After all that reading, I gave lots of thought to removing grains and breads and have cut down significantly. I have limited my wheat gluten "meat" to only a few times a week. I also started adding 1-2 tablespoons or less of coconut oil per day 3-4 days back. In less than a week, 3 lbs gone! That includes walking an hour or so each day at 15 degree incline with a 10 lb. bag of cat litter in my backpack. It's the rainy season here, so I joined a gym on a month to month plan. After the coconut oil inclusion, I feel much more aware. I feel warmer too.
(Added later: I also eat something small every 3 hours. This is a small snack such as 10 almonds, or a spoon of peanut butter, one banana, apple, Vega smoothe with lots of ice and almond or coconut milk, or if it's the morning, I'll have an occasional Cliff Builder Bar.)
I'm half Asian and I lived in a tropical climate all my life, it's been very interesting coming up here and experiencing my health take a hit from the lack of Sun/Vitamin D and, perhaps, needing more fat for the colder climate I'm in. I moved to Santa Rosa, California, the home of one of the top Vegan Guru MDs (and a few others just like him) and saw the effects of this totally misguided one-diet-fits all approach and I got rather pissed off. My mother in law saw the most famous of those docs at a restaurant and said he looked pale and sick in person, this was well before I had a falling out with my precious diet. I didn't think much of it at the time. Now, I have other ideas, but he could have had a virus (from not enough D!). Hah!
Enough of that, here's a vegan recipe I made up recently. I also made a quinoa (quinoa is a seed or berry, a pseudo grain) noodle and nutritional yeast/tofu cream sauce, but I have to make it again since I neglected to write it down.
Black Power! Black Bean Burgers
2 cans of black beans, rinsed, soaked for 10 minutes, and rinsed again (I do this if I don't have the forethought to prepare dry beans)
1 small minced onion, sauteed in coconut oil or olive oil or water
3 tablespoons of ground flax (this is the binder, I used to use gluten or oatmeal here)
1/2 cup of chopped parsley (squeeze out excess water)
4-6 tablespoons red star or kals brand nutritional yeast (or another brand with B12)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1-2 teaspoons garlic granules or 1 clove minced per 1/8 teaspoon
1 teaspoon of natural mineral salt with naturally occurring iodine
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts or chopped sunflower seeds, something crunchy
1-2 teaspoons of olive oil or coconut oil
1-2 tablespoons of water if the mix is too dry to form patties.
Makes: 8 burgers, usually.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Saute the onions. Drain the black beans and mash in the food processor, but don't make them into a paste. Combine all the ingredients well and form into patties. Brush each patty with olive oil and bake for 10 minutes per side (or less, depending on your preferences and your oven).
Serve with avocado, roasted red peppers, sliced onions, some garlicky vegan mayo and a mixed greens salad.
