I found the Ultimate Resource Guide

Today I found the Ultimate Resource Guide for Plant Based Eating. It has a section for favorite websites, books, and free recipes. It looks like a great compilation of resources.

Check out the books on their list that I've read

• The Starch Solution –I read a library copy.
• Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook. -I read a library copy and decided a needed a copy of my own.
• The China Study-- I  read a library copy.
• The Happy Herbivore cookbooks –I bought the kindle version of three of her books.

 Check out the books on their list that are on my wish list

• The Forks Over Knives Plan - I only read the original Forks Over Knives book from the library. 
• The Vegiterranean Diet 
• Let Them Eat Vegan

There are a lot of great websites listed. I haven't visited Plant-Powered Kitchen or One Green Planet, so I hope to check these websites out later this week.

Today I start my search for the perfect bran mufin

Why a healthy bran muffin?

I love bran muffins. What started me on bran muffins you ask? Well I think it was in the early 90's that either McDonald's or Dunkin Donuts had a bran muffin. They are my comfort food. They are heavy and filling and satisfying to me. I love to eat a heavy, filling muffin for breakfast. I also recently watched a PBS episode of Martha Stewart making these delicious bran muffins.This sparked my taste buds again, but of course, her recipe calls for eggs and buttermilk.

Does the muffin recipe that I'm looking for exist?

So today I start my search for the perfect bran muffin recipe. Does it exist? I don't know. It may not even be possible without it turning into a brick. These are the criteria that I would consider in the perfect muffin:

• contains wheat or oat bran (I would prefer wheat as I have a huge bag of Bob's Red Mill Wheat Bran)
• no white all purpose flour
• no oil
• vegan (no milk or egg)
• no corn syrup
• no white sugar

On top of that, it would be great if they were delicious, but that might be asking too much. LOL.

Sometimes searching on the internet for a recipe is like searching for a needle in the haystack. It's there, but you can't see it. If a recipe doesn't exist, I might have to be creative and take a couple recipes and experiment in the kitchen.

If you run across such a recipe in the future, can you share it with me? Thanks!

$1.99 Kindle books at Amazon

I admit that I'm a recipe hoarder/collector. I like to collect physical cookbooks, kindle cookbooks, and online recipes. I was checking out Amazon today and I saw that there are a couple plant-based books at Amazon right now for $1.99 for the Kindle version. Amazon prices change all the time so I'm not sure how long these will last.

Three plant-based Kindle books for $1.99 at Amazon!

I found the two cookbooks listed below by Lindsay Nixon. Lindsay's recipes are plant-based with no oil. She does use nuts, avocado, dried fruit, peanut butter, coconut and some other ingredients in her recipes that don't qualify under a Protective Diet. Many times I can either alter the ingredients (leave them out), replace them (like replace the coconut with more fruit), or just don't use that recipe. I think that for $1.99 even if you found a couple recipes that you love, it will be worth the price of the book.

• Everyday Happy Herbivore: Over 175 Quick-and-Easy Fat-Free and Low-Fat Vegan Recipes 
•  The Happy Herbivore Cookbook: Over 175 Delicious Fat-Free and Low-Fat Vegan Recipes

 T. Collin Campbell's follow-up book to the China Study. This one isn't a cookbook, but I picked it up to continue on my learning about a whole food, plant based diet. I plan on diving into this book this weekend. Yeah!

•  Whole: Rethinking The Science of Nutrition 

What's your plan for your day off?

Saturday and Sunday are my day off. I realize that some people have to work weekends, but I Iove my job where I get two days off in the row with the kids.

Today, I plan on cooking and reading/skimming two cookbooks I got from the library. I belong to a couple plant based FaceBook groups that I love to follow. Some folks have been raving about a book by Isa Chandra Moskowitz called 'Isa Does It!", so I HAD to check it out.

I found that my library was able to get me two cookbooks by Isa:  'Isa Does It!' and Veganomicon, The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook. I'm excited to see what recipes in her cookbooks qualify/fall under a Protective Diet (no oils, sugar or white flour) or if they can be modified to qualify.

At first glance, Isa Does It! looks like a wonderful book; it's 311 pages with beautiful pictures on almost every page. I have to admit, I'm a bit of a recipe hoarder. I love collecting healthy recipes that taste great. I'm always on a search to add something else to my binder or a new cookbook to my shelf. I try at least 4 new recipes each week. Some I like, others I don't. The ones that work, I keep; the others I'm ok with cutting ties with. Happy reading. . .

Good Morning, how do you like your chili?

I start my day out before 5 am each morning. I want at least an hour before the kids wake up to have some me time. I have a morning ritual that feels nice. I start some warm water and add lemon for a wonderful warm-me-up drink. I update myself on my facebook and email and then I do some yoga.

I've fallen into a yoga routine since May. I feel like I needed something slower past to gently warm my body in the morning. I used to try to do some high energy stuff in the morning, but I think after you turn 40, that isn't very excited. I just had no motivation to slip the DVD in.

I started with My Yoga Online. They've recently merged with GaiamTv. It's great to have my favorite instructors each morning for only $10. Some days I feel like Kundalini yoga; other mornings yin yoga. Some of my favorite instructors are Zain Saraswati Jamal, David Magone, Lindsay Lewis, Tommy Rosen, Melina Meza, Gurmukh, and Bernie Clark.

For dinner last night I made Protective Diet (PD) Veggie Chili. I've made it before and it was delicious. I threw the three types of beans that I had in the house, which are different than the ones listed on her recipe. It's a flexible recipe that will work with what type of beans you have on hand.The problem we have in my family is that my husband likes a thick chili (like stew) and I like a thin watery chili (like soup). So I made my chili thicker for my husband this time, which means I didn't like it as well. How do you like your chili?


Check out the chili recipe at Protective Diet Here: http://protectivediet.com/veggie-chili.html?affiliate=100

Until next time. .