Sara Has Your Dinner!

Today's Eat-Clean Diet Vegetarian Cookbook guest blogger is Sara Mullenix. She transformed her life by following a vegan diet. Check out how she did it, how The Eat-Clean Diet helped, and how she lost 98 pounds! Wow! She has also shared one of her own recipes with us. Yum! Thanks Sara. 

Sara's yummy Peanutty Edamame Stir Fry. See recipe below.

Every Human Being Is the Author of His Own Health or Disease – Buddha

This quote from Buddha has become the guiding force for my lifestyle change.  Like so many Americans I was overweight, unhealthy and unhappy with myself.  Diets seemed to not work, or if they did, I would lose weight and then put it right back on.  I decided one day to just work on my health.  I started with cutting all meat out of my diet.  I thought it was going to be difficult and was surprised at how easy it was.  I found this very encouraging and it helped fuel my desire to really learn how to eat.

  

In my research process, I found many useful resources one of which was The Eat Clean Diet.  After reading about it and looking through recipes, I was inspired.  It made so much sense.  By eating whole foods we are eliminating all the chemicals and toxins that are added to processed foods.  Our bodies do not need these toxins; they do nothing but harm us.  I decided to take it a step further and eliminated all animal products as well.  I have always been an avid animal lover and I wanted to do more than just not eat meat.  Again, I was surprised how easy it was.  Eating whole foods, cooking my foods from their original form, increases the flavor and I was suddenly tasting and loving foods again.

Then this amazing thing started happening, I was losing weight.  To date I have lost 98 pounds. I can say I have never felt better in my entire life. This is not a diet; it is a lifestyle change, a lifestyle that I love.  Someone asked me if I would go back to the way I used to eat when I got to my goal weight. The question seemed silly to me, of course not.  I have changed my entire eating lifestyle and I could not be happier. 

Being a vegan and following The Eat-Clean Diet is very simple since all whole foods have protein.  There are so many plant-based foods that are loaded with protein: beans, legumes, quinoa, etc.  If you are curious, I have some very useful info on my blog.

To close I would like to share my own recipe that I love with you...

Peanutty Edamame Stir Fry

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa

1 bunch green onions, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced and seeded

3 cups cabbage

1 ½ cups edamame

5 oz whole baby corn

6 oz snow peas

5 oz sliced water chestnuts

4 oz bean sprouts

Sauce

2 Tablespoons Natural Peanut Butter (can use creamy or crunchy)

1 Tablespoon Tamari

½ Teaspoon ginger

1 Tablespoon Hot Sauce

1 Tablespoon corn starch

¼ cup water

Methods

1. Cook quinoa according to package instructions

2. Boil edamame in 6 cups of water for 5 minutes or until tender.

3. Coat the bottom of a sauté pan with water, and add onion and red pepper.  Cook until tender, about 3 minutes.  Then add in peas, water chestnuts and corn. Cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. Add cabbage and sprouts and cook until cabbage is slightly wilted.

4. In a small sauce pan, add ingredients for sauce bring to a boil then reduce to simmer and cook while stirring until you get desired thickness.  I cook mine until it is no longer runny then set aside for a few minutes.

5. Once the veggies are cooked, drain and add in edamame then the sauce.  Toss until coated.  Serve over cooked quinoa.  

Serves 4