These are a few of my favorite things...

It was a great yet BUSY second week.  I haven't had much time to blog, but I have been diligently following my diet.  In honor one of my favorite musicals, "These are a few of my favorite things" (about being a vegan, that is)...

Hummus-  I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love this stuff!  We actually have hummus discussions at lunch.  I love the "Sabra" brand found at my local Tom Thumb.  It is so yummy with carrot sticks.  I probably eat WAY too much of it, but I figure there are probably worse things to be addicted to.  My favorite flavors are pine nut and red pepper.

Vegan Tex Mex-  We love Tex Mex in our family, so naturally I'm still wanting to eat it with my new diet.  My absolute favorite Tex Mex was a recipe my husband and I created ourselves:

Stir fry some green bell peppers, corn, onions, and black beans.

                                                Cook Spanish rice and refried vegetarian beans.

Yummy guacamole (before mashed)

                                                                        

Slap it all on a whole wheat tortilla and viola!  You have one delicious burrito.

(Don't forget the salsa!)

 Tofu?- The jury is still out on this one.  The other night I cooked stir fry.  Here is my tofu before and after:

After

Before

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

While I prepared my stir fry, my husband asked, "What will the kids eat?" The funny thing was, they LOVED the tofu.  I'm not crazy about it, but they asked for seconds.  The middle son said it tasted like eggs.  My toddler asked for more "chicken".  The only one that didn't eat it was my husband.  Ha!

 

vegan stir fry.....yummy!

                                                                                                                                  

I'm not sure why my pictures are ending up in such ridiculous places tonight.  Sorry!

ALDI-  Can you say "cheap produce?"  After you get over the shock of having to pay a quarter to get a cart (you get it back...relax), and buying or using your own bags, you'll love the inexpensive produce.  This week, among other things, I bought 15 lemons for 10. each and made fresh squeezed lemonade.  Not too shabby!

Cuties-  One of my favorite snacks. I eat one when I need a little a little burst

of energy or am craving something sweet.   My kids love them too.

Pei Wei vegan dishes-  I went with a friend last weekend to Pei Wei and had the "Thai Dynamite" with veggies, tofu, and brown rice.  The tofu honestly tasted like meat.  Even my friend, a carnivore, thought it was really good.  I can't wait to try something else!

Cookie Dough Dip-  If you haven't been over to Chocolate Covered Katie's healthy dessert blog, then you must.  I made the cookie dough dip and used vegan chocolate chips.   These are available at Whole Foods and taste just like the real thing.  I ended up adding some peanut butter for extra flavor.  My friend Anna loved it as much as I did!  And guess what?  The main ingredient is "chick peas."

This was taken before adding peanut butter. 

We ate it with graham crackers.      

 

Amy's burritos-  These little burritos are a life savor in a time crunch.  I've eaten a few in the past couple of weeks for lunch.  They do not disappoint! 
                                           

Well there you have it...a few of my favorite things.  People keep asking me "Are you craving meat?"  Honestly, not at all!  I eat PLENTY of food, so I haven't craved anything.  The hardest thing for me so far has been passing up on sweets because of the eggs or dairy.  It's a little bit harder to find or make vegan desserts.  I really don't need them anyway, so it's a blessing in disguise!  

Thanks for reading!  Stay healthy!