Saturday, October 20, 2012

Fall

Fall is here!

Well it was for a little while. 

Not today.

The high was around 90 degrees.

I was in the mood for a meatloaf like dish so I made a lentil loaf. It was actually much tastier than a meatloaf and even James really enjoyed it. I used a recipe from Oh She Glows.

Typically when making food that required me to use my hands to mix raw hamburger I would get really grossed out. Practically gagging.  I'm happy to say while making this dish that didn't happen!

Time for a little update. Today I weighed myself and the scale read 262.6. I've lost exactly 12 pounds since I started this blog! It's been slow going but I'm happy that I'm making progress. And it's pretty amazing that I've lost that much almost completely through diet. 

*Raising my glass of water* 
Here's to the next 12 pounds!



"I pray to be like the ocean, with soft currents, maybe waves at times. More and more, I want the consistency rather than the highs and lows." - Drew Barrymore 

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Cauliflower Steak with Mushroom Gravy and Rice

I was feeling adventurous the other day and I tried my hand at making a gourmet steak dinner. Yes the 'steak' was cauliflower but it sure hit the spot! Out of all the dishes I have made in the last 3 months this one is my favorite.

This dish was very simple to make but I do need to get better at slicing the 'steaks'. I was only able to get 2 out of my head of cauliflower. The ends crumble anyway but I also had a couple 'steaks' that fell apart. The trick is to make sure you're slicing them thick enough, too thin and they fall apart. To use the bits that didn't turn into steak I chopped them up and cooked them in a similar fashion to the Cauliflower Steak and stirred in the leftover gravy and served it over rice. Basically the same meal just a different presentation.

To make my Cauliflower Steaks with Mushroom Gravy I, of course, started by slicing the cauliflower into steaks. I then drizzled them with a little olive oil and seasoned them with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. In a hot pan I seared them on each side making sure they looked golden and very crispy. After transferring them to a baking dish, they went into a 350 degree oven for 20-30 min.

While the steaks were in the oven I use the pan I seared them in to make the gravy. I started by sauteing some button mushrooms and then I added veggie broth, flour and the same seasoning I used on the cauliflower plus some parsley and cooked it till it was a beautiful thick gravy.

Served over rice it turned out to be a very satisfying meal. I'm a little embarrassed by the amount of joy I got from using a steak knife to slice into it. And then on top of that to taste the rich velvety gravy I felt that I was truly being decadent. But this dinner was only around 300 calories per steak.... with the gravy and rice!

The only thing that made me sad about this meal was that James couldn't enjoy it with me. :( He can't stand mushrooms or cauliflower. But on the bright side it did leave more for me to enjoy! And don't feel too bad for him I always make sure he has something tasty to dig into as well........Until next time......Happy eating!!




"It is what we think we know already that often prevents us from learning." - Claude Bernard

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Lemon Bars

As a kid one of my favorite desserts was lemon bars. I can still remember the first time I had them. When I was about 7 my Mom had hosted a pot luck and one of her friends had brought them. I tried one and was in love. I really wanted a second one but wanting to be a good girl I thought I would wait until everyone had left before having another. After the last person had left I went running to the table only to find that the woman who had brought them had taken them home with her.

My Mom found me in tears and asked what was wrong. After I explained to her what had happened she called her friend and got the recipe. She took me to the store the next day to get all the ingredients and then we came home and made them together.

Lemon Bars have always held a special place in my heart and every time I taste them I'm taken back to that day. A couple of months ago when I had hurt my back and my Mom came to town to help she brought with her a big pan of Lemon Bars. The first thing she did was dish some out and bring it to me in bed.  

These, pictured above, are my first attempt at dairy and egg free lemon bars. They were very, very tart but still close to the original. So I will just have to keep trying.

 Even with them being tart they didn't last long :) 




 "All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better." – Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Zucchini Mushroom Sandwich

Today for lunch I was in the mood for a sandwich. I thought about it for awhile and came up with this zucchini mushroom sandwich.

First, using my mandolin, I sliced some zucchini into long strips. In a saute pan I cooked the slices for a few minutes on each side. While the zucchini was cooking I sliced some mushrooms and onion. After the zucchini was done I removed it from the pan and added the mushrooms and onions. I sauteed them until the onions were tender. Instead of cooking in oil for both the zucchini and the mushrooms and onions I used a small amount of vegetable broth.

Next, it was time to assemble the sandwich on two slices of fresh bakery bread. I started with a little Vegenaise (a vegan mayonnaise) on each slice and then added the zucchini, mushrooms and onions and topped that with clover sprouts and lettuce.  

Because the bread slices were much bigger than processed bread and the fact that I love to pile up the veggies on my sandwiches, I was only able to eat half of my sandwich (barely). My mind does keep wandering and thinking of the other half still in the fridge. If I manage to stay away until dinner I'll make a soup to go along with it. 

Happy Eating!!



"All our dreams can come true - if we have the courage to pursue them" - Walt Disney  

 

Friday, October 5, 2012

Texas Hash and Pesto Flat Bread

Work has been hard on James lately so last night I made his favorite meal, Texas Hash. As a side dish to the Texas Hash I tried something new...a Pesto Flat Bread.

After coming home from vacation I noticed, in the fridge, a huge bag of spinach that would need to be eaten soon. As I looked thru my pantry I started to brain storm ways I could use it and I noticed I had some raw almonds.

Typically pesto is made with fresh basil and pine nuts but I figured spinach and almonds would substitute for them nicely. After getting the dough started and putting it off to the side to rise, I started in on the pesto. Plenty of spinach and almonds with lots of garlic all blended in a food processor with olive oil, salt, pepper and lime juice. I baked the bread flattened out on a cookie sheet then topped it with the pesto and caramelized onions. Popped it back in the oven for a few minuets and it was ready to be devoured!  

Dinner was a big hit with James and it will be one I repeat in the future. The spinach and almonds worked perfectly and the sweetness of the onions on top was a perfect complement. As we were eating the bread I told James the one thing that would make it perfect would be to add mushrooms. He replied "Yes, cheese would be nice".  :)
 (He doesn't like mushrooms and I don't eat cheese) 



"Peace begins with a smile."- Mother Teresa

Thursday, October 4, 2012

MIA

I've been MIA the last two weeks because I've been spending time with family. First my cousin came all the way from Wisconsin with a friend to visit me. We spent 5 days running all over the Las Vegas valley having a great time. 

We went hiking in Red Rock Canyon....
Photo by Andrea Posner


 We drove out to Hoover Dam....
Photo by Andrea Posner
 Spent lots of time on the strip....
Photo by Andrea Posner
 And much, much more.

After my cousin and her friend left I spent a couple days recovering (I was exhausted) and got some house work done. Then James and I drove up to Utah to visit his parents for 3 days. I love going up there to visit. It's only 2 hours away but it feels like a different world. It's nice to get away from the bustle and noise of the city, let my hair down and relax.

Now that I'm home I'm looking forward to getting back into my routine. I've gone to the store, wrote out my menu for the next week and I'm ready to get to work!



"Your power is proportional to your ability to relax." - David Allen

Thursday, September 13, 2012

A Full Plate

I am a bit behind in my blogging. But this was the dinner we had the night after my last post. Leftover tin foil dinners, leftover BBQ beans and at James' request Samosa inspired mashed potatoes.








 The next night I took the leftover mashed potatoes and wrapped them in pastry. It's still not traditional Samosas but not too far off.

James is a huge fan of Samosas so this was a treat for him. We even got to talking about what other fillings we could do. So I'm sure we will be having versions of these again.     




We decided to name them "Packets". So these are Samosa Packets.







"No great thing is created suddenly."- Epictetus

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Tin Foil Dinners and BBQ Beans

Tin foil dinners are so simple!  Wrap up what you want to cook in tin foil, pop it in the oven and soon you have amazing food with little effort.

Before going plant-based I would make tin foil dinners quite often but back then there would be a hamburger patty thrown in with veggies, salt and pepper.

Now, instead of the beef, I just drizzle some olive oil over everything. Yum!

I made this one with corn on the cob, green bell peppers, zucchini, onion, potatoes, cabbage and a clove of garlic.
For protein I made BBQ beans in the slow cooker. I used the same sauce that I used when making my BBQ Tempeh.

I'm still working on this sauce. It doesn't yet taste the way I want it to. It's good but I know it can taste better. :) 







"Genius is nothing but a great aptitude for patience." - George-Louis de Buffon

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Salad Leftovers


For my lunch of leftovers from our grilled veggie dinner I piled grilled veggies and quinoa on the leftover salad greens and topped it with homemade croutons and (vegan) Caesar Salad dressing. 

Crouton and salad dressing recipes can be found in "Veganomicon"    





Our dog Andy deciding to be a lap dog :)







" Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!" - Dr. Seuss


Monday, September 3, 2012

Grilled Veggies

All summer I've been telling James that I want a grill for our backyard because I would love to have fun grilling all sorts of veggies and things. I finally I decided to do something about it. No, I didn't go and buy a grill but I did pull out our cast iron stove top grill.



With the grilled veggies I made some quinoa and I also roasted some veggies in the oven because our grill is small and I knew it would take forever to grill everything. Plus I made the Cesar Salad out of "Veganomicon".



So good!!!





"There's a way to do it better — find it." - Thomas Edison


Friday, August 24, 2012

Crazy Days!

Wow! It's been a crazy week so far! We had more storms come through (it is monsoon season). Wednesday was a BIG one! It poured for most of the day which resulted in flooding in several parts of the valley and our power was out for most of the day. It worked out well that I'm reading a good book (Stephen King's "11/22/63") so I didn't miss having the internet or TV (that much). It would have been nice to know what was going on as it happened but I got caught up after our power was back on.

I didn't stick to my meal planning too well this week. Last week we ended up having leftovers for dinner several nights plus an extra meal that wasn't planned. So by the end of the week I still had planned meals that hadn't been made. On our store run James and I just picked up some odds and ends and now I'm just throwing meals together with things I have on hand.

With trying to eat better I've also been trying to watch our spending. Before if I didn't feel like cooking I would have James stop and get something on his way home from work either at a fast food place or the grocery store. I think I would call him at least a couple of times a week. I'm sure it added up to be a lot more expensive than cooking at home.

 Now I'm trying to go to the store only 1 day a week along with not calling him to pick up food. I'm not sure if or how much we're saving (he uses his tips to buy dinner) but I know it's a lot better for our health!

A bowl of Texas Hash. James' favorite meal.










"It's easy to make a buck. It's a lot tougher to make a difference." - Tom Brokaw

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Baked Tofu and Pasta

Last nights dinner was really simple. I roasted some garlic, mashed it, tossed it with some fettuccine and Earth Balance Spread then served it with baked tofu, sauteed cabbage and onions. 

James loaded his pasta with Parmesan cheese. When I asked him how he liked it and if there was too much garlic in the pasta he said "There's garlic in here?" 

 All he could taste was the Earth Balance and the Parmesan. I guess worrying that 2 bulbs (yes two whole bulbs went into the pasta) were too many was done in vain.   

Yesterday afternoon I also spent some time baking. I still had the leftover chocolate fondue from a few nights ago that I needed to do something with. I thought about my options.... we could reheat it and do fondue again but I would have to go to the store to get more dip-able things and we would still have leftovers of the chocolate or I could do some type of baked good.

I went with cookies. When I looked at the chocolate it looked pretty solid so I thought I could just chip it apart and do a chocolate chunk cookie but when I stuck a knife into it it was almost the constancy of pudding. By this time I already had the dough for my cookies mixed. I figured it was too late to turn back now and dumped the 'pudding' into the cookie dough. 

After it was all mixed the texture had me a bit worried so I added some more flour. I tasted the batter (because I don't cook with dairy or eggs it's perfectly safe to do so).
It tasted pretty good but I was still worried about it. I did a test batch to see if they held up and if they didn't I could try to fix the dough.

As the timer went off I peaked into the oven, afraid of what I might find. To my surprise they looked ok. They weren't the prettiest shade of brown but I figured if they tasted good I could hide it by dusting them with powdered sugar.

Before I threw another batch into the oven I waited for the first to cool a bit so I could try one. I gently scooped one off on the cookie sheet. Holding my breath I folded the cookie in two and pulled apart the two halves. I was shocked at how pillowy it looked. I took a bite..........it tasted just like chocolate cake! I was so excited!! I think it is one of the best cookies I've every made. 

It went from me just trying to find a way to use our leftover fondue to me quickly trying to remember exactly how I made both the fondue and the cookies and writing it down so I can recreate them.  I will definitely want these again.

So I made the rest, dusted them with powdered sugar and waited for James to come home. I couldn't wait for him to try them! I was very good and didn't have another one until after dinner.




"Dogs laugh, but they laugh with their tails."- Max Eastman

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Enchilada Casserole

Last Tuesday when I made out my menu for the week and went grocery shopping I hadn't planned on making this meal. The corn tortillas were to be made into bowls for a couple days worth of taco salads. Since I am trying to be healthy (for the most part) I didn't want to fry them so I planned to bake them.

 Unfortunately that didn't work out to well. They ended up really chewy and not very tasty. So now I had a bunch of corn tortillas that would need to be used and I was afraid if I didn't use them right away I would forget about them and they would go bad (It's happened before). 

Enchiladas sounded like the best idea to me. I looked to see what I had on hand that I wasn't planning on putting in another dish. I had 2 cans of black beans, onion, green bell peppers, tomatoes and garlic. I drained and rinsed the black beans, chopped up everything else, threw it all into a bowl together and added some seasoning.

I also made an enchilada sauce from scratch and then I was ready to assemble the dish. Usually I roll them but it kind of seem counter productive because when I serve them I can never find where one ends and the other begins. They end up not being true rolls because inevitably I scoop into one and end up with one and a half instead of just one or two. So I decided to skip the work of rolling each one. 

Not rolling them made it really simple. In a casserole dish I scooped in some enchilada sauce, laid down some corn tortillas, scooped in some filling, added more sauce and repeated. Then I baked it at 350 for 45 min. When it was finished it wasn't very pretty but it sure tasted good :)

 



"Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions." - Albert Einstein

Friday, August 17, 2012

Taco Salad

For the last week I have been craving taco salad. So I made one. 

I made a taco shell bowl by taking a corn tortilla brushing it with oil, stuffing it into a ramekin and baking it for about 8 min. It wasn't very tasty but it was cute!

The 'meat' was a taco seasoned brown rice and onions.

For the salad I used romaine and iceberg lettuce. Drizzled it with a homemade French Dressing added the 'meat' and topped it with diced onions, tomatoes, Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds and (not pictured) Tofutti Sour Supreme. James, of course, added real cheese and sour cream to his.

It was exactly what I was wanting. 

On the menu tonight enchilada casserole. (to use up the abundance of corn tortillas I have)


"Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant. There is a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks." - Johann Gottfried Von Herder 

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Noodles and Noodles







Meals the last couple days have been Buckwheat Soba Noodles with veggies and Black Bean "Meat" balls with sauce and fettuccine. Last night I also made a chocolate fondue for dessert that we dipped fresh pineapple, strawberries and pretzels in. I took some photos of us dipping into the fondue but none of them turned out.

I'm very excited about the week of meals I have planned. So excited that last night after I got home from the grocery store I told James that I wanted to make everything right now and taste it all. :)  He, of course just laughed at me.


"When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier."- Roy E. Disney

Monday, August 13, 2012

Meatless Monday


It's Monday again :) James and I decided last week that Mondays will be our date night. It will be the one night a week that we will either get take out or go out to dinner. It will also be a way to support restaurants that offer meatless options on Mondays (or everyday).

Last Monday we went to Capriotti's and brought sandwich's home to enjoy for another movie night. I got the "Veggie Turkey" off of their Vegetarian menu without cheese or mayo but loaded with all of the veggies they offer plus seasoning. I was in the mood for a deli sandwich and it didn't disappoint. I think next time I get this sandwich though I will ask for about half of the "meat" that they put on it. It was good but I want to taste the veggies more than the "meat".

Along side of my sandwich I tried Lay's new Simply Natural potato chips. They are kind of in between Baked Lay's and Regular Lay's. I'll have to be very careful with these! Potato chips are a huge weakness for me and because these aren't as salty as regular potato chips I could very easily eat the entire bag.  



"As she has planted, so does she harvest; such is the field of karma." - Sri Guru Granth Sahib

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Fried Rice

One of my husbands favorite foods is rice. I think if I didn't cook for him he would pretty much live on fried eggs and white rice. Or his favorite dish Texas Hash.

Before I met James I really didn't eat much rice but I've grown accustomed to cooking with it since James loves it so much.

One of my new favorite dishes is my version of Fried Rice. It's a healthy take on the fried rice you'd get at any Chinese restaurant, but it tastes way better. 

I think the secret to making it taste sooo good is using Bragg's Liquid Aminos instead of soy sauce. It gives the dish a great flavor plus you get the added health benefits of all those amino acids.  (my own personal opinion I was not paid to say this)

For James I fried up some beaten eggs and sliced them up so he could stir them in with his fried rice.



Today I'm sitting down to plan out another week of meals. I think this just might be the start of good habit.








 "God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style. He just goes on trying other things." - Pablo Picasso





Saturday, August 11, 2012

Kitchen Mishaps

This week has been full of kitchen mishaps! I made one dish that was such an utter failure my dog wouldn't even eat it. There was the BBQ Tempeh that was not a success and then yesterday afternoon I started a pot of split pea soup and almost ruined it to the point where it would have been unsalvageable. Luckily I caught it in time.

Our dog Andy


Who knows why I've been wanting soup lately.  It started with the rain and my Miso Soup,  but now in 114-120 degree weather I shouldn't want it. I think the most likely reason is that I'm ready for it to be fall. And nothing says fall to me more than a hearty bowl of soup.

So yesterday I started to crave split pea soup. It wasn't on my menu for the week but with the two previous kitchen mishaps I didn't have as many leftovers I was planning. Leftovers are usually my lunch so I was needing something to fill the void.  I had everything I would need for the soup in my kitchen so I didn't think there would be any problem if I went ahead a made the soup.

I got to it, and started turning my bag of dried split peas into soup. Things were going fine and the soup needed to simmer for a couple of hours.  I went upstairs to my office and started to write yesterdays blog post. The whole time I was thinking my soup was happily simmering away on the stove. I even checked on it twice, granted it was after 15 min.  and then 30 min. after that, but everything looked fine. Then I got busy and didn't check on it again until it was time to add some seasoning and things. Here I had left the heat on too high and all the liquid had evaporated and the bottom was burning.

I quickly added some water and transferred it to another pot (and turned down the heat). I was able to save it but I'm still kicking myself. It was a silly mistake that I should have caught earlier.  I was especially kicking myself when I had to scrub the bottom of the burned pot. 

 I am laughing at myself now though! :)


Split pea soup. It was yummy and it hit the spot!

Well, I'm thinking next week will be better and I will make nothing but extraordinary food!! (note the hint of sarcasm in that sentence) 



"Blessed is he who has learned to laugh at himself, for he shall never cease to be entertained." - John Powell

 

Friday, August 10, 2012

BBQ Tempeh

Yesterday I made a BBQ Tempeh in my slow cooker. This is the second time I've tried Tempeh and the verdict is....I'm not a fan.

Although my BBQ Tempeh was better than the first dish I tried, which was Tempeh steamed and then seared in some peanut oil and tossed into a pasta dish, I don't see myself cooking with Tempeh again.

On a positive note, beans would have been perfect in place of the Tempeh in this dish. I'm looking forward to fiddling with this recipe and making it really tasty!


 A couple of nights ago I made scalloped potatoes from "Veganomicon" which were a big hit with both James and I. I really am enjoying meal planning and getting to try all the recipes I've been longing to try. FUN. FUN!










 "Skill is the unified force of experience, intellect and passion in their operation." - John Ruskin

Monday, August 6, 2012

Meatless Mondays

Happy Meatless Monday everyone!

I love that there is a movement out there that is encouraging a meatless life (even if it's just one day a week). You can check it out at  http://www.meatlessmonday.com/

In support of Meatless Mondays last Monday James and I got take out from a restaurant in our neighborhood that offers a discount on meatless meals every Monday.....

The Mac Shack 


 I got a dish they call "The Veggie" James got "The Farm House" (which does have ham in it)
I love the cartoon they have on their paper bags :) You can also see in the back ground the books I used this last week to help plan my menus.

I think  The Mac Shack is becoming one of my favorite places to eat when I don't feel like cooking. "The Veggie" is my go-to dish but I think next time I will try creating my own dish from their build your own section.

We enjoyed this meal while we had a movie night and followed it with a big bowl of popcorn.

 Nights like this are some of my favorite memories I have with my husband. *Sigh* :)


 “Woman knows the face of the man she loves as a sailor knows the open sea.” - Honore de Balzac


 

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Black-Eyed Pea Croquettes

Last night for dinner I tried my first recipe out of Alicia Silverstone's book "The Kind Diet". I've owned this book for over a year now, and I love it. I'm currently reading it again for the 2nd time. It's filled with great information and I'm reminded about all the reasons why I want to eat a plant-based diet. 

You're probably wondering why, if I love it so much, haven't I ever made anything out of it. Well, I have one big problem when I buy cookbooks. I buy them and I immediately sit down and read them, making a mental note of all the recipes I want to try. My problem comes when I go to the grocery store. I very rarely make a list for things other than the staples we use like salt, pepper, dog food, soy milk, TP ....ect. When I need vegetables to make my meals what goes on the list is.... "Veggies".  I'll buy whatever looks good or has a great sale price. Ending up with sort of a mishmash of things. When it comes time to make dinner I just throw things together...stir fries, scrambles, pastas, stews or soups. 

When I get the urge I might sit down and look at some recipes to make for dinner and I'll find I'm missing a key ingredient for just about everything I want to try. I found this especially true after switching to eating a plant-based diet because I'm still learning how and what to put together. 

This bring us to last week when I actually made out a meal plan for this week. I took some time and picked out a few recipes I wanted to try, went to the store and actually purchased the specific things I would need to make them. Amazing! *patting myself on back*

   Dinner was Black-Eyed Pea Croquettes with Dijon Glaze and a side salad. As I was making the croquettes I noticed that it was kinda smelling like falafel. Which makes sense because they are both made out of beans. After tasting the croquettes I found that I liked them a whole lot better than falafel and they had a very satisfying crunch. James on the other hand likes falafel better.


I did have a problem preparing them. I only have a small food processor so I had to blend them in 2 batches and then I mixed the two together in a bowl. I don't think I blended them long enough so some of them fell apart a little while cooking. I didn't mind though because the ones that fell apart were crispier. Yum! It definitely hit the spot last night.



 "Each person's task in life is to become an increasingly better person." - Leo Tolstoy . 

Friday, August 3, 2012

Tofu Scramble

Since I first started eating a plant-based diet I have made quite a few tofu scrambles, and I have really fallen in love with them. So it's not surprising that I made one for breakfast this morning with a side of breakfast potatoes. Usually I put the potatoes in the scramble but today I wanted them on the side. For seasoning I used salt, pepper, garlic powder and turmeric (to make it look like scrambled eggs).
 For dinner the past two nights was Samosa inspired mashed potatoes, Jasmine rice with coconut spread(YUM!) and a side of romaine lettuce (plain, just to get some greens in). I really need to work on creating more balanced meals. This one was very heavy on the starch. 


" If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." - Lao Tzu

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

More Rain and Pizza

The beginning  of this week started with thunderstorms again! I swear James and I turn into little kids when it starts raining. If one of us notices it we'll run to the other and yell "It's raining!" and we'll both run to a window or outside. I know the reason for this is that I can count on one hand the times it's rained at our house in the last year. We both come from areas where we saw a lot more rain than we do now. He's from Southern California and I grew up it Southeast Alaska where it rains all the time. I honestly thought I would never, ever miss rain but after living in Las Vegas for 10 years it's official.....I miss it.

We also take the time to notice the rain because if we don't we might not know it was ever here.
View from my office window.... *Rain*





Out of the same window an hour later...Rain? What rain?



With enjoying all the rain the last couple of days, last night I decided to be lazy and we had frozen pizza. I had Amy's no cheese pizza (I cant' get enough of this pizza) and James had a three cheese pizza from some company I didn't pay attention to.

Dinner tonight will be much more inspired. I'm planning on spending several hours in the kitchen :)




 "You've got to find yourself first. Everything else'll follow." - Charles De Lint

Sunday, July 29, 2012

This Weeks Meals

Not much has been happening in my kitchen lately. My big pot of Miso Soup has lasted all week. There is one serving left that I'm planning on eating today! James and I were also determined not to have to go to the store at all this week. So I diligently set forth and planned a menu for the week (which I never do). I was quite happy that it looked like we would make it trough on just what we had in our fridge, pantry and freezer. There was one night, however, that James had to stop after work for some odds and ends. Due, in part, to the fact that I had forgotten to soak some dried beans we were going to use to make toastatas.

I was lazy in the photo department this week and only managed to photograph one meal. 




Garden Salad, Israeli Couscous, and Felafel.








 The rest of the weeks meals, apart from the Miso Soup, were:
  Toastatas, I didn't feel like having the crispy tortilla so I just had heated vegetarian re-fried beans (from a can) with half an avocado, onions, tomato and romaine lettuce all mixed together in a bowl. I was delighted with it! So much so that I had it again the night after. The second time we also had corn on the cob.
   Pasta and Sauce, the sauce was from a jar and I doctored it up a bit by adding lots of veggies.
   And last, I also had a veggie burger on toasted bread with onion, tomato, romaine lettuce and mustard.

Although we didn't stick to our meal plan completely, I really enjoyed having one made out. I'm trying it again this week and we'll see if this is a new habit in the making. 
Happy Eating!!



"In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves." - Harry S. Truman

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Weigh In


Today I bit the bullet and weighed myself. The last time I weighed myself was 6/20/12. More than a month ago. Needless to say, I was very nervous. Especially with having spent most of the last month in bed, due to my back issues, eating horribly.

Here are my results:

6/20/12...... 271.8 
7/25/12...... 271.8

I was shocked when I saw that. Happy that I maintained the same weight. Amused that it was exactly the same.

I've been very pleased with how I've been eating the last week. I feel I'm on the right track and I will only improve from here.   

 I've also been able to move around better. I'm still taking it easy but I've been up and about getting some stuff done. I really don't want to do too much too soon and end up getting hurt again.


"Always desire to learn something useful." - Sophocles
 

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Miso Soup

Yesterday we had a thunderstorm come through that dumped a lot of rain on us. Several neighborhoods in our part of town had flooding. We were lucky and didn't have any on our street. It was also James' day off so I was thankful that he didn't have to drive in it. Especially since the rain came right around the time he usually leaves for work. 

Living in Las Vegas we don't get much rain so we enjoyed it while it lasted!..... Standing out in it, drinking hot coffee and just being goofs. We definitely had a good day. And it put me in the mood for some soup. I would have made it last night but by the time I was ready to start making dinner my back was hurting to much to stand and chop veggies. I opted for a veggie burger and tater tots instead.

Today I figured I would get started on it early, before my back could decide I was done for the day. So after I finished my green juice I got to work.





It's a Miso Soup with onions, kale, carrots, broccoli, red peppers, baby corn, and green beans. Yum!! I think it turned out to be one of the best soups I've ever made. I'm sooo glad I made a huge pot of it. I've already gone back to get 2nds.


"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change." - Buddha

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Green Juice

I really enjoyed having a Green Smoothie in the morning when I was trying to do my cleanse. One of the problems I was having though, was the difference between my husbands schedule and mine. In the morning I'm up before him for a couple of hours. So in order not to wake him with the blender I would have to wait a long time before having my first meal of the day.

I have found away around that.Green Juice. Although it's not as fresh my smoothies, since I was blending them myself, it's a lot easier and tastes great. And I'm all for easy :)





"Common sense is instinct. Enough of it is genius." - George Bernard Shaw

Friday, July 20, 2012

Day of errands and treats

Today was a day filled with running errands. While I was out I was in a part of town near a Whole Foods. I tend not to shop there because it's kind of out of the way. So I couldn't resist being so close to it and not stopping. So along with some produce and vegan staples I can't get at a regular store, I picked up some treats for lunch.
I got a couple of different kinds of tofu. I loaded up on the flavor I thought I would like best but ended up liking the one I only got 1 piece of better. Sad. But now I know for next time. I also sampled baked beans, a green bean salad, a chickpea salad and half of a grilled red potato. It was all really yum. 

Last night we ended up just eating leftovers. There ended up being enough of the stir fry left after my lunch that James was able to make another meal of it. He was happy because he really wanted it again.



"First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others." - Thomas a Kempis

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Stir Fry


One of my favorite go to dinners is Stir Fry. They are so easy to make and always taste yummy! Last night I threw one together in a kind of "let's clean out the fridge" fashion. My husband liked it so much that he requested that I make it again tonight. I had to let him down easy, letting him know that I can't recreate it exactly because I used the last of several items making dinner last night and I won't be going to the store until tomorrow. So we'll see what I come up with for tonight.




"If you don't do what's best for your body, you're the one who comes up on the short end." -Julius Erving

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Back on the Horse

My back is almost completely back to normal. It's been ruff and I'm glad I'm not in so much pain. 

The last few days have been busy. James and I made the 2 hour drive to see his parents. We left on Sunday afternoon and got back late last night. We were planning on leaving earlier on Sunday but because of weather we decided to wait a little while. Which turned out to be a good thing, had we left when we had planned we would have gotten to town right as it was flooding. Getting there when we did we only had to deal with mud in the streets and 1 detour around a still flooded street.


We had a great relaxing trip. We were both sorry that it ended so soon.


While away I really spent some time thinking. Mostly about my diet. I know what I want so I'm just going to do it. No more letting myself off the hook. It's a done deal!

Because I haven't had time to go to the store yet lunch today was a little uninspired. Quinoa with canned green beans and frozen corn. Seasoned with some Santa Fe Seasoning which is Mexican oregano, garlic, cilantro, saffron and spices. According to it's label.

 





"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed. It is the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Mead