Eat-Clean Vegan After Gastric Bypass

Today's Eat-Clean Diet Vegetarian Cookbook guest blogger is Reyna Brown. After undergoing gastric bypass she used the Eat-Clean plan to get into her best shape now. Now, with a vegan lifestyle she's better than ever!

Reyna at the start!

I've been down almost every broken road there is when it comes to weight loss. At my heaviest, I tipped the scales at 240 pounds. When I was just 20 years old I opted to undergo extreme gastric bypass surgery or what some would call, "taking the easy way out" and yet I continued to struggle. Gaining weight was always so easy to do while losing it was like pulling teeth. For the next 10 years I would be unhealthy, unhappy and under nourished.

Reyna at the finish!

It was only a few short months ago after getting fed up with our food chain that our family turned vegan. It wasn't about just being thin anymore. It was about having longevity and being healthy. I began educating myself with everything I could get my hands on regarding veganism. Cookbooks, how-to guides and research studies filled my days. I had learned so very much but I was so overwhelmed! I needed something to the point and someone to tell me the just of it all.

That was when I discovered a little book called Just The Rules: Tosca's Guide To Eating Right. I had finally found the missing link that would tie everything I had been learning together. The "rules" were so simple and so effortless for me to incoorporate and follow. I started feeling a difference almost instantly! This was my second chance. A chance to live the rest of my life the right way. To look good, feel good and give the gift of longevity not only to myself but to my family. I'm enjoying all the healthy benefits that clean, vegan foods have to offer and changing my body from the inside out! Now, only 9 short months after having my second son, I'm maintaining a 95 pound weight loss and feeling fantatsic, all by eating a clean, vegan diet. And now with Tosca's Eat-Clean Diet Vegetarian Cookbook it's never been easier!

My Incredible Edible "Eggs"

This is one of my favorite colorful and protein packed dishes! I love to make it for my family on lazy Sunday mornings. It's one we all love! For pictures of this recipe and others please visit my website at:

Ingredients
1 small onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, color of your choice, chopped
1/2 tablespoon garlic, minced
1/4 cup vegetable broth or water
1 (12-oz.) pkg. firm or extra firm tofu, drained and crumbled
1 tbsp Braggs Amino Acids
1 tbsp Nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped plus more for garnish
1/2 cup no-fat salsa

Methods
1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, saute onions, garlic and bell peppers in vegetable broth or water for about 5 minutes or until onions are translucent.
2/ Stir in tofu, Braggs, nutritional yeast flakes, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, chili powder and black pepper, and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until moisture has evaporated.
3. Add cilantro and salsa (I like to make quick and fresh pico de gallo), and scramble for 2 to 4 minutes or until brown at the edges.
4. Serve hot with warmed corn tortillas or a side of brown rice or quinoa. Some days I do tortillas and others I'll do sprouted grain toast with avocado spread on it instead of butter. Garnish with more salsa and cilantro.
5. Now dive in and feel good that your doing your body good! Then, rejoice and go tell all your friends how CRAZY this recipe is!!