Mangiare per vivere e non vivere per mangiare – Italian proverb
Translation: Eat to live and not live to eat.
I love to cook. My mother is an amazing cook, so was her mom and i’m sure all the mother’s who came before were as well. It is an honor for me when people enjoy what I make. I am also passionate about school nutrition and am extremely concerned about the unfortunate state of affairs that most school cafeteria’s are in. We demand improved performance of our students all the while pretending that what they eat is not a contributing factor.
Here are some of my favorite meals to make:
Breakfast…
Step 1: Juice it.
I’m a morning person, except on the weekends per se. The most important meal of the day is breakfast. It sets the tone for your entire day. My new regimen is juicing. I recommend the Breville juicer. The juice I make very morning is Lemon juice, black pepper, celery, kale, parsley, tumeric, ginger and pineapple. This mix is loaded with essential minerals and vitamins. As soon as you drink it you feel revitalized.
Step 2: Raw
Next I cut up up a few different seasonal fruits that I like. Winter = Grapefruit and apples, Summer = Watermelon, peaches, berries. Fantastic source of fiber, vitamins and natural sugar.
Step 3: Mason jars
Cashew yogurt, Granola, Peanut Butter, More cashew yogurt and Steel Cut Oats and seasonal fruit. Make them on Sunday and enjoy them all week for lunch. Ton of protein, probiotics, vitamins, fiber and all essential nutrients.
Here’s the skinny…
- @600 calories
- 0 cholesterol
- 15g protein
- 6g sugar – non-processed
- 4% calcium
- 22% iron
- 37% fat – 2% saturated
- TONS of vitamins
Weekend breakfast:
TOFU SCRAMBLE!!!
Horrified by the fact that millions of baby chicks are destroyed every year by the egg industry, I’ve long since given up eating eggs. Here is alternative that is much healthier has more protein and vitamins and is pretty easy to make.
This recipe makes enough for 2.
Start with Extra Firm tofu. Cut off 1/3 a piece and dry it with a paper towel. With a fork mash the tofu into a scramble. The drizzle tumeric, two piches of salt, pepper, nutritional yeast and a teaspoon of raw hemp flakes. Mix it all up.
Chop up 1 piece of garlic and a few onion slices, coat a pan with olive oil or Earth Balance Natural butter and heat the pan. Add the garlic, onions and let it sligthly brown. I then add spinach and cook until it shrinks. Next add the tofu. Tofu doesn’t take long to cook. Stir contents for 5 minutes the most.
Sides: My latest obsession is avacado toast. I’ll toast some bread and spread avacado on it with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Or see below for a great shitake bacon recipe.
Nutritional facts:
- 30 grams of Protein
- 500 Calories
- 63% of Vitamin C Recommended
- 24% of Vitamin A
- 20% of Vitamin B6 and B12
- 26% Calcium
- 20% Iron
- 0 Cholesterol
add a glass of fresh squeezed OJ:
- 100 Calories
- 2 grams of Protein
- 210% Vitamin C
- 10% Vitamin A
- 2% Iron and Calcium
Shitake bacon recipe:
Shitake mushrooms are known to be amoung the world’s healthiest of foods. They also taste exactly like bacon, minus the fat, cholesterol, sodium, saturated fat and environmental destruction.
Slice shitake mushrooms till they’re about 1/4″ thick. Coat them with olive oil and sea salt. Heat oven to 350 degrees and bake until they’re crisp. I got the inspiration from famous vegan chef Chloe Coscarelli of by CHLOE.
Vegan lasagna
I’ve always been intimidated by lasagna. Don’t know why but it took me a while to get the courage up to attempt my own. I sourced all my ingredients and got to work. I used Vegan Mozzarella and Parmesan from Follow Your Heart. Beyond Meat Plant based Beyond Beef Crumble, San Marzano Crushed Tomato Sauce, organic Italian eggplant and spinach for vegetables and organic basil to top off. Perfecto!
Anything GARDEIN.
Example: Gardein Turkey roast with Brussel Sprouts and cranberrys. What!!!!
Brussel Sprout recipe:
- Halve the sprouts and place them in a baking tray
- Drizzle olive oil over sprouts
- Chop up garlic finely and spread over the sprouts
- Add black pepper and pine nuts
- Preheat over to 425
- Cook for 7-10 minutes should look at little burnt
- Drizzle maple syrup
- Devour.
Vegan Sausage and Peppers.
One of my favorite meals growing up until I realized the suffering I was contributing to. I used to use Morning Star Sausages but they contain dairy products. Field Roast makes an amazing vegan Italian Sausage. This recipe makes enough for 2 hero’s and a little leftover.
Here’s the steps:
- chop 3 garlic and 3 slices of onion
- slice 1 pepper
- cut 2 Sausages into small pieces
- add olive oil and add garlic and onion a minute till slightly brown
- add peppers and sausages and mix around for around 5 minutes
- toast bread if you wish and voila
- add a few crushed olives for a little more tang
Vege burger
The progress of the Vege burger industry is staggering. Beyond Meat has introduced a plant based Vege burger that is out of this world. 20 Grams of Protein, NON GMO, and 100% vegan.
Used to be: Gardein Ultimate Beefless Burger is amazing. 70% less fat, 16g of Protein, 0 Cholesterol.
Used to be: the FieldStone Vegan burger. I don’t know how they do it but it tastes amazing. No tofu, completely grain based.
Coat bottom of pan add Burgers, heat until done and add anything you want. That’s it…
Sides I enjoy: I like to complicate meals but in a simple way. Lately i’ve been making mashed potatoes and spinach. Chop the potatoes and boil them until they’re soft. Mash them while mixing in Earth Balance Natural “Butter” and pepper. Steam the spinach and add a little salt to taste. On the burgers I add pickles, tomatoes, and whatever the heck else I feel like. As long as it didn’t have a heart beat.
Southern Italian Favorite – Escarole and beans
My grandfather was one of the strongest men I knew. He lived till he was in his 90’s. Everyday he would eat escarole. It is a bit on the bitter side, but it’s extremely healthy for you. I like to make it this way.
- 1 head of escarole cleaned and chopped 1-2 inch pieces
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- Olive oil
- Red pepper flakes, if you have or black pepper if you like spicy
- Garbanzo, pinto, lentil, any kind of beans and feel free to mix them
- Elbow macaroni
Coat bottom of pot with olive oil. Peel and chop garlic into small pieces. On a low heat and add garlic and pepper. Then add the escarole. The escarole will shrink significantly. In a separate soup pot, boil some water for the elbow macaroni. Once the water is boiling, I like to add a tablespoon of salt. If you want to subtract salt from your diet, don’t add it. Then add the elbows. As much as you want to make. Once the escarole has wilted you can add the beans and let it gel together on a low heat. Once the elbows are cooked add them to the escarole and beans and you’re done. 1 head of escarole and 1 can of beans usually is enough for 2 people. I’ll make this with a side salad of cucumber, tomatoe, olives, red pepper and whatever else I’m feeling at the moment. I’ll also add the Horse Radish Vinaigrette I use below to the salad.
Nutritional Facts:
- 25 grams of Protein
- 481 Calories
- 61% Daily Fiber Recommended
- 150% Vitamin A
- 368% Vitamin C
-
Others: Thiamine, Niacin, Folic Acid, Zinc, Riboflavin, B6, B12, Anti-Oxidants, Beta-Carotine
Another Southern Italian Favorite.
Pasta, with garlic and oil, broccoli rabe, tomatoes and olives.
Any florets will do, whether broccoli rabe, cauliflower, broccoli, I like to chop them into small pieces. Peel and chop garlic into small pieces and in a pan add olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Heat the olive oil and then add garlic. Add pepper if you like spicy. Then add broccoli rabe or whatever floret you are using. Toss while it cooks. In a separate pot boil water for pasta. When the water is boiling add salt to taste if you wish. When broccoli rabe is tender shut off heat. Once pasta is finished strain and add contents to the same pot or bowl. Clean and chop the tomatoes and olives however you like. One head of broccoli or any floret is enough for one person.
Yogi’s Choice – This is a recipe I borrowed from the Jivamuki Yoga Studio’s café which has one of the best plant based menu’s in New York City.
Ingredients: makes enough for about 3 people.
- 1 cup of Quinoa
- 1 can of Black beans
- bunch of Collard Greens or Kale
- 1-2 Avacado
- box of cherry tomatoes
Steam the Kale or Collards for 3-5 minutes, simmer the black beans with a dash of Cayenne Pepper, bring to boil 1 and ¼ cups of water, add Quinoa and let simmer till the water is all gone. Peel the avocado skin and mix all the ingredients.
I also like to add a Horseradish Mustard Vinaigrette to the Yogi’s Choice. You can use any mustard you like.
Ingredients:
- 1 garlic clove
- 2-3 onion shavings or shallot
- olive oil
- pepper
- mustard
Chop the garlic and onion into little pieces. Cover with olive oil, add pepper to taste. Add Mustard and whisk the ingredients together.
Rice and beans with Vegetables (enough for 2 people)
- 1 box of Long grain rice (or any rice)
- 1 can of black beans
- 1-2 heads of broccoli or cauliflower
- 1 can of corn or 2 ears
- 1 red pepper
- 1 small zucchinni
Long grain rice takes about 20 minutes to make. Start cooking the rice first since that takes the longest. Wash and chop all the vegetables. Next I steam the broccoli or cauliflower for 2-3 minutes to make it soft. In a frying pan heat up some garlic, oil and some spices, I typically use thyme, oregano, pepper and sage. Then I mix all the vegetables and stir them together so the flavors mix for about 5 minutes. I also heat the black beans for 2-3 minutes over a light flame with a dash of hot pepper. Cooking time 20-25 minutes. Chopping takes a little longer.
Sauces
For a quick easy Italian red tomato sauce:
- 1 Can of San Marzano tomatoes
- 3-4 garlic cloves
- ½ onion
- Basil, oregano, thyme, pepper, and whateverrr else you like
Chop up the garlic onion and spices and add them to a pan with olive oil. Heat the oil for a minute then add the garlic, etc for another minute. Then add the tomatoes and let it simmer for about 7-10 minutes.
Pesto:
- 3 cups of basil leaves
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup of pine nuts (or another any other nut really)
- Go Veggie Parmesian flavor cheese (fake cheese) tastes the freakin same and no animals are tortured
- 1 cup of Olive Oil
Need a good blender that chops. Put the basil leaves in, add the garlic and pine nuts and chop them together. Add the Olive Oil as it’s chopping and that’s it. You can add a little pepper as well.
Basic Vegetable Stock This I like to make in the fall and winter months. The vegetables are in season. This will also make enough for about 8 servings. I like to freeze what I won’t use and save it for later. When I’m using it as a soup, I add more parsley, one of the best natural diuretics, to spinach tortellini’s or any kind for that matter. No meat of course.
| 1 Large Onion | 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast |
| 2 large carrots | 8 garlic cloves, peeled and cut |
| 2 celery centers, including a few leaves | 8 parsley braches |
| 1 bunch of scallions, incl. half of greens | ½ teaspoon thyme, or 6 sprigs |
| Vegetable or olive oil | 2 bay leaves |
| Salt |
Clean the vegetables and chop them into roughly 1-inch pieces. Coat the bottom of the soup pot with the vegetable or olive oil. Heat the oil first, but don’t burn. Add everything but the salt and cook over high heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. The more color the richer the stock. Add 2 teaspoons of salt and 2 quarts (4 pints) of cold water. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain everything. You can freeze what you don’t use.
Giant Salads: Soup and salads are a favorite combination of mine. Salads can contain virtually any combination. One I prefer is Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Red or Green Pepper, Red Onion, Olives, Garbanzo beans, Celery, Carrots, Lettuce, it’s a lot of chopping, but full of the vitamins, minerals and nutrients you need. As they say, eat the colors of the rainbow and don’t eat anything you cannot pronounce.
Myths about Protein
The human body does not need a massive amount of protein. Too much protein, especially animal protein, can impair our kidneys, cause osteoporosis, heart disease, impotence, cancer and obesity. In addition, high amounts of protein can damage tissues, organs and cells, contributing to faster aging.
Protein is still vital to your health. It produces enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters and anti-bodies, replaces worn out cells, transports various substances throughout the body and aids in growth and repair.
How much protein varies depending on who you ask. 18-60 grams a day. The American Dietetic Association reports that eating a vegetarian diet provides twice the amount of protein needed daily. How? By eating lentils, beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and almond and soy products. When you eat well-balanced meals consisting of these foods, you are guaranteed to get sufficient protein.
Anthony Tricarico 