Potage à la kale & dill

 

Some of you may look at the picture of  this potage à la kale and dill and you start reading, you may think to yourself : “wait a minute, another soup recipe?” Yes, my friends, it is. And there are two very simple explanations for that:

a) I love soup… I mean, I love soup now. I used to hate soup growing up. Cant’ remember why, but I did. Needless to say, I don’t feel that way anymore. Not only do I love eating soup, I just as much enjoy making it, especially when it’s a quick and easy recipe like this one.

b) I live in Montreal. It’s winter. It’s humid cold (you know that type of cold that just gets into your bones through whatever and no matter how many layers of clothes you’re wearing. Yah, Montreal has that kind of cold). Soup warms you up. Period.

And today was particularly cold, although beautiful and sunny, so I thought it would be perfectly fitting to share this soup recipe with you, so you too can feel all warmed up from the inside out. This soup will not only warm you up, but will nourish every cell in your body with killer good-for-you-ingredients like kale, dill and russet potatoes.

Potatoes act as a great replacement for the typical cream in “cream” soups. It offers the same mouthfeel and velvety texture as cream. The key is to blend the soup very well. You don’t need an expensive blender (although that does help and saves a lot of time), most often, any blender will do. I often opt for my hand blender. It’s convenient and handy. But it does take me a bit more time to reach that smooth, velvety consistency I am looking for in a soup like this one.

But once all those delicious potatoes are pureed and blended with the other ingredients, it’s magic. This is plant power at it’s best my friends!

Speaking of plants and their incredible power, I bumped into an old acquaintance of mine the other day and as we were catching up on the important events of the past year or two of our lives, she asked me how I was able to “stay” vegan and not be tempted by my old food favourites like bakery style donuts, lasagna and California sushi roll.

It’s simple I answered: I have an anchor.

She looked confused. I don’t blame her. That wasn’t really a complete answer. An anchor. What does an anchor have to do with Italian baked pasta or fried pastries anyways? Well, actually, it has everything to do with it.

What I mean by “an anchor’ is something that is profoundly important to you, something that you value to your core, a belief, a love, a passion, a promise, that is embedded deep into your heart. So that whatever else is presented or offered to you and is in conflict with that anchor, that love, that passion, that promise, has no impact on you. Like the anchor of a boat. Once a boat’s anchor has been released to the bottom of the sea, the boat will not move. It will not falter. It will not waiver.

Before I decided to transition to a vegan diet, I knew I needed to define my anchor. I needed to identify why I wanted to adopted a plant based lifestyle, what is of the outmost importance to me in that regards and what would guide my decisions and be my rock in times of temptations. I don’t have those temptations anymore but I won’t sit here and tell you I didn’t have them at the beginning, because I did. I’m humane and it’s ok to feel those temptations. But I didn’t waiver. I didn’t falter. Because I had my anchor. Because I had taken the time to identify that anchor at the beginning of my journey. And that is what I encourage everyone wanting to embark on a journey, on any journey, on any path that is different then the current path: find your anchor. Find what speaks to you, find the true motivation for doing what you are setting out to do, find that Loce that will keep you grounded and steady.

Often times people mistaken “willpower” with “anchor”. I’ve often heard: “I don’t have the willpower to be vegan, I love (insert non vegan food here) too much” or “I tried the vegan diet but it was too complicated”. Nuclear science is complicated, quantum physics is complicated, eating a plant based diet is not complicated. But you do need your anchor from which you will source your motivation when it lacks and your willpower to say no to bakery style donuts (or whatever is offered to you that is not aligned with the path you have now chosen to follow) when offered to you.

Willpower without an anchor is not strong enough.

So that’s what I answered my friend: I am “still” on a plant based diet because I have an anchor…and because I make delicious soup like this one!

I hope you guys enjoy this soup and leave me a comment to let me know what your anchor is.

xx

Potage à la kale & dill
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6-8 portions
This kale and dill soup is velvety and creamy. It’s also very versatile. If you don’t have any kale on hand, you can easily use collard greens or any other leafy green.
Ingredients
  • 6 cups of water
  • 2 cubes of vegetable broth
  • 2 1/2 tsp cumin, ground
  • 1 1/2 tsp coriander, ground
  • 1 tsp coconut oil
  • 3 large russet potatoes
  • 6 cups of kale
  • 1 medium red onion
  • 2 garlic clove
  • 1/4 Cup fresh dill
  • Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Peel the potatoes, remove the ribs from the kale and chop roughly, dice the onion, mince the garlic, chop the dill.
  2. In a large pot, melt the coconut oil on medium high heat.
  3. Add the onion and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes.
  4. Add the water, vegetable broth cubes, cumin and coriander.
  5. Bring to a boil.
  6. Add the potatoes and cook for 10 minutes.
  7. Add the kale and cook for another 8 minutes.
  8. Remove the pot from the heat and add the dill.
  9. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
  10. With a blender or handheld blender, blend the soup until smooth and velvety.
  11. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

 

 

Kale Caesar Salad

 

Hello beautiful people,

For the past few posts, I’ve shared with you my thoughts on compassion. I hope you’ve enjoyed it and I’d love to hear back from you so don’t be shy, scroll on down (after you’ve read this post of course!) and leave a comment… But now, it is time to go back to plant based food and address a very important topic: plant protein!

Now, I know that this topic has been discussed in great length on countless plant based blogs, websites, youtube videos and Instagram accounts yet somehow, the confusion persists, especially in the bodybuilding and fitness industry, although there is some improvement there. If you’ve read my story, you know that this is an industry I’m very found of. But this post is not only aimed at those muscle heads (and I mean that as a compliment as I consider myself one!) but also, and mainly, at those that want to take their fitness to the next level, at those that want to lead an active lifestyle and at those busy families who want to nourish their bodies and fuel their muscles, all the while doing something  positive for their health, the environment and the animals. An all around winning situation if you ask me!

Now let’s get into the thick of things and debunk a few myths along the way…

Let’s start at the beginning. What is protein? According to the National Institutes of Health, protein is a macronutrient (like fat and carbohydrates). It is composed of amino acids, which are organic compounds made of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen or sulfur. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, and proteins are the building blocks of muscle mass.

It was once believed, by the scientific community (actually, as far back as 1971), that plant protein was incomplete in and of itself. That all plant proteins lacked one or more amino acids and so someone eating only plant based foods, would have an incomplete intake of amino acids which could lead to a plethora of problems. And so “proper food combining” was recommended to those who wanted to adhere to a plant based lifestyle. And this complicated things for a lot of people. It made this lifestyle very labour intensive and unattractive. Those that might have been plant based-curious where easily turned off by the idea of properly combining foods at every meal.

Luckily, that concept has long been debunked! Unfortunately, it still persists… NutritionFacts.org actually made an amazing video on the topic and I would strongly encourage you to watch it here.

So now we know that most plant proteins contain at least the minimum amounts of all 8 amino acid and that our bodies can store amino acids for when we eat plants to that do not contain the magic 8. And so combining certain plant foods together at every meal is not required. Your magnificent body does the work for you. Incredible you are!

Now what? Well now, unto the next myth: protein requirements!

Since the craze of high-protein diets and the incredible lobbying of various meat industries, it is wildly believed that our bodies need an incredible amount of protein to function properly. We’re talking about diets that promote eating anywhere from 150 to 300 grams of protein (depending if you are active or not, man or woman), a day. That is insane! Some diets even go as far as suggesting a protein-fast where you only eat lean meat all day, for a period of time dependent on how much weight you want to loose. I won’t even get into the dangers of such a diet or the havoc it can wreak on your hormones and digestive tract let alone your sanity but it’s actually a very popular diet so this is scary! Diet such as these promote efficient, drastic and quick weight loss due to the power of protein.

Now let’s be real, protein doesn’t have magical powers and your body definitely doesn’t need that much to function, be active and recover from brutal workouts. So how much do you actually need? Of course, the answer is unique to each person but the general guidelines from the American Dietetic Association and Health Canada is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram (1 kg = 2.2 pounds) of body weight per day. So a person who weighs 135 pounds needs 54 grams of protein in a day. Pregnant and breastfeeding women need more as do athletes. For myself, I weight 135 pounds and I know, through trial and error, that my body functions best and I recover faster from my workouts when I eat at least 80 grams of protein, some days even more. And yes, all my protein is plant based and delicious!

Now I know some of you are freaking out on me right now thinking this is way way to low. But think of this: a baby needs the most nutrients and protein as it has the greatest growth curve yet per 100 ml of breastmilk there is 1.3 gram of protein, 4.2 gram of fat and 7 grams of carbs. Food for thought!

Ok so now you know, you don’t need to combine different plant foods at every meal and you know roughly how much protein you need to eat. So what do you eat to hit those protein macros? Check out this chart below by Full Circle Healthcare.

It never ceases to amaze me how complete the plant kingdom is. So whether you choose to eat tofu or not, only unprocessed foods or not, it is very easy to get all the protein you need on a plant based diet.

If you are curious on how much protein you actually do eat, I encourage you to track one or two days in a log like My FitnessPal or Cron-O meter and see how much protein you consume. I’m sure you’ll be surprised!

And now, onto my recipe! I’ve made a kale caesar salad that is loaded with protein from the kale itself, but also from the hemp hearts and the tofu in the dressing.

I hope you enjoy it and let me know how much protein you consume!

xx

 

Kale Caesar Salad
Recipe Type: Salad
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 4 portions
This kale Caesar salad packs a serious protein punch and is loaded with nutrients so your body has all the help it needs to recover from brutal workouts or simply a hectic day of running around! You can sub the kale for collard greens or romaine lettuce or mix a few greens together. This recipe calls for a chill time in the fridge of 15 minutes to soften the kale. If you don’t have time to wait, sprinkle a little salt over the kale, once washed, and massage it for 30 seconds. It will soften. Just taste the salad with the dressing before adding any additional salt.
Ingredients
  • 1 full head of kale
  • 1/4 Cup olive oil
  • 6 oz firm silken tofu
  • 1 garlic glove (I use 2 gloves because we like it really tangy!)
  • 2 Tbs lemon juice
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 medium size dill pickles
  • 1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce (vegan)
  • 1/4 Cup of nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 Cup hemp hearts
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Remove the ribs from the kale leafs, wash and chop.
  2. Set aside in a mixing bowl.
  3. Add all your remaining ingredients, except the hemp hearts, into a blender or food processor and blend until you get a creamy texture.
  4. Pour the dressing over the kale and combine with a wooden spoon.
  5. Store covered in the fridge for at least 15 minutes so the kale softens.
  6. Top with hemp hearts and some gluten free croutons.