Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Summer - The season of mayonnaise


Summer is a great season for eating! Farm stands are starting to offer some early season produce and some locations allow you to pick your own berries! People enjoy eating outside and lots of the food is served chilled to offset the rising temperatures.

Most barbecues feature something cooked on a grill and chilled dishes featuring vegetables covered in mayonnaise. This is a quandary to me. Fresh snappy vegetables are everywhere! Their sweet and succulent delights almost call out to us to savor their colorful splendor. So we take them home, chop them up and dump vinegar and egg whites all over them. You will see this phenomenon at at least one barbecue this summer. With your grilled piece of game you will be offered coleslaw (cabbage and mayonnaise), pasta salad (pasta, little pieces of carrots, onions, celery and mayonnaise) and potato salad (potatoes with mayonnaise) and if they really want to keep in the spirit of the season they will serve egg salad as well(which are eggs covered with an emulsion of themselves alson known as mayonnaise).

Now, there is no need to outlaw mayonnaise, what would a tuna fish sandwich be without it, I am just saying let's cool it just this one time. Let's team up and throw a barbecue this year where the hellman's stays in the fridge. I can picture the colorful array spread out across your picnic table now. Fresh salad greens with freshly picked strawberries and blueberries topped with poppyseed dressing. Fruit salad served in the hollowed out shell of a watermelon. Carrot sticks and celery for the kiddies to munch on (let them dip the celery in some peanut butter they will love it). Maybe some chicken served with a pineapple glaze and grilled pieces of pineapple to go with it. You won't even think about mayo until you find it in the back of your refrigerator, open it up to smell it and then ask yourself for the thousandth time "how long does mayonnaise last".

Stay Positive,

Matthew

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream!

Hi Positive Eaters,

If there is a food heaven, Ice Cream most likely inhabits its highest realm. What food makes every part of our being smile more than Ice Cream? Last summer, when talking with a vegan friend of mine, I mentioned that I could probably handle being a vegan...but I would never give up Ice Cream, no matter what. I was then introduced to vegan ice cream, a creamy dessert that does not contain a single ingredient deriving from an animal. To my amazement, this frozen ambrosia that uses coconut milk as a base was absolutely amazing! Creamy, sweet and satisfying (and easy to make)!

Whether you are vegan or eat meat on a stick for dinner every night this is worth a try.

Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream


  • 2 cans of Coconut Milk
  • 1 1/2 cups Chopped Strawberries
  • 1/2 cup of Agave Nectar
  • 1/4 cup Strawberry Jam (preferably unsweetened)

Pour coconut milk into an ice cream maker and begin mixing. Slowly add agave nectar and then strawberry jam. Make sure to run a spatula along side of frozen bowl to prevent sticking. Just before mixture becomes thick add strawberries. When the mixture takes on ice cream consistency remove and place in a freezer friendly storage container. This treat is best enjoyed right after making but can be stored in a freezer and enjoyed later!






This recipe is featured in this month's ChiRunning Newsletter!

Thanks for coming back to my blog. Tune in next week for more Positive Tips!

Stay Positive,

Matthew

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

If someone eats positively and no one hears the chewing did it really happen?

Hello,

While attending to various internet tasks today, I came across a dusty corner out there in my little patch of cyberspace. I blew away the cobwebs and came across my beloved blog Positive Eating! Why was it hidden from my view for so many months? So many positive meals and positive moments passed and we did not get to share them together.

Here we are together again. Positive Eating, a blog for those who wish to make living a positive and healthy lifestyle a fun, humorous and mindful journey. An opportunity for those of you who know me and those of you who don't to form a community based on the idea that we nourish also selves every day with food and experiences. I will be posting to this blog every Wednesday. Check back for recipes, stories and humor. 

If you are out there let me know so I can say hello. 

Stay Positive,

Matthew