A Quickie

All I have to say is...thank God for Amy's Organic frozen lunches!

Brown rice and vegetables bowl?? Delicious!

Cajun-Seared Portobello Filets

Recipe stolen from Oprah. Heh.

Now here's the thing. This was absurdly delicious and absurdly spicey. Of course, me dredging the mushrooms in the Cajun spice mix didn't help matters. Would I make this again? Oh hell yes. Now, as far as the avocado cream goes...not a fan. This is most likely due to the fact that I made my cream using Nasoya mayo as opposed to Vegenaise. Nasoya definitely has the flavor of Miracle Whip and it just didn't...mesh well together. Next time, I'll surely wait until I have Vegenaise, or just skip the "creme" entirely as serve with some mild guacamole to counter the spice. Now THERE'S an idea!!


Excuse the crappy picture. The lighting was bad in my kitchen. :P

Ingredients:
Portobello Fillets:

• 3 portobello mushrooms , cleaned
• Extra-virgin olive oil to cover
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 Tbsp. paprika
• 1 Tbsp. Celtic sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp. onion powder
• 1 Tbsp. black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbsp. dried oregano leaves
• 1 Tbsp. dried thyme

Avocado Cream:

• 1 ripe avocados , peeled and pitted
• 1/8 cup vegan mayonnaise
  
• Juice of 1 limes
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
- To make the Portobello Fillets, place the mushrooms in a hotel pan or large metal roasting pan. - Cover with olive oil and add the garlic cloves.
- Poach in the oven at 170° for 3 hours. Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in a dish to make the Cajun rub.
- Remove the mushrooms from the oven.
- Remove from the oil and pat dry.
- Slice on a bias into 1/4-inch fillets.
- Rub the Cajun rub into the fillets and grill until heated through.

To make the Avocado Cream, combine all the ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Garnish the Portobello Fillets with the Avocado Cream and serve.

21-Day Cleanse Update

So far, so good! I haven't slipped yet except for the fact that I have a cup of black tea in the morning. I don't think that is too bad though - as far as caffeine goes. Plus, I have had NO coffee or diet soda so es bueno. Last night, I also finally made those Cajun-blackened portabellas and well...delicious!! I'll post the recipe later. I have to admit I wasn't a fan of the avocado creme though. Partially I think that was due to me using Nasoya mayonnaise. I have used Vegenaise in the past and generally enjoy it but Nasoya was just too...strong. I am not a big mayo person to begin with so meh. I don't think I'll be using Nasoya mayonnaise in the future. But my dinner was absurdly good. It's also my lunch today!

Southwestern Couscous

I made this delicious dish for lunch tomorrow. I had planned on fancy Cajun-rubbed portabella mushrooms with an avocado cream...but alas! My Vegenaise was expired! I then had to scramble to make sure I had some proper food for tomorrow...a more official start of my cleanse.



Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup uncooked couscous (I used tricolor)
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth (I used water with 1/2 a garlic bouillon cube)
- 1 1/2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
- a dash of ground cumin
- 1 15oz. can of black beans
- salt/pepper to taste

Now...here is where things got a little fun. Since this was a last minute plan, all I could add to this was fresh avocado. In the future, I would certainly make sure I have some corn kernels, green onions, or peppers on hand.

Directions:
- Bring broth to a boil and stir in the couscous.
- Cover the pot and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, lime juice, vinegar, and cumin. Add beans and the other vegetables. Toss to coat.
- Fluff the couscous well, and add to the bowl with the dressing/beans.
- Mix well (breaking up any couscous chunks) and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves:
1 large portion or two side servings.

Cleanse

Today I am starting a 21-day cleanse, as described in the book Quantum Wellness by Kathy Freston. Basically this means:
a) NO meat products of any kind.
b) NO alcohol
c) NO caffeine
d) NO sugar
e) NO gluten

Excerpt from an article written by Kathy Freston:
"Doing the cleanse delivers one to a fresh start. It's like a vacation, a reprieve, from our old and tired ways. It is an opportunity to kick start a momentum of consciousness and healing. We can see what it feels like to live on a plant-based diet for 21 days. And if we like what we feel, we can let the momentum we've started deliver us to a whole new level of living. Or it can just be a simple detox, a way to let your body rid itself of all the stored up junk it has had to process throughout the years. I'm not saying it's easy...but it's worth it."

The one problem I am having is that while her Cleanse chapter outlines NOT eating gluten, the back of the book provides many recipes that DO have gluten-containing ingredients. I know when Oprah did this cleanse (heh), she avoided gluten.

I think I will just go all-out and try to avoid it, as well.