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.