Black Bean Flautas

Hi All! I know an essential part of adopting a more healthy lifestyle is knowing what to eat. That is probably the most common question we get, " What do you guys eat?" Well, we are going to keep you all informed of some super recipes that you can make for yourself  anytime! This will be the first of MANY recipies, so keep checking the blog!

Who doesn't love a good Mexican night? I would say its always one of the easiest GO TO plant based meals. Have black beans or refried beans? Tortilla Chips or Whole Wheat Tortillas? Tomatoes? Avacado? well, then you pretty much have a great meal on hand.  Here is one of our favorites here in the Von Mitchler home:)

Black Bean Flautas

 Ingredients

• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• Juice of 1 large lime
• 1 (16-ounce) can spicy vegetarian refried black beans
• 16 small whole wheat tortillas, warmed 

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, combine the red onion, chopped cilantro, and lime juice. Set aside to marinate, stirring occasionally.
2. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Spray a baking sheet with an oil mister. Prepare the flautas as described in the recipe, then place them seam side down on the baking sheet.
3. Working with one tortilla at a time, spread 1 heaping tablespoon of refried black beans and 1/2 tablespoon of the onion, cilantro, and lime mixture evenly along one side of the tortilla. Gently roll the tortilla tightly beginning on the side with the filling.Place flauta seam side down onto baking sheet.
4.   Spray flautas with oil mister and bake for 15-20 minutes, until crisp.  

Adapted from: http://ohmyveggies.com/black-bean-flautas-with-avocado-dipping-sauce/

Vegan Avocado Ranch Dressing
Makes around 8 oz
1 Large Avocado
1 cup Coconut Milk, canned & full fat (add 1/2 cup for the consistency of the bottled stuff and adjust the lemon juice and seasonings to taste)
3 tbsp Lemon Juice
2 tsp Dill (or Italian Seasoning Blend)
1-2 tsp Salt
1 clove Garlic (or 1 tsp Granulated Garlic)
1/2 tsp Granulated Onion
Throw all ingredients into a blender or food processor and combine until thoroughly mixed.
Stores for up to a week when refrigerated in an airtight container – the lemon juice prevents browning! :)

Taken from: http://www.feedmerachel.com/2013/04/26/vegan-avocado-ranch-dressing-dairysoysugarglutenegg-free-paleo-vegan-aip/

Mrs. Von Mitchler

So, they call it Keen-Wa?!?!

Well hello from the Mrs.! I hope you all have been doing great. Almost two years ago, Dr. Von Mitchler started buying this crazy stuff I had never heard of before called Quinoa (pronounced Keen- Wa at our house). I had never heard of this stuff before, so I really didn't know what to do with it, how to cook it, etc. As I began gathering more plant based recipes, I was seeing Quinoa listed more and more. Come to find out, it's a very versatile grain packed with TONS of protein, and is gluten free- all around win win around here.  Its super easy to cook, and can be used in so many recipes from muffins that pack a protein punch, to veggie burgers,  chili, to this awesome little recipe you will see below....we have evolved into big Quinoa fans around here. 

So today, I will be sharing with you all what I consider a true little gem of a recipe.  You know why I love this one so much....it's  just as easy as it is good!  This is great for a quick light lunch or double the recipe and enjoy this one on your back porch with a lemonade and a little fruit on the side as a summer evening dinner. So, come on, try this one Y'all! I would love to hear what you think of one of my favorite go to, quick recipes. I am pretty sure it will be a hit in your home, just like it is in ours. 

Hummus Quinoa Cakes

Ingredients

• 1 c cooked quinoa
• ½ c hummus - homemade or store bought ( we love the Wild Garden brand)
• ½ c red pepper - minced
• 1 celery stalk - minced
• 2 scallions - chopped
• ½ tbs olive oil
• tomato slices and extra hummus - optional garnish

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine quinoa with hummus, red pepper, celery and scallions. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Heat a non-stick pan over medium high heat and add olive oil once heated.
3. Form quinoa mixture into palm-sized patties*** and brown in pan, working in batches, about 3-4 minutes per side. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan.
4. Serve with additional hummus and tomato slices

***When time allows I will stick the Quinoa patties in the fridge for 10 minutes to help them  firm up a bit before browning the patties so they will stay together better. 

Adapted from: http://thelemonbowl.com/2012/10/hummus-quinoa-cakes.html

A little hair experiment

  So a few months back I had read that you could wash your hair with nothing more than baking soda as a shampoo and apple cider vinegar (organic with the "mother")as the conditioner.  I am constantly trying to reduce the amount of unnatural things in my life so I figured I would give it a go.  For probably about 3 weeks now I have been doing this and I am happy to report that my hair feels great, gets clean everyday and doesn't smell like vinegar!  So no more crappy shampoo (probably one reason the doc has a few less hairs up top! than he used to).  Turns out that shampoo acutally causes your hair to produce more oil. Check out this post from someone who has been doing this for 3 years.

http://thehairpin.com/2014/01/three-years-without-shampoo

  We also started making our own laundry detergent out of some simple old timey ingredients so keep your eyes peeled for a post on the Mitchler family detergent recipe (cost works out to 7 cents a load)!

Dr. V out

Moving right along..

  The doc has been busy at work these days but here I am with an update.  A few ideas that are on the agenda for the blog.  I'm hoping to post a recipe of the week that we will be enjoying here in the Von Mitchler house.  I also will do a feature item of the week to show you whats in "the doc's kitchen".  Hopefully we can sprinkle in some videos on juicing, cooking and learing the tricks of the trade on plant based (vegan) eating.  Stay tuned for scenes of our next episode (amazing race parallel) I know it's so old!

  One recent success story that I am very happy about.  A friend I work with and have spoken too about plant based eating and juicing and how it has reversed my son's allergies and helped my wife beat metastatic breast cancer, decided one month ago to take the plung and go vegan for 2 months.  I told him if he just did  it for 2 weeks he would see a big difference.  Well he has strictly stuck to the plan and has lost 17 pounds in a month.  Losing weight is great but it's the other comments that really interest me, "I feel great like I am a different person, mentally better", "I'm sleeping better", "lots of energy".  People always try to find excuses about eating healthy but I want you to note that this friend has done it on a very tight budget.  I always stressed to him to have plenty of food to eat (no need for portion control) so sometimes it was a little Asian when money was tight (lots of rice) but he stuck to the plan.  Hey, Asians have much lower cancer rates so like I say "if you want to beat cancer, eat like an Asian".

Doc V.

"a juice a day keeps the doctor away"