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Big Success: Vegan Night At Mellow Mushroom

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Vegan night at Mellow Mushroom was held tonight in Downtown Delray Beach. Those who eat vegan or those curious about vegan eating came by to sample delicious vegan eats made fresh at Mellow Mushroom. Guest speakers, Health Coach Pam Higgins (yours truly), and Vegan Triathlete and Trainer Richard Wygand were present to speak about the benefits of eating vegan, answers questions and speak with customers.

Here’s a little of what I covered:

When going vegan, focus on eating more plants. I say this because many people start out by eating more carbohydrates and processed vegan proteins. By eating more plants including leafy greens, the rainbow of colors in produce, and root vegetables, you get a wide variety of nutrients.

A few of my favorite vegan foods are avocado, kale, sweet potato, sprouted quinoa, lentils, and pumpkin seeds. You don’t have to be vegan to eat this way, I eat these foods all of the time and many of my readers already know that I’m not vegan, but I do enjoy lots of vegan meals every week.

Remember that food is not a religion, it’s about eating what foods work best for your own body. Know that may change from time to time as well. If you are looking to figure out what foods work best for your body, contact me for a free 15-min strategy session. I work with clients who want to feed their body food that tastes amazing and works well for their bodies to achieve optimal health.

Some benefits of going vegan are:

  • lower cholesterol,
  • good for the environment,
  • good for your heart, lower heart disease rates,
  • great for cancer prevention, has also reversed cancer in many people,
  • less toxic load on your body,
  • get glowing skin,
  • more energy

Photos courtesy of BlueIvy Communications

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Here I am chatting with customers about healthy vegan options, benefits of eating more plant based meals, and best ways to meet protein needs.

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Hungry customers happily enjoy vegan samples made fresh at Mellow Mushroom!

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Photo with Mellow Mushroom owners The Platt Family!

Pictured with Rich Wygand of RW Training (second from the left).

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Hummus with veggies (one of my favorite vegan apps at Mellow Mushroom)

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At home with a gluten free veg-out pizza compliments of Mellow Mushroom.

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Stop in at Mellow Mushroom for great food and delicious vegan options plus gluten free too!!

One of my favorite local places to grab a slice and a drink.

My top picks for vegan meals at Mellow Mushroom:

  1. Gluten free veg-out pizza
  2. hummus with veggie sticks
  3. Make your own salad with tempeh, salad greens, broccoli, avocado, and dried cherries
  4. Stuffed portobello mushroom (minus the cheese)

Mellow Mushroom https://www.facebook.com/MellowMushroomDelrayBeach

25 SE 6th Ave

Delray Beach, FL 33483

561-330-3040

Event made possible by Melissa Perlman of BlueIvy Communications!

Roasted Garlic Hummus & Pine Nut Quinoa Tabouli

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For so many years I was on diet, like every other woman in America. Can you relate to this? So finally, I found foods I could eat and not pack on the pounds. I could eat and not feel deprived. I could eat and have a sensational feeling running through my body plus get tons of nutrients and vitamins. And you know… I’m Health Coach, so I talk a lot about nutrients and vitamins – get used to it, haha Winking smile!

I grew up eating hummus and tabouli so making my own healthier versions is very special for me. Good news is, you can eat this food, ditch the diet mentality and feel your very best!

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Recipe – Roasted Garlic Hummus

Ingredients:

3 cups of cooked chickpeas

3 T. olive oil (Organic, First Cold-Pressed)

3 cloves of roasted garlic (how-to in steps)

1/8 t. each Sea salt and black pepper, plus more to taste

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Take a bulb of garlic, trim the excess layers off garlic, but leave bulb in tact. Cut off top of bulb so clove tops are trimmed.

3. Wrap garlic bulb in foil, then bake for 50 minutes.

3. Remove from oven, carefully remove foil, let cool.

4. Place chickpeas in bowl then mash with a fork, this will be chunky so mash to your desired consistency.

5. Add olive oil, roasted garlic, sea salt and black pepper. Mix all ingredients together.

6. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

7. Serve with freshly sliced veggies of choice (carrots, bell peppers, cucumber, your favorites!)

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Recipe – Pine Nut Quinoa Tabouli

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

2 T. olive oil (Organic, First Cold-Pressed)

1/4 c. fresh chopped parsley

1/4 c. toasted pine nuts

juice of half lemon

sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Rinse quinoa in fine mesh strainer until water runs clear, this will remove protective bitter coating called saponin.

2. Add quinoa and water to medium pot, bring water to boil, then turn down heat to low. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes.

3. When water cooks off quinoa, remove from heat, allow to cool.

4. Toast pine nuts by heating a stainless steel frying pan on medium-high heat on stovetop. Allow pan to heat about 5 minutes.

5. Add pine nuts and continuously move pan to toss pine nuts. Cook 30 seconds to 1 minute to brown pine nuts, then add to quinoa.

6. Place quinoa and pine nuts in serving bowl and add olive oil, parsley, lemon, sea salt and black pepper. Toss well.

7. Season to taste, then serve at room temp or store covered in fridge. Tastes better when ingredients have a chance to marinate together.

8. Enjoy!

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YUM Smile

Have you made your own versions of foods you grew up eating? Please share a link in the comments below!!

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No Meat Athlete Inspired Breakfast Bars

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I landed on the No Meat Athlete website the other day and noticed the side bar with their most popular posts. Number one post is The Perfect Smoothie Formula and number two is The Ultimate Energy Bar Formula. Interesting, I have never seen a recipe called a formula, so I clicked to check it out. I actually love this idea of a formula rather than a recipe because it gives you so many different options. Almost every recipe I pick up, my instinct is to analyze what ingredients I can change out or add to the recipe. I guess it’s from years of kitchen experiments after following recipes to the letter when I first started cooking and baking.

I loved customizing this recipe using their formula with all of the great options. I did make a change from one of the base ingredients in the formula by using 1.5 cups of cooked millet instead of 1.5 cups of oats. I didn’t have any gluten free oats on hand and wanted to use up some cooked millet.

Check out these beauties, which would be lovely with some tea. I am planning to enjoy a breakfast bar tomorrow morning with a green smoothie to give me energy all morning until lunch time! Can’t wait.

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When making bars, I always prefer to wrap them up individually and toss in the fridge or freezer. That way, I don’t need to eat before they get stale. These bars are vegan, gluten free, and dairy free. They are quite filling with their fiber rich secret ingredient of beans, hehe.

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Ingredients:

1.5 cups cooked adzuki beans

1/4 cup ground flaxseed mixed with 1/4 cup water

1/4 cup agave syrup

1/4 cup mashed ripe banana (about a half banana)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

(First set of ingredients will be combined in food processor until smooth then add remaining ingredients and pulse)

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1.5 cups cooked millet (I used millet instead of oats from the base formula)

1/2 cup buckwheat

1/2 cup gluten free all purpose baking flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)

1/4 cup water (if needed)

1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life mini chips – allergen free)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Grease bottom and sides of 9 x 13 inch baking pan with coconut oil.

3. In a food processor, add beans, ground flaxseed and water, agave syrup, banana, cinnamon, and sea salt. Run food processor until ingredients are blended and smooth.

4. Add the millet, buckwheat, and flour then pulse until just mixed in. You don’t want to puree the batter from this point on.

5. Add 1/4 cup water if batter seems a bit too thick.

6. Fold in mini chocolate chips.

7. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.

8. Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a knife inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 30 minutes. Check after 20 minutes.

9. Let cool completely in pan.

10. Cut into 8 or 12 bars.

11. Enjoy!!

These are great to individually wrap and throw in the freezer.

For the original formula along with suggested formula options, check out No Meat Athletes website. I know I’ll be back for more great tips!

Wacky Birthday Cake

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For my birthday, I wanted the perfect cake, but not just any cake. This one had to be both gluten free and dairy free to suite my dietary needs. Most restaurants don’t serve gluten free and dairy free desserts, sometimes they offer desserts that are one or the other, not both. This cake recipe came from allrecipes.com and it’s called, ‘wacky cake’. The way you make it is wacky because you combine all the ingredients into your baking pan, no separate bowls required. Less dirty dishes to wash, how wacky is that?! Read more →