Month: June 2012

Fruitarian Grocery Haul – 06/28/2012


(click on the image to enlarge, this is my actual receipt with personal stuff blocked out)

Today I went grocery shopping at walmart and got just a few items. As you know I’ve been doing a low fat high carb raw vegan challenge. This grocery haul reflects that. This will be my food for the week.

51 pounds of bananas (29 cents a pound)
14 pounds of peaches (99 cents a pound)
15 pounds of tomatoes (69 cents a pound)
a 15 pound watermelon (1.98)

In total, only cost me $32.96! Pretty cheap for one week huh. Yes I have leftover avocados from last week’s haul and I do have 3 large heads of lettuce in the fridge, however I’ll probably just eat what you see in the video.

New Login ability UPDATE! ^.^

so for awhile now I have had comments on private, and while I still am going to do this. (spam bots are crazy guys) I have now made it so you can integrate my website with your facebook login. Now commenting is super easy. In the right hand corner on the side you’ll see a familar button to signup with facebook.

Q: What if I already signed up?
A: Well if you’ve already signed up and want to continue using that, feel free. Just type in your current information and log in. If you want to use facebook instead, click connect to facebook.
Q:  Is my information secure?
A: YES! I don’t see your email or anything else. Don’t worry.

Q: Why should I waste my time?
A: Well I don’t think its a waste of time, but you’ll be doing a couple things. One, you’ll get to leave comments and talk with other people who find my website helpful. Two, you will be helping me by getting the word out there I exist. I don’t pay for advertising or anything so my website grows by word of mouth. Three, logging in will be a ton more easier. If after these three you haven’t found anything, maybe this isn’t for you.

 

Vegan Pizza – a must have!

Do you miss pizza because you either can’t find a decent vegan pizza or because you’re on a diet? Well no more my friends, this pizza is lower calorie than traditional pizza, lower in fat, and completely vegan! If you have gluten issues, please see my gluten free pizza recipe and use the crust, or use your own. This recipe is for 3 personal pan size or mini size pizzas. These will feed 3 grown people easily.

Ingredients:

1 whole recipe – Basic Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
1 whole recipe – Basic Marinara or Pizza Sauce
6 ounces nondairy cheese – I suggest Daiya half mozzarella half cheddar
your choice of toppings, I suggest:
1 bell pepper, sliced thin
1 tomato, sliced
spring onion, minced
vegan pepperoni sliced – Yves makes a great tasting brand at only 50 calories per 10 slices too!

Directions:

Preheat your oven with your pizza stone at 425 for at-least 15 minutes. If you’re not using a pizza stone, only preheat until your oven is hot.

Divide your pizza dough into 3 equal pieces, and roll to your desired thickness. I choose a medium-thin style crust that got real crispy when baked. Rub corn meal into the pizza crust and flip over. If you’re using my pizza crust recipe, there is no need to prebake, otherwise follow directions that come with your crust. Spread 1/3rd of your pizza sauce onto the dough. For a traditional look, leave a ring around the outside of the crust, otherwise spread the sauce to the edge to help with drying and add extra flavor. Now spread most of 2 ounces of daiya cheese on your pizza, I left just a little bit for the top of the pizza. Arrange your desired toppings on your pizza. As you can see in the photo, my personal pizza was half veggie pepperoni, and half tomato. Don’t be afraid to mix and match your desired toppings!

Assuming your oven is hot, transfer your pizza on the stone (or pan) and bake. Time will vary and I suggest you start checking on the color of your crust at 15 minutes. A deep golden color will tell you if its done or not:

thin crust: 15 minutes
“Medium” – thin crust: 18 minutes
thicker crust 20-25 minutes

Remove from the oven and cut into 4-6 pieces and enjoy. This recipe makes 3 mini size pizzas , although they aren’t that mini. If you make a pizza like the one shown above it will have about 540 calories. If you use different brands of cheese of faux meat products, calories will vary. Also keep in mind the typical pizza has almost 1000 calories in it. Enjoy!

Basic Marinara or Pizza Sauce (fat free, vegan, low calorie and gluten free)

Never feel the need to purchase super salty, preservative ridden pizza sauce again when it’s this easy to make it at home. This makes enough for 1 large pizza or 3 mini/personal size pizzas.

Ingredients:

1 15oz can fire roasted tomatoes
1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning blend
1 tablespoon oregano
2 tablespoon ground flax seeds

Directions:

In a blender, add your can of fire roasted tomatoes, and your seasoning. Blend until you get your desired consistency. Then add in your flax seed as your blender is running, this way it won’t clump up. Let set for at-least 5 minutes then its ready to be used on pizza or as a marinara dipping sauce. Its really easy and fresh! Enjoy!

Nutritional information will vary depending on which brand of tomatoes you use, and how much salt is in them. Try to use low or no sodium tomatoes packed in juice. The flax seeds add little fat and lots of omega fatty acids which we can all use more of =)

Basic Whole Wheat Pizza Crust (no added fat + vegan)

Basic Whole Wheat Pizza Crust (no added fat + vegan)
 
Prep time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 1 whole crust
Ingredients
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
  • 1 tablespoon sugar (brown sugar tastes better)
  • about ¾ cup very warm water
  • Optional: spices of your choice
Instructions
  1. In a food processor add 1 tablespoon yeast and sugar. Add 2 cups of whole wheat flour and pulse a few times to mix the ingredients. After ingredients are mixed, turn food processor ON and slowly add your water until the dough comes together and pulls off the side of the bowl. You may need more or less than ¾ cup water so add very slowly. Once the dough starts to pull off the side of the bowl, continue processor about 1 minute. This step is important so you get the gluten developed and the end product is alot better. Now do one of two things:
  2. If your food processor is like mine, where the center can be removed and the blade, remove them and put the dough back in and let rest for 60 minutes in a warm place or until doubled in size.
  3. OR
  4. If your food processor does not disassemble, put your dough into a LIGHTLY oiled bowl, preferably glass and cover with a some-what tight fitting cover (plastic wrap works if you have nothing else), let rise for 60 minutes in a warm place or until doubled in size.
  5. After your dough has doubled in size, remove it from the container and roll it out to your desired thickness, I suggest using some corn meal (NOT corn starch/flour that's different) for dusting on your work surface to prevent sticking. When you get to your desired thickness, add cornmeal to the pizza by sprinkling it on and rubbing your hand in a circular motion to "grind in" the meal.
  6. Flip the dough over onto your pizza stone or pan top with your desired sauce and toppings. Bake normal or 425 for about 15-25 minutes depending on thickness. Thin crust pizza tastes only about 15 minutes with toppings. Thicker crust may take 25 or more, depending. I do not know cooking time for deep-dish, no one in my family likes this type of pizza. Enjoy!
Notes
Makes enough for 1 large pizza, 2 thin crust or 3 mini pizzas.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 whole crust Calories: 946 Fat: 5 Saturated fat: 1 Unsaturated fat: 3 Trans fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 204 Sugar: 26 Sodium: 22 Fiber: 32 Protein: 37 Cholesterol: 0