Soy Milk Review...

Sooo, I know I said the other day I was going to try soy chocolate milk for the first time. I tried it, but got busy studying for finals and forgot to write about it!

It was interesting, but good! I forgot to leave my mind open before trying it, I won't lie and was just pouring the glass with my mouth watering just thinking about thick, creamy, that store-bought chocolate milk has over the kind you make at home with dairy milk & chocolate syrup. So, my mouth and taste buds were extremely disappointed at first. Basically, what I'm saying is...if you try soy milk for the first time...keep your mind open and don't think about milk...lol.

After the first shocking sip, it was OK. Then, by the end I was thinking, hmm...that wasn't that bad! Then, when I tried another glass the next day, knowing what it was going to be like, it was good! It was definitely more watery than milk, and had a more watery flavor and texture. The chocolate was a good choice for my "first time" though, because I think if I had drank regular at first I would have just put it right back in the fridge and leave it there until it spoiled (because otherwise I would feel guilty).

Next adventure? Next time I go to the store I'm going to get regular soy milk and cook with that instead of "regular" milk. We'll see if it makes a difference in tastes for that...if it doesn't, then looks like this little half gallon of milk in the fridge right now will be the last one I will ever have! =]

Artichoke & Spinach Lasagna

Serves: 8
Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Ingredients
-9 uncooked lasagna noodles
-1 chopped onion
-4 chopped cloves of garlic
-14.5oz can vegetable broth
-1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
-14oz can marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
-10oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained/squeezed dry
-28oz jar tomato pasta sauce
-3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
-4oz pkg herb and garlic feta, crumbled

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Spray 9x13 dish with cooking spray.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil and add noodles. Cook for around 10 minutes, until al dente. Then, drain.
3. Spray a large skillet with a cooking spray and saute onion & garlic over medium-high heat for 3 minutes.
4. Stir in the broth and the rosemary, and bring to a boil.
5. Stir in artichoke and spinach, reduce heat and cover.
6. Simmer for 5 minutes and stir in pasta sauce.
7. Spread 1/4 of the artichoke mixture in the bottom of the dish. Top with 3 noodles. Sprinkle 3/4 cup mozzarella over noodles. Repeat 2 more times, ending with artichoke mix and cheese.
8. Sprinkle crumbled feta over the top.
9. Bake covered for 40 minutes. Uncover, and bake 15 minutes more.

Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Nutrition Facts: 458 calories


I absolutely LOVED this recipe. It was like a super-cheesy artichoke and spinach dip turned into lasagna. I even made it once and forgot to mix in the pasta sauce (Whoops!!), and it was STILL good!!

Tortilla Soup

Serves: 12
Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients
-2 TBSP vegetable oil
-1 lb pkg of frozen pepper and onion stir fry mix
-2 minced cloves of garlic
-3 TBSP cumin
-28 oz can crushed tomatoes
-3, 4 oz cans chopped green chile peppers drained
-4, 14 oz cans vegetable broth
-11 oz can of whole kernel corn
-12 oz tortilla chips

1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Stir in the stir fry mix, cumin, and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
2. Mix in the chile peppers and tomatoes. Then, pour in the broth.
3. Taste, and season with salt and/or pepper.
4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Mix in the corn and cook for 5 more minutes.
6. Serve in bowls over equal amounts of tortilla chips. Top with cheese and avocado!


Nutrition Facts: 315 calories

A few videos...

Forks Over Knives previews....so you can get the basics.. the funniest part is that the two men who lead this movement grew up on dairy farms, and began as agricultural scientists!!

Some more videos that are lower quality but have the same facts...

"The Truth About Milk"

I have recently been shocked by the "truth" about milk. After seeing Forks Over Knives, I completely understand why we have been told it's this amazing thing. But, after really looking into it I'm trying soy milk for the first time tomorrow (it's been in my fridge for 2 days now, lol and I'm kind of scared but you have to start somewhere!!). I'm going to keep using dairy cheese, for sandwich's and pizza, and such. But, just cutting down and leaving it to the <10% of the food I eat rather than letting dairy be a larger portion of my diet. Here's a post off of the Whole Food Mommies website, the link to her page is on the right side of my page :) This post is a brief overview of milk, and then if you want to learn more, watch Forks Over Knives! They go into the history of the advertising and why we did it. It makes a lot of sense!

The Truth Behind Milk

The usual reaction I get when I tell someone that I don't drink milk is shock! Well by the end of this post I am hoping that you will be in shock and think again about consuming milk.

During a conversation a friend, asked me "Well if we are not supposed to drink milk, then why do cows make milk?" Ummm....for calfs! No other mammal drinks milk after infancy, and certainly not the milk of a different species. More than half of the world’s population is lactose intolerant and can’t digest cow's milk.

But if those reasons aren’t convincing enough, here is a list of problems that have been shown in scientific studies to be associated with eating milk and dairy: constipation, acne, asthma, and eczema. Cow's milk has 59 active hormones, scores of allergens, fat and cholesterol. Even if you are drinking organic milk from a cow who was never injected with bovine growth hormone, the milk is still full of the hormones she produced naturally. And most cow's milk has measurable quantities of herbicides, pesticides, dioxins, up to 52 powerful antibiotics, blood, pus, feces, bacteria and viruses.

But where do you get your Calcium? Well I get my calcium from the same place the cows do...from greens. The body absorbs the calcium differently from different foods and most efficiently from vegetables. Only about 32 percent of calcium in milk is absorbed, while 54 percent of the calcium in bok choy is absorbed.
The countries around the world that have the least incidence of osteoporosis and consume the least amount of dairy are the African and Asian countries. The four countries of the world whose population has the highest incidence of osteoporosis and also consume the greatest amount of dairy are the United States, Great Britain, Sweden and Finland. So if you want to cut out milk but still want to make sure you are getting the calcium you need, consume dark green vegetables, nuts and seeds. Especially good are collard greens, kale, almonds and sunflower seeds.

For those of you like me that thought I won't drink milk but I can't give up butter and cheese, here is a startling fact:

Each bite of hard cheese has TEN TIMES whatever was in that sip of milk... because it takes ten pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese. Each bite of ice cream has 12 times ... and every swipe of butter has 21 times... Wow.

DISEASES CAUSED BY, OR LINKED TO, DAIRY PROTEINS
	General:		Loss of appetite, growth retardation.
	Upper Gastrointestinal:		Canker sores (aphthous stomatitis), irritation of tongue, lips and mouth, tonsil enlargement, vomiting, gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), Sandifer's syndrome, peptic ulcer disease, colic, stomach cramps, abdominal distention, intestinal obstruction, type-1 diabetes.
	Lower Gastrointestinal:		Bloody stools, colitis, malabsorption, diarrhea, painful defecation, fecal soiling, infantile colic, chronic constipation, infantile food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES), Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis.
	Respiratory:		Nasal stuffiness, runny nose, otitis media (inner ear trouble), sinusitis, wheezing, asthma, and pulmonary infiltrates.
	Bone and joint:		Rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Behçet’s disease, (possibly psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis).
	Skin:		Rashes, atopic dermatitis, eczema, seborrhea, hives (urticaria)
	Nervous System (Behavioral):		Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, autism, schizophrenia, irritability, restlessness, hyperactivity, headache, lethargy, fatigue, "allergic-tension fatigue syndrome," muscle pain, mental depression, enuresis (bed-wetting).
	Blood:		Abnormal blood clotting, iron deficiency anemia, low serum proteins, thrombocytopenia, and eosinophilia.
	Other:		Nephrotic syndrome, glomerulonephritis, anaphylactic shock and death, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS or crib or cot death), injury to the arteries causing arteritis, and eventually, atherosclerosis.

Mexican Spinach

Serves: 4

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

-1 cup fresh, chopped cilantro

-16 oz of fresh spinach

-2 Tbsp olive oil

-1 Tbsp cumin

-2 Tbsp chopped pickled jalapenos

-2 Tbsp liquid from pickled jalapenos jar

In order to wilt the spinach, you can either steam them or saute them. I'll put both methods...I sauteed them, because my steamer basket was dirty.

Saute: Pile all the spinach leaves into large skillet over medium-high heat. (Don't worry about burning them, the juices the spinach releases will keep it from burning). As the bottom-of-your-spinach-haystack leaves wilt, use a big wooden spoon or spatula to rotate the leaves until they are all wilted, and that nice pretty green.

Steam: Put 1 inch of water in a large saucepan, and bring it to a boil. Place spinach in steamer basket, and place over the water. Steam spinach about 1-2 minutes until wilted. Drain off any liquid.

1. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat, or add to skillet of wilted spinach. Mix in cilantro.

2. Add cumin and saute for about a minute.

3. Add jalapenos and pickling liquid to mixture.

4. Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Nutrition Facts: One Serving= 1/2 cup, 116 calories.

Lentil Tacos

Serves: 6

Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

- 1 finely chopped onion

- 1 minced garlic clove (I use the organic "pre-minced" squeeze bottle, so if you use that, it's roughly 1 squeeze)

- 1 tsp canola oil

-1 cup dried, rinsed lentils

-1 Tbsp chili powder

-2 tsp ground cumin

-1 tsp dried oregano

-2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

-1 cup of your favorite salsa

-12 corn tortillas

-taco toppings (lettuce, tomato, sour cream, etc.)

1. In a large, non stick skillet saute the onion and garlic in canola oil over Medium-High heat until tender.

2. Add lentils, and chili powder, cumin, and oregano, and stir for about a minute.

3. Add broth, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes until lentils are tender (mine took about 35). Spoon a couple out, taste, and if you need extra seasonings add them. ( I added a little more cumin).

4. Mash lentils. I found a fork to be the best method, and if they're tender enough it's pretty easy.

5. Stir in salsa for about a minute until heated.

6. Add about 1/4 cup of lentil "meat" to each warmed tortilla, and top with your favorite toppings.

Nutrition Facts: One Serving = 2 Tacos, 364 calories (this is calculated WITH all the toppings :) )

The lentil taco "meat" is absolutely DELICIOUS the next day on some nachos too!! 

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