My workplace provides free annual health screenings, which has provided some insight into how what I eat (and my physical activity) affects my health. I have been working on eating better for several years with gradual (though in some ways drastic) improvements. I was surprised in some ways to find out 2 years ago, that my cholesterol and blood pressure weren't ideal. I lost the information for that test, but I know that my total cholesterol was somewhere between 180 and 195 (LDL between 100 and 110) and my blood pressure was between 130/80 and 140/90. I was especially surprised that even though I've been vegan for so many years, my cholesterol wasn't as low as it could be (since cholesterol comes from animal products, though it is also produced by the body).
In the next year, and especially leading up to the next test, I tried to eat many more greens, raw veggies, fruits, and less oils, and even less processed foods (which was already pretty low). I was also riding my bike a bit more and had started an exercise routine that I stuck with better. The next test showed great results. My total cholesterol had dropped to 147 with LDL at 68. I didn't do much to improve my diet or exercise over the course of this past year, although I have maintained a better diet than ever before. I just received my newest test results which weren't drastically different but still showed marked improvement: Total cholesterol was 141 and LDL was 56. My HDL (good cholesterol) went up from 68 to 76. My triglycerides, which I have no information about from 2 years ago, were 49 last year and 45 this year. I don't have my blood pressure information from last year, but this year it was 100/72.
It was nice to be able to see such a big difference from 2010 to 2011 and then still an improvement from 2011 to 2012. It gives me more confidence that nearly anyone is capable of making similar and potentially even greater improvements to their health.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Cauliflower Soup with Fresh Dill and Sundried Tomatoes
I've been wanting to use fresh dill since I am growing it my garden. I don't believe I've ever used fresh dill in cooking before. Since I also had cauliflower from the farmer's market, I decided a soup might be good with both those ingredients.
I boiled some cauliflower and chopped potato and sauteed some onion and garlic. I soaked some sun-dried tomatoes in water and a dash of liquid smoke (I wanted to see how that would taste, but I didn't notice a huge difference). I blended up just a handful of cashews in the blender to add some creaminess to the soup, then added the cooked potatoes, cauliflower, onion, and garlic and some of the water (being careful because it was hot). I also added some Bragg's liquid aminos, several stalks of dill, a little garlic powder, and some white pepper. I added more water, but not all the water from boiling the cauliflower and potatoes, because I wanted a thick soup.
Since I had some peas growing in my garden, I added some to the soup, but didn't find that it added much to the dish. I cut up the sun-dried tomatoes with kitchen scissors and added them to the soup. It was quite good. If it didn't have the tomatoes, I would've perhaps added more salt or Bragg's or added some lemon juice.
I boiled some cauliflower and chopped potato and sauteed some onion and garlic. I soaked some sun-dried tomatoes in water and a dash of liquid smoke (I wanted to see how that would taste, but I didn't notice a huge difference). I blended up just a handful of cashews in the blender to add some creaminess to the soup, then added the cooked potatoes, cauliflower, onion, and garlic and some of the water (being careful because it was hot). I also added some Bragg's liquid aminos, several stalks of dill, a little garlic powder, and some white pepper. I added more water, but not all the water from boiling the cauliflower and potatoes, because I wanted a thick soup.
Since I had some peas growing in my garden, I added some to the soup, but didn't find that it added much to the dish. I cut up the sun-dried tomatoes with kitchen scissors and added them to the soup. It was quite good. If it didn't have the tomatoes, I would've perhaps added more salt or Bragg's or added some lemon juice.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Salsa Zucchini over Millet
Tonight I made a batch of millet, referred to as a pseudo-grain because it is actually a seed. It reminds me a bit of couscous because of it's color and texture.
Zucchini was on sale the other day, so I bought two, and decided to cook them up with some salsa, which was inspired by a weird vegan tostada recipe I made for my family a while back when they were willing to try food I made- I just wish I had tried the recipe first, because that one was a bit lacking. Anyway, I sliced the two small-medium zucchinis in half lengthwise then sliced it into half-circles a few millimeters thick. I cooked that up in a cast iron pan, adding some chopped garlic, stirring often. Once the zucchini was pretty tender, I added maybe a 1/3 cup salsa, stirred a few more times. Then I added a tiny bit of tahini (like 1/2 tbsp) and some nutritional yeast. I ate that with some millet. There was enough salt in the salsa to not feel like i had to add any.
I really like this kind of dish with avocado, but since I had none, I added the tahini to give it a little creaminess. At times I have also added greens like spinach.
Zucchini was on sale the other day, so I bought two, and decided to cook them up with some salsa, which was inspired by a weird vegan tostada recipe I made for my family a while back when they were willing to try food I made- I just wish I had tried the recipe first, because that one was a bit lacking. Anyway, I sliced the two small-medium zucchinis in half lengthwise then sliced it into half-circles a few millimeters thick. I cooked that up in a cast iron pan, adding some chopped garlic, stirring often. Once the zucchini was pretty tender, I added maybe a 1/3 cup salsa, stirred a few more times. Then I added a tiny bit of tahini (like 1/2 tbsp) and some nutritional yeast. I ate that with some millet. There was enough salt in the salsa to not feel like i had to add any.
I really like this kind of dish with avocado, but since I had none, I added the tahini to give it a little creaminess. At times I have also added greens like spinach.
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