My week in pictures

This week was filled with fun things that I wanted to share with you so instead of posting a recipe today, I decided to share the adventure of my week in photos. 

As you all know, Tuesday was the release of Plum, Makini Howell's new cookbook. I was lucky enough to get an invite to the launch party so Tuesday night I headed up to Plum Bistro on Capitol Hill and got a chance to sample some of the amazing recipes featured in the cookbook.  (If you haven't already entered my giveaway for a chance to win a free copy, hurry! The giveaway ends soon!)

Spring finally hit Seattle this week. We had several days of sun, temperatures reaching into the low 70s, and I sat outside in a tee-shirt and shorts for the first time since last September. I can't even begin to tell you how exciting that is. 

This week I've been playing around with some of my favorite spring produce, including asparagus, rainbow carrots, radishes, greens, and baby turnips (new recipe coming soon!). My spinach sprouts just popped out of the ground and I even found a few baby carrots that were ready to harvest in the garden. 

And, with the aid of several pots of yerba mate tea, the (un)helpful support of my cats, and some really bad 90's music, I've been hard at work finalizing the material for:

Conscious Money, Conscious Eating which is happening live on Wednesday, May 8th at 6 pm Pacific Daylight Time! 

I was so excited to share this with you earlier this week and quite a few of you are already signed up! In case you missed the announcement, Conscious Money, Conscious Eating is the collaborative effort of myself and Mindy Crary of Creative Money. Mindy and I were recently chatting about the challenges of eating healthfully while being able to stick to a budget AND not having to spend hours slaving away in the kitchen. 

Mindy is a total money guru so although she is fabulous at spending her money consciously, she mentioned struggling with how to create a menu plan and find recipes that are delicious, good-for-you, and easy to prepare. (Sound familiar?)

So, we decided to team up and create Conscious Money, Conscious Eating for anyone who has been having similar struggles and feeling challenged by: 

• Wanting to eat healthier, fresher, and/or more seasonal/local foods, but not knowing where to start.
• Feeling that eating healthier will be way too expensive or take too much time.
• Being curious about eating more vegetarian or plant-based meals, but feeling overwhelmed by complex or unfamiliar ingredients.
• Wishing that someone could help you make it simple and easy to get started with cooking more meals at home. 

In this webinar, we'll do exactly that! Mindy will help you to begin implementing the concepts of Conscious Money in relation to food and discover where your relationship with money needs to shift. I'll help you to get started on the Conscious Eating track by understanding what types of foods you should be eating, becoming aware of how your food environment is impacting your body, helping you begin stocking your kitchen with the right tools and ingredients, and introducing you to my unique, simple, and easy-to-implement system that will make meal planning, preparing, and cooking a breeze. 

This webinar is packed full of information and you'll even get a few goodies afterwards, including:

• The slide presentation handout (so you can access the information whenever you want)
• The webinar replay (if you can't make it live)
• The MP3 of the call (so you can listen to it again and again)
• And, a beautiful ebook with over 50 pages of Conscious Money and Conscious Eating strategies as well as over 20 recipes and tools 

I know that a couple of you were wondering what to do since the live webinar didn't work for your schedule. If you're in this boat, that's not a problem at all because after the call, you'll get all of the goodies above (including the webinar replay) emailed to you so you can access this at any time you want.

Are you in? If you're ready to finally change your relationship with money AND make eating healthy simple and easy, check out Conscious Money, Conscious Eating!


I hope you've had a fabulous week and I hope we get a chance to chat on May 8th!

Take care,
Sonnet

5 Easy Ways to Save Money on Food

What are your biggest challenges to eating healthfully?  There are a few I hear from readers and my health coaching clients all the time...

Eating healthy is boring; healthy food isn't delicious. I like to eat things that taste good -- and that usually means they are bad for me. 

Eating healthy is EXPENSIVE! I can't afford to shop at Whole Foods every day. 

Eating healthy takes a lot of time and I'm a busy person. It's just not possible to eat healthfully and cook all the time with my schedule. 

I definitely know the challenges. And believe me when I say that I'm not made of time or money either, but it is possible to eat healthy, delicious, amazing, good-for-you food without spending a ton of money or a ton of time in the kitchen. 

Today I'm going to share a few simple ways to get started.

1. Plan Your Meals
Ooh the daunting task of planning meals. It sounds so overwhelming and time-consuming, right? I mean, don't you need a calendar, twenty cookbooks, a shopping list, a calculator, a pot of coffee, a snuggie, and a Masters Degree to get started? Wrong. 

Just hearing the term "meal planning" makes some folks run away in fear. But, let me tell you, there is no reason to be scared. Meal planning can be as simple (or as complicated) as you want it to be. Meal planning works differently for each person and every family, but in my house, I set up a loose structure for the week to give me some guidance, but allow for flexibility as needed. I start by thinking about:

• Produce that is in season 
• Flavors or certain types of food that I'm craving (or that have been requested by my partner)
• How much time I have for meal prep and cooking this week
• How many meals we will need for the week

Then I map out a simple plan from there including recipe ideas and assigning prep work to different days. I usually like to do a large batch of cooking on Sundays and prepare our meals for Monday through Wednesday. Then I typically try to reserve my Wednesday evenings for cooking Thursday through Saturday. Having a meal plan helps me to keep cooking time to a minimum because I can cook in batches since I know exactly what we'll be eating.
Read more »

Plum Cookbook Review & Giveaway

Let me just start by saying how incredibly excited I am to be doing a cookbook review of Makini Howell's cookbook, Plum: Gratifying Vegan Dishes from Seattle's Plum Bistro. I've mentioned Plum Bistro several times here on the blog (in 2012 and 2010) and they honestly have the most amazing brunch in the entire city.

In case you aren't familiar with Plum Bistro, you should know that they are a fabulous plant-based restaurant located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle open for brunch, lunch, and dinner.  They also have several cafes located around the city as well as a market at Seattle Center. Makini Howell is the Executive Chef and Owner of Plum Bistro and her food is incredible. I love her focus on fresh, seasonal, organic food as well as her sustainable business philosophy. I could probably sing her praises all day, but instead, let's talk about the cookbook...

I've been waiting for this cookbook for awhile and just by chance, I was contacted by the publisher and asked if I would be interested in seeing an advanced copy. (I cannot even begin to tell you how ecstatic I was when I got that email!) I've spent the last few weeks perusing through every recipe and now I finally get to share it with you!

The cookbook is divided into ten sections: fundamentals, beginnings, salads and soups, small plates, tofu/tempeh/seitan, transitional raw, pasta, grains, desserts, and an afterward (including the most adorable puppy treats recipe). All of the recipes are perfect reflections of the food served at Plum Bistro: fresh, seasonal ingredients, bold flavors, and enticing combinations.


Read more »

Leek and Asparagus Stir-Fry with Mushrooms

I learned a very important lesson recently.

You know those lessons that you'll never forget because they were so embarrassing to learn?  Yep, it was one of those.

Lucky for you that I'm going to share it with you so that you will never have to learn this the hard way: when you are signing one of those slightly awkward cards being passed around your office (you know those cards from everyone for someone's birthday, departure, or a general congratulations, etc...), make sure to double check who the card is for.

I mean, you wouldn't want to be the one who wrote "best of luck at your new job!" to someone who's supposed to be getting a "congratulations" card for starting their family, would you?

That's just awkward. Don't be that person.

But, if you do happen to be that person, here are a few options:

Option #1: White it out. However, this only works if the card is white and those tricky Hallmark folks love those fun colors...

Option #2: Cover it up with stickers. Of course, that is assuming that you are an adult who happens to carry stickers around. Unfortunately, (or perhaps, fortunately), I'm not that person.

Option #3: Own it. Just admit that, yes, you are that person who wrote the weird message in someone's card and there is no taking it back now.

Ohh if only cards were as easy as stir-fries... 

See, with stir-fries, there are no mistakes, no awkwardness. You can always alter ingredients or change things up as needed. They're impossible to mess up. And they work for any occasion.

So, I guess the lesson I learned is really this: sign less cards and make more stir-fries. I think that's my new motto.

Read more »

8 Simple Ways to Live Greener

I really love Earth Day. Over the past few years, Earth Day has become my favorite holiday because it makes me think about the world around me. Each April, I spend time evaluating how I am living my life and the impact that I have on the community around me. It's always a great reminder to see how I can live in a more sustainable manner and do my part to ensure that I am creating a better planet for generations to come. 

I think most of us are bombarded on a constant basis with horror stories of the world around us changing: global warming, landfills piling up, animals losing their native homes. When I think about these things, it makes me feel helpless and overwhelmed. Then I always come back to the same defeated thought:  But, I'm just one person... how can I possibly make a difference?

When I was in my graduate program several years ago studying societal change and creating change within organizations, we always talked about the power of individuals and the community. Every change starts with one person wanting to make a difference. It certainly helps when you have community support, but change usually starts with one person who is willing to stand up and make different decisions. When I feel helpless about the state of our planet, I have to remind myself of this. Yes, I am just one person, but my decisions matter and they make an impact.

In the spirit of Earth Day, I thought it would be fun to share some of my best tips for living a more sustainable lifestyle. I think we typically hear the same things again and again: drive less/bus more/commute by bike whenever possible, take shorter showers and use less water, buy used items instead of new, don’t leave lights on, etc. So, I wanted to share a few of my favorite tips for living green that are easy enough for anyone to do and will help you to live healthier, save money, and reduce your impact on the planet.

Read more »

Quinoa Lettuce Wraps with Easy Peanut Sauce

Need some motivation to help you eat your veggies? 

Or perhaps you're a bit bored in the quinoa department and are looking for a little recipe inspiration? 

I've got you covered. Today's recipe is fresh quinoa lettuce wraps and an easy peanut sauce that comes together in a snap! You're gonna love these!

For the recipe, be sure to head on over to my guest post at Cooking Quinoa. I love Wendy's blog because she is so creative when it comes to making new recipes with quinoa and creating dishes that the whole family will enjoy. (And who knew there were so many amazing ways to use a single ingredient?!)

The Oil-Cleansing Method

I am always looking for ways to eliminate toxic, unnecessary chemicals from my life and using natural beauty products is one of the easiest ways to do this. I'm super excited to share the oil-cleansing method with you because I am convinced it's going to change your life the way it has changed mine. And, it will also save you a ton of money and give you better looking skin in the process!

If you haven't heard of the oil-cleansing method before, it's definitely time you did.  The oil-cleansing method involves washing your face with, well, you guessed it: oil.  Most facial cleansers brag about being "oil-free" and the beauty industry has certainly taught us that "oil-free" make-up and cleansers is the way to go.

Here's the problem though: when our skin is stripped of its natural oils, it produces more oil to compensate.  For those with oily skin, this means more breakouts, blackheads, and aggravated skin.  For those with dry skin or sensitive skin, it means the skin is going to get even drier and irritated.

Here's a basic chemistry lesson: like dissolves like.  Hence, oil dissolves oil. The oil-cleansing method is using oil to naturally dissolve the dirty oils on our skin without stripping it or using harsh chemicals. Genius, right?  Not only is it super simple, affordable, and better for your skin, but here is my favorite part: the oil-cleansing method is the best make-up remover I've ever found.  It removes mascara, eyeliner, foundation, everything -- all in one step!  If that's not enough to make you jump for joy, then I just don't know what is.

Read more »

Smoky Tempeh with Purple Asparagus

I don't want to alarm you, but I think this is the best thing I have ever made. And, to be completely honest, I wasn't expecting it to be. 

Sure, I thought it would be good. I mean, salty, smoky tempeh combined with fresh asparagus? Sounds pretty amazing, right?

The end result is more than amazing. 

As I was typing this out right now I got a little nervous and doubted myself. Could this really be the best thing I have ever made? 

*Takes another bite.* 

Yep, it is.  Affirmative. 

Read more »

How to Cook Plant-Based Meals for Meat Eaters (and a taco recipe)

I have received a few emails from readers asking for my best tips on making vegetarian and plant-based (or vegan) meals for meat-eaters. After posing the question to our Facebook community, it definitely sounds like this is an area many of you are interested in learning more about. And, since I’m in a “mixed eating” relationship myself, I’m always curious about how other couples manage different eating preferences. So, here goes!

First, let’s start with a little background on this: I’ve been with my partner, Ashley for seven years. Ashley was/is a meat eater and when we first met, was a huge skeptic of anything known as a vegetable. When we began dating, I was also a meat eater, but was working my way towards a healthier diet without processed foods. 

A year into the relationship, I began cutting meat and animal products out of my life as well as processed foods and refined sugars. I started eating a greater variety of vegetables, more whole grains, and a variety of legumes. shley was completely supportive of my decision to change my diet and we soon began to find new places to eat out together that could accommodate both of our eating styles. We both discovered that we preferred veggie burgers to the real thing and that there were a variety of plant-based meals that were able to satisfy us both. Even though Ashley was supportive of my dietary changes, she clearly told me that she had no intentions of changing her diet. I strongly believe that the food we chose to eat is a personal choice so although I wished Ashley ate a little healthier, I tried my hardest to respect her food choices.

Read more »

Roasted Fennel and Cauliflower Soup

Let me start this by saying that I'm not a big "kid person." I heavily admire people who are parents (seriously, you have the hardest job on this planet!), but I've never wanted to be one myself.  I also work with children and families in my job so I get a pretty good dose of being around kids in my daily life.

And this is precisely why when a friend told me several months ago that I "would make a wonderful mother," I practically laughed in her face. That's nice and thank you, but nope, it's not for me. 

She proceeded to tell me that she was convinced someday I would adopt a child from an orphanage. I continued to argue that ain't ever gonna happen.

This is exactly why this week I had a mental breakdown when I read this blog post by Lindsay at Pinch of Yum.  Lindsay and her husband moved to the Philippines for a year to teach at an orphanage. When I saw the pictures of these kids and read her post yesterday, I literally felt an urge from deep inside of my chest to move there and adopt these children. All I could think was, "oh $*%t, it's happening..."

And so, in order to prevent myself from moving to the Philippines and/or adopting children tonight, I made soup. This may not make a lot of sense, but it seemed like a better choice than hiding in a corner of my kitchen and stuffing my face with cookies from sheer panic.

If you see a cookie recipe posted here tomorrow, please send help.

Read more »

Sweet Broccoli Juice

Do you end up with a pile of broccoli stalks in your kitchen? I eat a lot of broccoli so I always manage to have a growing pile of broccoli stalks in my fridge. For years I made the mistake of composting them. Of course, that was until I realized how absolutely delicious they are. If you're not eating your broccoli stalks, let me tell you right now that you are missing out.

Once you peel the outer skin of the broccoli stalk away, the inside is crisp and sweet and they make a wonderful snack by themselves. I also love using shredded broccoli stalks raw in salads and slaws or sauteing them in a quick stir-fry. 

This week I've been experimenting with adding them to juices and I am loving this spicy and sweet combo with apple, mint, and ginger. If you are one of those people who dislike the taste of broccoli, let me just warn you now that this probably isn't for you. However, if you are a broccoli fan and are looking for a new way to  use up the stalks, this is one tasty treat!

Read more »

Don't Fear The Fat

One of the things that interests me the most about nutrition is how people tend to categorize foods as either "good" or "bad." For many years, fat has been seen as the food enemy and is often labeled as "bad," even though it is an essential part of our diet! As a health coach, I often get questions about what the perfect diet looks like or the best ways to lose weight. So, today I thought I would talk a little bit more about fat and why we should be eating it instead of avoiding it. 

Healthy fats steady our metabolism, keep hormone levels even, nourish our skin, hair, and nails, as well as provide lubrication to keep the body functioning fluidly.  Healthy fats are especially important during cold months to help insulate our bodies from the cold as well as provide energy. 

Many people think that they key to losing weight is to eat a low-fat diet. Although it is important to include the right kinds of fat in our diet, often times a low-fat diet can make us gain weight. 

Have you ever bought something at the grocery store that was labeled low-fat? If you check out the nutrition label, you'll usually see that it is loaded with sugar! Fat adds flavor to foods so when companies remove the fat from products (e.g. low-fat granola, fat-free cookies, etc), they add in extra sugar to make it taste better. Excess sugar is one of the keys to gaining weight so what we really need to be watching is the sugar content in our diets, especially if we eat the Standard American Diet with lots of packaged food. 

And, eating good fats is one of the keys to healthy weight loss because healthy fats help us feel satiated after a meal, which actually prevents over-eating.  

Read more »