Day 8, More Protein Myths and Jane's Kale Butter

Holy cow! You've gotta see this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-elam/meatless-monday-the-prote_b_578253.html?ref=twitter

Sophia and I went to the second installment of the Whole Foods 28 Day Plant Strong Challange tonight. The group of people that attended sure was a lot smaller than the group that attended the introduction. There were three short presentations from speakers who have been eating plant strong for a while now. One woman had even converted her entire family over to a low fat vegan diet. I was pretty amazed. And that's exactly why I attend things like this, for the inspiration.

I was really thrilled to hear that Rip's sister Jane would be giving a cooking demo at the next installment.  Rumor has it she will be showing us how to make sushi. The following is one of Jane's recipes that is published in The Engine 2 Diet. When I first read the recipe, I was intrigued and scared at the same time. It was one of those kinds of things that I knew could really be a bomb. But like I said, I was inspired tonight, so when I found myself with a whole lotta kale from my organic vegetable share, I just went for it!

Kale Butter
Recipe by Jane Esselstyn. For use as a spread for crackers or wraps.

1 bunch kale, torn off the stalk, rinsed and roughly chopped
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup water
salt to taste (I used 1/4 tsp sea salt)

Steam the kale for 5 minutes, until tender. Blend the cooked kale with the walnuts and 1/2 cup of the green water from steaming.  Add salt to taste if desired.  Process in a blender until smooth.

This is the kind of thing that you are going to love, or, well, you know the alternative! I just loved it. We'll see what my husband thinks.  My daughter took one dab and wouldn't eat any more.  It's her loss. There's just more for me.  Thanks Jane!

Breakfast:
coffee with soy creamer
smoothie with 1 large frozen banana, frozen spinach, 2 dates, ice, water and peppermint extract

Lunch:
Went to Organic Energy
Celery and Parsley Root Soup
Protein Salad with chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumbers, sunflower seeds, currants, sprouts, tempeh and spinach with Miso Orange Dressing

Dinner:
1 Dr. Kracker flatbread with hummus
leftover salad with brown rice, tomatoes, roasted corn, scallions
3 rice cakes with strawberry jam

Snack:
at Whole Foods: baked corn tortilla chips and salsa made by the Whole Foods staff
at home: Kale butter on kashi crackers and lettuce leaves