Holidays | Triumph Wellness

Purple Toed Vacation

April 5, 2013 by Emily Segal 5 Comments

I’m fairly certain that Marketing 101 says “Keep pictures of your gnarly, ruined feet OFF the internet!” But I’m a rebel, ya?

I PROMISE you that will be the last one! Just wanted to show you where I’m at, because frankly my family isn’t exactly oozing sympathy anymore.

OK, I’m done with the pity party. But did I mention how much it hurts?? OK, OK, but are you feeling bad for me yet, because that is definitely what I am fishing for here…

Anyway, it seems like every time I get in a groove of writing, blogging, seeing clients, a Jewish holiday happens and throws me off track completely. This time it was Passover and I was the designated seder host:

Twas a lovely evening!

We decided on a Stay-cation this year and pledged to spend every day that was not a holy day, out and about, climbing the land. We hiked every day! Yes, with that toe. Yes, I whined so much that everyone left me behind.

We hiked the South:

Nachal Pratt

The giant on the right, simultaneously rooting for the Indiana Hoosiers and the Vancouver Canuks, is MY BABY, by the way.

We hiked the North:

Park Utopia

This is the breathtaking memorial for the 44 people who lost their lives in Israel’s deadliest forest fire on Mount Carmel in 2010.

At the end of all the exhausted climbing, we felt like we had walked all the way back to prehistoric times!

The Carmel Caves where some amazing prehistoric remains have been found.

I have to say that as the first time we have ever taken a hiking holiday when I am NOT training for some future race, how crazily liberated I felt! I didn’t have to worry about my knees, or about twisting an ankle and having months of training ruined. I feel like I have my life back! Well, in 6 months when I have normal toenails again, I imagine I will feel like I have my life back, but this was pretty close.

Clearly, it was time for me to move on from that hobby and so far I am really glad I did!

Alas, the holiday ended and the back-up of waiting clients began. Now somehow it is Shabbat again?! Next week starts off with a very exciting Sugar Blues workshop I’ll be leading for a private group in Efrat on Sunday! After that is done, I pledge to be back to a regular schedule of writing. I have so much amazing information to share! Stay tuned…

And no more toes. Scouts honor.

Pin It

Filed Under: Holidays, Rants, Running, Tel Aviv Half Marathon, Travel Tagged With: Exercise, Holidays, Running

Vegan Passover

April 2, 2012 by Emily Segal Leave a Comment

When we last left our hero Joseph, he was reunited with father Jacob and welcoming his brothers to come settle in Egypt. Fast forward some 500 years and things have taken a turn for the worse. Thankfully, the Israelites escape their lives of bitter bondage and in memoriam we clean under our sofa cushions.

OK, so I wasn’t going to write about Vegan Passover because it’s a complicated subject and I am no rabbinic authority. But many of you sent me questions and requests, so I will try.

I have a lot of non-Jewish readers and I am sorry but I just don’t have the time to explain everything. Feel free to skip this post or just check out the links that follow:

What is Chametz HERE.

Explanation of Kitniyot HERE.

SO, if you do not eat kitniyot and you want to stay vegan on Passover, you will be able to eat fruits, most vegetables, quinoa, and nuts. It’s only 7 days, you won’t become protein deficient or die of starvation or anything. But you won’t be able to cook that much fancy food or enjoy much of what is on the family table. At least you’ll probably get through Pesach without gaining the weight everyone else gains!

Me personally? I’m planning on eating kitniyot. I was already not fully on board with this kitniyot business since we made aliyah, but now that I am eating as vegan as I can, I’m not giving up my legumes.

However, where it gets complicated is that I am making seder for 14 family members who probably don’t eat kitniyot. That means that our seder won’t be vegan. I don’t have the slightest clue how to make kneidelach or mock chopped liver without using kitniyot (actually, see below for a slight clue). Therefore I don’t have many pre-tested vegan Passover recipes to share with those of you who are hosting vegan or vegetarian seders.

And yet, I do want to be of service, so here is a list of vegan Passover recipes I found online:

Vegan, No Kitniyot:

My Baked Nut Cheese

My Moroccan Mushroom Salad

My Carrot Red Pepper Soup (leave out the vinegar if that’s a problem)

My Pink Applesauce

My Matzo Toffee

My Raw Chocolate Balls

Pineapple Crumble

Spinach Leek Potato Matzo Gratin

Quinoa with Cauliflower, Cranberries and Nuts

Vegan Matzo Brei using Quinoa Flakes (don’t know if we can find those in Israel)

Mock Chopped Liver (no green beans or beans)

Matzo Balls (again with quinoa flakes)

Healthy-ish Jelly Bean Macaroon Nests

Vegan, With Kitniyot:

Vegan Matzo Brei

Vegetarian, not vegan, no kitniyot:

A Delicious Variety of Mina (Matzoh Pie) Recipes

My Passover Almond Cake with Strawberry Sauce

My Light and Fluffy Potato Vegetable Kugel

Cauliflower-Leek Herb Kugel (H.T. Andrea F)

So that’s just a smattering of what I found, but honestly, I’ve got sofa cushions to clean!

Have a happy Passover to those who celebrate. And a happy Easter to those of you who are still reading.

As always, let’s remember that Passover is not really about eating, although it seems to be. It is about our physical and spiritual journey as a nation. May we focus on that and not be consumed by our preoccupation with food or the crumbs in the sofa.

Filed Under: Holidays, Recipes, Recommendations, vegan Tagged With: Holidays, Vegan Recipes

Vegan Party Food

January 8, 2012 by Emily Segal 6 Comments

I am a member of a wonderful book club. We don’t always read the assigned books, but we sure have a great time at our monthly meetings! It was my privilege to host this month and instead of the sit down dinner we usually do, we had decided this would be movie night and finger food. Well, in true fashion, we never got the watching the movie, but we did enjoy some vegan hors d’oeuvres! (Am I the only geek who sees that word and mentally says “hoars dee or vee oars” ?)

I also want to add, that these women accept me even though I eat weird food. They love me even though I am drunk and ridiculous after just one glass of wine, and turn into a messy pumpkin at midnight. They patiently listen to me talk about endorphins and butt cheek chafing and even tell me I am “inspiring”! Inspired to run the other way maybe, but no, these kind-hearted, amazing females laugh at my jokes, eat my vegan food and say YUM.

Something else important I wanted to share: Back when I first joined this group, a bunch of the women were doing my 30-Day Detox. They have told me that this was a turning point from unhealthy book club fare to more healthy homemade stuff. The thing is, I hear from a lot of my women clients that book club night is always full of sweets and diet-breaking treats. Some clients who are struggling to overcome obesity or food addictions (sugar, chips etc) even come to dread book club meetings because they are so fraught with stress for them. I can honestly say that if this book club had been all about sinful caloric splurge night, I probably would also not have continued coming to meetings despite how much I love these women. It’s just too hard for me with that kind of food around late at night. But now we eat delicious healthy foods and enjoy each other’s company.

So if you are like one of the people I mentioned, whose book club has become a mine field of junk food, I urge you to speak up. Other club members probably feel the same way and meetings can be just as wonderful with a shift in the kind of food provided. Or have me come and teach a healthy cooking class to your book club!

My menu was:

Popcorn (for the movie we didn’t watch)

My Nut Cheese, this time made with almonds instead of cashews. Sooooo yummy! (with a fresh baguette)

Chips and Guacamole

Olives, Crudite and Spelt Crackers

Tofu Mini Quiches (see recipe below)

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies from the PPK, amazing recipe HERE.

Dark and White Chocolate Pomegranate Clusters from this recipe HERE (I just did the bottom layer in dark chocolate and then the top layer parve white chocolate). By the way, this recipe I found on pinterest! Score!

Mini Tofu Quiche Cups

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 15 mini quiches

Serving Size: 1

Calories per serving: 60

Fat per serving: 4.8g

Mini Tofu Quiche Cups

The original recipe is from www.fatfreevegan.com. Mine is slightly larger that the original recipes and makes 12 muffin cups plus about 3 additional ramekins. This is due to the way tofu comes packaged here - I wanted to not have leftover tofu. If you just want 12, use the original recipe. You can use whatever vegetables you prefer.

Ingredients

olive oil spray
1 clove minced garlic
1 cup chopped mushrooms
2 cups minced fresh broccoli florets
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives (or one green onion)
2-3 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary (or 1/2 tsp. dried, crushed)
black pepper to taste
600 grams firm tofu (that is 2 packages in Israel)
1/2 cup plain soymilk
2-4 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch (may sub another thickener such as arrowroot or potato starch)
1tablespoon tahini (preferred) or cashew butter
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2-3/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Spray 12 regular-sized muffin cups well with non-stick spray.
Lightly spray a non-stick skillet with olive oil and sauté the veggies over medium heat until the mushrooms just begin to exude their juices. Stir in the chives, rosemary, and freshly ground black pepper, and remove from the heat and set aside.
Place the remaining ingredients into a food processor or blender. Process until completely smooth and silky.
Add the tofu mixture to the vegetables and stir to combine.
Spoon equally into the 12 muffin cups about 3/4 full, plus the 3 greased ramekins.
Put the muffin pan into the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 160C. Bake until the tops are golden and a knife inserted into the middle of a quiche comes out clean–about 25-35 minutes Remove from the oven and allow them to cool for about 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Notes

There are 8g of protein and 2g of fiber in each quiche cup.

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://triumphwellness.com/vegan-party-food/

This recipe is participating in Wellness Weekend at Diet, Dessert and Dogs, HERE. and Bookmarked Recipes and My Legume Love Affair (two links for that one!).

Filed Under: cookies, dessert, Events, Pinterest, Recipes, vegan Tagged With: Holidays, Pinterest, Vegan Recipes

Vegan Jewish Holiday Cookbook Coming Soon!

September 14, 2011 by Emily Segal 4 Comments

Don’t panic, we’ve still got 2 weeks!

I have been working on a little Jewish Holiday project: a Vegan Cookbook for the High Holidays and beyond!

First step was to think up some possible recipes. This is what I’ve got so far. These are either traditional Holiday foods or dishes incorporating the simanim (the symbolic foods we eat to bring abundance, prosperity, fertility, and protection from enemies):

Mock Chopped Liver

Stuffed Cabbage with Tempeh and Mushrooms

Pomegranate-Rose-Grain Salad

Noodle Kugel with Carmelized Pecans

Marinated Beets

Spicy Carrots with Sweet Silan Sauce

Garlicky Swiss Chard

Black-Eyed Peas & Pumpkin in Tomato-Curry Sauce

Pumpkin-Cranberry-White Chocolate Blondies

Apple Pie with Almond Frangiapane

Date-Honey (Silan) Cake (b/c honey isn’t vegan)

and I would LOVE to create recipes for:

Vegan Ghondi (Persian chickpea dumplings that traditionally go into chicken soup)

Tofu Gefilte Fish

Steps 2, 3, 4 and 5 are to actually create, test, photograph and type up the recipes.

Can I do it in time?

Are there any recipes I’m missing that you’d like to see veganized?

If I do this, will you all even buy it?

What do ya’ll’s think??

Finally, if you’re on Facebook, you have already seen this, but if not, this song has been keeping me happy and energized instead of stressed and overwhelmed at the approaching holiday season. (If you are receiving this via email, you’ll need to click on the blog title to view the song on the blog):