Day 207: Vegan Menu Week of October 11 - October 17

I was so looking forward to making the E2 lasagna and tasting it.  It turned out good, but not as outstanding as everyone claimed it would be.  In fact, I think next time I will skip the sweet potato layer and just mix all the veggies with the silken tofu and make two layers of that veggie mix.  Also, it was a little dry.  I am going to have extra sauce on the side next time.  Other than that, it was good!  :)

Here's what I'm thinking for this week:

• Monday - Spicy Lentil Soup:  We ended up not making it last week because the lasagna was so huge, we ate it two days in a row.
• Tuesday - Asian Salad and Spicy Potstickers: I love this!  We have it once a week!
• Wednesday - Thai Peanut Noodles
• Thursday - No Cheese Pizza - Have a lot of the ingredients because I didn't get a chance to make this either. The vegan menudo from last week lasted two days.
• Friday - Tostadas: Flat tortilla chips, covered with refried beans, salsa, lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, onions, and cilantro.  Yum. 
• Saturday -  Chickpea Stew and Brown Rice: Found this recipe in Cooking Light magazine's Inspired Vegetarian section.  Looks delicious!
• Sunday - Tomato Soup, Salad, and Foccacia bread: Found a new book at TJMaxx called Soup and it has a ton of vegan soup recipes.  I love making soup on Sundays, especially now that the weather is so nice!

Oh, I forgot to mention that last week's grocery bill was $110!  I'm getting close to my $100 per week bill again.  :)  I've already spent $43 this week.  I have $57 left to complete this menu.  Wish me luck!

TTYL.

Day 200: Vegan Menu - Week of October 4 - October 10, 2010

The novelty of being vegan has kind of worn off.  It still feels like an adventure, but we have settled into routines and know what foods we really like, what we haven't tried yet, and what we are dying to try. 

Initially, my grocery bill was enormous, but I am back at $100 per week, even with all organic products.  As always, the key for me is planning ahead, making menus, and a grocery list.

This week, we are having the following:

• Monday - Asian Sesame Salad and Spicy Potstickers
• Tuesday - Tofu Steak, Steamed Kale, Brown Rice with Tamari and Nutritional Yeast, and Roasted Zuchinni, Sweet Potatoes, and Yellow Squash
• Wednesday - Pasta Primavera (Italian spiced tomato sauce with onion, garlic, corn, jalapeno pepper, green and red bell pepper, mushrooms, zuchinni, and kale over 100% whole wheat capellini)
• Thursday - Vegan Menudo (Using Menudo Spice Mix and substituting pork with pinto beans, onion, kale, calabazita squash, and mushrooms)
• Friday - No Cheese Pizza (Pita Bread, Spaghetti Sauce, Green and Red Bell Pepper, Spinach, Artichoke, Olives, Onions, Mushrooms, Garlic and of course, no cheese)
• Saturday - E2 Lasagna. I have heard this is delicious, but I have never tried it. Get the recipe here:  http://vegetarian.about.com/od/vegetarianlasagnarecipes/r/engine2lasagna.htm)
• Sunday - Spicy Red Lentil Soup - I like to make soup on Sunday's. I found this great recipe for Spicy Lentil Soup: http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/9938

It looks like a lot of new ingredients. I hope I can keep it under $100.  I'll keep you posted!  :)

Day 140 - Temptation

I was sitting on the couch watching TV and thinking happily about my curret vegan eating and how proud I am about going through this for almost five months already. I was especially noting how I have not had that many cravings except for eggs at first, and then for shrimp, but it goes away....

Next thing I know, Chili's has a commercial on and they are showing a big, juicy steak. I used to love Chili's steak. Mmmmm. They put a little pat of butter on it and it melts as they bring it to your table. Yum...My mouth started to water...  I couldn't believe it.  All of a sudden, I was remembering how good Matamoros beef tacos taste and how good Mexican fajitas taste.  Even right now, as I am writing about beef, my mouth is watering.  What is wrong with me?  Is one ever able to forget those flavors or is this a life-long struggle?  I am committed to doing this vegan lifestyle for a year, but I think my will is not strong enough to continue it indefinitely. 

Besides, I've come to the conclusion that eating a little meat here and there is not bad as long as one is sure the meat was raised in an environmentally-responsible way and that the animals have been treated humanely.  So once my year is over, I will go back to eating good meat occasionally.  So there.  I feel better now.  :)

Day 131: Spring Rolls

I have been getting in a rut lately with meals so I decided to use the two cookbooks I mentioned below and come up with a new recipe: Spring Rolls.  It was well worth the time I spent making them.  My husband loved them and they got eaten so quickly that I didn't have time to take a picture (yeah, yeah).

Spring Rolls

1/3 of a cabbage, chopped
1/4 cup carrots, shredded or julienned
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts
5 green onions, chopped
1/2 tsp ginger, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon tamari

1/2 bag of thin rice noodles
8 spring roll wrappers

Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup peanuts
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup tamari
1/4 cup water

For the rolls:  Mix first 8 ingredients.  Set aside.  Cook noodles for 1 minute in boiling water.  Drain and set aside.  Take 1 spring roll wrapper dip in hot water for 15 seconds or until pliable.  Place a handful of noodles in the center and handful of the cilantro mix over the noodles.  Wrap somewhat tightly.  Continue assembling all 8 rolls.

For the dipping sauce: Combine all ingredients in small pot over medium heat until it starts to thicken.  Process until smooth.

Enjoy!

Day 128: Best Vegan Cookbooks Ever

I go to the library at least once a week.  Every time I go, I pick up a new cook book.  In our last visit , I picked up two books that are just amazing.  One of them is Toni Fiore''s, Totally Vegetarian.  She makes no claims to be a product of a culinary school.  She basically loves to cook and share her creations with people.  Her recipes are so easy and accessible.  I love, love her recipe for Tomato and Basil Bruschetta.  Most of the recipes in here have cheese as an optional ingredient so it is perfect for vegans, too!   Her explanations of herbs, grains, vegetables, and what the best way to cook them is outstanding.  I also really liked the last section of her book that has a list of things non-vegetarians eat, and what vegetarian entree you can use that tastes kind of like it.  This is the perfect book for someone just trying to make the transition to vegetarian. 

The other book I also highly recommend is Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet.  The recipes in here sound delicious.  I love how she is able to take every day ingredients and turn them into delicious food. She also has a blog: http://veganplanet.blogspot.com/ which I recently discovered also has really good and fast recipes. The specific reason I picked up this book is because she doesn't necessarily try to take regular food and make it vegan.  Instead she looks at world cuisines and finds food that is already vegan and makes it even better. I can't wait to try her lettuce wraps soon!

Day 86: Hunger is my Nemesis

Being vegan is not a problem until I get hungry.  Then I start craving meat.  I don't care what kind of meat.  I crave it in large quantities.  Yesterday, we had a late brunch, went to the movies, and ran errands.  We didn't get home until 4pm.  By then, I was so hungry I could've eaten penicillin-injected fried chicken. I was starving!  The movie theater popcorn had butter, of course, so it was off limits, and I didn't carry any snacks with me because we were in a hurry to get out of the door after brunch.  Aaargh. 

I don't like being hungry and then coming home and finding that we have nothing ready to eat.  I said it wouldn't happen again, in one of my latest posts, and of course, it did.  So frustrating! 

I can get around this, I thought. I decided I was going to make some quick Thai peanut noodles.  I got the pans and pots out that I needed.  I put the water to boil for the noodles.  I got most of the ingredients out for the peanut sauce, but when I went to look for the peanut butter.  I realized we were out of peanut butter.  Another huge AARGH! 

I told my husband, "I will be right back. I have to go get something to eat." He asked me if there were no snacks in the house, but I get so crazy when I am hungry. I just need to eat and I can't just eat a banana and be satisfied. 

So I got in my car and I drove to the first place I could think of that might have something vegan:  P. Terry's, a burger shack in town famous for its vegetarian patties.  I arrived at the counter and asked the teenager running the cash register if their vegetarian patties are vegan.  "No," he said.  "They have cheese and eggs."  Not good.  The funny thing is that they have a sticker right by the register that lists all the ingredients in the vegetarian burgers and clearly in bold and capital letters, it says, "Vegetarian Patties (NOT VEGAN)."  Hmmm.  Makes me wonder why they don't have a vegan patty if they get so many requests for them that they feel the need to put up a sign right on the counter!  I thanked him and moved on.

I tried Yanagi's Sushi House next. (It's in the same shopping area as P.Terry's.)  I started to worry when I noticed that there were very few cars parked in the Yanagi Only spots.  Sure enough,  the place is closed on Sundays.  Aargh.  By that point, I was starting to get a headache from the hunger.

I noticed there was a Panda Express across the street.  I know that that is mostly Asian junky fast food, but they might, at least, have vegetables.  I drove over and parked.  There were other cars in the parking lot.  Woohoo! That was a good sign.  It meant they were open!  I walked in and there was a very nice lady at the counter.  "Do you have any vegetarian options?," I asked her. I have noticed that if you ask for vegan options, everyone is quick to say "No, we don't have any," primarily because they don't really know what vegan means.  If I ask for vegetarian options, and then ask if there is any dairy, eggs, or honey in it, I get the real answer. 

"We have no vegetarian options," the nice lady said.  What the?  "You mean everything has meat?" I asked her. "Yes," she said again with a smile. 

"Even the chow mein?!" I asked surprised. 

"Oh, that doesn't have meat!"  she said right away.

"Does it have chicken, beef, or fish broth or sauce?"

"No."

"Does it have eggs?"

"No."

"Does it have butter?"

"No."
"Does it have honey?"

"No."

I had hit the jack pot!

She put some chow mein on my plate.  "Oh!  You're looking for vegetable dishes without meat, or eggs, or butter!" She said with a look of surprise and finally, understanding, in her face.  Duh. 

"Yes, I am!" I say with a smile. 

"Well, then you should try our veggie spring rolls! And we also have a vegetable stir-fry that you might like.  It has no meat products either."  Hey, I can't complain. I'm getting a vegan meal and she doesn't even know it!  I paid her and 15 minutes later, I was out of there with a full belly and a happy smile on my face.

After dinner, I went to the grocery store to pick up some food so I can make sure this never happens again. I am hoping to make a ton of stuff over the weekend so our refrigerator is full and I never have to feel like there is nothing to eat.  Did I mention that we are going on vacation in three days and have a fridge full of food?  It's ok.  We should eat it all by then and whatever doesn't get eaten will go with us or get frozen.

I hope. At least we won't be hungry.

Day 79: Pizza Supreme but with no cheese

The Engine 2 book never ceases to amaze me!  I keep thinking I have tried all the recipes in there, but then I find a new one and I try it and it is always delicious!  Today, I made Pizza Supreme from this cookbook.  Let's just say, you won't miss the cheese.  This pizza is jam-packed with flavors.  I am making it again tomorow night for dinner.  Speaking of repeating meals, I'm starting to notice my cooking trend.  I end up really liking five or six recipes and I make them until I am tired of eating them.  I think the Hummus Panini and this Pizza Supreme are going to be on our menu for a while, at least until I get sick of them.  Here's the recipe (one of these days I'll remember to take a picture of what I'm eating!!!!):

Pizza Supreme (makes 4 personal pizzas)

4 100% whole wheat pita
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 a jar of Organic Muir Glen pasta sauce (or any pasta sauce)

4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups fresh spinach
1 onion, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
12 mushrooms, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1/2 a jar black olives, sliced
4 veggie burger patties (store-bought or home-made: see Veggie Burger Recipe), cooked and cut into sections

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place pita bread on cookie sheet.  (You might have to make 2 pizzas at a time.)  Spread 1/4 teaspoon of the olive oil on the pita bread.  Spread 1-2 tablespoons of sauce on the pita. Sprinkle 1/4 of the garlic on the sauce.  Place 1/2 cup spinach and 1/4 of all the other ingredients up to the veggie patties on each pizza.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.  Top with 1/2 tablespoon of nutritional yeast.

Enjoy!

Day 78: Cooking out

Summer time means cooking out.  Normally that is a good thing, but not necessarily when you are Vegan. Last night, at a birthday party, the only options were hamburgers and hot dogs.Thankfully, I had planned ahead and brought my own dinner.  Before we left the house, my husband said that it was in bad taste, to bring your own dinner to a party.  "Not if you're a Vegan.  Trust me on this,"  I said.  Besides, the party was at my brother's house.  He wouldn't be offended.  Sure enough.  I had to break out my vegan pot stickers in the middle of the party, but hey, that's the only way to do it in this meat-focused world.

Speaking of meat, I have been craving shrimp again, and butter. Not sure how the butter craving began, but it's here.  It's not so much that I'm craving plain butter, but things made with butter, like pie crust.  Our dinner guest tonight brought a beautiful blue berry pie and all I could eat was the blueberries.  The pie crust was calling my name, but I could tell it had butter because it was so flaky.

I am also missing being able to just pull something from the fridge and eating it.  I need to remember to make extra food to keep in the fridge so I can do that.  Right now, it feels like every time I have to eat, I have to cook an elaborate meal.  I'm not sure why I am feeling that, but I do not like it. The truth is I really don't have to cook that much to get breakfast on the table. Same for lunch. Dinner is the problem. 

But speaking of lunch, we had Hummus, tomato, and mushroom paninis today for lunch.  They were very, very good.  Here's the recipe:

Hummus Panini

5-6 mushrooms, slicesd
tamari

4 pieces of 100% whole wheat bread
hummus
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped green onion
1 tomato, sliced

Saute sliced mushrooms over medium-high heat until they start releasing their liquid.  Splash with tamari.  Spread a thick layer of hummus on the 4 pieces of bread.  On one side, sprinkle cilantro and green onion. Top with mushrooms and tomatoes.  Put the other slice of bread on top to finish the sandwich.

Place sandwich on pan and put a heavy skillet on top of sandwich to press on it.  Cook for five minutes per side over medium heat.  Enjoy!

Day 75: Menudo "Soup"

I have been craving menudo.  Menudo is a Mexican soup that has a tomato broth base with lots of spices, hominy, lots of garlic, and beef tripe.  I couldn't eat this soup when I was a little kid because the thought of eating tripe grossed me out, but it's an acquired taste and I learned to love it.

Of course, now that I'm not eating animal products, I thought it would be hard to make it taste like I remember and truthfully, it didn't taste or smell exactly like menudo, but it came pretty close.  My husband said it was more of a menudo soup than actual menudo.  That is what I am calling it.  I looked up a bunch of recipes online and at the book Viva Vegan and then came up with my own concoction:

Menudo Soup

1 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped in large chunks
1 large tomato, coursely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 12 oz. can of hominy, with liquid
1 12 oz. can of pinto beans, with liquid

4 cups of water

1/2 a packet Menudo Spice Mix
1/2 a tablespoon cumin
1/2 a tablespoon garlic salt
1/2 a tablespoon oregano

2 kale leaves, sliced in ribbons
handful of green beans, cut in small sections
1 summer squash, sliced in rounds and then cut in fourths

Salt to taste

Heat oil over medium heat.  Saute onion, tomatoes, and garlic for 8 minutes or until onions are translucent and tomatoes are starting to break apart.  Add hominy, beans, and water.  Sitr to combine. Add spice mix, cumin, garlic salt, and oregano.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes to an hour.  Add kale, green beans, and summer squash and stir to combine.  Simmer for another 10-15 minutes or until squash and green beans are tender.  Salt to taste.

Offer lime wedges, thinly sliced cabbage, chopped radishes, chopped cilantro, chopped onions, and chopped serranos, chopped oregano, and avocado slices as accompaniments.  Serve with warm corn tortillas.

Enjoy!

Day 74: Portobello Mushroom Fajitas

I made a feast for dinner last night.  At least, that's what it felt like.  And it was so worth it.  The fajitas were the easiest part.  What took the longest to prepare was the guacamole, the vegan sour cream, and the pico de gallo, but it was all so heavenly wrapped in a warm corn tortilla.  I love this food!

Portobello Mushroom Fajitas

1 tablespoon olive oil
3-4 Portobello mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 serrano or jalapeno pepper, sliced (optional)

Heat oil.  Over high heat, saute the mushroom for 3 minutes.  Add the onions, saute for 5 minutes.  Add the peppers, saute for 5 minutes.  Serve with guacamole, vegan sour cream, and pico de gallo in corn tortillas.  Enjoy!

Guacamole

Everyone has their own way of making guacamole.  Here's mine:

1 large avocado
1 large tomato, diced
1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/4 of an onion, chopped
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste

Peel avocado, and discard seed.  Mash with a fork in medium bowl.  Add tomato, cilantro, onion, and lime juice and stir until well mixed. Salt and pepper to taste.

Vegan Sour Cream

This recipe is from the Engine 2 book:

1 package of Silken Lite Tofu
1/3 cup milk
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons cilantro
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

Process until smooth.  Refrigerate for an hour before serving, to let flavors blend.

Pico de Gallo

1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 large tomatoes, diced
1/2 a large onion, chopped
1 serrano pepper, minced (seed if you don't want it too spicy)
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in bowl.  Stir to combine.  Enjoy!

TTYL.

Day 72: Clean-Out-the-Fridge-of-Veggies Pasta Sauce

My friend Sarah was in town two weeks ago and she made us a delicious tomato pasta the night I was preparing for my daughter's birthday party.  She said she starts out with olive oil, onions, garlic, and a  large can of crushed tomatoes.  Then she goes in the fridge and throws in any veggies she sees.  Finally, she adds spices and lets the sauce simmer.  The sauce was delicious. I made a huge batch yesterday for lunch and it was perfect because then I didn't have to make dinner.  Here's what I put in mine:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can of corn, drained and rinsed
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 bunch of broccoli greens, thinly sliced
1 zuchinni, thinly sliced
5 mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 25 oz. can crushed tomatoes

Palm-full of basil
Palm-full of oregano
Palm-full of thyme
1 T salt


Heat the oil.  Saute the onion, garlic, corn, bell pepper, and jalapeno until onion is translucent. Add  zuchinni and mushrooms. Saute until mushrooms start releasing liquid.  Add greens and saute for 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and spices.  Simmer for 10 minutes.

In retrospect, next time I will start by sauteing the onion, garlic, and peppers.  Then adding the tomatoes and spices and simmering for an hour to let the flavors blend more fully.  Then I'll saute the other veggies in a separate pan and add the last few minutes of the simmering.  It will keep the vegetables more intact and tasting better....

Enjoy!

Day 71: A Craving for Po' Boy's

I have been thinking about fried shrimp for a while. Before going on this vegan adventure, I used to eat shrimp like there was no tomorrow: fried, in garlic sauce, boiled with cocktail sauce, in cocteles (Mexican shrimp cocktails), and just about anyway they were given to me.

We were at the car dealership getting our car serviced and I was very hungry.  The only thing I could think of was a shrimp po' boy for dinner.  David said he would make me a fried tofu po' boy instead.  We stopped by the store on the way home and he bought lettuce, tomatoes, tofu, and French bread.  He found a recipe in the E2 book that suggested covering the tofu cubes with nutritional yeast and garlic powder.  He also added Tony Cachere's.  Then fried them in a little canola oil.

I was nervous about how were were going to make the sauce that goes on the po' boys, but I found a recipe online for vegan mayo:

Vegan Mayo
1/2 package of silken lite tofu
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoons white pepper
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 T olive oil

Then we mixed in ketchup and tabasco sauce.  It tasted just like the real thing!

Once we assembled the sandwich:  toasted French bread, special sauce with vegan mayo, ketchup, and tabasco, the fried tofu, the lettuce, and the tomatoes.  It looked and smelled just like a po' boy and it tasted just wonderful!   And this is coming from someone who for a while (when I worked for a company that had an office in New Orleans and I travelled there a lot) could only eat the po' boys from a tiny hole in the wall restaurant next to the French Market in New Orleans because nothing else tasted as good...

Day 66 - Still Going Strong

With festival done and today being the last of school, I should be able to write in here more often.  I can't believe we have been eating Vegan for 66 days! 

I am happy to report that I have had numerous positive experiences eating out in Austin.  After the fiasco at Casa de Luz on Mother's Day weekend, I was leary of eating out again, but all last week when my friend Sarah was in town, we ate out and every single meal was delicious:

The first meal on Sunday was veggie fajitas at Maudie's.  They were very tasty although I was surprised at how thinly they sliced the portobello mushrooms.  They charge an extra fee of $2.50 for adding the mushrooms and I think they added 1/4 of a mushroom.  Oh, well.  Next time, I won't waste my money on that.

Monday we ate at Guero's Taco Bar on South Congress.  It's a very touristy restaurant and we had eaten there before but it was just down the street from the boot place where we had been all morning.  I ordered the veggie plate.  The vegetables were cooked with some strange flavor, but the black beans were to die for.

The third meal was in San Antonio (Sarah and I went for the day) at Mi Tierra.  I had the chalupas.  They were so, so.  I was surprised at how bland the refried pinto beans were and the salsa was not that great either.  Next time, we will choose a place to eat on the river walk instead.

Wednesday, Sarah wanted to go back to the Salt Lick.  I figured there would be something vegan on the menu since it is so close to Austin.  Well, I was wrong.  There was NOTHING vegan.  The potatoes and the beans had bacon in them.  The cole slaw had mayo and the everything else is meat.  I was so hungry from walking all morning at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, I had to eat something so I ordered the pickles and onions with bread.  Then I noticed that some of the meat sandwiches came with lettuce and tomato.  I asked the waiter if I could have just the lettuce and tomato and he was very good about it bringing it out quickly.  It actually turned out to be very good (probably because I was hungry!)

Thursday, we went to the Hula Hut and once again, I ordered the veggie fajjitas.  They were delicious!!!!  They added bean sprouts and a delicious plum sauce.  I have to go back to eat those again.  I absolutely loved them.

Friday, we had a quick lunch at Chipotles.  I go there a lot so I am always ready to order:  salad with black beans, corn salsa, pico de gallo, and guacamole.  You don't even need the dressing. It is delicious all by itself like that.  Yum!

Tomorrow I will blog about the food I made for Nati's birthday party....

Day 48 - This is Easy!

I haven't had a chance to write in here because I have been busy with nephew in the hospital (what are the odds that you could have two family members in the hospital the same month for the the same reason - MRSA? weird.) and I am chairing our school's spring festival, but also I haven't written in here because suddenly, being vegan doesn't seem so foreign to me any more.

I used to stress about what I was going to eat every day.  I had to plan out a menu for that day and now it feels like I can just open the fridge and figure out something to eat.  I love that!

Over the last 10 days since my last post, we have gone camping while maintaining our vegan way of life, much to our neighbor's chagrin.  They kept calling us "the hippies" because were making our own veggie burgers on the campfire.  :)

We have also signed up with Greenling.com to get fresh, local produce delivered right to our door every Tuesday morning.  I am loving this easy eating!

Day 38 - Fried Noodles

I need to remember to take pictures of all this new food!  My husband's coworker suggested a try a Fried Noodles recipe from the Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics and gave me buckwheat soba noodles to try with it.  It was really good.  I think next time I will try adding a little bit of spice.  I'm used to Mexican food and spicy is always good!

Fried Noodles


soba noodles
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 onion, chopped
1 whole carrot, julienned

8 mushrooms, sliced
3 teaspoons shoyu, divided (I didn't have shoyu so I used tamari.)
kernels from one corn cob (I used one can of corn, drained and rinsed.)
1 stalk bok choy, thinly sliced
1 green onion, sliced


Cook the noodles according to package directions.  Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain. Heat sesame oil in skillet over medium heat.  Saute onion until translucent.  Add carrot and saute until half cooked.  Add mushrooms and saute until they start to release their liquid.  Add 1 teaspoon shoyu and saute for 2 minutes.  Place noodles over vegetables in plan, corn over noodles, and bok choy over corn.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup water over all of it.  Sprinkle 2 teaspoons shoyu.  Cover, reduce heat and let steam for 5-10 minutes until bok choy is wilted and noodles and corn are warmed.  Serve hot. 

Day 36 - A Craving for Tacos

Last night, I had such a huge craving for tacos!!!!!  I didn't have any soy meat crumbles and frankly, I'm a little nervous about eating that.  It sounds processed to me.  So I started thinking about what I really like about those mini tacos.  I like the avocados, the cilantro, the onions, and the salsa.  I can't remember if you can taste the meat once you pile all that stuff on.  I didn't want to eat onions and didn't have any prepared salsa so I got out the corn tortillas, warmed them and spread some avocado on it and sprinkled that with several sprigs of cilantro.  Mmmmmm.  It tasted like heaven.  David thought it would've been better to add the onions and the salsa, but it was still very good and it satisfied my craving.  I also had a giant slice of watermelon.  I love this food!

I also finally decided to start purchasing Vitamin B-12 supplements.  Almost everyone recommends them, but I'm nervous about taking too many pills.  I already take a calcium supplement and a multi-vitamin.  Can I overdose on B-12 or does the body just get rid of the extra?

Day 35 - Breakfast for dinner

We ran around all day today and had nothing planned for dinner.  I was starving by the time we got home from playing in the creek.  Before we were vegan, we used to have breakfast for dinner all the time: pancakes, bacon, and eggs.  Why not try it now?  I made papas a la mexicana.  It's basically potatoes with onions, serranos, and tomatoes, and I also like to add mushrooms.  I served that as tacos inside flour tortillas.  Very satisfying. "Who needs eggs?"  That was my husband's response after he took his first bite.  Maybe he's enjoying this food much more now?  :)

Day 34 - Plantains, Black Beans and Rice, Kale

I had been eyeing the plantains at the grocery store since we started this new way of eating.  I finally gave in and got some.  I pan-fried them with a little olive oil and unfortunately, I didn't notice that they were over cooking so they came out a little dry, but still pretty tasty.  I refried the black beans with a little olive oil and onion.  My husband did not think they looked appetizing at all, but he liked the way they tasted.  I guess I need to work on presentation.  :)  Then I made some basic brown rice and steamed a little kale.  I like to put tamari and nutritional yeast on the rice. Very tasty and fast!

Day 33 - Pasta Primavera - Leftovers!

I had kale so I added it to the leftover pasta primavera and served it with noodles.  Still pretty good!

Day 32 - Pasta

I made pasta primavera again because I loved it so much last time.  This time I didn't have corn again or zuchinni so I used cauliflower.  It wasn't as good as I remembered it but it was still tasty.

Day 31 - Even Better Veggie Burgers and Their Environmental Impact

I loved the veggie burgers we made yesterday, but as usual I always make much more than we are really going to eat which means that I had a veggie burger for dinner, for lunch the next day, and for dinner last night again.  I was so dreading eating the same thing for dinner again, but I still had two patties left.  What am I supposed to do?  Throw them out?  No, thanks. 

I drove to the grocery store and purchased 100% whole wheat buns and made them into real burgers. (We had been eating them in pita pockets with spinach and red onion.)  I warmed the buns, put the patty on it, and piled on the following:  mustard, ketchup, spinach, red onion, avocados, and tomatoes.  Wow!!!!  Tasted just like a burger, but without the greasy aftertaste.  Found another keeper recipe!!!

I do think that I will make the patties smaller next time because I ate dinner 14 hours ago and I am still not hungry.

Did I mention how much I love this new way of eating? I love the way I look and feel.  I love that I am losing weight and my cholesterol is healthy. I love all the cooking I am doing.  I love that I am teaching my kids about nutritious choices. I love that because I am not eating animal products, I am minimizing my environmental impact. I love that I am voting with my fork!

However, even though I am making a big change in my life by eating this way, I am still no where near my appropriate resource use.  I used an ecological footprint calculator this morning and I am still way up there, in terms of using resources.  It would take 3 1/2 planet earths to sustain my habits!!!  Wow, and that's including the fact that I am no longer eating animal products and that we drive a hybrid and have energy efficient appliances.

It seems hopeless until you start to think about all your current life choices and how you can improve them. I know living in suburbia does not help because I have to drive everywhere in my gas-guzzling van. I know the size of my house is an issue. It takes a lot of energy to heat and cool 3200 square feet. I know that I have thirsty St. Augustine grass growing all over my yard and that wastes water. I know I am not buying local foods. 

Awareness is the starting point, right?  What's next?  I think I need a plan of action to reduce my impact in these other areas.  More later...I'm off to eat my delicious oatmeal WITHOUT butter or milk.  :)

Day 30 - Veggie Burgers

When we first started this vegan diet, I used to stress out about what I would be eating for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Now, I don't even think about breakfast or lunch.  I am in love with Oatmeal these days.  I have been adding wheat germ and nutty nuggets to it to get more protein, plus my standard raisins, almonds, and almond milk.  I honestly can't get enough of it.  Maybe it's because it's still chilly in the mornings here.  I'll have to find a new breakfast when it gets hot.  Lunches are also easy.  I eat leftovers or make a veggie sandwich.  I love having that flexibility!  I have always planned dinners.

I've been wanting to make veggie burgers since we started this diet but all the recipes look like they have a million ingredients. I found one in Cooking Light that didn't look that long and the picture made the patty look very, very tasty.  I got the list of ingredients and went to the grocery store.  It called for red potatoes, carrots, cilantro and chickpeas, plus other spices.  I was ready to start it when I decided to read the recipe through before starting to cut up stuff.  Mind you, this was at 5pm yesterday.  Everything looked good until I got to the part where I am supposed to "chill the mixture for 8 hours to overnight."  What?!!  Ah, man.  I guess I can't make that recipe on the spur of the moment.

Thankfully, the Engine 2 book has two recipes for veggie burgers, one with lentils and one with black beans.  Since I've never been a fan of lentils, I went with the black beans.  Wow.  Before I add the oatmeal, it's basically a black bean salsa (black beans, carrots, cilantro, onion, garlic, and tomatoes).  I ate it by the spoonful and with chips.  It is SO good.  I think I might use it as a dip next time.  Once I added the oatmeal, it didn't look as appetizing and once I actully baked them, the flavors were more subdued but still very good.

I serve them in pita pockets with spinach and red onion, but these can be served on buns with all the fixins' just like a regular burger. My husband added jalapenos, mustard, and ketchup to his burger.  Mine was just fine with the spinach and red onion.

I also had those red potatoes called for in the other Cooking Light veggie burger recipe so I used them to make rosemary oven fries. Yum! I made the potatoes first since they both use the same oven temperature but you have to broil the burgers for the last two minutes.  See both recipes below.

New York Times Veggie Burgers

Makes about 8 patties

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can tomatoes with zesty mild chilies, drained (I didn't have this so I used 1 can of diced tomatoes and 1 jalapeno pepper, but I forgot to drain it.  It still worked!)
1 garlic clove, minced and pressed
1 teaspoon onion powder (I used 1 tablespoon of chopped onion)
2 green onions, chopped
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup cilantro
2 cups quick rolled oats
8 whole grain buns (I used pita pockets)
Fresh veggie toppings and healthy condiments

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Process the first seven ingredients in a food processor or blender.  Remove contents into a large bowl and stir in the oats.  Form into patties, place on sprayed baking sheet, and bake for 8 minutes.  Turn oven to broil and cook for 2 more minutes or until tops are nicely browned.  Toast the buns and pile on your favorite toppings.

Variation: Saute the burgers on medium heat in a sprayed nonstick skillet for 5 mnutes on each side, until both sides are browned.

Rosemary Oven Fries

1 lb. red potatoes
1 teaspoon olive oil
garlic salt
pepper
2 sprigs of rosemary

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash, dry, and cut potatoes in quarters or halfs depending on size.  Toss with 1 teaspoon olive oil.  Place in glass pan.  Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper.  Top with two sprigs of rosemary.  Cover with foil.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Flip them and discard the rosemary.  Cover again and bake for another 20 minutes.  Some people like to toss these with dijon mustard and garlic, but they are so good just like this!

Day 29 - Pasta Primavera

I went to the hospital without a packed lunch.  Big mistake.  The hospital cafeteria was closed early since it's a Sunday.  Ooops.  Ok, what's healthy in the vending machine?  Nothing really.  My niece bought me a bag of Fritos (they are vegan!), a can of bean dip, and bottle of orange juice.  It could've been worse, I guess.  That bag of Fritos did not sit well in my tummy though.  I"m not used to eating that much salt or grease, but I'll survive. 

My brother looks much better so I came home early in time to cook a fresh dinner from the Engine 2 cookbook.  I made Pasta Primavera.  It was so good.  I didn't have the can of corn it calls for and I didn't want to bother my neighbors so I just used a zuchinni squash.  We loved this.  It's definitely going to be our standard recipe when we make spaghettii.

Pasta Primavera

1 red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can corn, rinsed and drained (I didnt' have this so I used a zuchinni instead)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 green or red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 bunch fresh kale, rinsed and chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
1 large jar pasta sauce (Sockarooni)
16 ounces whole grain spaghetti (Central Market Capellini)
1/2 cup raw cashews, finely ground

Saute the onion, garlic, and corn in large skillet on medium heat for 5 minutes.  (I sprayed it lightly with Canola oil.) Add the jalapenos, bell peppers, and kale to skillet and cook for 3 minutes.  Add the diced tomatoes and pasta sauce to the vegetables.  Stir until warmed through.  Ladle the sauce  over the pasta and top with cashews.  Enjoy!

Day 28 - Hospital Food - Salad Bar!

My brother is still in the hospital, but I didn't have time to pack my dinner today.  I was hoping the hospital cafeteria has a garden burger or salad bar and they did not disappoint. I got lucky! They actually had fairly good choices for their salad bar.  I constructed my own "healthy" salad:  romaine lettuce, spinach, cranberries, tomatoes, beets, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, carrots, sesame sticks, and sunflower seeds.  Picking a dressing was difficult.  They all had egg in them (even the Italian dressing?).  The lady pointed out a fat-free raspberry vinaigrette and since I had no other choice, I took it.  It was quite tasty and only 20 calories per 2 tablespoons.  Can't beat that!   I must remember to pack a lunch tomorrow.

Day 27 - Asian Sesame Salad and Pesto

My brother is in the hospital so I have to pack my lunch and dinner to take with me because who knows what the hospital cafeteria serves.  A friend introduced me to a delicious Asian Chicken Salad when I was still eating meat and I just took out the chicken and the fried wontons, and added edamame and beets. It still tastes great.  I had that salad with leftover pesto and that was my lunch and dinner.  Just as delicious as I remembered it, but healthier!

Asian Chicken Salad

2 Romain hearts, chopped
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 cup edamame
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons sesame
1 small can mandarin oranges
1 small can of beets (optional)

For dressing:
1/4 cup tamari
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly groun pepper
1/4 cup water

Place first seven ingredients in bowl. Make dressing.  Toss salad with dressing.  Serve salad on plate.  Arrange 4 - 5 slices of beets on top of each salad.  Enjoy!

Day 26 - Are you sure you are getting enough protein?

Why did it take me so long to discover delicious Almond Milk? I use it every morning with my oatmeal and now I can't live without it. It is SO good!!!!! I can't stand milk of any kind: cow's, goat's, soy, or rice, but almond milk is just too good to pass up. I just love it.

We are on day 26 of eating vegan. I have lost 13 pounds!!!! I am so excited. I went to the doctor yesterday and she said my cholesterol was "fantastic." But when I told her that I was eating vegan, she looked up concerned and said, "Are you sure you are getting enough protein?"

I know we can get protein from beans, quinoa, nuts, almond milk, tofu, and some vegetables. But how much does one need on a daily basis? I had to google it and this is what I found:

The average person needs about .36 grams of protein per pound that they weigh. For example, someone who weighs 150 lbs., needs only 54 grams of protein per day to maintain her current muscle. There are many vegan staples that are really high in protein:

• Tempeh - 41 gm/cup
• Seitan - 31 gm/ 3 oz.
• Soybeans - 29 gm/cup
• Lentils, cooked - 18 gm/cup
• Black beans, cooked - 15 gm/cup
• Kidney beans, cooked - 13 gm/cup
• Veggie burger - 13 gm/patty
• Chickpeas - 12 gm/cup
• Pinto beans - 12 gm/cup
• Tofu, firm - 11 gm/4 oz.
• Peas - 9gm/cup
• Peanut butter - 8 gm/2 T.
• Spaghetti, cooked - 8 gm/cup
• Almonds - 8 gm/ .25 cup
• Soy milk - 6 gm/ cup
• Oatmeal - 6gm/cup
• Whole wheat bread - 5 gm/2 slices
• Brown rice - 5 gm/cup
• Spinach - 5 gm/cup
• Broccoli - 4gm/cup
• Potato - 4 gm/cup

Now I think I am going to keep a little food journal for a week so I can record how much protein we are getting and adjust the amount we are eating, if necessary.

Today's lunch was a corn and avocado salad and dinner consisted of leftover Pesto.

More later...

Day 25 - Avocado-Corn Salad and Pesto

I am cooking a lot these days. It's a good thing I enjoy it, but every now and then I wish there were more quick dinner options for people who are not consuming animal products.

I spent a good hour at Central Market on Tuesday perusing the frozen food section and found a total of just five things that a vegan could eat in the freezer section (and this is at Central Market which is supposed to cater to a healthier eating crowd!): Amy's Roasted Vegetable (No-Cheese) Pizza and Soy Cheeze Pizza, a bag of legume dumplings, veggie burgers, and a non-dairy pumpkin pie from "Wholly Wholesome".

Hmm. My first thought was, "There's an untapped market out there!" but I should probably check Whole Foods, Sun Harvest, Sprouts, New Flower Market, and Wheatsville Coop before I start my own Vegan Frozen food business. :)

We had a delicious salad today for lunch. I got the Cool Southwestern Salad with Corn and Avocado recipe from Real Simple Magazine. Click here to see it. The nutritional information says that it is packed with calories, but I did omit the olive oil from the dressing and I didn't eat tortilla chips with it. It tasted just fine without either one!

For dinner, I made Pesto (without olive oil or parmesan cheese) and ate it with 100% whole wheat farfalle pasta. The recipe for Pesto comes from the Engine 2 book:

Healthy Home-made Pesto

2-3 cups pesto leaves, packed
1 cup home-toasted walnuts (I didn't toast them)
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup water or soymilk (I used water)

Put all ingredients in food processor and pulse until finely chopped and well-combined. Toss with 1 lb. of 100% whole wheat pasta. Enjoy!!!!

P.S. I did sneak in more than a few French fries (they are vegan and they are fried separately from the chicken nuggets, I asked) when I was sitting at Whataburger with my sister-in-law and our kids. For the next few hours, I felt like I had a rock in my stomach. Gross. Serves me right. But I am happy to report that I did not crave the What-a-burgers which at one point in my life were my favorite food!!!

Day 24 - Chips and Salsa for dinner?

Yes! I went to a friend's house for a play date and she accommodated my new eating habits by serving chips and salsa. They were so good that I just kept eating them. When I got home, I felt stuffed so my dinner was chips and salsa. I guess it could've been worse.

Day 23 - Thai Noodle Salad with Tofu

I might have a new favorite dinner! I made Thai Noodle Salad with Tofu last night and it was SO good!!!!! I got the recipe from Cooking Light magazine. It called for a lot of ingredients, but it was very tasty and quite easy to put together. Even my picky eater husband liked it! :)

The full recipe, including a picture, is available here. The tofu is marinated in lime juice, chili garlic sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and soy sauce. Once I was done sauteing it in a little peanut oil, it looked just like the one in the picture. And the taste - WOW! I could eat it by the handful. Who would've thought I could enjoy tofu so much? I tell you: the more I eat it, the more I like it!

Enjoy!!!

Day 22 - Corn and Bulghur Wheat Salad

Sunday was a great day. We did nothing but rest at home. I love keeping Sunday as a day of rest. It really does help you restore your soul and get ready for the week. If only you didn't have to eat... :)

It was easy eating yesterday. For breakfast I had oatmeal with raisins, almonds, apples, and bananas. Delicious! Lunch was a cup of leftover Broccoli soup and for dinner I made a corn and bulghur wheat salad that I hadn't tasted since our days in Boston. One weekend when we lived in Arlington, we invited our landladies to join us for dinner. I made chicken mole, Mexican rice, beans, and a garden salad with cilantro-jalapeno dressing. They loved it so the next weekend they made us dinner and they served this salad as part of the meal. I remember loving it so much that I had to have the recipe. Sadly, I have never made it, but now that we are eating vegan food, I decided to give it a try. It's so easy to make and it tastes just like I remembered: Delicious!!!!

Corn and Bulghur Wheat Salad

1/2 cup bulghur wheat
1/2 cup boiling water

1 teaspoon olive oil
3 cups fresh corn, cut off the cob
1/4 cup red onion, chopped

1 jalapeno chile, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
pinch cayenne pepper
salt to taste

Place bulghur wheat in bowl. Pour water over it. Let sit for 20 minutes. While bulghur wheat is cooking, heat olive oil in pan over medium heat. Add corn and saute for five minutes. Add onion and saute for 3 minutes. Let mixture cool.

Once bulghur and corn are cool, mix together and add jalapeno, cilantro, juices, cayenne pepper, and salt to taste. Chill for at least 15 minutes. Enjoy!


salt to taste

Day 21 - Cheesy Broccoli Soup - AGAIN!

My sweet husband told me that he is ok with our choice of food right now, but he is only enjoying about 25 percent of what I am making. What?! "Cook for yourself then!" was my first reaction, but I can understand how changing your tastes can take a while so I will continue to tweak our food and make more of his favorites, one of which is "cheesy" broccoli soup. I have the recipe on this website. It is always so good, but so very rich that I can only eat one bowl of it.

For lunch I experimented with a dish I had in Boston. It was called Tahini Vegetable Roller and it is basically a fresh vegetable wrap with tahini sauce. I didn't quite taste like I remembered but I think if I had added lemon to the sauce I might have gotten close.

Tahini Vegetable Roller




1 100% whole wheat wrap
1/2 cup romaine lettuce, chopped
1/4 cup cucumber, diced
1/4 cup tomato, diced
1/4 cup broccoli, finely chopped
1/4 cup cauliflower,finely chopped

1 teaspoon tahini sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice

cracked pepper to taste


Place all vegetables in middle of wrap. Drizzle tahini sauce and lemon juice over vegetables. Add pepper to taste. Roll up and enjoy!

Day 20 - Potstickers and Fruit

Today, I helped out with the PTA snack sale at school. I have gone 19 days without really craving anything except eggs, but today I was literally salivating as I served tray after tray of nachos. Why??? Those nachos have processed cheese on them. Why am I craving processed cheese? Something is wrong with that.

Then we got home and were watching the news when a picture of a big basket of juicy KFC Fried Chicken appeared right on the screen and once again ,I was salivating. How sad. I guess 19 days is not enough to get one's taste buds to change after a life time of eating (and very much enjoying!) junky food.

We were late getting home on Friday and I was very hungry and a little bit in a bad mood because I was SO craving those nachos and it took a lot of will power to not take a bite of the crunchy, gooey stuff. I had planned to make an elaborate dinner, but changed my mind and instead we had spicy vegetable potstickers for dinner. I found out they are vegan! We have always enjoyed the chicken potstickers, and these were not as tasty as I remember the chicken ones to be, but they were still a welcome change. We rounded off our dinner with a bowl of fresh fruit. Dinner was ready in 8 minutes. Yeah, baby, that's what I'm talking about!!!

On the bright side, I am so enjoying cooking! I cook almost every day and I love it, but I can see how it would be hard to maintain this lifestyle for someone who works full time. You would have to do some major planning and cooking on the weekend.

Day 19 - Couscous with Baked Tomatoes and Pan-grilled Asparagus

Oh, my goodness! I have lost 12 pounds (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) in only 3 weeks. That is crazy, but so glad it is true!!! How can I not feel great about my food choices?

Today I finally made the dreaded trip to Central Market to compare prices. I was very surprised to find that most items are the same price as the HEB in our neighborhood. It could be because our HEB is a mix between Central Market (CM) and a normal HEB. Here are some of the prices I compared:

Bananas: HEB - 44 cents/ lb. ; CM - 44 cents/lb.
Frozen Edamame: HEB - $1.69 per bag; CM - $2.19 per bag (not sure why these are so different in price, when they are the exact same size)
Pineapple: HEB - $3.99 for unpeeled; CM - $3.99 for unpeeled
Coffee (Non-Dairy) Creamer: HEB - $3.19; CM - $3.19
Raw Cashews - HEB - $6.99 per pound; CM - $7.69 per pound

It looks like overall the prices are tiny bit higher, but the best discovery is that our HEB has most of the things I need right now. I didn't notice any new stuff that I would want to eat at Central Market. Phew. I was hoping that would happen. Last thing I need is to start shopping at two different grocery stores.

Tonights dinner was delicious. My husband didn't like the couscous because I added chopped apricots and he is not a big fan of things that look like raisins in his food. :) Next time, I'll make a batch of couscous without the apricots just for him.

Couscous with Baked Tomatoes and Pan-Grilled Asparagus



2 cups whole wheat couscous, prepared according to package directions
6-8 dried apricots, diced
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
6 tablespoons molasses

4 tomatoes, cored
balsamic vinegar

1 lb. asparagus, woody stems trimmed

cracked black pepper

For couscous: Prepare according to package directions. Fluff with fork. Stir in apricots, pecans, and molasses until well mixed.

For tomatoes: Preheat oven to 450. Cut tiny section of bottom of tomato so it will stand vertically on the casserole dish. Place tomatoes in casserole dish. Drizzle core sections with balsamic vinegar. Bake for 25 minutes.

For asparagus: Heat skillet on medium-high. When drops of water sizzle on it, place half of the asparagus on pan and stir constantly for five minutes until tips are slightly browned. Put on a plate. Keep warm.

To serve: Place generous amount of couscous on plate. Top with one tomato. Place asparagus around plate. Looks and tastes lovely!!!!

Day 18 - Red Beans over Quinoa and Kale

We are on Day 18 and I am feeling pretty good about my food choices. I did discover today that Pringles are vegan. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not. Did I mention that I am no longer missing scrambled eggs? Nope. I have been eating tofu scrambles and I actually enjoy them quite a bit!

I made Tofu a la Mexicana for breakfast and serve them on corn tortillas with a little bit of refried beans. Delicious! Here is the recipe:

Tofu a la Mexicana



1 plum tomato, chopped
1 serrano pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 a small onion, chopped
3 white mushrooms, stems and outer covering removed, chopped

1 one-inch slice of extra firm tofu, squeezed in paper towel, and crumbled
sprinkle of turmeric

Lightly spray a non-stick skillet. Place all tomato and all vegetables in pan and stir. Saute gently for 5-7 minutes over medium-low heat until onion is translucent, pepper is dark green, tomato is cooked, and mushrooms have release their liquid. Add tofu and turmeric. Saute another 2 minutes or until heated through.

Serve on corn tortilla with a little slather of refried beans. Enjoy!

For dinner tonight I made a recipe from the Engine 2 diet book: Red Beans and Quinoa with Kale. It was very tasty.

Red Beans and Quinoa with Kale

1/2 of a small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup water

2 cups quinoa, prepared according to package directions

1 bunch kale, chopped


For beans: Saute onion through bell pepper on lightly sprayed non-stick skillet for five to seven minutes until onion is translucent.

Add kidney beans and water to a pot. Bring to a boil. Mash a few kidney beans with potato masher. Let simmer for five minutes. Add beans and broth to sauteed veggies. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.

For kale: Add chopped kale and 1/4 cup water to pan. Cover and bring to a slight boil. Cook for 5 minutes until kale is tender.

To serve: Place a serving of quinoa on a plate. Top with red beans, nestle kale next to it. Enjoy!

Day 17 - Classic Italian Minestrone

I went to the library last week and my niece found a book called The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen by Donna Klein. I skimmed through some of the recipes and found that the soup section is really good. I found a recipe for Classic Italian Minestrone and I thought I'd give it a try on Tuesday because we don't have any activities after school that day and the recipe looked somewhat long.

That minestrone took 1.5 hours to prepare! It tastes good, but not that good that it deserves that much attention given to it. Next time, I will make this on a Saturdy or Sunday. I made several substitutions and omissions which I think affected the taste. I substituted the dry cannellini beans with canned pinto beans, but it turns out that the pinto beans were already "seasoned." I rinsed them thoroughly, but they still had some weird after taste. I think that took away from the flavor. I also sauteed the vegetables in a lightly sprayed non-stick stockpot instead of using all the olive oil it calls for. I cut the recipe in half and omitted the celery since my husband is not a big fan of cooked celery. I think the recipe calls for a lot of onions and makes the final soup taste too oniony, but it's worth trying again I think, especially if I decide to follow the recipe verbatim.

Classic Italian Minestrone

1 cup dry cannellini beans
3 cups water
8 cups vegetable broth, divided

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 small onions, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, cut in rounds

4 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 28 oz. can diced plum tomatoes with juices
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
salt and pepper to taste

2 potatoes, cubed
1 cup green beans, cut in sections
2 cups green cabbage, shredded

2 cups spinach, packed
2 zuchinni squash, cut in quarters lengthwise, and then chopped

Place the cannellini beans in 3 cups water overnight. Drain water. Place in stockpot with 2 cups vegetable broth. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.

While beans are cooking, heat a large stockpot. Add oil. When oil is hot, add onions, carrots, celery and saute for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes.

Add tomatoes through salt and pepper. Bring to a slow boil and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add potatoes through green cabbage and simmer 10 minutes.

Add beans and juices, spinach, and zuchinni and cook for 5 minutes or until all vegetables are tender.

Serve hot. Makes 8 servings.

Enjoy!

Day 16 - Leftover Chalupas

Today was crazy, in terms of food. I had more chalupas than I thought one person could eat. My family made tons of salsa this weekend and tons of beans so I had no choice. If I didn't eat the beans and salsa, they would go bad. Chalupas are sinfully delicious, anyway. It feels like you are eating junk food, but you're not, especially when you are skipping the cheese and sour cream. I had them for lunch and dinner today, but I think I'm done with them.

Day 15 - Easter Celebration!

My sister actually ended up telling my mom that we were not eating meat. At first my mom was very concerned for our health, but then slowly she started talking about her childhood in Mexico and the food they ate and started to relax more about our new way of eating. She remembered eating: Swiss chard in a tomato sauce, nopales with pico de gallo, potatoes sauted with tomatoes, onions, and peppers, beans a la charra with tortillas. She said they would only eat meat once a week. I was thrilled to get those recipes from her.

The next morning she made us a vegan breakfast: potatoes sauteed with tomatoes, onions, and peppers, refried beans with olive oil and onion, and corn tortillas. It was SO good! They had brisket, potato salad, and beans a la charra for Easter lunch. David and I had beans (my sister made them vegan - no bacon or sausage) with brown rice topped with guacamole, chopped cilantro, chopped tomatoes and lettuce. That was good, too!

I am so excited that we were able to pull through a major holiday with everyone eating what they wanted to eat!

Day 14 - The Meat-Eating Family Arrives

My parents, my sister, my little brother, and my two brothers, along with their families arrived today (Saturday) to start our Easter Weekend Celebration. I was a little nervous that I would end up eating meat just because it was around, but it turns out they were very accommodating!

Dinner Saturday night consisted of chalupas or tostadas (flat tortillas spread with refried beans and topped with guacamole, salsa, cilantro, lettuce and tomato.) They had chicken, cheese, and sour cream available for the animal product eaters in separate bowls so everyone could put whatever they wanted on their chalupas. David grilled shrimp and chicken and my mother made camarones al ajillo which is shrimp in garlic sauce. Honestly, the chalupas were so good that I was not tempted to eat anything else. Now if it had been the nasty salad night, I would've needed some assistance. :)

Day 13 - Portobello Curry with Green Rice

After the disappointing salad we had last night, I was ready to try something different today. The kids and David were on their day off from school and we had time to go shop together at the grocery store. David is not a big fan of curry, but I had seen a recipe for Portobello Curry with Green Rice in Better Homes and Gardens (All Vegetable - Grand Prize Winner) and decided to give it a try.

It has a lot of ginger and a lot of garlic and the recipe didn't say "divided" after it listed the ingredients to it's really my fault, but I ended up putting all the ginger and all the garlic into the green sauce for the rice but it turns out that you need 1/2 for the sauce and 1/2 for the curry. Bummer. I also forgot to add the peanuts at the end, but it was still really good.

Portobello Mushroom Curry with Green Rice
---------------------------------------------

1 cup brown rice
2 cups water

1 cup coconut milk, divided
1/2 cup cilantro
4 tablespoons minced ginger, divided
4 tablespoons minced garlic, divided

1 lb. portobello mushrooms, cut into slices
1/2 onion, chopped
1 serrano, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 roma tomatoes, chopped
4 tablespoons, chopped peanuts

Cook brown rice according to package directions.

Blend until smooth 1/2 cup coconut milk, cilantro, 2 T. ginger, and 2 T. garlic. Stir into rice when done and stir to blend.

Heat skillet on medium-high heat. Lightly spray with canola oil. Saute onions and pepper for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes. Add curry powder, red pepper flakes, and 1/2 cup coconut milk and stir until well blended. Add tomatoes and stir until heated through.

To serve, spoon rice onto a place. Top with curry. Sprinkle peanuts on top.

Delicious!

Day 12 - Nasty Salad

Not happy with the salad we made Thursday night. The recipes calls for hummus, orange juice, and balsamic vinegar to make a dressing, but it didn't taste that great on a salad that has cilantro. Yuck. Very disappointing meal today.

Day 11 - Appetizers

We had a good friend over for dinner last night and I panicked a little bit at first. What am I going to serve them????!!! But then I realized the kids would eat pasta with butter and parmesan and the adults would eat it with tomato sauce, too. I already had whole wheat in the fridge from the night before so I just needed to make some fresh for the guests and the kids. Plus, I rounded that out with a salad with champagne dressing. I added parmesan cheese to their plates and kept ours vegan. It was a good meal!!! (I felt comfortable serving this to my friend because we are really good friends and she doesn't care what I serve!)

For appetizers, I served cut up veggies with homemade healthy hummus. My guests loved it. I also made fresh salsa and served that with Baked Lay's tostitos. First I thought I would purchase the stuff, but it turns out I had all the ingredients already and it's easy to make those two things.

Healthy Home-made Hummus (from Engine 2 book):

1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 large garlic clove, chopped
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon tamari

Place all in blender and pulse until smooth. You might need to add a little more water (by the tablespoon) to make sure you achieve a smooth consistency. Serve with whole wheat pita or fresh veggies.

Home-made Salsa:

4 roma tomatoes
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 serrano or jalapeno pepper, seeded
1/4 of a small onion
10 cilanto sprigs
juice of two lemons

Place in food processor and pulse two or three times until it looks chunky. This is salsa fresca.

You can also first boil tomato, garlic, and pepper in 1/2 cup water. Then put in blender (not food processor) with every thing else and blend until smooth. This is regular salsa.

If you want divine salsa (as I call it): Add 1 avocado to either one, but use blender not food processor. Wow!

Serve with baked chips.

Enjoy!

Day 10 - Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce

I love making big batches of food for dinner because I get to eat that for lunch the next day! (And it gives me one less thing to plan.) :)

Tonight's meal was whole wheat spaghetti with store bought tomato sauce. I'm a big fan of Newman's Sockarooni. It does have sugar listed as an igredient, but I don't eat it that often so I don't think it's a problem.

We also had a garden salad sprinkled with lemon juice and black pepper. Delicious and fast!

Day 9 - Missing Scrambled Eggs!!!!

My diet until now has always been animal-based. It seems like almost every meal involved some type of meat, egg, or dairy product. That was especially true for breakfast meals: eggs, bacon, etc.

I am finding that eating vegan breakfast can still be tasty but I do miss my eggs for breakfast. I made a couple of tofu scrambles for David last week but I did not try them. I guess I am going to have to get over the tofu fear. The tofu steak was a good first step in doing that. It was actually really good that way.

Monday night we had leftover bean chili for dinner. The kids had a pizza party for Nati's soccer team and they ate cheese pizza. I thought I would be craving it, but I didn't. That's the cool thing about this diet. I always feel satiated!

Day 8 - Three Bean Chili

Sundays are always so much fun. We go to church and then come home to cook a big meal. This weekend, we made delicious sandwiches for lunch made with wheat bread, avocado, spinach, sprouts, cilantro, tomato, and cucumbers. Sprinkle a little Ms. Dash's Lemon pepper seasoning, some lemon, and cracked pepper and enjoy!!!!

For dinner, I always feel like we have to eat something "warm." I had been eyeing a recipe in cooking light magazine for vegeterian three-bean chili. I also found a recipe for this chili in the E2 book so I combined the two and came up with this delicious meal:

Three-Bean Chili

1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 bay leaf

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can corn, drained
1 apple, chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

2 cups water

2 tablespoons chili
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses

Saute onion through jalapeno pepper on lightly sprayed non-stick skillet until tender. Add bay leaf and all other ingredients. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Enjoy!!!!

Day 7 - Tofu Steak?

Saturday was a busy day so I had no time to really plan meals. That's a bad idea when you are not eating mainstream food. We got home late and I took a look at the fridge: tofu, kale, leftover brown rice, and sweet potatoes. Hmmmm. Then I remembered looking at some recipes in the Engine 2 book that used kale and sweet potatoes so I took a looksy and lo and behold, I found a recipe for Tofu Steak?! Tofu what?! Yup, steak. I had tofu already. Why not experiment?

I ended up making tofu steak served over steamed kale, with a side of brown rice topped with tamari and nutritional yeast, and sweet potato rounds. It was good! I love eating a full plate and not feeling totally bloated afterwards. I also love being able to actually taste the vegetables now that they are not covered up with salt, sugar, or butter. So here is the recipe (all from the Engine 2 diet):

For the Tofu steak:



Slice a lb. of extra firm tofu into six sections. Rinse and squeeze between paper towels to remove moisture. Place in ziploc with tamari and cracked black pepper. Let marinade for 15 minutes while you prep the other food. Then heat a non-stick skillet until you drops of water evaporate on contact. Add tofu steaks and cook five minutes per side until browned.

For Kale:

Rinse and chopped 1 bunch kale. Place in non-stick pot with 1/4 cup water, cover and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until kale is wilted and tender (3-5 minutes).

For Sweet Potato Rounds:

Rinse and cut sweet potato into round sections about 1/2 inch thick. Place on lightly sprayed cookie sheet. Cover with foil. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Uncover, flip to other side, and bake uncovered for another 10 minutes or until tops have browned.

For brown rice: Prepare according to package directions. When serving, top with a little Tamari (soy sauce), and a little nutritional yeast. This is not from the E2 book. My daughter's preschool serves this as a snack.

To serve: Place kale on plate. Place tofu steak on kale. Sprinkle steak with chopped green onions. Next to kale place brown rice sprinkled with tamari and nutritional yeast. Serve sweet potato rounds next to that.

Enjoy!

Day 6 - Black Beans and Rice Delicioso!!!!!

I have been eating fruit and oatmeal for breakfast almost the whole week and I love it, but I have to be honest, I do miss scrambled eggs. :(

Last night I made Black Beans and Rice. It's a recipe I've always made, but the Engine 2 Diet book suggested we top it off with fresh veggies and WOW! It was delicious!!! Here it is for your eating pleasure:

Black Beans and Rice Delicioso (I added the delicioso part because they are SO good!)

2 cans black beans
1 1/2 cups water
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 serrano, seeded and chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons cumin

1 can of corn kernels, rinsed and drained
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 avocado, cut in pieces
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

2 cups Brown rice, prepared according to package directions

1. Place first 8 ingredients in large pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until peppers are tender and no longer bright green. Stir regularly to prevent beans from sticking to bottom of pot.

2. To serve, place brown rice in bowl. Ladle beans over rice. Top with a little corn, cilantro, avocado and red bell pepper.

Delicious and so good for you!!!!

Cheesy Broccoli Soup - Day 4 of Eating Vegan

Well so far so good on this Vegan diet. I had one minor incident yesterday when I was cutting the crust off my son's grilled cheese sandwich. I was listening to my husband tell me a story about something that happened in school when I picked up the crust I had just cut off and put in my mouth. I chewed it and then it hit me! You are not eating dairy right now!!!! So I ran to the trash and spit it out. My kids and husband thought it was hilarious.

Last night I made a delicious vegan recipe from Compassion Over Cruelty. It is not necessarily low in fat, but is definitely still good for you and high in protein. Enjoy!

Cheesy Broccoli Soup

Serves 8

2 cups cashew pieces
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dill weed
1/2 cup pimiento
7 cups water
8 cups chopped broccoli

1. In a blender, add the first seven ingredients (cashew pieces through pimentos) and half of the water.
2. Blend on high until creamy, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and add the rest of the water and the chopped broccoli.
4. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until slightly thickened and broccoli is tender.

Skinny Bitch - Day 3 of Eating Vegan

The weirdest thing about eating Vegan is that I am never hungry! And it's not because I pig out on this food. It just fills me up. It must be all the fiber. I have had nothing to eat since yesterday's dinner at 2pm and I am satiated. Isn't that weird? I have also lost 2 pounds already. Hoot! Hoot!

I was talking to my sister-in-law about this Vegan book we read: The Engine 2 Diet, and explaining to her the benefits mentioned in the book. And she gets up and runs to the bedroom and comes back with another book: Skinny Bitch. She said everything I was telling her was also written in that book so of course, I had to borrow it. Now, that is a good read. I was a little skeptical about the authors-- both ex-models, one a holistic nutrionist-- but once you see all the data they include to support their arguments, there is no going back to eating meat, or "decaying animal flesh" as they refer to it. The book goes into great detail about why sugar, meat, and animal fats are so bad for you. They also provide excrutiating detail about inhumane treatment of animals. There is also an entire section on why the USDA should not be trusted. The best part is that the writing is funny and keeps you riveted. No recipes included but they give you ideas of what you should be eating. I am not done reading it so I will report more when I'm done.

But, at any rate, I am so enjoying looking up recipes that are Vegan! I put a plan together for this week (see previous post), but it is still fun to look through old issues of Cooking Light trying to find purely vegan recipes. Sadly (?), there are only 1 or 2 per issue.

Today's recipe sounds really delicious! It is from the Engine 2 Diet cookbook.

Mushroom Stroganoff *

Serves 4

1 large Onion, chopped
2 cups Mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 cup Whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup plain soy milk
thyme to taste

1 pound linguini noodles, cooked or brown rice

Cook onion on high heat for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic and cook until mushrooms start to release their juices. Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms. Stir continuously with whisk until flour is dissolved. Add the vinegar and soy milk until and stir until sauce is slightly thickened. Add thyme to taste.

Serve over linguine noodles or brown rice.

Enjoy!

* I am updating this two days after I made this recipe. I don't know if I did something wrong or what, but it did not turn out good. The balsamic vinegar overpowered all the flavors and to be honest, the actual dish did not look appetizing AT ALL. My husband ate it because he loves mushrooms but asked that we not to make that again. :)

Menu for Vegan Week of 3/22 - Switching to a Plant-Base Diet

So over Spring Break, I read a book about the benefits of eating a plant-base diet: The Engine 2 Diet, and I must tell you that I am a convert. The book is written by an Austin firefighter and triathlete, Rip Esselstyn. The diet was conceived by his father, a cardiologist, and the arguments and data he shows are very persuasive. A group of 60 people got on this diet for 28 days. At the end of the 28 days, their average total cholesterol had dropped by 30% which totally makes sense if you are eliminating animal products, you are basically eliminating bad cholesterol! Mind you, the study was not "scientific" (ie, there's no control group, no statistically significant data, etc.) but still very convincing. Many of the participants also mentioned feeling an increase in energy shortly after starting this diet.

Then, when we got back home after Spring Break, we opened our Stanford Alumni magazine and there was a short, but inspirational article about an alum who at 40 realized he needed to go back to his athletic self (he was a champion swimmer in his college years). He switched to a plant-based diet and noticed how much more energy he had after only a week on the diet. He now runs triathlons and is writing a book about his experience.

So we thought, what the heck? What have we got to lose, but bad cholesterol? So we are trying out being Vegan for just a month. We are calling it our detox diet. :) We are not sure we are going to stay on it after the month, but are hoping it will help us lower our overall intake of animal products.

Our kids are not participating yet. They still love their chicken nuggets, ham, pork chops, milk, eggs, and cheese (plus all their veggies, fruit, and other healthy food), but we are hoping they will slowly make the switch with us, especially after we let them watch Food Inc. I don't think Nati will be eating meat if she sees a single animal in distress because of her eating habits.

So far, it is going well, but then again, it is only day 2! Below is our menu for this week, including breakfast and lunches.

Saturday:

• Breakfast - Cereal with soy milk and fruit
• Lunch - Falafels
• Dinner -Aloo Ghobi Masala (south east asian potato, cauliflower, and peas dish), Vegetables with dip, Mango Sorbet

Sunday:

• Breakfast - Pancakes made with soy milk, apple sauce, whole wheat flour, and Ener-G egg replacer instead of cow's milk, oil, white flour, and egg.
• Lunch - Sandwich made with avocado, tomato, cucumber, alfalfa sprouts, cilantro, lemon and cracked pepper. LOVE THIS!!!!
• Dinner - Potato and cauliflower soup with bread, steamed edamame, orange sections, veggie tray and strawberry sorbet (starting to think this stuff is too sweet for me!)

Monday:

• Breakfast - Corn tortilla tacos of scrambled Tofu with tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, turmeric, and dash of Tabasco sauce
• Lunch - My favorite sandwich (see yesterday's lunch!)
• Dinner - Leftover potato and cauliflower soup with homemade bread and salad with homemade peanut dressing

Tuesday:

• Breakfast - Corn tortilla tacos made with potatoes, soy bacon, and salsa
• Lunch - Bean burritos with corn tortillas, leftover salad
• Dinner - Linguini with Mushroom Stroganoff made with tofu and nutritional yeast

Wednesday:

• Breakfast - Scrambled Tofu a la Mexicana (with serrano pepper, tomato, onion)
• Lunch - Leftover Linguini
• Dinner - Black beans with toppings served over brown rice

Thursday:

• Breakfast - Oatmeal with raisins, almonds, bananas and honey
• Lunch - Leftover black beans and rice
• Dinner - "Cheesy" Broccoli Soup (made with cashews, nutritional yeast, and pimentos instead of cheese) - ANOTHER FAVORITE!!!!

Friday:

• Breakfast - Migas (scrambled tofu with tortilla strips, tomato, onion, pepper, mushrooms) with Refried beans and Tortillas
• Lunch - Leftover broccoli soup
• Dinner - Whole wheat pasta with Tomato Sauce and salad

This is so much fun!!!!

Going uptown on Groceries

The more I read food labels, the more I realize what junky food we Americans eat! Why does the box of cupcake mix have to have maltodextrin? Because it is cheaper to use than real sugar.
I checked the back of McCormick's "Pure" Vanilla Extract. It has high fructose corn syrup in it! Yuck.

Have you looked at the list of ingredients in any processed food lately? What are we putting into our bodies? Who knows what the side effects of this stuff is? The FDA is controlled by industry lobbyists. Therefore, anything approved for general use by the FDA must be considered suspect, in my mind, until proven otherwise.

In my quest to avoid processed food and chemicals, I have started making more things from scratch and buying organic fruit and veggies, especially strawberries because my kids loved them and I know that strawberries easily absord chemicals from the ground. I have been considering going with an all organic fruit and veggie delivery company, such as Greenling.com for quite a while, but have never made the plunge. Primarily because I am nervous about the quantity of items that will be included in the "local basket" of produce for which I will need recipes. But I guess that could be fun, too, right? What do you do with rhubarb besides make pies? I'm sure there are plenty of recipes out there. I think Greenling actually includes recipes for some of the not-so-well-known produce in the baskets it delivers. I must make the plunge.

I am also going to shop at Central Market today. My husband is not crazy about the idea because he thinks it will be more expensive, but I am going to try to stick to my original food budget of $100. This will be the real test, I guess. Can one eat healthy food on a budget?

We'll see how it turns out.

The Quest for the Healthiest Granola Bar

A dear friend whom I have known since seventh grade was rightly concerned about the amount of fat in my previous granola bar recipe post. She would like to find one that has 3 grams of fat or less. I spent a good number of minutes researching this yesterday and I found a new recipe which I haven't tried, but I have included below.

This recipe calls for no chocolate chips (which my kids love!!!!), and no butter. They substitute raisins and applesauce for those two ingredients. No one in my house likes soggy raisins so I think I will skip that substitution and stick to my chocolate chips, but lower the amount of sugar called for to 1/4 cup.

I have made brownies using applesauce before but they never turn out tasting as good as the ones using butter, but in the name of health, I will do a full substitution and if it doesn't work out, I'll have to slowly add more butter back in. :) Hope you like it!!!

Playgroup Granola Bars

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cups raisins (optional)
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1 cup applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease 9 by 13 inch pan.
2. In large bowl, mix together oats, sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, and raisins (if using), and salt. Make a well in the center, add honey, egg, applesauce, and vanilla. Mix wet and dry ingredients thoroughly. Pat mixture into prepared pan.
3. Bake 30 -35 minutes in preheated oven. Cool for five minutes and cut into bars.

Failed Yellow Cupcakes from Scratch

How hard can it be to bake yellow cupcakes from scratch, right? That's what I thought especially since I was using the yellow cake recipe (on page 674) from The Joy of Cooking.

Well, it must be really hard or I mis-measured. It took forever to cream the butter, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla and then add the flour, baking powder, salt, and milk and then forever to actually bake the cupcakes and when they were supposed to be done, THEY WEREN'T. I kept putting them back in the oven hoping they would eventually cook all the way through, but they never did. The tops browned beautifully but the inside was chewy and raw.

Oh, it makes me so angry to have to throw out food, but I had to do it. Isabella cried because she "helped" me bake the cupcakes. (she kept herself busy by playing in the sink with water and a squirt bottle.) I'l have to find a new recipe so we can do it again. I am so bummed.

More later...

Menu for Vegetarian Week (March 7 - 13, 2010)

My husband has been asking me to make more vegetarian dishes because we could both use less meat so I thought it would be fun to go a whole week eating delicious vegetarian food that does not involve pasta or lentils. (I can't stand lentils. Their consistency feels very strange to me.)

Based on what I have in the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer, here's what I have planned for next week:

Sunday - Roasted Vegetable Salad with Dijon Dressing (whatever vegetables I have in the fridge and I still have some Romaine Lettuce Hearts that need to be used up), grapes, cucumber spears with dip.

Monday - (Baseball Night) - Cheesy Broccoli Soup and Spinach Salad, Pineapple Chunks

Tuesday - Dinner at a Friend's house. (Bringing wine and cheese.)

Wednesday - Crepes with Caramelized Onion, Feta, and Spinach Sauce (I hope it tastes as good the ones sold by the Crepe Ladies here in Austin!), Apple Slices, Carrots with Dip

Thursday - (Soccer Night) - Aloo Gobhi Masala, an Indian recipe with cauliflower and potato in a spicy sauce, and Jasmine Rice. (I can make it in advance and have dinner when we get home from soccer. ) Steamed Edamame, Melon Wedges.

Friday - Portobello Mushroom Burgers, Spinach Salad (if we have Spinach Leftover otherwise, steamed broccoli), and Strawberries

Saturday - Falafal Sandwiches (if we haven't left on our Spring Break mini-vacation)

Can't wait to try all this food!!!!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

My husband's cousin Carrie cooks and bakes with her kids regularly. Inspired by her enthusiasm for sharing the joy of cooking with kids, I decided to try a new recipe last night with Daniel: energizing muesli bars.

I found this recipe in a book called Cookies! by Pippa Cuthbert and Lindsay Cameron Wilson. It was so easy to make and the girls loved it. After all the time that Daniel spent stirring everything together and tasting the mixture every few minutes, he decided it tasted too much like peanut butter for him. My hubby thought they were too sweet. I agree with him. The sugar content is kind of high so we will have to modify the recipe so it has less sugar. Here it is:

Energizing Muesli Bars

Makes about 24 squares

1 stick butter, melted
generous 1/2 cup light brown sugar
3 heaped Tbs of creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup honey (the recipe calls for corn syrup, but we are trying to be healthy right?)
2 cups dry quick oatmeal
1/2 cup wheat germ
3/4 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
5 1/2 oz. chocolate chips
generous 1/2 cup Rice Krispies
generous 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (or any nuts, chopped)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a medium-size bowl stir together melted butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and peanut butter until smooth. Combine remaining ingredients together in a separate bowl. Add the peanut butter mixture and mix well until combined.

Press the mixture into a greased 9-in square pan. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the top is golden. Allow to cool, then cut into squares.

We didn't put the coconut or the sunflowers in it, but used crunchy peanut butter instead. My kids didn't want to put in the coconut.

Enjoy!!!!