Category Archives: Whole Grain

“Bean Me Up!”

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Rice is a grain I have loved and never tired from.

Of course, there are times when I take a break from eating rice though I am one who can constantly eat this grain on a routine schedule.

I am a lover of beans too and incorporate these plant-based gems into my diet quite frequently.

I like to mix things up a bit.

For a long time now, I have purchased Bob’s Red Mill 13 Bean Soup mixture of fresh dried beans.

I buy the 13 bean Jack Rabbit brand of beans regularly also.

There are rich, hearty servings of navy beans, black beans, red beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans, great northern beans, kidney beans, baby lima beans, large lima beans; black-eyed peas, yellow split peas, green split peas; and brown and red lentil beans.

Altogether they are extremely high sources of fiber and protein in a daily, or weekly meal.

I crave my rice and beans and they satisfy my hunger pains.

 

 

 

Soymilk And Cookies

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I have been drinking vanilla soymilk as well as cooking plain soymilk with my oat bran when I get into the mood.

What I love about the vanilla soymilk is that it tastes like a health shake. Delicious, clean, and refreshing.

A lady I work with thought about me and brought me back a box of vegan coconut/oatmeal cookies the other day.

I had mentioned the item to her- how I had not had any of the cookies in a while- and when she returned from shopping at the grocery, she handed me the box of Steve and Andy’s organic coconut oatmeal cookies!

In The Mood For Oat Bran

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I had recently gotten back into the habit of eating hot oat bran cereal after getting tired of it a while back.

The cereal tastes so good boiled with plain organic soymilk.

My bowl of oat bran comes out creamy and filling.

It is nice when what we eat can both be satisfying to the taste buds and beneficial to the health.

Oat bran is whole grain and high in fiber, a very wholesome and nutritious meal to enjoy regularly.

 

My Tidbits

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This past Saturday morning I had some cold, tasty, nutritious apple juice without any added sugar.

In the afternoon, I drank three cups of hot delicious tea back-to-back.

Later, during the evening, I made quite a few pieces of toast from whole wheat bread.

I lightly covered my toast with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Vegan spread that I had not purchased in almost two years.

And that is all I ate and drank for that entire day.

Cheerios

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There are not too many healthy cold boxed cereals out on the market. In fact, it is very rare to find some that really are nutritious without unnecessary ingredients.

One of my favorites, Uncle Sam’s Raisin Bran which was high in fiber without any added sugars and only had four simple ingredients was unfortunately taken off the market due to low customer sales.

I phoned up the company myself to find out this information after I could no longer find the item in the stores I use to purchase them from a year and a half ago.

Grape-Nuts is still on the market and is another healthy four- ingredient vegan friendly cereal, however, I do not have a taste for them as I did during my teenage years.

Cheerios was a cereal I loved while growing up and healthy compared to the other leading cereals.

I stopped eating them because of the Cheerios being fortified with vitamin D3 derived from lanolin (grease/oil from sheep’s wool).

Since nowadays General Mills made Cheerios gluten-free and non-gmo maybe they will eventually take out the animal sourced Vitamin D3 and replace it with a plant-based option for us vegans to consume.

 

 

 

Relief In The Bathroom

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You do not have to spend an eternity or eventually die on the toilet from a strenuous or relentless effort to relieve yourself of fecal elimination.

Bowel movements can be very difficult at times with constipation and bowels that sometimes feel confined within the intestines, refusing to come out. It often makes one feel bloated or uncomfortable.

I cured my occasional constipation issues a long time ago with Turmeric.

When I was in my twenties, I pooped three times a day with no problem. If I would eat too much starch here and there, I had to deal with the strain of emptying my bowels. From time to time or once in a while I would get a high level of constraint or restriction with a pronounced lack of ease or no ease at all. It is then that I had to take serious action. I was in my thirties when this circumstance had taken place.

Constipation is usually associated with hardened feces or large ones with softness in texture unable to thoroughly pass through the rectum completely.

When I had my severe constipation years ago where I had to literally take my finger and hand to dig out the doo-doo, I put an end to the condition by fortunately coming across Turmeric. Even after I had stopped consuming the curcuma longa supplements, I didn’t have a problem with excretion until once more years following.

Aside from Turmeric, the second most simple solution is to just consume more high fiber foods into your diet. At least that was and is the other remedy for me.
A lot of my favorite foods happen to be fiber-rich and I go to the bathroom very frequently and with total ease and relaxation.

The fact that I have been a vegan/vegetarian for thirty-three years may contribute to my healthy digestive system, although fiber and/or Tumeric can and will do great wonders for anyone who properly balances them within their daily lifestyle.

So, gulp down copiously on healthy fruits, vegetables, seeds, beans/legumes and grains that are heavily loaded with beneficial fiber. Your body not only will be producing comfort in the bathroom, but satisfactory within overall health as well.

Fiber and Turmeric both do a body well.

You can safely and naturally choose one or the other, or both, according to one’s own different personal need, preference, and/or bodily toleration.

Air-Popped

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For years, I had always popped popcorn kernels with oil.

I read about air-popping corn kernels over the stove yet didn’t think it was actually possible as I tried once and failed. All that had resulted was burnt kernels.

Something recently inspired me to give this oil-free popping a try once again because after reading another article I realized where I went wrong.

I didn’t shake the pot of kernels every one to two minutes like I should have.

So I gathered my stick-free (non-stick) pot, heated it on medium to high flame, then poured in some corn kernels and covered the pot with the top.

I frequently shook the kernels around and before I knew it they started to pop!

Ever since, I’ve been air-popping popcorn like a professional.

It is so much healthier to pop our own popcorn. To pop it without the use of oils and without adding salt which make the grain the ultimate healthy snack that it actually is.

Purely natural popcorn is packed with nutritional value (including fiber) and it tastes good too!

Corn is just all around delicious period!

Breakfast Cereals And The Two Healthiest Cold Cereals

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As a child my favorite cold breakfast cereal were rice krispies and corn flakes. Cheerios was good too.

In addition, I experimented with plenty of other cereals specifically geared toward children- Frosted Flakes, Captain Crunch and etc….

In my adult years, I rarely ate cold cereal, and if occasionally I had a taste for some, I searched for a healthy vegan alternative compared to the traditional junk on the market nowadays.

Most cold breakfast cereals are loaded with unnecessary amounts of added sugars along with a host of other rotten ingredients not beneficial to the health.

When looking for a quality cereal it should be one that is high in fiber, minimally processed, very low in added sugar (no added sugar if possible), non-gmo and whole grain.

I use to like Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes the last time I had a box I was turned off by the flavor and texture of the flakes. Prior to that I had already decided not to purchase them anymore due to the sugar content.

The Heritage Flakes don’t have a sweet taste but I prefer cereals now without added sugars (Nature’s Path Crunchy Vanilla Sunrise is far too sweet for me. I don’t know how I occasionally ate them to begin with).

It’s very hard to find a legitimate healthy cold breakfast cereal. There are quite a few out there advertised as being nutritious when in reality they’re genuinely not.

I was shocked when I found one that I could actually trust and like. Yes, I found Uncle Sam Raisin Bran Toasted Whole Wheat Berry Flakes & Raisins cereal.

This cereal has only four ingredients: whole grain wheat, raisins, barley malt and salt.

In my opinion, this cereal is delicious. I truly love and enjoy eating Uncle Sam raisin bran.

The other genuinely healthy cereal out there I forgot to mention is the original Grape Nuts (which I use to be hooked on during my teenage years).

Grape nuts also only consist of four ingredients without any added sugars. The contents of healthy Grape Nuts are: whole grain wheat flour, malted barley flour, salt and dried yeast.

Grape Nuts are also fortified with acceptable vitamins: reduced iron, niacinamide, zinc oxide (source of zinc), vitamin b6, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin b1) and folic acid.

These two cold breakfast cereals are two of the healthiest on the market and the only ones that I eat when I have a taste for some.

I’ve even changed my brand of soymilk.

Silk use to be my only vegan choice of milk and I still consider Silk to be top rate. I would continue to drink the milk if they took out all the extra added ingredients such as the vitamin a palmitate, calcium carbonate and other particular additives.

I like that Silk has a delicious organic unsweetened vanilla with no added sugar,  but it is still fortified and contained with other undesirable additives that I do not want to consume.

I fortunately came across unsweetened WestSoy Soymilk months back. I prefer the plain-tasting version over the vanilla. The plain has only filtered water and whole organic soybeans.

Delicious Healthy Oats!

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Above is an actual camera photo I took earlier today of my delicious steel cut oats!

They came out so perfect within taste. As usual, I mixed in some extra thick whole grain rolled oats without any sugar, milk (vegan) or fruit.

I only use and eat Bob’s Red Mill oat products. “Nature’s Path” original instant oatmeal and “Mom’s Best Cereals” quick oats are also both high quality non gmo brands I purchase for my aunt who loves and eats the instant version of oatmeal.

When I purchase oats I look for only natural 100% whole grain oats without any fortified vitamins or sugar added into the product.

I’d rather add my own extra ingredients that I choose to if preferred than to have over-processed unhealthy amounts of derivatives sneaked or placed into my food.

Vermont Bread Company English Muffins

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Of course, one can’t always judge a book by its cover though I usually have a good eye and judgement for what is of quality.

As living the life of a vegan or vegetarian at times gets quite expensive I often catch and look out for sales.

There was some Vermont Bread Company brand english muffins that are constantly priced at $5.00 for two packs at one of my local Stop and Shops.

I had never purchased or ate any of the Vermont company breads and would pass up on their items. About three weeks ago, I had a relative shop with me and convinced me to try out the English muffins due to the price of five dollars for each that were six in a pack.

I only relented because it’s hard to commonly find vegan non gmo breads unless you’re at a store which specializes in those type of products.

So she bought two packs, one whole wheat and one white, I bought two whole wheats.

Those muffins stayed inside my fridge for two weeks before I went to open them up. I was hesitant as something within me just didn’t have a desire or attraction for them. If they had have been Dave’s Killer Muffins I would have been all over them the instant I brought them home.

On the day I finally decided to give the Vermont whole wheat English muffins a go I dolled them up with some herbs and olive oil and when I put them inside the toaster oven to heat they gave off an unpleasant smell which stunk.

I was even more hesitant to eat these muffins after that. After I took two or three bites of those disgusting english muffins I threw them into the trash.

I read reviews (which, of course, is not wise to always go by) about how good the Vermont Bread Company english muffins were even though I personally doubted I’d like them from the way they had appeared. I honestly don’t know what those people were talking about maybe they were paid to post that shit.

They’re always 2 for $5 for a reason.

Sometimes one has to pay a little extra for the good stuff when it’s not running a course of a discount.

I was so happy to recently get my usual Dave’s Killer Bread organic classic english muffins that smell and taste so good I even bought my relative a pack and she loved them and agreed that they were much better than that nasty tasting Vermont shit.

 

Popcorn Galore!

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I just got finished popping kernels in olive oil. I love popcorn and whenever I get the taste for some I prepare it myself instead of purchasing pre-packaged.

Popcorn is a healthy snack.

I’d usually buy Bob’s Red Mill white or yellow kernels. Before that I had tried Arrowhead Mills brand.

Right now, I have in my home Jolly Time white kernels.

All of them are non gmo, vegan, or organic and the products are of excellent or outstanding quality. The popcorn smells and comes out so fresh tasting and delicious to the point where I have to pop out a couple of batches just to satisfy my appetite.

I highly recommend these three kernel snack brands as they are far better than any store bought and movie theater pre-popped popcorn.

 

Wow! For WowButter!

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I recently wrote a post that mentioned wowbutter, a peanut butter substitute that is plant-based and how the product was good but a little runny within the consistency and that I wished the butter made from soy was thicker and stiffer.

Well I just purchased another jar of wowbutter yesterday and just opened it up today and noticed how thick and stiff the texture was and I was thrilled.

So either the product was improved or I just happened to buy a particularly oily batch last time around. It could have also been the temperature during shipping or within the supermarket that had made it runny and drippy.

Nevertheless, I spread the wowbutter on lightly toasted thin vegan slices of Dave’s Killer Organic multi-grain bread and enjoyed every bite.

I like the wowbutter better than peanut butter I love how it’s not sweet or sugary tasting. The product has its own unique similar taste, and like I said before, the soy within wowbutter has more protein than actual peanut butter making it an even healthier choice of preference.

My Killer Muffins

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Dave’s killer bread products are one of the healthiest on the market and the only primary bread that I purchase for myself.

There is also an interesting back story about how Dave’s Killer Bread developed.

The breads are organic, whole grain, vegan, and non gmo project verified.

I love the classic organic whole grain english muffins and organic whole grain plain bagels.

When I prepare my muffins I split them, sprinkle garlic, onion, oregano and rosemary on them, drip olive oil on them and toast them in the toaster oven!