Going VEGGan
After a winter filled with rain and abnormally cold temperatures in California, I decided to revisit my eating habits and go Vegan, but not completely. I absolutely LOVE vegetables, raw or cooked. So much so that in the mid 1990’s I went vegan for 5 years, and only stopped because the vegan diet was ruining my skin: it lacked healthy oils. What happened is that my meals had deteriorated to mainly potatoes with olive oil, or rice and beans. Vegetables, greens and rich oils became less and less frequent. In those days, there was no coconut oil available, one avocado would cost close to $3.00 each, carbs were not the enemy, and gluten-free was not even a thing.
Incorporating Meat Back Into My Diet to Clear Skin Issues
The Naturopath doctor and Nutritionist both recommended that I reintroduce meat into my diet to consume the purest form of omega oils. So I began to eat wild-caught fish, free-range chicken, and once in a while a grass-fed steak. If you are paleo, that is no big deal, but for a vegan, it was quite a change. My skin did clear from what looked like a mixture of psoriasis and eczema, but every so often I would go completely raw vegan for a period of three to four months. I felt good, especially because of the weight loss, but the thought of having my skin filled with raw sores would force me right back into eating meat.
Back to Being Vegan, But With Eggs — VEGGan
This summer, I decided to go vegan, again, except this time I am going to keep eating eggs because of the omega oil content and health benefits. Please, pardon me, pure vegans, but I will now call myself a VEGGan–yes, I eat a chicken’s equivalent to a woman’s period. Sounds gross, but if adding the rich protein and oils is important for good health, I have no problem incorporating eggs into my new VEGGan lifestyle.
In the morning, I eat two poached eggs with added greens and tomatoes. If it has eggs, then it’s breakfast, right? Once in a while, I will become a simple vegetarian and add a slice or two of mozzarella di buffala.
A Religious Vegan?
You see, a diet cannot be a religion. It has to be a part of your lifestyle, the one that you chose for yourself and don’t want to impose on anyone else. If you don’t have fun eating, then you’re harming your body. It is true that food is good, as long as it is good for you. But it is stress that will damage your cells. I’ve seen it happen time and time again: people eat super healthy and get sick; others eat horribly, and yet live a long life. It is a paradox. My free advice? Be balanced and apply common sense. No matter what you do, do it from the heart and enjoy it.
With a bit of humor and a bit of common sense, I pass on to you one of my morning breakfast favorite recipes.
VEGGan Breakfast with Greens
Ingredients:
2 eggs (poached)
1/2 tomato sliced
5 basil leaves
2 cups of baby arugula
1 cup of micro-greens arugula
1/2 avocado
Optional Ingredients:
2 cups of cooked Quinoa
3 slices of mozzarella di buffala
You Will Need:
1 small cooking pot (it can serve for the eggs, but also for the quinoa)
Directions:
Watch this video for the best way of poaching an egg:
If you would rather not use the strainer, then just start by boiling water in a small pot, with a dash of olive oil. For vegetarians who can handle lactose, you can add a slice of butter.
Layer the arugula at the bottom of a sauce plate.
If you are using quinoa, then add that first and the arugula on top.
Note: I normally cook enough quinoa for a week, and keep it in the fridge. To cook the quinoa, just add 1 cup of quinoa, 2 cups of water, a dash of salt and a table-spoon of olive oil, to a pot with a lid. Once the water begins to boil, turn it to simmer. Let it simmer for 20 minutes, turn it off and let it sit for another 20 minutes. You will see that the water has evaporated, and the quinoa should be fluffy and soft. Here is a video for making quinoa:
Continuing: Spread the tomato slices.
If you are vegetarian and can handle the lactose, add the buffala mozzarella first and then the tomato on top.
Place a basil leaf on top of each tomato slice.
When the water begins to boil, turn the fire down to medium, and break each egg over the boiling water. Let it simmer, without a lid, for 2 minutes and 20 seconds, depending on the size of the pot.
Remove the eggs with the strainer, and place them on top of everything.
Slice the half avocado into cubes and spread them over the eggs.
Sprinkle the arugula micro-greens.
Add Celtic salt and grind some pepper over it, and voilá. You just made yourself a delicious, low-calorie, nutrient-dense breakfast!
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Yum! 🙂
Originally published at livinghealth.tv on July 21, 2017. Copyright ©2017 by Living Health TV and Living Health Magazine.
