Day 90 - Sigh...

I'm still a vegetarian. But I've been in a slump. Baseball has started and I am struggling with coming up with quick meals to feed my family before we head to the ball fields.

I've been eating lots of salads and roasted veggies. This needs to change. So, I'm hoping to regroup and come up with something to get us through the next couple of months.

In the meantime...salad...

Day 75 - Hmmm....

Well, I don't have a recipe for you, even though I have two to share (just not today). I wanted to drop in, though, and say hi, and to let you know that I'm still out there and I'm still vegetarian. :)

On Friday the hubby and I stopped by Whole Foods in Vegas and picked up some IZZE (Sparkling Fruit Juice) for the kiddo (as we've banned High Fructose Corn Syrup in our house), and some Gardenburgers for me. We cooked burgers Sunday night (some sirloin burgers for the meat eaters, a salmon burger for hubby, and a sun-dried tomato Gardenburger for me). We picked up some Earth Grains hamburger buns (skinny, skinny buns), sprouts, avocados, and tomatoes for the fixins', and ate those burgers right up. I was not thrilled with the Gardenburgers--they were just ok.

However...

For lunch today I cooked up the other flavor we got: Black Bean and Chipotle. Same toppings (sans avocado--that was gone Sunday) as before. This Gardenburger is a WINNER!! It was soooooo yummy. Quite happy with it...

Anyway, in the next couple of days I will be posting my French Toast Casserole Recipe as well as a Chile Relleno Casserole Recipe. Until then...

Day 70 - Black Bean and Spinach Enchiladas

Have I mentioned that I am always changing up recipes? Well, it's true. This time I changed up my own recipe...the one for Black Bean Enchiladas. It was yummy, though.

Black Bean and Spinach Enchiladas

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 of a (16 oz) bag of frozen sweet corn
• 3/4 cup salsa
• 3 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 pkgs frozen chopped spinach, thawed, and squeezed dry
• 2 (10 oz) can green enchilada sauce
• 24 corn tortillas

1. Spray 2-11 x 7-inch baking dish with cooking spray. In a 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and cumin; cook and stir 4 to 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in corn, salsa, beans, and spinach. Remove from heat.
2. On microwaveable plate, stack tortillas and cover with paper towel. Microwave on high 1 minute to soften. Place 1/4 cup bean mixture along center of each tortilla. Roll up tightly and place seam side down in baking dish; spoon remaining bean mixture on top. Pour enchilada sauce over enchiladas, spreading to coat all tortillas.
3. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 25 to 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbly around edges. Garnish with toppings of your choice (olives, avocado, tomato). OR Freeze now. Do not thaw and then cook. Cover with foil and freeze. Bake from frozen in preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil and cook until sauce is bubbly around edges, 10-15 minutes.

*This actually makes enough for 2 pans of enchiladas. Cook one now and freeze the other one for later. You will be thankful when life is crazy and you need something for dinner ASAP.

Day 70 - Weigh In

187.6

Sigh...

Day 67 - Mushroom, Leek, & Cauliflower Pot Pie

I may have mentioned that I checked Veganomicon out from the library. This is definitely a book that I want to own, however, so it is now on my wishlist. I've cooked (my version of) two recipes from it, and I love it. Great inspiration! I am sure the recipes are fine just as they are--I just can't seem to cook that way. It is very unusual for me to follow a recipe precisely (except when baking--that is imperative, although there are places there as well for creativity).

Anyway, this is my version of Isa's Cauliflower and Mushroom Pot Pie with Black Olive (Biscuit) Crust.

Mushroom, Leek, & Cauliflower Pot Pie

     Roux

• 3 tbsp butter or margarine (depends on what you like and if you are vegan)
• 4 tbsp flour
• 2 cups milk (dairy, unsweetened almond, soy)
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Melt butter in small pot over medium heat. Add flour and whisk around until it is completely coated. It will be thick. Slowly add the milk, whisking the mixture as you add. Season with salt and pepper. Keep cooking over medium heat until the sauce is thick (and coats the back of a spoon). Remove from heat.

     The Rest

• 1 small head cauliflower, stem removed, cut into small florets
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 leeks, sliced and washed really well (leeks tend to hold on to sand!)
• 12 baby carrots, diced
• 1/2 lb cremini mushrooms, sliced
• pie crust (see note below)

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and carrots and saute until crisp-tender. Add the mushrooms and cauliflower, and cook until mushrooms release their liquid and it mostly evaporates. Remove from heat and pour in sauce, stirring to coat vegetables well.
2. Prepare pie crust. Place one pie crust in bottom of a deep dish pie plate. Add vegetables and sauce. Top with remaining pie crust. Crimp edges.
3. Bake in a 350° oven for 35-45 minutes (until top is golden brown). Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes (this will help keep the pot pie together when you cut it).

*Note: Pillsbury pie crusts, and most likely your store brand purchased pie crusts are made with lard. Unfortunately that means that the easiest way--purchasing a prepared pie crust--is not vegetarian. You may be able to find veg pie crust someplace like Whole Foods or Trader Joes. Or you can just make your own--they are really pretty easy.

 

Yup..it's kinda messy, but,ooooohhhhhhh soooooo goooooood!

Day 67 - Weigh In

186.2

So glad to be under 187. :)

Day 61 - Weigh In

183.6

I am thinking the plateau has passed for now. And I am so excited that this experiment is helping my health!

Note to people thinking about going veg to lose weight: Make sure you don't each much dairy (especially cheese!)...dairy will keep the weight on, and there are other ways to get your calcium.

On that note, I haven't stopped dairy, but I have cut back tremendously. I've never been a big cheese fan (except for that time when my blood iron was so low I almost died, and my body was trying to get protein fast, but which probably only barely kept me alive and caused me to gain 20 lbs in 2 months!). Milk has really been the hardest thing for me, because I love it in cereal. But I've switched to almond milk and it works awesome in cereal. I haven't really been drinking milk (except in cereal) for a long time--my drink of choice has been water for many, many years. But still...it is amazing what milk is in. So, what I'm saying is--just cut back. Your body will thank you.

:)

Day 60 - Asparagus Pepper Pasta Revisited

Sunday was another one of those days. We were all lazing around the house, and we discovered kinda late that the Awards Ceremony we were attending was refreshments only, not dinner like I thought. I was being lazy and I didn't want to go to the store, which leads me to that platitude "necessity is the mother of invention". The Asparagus Pepper Pasta was a hit earlier in the week and I still had asparagus and peppers left, so I revisited the recipe (with a few changes--again, that seems to be how I cook).

Asparagus Pepper Pasta Revisited

• 1 lb asparagues spears
• 1 orange bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 3 large mushrooms, chopped
• 1 largish medium zucchini, cut in quarters
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lb penne pasta

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Cut asparagus into 1-inch pieces.
2. Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until transparent. Add asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini, and bell pepper and saute until asparagus is crisp-tender and mushrooms have released their juices. Add salt and pepper.
3. Serve over penne pasta. 

Sorry! No pics--I had to get ready for the awards ceremony and time was tight around dinner time. 

Day 60 - Weigh In

186.4

I'm glad I'm past that 187.  ;)