Reporting Live from the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, CA

Today I’m reporting live from the Natural Products Expo West, ok almost live. I’m here to check different products and foods and gather some insights for items you can look for in the future when you visit your local health food store. Here are a few highlights from the expo…

Macro Greens
Macro Greens offers a whole green food supplementation product which is hypoallergenic (no dairy/wheat/sugar), is sweetened with stevia- balances blood sugar, contains 18.5 billion probiotics and has 5 extra digestive enzymes. These features help balance blood sugar, boost brain function, support your endocrine system, clean kidneys, and many other benefits. It’s also raw, vegan friendly, and certified organic.

Tip: An important thing to keep in mind is that just because our bodies crave food and we feed it, it doesn’t mean we’re getting the right nutrients. Foods that are high in nutrients will not only fuel the body but curb unnecessary cravings.

I use this green product in my smoothie. I also drink it in water to curb my sweet cravings at night.

Larabar- natural raw bar
I typically like Larabar for a quick emergency snack, this year they have a new chocolate line. I’m not excited about the extra sugar in these bars. I would stick with the original flavors.

Energy Bar Vendors
There are plenty of energy and protein bar vendors here today selling products that are supposedly good for you. Even though this is a natural products expo I’ve seen plenty of artificial flavors and sweeteners in some of these bars. These bars claim to make you muscular and strong (they even have to have models to promote it!). But don’t believe the hype! Steer clear! This just reiterates that you really do need to read labels.

Vega
I spoke with Rob Cheeke at the Vega booth. Looks like he is Brendans right hand man.
Vega has a new sports line of products. They have a pre workout energy drink with ginger, ginseng, yerba mate, green tea, rhodiola, kombucha all for quick and sustained energy. They also have a post work out drink that contains 5 different kinds of protein and is a great workout aid!
This guy is sure energized! I want whatever he is having! He is a great representative of a plant based diet and what’s a person is capable of. Not everyone aspires to be as lean and ripped as he is but we can definitely appreciate what it must take to get there.

Growing Naturals
Growing Naturals produces a line of allergen-free, GMO free, raw (under 120 degrees), vegan, whole grain bio-available rice-protein drinks. It’s the only whole grain rice protein on the market right now. I didn’t know this but other brands only use parts of the rice and not the entire brown rice. This gives them the advantage of added key nutrients and amino acids that are found in the protein bran.

What’s interesting about this company is that the processing that happens to create the protein concentrate is an enzyme process and it’s heated under 120 degree which keeps the rice protein in a more natural state.

I had an awesome time at the expo! I can’t wait to share more product reviews with you in my next video.

Kardena Pauza,
Author of Easy Veggie Meal Plans, 90 day vegetarian weight loss program

I even met John Grey! (author of Men are from Mars women are from Venus)

With all this cold weather recently, aren’t you craving something warm? Maybe something Italian? How about a healthy alternative for spaghetti made from winter squash?

Winter squash (aka spaghetti squash) is dramatically lower in calories than traditional pasta noodles. How much lower, you ask? Try 40 calories per cup of spaghetti squash vs. 190 calories per cup for traditional pasta! You can see how it would be easy to eat too many calories when the spaghetti is so dense.

Spaghetti squash also is a great source of vitamins and nutrients. It’s very dense with vitamin A, C, magnesium, dietary fiber, and a great source for antioxidants like beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is essential because it prevents cholesterol build up and regulates blood sugar.

Just a side note about blood sugar: Traditional pasta noodles raise your blood sugar (glucose in the blood stream). If your blood sugar gets too high from eating refined flour,  in simple terms, it’s stored in the body as fat. That’s why you need to be careful with traditional noodles…it can stay on your hips and mid section!

My version of spaghetti is very simple to make,  and the sqaush, like traditional pasta noodles, will absorb all the flavors of the pasta sauce you combine it with. The noodles will keep the great Italian flavors of the sauce and the texture is similar enough to pasta noodles. You probably won’t even notice the difference!  Well maybe a little difference.

To get started, cut your squash in half, dig the seeds out (but not the underlying “noodles”), bake upside down in a pan at 350º for about 30-45 minutes. To make sure it’s cooked, take a knife and try to pierce the shell, if it goes through smoothly, the squash is ready.

Let it cool down a bit and then scrape out the guts from the wall. It comes apart easily into stringy pieces, just like spaghetti noodles. Just scoop them into a bowl and you’re ready to add the spaghetti sauce.

A note on spaghetti sauces: You can use store bought sauce, but be careful to make sure there’s no high fructose corn syrup or tons of sugar in the ingredient list. I have found a few store bought sauces without sugar but it was tough.  It tastes jsut as great without sugar!  There’s no reason to put sugar in a savory dish like spaghetti sauce! If you want a quick and easy way to make your own sauce, just sauté onions, garlic, tomatoes, salt and basil with a little olive oil and you’re ready to go.

All that’s left is to add your sauce to the noodles and mix…you’re done!

You can eat several cups of this and most likely be full before you over eat on calories.

Now you can enjoy this calorie-friendly and delicious alternative spaghetti!

Kardena Pauza,
Author of Easy Veggie Meal Plans, a 90 day vegetarian weight loss system

One of my favorite snacks is granola and I ate it all the time as a youngster.  But I found out later, granola can be high in sugar and high in dense calories from grains and nuts! No wonder I gained weight in high school!

I thought granola was one of those really healthy foods, now granted, I probably ate too much of it, excess calories is a no no.  It’s so easy to gorge on granola, it tastes so good!

Instead of living without it, I created my own recipe for a raw granola made from soaked/sprouted sunflower seeds.

FYI- You can dry the granola in the oven on low heat if you don’t have a dehydrator.

Sunflower seeds are high in nutrients like vitamin E, vitamin B’s, magnesium high in fiber and easy to digest.

You can find this recipe in my book, Easy Veggie Meal Plans. In the book you’ll find directions for single servings (portioned out for men and women), in the video I made about 4 or 5 servings.  You might as well make lots so you don’t have to make granola for a while.

Here’s the recipe for my delicious “Good for you” granola:

Women’s Version:

- 1/3 cup raw organic sunflower seeds, which I’ve soaked in water for 12 hours (drain water).
- 1/2 cup raspberries
- 1/2 tbsp brown flax seeds (soaked is best, because the gelatinous nature helps everything stick together)
- 2 tbsp raisins
- 1/3 tsp of alcohol-free vanilla
- 1/3 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tbsp shredded coconut
- Dash of salt (mineral, mountain, Himalayan, or sea salt)
- 1 tsp agave nectar (or you can also you use dates, raisins, or stevia).

Mix all ingredients in your food processor until chunky like granola, this won’t take much time.

If you have a dehydrator, grab your tray and spread the granola on the tray.  Dehydrate for about 12 hours.  It will dry in clusters, then scrape it off with a spatula and put it in a bag, seal it up and it will store for up to two weeks or longer.

This granola makes a delicious cereal especially with almond or hempseed milk.  (See how to make your own almond milk here)

Men’s Version:

-2/3 Cup of soaked sunflower seeds
-1 Tbsp of soaked flax seeds
-1/4 Cup of raisins
-1/3 tsp of alcohol free vanilla
-1/3 tsp of cinnamon
-1/2 Tbsp. Shredded Coconut (unsweetened)
-Dash of salt
-2 tsp of agave nectar
- Dash Stevia
-1/2 Cup of raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Enjoy your granola! I know I do!

Kardena Pauza,
Author of Easy Veggie Meal Plans, a 90 day vegetarian
weight loss system

Do you have a healthier version of a child hood favorite dish? Share it with us!

Why soak nuts and seeds?

Seeds, nuts and beans can just lie around for months when dry – without sprouting – because they contain enzyme inhibitors to stop that process. But once they make contact with water, they become alive and the enzyme inhibitors are released – like Gremlins!

The sprouting enzymes become active in these little seeds and begin breaking down the food to it’s easiest to digest form. This makes it easier for you to digest and more nutrients are bio-available and you absorb more nutrients to feed your cells.

Enzymes are alive only in living foods but not cooked foods and begin to die at around 115 degrees Fahrenheit.

I believe that for optimal living we need to eat living foods. After all, a “live” food is life giving, energy giving, and nutritious but cooked dead food does not give you the vigor and energy that living foods can.

I know you are a person who wants to get the most out of life, so feeling amazing is very important to you. This element right here is very important.

Begin to eat more living foods, not just soaked seeds. My challenge to you is to try and eat more vegetables, I dare you! This would be one of the best things you could do for your health and weight loss.

HOW TO SOAK SEEDS:

You don’t need any fancy jars unless you just want to buy them. A bowl works just great for sprouting. When you sprout smaller seeds like sesame seeds, radish seeds, broccoli seeds which are really small, you will want a sprouting jar with a lid.

Flax Seeds:

Soak for 8 hours (overnight). Put flax seeds in a bowl and cover with water about 1 inch above the seeds. Place the bowl on the counter at room temperature for the full 8 hours uncovered. You can cover with a towel to keep bugs out.

The flax seeds will absorb all the water and become a little slimy. This is natural. After 8 hours, put the unused soaked/sprouted flax seeds in the refrigerator with a lid on. They will last about 5 days in the refrigerator.

Sunflower seeds:

Use the same process as flax seeds. Soak for 8 hours (overnight) in a bowl and cover with water about 1 inch above the seeds. Place the bowl on the counter at room temperature for the full 8 hours uncovered. You can cover with a towel to keep bugs out.

After 8 hours, drain the water and store in fresh water. To use, drain water and scoop out what you need for eating. We use for breakfast, pate’s, snacks, granola, raw sushi rolls, and lots of other cool stuff.

Store in the refrigerator with a lid on and be sure to store seeds in fresh water. If they are not stored in water and exposed to the air, they will mold quickly. They will last about 5 days in the refrigerator after sprouted.

Sesame seeds:

Same process as sunflower seeds. These are GREAT sources of calcium.

Almonds:

Soak almonds for 12-24 hours. Put the almonds in a bowl and sit on counter to soak.

With almonds you need to rinse them every 12 hours if you are soaking for 24 hours.

Store almonds the same way you store sunflower seeds. Store in fresh water and put a lid on it and put in the refrigerator. These are great snacks, or for smoothies, or making fresh almond milk, and all sorts of other goodies.

Almonds these days are pasteurized because after an E coli break out involving almonds, the government required all almond growers to pasteurize their almonds – usually by quick steam or a chemical spray.

Even if the package says “raw”, they are technically not raw, it is now against the law to sell them. It is very difficult to find raw almonds now but it can be done. Just do the best that you can with what you have. At least soak your almonds so they are easy to digest.

Kardena Pauza,
Author of Easy Veggie Meal Plans, a 90 day vegetarian weight loss system.

This is how I make my quick, easy and delicious Blueberry Banana Smoothies. You can also find this recipe in my Easy Veggie Meal Plan, weight loss program. This is a great smoothie for breakfast or a snack that’s light on calories and big on antioxidants, fiber, essential protein, and essential minerals!

All you’ll need is a blender and the ingredients below.  I’m using a Magic Bullet blender I received as a Christmas gift this last year form my friend Paulette. What a thoughtful gift! I love it because it’s super fast to use and it comes with its own serving containers and to-go cups and I tend to be in a rush when I’m leaving the house so this makes it easy for me to still make my smoothie and take it on the go.

I eat breakfast everyday without fail.  It is important to me to eat breakfast, especially because I workout in the morning and I need to be nourished so I can work hard.

Statistics show that 70% of people who eat breakfast on a regular basis are more likely to lose weight and keep it off.

Now the factors that are at play here can vary.  I do know that eating in the morning helps regulate your blood sugar and tame a ravaging hunger monster at lunch.  When you are overly hungry you are more likely to eat unheatlhy foods and/ or eat to much food thus packing on extra pounds.  Your body can only utilize a certain amount of calories at a time and any excess calories you eat will be stored as fat on the body most likely where you don’t want it to go.  And we don’t need to store fat for the winter.

Neither of these situations are good.  So eat breakfast and get your metabolism going.

Here’s the recipe for a female on a 1,500 calorie diet.

1/2 cup organic blueberries (frozen or fresh, although frozen are typically cheaper and easier to find)
1/2 banana
4 oz almond milk or water (see how to make home made almond milk)
2 Teaspoon of whole flax seeds (great source of essentials fats and fiber and they should grind up in the blender)
2 Tsp of almond butter
2 Tbsp of protein powder (rice protein is great, but you can also use hemp, or pea protein, etc.)
Dash of cinnamon (good for restoring pancreas and increasing circulation)
Dash of cayenne pepper (helps increase metabolism and increases the body’s ability to carry oxygen).
1 Tbsp of green powder or 1-2 cups fresh spinach
a dash of sweetener (dates, raisins or stevia make great choices)
Put all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. You are ready to start a healthy day!
Oh! one thing, your smoothie will be a greenish color not a pretty purple color. Don’t worry about that, it will still tastes great!

Calories 360 Carbs: 46g Protein: 18g Fat: 12g

A little bit about greens.

There are two ways you can add more greens to your smoothies:
1. You can add organic baby spinach, kale, chard, or other green you like.
2. Or add green powder (such as Earth’s Promise). There are many different powders on the market, such as barley grass powder, wheat grass, alfalfa grass (with dandelion or milk thistle for cleansing), etc. Most of them have a mild flavor. If the green powder includes Spirulina- this will be a very strong flavor so watch out. There is a variety of products on the market and they are all great solutions. Read the ingredients first so you know what you are buying to make sure it is what you are looking for. Sometimes they use fiber fillers- just be an informed shopper. Try different kinds…variety is good! For this smoothie, I added 1 Tbsp of powder plus some organic baby spinach (just because I can!).

After you’ve added all your ingredients, the rest is easy. Add water almost to the top of your container (or ice if you want yours chilled), blend, serve and enjoy!

What I love about the Magic Bullet is you turn the container over, unscrew the blade off and put a lid on the container for drinking and you are out the door!  The container looks like a cup and has a handle for easy transportation.  It’s super fast.  Check out the video to see how easy it is.  I don’t get excited about appliances but I do love this little machine.

Here is the men’s version. The calories are pertinent for a 2,000 calorie diet.
Mens portion
½ large banana
¾ cup blueberries, fresh/frozen
1 cup/8 oz. almond milk or water (see how to make home made almond milk)
1 Tablespoon flax seeds
1 Tbsp almond butter, raw, organic preferably
4 cups (85 g) spinach
dash of stevia
1-2 cups water
ice- optional
452 Calories Carbs: 54 g Protein: 23 g Fat: 17 g

Eat energy rich food for an energy rich life.

Kardena Pauza,
Author of Easy Veggie Meal Plans, a 90 day vegetarian weight loss system.

Fat is ESSENTIAL for the proper functioning of the body.

Fats provide essential fatty acids, which are not made by the body and must be obtained from food. The essential fatty acids are linoleic and linolenic acid.

The body needs at least 15 grams of Essential Fatty Acids (Efra’s) per day, which can be obtained by eating fish, meats, seeds & nuts. I recommend the plant based sources. Each gram of fat contains 9 calories, twice as many as carbohydrates and protein, which is why so many folks become fat-phobic.

But fat gets a bad rap. And this can make us fat!

The fats you eat (all foods) should NOT EXCEED  more than 30% of the total calorie intake per day and for optimal health, glowing skin and increase heart protection the majority of those fats should be both polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats.  AVOID saturated fats or trans fat.

You should remember the low-fat craze from the 1990’s. It should also be called the high-sugar craze, because companies began selling “low fat” snacks packed full of sugar. The low-fat craze even made for a funny Seinfeld episode (the low-fat yogurt episode). But too many low-fat products made us overeat and gain belly fat.

So eliminating all fat is NOT THE ANSWER.

We even benefit from some saturated fat. Of course, if you have high cholesterol, you should talk to your doctor about going on a plant-based diet.

The Truth About Saturated Fats

Saturated fat, from animal products, has been linked to heart disease. Foods to avoid containing saturated fat are dairy products (cheese, milk, butter, ice cream), red meat (including hamburgers and sausage), and hot dogs (made up of who knows what),

But there are also healthy plant based sources of saturated fat, like coconut oil, that is good for you (as populations who eat a lot of coconut oil are often very healthy).

Coconut oil contains medium chain fatty acids which are thought to contribute to its health benefits and to the fact that it does not seem to raise cholesterol levels. Plus, plants do not contain cholesterol (only animal products do) and that’s another reason why coconut oil does not raise cholesterol.

The American Heart Association and other health experts recommend that you eat less than 300 milligrams of cholesterol daily.
• The average American man eats about 360 milligrams of cholesterol daily.
• The average American woman eats about 240 milligrams of cholesterol daily.

Keep in mind while Coconut Oil is one of the highest of all Saturated fats; it comes from a plant source and not a meat source and is very healthy.

What is a Monounsaturated Fat?

According to the American Heart Association, “Monounsaturated fats are simply fats that have one double-bonded (unsaturated) carbon in the molecule. Monounsaturated fats are typically liquid at room temperature but start to turn solid when chilled. ”

Monounsaturated fats are also known as healthy fats because they lower “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and increase “good” cholesterol (HDL). Avocados, olive oil, and nuts such as almonds, walnuts, pecans and cashews all contain monounsaturated fats.

NOTICE none of these are from an animal! So substitute olive oil for butter or eat an ounce of nuts as a snack.

What is a Polyunsaturated Fat?

You’ve probably heard the term “polyunsaturated fat” before, and this is another healthy fat. But unlike the monounsaturated fats, this version has more than one double-bonded (unsaturated) carbon in the molecule.

You can find healthy polyunsaturated fat in many plant foods, such as grains, hemp seeds, sunflower oil, safflower oil, flax seeds, peanut butter, bananas, seeds, and nuts.

But you can also find polyunsaturated fat in animals, such as fish. That’s where most folks get their heart-healthy “Omega-3” fatty acids. These fats help reduce cholesterol in your blood, lower your risk of heart disease, and may reduce inflammation in the body.

So many new vegetarians wonder, “What do I use to replace fish oil?”

If you drop fish oil from your diet, then you can simply replace it with flax oil. Hemp seeds are another substitute and a relatively new item on the shelves of health food stores.

Hemp seeds contain the 3:1 ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids that our body prefers. I definitely recommend adding hemp seeds in to your new healthy lifestyle. A quick side note – Hemp seeds contain 20 amino acids including the essential amino acids making it a complete protein. It’s hard to find a complete protein from a plant source so this is an easy no brainer protein source you can feel good about.

Listed on the chart below are some fats broken down by saturated fats, polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats to show you the degree that fats play in our lives.

Oil: Saturated Fat / Poly / Mono
Cocount: 86% / 5% / 9%
Palm: 51% / 10% / 39%
Corn: 13% / 10% / 25%
Olive: 14% / 9% / 77%
Soybean: 15% / 61% / 24%
Sunflower: 9% / 77% / 14%
Safflower: 9% / 77% / 14%
Peanut: 18% / 34% / 48%
Canola: 6% / 36% / 58%

Fat To Avoid At All Costs:  Trans Fats

If you stick to the Easy Veggie Meal Plans, you’ll keep your trans-fat intake to zero, exactly what it should be.

If you don’t already know, trans fats are deadly man-made fats added to all kinds of refined foods in order to prolong the shelf life of the product and make them addictive. They make you fat and cause heart disease. There is NO safe limit for this ingredient, so get it out of your life completely.

But you’ll need to read the ingredient list to know if a product contains hydrogenated fats/ trans fats. Always look for any type of hydrogenated oil. If the food contains that, do NOT buy it even if the label says “trans fat free”.

WHY? Because the sneaky government regulations allow a food to claim it is trans-fat free if it contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving.

So beware, because so many foods contain hydrogenated oils like candy bars, potato chips, tortilla chips, cookies, cakes, crackers, peanut butter, granola bars, and even cereal.

Summary of Fat In Your Diet

Eliminate trans fats and restrict your saturated fat intake to plant sources, such as coconut oil. You can also get healthy unsaturated fats from nuts, avocado, and seeds, just don’t overdo it.

Kardena Pauza
Author of EasyVeggieMealPlans.com - 90 day Vegetarian Weight Loss Plan
Great for beginners or advanced vegetarians

Did you read about the massive meat recall that is taking place in California?

Over 4 million pounds of meat has been recalled because of E.Coli.

I sure as heck wouldn’t want to be eating ground beef in a California restaurant this weekend, that’s for sure!

It’s really sad to hear about these recalls, because you just know that some poor child has gotten sick. I remember years ago when a similar outbreak killed a bunch of poor kids at a popular fast food restaurant.

In fact, this particular recall is now being investigated as a criminal matter because of the negligence of the meat packing company.

That’s really scary stuff considering how many times I ate fast food hamburgers as a child.

So make sure to protect your loved ones by letting them know about this recall and the hidden dangers that come with eating meat. I wish this wasn’t something we had to talk about, but it just seems to be happening more and more often.

But enough of the doom and gloom…I also have some good new for you today. I went through Kardena’s 101 Veggie Recipes book and found a a nice and hearty “Black Bean Burger” recipe that you’ll love.

17. Black Bean Burgers

Ingredients:

- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 ¾ cup or 15 oz. black beans, cooked
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 slices bread, crumbled
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Oil for frying
- Whole grain bun or bread

Preparation:

1) Sautee the onions till soft, about 3-5 minutes.

2) In a large bowl, mash the beans until almost smooth. Add sauteed onions and the rest of the ingredients, except the oil, adding the flour a few tablespoons at a time to combine well. Mixture will be thick.

3) Form bean mixture into patties, approximately ½ inch thick and fry patties in a small amount of oil until slightly firm.

4) Make veggie burgers and enjoy!

5) Makes 6 servings.

And please drop us a line on the blog if you have any other hearty veggie recipes to share that can replace ground beef.

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Lazy Man’s Guide to Vegetarian Eating

Making almond milk is easy, inexpensive, and a healthy alternative to cows milk, soy milk, or even processed almond milk.

Don’t get me wrong, I do suggest people purchase almond milk from the store. However, if you can make your own almond milk you are more in control of what goes into your tasty beverage.

There’s a lot of people who are lactose intolerant in our society, so this is a great substitute that’s easier to digest than cows milk as well as being a wonderful source of nutrients. And soy milk is controversial with it’s estrogen mimicking chemistry make-up and anti nutrients. I would recommend minimizing your consumption.

Did you know cows milk contains 12-15 grams of sugar per serving? That is not added sugar that is au naturale. If you are looking to lose weight, sugar is something you need to be watchful of in your diet. Besides, cows milk is hard to digest causing lots of digestive and health problems and bogging down your energy.  I have talked about this in another post. milk-myth-busting

Be careful of liquid calories they are the sneakiest adding 100’s of unnoticed calories to your diet.

Almond milk is great because you can use it as a direct substitute for dairy milk. You can use it for cereal, as “creamer” for your coffee or tea, in ice cream or granola, even in a chocolate shake (if it’s healthier, less sugar, and natural sugar and non-dairy, why not!).

Cows milk contains approximately 110 calories per cup.  Almond milk contains 75-90 calories per cup and unsweetened almond milk contains a menial 35 calories per cup.  Almond milk is a better quality, lower calorie option with added healthy fats, protein and calcium.

Before we start, please note that you can use any kind of nut you want, from macadamia nuts, cashews, hazelnuts to pecans to walnuts or even sesame seeds (which are high in calcium). Any of these are a great alternative!

It’s almost as easy as boiling water!

How To Make Almond Milk

Ingredients:

1 cup soaked almonds

2-3 cups water

1 strainer bag- read money saving tip below

Optional- 1-2 dates, agave nectar, stevia, cinnamon, vanilla extract/vanilla bean, dash of sea salt

How To Make:

I recommend soaking 1 cup of almonds in water for 24 hours prior to using (remember to rinse and add new water after 12 hours). This will make the almonds soft and easier to blend.

Add the 1 cup of almonds to approximately 2-3 cups of water and blend until you don’t hear the almond chunks hitting the blade. Using 2 cups of water instead of 3 cups will give the milk a stronger almond flavor. A high powered blender works great but a regular blender is fine, too.

When you’re done blending, there may still be some almonds chunks, but that’s ok. Get your mesh bag and pour the contents of the blender through the nut bag into a container/bowl.  Squeeze the contents of the bag until you’re left with pretty dry almond pulp in the bag. Voila, you’re done!

MONEY SAVING TIP- Instead of buying a “special” nu

t bag online for $7.00 you can go to your local hardware store like Lowe’s or a place that sells paint and purchase paint bags. They have what’s called a paint strainer bag which is exactly the same as a nut bag but you only pay around $2 for 2-3 bags. What a huge savings!  The paint strainer bags are used to strain out fine particulates out of paint.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the idea came from paint bags and they just changed the name to nut milk bag.

Once you have your almonds, put it in a sealed jar or container and store it in the fridge up to 5 days.

You can keep the pulp in a container in the fridge and store for later uses, like making scones, cookies or nut burgers!

There’s lot of uses for almond milk. You can add chocolate/agave nectar/dates/stevia for a chocolate milk treat.  A delicious drink and a great ingredient for other recipes! Cranberry Orange Scones

Check out more ideas for almond milk in my 90 day meal plan! Be creative and have fun!

What do you make with your almond milk?

Kardena Pauza
Author of EasyVeggieMealPlans.com - 90 day Vegetarian Weight Loss Plan
Great for beginners or advanced vegetarians

While everyone is scared about not getting enough protein, most dieters are equally scared about getting TOO MANY carbohydrates. So let’s take a look at proper carbohydrate intake when using the Easy Veggie Meal Plans to lose weight.

The FIRST rule is to build your diet based around fruits and vegetables.

Not only are they loaded with fiber, but also with vitamins and minerals. The fiber in fruits and veggies give you long lasting energy throughout the day, rather than a spike and crash energy level like processed carbohydrates from a box. Plus, fruits and vegetables are low in calories and easy for the body to digest.

Of course, there are many vegetarian carbohydrates to AVOID, including white flour breads and pasta, white processed rice, crackers, cookies, and soda. All of those are refined foods, meaning they have been stripped of many nutrients and fiber.

As a result, refined foods contain a lot of calories per serving and do NOT fill you up. Plus, they often have more sugar and even trans fats added to them, making them not only unhealthy but also fattening.

So stick to fruits, vegetables, and un-refined whole grain products. This will give you lots of fiber, and fiber helps keep you full and has many health benefits. Fiber helps lower risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, heart disease, constipation and colon cancer just to name a few.

There are two types of fiber, soluble and insoluble:

Soluble fiber absorbs water creating a gel like substance while being digested. It helps you feel full longer, yet is easy to digest.

Insoluble fiber doesn’t absorb water and it stays intact as it passes through the intestines to help with regular bowel movements.

Fiber Examples:
Soluble fiber sources include oat bran and nuts, while insoluble fiber includes most fruit peels and vegetables. As fiber passes through the intestines it acts as a “broom” and picks up toxins and fats. It can absorb up to 100 times it weight, and helps lower cholesterol.

Fiber intake has been associated with a lower risk of colon cancer as well.

Carbohydrate Summary:

The carbohydrates you’ll eat on the Easy Veggie Meal Plans are NOT evil. In fact, you’ll be able to eat a lot of carbohydrates – about 50% of total calories – and you’ll still lose weight and get rid of belly fat.

Just make sure to avoid processed foods from a bag or a box at all times – with the exception of the odd treat – and you’ll get slim on a “Good-Carb” diet!

Kardena Pauza

Author of EasyVeggieMealPlans.com

Today we’re cruising in my veggie car to go skiing at Mammoth Mountain here in California. I’m looking forward to snowboarding and traveling a healthy way.

As some of you may know, my car runs on vegetable oil. Yes, that’s right, fry oil from restaurants!  It’s been filtered, so it’s safe to use in my car, but it’s essentially used vegetable oil.

My car is vegetarian too!  My own silly joke…

My car runs on Diesel, so I purchased a conversion kit about 3 years ago that allows me to switch between Diesel fuel and vegetable oil.

Why did I make the switch? I asked myself, is there a way that I can make a difference in the world, even if it’s in a small way.  I heard about this concept and searched out a diesel car that I could convert and here you see it in the video.  My Volkswagon Golf TDI.  I love this car!

I feel like I’m contributing to a healthier, cleaner world.

We are always voting with our dollars, so I’ve decided NOT to give money to the big petroleum companies and put my money towards a better cause.  That’s my way of making a contribution.

You can make a contribution to a healthier environment in your own expression.  This was my way.  Not saying everybody needs to do this exact project, just thought I would share Kardena’s world.

The night we left for our trip we have to get the vegetable oil tank filled and ready to go. We just fill the veggie oil tank with the dark-colored vegetable oil from a 50 gallon drum I have and we use a small pump, and we’re good to go!

FYI- I have a delivery company drop the oil to my house.  I do have the equipment to filter the oil myself (a simple pump and filter system), but really I don’t have the time to pick up the oil from restaurants and filter it at home.

The oil tank fits very snug in my trunk.  It’s a little car but it has as much room as I need, plus I have the roof rack for skis, surf boards, mountain bikes, or travel case.  This is our travel car and it gets a ton of use with all our outdoor activities.

In the front of my car there’s a switch which allows me to go back and forth between Diesel and veggie oil. There’s even an indicator light which tells me which fuel I’m using.

The heated tank sends the oil to the engine and guess what kind of mileage I get out of it?  Try 600 miles to the veggie oil tank!, that’s about 40 miles to the gallon and Waste Veggie Oil produces half the carcinogenic particulates that diesel fuel produces.

It smells like french fries when I’m driving down the road!  Kidding…

Do you know where used trans fat waste fry oil goes when it’s picked up from the restaurants?  Most of it gets sent to companies that make pet food and feed stock!  That’s crazy!  If fried foods are not good for humans what-so-ever, why on Earth would we feed this toxic oil to our most precious doggies and kitties or livestock?  No wonder animals are having more and more health problems! Not all pet foods use this toxic oil, but as far as I know the lesser quality pet foods are typically the companies who use it.

So for me, this is more than a diet, it’s a lifestyle. Healthy inside and out!

How do you contribute to a healthier you and our sacred Earth?

Kardena Pauza

Author of EasyVeggieMealPlans.com