Vegan junk food and yummy fettuccine alfredo

Almost Vegan...

On my quest for some "quick meals", I came across a recipe for vegan onion rings.  I decided to pair them with "Chicken" bocas (vegan) and whole wheat sandwich thins.  So, I started cooking when I realized Kevin nor I had gotten whole wheat bread crumbs at the store.  I sent my errand boy  teenage son to get some. He came back with bread crumbs, but one of the ingredients in the seasoning was cheese.  GRR!!!   Now what was I supposed to do?  Cubscouts for the middle boy was starting in less than an hour.  Should I use the frozen rings in the freezer, or proceed with the recipe?  I decided to proceed, taste one only, and give the rest to the family.  I don't know if you've ever cooked vegan before, but some of the ingredients are EXPENSIVE.  Here are what our vegan onion rings looked like...

I won't be giving this recipe because honestly, they were awful.  Even my teenager wouldn't eat them.  He eats EVERYTHING.  My husband put it best when he said they tasted like onions dipped in sand.  Bleh!  It worked out well for me, since they had dairy in them anyway.  

This was really good...

 (The cheese slices were soy)

Tonight we had one of my favorite meals so far.  It came from my Skinny Bitch in the Kitch book.  I hope the title doesn't offend anyone.  It's a great read, but there's no getting around the title.  

Tonight was Fettuccine Alfredo.  We had a few substitutions in this recipe.  I went to Whole Foods to get vegan Parmesan, only to be told they didn't carry it.  The worker told me to use Almond Mozzarella instead.  I also bought soy creamer and coconut oil to make up the sauce.  We also used spinach pasta instead of whole wheat.  Anyway....  I got home and realized the cheese I bought is not vegan.  I know, I know, that's two goofs.  Well, I used it anyway.  It contains a milk protein I wasn't looking for when I bought it.  Besides, I thought the man at Whole Foods would know.  Apparently not.  


It was a terrific recipe anyway.  My kids ate all of it.  The middle boy even asked for a second helping.  I want to make it again WITH the right cheese.  I'm hoping the large Whole Foods will carry it.  My husband pointed out AFTER I had eaten a big helping of it that coconut oil is reeaaallly fattening.  So, we might not have it that often ;)

See you tomorrow for my first weigh in!

A Yummy Weekend

I have to say, the best thing about this weekend was that I did absolutely NO COOKING!  You heard right...none.  You're probably wondering how I pulled it off.  It just so happens I have my own vegan chef.  He's a little shy and doesn't like his picture taken, but I pulled off a few shots on the sneak...

If he looks familiar to you, you are probably correct.  This is my husband Kevin.  

I had a not so great day on Friday, and was dreading the thought of having to come home and cook a two hour gumbo recipe.  I walked in around 5:30 to my husband placing vegan enchiladas in the oven.  Seriously, I might have almost cried.  I mean I REALLY didn't want to cook.  Luckily, Kevin loves to cook and took it upon himself to look up a vegan recipe from one of my books, Skinny Bitch in the Kitch.  I'll talk more about the "Skinny Bitch" books in another post, but for now...

Here they are...

The only vegan cheese he could find were soy slices, so they had to do. I loved the taste.  The kids weren't as crazy about it.  If you're a vegetable lover like I am, you'll love it.  If not, you might try another dish.

Not only did he prepare enchiladas, but he also found a recipe on Tom Thumb's website for vegan peanut butter fudge.  We melted vegan chocolate chips on top.  It was a perfect start to the weekend.

I limited myself to only one piece a day, as I am trying to lose some weight.  One piece is all you need.  It's so rich!

Saturday I had my normal oatmeal and banana combo.  I took the kids downtown to the Dallas World Aquarium.  I decided it was best to pack lunches.  I ate mixed nuts and a "cutie" orange, which I later found out was NOT enough.  By the time dinner rolled around, I was really grouchy.  I went with my aunt, cousin, and toddler daughter out to eat Thai food.  I needed to go to Whole Foods, and the store has a wonderful Thai place next to it.  The great thing about this restaurant is that they cater to vegans.  The food was deli-sh, and I didn't have to cook again.

Today, I had my usual breakfast, and then a veggie delight sub for lunch from Subway.  I researched and realized the vegan world has mixed feelings about whether or not the bread there is vegan.  I also learned honey isn't typically allowed in the vegan diet because it's made from bees.  I chose to ignore that and eat wheat bread.  I felt if was better for me than the safe Italian bread.  I would love to hear other people's opinions on the honey issue.  Are bee's animals?

Tonight was once again an extremely busy night for me with work to do, the house to clean, laundry, BLOGS, etc.  Chef Kevin got things cooking again with a vegan recipe for okra gumbo with chickpeas and kidney beans from Post Punk Kitchen.  It was flavorful, but not our favorite.  Once again the adults ate it, but the kids not so much.

Well, I'm off to grade papers and write plans for a fun week of  Dr. Seuss in first grade.  Until next time, eat healthy!!!

Day 2: Too much salad and Sunflower Mac

Hi everyone!  Welcome to day 2 of my 40 day vegan challenge.  38 days left, but who's counting?


Today brought on some yummy food, a tummy ache, and an interesting recipe.  Here is what I had today...


Breakfast-  oatmeal and a banana (big surprise there)


Lunch-  Marinated cucumber salad and fruit salad from Cafe Max (LOVE that place)


Snacks-   mixed nuts, chex mix, pretzels


Dinner- "Sunflower Mac" and broccoli  


I went to a workshop today with some fellow teacher friends.  Our workshops are very "snacky", and I forgot to bring something of my own.  Therefore, I didn't make the best choices I could have for snacks.  Life goes on!


Lunch was AWESOME!  When you get a group of teachers out of the school, we LOVE to go eat.  This can be a big problem when trying to follow a vegan diet.  Luckily, one of my pals suggested Cafe Max.  Cafe Max is basically a place where you get salads and soups.  I usually get the chicken or seafood salad, but couldn't today, of course.  I choose cucumber salad and fruit salad.  My brother and I grew up LOVING cucumbers, so that was a given.  The problem was, Cafe Max LOADS your plate down.  About an hour after my fruit and cucumber lunch, my stomach was really hurting.  I'm thinking I had too much acidity in my lunch.  So, I had some pretzels and mixed nuts, and felt much better.  That also gave me some extra protein.  Lunch lesson learned!!!


I was super excited about trying out the "Sunflower Mac" recipe I found at Post Punk Kitchen.  She has all sorts of info and recipes for vegans, so check it out.  I'll show parts of my recipe later, but let me summarize first.  The recipe took me an eternity a long time to prepare.  I realized after pouring half my ingredients for the sauce into my food processor that my processor would not hold all the ingredients.  Then I tried transferring to the blender, losing part of my sauce in the process.  A few words might have slipped out, not sure.  The kids were outside and my husband was cursing the legos he was putting together for my middle son, so no damage done to the kiddos.  The main problem I found was that I never got my sauce to totally blend like you were supposed to.  My final product looks nothing like the yummy pictures you'll see on Post Punk Kitchen.  Check out the full directions for Sunflower Mac.

To sum things up, my kids all ate this dinner.  I put it over broccoli, which I knew all of them would eat.  The toddler was excited saying "Yeah, mac and cheese!", but then mainly ate broccoli (totally fine by me).  The middle child ate his and said "It's good".  (My husband might have coached him)  He ate his really well.  The teenage garbage disposal liked it so much that he was horrified to hear I had thrown out the leftovers.  Honestly, I had been in the kitchen for 2 hours at this point and wasn't in the mood to find a container for it.  Lazy...yes.  My husband ate his, but didn't like the gritty texture.  Well, duh, I need a new processor!  I liked it enough to try it again after getting a new food processor (mom...birthday idea if you're reading this) and a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.  


Overall, I feel really good tonight with lots of energy.  Is it the new diet?  Time will tell!


Sunflower Mac pics...

My sunflowers soaking

Sauteing my onions, carrots and garlic in olive oil

Added broth, nutritional yeast, tomato paste, sunflowers seeds and...

cornstarch...

tried to blend it, poured some out in a bowl, poured it back and forth,  got a little aggravated, never really blended it enough

The sauce before cooking

after cooking

whole wheat mac

Mac and cheese

put the broccoli in first

put in the mac, extra sauce, and sprinkled it with paprika (a MUST)

A happy and healthy toddler (even if dad did put her in a  Halloween shirt)

A eight year old watching t.v. out of the side of  his eye and  also happily eating


What's for dinner tomorrow?
Okra Gumbo with Chickpeas and Kidney Beans

Day One and a yummy dinner!

Today was my official start to my forty days of eating a vegan diet.  To clarify, vegans cannot eat ANY animal products.  This is different from being a vegetarian in that vegetarians can still eat dairy products and eggs.  Vegans...not so much.   I weighed myself this morning.  I will NOT be revealing any numbers to the public, but would hope to see some weight loss through this all.  I'll be weighing in once a week.  My main focus is to try and show my family that healthy eating CAN taste good.  (Please, oh please let it taste good!!!)  I also want my kids to be involved with the cooking, planning, tasting, etc.  They are much more likely to try new foods if they are involved in the preparation.

With that said, here's what I ate TODAY...

Breakfast...oatmeal and a banana

 I eat this almost everyday of my life.  It fits in well with a vegan diet, so why change?

Lunch...Tomato Chickpea Soup with a Nutty Gremolata

A lot of prep and not so great.  I won't be sharing this recipe.

Snacks...carrots and hummus (YUM for hummus!!!), sweet potato chips, a few grapes after school

Dinner...Lentil and Black Bean Chili

This chili was a HUGE success for my family.  Everyone cleaned his/her plate.  Okay, my family isn't really picky, but the two year old is.  She ate most of it, so I call dinner a success.

Dessert...2 "Cutie" oranges...We LOVE those things

I found the full recipe for the lentil and black bean chili on weight watchers.com I am a member, so I'm not sure if the recipe can be found for nonmembers or if it is listed on the general page.  Here is a yummy peak...

Lentils cooking

Sweet red peppers, onion and garlic

Add some spices

throw in some diced tomatoes and black beans

fold in the lentils and cilantro at the end

Yummy vegan chili

 

                                                                

Grocery shopping...nutritional yeast???

Hi everyone!  Welcome to my first official post.  This is my first blogging experience, so PLEASE bear with me!

So, yesterday I went on my first official vegan shopping trip to prepare for this week.  Wednesday is the official start of 40 days of Lent, so I must be prepared.  I've tried to go the "vegan" route before, and was less than successful.  Looking back, I know exactly what went wrong.  For starters, I tried to buy EVERYTHING at an expensive grocery store.  I quickly realized I couldn't afford that for even myself, much less my family.  Second, I bought weird things my family wouldn't eat.  Instead of looking at what we already ate and modifying (a term commonly used by my fellow educators) I bought odd things they didn't want.  This lead us to preparing different meals each night.  The last reason totally did me in...I became pregnant with my third child.  I don't eat much of anything during my first three or four months of pregnancy, and strange foods I wasn't used to were just not cutting it.  It got to where I was eating all the WRONG things, so I quit.  Even though I couldn't handle being a complete vegan I have never eaten beef or pork again, nor has my daughter.

Unlike last time, I'm hoping dinnertime will be for the WHOLE family to enjoy, not just myself.  I have found 4 meals to start with....Lentil and Black Bean Chili, Okra Gumbo with Chickpeas and Kidney Beans, Sunflower Mac served with broccoli, and Tomato Chickpea Soup wit a Nutty Gremolata for my lunch.  I'll let you know how each of them turn out later.  I headed to my local Aldi to stock up on inexpensive produce and then headed for Tom Thumb for the rest.  I honestly had never purchased "lentils" before, but concluded that they must be a bean because the recipe asked for them to be dry.  The only two things I left without were saffron ($20 for a spice...really?) and nutritional yeast.  I found nutritional yeast and will let you know all about another time...

For now...I'm off to have a happy Sunday afternoon grading papers and going on a date night with my husband.  The countdown to my vegan days is on!!!