Vibration Elevation : Ebook Release

Hey BITK family, we have some great news for you all!! Drumroll please, house lights dimming..... Yes! Yes, our very first eBook is ready!! I know we wrote an eBook, yeah boy! It was a great learning process, and we couldn't be any happier to share this awesome info with all of you! So, with that being said we present to you....(curtain drops)

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Meaout 2016 - Highlights

Hey BITK family,

I know we are a little late to share this, but we have to tell you all about our experience at an event we attended over the weekend of March 19th. Meatout 2016 sponsored by the BVSTX (Black Vegetarian Society of Texas) in Desoto, TX. This is a part of the largest grassroots diet education campaign in the United States, and takes in several major cities. This was a great time out to meet different people who are so encouraging on this new lifestyle enhancement we have embarked on.  I’m sure you have heard for a while now about the food we consume on a daily basis is moving faster towards a processed chemical modified junk than actual food that grows from the ground. I mean just look at what they serve in the schools and of course fast food is well, they call it fast food for a reason.

There were numerous vendors present giving samples of delicious vegan cuisine. One of our favorite vendors was Reverie Bake Shop, located here in Richardson, TX. This vegan bake shop (that is right, VEGAN BAKE SHOP!!) is amazing! You can put their deserts next any other bakery and you would be hard pressed to tell it was vegan. The brownie we tried was extremely moist and delicious. We love it so much, that my wife is getting her 30^th birthday cake from them!

We had the opportunity to listen to various lectures from phenomenal doctors, nutritionists and professional athletes on the benefit and necessity of living a meatless lifestyle.

The first speaker we heard from was Malcolm Hoard. He was 63 year old man, that you would sure he was in his early 40’s! He was energetic and extremely knowledgeable. His lecture was on how the cells work and function more efficiently when supplied a vegan/vegetarian diets. If you feed healthy food to your cells, it will make healthy organs, which makes a healthy you! This man was a great speaker.

Dr. Maxine A. Theriot, M.D.  was another one of the lecturers that we had the pleasure of listening to, as she covered how to manage your weight on a vegan diet. She being a board certified M.D. and family doctor gave numerous examples of food combinations to help you get the nutrition value at every meal each day for a complete diet.

So, the Keynote speaker was David Carter aka the 300lb Vegan,  a current NFL football player. He spoke on how the wear and tear of his old meat-laden diet, caused many health issues like high blood pressure and inflammation in his joints. If any could relate to this message it is I! This man looks like a beast, and if I didn’t tell you he was vegan, you would never have guessed it.  This gentleman is extremely knowledgeable and very approachable. Because of his personality, we were able to express our passion and desire that we have with Blake’s In the Kitchen and exchange information to work together in the future.  Please google this gentleman as he is a terrific person, with a huge heart for his fellow spirits.

Well, that was some of the highlights from our adventure, and until next time Peace and Blessings!

Hey Family, It's Saturday!!! I don't know why, but I always have that Ludacris song "Saturday" play in my head when I say that line! LOL. But I digress, today is shop til you drop day, aka Replenish the fridge, freezer and cabinets! Lots of you all have asked how do we grocery shop and what usually costs. So here is our big monthly grocery shopping haul that typically, lasts us a little over a month and less than $250.00! Say what? That's right less than $250.00!! This is the foundation for any meals that we want to make.

For our big shopping hauls, we make a gameplan of everything that we need, typically in our monthly shopping hauls we are  buying fruits,frozen vegetables, restocking up on our grains, cooking oils, broths, condiments and beverages. There will be follow up trips to get other fresh fruits and sales items we may come across. With the gameplan firmly in hand, we take the field like a football team running through the tunnel and coming out of the smoke! Queue AC/DC's Thunderstruck, and let's go!!

Sprouts  $118.84

Alkaline Water 2 for $6 (5) 

Avacados XL 4 for $5 (4)

Lemons 2 for $1 (8)

Tagelos $.98 per lb (4lbs) 

Bananas $0.49  per lb (2lbs)

Couscous 2 for $3 (6)

Oraganic fire roasted tomatoes 3 for $5 (6)

Mushroom broth 2 for $5 (2)

Spinach Spegehetti Pasta / Artichoke Speghetti Pasta 2 for $5 (2)

Organic vegetable broth $1.79 each (5)

Organic coconut mik (can) 2 for $5 (4)

Basmati brown rice $1.99 lb (2lb)

5lb unbleached flour 2 for $5 (1)

Maple syurp $7.99

Grapeseed oil (68oz) $14.99

Organic raw sugar $4.49 (2)

Kroger $75.98

Cashew milk $2.49 (3)
Chocolate coconut milk $2.49 (1)

Marley Jamaican Expresso K-Cup $9.49 (2)

Buffalo Sauce $3.59 (1)

Salsa $1.99 (1)
Jamaican pepper sauce $2.49 (1)

Chia fruit Spread $6.29 (1)

English Muffins/ Cinnamon Rasin bagel BOGO free $3.99

Frozen vegetable bags $1.00 (28)

Sam's Club $41.42
Onions bulk bag $4.98
Organic power greens bulk box $4.48
Bai cocofusion /Bai variety bulk $15.98 (2)

Grand total $236.24

Takeout and a movie

Hello, BITK family how’s it going? We are doing outstanding, and it’s Friday night, which means takeout and movie night for most folks! Nothing like ordering Chinese food and watching a movie with the friends/family. One of my favorite Chinese takeout dishes was Panda Express’s Black Pepper Chicken! Man, mouth is salivating as I type this. So, since we’ve gone pesca-vegan, that category title is still a work in progress. More to come on that shortly. I had to figure out a way to still have this delicious meal! What I did was replace the chicken with jackfruit! That’s right jackfruit! Once you make this, Panda Express may have to close a couple of restaurants! Yes, it is that good, and goes well with Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon movie!! Get ready to “Kiss My Converse!!” Man, I love this movie, but let’s get started!!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/3 cup chopped green pepper

2 stalks green onion chopped

1/2 cup chopped celery

15 oz can Jackfruit, rinsed, drained, and cut into bite size pieces.

1 TBS grapeseed oil

1 tsp minced ginger

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp xiaoxing cooking wine

2 tsp hoisin sauce

1 TBS tamari sauce to taste

black pepper to taste

1-2 oz water

1/2 tsp sesame oil.

Marinade for jackfruit:

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp of mushroom sauce

1 tsp of tamari sauce

2 tsp of xiaoxing cooking wine

1 tsp of sesame oil

First, prepare marinade and add jackfruit. Cover and set aside for five minutes. In large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Once oil is hot add jackfruit, and stir fry for about 3 minutes. Next add ginger, garlic and sauté for another minute. Add veggies, and stir. Now comes cooking wine, hoisin sauce, tamari sauce and black pepper. Mix well before adding water and sesame oil, for another minute! Serve over brown rice, and you’ll be asking, “Who’s the baddest mofo, lowdown around yo town? Sho Nuff!!

Southwest Pasta

Hey friends and family, we missed you guys, and hope everyone is doing great! I know we’ve been away for a moment, but it is certainly for a great reason. We are feverishly working on some outstanding material to come to you all very shortly!!  Like that tease? Trust us, it will be crazy good and we can’t wait to release it. So, with all the hard work that has been going on, a quick vacation is needed.  We didn’t even need to leave the house for it either. Nothing like a quick, easy meal to put together that is sure to transport you to your vacation destination, San Antonio, TX!! Home of the Tex-Mex cuisine!! So, we give to you, Blake’s In The Kitchen’s Southwest Pasta meal!! So, grab your margarita and let’s begin! 

Southwestern Pasta Bowl

Package Ancient Harvest Vegetable pasta

1 can (15oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 bag (16oz) corn

1 can (15oz) black beans, rinsed and drained

1TBSP grapeseed oil

1 cup diced tomatoes
½ onion chopped

½ cup diced red bell peppers

½ cup diced yellow bell peppers

2-3 Tbsp BITK Taco seasonings, or favorite Taco seasoning

½ teaspoon garlic

Optional

fresh diced cilantro

Jalapeños

Avocado

Salsa

Cashew sour cream

Boil pasta according to the package, salt very lightly. Drain and rinse.  

In a saucepan over medium heat while pasta is cooking, add oil all vegetables (except beans and tomatoes) Sautee till just tender, about 2-3 minutes. 

Add beans, tomatoes and season seasoning blend. Sautee for 5 minutes.

Fold vegetables into pasta.

Serve hot and add any additional toppings you like: cilantro cashew sour cream, avocados, jalapenos. 

Mediterranean Couscous Salad Bowl with Pickled Onions

Hello friends and family from Mediterranean Island of Greece!! Okay, we may not be physically there, but this dish sure did make it seem that way! So, after watching Get Him to the Greek, and laughing at the thought people getting “Jefferies” (that’s just wrong!!), we wanted some of that Mediterranean cuisine. Because let’s just say, I’m getting swimsuit ready early this year! But back to this meal, my wife found this recipe in the Vegan Bowls Cookbook by Zsu Dever.(Shoutout to my cousin Jeannie Lathan-Chruchill for the awesome Christmas gift!!)  Because this bowl of life is amazing!! It’s so, lite, filling, and screams SWIMSUIT TIME!! There is no shame in having a big bowl of this!! So, grab your passport and let’s go!!

Couscous

1 box of Near East Couscous

1 ¼ cup veggie broth

2 teaspoons earth balance butter or grapeseed oil

In a medium saucepan, combine broth, butter/oil, and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, stir in couscous. Cover, remove from heat, and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff lightly with a fork before serving.

Pickled Onions

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon organic cane sugar

¼ teaspoon sea salt

Black pepper to taste

½ medium red onion, cut into paper-thin slices

Combine the all ingredients in bowl and mix well. Set aside for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.

Dressing

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

¼ cup vegan mayo (Vegenaise is what we like)

Take 2 tablespoons of the onion brine and transfer it to a small bowl. Stir in the oil and mix well with a whisk. Stir in the mayo and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding another tablespoon of the brine, if desired.

Vegetables

2 cups baby kale or baby spinach

2  cups coarsely chopped romaine lettuce

1 15-ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained

1 medium roasted red pepper, chopped (if jarred use one large piece)

1 roma tomato, chopped

½ cup pitted and chopped Kalamata olives

1 ripe Hass avocado, pitted, peeled, and diced

Combine all veggies together and give a good mix.

To serve:

Place a cup of the combine veggies in the bowl. Then top with ¼ cup of the couscous on the side and pickled onions. Drizzle dressing on top, or serve it in two ounce sauce cup.

Vegan Gumbo Mardi Gras

Hey everybody!! Hope you are all doing well, like we are over here at Blake’s In the Kitchen! So, with Mardi Gras here and Fat Tuesday fast approaching, we thought we’d take on making some vegan gumbo! Yeah buddy that’s right, a vegan gumbo. This recipe was inspired by Vegan Bowls Cookbook by Zsu Dever. So you know we had to add our BITK twist on it, and let me tell you that this was legit, an only to about an hour to make.  We were in the kitchen cutting up!! Only thing missing was a hurricane, some beads, and a second line!!  So, laissez les bons temps roule!!

Rice

2 ¼ cups veggie broth

1 ½ cups basmati brown rice

½ teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil

In a pan over medium high heat, add the oil, rice, and toasted for a couple minutes. Next add broth, salt, cover, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside, still covered, for another 10 minutes to finish cooking. DO NOT REMOVE THE LID! After time is up, fluff before serving.

Roux

3 tablespoons grapeseed oil

6 tablespoons spelt flour

4 cups of veggie broth

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the roux is milk chocolate to dark chocolate brown. If the roux starts smoking, remove the pan from heat, stir well, and return to heat. Add the broth 1 cup at a time, whisking after the addition of each cup. Bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Simmer covered until needed.

Soup

1 teaspoon grapeseed oil

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dry mustard

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

1 tablespoon of Old Bay Seasoning

12 ounces of fresh okra, cut into bite size pieces or 10-ounce bag of frozen okra not thawed

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 celery rib, finely chopped

1 green bell pepper, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons of kelp powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 15-ounce cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained

2 scallions, finely chopped.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the bay leaves, thyme, mustard, red pepper flakes, allspice, old bay, and okra. Stir well and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.  Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, kelp powder, salt, and pepper to the pot. Cook, stirring, until the veggies are soft, about 6 - 7 minutes. Add the roux-broth mixture. Add beans and cook until the flavors are combined and soup thickens, 5 to 10 minutes.

To serve, just add a cup of soup to your bowl, place ½ cup of rice, sprinkle some scallions, and a couple shots of hot sauce and the party begin!!