple, cubed
● 2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation
● Bring water to boil; add bulgur and salt; cover.
● Turn the heat on very low and cook for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork to separate the grains.
● Add cumin and remaining ingredients. Mix well.
● Serve hot or cold.

EAT HEALTHY!!! BE HAPPY!!!

Everything Matters

Diet is, perhaps, the most important aspect of a healthy lifestyle. It goes hand in hand with exercise. However, what we place on our skin is also very importants. Modern make-up, shower gels, dish detergents, etc. are all full of harmful chemicals. Many of the chemicals that are used in production of such items are not regulated by anyone. Thousands of chemicals are introduced every single year, without ever being inspected or tested. Unfortunately money rules over ethics a lot of the times. So, it is then left up to us--consumers, to do the research and make decisions that are sure to effect us and our children.

It is hard to make a quick change in all aspects of our lives. I have been through it myself, and I am still making adjustments in certain areas. As I said above, diet and excercise come first. The next logical step is to go through lotions, detergents, cleaning supplies, and make an educated decision on what you should be brining into your home--your "sanctuary", what you should place not only inside of you but also on you. Numerous sprays, detergents and other "every-day" items are packed with chemicals that raise estrogen in women, causing hormone imbalance and infertility.

If you do a quick study you will see that infertility rates are directly proportional to the rise of chemical use. And this is only one of numerous problems. I am not going to go into depth about everything that is on my heart today, I would not want to lose your attention along the way. I simply want to make you aware of what is going on and what you should be doing. Maybe we can't change the world in one day, but we all can change what we are responsible for, educate those around us, and pray that the rest of the world will follow... at least some day.

As I was starting my quest for better living, I quickly realized that the make-up I was using was not good for my skin. After all, skin is the largest receptor that we have on our body. What goes on it inevetably ends up in our blood stream. I found a great alternative and have been happy since.

Bare Escentuals has a line of products called Bare Minerals. It is 100% natural. Once you put it on it looks natural and you cannot feel it. It has no preservatives, fillers, or binders. I have been using it for over a year now, and the only thing that would make me happier is if my nutural skin looked as good as it does when I wear Bare Minerals. You can access their site by clicking on the image below.

BE HEALTHY!!! LIVE HAPPY!!!

Personal Assessment

Once in a while, no matter how well we think we are doing, we all need a check up... a marker along the way that would help us get back on track or to improve on things we might still be lacking. The easiest way to do it is by observing your well-being. Do you wake up tired? Are you overweight? Do you feel depressed? If the answer to any of these questions is a yes, you already know that changes need to be made as soon as possible. After all, we have only one life to live and only one body to get through it.

Several months ago I came across a QUESTIONNAIRE that was very helpful to measure my progress. Since, I made improvements to my diet and my life in general. I went back to it today to see how I am doing. I scored 29, which means that there are still a few things I need to work on. I am still dealing with a couple of health issues from my "pre-vegan" days, hoping and praying on top of that, that soon they will be resolved. I am making all possible changes that I can to speed up the process. I am hoping that when I takes this self-assessment in a few months I will score less than 20.

I would love to encourage you to go ahead and read through the questionnaire. Take the assessment. After all, what you don't know might hurt you, so it is better to find out and deal with it immediately.

Drop me a note and let me know what your score is.

Festive Pasta

Cooking does not have to be a daunting task. Most of my meals take no more than 30 minutes. I like what Darlene of Simple Raw Health said in her latest post: raw food is the best “fast food”. Most people are afraid to change to a different diet, a lot of the times thinking that it is too time consuming to learn new recipes. Luckily, it does not have to be. Most of my recipes are created in a spur of the moment. I simply open my fridge and cupboards, see what I have, and then decide what I want to make. Today was no exception. So, Festive Pasta was created.

FESTIVE PASTA

Ingredients
● 16 oz. bag of wheat pasta, cooked (make sure to salt pasta when cooking)
● 2 cups chopped broccoli
● 2 large carrots sliced
● 3 medium size tomatoes, diced
● 5 cloves garlic, minced
● 3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
● ¼ cup olive oil
● Sea salt to taste
● Favorite seasoning to taste

Preparation
● Submerge broccoli into hot water for about 10 seconds to bring out bright green color (I normally place broccoli in a bowl, and then drain pasta water over it. After pasta is drained, I drain broccoli and mix with pasta).
● Add remaining ingredients; mix well until everything is coated with oil.
● Serve immediately.

Simple, yet delicious!!! I would like to encourage all of you to let your creative juices flow and see what comes out.

GOOD EATINGS!!!