We slaughtered a garden!

Lasagna, a set on Flickr.

Tonight being that it is Sunday I made lasagna. I used a recipe, with some added touches, from The Engine 2 Diet: The Texas Firefighter's 28-Day Save-Your-Life Plan that Lowers Cholesterol and Burns Away the Pounds and I must say I finally found a recipe out of this book that I love! It took me about an hour to put together. I sauteed onion and garlic in veg stock then added baby bella mushrooms. I took those out and put them in a large bowl. I then sauteed broccoli and carrot in the mushroom juices(with a little extra veg stock), put those in the giant bowl and sauteed red peppers and corn. To that mixture I added seasoning, thyme, oregano, cayenne, garlic, basil, and S&P. I threw it all in the giant bowl. Now, the fun part, I squished a block of drained firm tofu with my hands into the bowl.

Assembly was the easy part. Sauce, noodles, veggies goodness, noodles, sauce, spinach, mashed sweet potatoes(you can cook them in the microwave!), sauce, noodles, sauce, sliced tomatoes. I baked it with a foil hat for about 50 min, took it out removed it's hat and added raw cashews I ran through the food processor. Another 15 minutes and you've got dinner! See, that's why I say it's a good Sunday night meal.

I was very impressed as was the hubby. I'm thinking even meat eaters would enjoy! The only not so win of the evening was BK, he looked at it and wouldn't even take a bite. After about a half hour he took one very small bite and guess what he didn't vomit, fall face first into his plate, or die! So, that's a win in my book!! He ended up eating some whole wheat bread with non-dairy(shhh, don't tell him) butter and a carrot although he was offered a few other healthy choices(chili, veggie soup, peanut butter and honey sandwich). I think had he come to dinner without the, "I hate dinner," mind set he may have actually liked it.

The hubby's mini "conversation" that may happen between BK and his friends tomorrow:
Friends: So, what did you have for dinner?
BK: bread with butter and a carrot
Friends: Wow, your parents must really hate you!
BK: yeah, they want me to eat healthy food.
Friends: Dude, that sucks!
BK: I know! They said that want me to live a healthy long life, it really sucks!

Anyway, dinner was awesome! I think it would be great for a dinner party or potluck. Seeing as we have way more leftovers than we know what to do with and all. I just made vegetable stock yesterday so that's taking up my freezer space. But, I'll try and freeze some of the lasagna. It would make a great meal for no cook Friday night!

Cheers and happy eating!

Menu for the week of 1/29/12-2/4/12

This weeks menu was not as creative as I'm sure it could be but I've been battling a sinus infection, I just didn't have the creativity in me. I still put as much thought as I could muster.

Sunday: 1/29/12
Lasagna, yep that's it just lasagna. It has everything you need. Veggies, sauce, noodles, cashews, you name it. And it looks and smells fantastic!

Monday: 1/30/12
Curried Tempeh kabobs with couscous and naan. I'm going to give tempeh a go, although to be honest it looks a little strange. I'll let you know.

Tuesday: 1/31/12
Big Ole Salad Tuesday. Perhaps with something on the side from the CSA. Oh, and bread of course bread!

Wednesday: 2/1/12
Meatball sub for BK and spaghetti to go with the meatballs for us. I'm going the easy route and got premade meatless meatballs from Trader Joe's. I'm told they are good, we'll see. As a side we have salad and greens still from last weeks CSA basket.

Thursday: 2/2/12
Burgers(I know it's on last weeks menu but because the tostadas didn't go well the first go around we didn't get to the burgers) meat burger for BK(we still had some left from Costco and he says he needs his meat "fix" because he's not getting red meat with us or at his mom's house, when they're gone though...) We will be enjoying chipotle black bean burgers with greens, sauteed onion and peppers, avocado and whatever else sounds yummy!. I will be serving tots on the side, I do love me some tots! Salad and greens as well.

Friday: 2/3/12
No cook Friday night. Now, last week wasn't actually no cook but I guess I look at using whatever is leftover in the house to make dinner as a no cook night. Last week(I know, I didn't blog) I made a whatever we've got soup. It was tasty! So, here's to another leftover no cook night. Everyone should have one!

Saturday: 2/4/12
Tuscan Bean Soup in bread bowls. The hubby requested a bean soup. Sounds tasty to me. I may cook up some green beans to go with.

Cheers and happy eating!

Dinner fiasco! FAIL!

I know, I know, you can't win them all! But, tonight's dinner, what a disaster!

Tonight was to be Mexi-Cali tostadas, sounds simple and tasty, right? Simple...NO. Tasty...well, I didn't get that far. The recipe I was using was from Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health and so far the recipes have been great! It called for a can of beans with corn mashed together with salsa. Now, I make my own salsa, have been for years. I can make red salsa, chunky salsa, green salsa and with spiciness to satisfy your palate. I do make it the lazy way, most of the time. So, I start out with my can of organic diced tomatoes, add the cilantro we got from the CSA, add a red onion(I usually use white but thought red would give a great flavor), with green chilies(canned, from Costco), I then added garlic, lime juice, salt and chipotle sauce, blended it up, boy did it look good! As my 10 month old stared, the blender is so noisy, I got the back of tortilla chips to give it a try. Most of the time it just needs extra salt and maybe lime juice. At first it tasted a little bland so I added a little more salt and some lime juice. I then tried it again and BAM the bitter hit me like a bag full of bricks! I thought I was crazy, you know that crazy you get when you're in a hurry, the hubby is late from work, the kid is in to everything, and you just want to get dinner going with good salsa? Yeah, that! The second time just seemed worse, so dang bitter! I tried the cilantro to see if that could be it, nope, tastes of cilantro. I tried the lime juice, nope. I then tried the chilies, they seemed bitter. Now, I had opened a can of chilies and put the left overs in the fridge but to be honest I couldn't remember when. It couldn't have been more than last week, the smelled fine. :) I thought maybe they were bitter because they were in the fridge too long.

Try number two. Another can of tomatoes, another onion, more cilantro, and some chilies from a new can. After blending it all together, I tried it and BAM yet again, it's bitter as a my husband's IPA's(damn, they're bitter!). The hubby was brave enough to try the chilies straight from the can, he didn't even have to say anything, it was all in his face! Salsa-FAIL.

At the same time as all this was going on I had shredded some carrots to put on top of the tostadas as a garnish. We had some golden beets(never had these before) from the CSA and I thought I'd shred those as well. I've done it with other beets to add to coleslaw before, what's the harm, right? I decided to try the beet before shredding, guess what was wrong? Yep, bitter! Bitter, bitter, bitter!! Perhaps it was the bitter left over from the salsa. I don't know, they went back in the fridge as the salsa went down the drain. I was frustrated with all this I asked Sam to just order Chinese food, luckily we have one very close by.

Well, I'll head out tomorrow and get salsa and try again with tostadas for tomorrow nights dinner. We'll see, wish me luck! Quite the dinner experience. Oh well, something to laugh about later.

Cheers and happy eating!

Eating like a vegan

I have been one of those people that believe vegans can't eat anything and if they do it's full of carbs, sugar, fats and processed foods. When I decided to eat a more whole diet with far more plants than I ever thought possible I wasn't sure the outcome. I'm sure others now think of me how I once thought, "what does she eat?"

I have to tell you, I feel like my door to the food world has been opened, really opened. I had no idea certain things even existed and I'm sure there are so many things out there left to discover.
Things I've never had before this lifestyle change:
Collard greens
Kale
Tatsoi
Tofu(not that I never had it, I just didn't realize the ways to make it and make it good!)
Most of the leafy greens we've gotten from the CSA.

It's only been about 3 weeks and to be honest, at first I didn't feel satisfied after I ate. I felt hungry, empty, and sometimes late at night I'd wake up starving which never happened before. But, that changed and it didn't take long. I now find myself leaving food behind because it was just too much to eat. I'm satisfied, full, happy! A plate full of veggies is filling, who knew?!

I thought about whether or not I'm missing anything and as of yet the answer is no. I'm sure at some point, probably when I smell bacon, I will miss things I once had but for now it just sickens me. I know after eating breakfast, lunch or dinner I've done my body good. I feel good, I feel satisfied, I feel clean.

So, I suppose if anyone ever asks what I eat here is what I can say.
Eating a more vegan diet doesn't mean just carbs, just processed foods(we don't eat a lot of the fake stuff), just sugar(we don't just eat desserts either). What we do eat and by eat I mean an abundance of...no counting calories, no overeating and feeling ill, no worrying if it's healthy.
Collard greens, kale, beets, beans(all kinds), leafy greens, herbs, spices, tofu(sparingly), peppers, carrots, celery, radishes(several different kinds), potatoes, quinoa, rice(so many, we have yet to try them all), pasta(mostly whole wheat), cereal, plant based milk, edamame, green beans, brocoli, cauliflower, the list is endless. I realized that eating in moderation really doesn't exist when you eat healthy. You can eat til your hearts content. Tonight is no exception, we had a large salad, large! It was not only filling but I don't feel bogged down after dinner. It's a great feeling!!

I now crave veggies more than before and I thought I craved them before. I look forward to dinner every night! I look forward to feeling good.

Cheers and happy eating!

Salad with a side of red potatoes

Salad, a photo by VlinderM on Flickr.

Tonight is salad Tuesday. I add lots to my salads, lots meaning veggies, not fruits. I don't care for fruits in my salad. I made this with romaine hearts, spring mix, baby spinach and added beet greens after I got the beets from the CSA. They are quite tasty! I added garbanzo and kidney beans as well as pepperoncini's and almond slices. My 10 month old likes pepperoncini! Wow! The potatoes were from last weeks CSA basket, thought I'd make them up since we just got more. I cooked them with mini bell peppers, roasted rather. J loved those too! I do love salads!! Such an easy way to get all the veggies you need.

Cheers and happy eating!

CSA week 3

CSA week 3, a photo by VlinderM on Flickr.

This week is all about the greens! Collard greens, lettuce greens, braising mix(all greens), kale, and cilantro. We also got brocolli, red potatoes and beets. The green mix has mustard greens mixed in, I didn't know and ate a large chunk. Woah!!! It was like eating a spoon full of dijon mustard. I am not a fan of mustard. I will, however, put them on my black bean burger tomorrow night. Not a lot but just enough to get the flavor.

Cheers and happy eating!

Stir fry with asparagus

Stir fry with asparagus, a photo by VlinderM on Flickr.

Ah stir fry, it is such an easy go to meal. I'm still learning what and how to make certain things so for a Monday stir fry just sounded simple. I used asparagus, red bell pepper, mushrooms, carrots, green beans, water chestnuts, and edamame. I added fresh ginger as well. I made quinoa and chopped up fresh cabbage(left over from last weeks CSA basket) to add to the dish. It was tasty, simple and filling all at once.

I'm feeling so full of energy lately, even if I'm tired from well, caring for an infant. The foods I make are more filling as well. I was full after dinner! Love it. I'm loving this choice of foods!! Sam even feels good, better, more energy, etc. I now crave veggies, I had edamame for a snack today. So good!

Cheers and happy eating!