Balanced Recipe: Humus

So I was in the kitchen the other day and decided to make some humus and by popular demand here is the recipe :)

The recipe is easily scalable so make as much a (or as little) as you would like.

1/2 cup chick peas/garbanzo beans (they are the same thing)

2/3 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

OR

1/2 cup chick peas/garbanzo beans

1/3 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/3 teaspoon Tahini (made form sesame seeds)

no add the spices i like to add the following:

garlic

sea salt

pepper

chillies

chili powder

Add them to taste and blend all the ingredients together.

Message:

-Try this great and easy humus recipe

-It helps to have a strong blender to blend everything

-Take 2 large hard boiled eggs, cut them in half, take the yolk out and replace each pit with 1 tablespoon of your humus for a great snack!

The Sugar Craving Monster Inside Of You

So your just going about your day minding your own business and BAM!! You get hit with the sugar craving monster! You want to eat a big bowl of ice cream or the entire brownie platter. You indulge in your sweet tooth and feel satisfied but say "I shouldn't have eaten that." Did you ever wonder why you have the cravings?

When you eat fat it controls hormones in your body called Eicosanoids. Eicosanoids act like programing for your body. If you eat sweets that have moderate fat it reprograms your body to want and crave that type of food. So if you eat brownies you are going to crave other sweets that are high in sugar and high in fat. Things like ice cream, cake, cookies, Dairy Queen Blizzard, etc.

There is good news and bad news. The bad news is that there is no Methadone for the addiction to sweets but you can eventually stop it and reprogram your brain. Just eat a balanced diet of good carbs, proteins, and good fats and you can reprogram your brain not to crave sweets. The next time you have cravings for sweets try not to give into it and eat a snack thats balanced.

Message:

-As a vegetarian we tend to eat foods high in carbs and fat just because thats what we have access to in our everyday lives.

-When we eat foods high in carbs and fat we reprogram our brains to crave carbs.

-To reprogram your brain not to crave sweets you just need to eat a balanced meal with low density carbs, dense protein source (tofu, eggs, or soy), and a little good fat (mono unsaturated fats like olive oil and avocados)

What do I eat when I'm in a hurry?

When your on the go it's really difficult to eat properly especially if your a vegetarian. What usually happens is that you go to a restaurant or fast food place and there seems to be good options for you but it's usually fries, salads, bread, pasta, rice, and/or bean dishes. So what's the problem? These meals are not balanced. Dense proteins like tofu, soy, and eggs along with lots of colorful vegetables are a must at ever meal.

Where to get good food quickly? Right now the best place that I know of is Whole Foods. They have a good bistro where you can pick up some flavored tofu and a hot bar to pick up some cooked vegetables. The rule that Dr. Barry Sears suggests is that the protein should be about the size of your palm in both thickness and size and you need bout double to triple that amount in colorful vegetables and fruits.

Another great place to get good vegetarian options is Moe's Southwest Grill. You can get tofu as a protein source at Moe's and is a good change up from Whole Foods. If you like Mexican food than this is the choice for you.

Message:

-There maybe some great local vegetarian options for you but as Nationwide chains go the better choice for vegetarians are Whole Foods and Moe's Southwest Grill

Food Competition!

So you've been following my blog for a while... You've learned how to make a hormonally balanced meal.. You see

the recipes that I post and think "I could do something like that but better!" Here is your chance!

HERE IS YOUR CHANCE!!

The Vegetarian's review is having a cook off!! Here are the rules:

1) The recipes have to be Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian friendly. Meaning eggs and cheese are ok.

2) The recipes should be hormonally balanced. See the post http://thevegetariansreview.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-zone-in.html

3) All recipes must be posted to the FaceBook Discussion group, Facebook Fan page (here is the Facebook link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Vegetarians-Review/218392295513?ref=ts), or in the comments in the blog post.

4) The Meals must be zone friendly so they must be 5 block meals (+/- 4 grams for each macro nutrient). Meals that are not will be automatically disqualified.

5) You can submit as many recopies as you want

6) I will be the only judge

7) I have to be be able to make the food so please try to suggest ingredients I can find at Kroger/Whole Foods/Trader Joe's

8) If you have more question please post them to the FB page or the comments section.

9) The competition will be judged in 2 categories:

1)Taste (80%)

2)Ease of assembly (aka time it takes and availability of the ingredients) (20%)

10) Submissions must be made by September 30.

Good luck!