New Eating Habits

I'm afraid to speak to soon as I've been down this road before, but I think, after almost 70 years on this planet, I've figured out the key to weight control, for me anyway.  Several months before my surgery  I joined Weight Watchers for the umpteenth time.  Their new program offers an updated points program, plus another program called Simply Filling.  In the Simply Filling program you just eat the foods from a list of approved foods, plus you have 7 points a day to play with.  The list of foods contains many things I like, like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, yogurt, and popcorn.  You just eat until you are full.  My goal was to lose 15 pounds before my knee surgery, which I didn't quite make.  I lost 12 pounds prior to surgery and continued losing every week after surgery.  I am now about 8 pounds from my goal.  I've never been this close.

Native Foods, a vegan restaurant in Encinitas, had a cooking demo and taste testing event in September that I thought would be perfect to help me continue my new eating habits.  Charlene and Audrey, two health conscious friends, accompanied me. We were not disappointed, in fact, the event exceeded my expectations.  Susan, one of the company's executive chefs, cooked several dishes for us, ones that could easily be done at home.  My favorite recipe, and the simplest, is listed below.  It's a arugula-cashew crudité, that you could take to any buffet and be proud of.  It was simply delicious.  Here it is.  Hey, even if you're not a vegan, it's nice to eat an animal free dish once in a while.

                                                       Arugula-Cashew Crudite

3 cups raw cashews
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2cloves garlic
6 cups arugula or baby spinach blend
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 T. lemon juice
pinch of salt
dash of pepper
crushed red chili pepper (optional) to taste

In a food processor, pulse the cashews, nutritional yeast and garlic gently , so that the ingredients are mixed but the cashews are still chunky.  Empty into medium bowl and set aside.  In the food processor, add the olive oil and lemon juice first, then the greens.  Pulse to blend well.  Mix two together and season with salt and pepper and crushed red chili pepper, if desired.  Serve with thick crostini-type crackers and veggie sticks.

This dish can also be used as a sandwich spread  and made creamier, like hummus, if you like.  It can also be turned into a salad dressing, by adding vinegar and more oil.  Be creative and enjoy.

By the way, 1.5 T of nutritional yeast gives you 130% of the RDA for Vitamin B12.